The Metanoiaics of Suffering, Part II. Dimensional insight from the Parable of the Wheat and Tares: “An enemy has done this…”
The Parable of the Wheat and the Tares
[Reading Time: 11 minutes]
(writing still in progress)
Introduction: Why is there suffering??
In the seemingly, never-ending, philosophical debates on the “Origin of Evil” with its primary question of
Why does man suffer?
there stands for us the incredibly simple, clear and easy-to-understand Parable of the Wheat and the Tares…which Jesus Himself goes so far as to interpret for us—literally every figure, every image, every action!.
And taken at face value, this Parable seems to answer much of the debate over the origin of evil and the question of human suffering quite categorically…and in only two paragraphs!
Yet if this is so clearly the case, we then ask,
Why do these questions never seem to be quite settled?
And moving from the abstract and philosophical to the personal,
Why do these questions continue to reemerge…over and over again…at nearly every stage of our lives whenever any spectrum of suffering strikes us?
Whenever we face momentary or extended trials of sickness or financial setbacks or relational difficulties…or the immense, unspeakable hardship emanating out of childhood abuse or abandonment…or betrayal and relational breaks…or the dislocation that comes with a sudden, life-changing injury or illness…or the painful reorientations forced upon us by the slow and steady decline of our health or the health of a loved one…or the upheaval from the loss of a job or the end of a career…or the erosion of once strong friendships…or the death of a friend or the painful loss of a loved one?
That is to say, whenever any of new set of trials comes upon us, why do we continue ask the same question,
Lord, why is this happening now?
We may have even come to terms with our past suffering, prior injustices, previous betrayal, past losses.
We may have even learned from them to the degree that we could express gratitude for all that we learned through them, give a talk, teach a class, as we have ourselves passed through the fire and crucible of suffering.
But now this??
Job’s progressive levels of suffering
It is like Job who valiantly responded to the destruction of all his property, the robbery of all his possessions, the brutal murder of all his servants by violent, raiding bands. And if that were not enough and he could hold onto hope of God’s gracious mercy buoying him up through all of this, then the “fire of God fell out of Heaven” (with that same verb, interestingly enough, announcing that “Babylon is fallen, fallen” …as in to give indication of from where this fire is actually coming).
And then after all his property and servants and livelihood are utterly destroyed, climaxing in a metaphysical terror in the form of fire that would draw any of us to consider that God had totally abandoned us unto violent judgement—after all this—he is told that his precious sons and daughters have all been crushed to death in their own house from a “sudden great rūakḥ.”
And as an aside here, it should be noted that Job’s sons and daughters are not spoiled “rich kids” who had not become progressively separated and estranged from one another over time, given all the opportunities their access to wealth afforded them; nor, from a different perspective, were they living “together” as some kind of picture-book, happy family, projecting unity to the outside world, while division and raged underneath the surface; nor is there indication that they were living lives chocked by the thorns of wealth, their relationships with each other steadily eroding over time with the ever-present, controlling influence of family money.
No, they were together literally every night, as one actually “happy family” feasting in what appears to have been genuine warmth and joy and harmony.
And his children are violently killed. No warning. Healthy, vibrant one moment. Gone the next.
And how does Job, by this time a veteran of unimaginable, spiritual warfare, respond?
Anger, confusion, doubt?
As we well know, Job responds with what can only be termed Fourth-Dimensional words,
“Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
And naked shall I return there.
The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away;
Blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21).
The mother and father in the opening story held onto their faith through the horrors of what they experienced, but I cannot say that they spoke at that time of the blessing of JHWH. Maybe in time, but not then.
A “spiritual athlete” in suffering; John Chrysostom
But Job, whom Chrysostom rightly calls a “spiritual athlete,” is given the grace to endure each level of suffering in a way that paradoxically works to strengthen his soul. As such, rather than leading him into bitterness and resentment (“How could You, O God, let this happen to me…after all I’ve done for You?), his trials begin opening him to new dimensions of Fourth-Dimensional light.
