除草是我最不喜欢干的活儿了。但我知道杂草会喧宾夺主，最终糟蹋整个园子。而我想要保护我的园子，使它繁茂。因此，一开春，我就开始在幼苗周围耕作，将杂草挖出或拔出来。然而即使我努力小心翼翼，有时还是会把幼苗和杂草一起拔出来。在那些时刻，我总会强烈感受到耶稣比喻中那个园丁的智慧。
不过，耶稣比喻中的稗子和我园子里的杂草有些关键的差异。那些稗子是农夫的敌人故意且放肆地撒下的。它们最初应该和麦子的幼苗很相像。另外，在这种破坏被发现以前，麦子和稗子的根就已经缠结在一起了，所以除稗子往往就会把好的和坏的一起毁掉。在这种情境下，容两样一起长是很合理的。
更值得注意的是，这个比喻也为今天的我们揭示了神的智慧和怜悯。我们的敌人，那恶者在过去和现在都积极地在神园子里的好种子中播撒稗子。我们可能不明白神为什么不从祂的世界中除掉恶人和罪恶，但我们可以感恩，祂最大的心愿乃是要存留祂的百姓，直到收割的日子。
天父，我们为着祢的智慧、怜悯和忍耐赞美祢。求祢保护我们脱离凶恶，存留我们和祢的众百姓，直到收割的日子。奉基督的名求，阿们。
马太福音 13:24-30
24耶稣又设个比喻对他们说：“天国好像人撒好种在田里，
25及至人睡觉的时候，有仇敌来，将稗子撒在麦子里就走了。
26到长苗吐穗的时候，稗子也显出来。
27田主的仆人来告诉他说：‘主啊，你不是撒好种在田里吗？从哪里来的稗子呢？’
28主人说：‘这是仇敌做的。’仆人说：‘你要我们去薅出来吗？’
29主人说：‘不必，恐怕薅稗子，连麦子也拔出来。
30容这两样一齐长，等着收割。当收割的时候，我要对收割的人说，先将稗子薅出来，捆成捆，留着烧；惟有麦子要收在仓里。’”
"While you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest." — Matthew 13:29-30
Weeding is one of my least favorite activities. But I know that weeds can overtake and ruin a garden, and I want to protect my garden and help it thrive. So, early in the season, I cultivate around young plants and pick and pull weeds. And even though I try to be careful, I sometimes pull up plants along with the weeds. At these times, I keenly sense the wisdom of the gardener in Jesus' parable.
There are some critical differences, though, between weeds in my garden and the weeds in Jesus' parable. Those weeds were deliberately and liberally sown by the farmer's enemy. And those weeds would have looked much like young wheat plants at first. In addition, the roots of the wheat and weed plants were already intertwined before the act of sabotage was detected. So weeding would have destroyed the good with the bad. Not weeding made good sense in that scenario.
Most significantly, the parable reveals God's wisdom and mercy for us today too. Our enemy, the devil, has been and is actively sowing weeds among the good seeds in God's garden. We may wonder why God does not weed out wicked people and evil from his world, but we can be thankful that he is most intent on preserving his people until the harvest.
Father, we praise you for your wisdom, mercy, and patience. Protect us from evil and preserve us, together with all your people, until the day of harvest. In Christ, Amen.
诵读: 楚云
片头: 张妙阳