Daily Devotion for Tuesday 22nd September 2026

 
St Matthew 13: 24-30
Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared. “The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’ “‘An enemy did this,’ he replied. The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’  “‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them.  Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time, I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’”

Reflection

Here we are in the fields with hands mucky with soil!
 
This parable is only to be found in Matthew (although some feel it may be a recasting of the Parable of the Growing Seed in Mark 4: 26-29). The weed is virtually indistinguishable from wheat in the early stages of growth, and so weeding is postponed until harvest time.
 
How do we cope with evil that is sown into our lives and the life of the world? At times the scale of the problem of individual wrongdoing we experience and of war, violence, and the way humankind is abusing the environment can seem overwhelming and too much to bear. And all this seems so embedded in the nature of the world today.
 
The powerful and assuring message from this Parable of the Weeds is two-fold. It is not to ignore evil but also not to feel impotent despair when bad forces appear to prevail. We must continue to strive to confront and combat wrongdoing in fighting for the Kingdom, but do this in the assurance that our success may be limited and that ultimate victory is in the hands of God.
 
In his reflection on this parable James Laurence also reminds us that: “it is often very hard to distinguish between the weeds and the wheat. We can’t always pull the weeds without also getting the wheat. And our view of the world is limited. We don’t always know God’s ways and God’s purposes. And oftentimes, it is only in hindsight that we can see God’s purpose being worked out in our life, or in our world.”
 
So, this parable is both consoling and empowering. Yes, we have a responsibility to do what we can to further Kingdom values, but we are not on our own and need to have faith that God is also at play working in the righting of wrongs and establishing his Kingdom reign.
 
Prayer

Lord, give me courage to confront wrong doing
and the evil forces which stand in the way of your Kingdom;
and give me the patience, comfort and reassurance
to realise and understand that we are not on our own;
that this is your world;
and your Kingdom will come, Amen.