And this light, as we come to find, is a light that both illuminates the dark, hitherto unaccessed territories of our soul and a light that then purifies it into a "hallowed instrument" (hagiázō). And with this burning light shining out deep within Job in his purifying crucible of his suffering, it “hallows” even his tongue so that he can give thanks amidst the incalculable weight of his pain and loss (Homily 1 on the Statues, an analysis of which is here).
Gregory the Great
In Gregory the Great’s conception, Job’s suffering ushers him in to stand in the "fullness of Reality." For it is only here where Job can recognize that everything emanates from the Maker—good and bad; loss and gain; life and death. And so he can declare,
“The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away"
precisely because he sees in the loss of all his possessions that they were never his own "private property” to begin with, but rather emanations from the Divine. And what’s more, he is being drawn by their loss to more fully understand
“He who has within him a 'Fullness' that is eternal, is not made empty by the loss of things that pass away."
Job is stripped of all his earthly goods so that he may enter a fuller “Interior Reality." Because Job knows the "Maker," he recognizes that even the "taking away" is a "move into" a deeper reliance on the Source.
Basil of Caesarea
And finally, Basil highlights in all of this not only external loss, but also internal harrowing. Man, as he notes, may lose "antecedent" wealth (Job 1) and remain a "stoic" because the soul has not yet been "touched" (And remember here that Basil studied philosophy with Gregory Nazianzen at the greatest school of their time at the University of Athens, so he would have been well-versed in the writings of the Stoics, from Zeno of Citium [who himself lost everything in a shipwreck just before arriving in Athens…and grew through this loss into becoming the organizing founder of Stoicism) to Epictetus’ Enchiridion to Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations and likely even Seneca the Younger’s writings on "On Providence," etc., etc.)
The Sincere Cry (Chapter 3): Basil argues that Chapter 3 is the "Breaking of the Dam." In his view, Job’s lament is the "lifting up of the eyes" through the "heave with tears." It is not a sin, but a "sincere" admission of the creature’s limits. He famously suggests that silence in the face of such a "multitude of mountains" (unbearable pain) would be a "False Promise" of strength that man does not naturally possess without God’s "Help."
Basil the Great studied in Athens (c. 351–356 AD) alongside Gregory Nazianzen. At that time, the philosophical curriculum was a "Fullness" of Classical thought. He would have been deeply steeped in:
Epictetus: The former slave whose "Enchiridion" (Manual) taught that we should only care about what is within our control (prohairesis). Basil’s description of Job's early response (1:21) mirrors Epictetus’s idea of "returning" what was borrowed.
Marcus Aurelius: While his Meditations were private, his "Stoic" influence on the Roman/Greek world was pervasive. Basil’s concept of the "lowly body" being a mere "vessel" or "house" for the soul is a classic Aurelian theme.
Seneca (The Younger): Though Roman, Seneca’s writings on "Providence" and "Why bad things happen to good people" were standard. Basil uses Seneca’s logic to explain the "Steady Decline" of health as a "Testing Ground."
Zeno of Citium: The founder of the Stoic school. Basil would have studied Zeno's logic regarding the "Still Point" (Logos) that governs the universe.
But when the hágos of the boils strikes (Chapter 2), the "house" of the self is invaded and he does not fall into despair, but "strikes the devil in the face" with his silent endurance.
Then at the close of these unspeakable events of suffering and loss, Job breaks out in lament (for literally
The Lament: By Chapter 3, Basil sees the uncontrollable sobs as a "purgation." The soul is "lifting up its eyes" through tears. He teaches that Job’s lament is the "sincere" cry of the creature to the Creator, admitting that the "multitude of mountains" (the pain) has become too heavy to bear in silence.
When he still is shown to “hold fast his integrity,” such that more horrors come onto his own person with a disease so horrific that it bears the name “Job’s Disease”—so brutal and excruciating that I still almost have PTSD from seeing it only one time in the hospital as a resident.
The overall discussion will tie into the writing, '“The Metanoiaics of Suffering” on a metalevel, but the specifics will be guided by the Parable of the Wheat and Tares, honing in on Jesus’ interpretive phrase,
“An enemy has done this…”
Part II will stretch back to the preceding Parable of the Sower, which forms the wider context of the Parable of the Wheat and Tares enabling deeper insights into the dynamics of suffering and the interrelated realities of flourishing.
