What gets weeded?
There are a lot of metaphors in today’s scripture. The farmer, the seed, the wheat, the weeds. There’s even an enemy who plants weeds among the wheat, and then a discussion of what to do with the weeds. There’s an interesting passage when the farmer says, “Let both of them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.” As the parable comes to an end, we realize this is a story about judgment at the end of days, and that suddenly the wheat and the weeds are people.
One of the things I’ve learned as a librarian is the importance and value of weeding. I realize that sounds strange since libraries aren't usually filled with plants. But we do weed. The process of removing books from a library collection is colloquially called “weeding” because we are removing the things that need to go in order to make room for the library collection to grow. Today’s scripture made me think about that process.
See, when we weed books from the library collection it is not a process we take lightly. In fact, it’s a process we take very seriously and spend a great deal of worrying about. I am lucky to work in a library where we don’t have to worry about book bans or people telling us that books have to be removed from our collections. But we do have to remove some of our books over time, and the process looks something like this.
We take a section of books- usually as arranged by call number, and before we even set foot in the stacks, we do a lot of research. Has the book been checked out in the past 10 years? Has it ever been checked out? Do at least 5 other libraries in our area own the book? Do we have more than one copy in our library?
Then, we go to the shelves themselves. Is the book falling apart? Is it repairable? Is it made with paper or glue that is harmful to the books beside it? Is there something particularly unique about the book? Are there colored illustrations? Any time-capsule-like items? Did the book fall apart when we pulled it off the shelf?
From there we decide which books are staying on our shelves and which ones are being pulled from our collection. But that’s not the end of the process.
Each book is scanned and evaluated again- Is it the very last copy of this book? Is it a book that should be in our special collections? If it is determined the book still needs to go, what happens? We send the “last copy” books off to the University of Illinois. Then, anything that is not in terrible condition gets boxed up for the “Better World Books” project- a project that donates books to developing areas and sells others to help pay for shipping those donations. Only if a book cannot be donated, preserved, or otherwise saved is it then placed in a recycle bin.
Why do I tell you all of this? Because today’s scripture gets a little harsh about weeding. The way Jesus talks about weeds here is such a slash-and-burn philosophy that sounds almost out of character for Jesus. In fact, it’s unclear as to why the weeds have to be burned once they are removed from the wheat, but it is clear there isn’t another use for the plants or another purpose for them. And that’s what got me thinking about the way we weed books in the library. See, I feel like our process is a little more of the Jesus way of doing things. And Jesus is rarely about exclusion, so this feels a little harsh.
Well, as is usual, let’s think a little about the context. In this case, we are talking about a very specific kind of weed. “The Greek word translated as “weed” in this passage is zizanion, which refers to a common Middle Eastern species known as bearded darnel-grass, which in appearance is very similar to wheat. Apparently, it’s also very toxic.”(Cornwall). So it makes sense that we don't’ want this weed mixed in with the final harvest of wheat. See, by leaving the weeds in the ground, the weeds could choke out the grain. In this case, the farmer has counted the cost and decides it’s better to leave the weeds until they can be separated out at the harvest. While the weeds might threaten the more desirable grain pulling up the grain with the weeds is a larger problem. (Cornwall), That makes sense.
But where Jesus goes front here is a little more difficult. Because we’re suddenly in the throes of the coming judgment and God has become the Farmer. And the eventuality is that God is going to do some weeding. I am uncomfortable with a Judgmental God or a Judgmental Jesus. That doesn’t make sense to me in the way that I understand God and Jesus. I understand God as loving and forgiving and not willing to give up on anyone. It’s why I struggle with the idea of a hell. I just can’t believe that God sits in judgment of us. And I certainly am not keen on the idea that humans get to judge each other.
And this scripture is suddenly a lot about judgment, and that makes me uncomfortable. “ According to Jesus, the weeds, the evil-doers, will be separated out by the angels. After they’ve been gathered together they’ll be tossed into the fire where there is “weeping and gnashing of teeth.” As for the righteous (the children of the kingdom), they “will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father” (Mt. 13:41-43). While the reference to the fire where weeping and gnashing of teeth is present (whatever is meant here is unclear), both this parable and the preceding one serve to remind us that God is at work, seeking to redeem this world. There is opposition and resistance. There are seeds of evil present in this world, but it will not, in the end, win the day.” (Cornwall). And I think the point of hte scripture is that IF there is a Judgement, it’s not ours, it’s not now, and God is at work to do good in the world.
What we are not supposed to take from this scripture is any sort of idea that WE are the ones responsible for weeding. No- The parable is very specific- the weed and the wheat are meant to grow together without intervention. We are not responsible for any decisions about who is allowed to stay or who has to go. And of course, the temptation is there- to want to rid a church of people who cause strife or people we don’t think should be there. But again, this is not the point. If there is a weeding to be done, God will handle it.
And that’s what got me thinking about weeding in the library. Remember, only if a book cannot be donated, preserved, or otherwise saved is it then placed in a recycle bin. But even if a book is put in the recycle bin, it isn’t completely destroyed or eliminated. Recycled paper is used to make new paper and even to make new books. There is redemption possible for even the worst books that have to be discarded. And, by clearing our shelves of these books something else happens. Suddenly, the books we DO have are easier to find and we find room to buy more books. By weeding the library, we are able to expand the library and expand opportunities for reading and learning.
What if, instead of weeding people we work to weed ideas like librarians weed books? What if were to discard the old, falling apart, broken ideas that aren’t helping anyone anymore? What if we work to get rid of the toxic ideas that are harming people and harming the church. What if we were to rid our thoughts of racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, and every other evil thing that keeps God’s love from growing in our communities? What if, our job is to help weed the harmful ideas so that there’s no need to weed out people later? What if we were to plant ideas that prevent the bad things from taking root, to begin with? What if we were to sow love and acceptance and radical hospitality? What if the work we do brings such a change that we can realize God’s kingdom here on earth- today and now- without weeds?