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I was talking to a friend the other day and comiserating over our love of and trouble with the church. My friend and I see things the same way. Both of us love the doctrine but struggle with culture and “church”. And then she asked me this question. “Are we the wheat or the tares?” The question stopped me and caused me to study the parable so I could understand it better. (see Matt 13)
I found it rather comforting when I read how the alarmed servant wanted to go gather up all the tares but the Lord said not to because…. “Lest while ye gather up the tares ye root up also the wheat with them. “Let both grow together until the harvest….”
I remember learning somewhere that tares look exactly like the wheat until harvest time when they take on their defining characteristics. This made me wonder about the church. I mean God must know the church is flawed. He must know the work of Satan as he plants tares inside the church by way of culture or pride or stupid outter appearances of people and things. And if the wheat and the tares look like the same plant during the season then maybe this is why its so hard to discern the truth from the culture or the culture from the doctrine or the doctrine from the church.
Maybe…..maybe…..some of us see the tares before the harvest and see that the field is corrupted and panic like the servant did. But maybe we need to allow the wheat and tares to live together until the harvest like the Lord does.
I don’t know. Sometimes I think wheat and tares are people. SOmetimes I think they are ideas or practices.
What do you guys think? I’d love to open up a conversation.
Good topic. I went from thinking the wheat and tares were people to where I am now-believing that they are “doctrines” or beliefs.
I think the story of the wheat and the tares is correlated with what is says in Nephi about there being “opposition in all things.” One of the most empowering and eye opening things I learned during this ride is that even the scriptures contain truth/false or good/bad. Although, now I’m not even sure if we should put a judgment on them maybe it just “opposition.” I dunno. I am pretty adament that killing, lying, etc is wrong.
It’s like I’ve heard said, we could use the scriptures as a proof-text for just about anything. And now I believe that it is
supposedto be that way. God wants us to all be free to choose. If the tares were eliminated we would not have choice. To me that is the symbolic meaning of that story. I am glad I no longer believe in a cruel God that would burn up his children because they weren’t exact in their obedience to him. At the same time I can see that there are people who need to believe that. That belief serves a purpose and is probably instructive to them. FWIW, I have never met a person who believed *they* were a tare. It’s always *the other guy* who is the tare.
Poppyseed this is a good question and from my own personal point of view potentially dangerous, what if on consideration I decide that indeed I am a tare? What is there to do? On a more prosaic level Wikipedia comes to information front with this artlice :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lolium_temulentum and here is a quote from that article that fills out some of the depth of the parable:
Quote:The ears on the real wheat are so heavy that it makes the entire plant droop downward, but L. temulentum, whose ears are light, stands up straight. The wheat will also appear brown when ripe, whereas the darnel is black.
so not only is it hard to tell the wheat from the tares in the early stages of growth when we get to the point where it IS possible to see then we get a few more metaphorical hits:
- 1. the wheat has a much larger “harvest” or load of grain in the head such that the heads droop, now that is both bringing to mind the parable of the talents but also the workman worthy of their hire. In addition wheat, in essense, “bows” or gives the impression of “praying”, of acknowledging Heavenly Father and thanking Him for their bounty.
2. the color of the tare seed (darnel or cockle as Wikipedia explains) is BLACK!!!!!! what could be a better color for a hypocrite who has been pretending to be pious and Christian but in his heart is critical, grasping, full pride etc. etc.
Just to confuse the issue some more there is an ongoing argument over whether this pariticular parable was every really spoken by Jesus and was instead a later interpolation by an editor concerned with the way the early Christian church through the 200 to 400s fragmented so easily into a wide variety of beliefs only loosely corresponding to the gospels.
I think the modern scripture that captures the essence of the problem is this:
Quote:D&C 121: 39-42
39 We have learned by sad experience that it is the nature and disposition of almost all men, as soon as they get a little authority, as they suppose, they will immediately begin to exercise unrighteous dominion.
40 Hence many are called, but few are chosen.
41 No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the priesthood, only by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned;
42 By kindness, and pure knowledge, which shall greatly enlarge the soul without hypocrisy, and without guile—
I think that this is the key to “juding” for ourselves what parts of the culture are not serving to take the gospel forward. I guess it boils down to humility and I think you see that with most of the people on the board, yes they are struggling, yes they have questions BUT none of them say something like: “We know how the Church should be run so get out of our way and let us do it!”