And with those words, we begin.
The Parable of the Wheat and the Tares: A complete entrance…into one perplexing arena of the Kingdom
We start with the opening verses of this second of the seven Parables of the Kingdom in Matthew 13, moving through it phrase by phrase.
“Another parable He put forth to them, saying:
‘The Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way.
But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared’” (Mt 13:24-26)
“Another parable (parabolḗ)…”
The Parable begins ,
“is like…” (homoióō)
This verb is not, interestingly enough, given to us in the present tense. Rather it comes to us in the aorist. As we will explore in greater detail below (and which will be reviewed in great detail in an upcoming three-part series on the Timeless Tense), Matthew signals to us in a word that what follows provides a completed picture.
Now, it is obviously not the completed picture…since Jesus will add to it five more Parables, but in a certain very real sense, it is a completed image of one dimension of the Kingdom.
And so we ask,
Which dimension?
In the very first words, we are immediately confronted with the eternal dimension:
“The Kingdom of Heaven…”
Not an ephemeral, passing political regime voted in for a time only to be ousted in a matter of years; but an everlasting Kingdom; a Kingdom which spans Heaven and Earth, the seen and the unseen realms; a Kingdom which reigns over man, angel and demons alike.
This is the arena.
And every single thing which happens to us in our little life within this arena here on earth necessarily includes all of the celestial dimensions above and beyond it.
This, as we will see, is a vital (but often neglected) element that can help us better grasp the oftentimes inexplicable nature of suffering.
Why is this all happening??
Why here?
Why now?
“It makes no sense”: The concentric circles of grief expanding outwards
Which were the exact questions confronting a SAS British special forces veteran, who opened up in a recent interview…not about his more than 18 overseas deployments…but regarding the tragic death of his mother (1.55.30).
She operated a small beef farm and had stepped outside, shouting back to her husband that she was “off to the butcher,” just like any other typical day.
Within seconds, however, in the street outside their home, she who was struck by the car, driven by her 80 year old neighbor and friend.
“It makes no sense. This is utterly tragic...”
With no answers as to why,
“To my dad, this was too much.
…He was utterly destroyed.
Something he was never going to get over, ever."
And for the elderly neighbor who had hit her,
“…it just destroyed her life.”
Again, all this happened in a matter of seconds.
By the time he made it home from his deployment, she was dead.
And his father, increasingly overwhelmed with grief at the sudden, unexpected, “unresolvable” loss of his wife of forty years, soon developed a rare stress-related cardiomyopathy, commonly known as Broken-Heart Syndrome.
Within a year from the death of his wife,
“on the 23rd of December…
He had a massive heart attack…and his head fell through the plaster wall in his house”
only to be discovered days two days later on Christmas Day.
Again, utterly perplexing questions as to why both his mother was taken in an instant and hid dad suffered for the next year in a near continual “crushing period of stress.” Then on Christmas Day, both are gone.
Again, the questions,
Why did this all happen??
Why here?
Why now?
The psychoneuroimmunology of the tares internalized in our physiology
In the final analysis, the diagnosis underlying the breakdown:
“He was overcome with physical grief.”
Because
“When you’re in an unrelenting loop of stress…from that level of grief, that level of shock…”
the deep and painful emotions overtaking our psychḗ cause a massive release of catecholamines (adrenaline/epinephrine and noradrenaline) that flood the cardiovascular system, reaching a toxic threshold that functionally paralyzes the heart.
This is the very real dimension of psychoneuroimmunology—The complex interplay of how our thoughts and emotions (psychḗ) interact with our nervous system to modulate our immune functioning in ways that can enfeeble it and finally break it down.
Trapped in the cycle of these intrusive, painful thoughts of bitter loss, which now became his controlling emotional center—his hegemonikon—the resultant hormonal stimulus built up in a way that physiologically stunned the bottom of the heart (the cardiac apex). With the apex then paralyzed, but the top of the heart continuing to pump normally, the the asynchronous cardiophysiologic processes literally reshaped his heart into the form of an “octopus pot” (the Japanese word for Tako-tsubo, which underlies the formal diagnosis of this condition, Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy).
