Pentecost 8A 2026

THE REV. E. WAYNE ROLLINS

​
Matthew's Gospel is written to a Jewish audience trying to reinvent themselves a decade or two after the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and its temple. Matthew’s first hearers are in Antioch, a part of that Jewish diaspora, and it’s likely many still remember living and working in Jerusalem. 

Returning to their home is not an option. Rome continues to rule there, with its imperial cult and obedient army. And, while Matthew is not likely to be an eyewitness to the life of Jesus of Nazareth, he takes the name of a disciple whom Jesus called. That disciple likely passed down first-hand knowledge of Jesus’ teachings, and we hear one of those today. 

Agricultural metaphors abound in Matthew. Today’s parable of the weeds is unique to Matthew and addresses some issues that might have arisen among people who find they live in a new setting and culture. Their center of worship is no more. Their identity seems to be dissolving before their very eyes. And what about living among others who are very different in culture, tradition, and ancestry? 

Matthew’s task is difficult. He has to convince his first hearers of their need to look ahead and consider a new identity because of what has happened. It’s not just the destruction of the Temple and the surrounding city. Matthew has to convince them that what they thought would happen was wrong. They need to accept that in light of how a traditional belief actually worked out. 

That belief is in who the expected Messiah is and how that Messiah would work. Expectations of a strong military leader did not come to fruition. There was no overthrow of the occupying Roman government and its army. There has been no restoration of what Matthew calls “the kingdom of heaven” to Israel. 

Instead, Israel is once again driven from its homeland, losing once again the tangible sign of God’s long ago promise to their ancestor Abraham. So, it seems natural that they would turn away from that promise and seek to establish their tightly-held identity all on their own. 

After all, their world has changed. It’s vastly different. If only they could bring back “the good old days” when prosperity reigned and everyone lived and thought alike. 

Now, all they see are like weeds growing up all around them. The urge is to pull them up, get rid of them, to make the garden of themselves look and feel good, even perfect again. 

But that could very well cause more damage to themselves than the weeds could ever do. Besides that, determining what is good and what is seen as evil is something only God can do. And despite our best efforts, we still are not God.

In some way, Matthew tries to remind his hearers of their own forgotten past. They are now aliens in a strange land—again. That was true when Judah was taken captive and driven to Babylon. It was true when their ancestors were overtaken in the Northern Kingdom of Israel, and many fled to Egypt, where their ancestors once lived to escape famine in their own land.

Being aliens in a strange land is their identity, it’s in their ancestral DNA. Abraham, known as Abram, left the familiarity of home and comfort to go to a land God would show him when he got there. And from that land he received, and believed in a promise.

What about us? For those of us who have moved around a bit, it seems somewhat easier to accept an alien identity than it might be for those who have been in the same place for years, even decades. Yet, the world around us seems strange. Many things have changed, and we find ourselves attempting to recreate the world that once was.

Consider that all those alien experiences of Israel and Judah were God’s way of forcing them to rethink the immense possibilities of the very promise made to Abraham. Maybe there is more than one way to give birth to children of God’s promise. And maybe many of those have already reached adulthood at the time of rebirth.

There is hope in planting seeds. There is hope in waiting patiently for growth and hope in gathering harvest. But that harvest ultimately belongs to God, even when some of it might be used to feed ourselves.
​
Maybe the issue is that we keep our focus on identifying weeds instead of on the promise of growth. Maybe, by grace we can discover a beneficial place among us for some of those weeds. After all, even a dandelion leaf can find its way into a gourmet salad.