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THE EIGHTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST July 19, 2026 Pastor Tom Steers Christ the Saviour Lutheran Church, Toronto Our Bible Readings: Old Testament – Isaiah 4:6-11 Psalm 119:57-64 Epistle – Romans 8:18-27 Gospel – Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43 The Hymn of the Day from Lutheran Service Book is LSB 659, “Lord of Our Life” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhcXR5HY4Lc&list=RDxhcXR5HY4Lc&start_radio=1 THE SERMON – "The Wheat and the Weeds" Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen. There are times when we wish God would act immediately. When we see evil flourish, when falsehood is celebrated, when wickedness appears to prosper while righteousness suffers, we naturally ask, "Lord, why do You allow this to continue?" We long for justice. We want God to remove evil from the world now. Jesus addresses exactly this question in today's Gospel through the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares. A farmer sowed good seed in his field. The seed was pure, healthy wheat. Yet while everyone slept, an enemy came under cover of darkness and sowed weeds among the wheat before slipping away unnoticed. As the plants grew, so did the weeds. The servants were alarmed. They asked the master, "Do you want us to go and gather them?" The master's answer surprises us. "No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. Let both grow together until the harvest." Later, when the disciples ask for an explanation, Jesus leaves no uncertainty. The sower is the Son of Man. The field is the world. The good seed represents the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one. The enemy is the devil. The harvest is the close of the age, and the reapers are the holy angels. Our Lord is describing the reality of the Church living in a sin-broken world. From the beginning, Christ has been sowing His Gospel. Through His Word and Sacraments, He creates faith, forgives sins, and gathers His people into His kingdom. Yet wherever Christ plants His Word, Satan is also at work. He spreads lies. He deceives. He tempts. He opposes the Gospel and seeks to draw people away from Christ. The devil has never stopped sowing his counterfeit seed. This should not surprise Christians, although it often does. Sometimes believers imagine that if Christ truly reigns, then evil should quickly disappear. Yet Jesus teaches precisely the opposite. Until the Last Day, wheat and weeds will grow side by side. Believers and unbelievers will inhabit the same communities. Faithful preaching and false teaching will exist within shouting distance of one another. That is not because Christ is powerless. It is because He is patient. The servants wanted immediate action. They wanted to clear the field themselves. But the master knew what they could not see. Their zeal, however sincere, could damage the wheat itself. Our Lord's patience is not weakness. It is mercy. Scripture often reminds us that God delays judgment so that sinners might repent. Every day this world continues is another day of grace, another opportunity for the Gospel to be preached, another occasion for someone to hear the voice of the Good Shepherd and believe. Many who today appear far from Christ may yet become His faithful disciples tomorrow. Think of Saul of Tarsus. Before becoming the Apostle Paul, he persecuted the Church with great zeal. Had someone judged only by appearances, they would never have imagined that this enemy of Christ would one day proclaim the Gospel throughout the Roman Empire and be the Apostle to the Gentiles. Yet God's grace transformed the persecutor into a preacher. The Lord alone knows His elect. The Lord alone knows the heart. Therefore, we are not called to separate the wheat from the weeds. That belongs to Christ alone on the Last Day. Instead, He calls us to remain faithful. Psalm 119 expresses this beautifully: "I have sworn an oath and confirmed it, to keep Your righteous rules . . . The Lord is my portion." The psalmist does not place his confidence in changing the world around him, but in the all-powerful Word of God. Even surrounded by the wicked, he delights in God's commandments and trusts His steadfast love. That is precisely the calling of every Christian. We often become discouraged because evil seems to prosper. We watch society reject God's design. We witness increasing hostility toward Christianity. False teaching spreads rapidly. Sin is praised while truth is mocked. Yet none of this catches Christ by surprise. He told us it would be this way. Our calling is not despair but faithfulness. Nor should we overlook another important lesson in this parable. Before we rejoice too quickly that we are the wheat, we should remember that apart from Christ, none of us would be. By nature, every one of us is conceived and born in sin. Left to ourselves, we belong not to Christ but to the kingdom of darkness. The difference is not found in our goodness, but entirely in God's grace. The wheat did not make itself wheat. It was planted by the Son of Man. Likewise, through Holy Baptism, through the preaching of the Gospel, through the gift of faith worked by the Holy Spirit, Christ has made us His own. Our faith is sustained through the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, which offers the true body and blood of Christ for the forgiveness of sins. As Isaiah reminds us today, "I am the first and I am the last; besides Me there is no god." There is no other Saviour. There is no other Redeemer. We belong entirely to the Lord who has called us by His grace. That truth gives great comfort. For the Christian life is not always easy. In today's Epistle, St. Paul reminds us that "the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us." Indeed, all creation groans under the weight of sin. We groan as well. We experience sickness, grief, disappointment, persecution, and death. Even our prayers are imperfect. Yet Paul assures us that the Holy Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. While the weeds continue to grow, Christ has not abandoned His people. The Holy Spirit sustains us. The Word strengthens us. The Sacraments nourish us. Our Lord continues to tend His field with perfect wisdom. Finally, Jesus directs our eyes toward the harvest. Unlike earthly harvests, this one will never fail. The day is coming when the Son of Man will send forth His angels. Evil will not continue forever. Satan's work has an expiration date. The weeds will be gathered for judgment, while the righteous "will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father." Notice that Jesus does not say the righteous will merely survive. They will shine. Not because of their own righteousness, but because they have been clothed with the righteousness of Christ Himself. His victory will be fully revealed. Sin will be gone. Death will be destroyed. Every tear will be wiped away. There will be no more weeds, no temptation, no more false teaching, no sorrow nor suffering. Only Christ. Only His people. Only everlasting joy. Until that day, we live by faith. We do not lose heart when evil appears strong. We don’t attempt to seize God's work of judgment for ourselves. We trust the wisdom of the Master of the field. He knows His wheat. He guards His Church. He continues to sow His life-giving Word. And when the appointed harvest comes, not one of His redeemed will be forgotten. As Martin Luther beautifully reminds us in his hymn, "Though devils all the world should fill, all eager to devour us, we tremble not, we fear no ill; they shall not overpower us." Christ has already won the victory through His cross and resurrection. The enemy still rages, but he is a defeated foe. Therefore, let us continue to hear Christ's Word, receive His gifts, and patiently await the harvest He Himself has promised. For the Lord of the harvest is also the Lord of our salvation.