In his father’s case, the end result was worsening disability, a final heart attack and an early death in his 60’s.
Again,
“It makes no sense.”
At least from the vantage point of the earthly dimension. Both healthy. In months, both gone and the children left to pick up the pieces.
From the Parable, we may see this as an act of “an enemy.”
And the very real physiologic effects of internalizing the stress of the painful loss, we may see as “the tares.”
And tares are all around us.
Tares in the Kingdom of Heaven?
Yet we ask,
Are there tares in the Kingdom of Heaven
First instances in Mt 4 and 5
An “enemy came” … and What did he do?
“Sowed tares among (aná méson) the wheat.”
And Why exactly would God allow this to happen?
“So the servants of the owner came and said to him,
‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field?
How then does it have tares?’” (13:27)
A very legitimate question.
And the Owner offers his servants a very simple response in reply:
“He said to them,
‘An enemy has done this’ (13:28a).
No explanation as to Why.
No psychologizing about the nature of evil.
No detail about who the enemy is.
Just a simple statement that this is what happened; this is how it is.
If so, what next?
If all this is true and there is an enemy hidden among us, who is actively seeking to destroy our fields, What, then, is to be done?
“The servants said to him,
‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’” (13:28b)
Again, the owner give them a very simple response
‘No.’
Yet He gives his reasoning as to why:
“But he said,
‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them” (13:29).
That is to say, we simply cannot tell the difference between the wheat and the tares.
Why don’t we know the difference?
That is to say, even with all of our doctrines and creeds and Sunday Schools and communicants classes and Bible studies and small groups, is Jesus claiming that we still cannot know who in our churches (cf. Mt 7:15-23), who in our workplace (cf. Mt 24:40-42), who even in our own family (cf. Lk 17:32-34) is finally a genuine believer?
The answer seems to be ‘yes.’
But we ask,
‘Why is that the case?
Does not Christ clearly say to us,
“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.
You will know them by their fruits” (Mt 7:15-16).
That is to say, their true identity will be revealed in time.
But what if we have not been given enough time to clearly discern what fruit they are producing, be it
grapes or thorns, figs or thistles…good fruit or bad?
wheat or tares?
Look at the image below:
Can you tell the difference?
Who, then, can know the difference?
The agricultural concept of mimicry
In the above image, the tares look strikingly similar to the wheat in the early phases of growth.
The reason being that both the wheat (Triticum aestivum) and tare (Lolium temulentum) belong to the same grass family (Poaceae) and exhibit nearly identical morphological appearance as seedlings and young plants.
From the image we can see that they both share slender, linear leaves.
They both have similar height progression.
And they both have the same green hue coloration. and overall habit (erect, tufted growth).
In agricultural ecosystems, this is known as mimicry and the similar appearances between wheat and tare a specific example of Vavilovian mimicry (also known as crop mimicry or weed mimicry). Here the weed grows to closely resemble the crop in regions where wheat is cultivated, making visual differentiation unreliable until further maturation occurs and the reproductive structures finally develop.
Christ’s call for patience
And so with all of this background, we may have a bit more insight into why Jesus responds with both a word of caution and a command for continuing patience:
“Let both grow together until the harvest.”
As in to say,
“You’re simply not going to be able to figure it out in this life.”
“The demonic pathways of mimicry are too sophisticated for you.”
Which may be a reason why we have local, national and even global leaders in the Church whose fruit is not revealed until 10, 20, 30 years into their ministry, or sometimes even years after their death altogether, when the mimicry is finally exposed.
The true identity of so many in our circles will not be revealed until the Last Day, when this word will be spoken,
“And at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers,
‘First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn’” (13:30).
Again, Jesus does not give any details. He only confirms that
1. The true identity of both will be at last revealed; and
2. Both will be judged accordingly.
In exploring this further, we look to two more Parables.
The teachings of the Fathers on the the Enemy and his deception
The Fathers of the Church teach, in short, that the devil counteracts Christ in everything.