I agree a good conversation can be had, let’s have at it.
Good post, Poppyseed! One good thing about Jesus’ teachings is that he tends to explain the same things over and over again in different ways. This particular concept is taught at least one other time – in Matthew 25 with the parable of the Goats and the Sheep. And there’s a verse in Revelation that also comes to mind. Based on these two comparisons, I am convinced that the wheat and tares represent people, not merely ideas or practices.
Matthew 25:32-34“32And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” Ideas and practices certainly cannot “inherit the kingdom” – these verses are talking about the final judgement of
people. Revelation 18:2,4, “…Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen… And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.” This verse indicates that some of God’s people are currently in Babylon. To me, this is comparable to the wheat growing together with the tares. But they are not to be that way forever – there is a point at the very end when God calls his people out of Babylon, divides the sheep from the goats, and gathers the harvest.
Matthew 13:30, “Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.” Great question, but I’m not into trying to figure out who are the wheat (the bitter fruit) and the who are the tares (the good fruit). All I know is that I don’t feel like I’m a tare – and others who know me don’t feel that way, etither. “By their fruits” – and I know I’m not poisoning anyone. That’s enough for me.
I prefer to see this parable in a personal and internal way. I don’t like to think of some people as wheat and others as tares. Sorry, but I just don’t like that all-or-nothing view of people. Wheat and tares are growing inside each of our souls. When we make a harvest, perhaps call that a leap of growth, we harvest the wheat while we rip out the tares. It feels like something being ripped out when I have to drop my baggage, my incorrect and “cherished” expectations.
Brian Johnston wrote:I prefer to see this parable in a personal and internal way. I don’t like to think of some people as wheat and others as tares. Sorry, but I just don’t like that all-or-nothing view of people.
Wheat and tares are growing inside each of our souls.When we make a harvest, perhaps call that a leap of growth, we harvest the wheat while we rip out the tares. It feels like something being ripped out when I have to drop my baggage, my incorrect and “cherished” expectations. I like!
Brian Johnston wrote:I prefer to see this parable in a personal and internal way. I don’t like to think of some people as wheat and others as tares. Sorry, but I just don’t like that all-or-nothing view of people.
Wheat and tares are growing inside each of our souls. When we make a harvest, perhaps call that a leap of growth, we harvest the wheat while we rip out the tares. It feels like something being ripped out when I have to drop my baggage, my incorrect and “cherished” expectations.
Thank you, Brian. This is exactly how I feel about it too. I think at first when my friend asked me I felt little pangs of guilt but then I decided what you have expressed. That there is wheat and tares inside of all of us. Its just the deal. I am feeling like maybe the wheat is light/truth and the tares is the lies of Satan. It makes me think the garden is the church and inside of it are wheat and tares. It’s interesting to me that the servant noticed the presence of the tares long before harvest time. I wonder sometimes about myself when I see something off or “wrong” in the church and I wonder if I’m like the servant that can see a bit of what Satan’s been doing and how effective he is at confusing people and how he is able to sneak in his influences into our traditions. I know Satan has been successful at planting lies in my own thinking. Sometimes it feels obvious to me as I observe the beliefs of others. More than anything, I feel the wisdom of the Lord as he knows when its time to harvest. Maybe it is about the necessary opposition. Maybe its necessary for the opposition to be inside the church, though I think people fight against that idea. I am still pondering about why taking the tares out too soon might be harmful. I guess I thought weeding was part of what makes gardens flourish. But I think that this is helping me to come to terms with the imperfections in the church. Maybe its ok that the history has its problems or that the church leaders don’t always get it right. Maybe God knows that overcorrecting the process of the church would be damaging. I don’t know. The ability to discern seems the most vital element for the individual at least. OR maybe God’s grace covers the misconceptions in our belief systems. Hm.
I see the wheat as the productive, positive and nourishing plants that are growing within us. Tares take energy and nutrients from the soil, they consume our labor without producing nourishing food. If you want to call this God and Satan, that’s fine. It’s another way of working the metaphor, one where we are torn between polar opposites.
To those who disagree that the wheat and tares refer to people, you gotta fill me in on how you interpret the rest of the parable. If the wheat and tares represent the good and bad in all of us, then…
-Are we not supposed to purge the bad from our lives for fear that the good will go with it? (v 28-29)
-What is the “harvest”, and why do we have to wait ’til then to deal with the negativity in our lives? Who are the “reapers” who get rid of the negativity? And what does it mean that the positivity is gathered into the barn? (v 30)
The parable only seems to make sense to me when interpreted as referring to people.
