There are weeds in the harvest

In the Gospel of Matthew we read of the parable of the darnel.

The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. While everybody was asleep his enemy came, sowed darnel all among the wheat, and made off. When the new wheat sprouted and ripened, the darnel appeared as well. The owner’s servants went to him and said, “Sir, was it not good seed that you sowed in your field? If so, where does the darnel come from?” “Some enemy has done this” he answered. And the servants said, “Do you want us to go and weed it out?” But he said, “No, because when you weed out the darnel you might pull up the wheat with it. Let them both grow till the harvest; and at harvest time I shall say to the reapers: First collect the darnel and tie it in bundles to be burnt, then gather the wheat into my barn.” (Mt 13: 24-30)

Every person is precious to God. If we are wheat, then God is not willing to risk our souls and our development, our potential, to let others weed out the darnel. That is really hopeful. It is also really challenging. Sometimes, most-times, God has more faith in my ability than I do. By leaving the darnel there it potentially damages my growth – if I let it. This makes growth a fight, a struggle, a challenge. When wheat and darnel grow together the noxious weed tries to choke the wheat and starve it of the nutrients taking them for itself. Some grains of wheat do not experience this. The crop and harvest is not uniform. There will be wheat that has had every advantage, every nutrient necessary and there will be those who experienced hunger and thirst, pressure and intimidation, and an incredible darkness. The sad part is not every grain of wheat will grow to fruition, some will wither and die because of these weeds in the harvest. It can be a brutal battle to be what you are intended to become.

Darnel is a dangerous weed. It mimics wheat and so is difficult to identify from the good crop. It is a persuasive image of good whilst being the dire opposite and the effects are devastating. It cannot survive without assistance but it still reduces the value of the crop, hinders the progress of horticulture and increases the cost of agriculture. The weeds in our human harvest destroy lives whilst safeguarding their own. Darnel is a health hazard. It can be toxic to humans and animals. Howard Thomas, a professor of Biology, wrote in the Journal of Ethnobiology:

Where there is darnel, there is treachery and toxicity.

Throughout literature darnel has been a symbol of subversion. In the scripture it is sowed by the ‘enemy’. It even appears in my beloved King Lear when he is mad and emerges crowned with rank fumiter and furrow-weeds, With hordocks, hemlock, nettles, cuckoo-flowers,
Darnel, and all the idle weeds that grow. (4.4.2–5) We are subverted by those inspired by ‘the enemy’ which is the devil. Evil is most effective when it mimics good.

Darnel in small doses generates a euphoric state and has been used to give beer an extra ‘kick’. Just as we can desire a release from pain (physical, emotional, spiritual) darnel metaphorically sits there and offers us something we can not find within. This is where we lose sight of our innate goodness. If we cannot find it within then why are we pursuing it? We need to connect from within rather than trying to escape. How often do we seek physical gratification instead of spiritual?

My personal challenge from this passage is – what if I am darnel and not wheat? God tells us not to judge but we always do, it seems to be our default mode or system setting. Sometimes we say we don’t judge but how many times is that because we know we should not, but we still do (even a little). No matter how many times I restart my machine (so to speak) I always judge even though I know I shouldn’t. It is never suggested in the scriptural text but I’m going to draw a lengthy (and somewhat unliteral) bow – what if the wheat does not just die because of the darnel but what if the wheat becomes like darnel? If I am indeed wheat I would rather they went to the field and removed all that darnel. Assuming I am wheat. Not darnel. But I wont know, none of us will, until the harvest is gathered. Until then we just have to fight for the space in the soil, the nutrients, the water and most of all the light, for without the sunlight we will never grow.