Brian Johnston wrote:I prefer to see this parable in a personal and internal way. I don’t like to think of some people as wheat and others as tares. Sorry, but I just don’t like that all-or-nothing view of people.
Jesus had an all-or-nothing view of people in general. While he was radically inclusive, reaching out to those considered unclean (sinners, gentiles, lepers), he was also radically exclusive in his claims to be the only way to God. If we’re dealing with Biblical texts, it would be more accurate to work within that context, rather than operating on preferences, imho.
MapleLeaf wrote:If we’re dealing with Biblical texts, it would be more accurate to work within that context, rather than operating on preferences, imho.
This is a very good point, one that we should be willing to look at and consider. It is another reconciliation strategy for our faith (in the spirit of rebuilding after a crisis of faith). It is indeed a potential slippery slope when we focus on our preferences to define righteousness.
I personally meditate sometimes, introspect might be a better description, and ask myself if I am excusing incorrect behavior or thought.
To be clear, I do not have the new single right answer for everyone. I just shared a way that I look at that parable. If someone wants to latch on to Biblical text more tightly and use that as a foundation, I support that. We all have to latch on to things we find important.
I would never have made a good historian or scientist. My brain just doesn’t work like that. It seems God understands that about me because when I read the scriptures, He talks in ways I understand according to my needs and desires. I guess that’s one thing I like about studying the scriptures. I don’t have to have a Phd. 
Dealing with my crisis of faith makes me worried about my immortal soul. I don’t want to be a tare. The thought makes me sick inside. But truth be told, I think about leaving this church often. It isn’t a happy place for me to worship. I feel alone and unloved and the culture tempts me with unhealthy thought patterns. And because of it I worry that I won’t live with my kids in the happiest heaven and I worry that I am not doing what God wants me to do. Learning to listen to God only and not the programming of my upbringing or what I “think” the scriptures mean is a constant challenge. But at the end of the day, I know that my deepest desire is to learn the truth about things and to live my life accordingly. And when I read this parable, it gave me a sense of peace about the imperfections inside the church and inside of me and inside of all of us. God has it all in His hands and he understands what we need. I don’t have to be a crusader to fix it all or abandon the venture because it isn’t perfect in every way. If the church is like a person, and in many ways I think it is, then it needs to grow and change and be challenged and perhaps it needs maturing processes to acheive its ultimate potentials. And God in all of His wisdom seems to use long creative processes. He created the earth that way. He is definitely dealing with me that way too. Not that I like it. I wish He’d just come down and make things better or settle the issues in my mind. But he doesn’t. He lets me struggle and gain my strength peice by peice. And he doesn’t condemn me like I assume he will.
And I appreciate, Maple, that some see God as a black and white, heaven and hell sort of God. My understanding of mormon doctrine is different than that though and my personal experience with God seems similar to my understanding. In my youth, I was very afriad of God and I suppose I still am and still should be but its different now. Through the instense struggle of these past five years I feel like I am meeting a different sort of God who is absolutely overflowing with tender mercies and the deepest gentle understanding of my pain and abiding optimitic hope in the potential of man. I am not perfect, but I am learning that I never had to be. Perfect in Christ. That is what its about! That is the good news! Why else would Jesus teach the absolute in that doctrine? And you are right that there will be a judgement day when we all have to come to terms with our choices, but I don’t see that process of justice happening without the merciful love filled parts absolutely woven into it. And some of us, I am sure, will be the ones who don’t get to live with God or enjoy his best blessings. But until then, I see there is wisdom in God that the tares still rooted in with the wheat. That gives me peace. And I want to understand that better because it might mean that I don’t have to struggle against the church so much. Maybe I can go with the flow of it and find individual flourishing too.
Poppyseed wrote:I wish He’d just come down and make things better or settle the issues in my mind. But he doesn’t. He lets me struggle and gain my strength peice by peice. And he doesn’t condemn me like I assume he will.
I love that statement so much! I feel that exact same way now!
- 1. the wheat has a much larger “harvest” or load of grain in the head such that the heads droop, now that is both bringing to mind the parable of the talents but also the workman worthy of their hire. In addition wheat, in essense, “bows” or gives the impression of “praying”, of acknowledging Heavenly Father and thanking Him for their bounty.
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