In the words of Chrysostom (347-407 A.D.),
For indeed this also is a part of the devil's craft, by the side of the truth always to bring in error, painting thereon many resemblances, so as easily to cheat the deceivable…
After the prophets, false prophets appear;
After the Apostles, false apostles;
After Christ, Antichrist will appear.
Until the devil sees what to counterfeit, he does not begin anything and even does not know how to set to work. Therefore even now, when he has perceived that he can no longer carry off, or choke, or scorch that which has been sown and has taken root, he invents a different kind of deception, namely he sows his own seed."
Or we can refer to an early document from the 1st century known as the Didache (or The Lord's Teaching Through the Twelve Apostles to the Nations [Διδαχὴ Κυρίου διὰ τῶν δώδεκα ἀποστόλων τοῖς ἔθνεσιν]) which, we should remember, was quoted by the Apostolic Fathers as holding the authority of Scripture itself. As such, this text is recognized as the oldest, extant catechism of the Church (with a line-by-line commentary here).
In the closing chapter, filled with Gospel references (Mt 24-25, Mk 14, Lk 12 & 21-22), it begins with a series of imperatives calling the people of God to watch in readiness given the reality of testing and trials in this life:
16:1 Watch concerning your life; let not your lamps be quenched or your loins be loosed, but be ye ready, for ye know not the hour at which our Lord cometh.
16:2 But be ye gathered together frequently, seeking what is suitable for your souls; for the whole time of your faith shall profit you not, unless ye be found perfect in the last time.
And the reasons offered are due to the coming spirit of deception of the Antichrist, referencing the repeated warnings in the Pauline Epistles (II Pet 3, II Thes 2 following Mt 24):
16:3 For in the last days false prophets and seducers shall be multiplied, and the sheep shall be turned into wolves, and love shall be turned into hate;
16:4 and because iniquity aboundeth they shall hate each other, and persecute each other, and deliver each other up;
This is where the “Deceiver” enters:
And then shall the Deceiver of the world appear as the Son of God, and shall do signs and wonders, and the earth shall be delivered into his hands; and he shall do unlawful things, such as have never happened since the beginning of the world.
16:5 Then shall the creation of man come to the fiery trial of proof, and many shall be offended and shall perish; but they who remain in their faith shall be saved by the rock of offence (pétra skándalon) itself.
16:6 And then shall appear the signs of the truth; first the sign of the appearance in heaven, then the sign of the sound of the trumpet, and thirdly the resurrection of the dead
16:7 -- not of all, but as it has been said, The Lord shall come and all his saints with him;
16:8 then shall the world behold the Lord coming on the clouds of heaven (where the text concludes).
Or, finally, to quote John of Damascus (650-750 A.D.) in his Accurate Exposition of the Orthodox Faith (a new translation of which we featured here by Fr. Dragas):
Book II, Ch. IV, Concerning the devil and demons:
All wickedness, then, and all impure passions are the work of their mind. But while the liberty to attack man has been granted to them, they have not the strength to over master any one: for we have it in our power to receive or not to receive the attack(4). Wherefore there has been prepared for the devil and his demons, and those who follow him, fire unquenchable and everlasting punishment(5).
Note, further, that what in the case of man is death is a fall in the case of angels. For after the fall there is no possibility of repentance for them, just as after death there is for men no repentance(6).
This teaching applied to the OT, NT…and us…by questions
In contemplating the reality of evil present as early as the Creation itself, we ask…basically….why human history happened the way it did?
Why, to go back to the very beginning, did Eve turn away so quickly and Adam with her…while there were in literal Paradise in the presence of God?
When the community of God’s people were beginning to form, Why were the Israelites led into slavery…for 400 years? Generation after generation being born into and dying in bondage and affliction?
When the Kingdom was then established under David, the Messianic King, Why did he fall, his family splinter and the kingdom of Israel eventually fall apart?
In this extended, hard-to-watch process, Why did the Northern Kingdom so completely turn away that it was carried away into captivity never to return?
Why, then, was the Southern Kingdom, who in many ways received the Word, and its capital of Jerusalem with the very Temple itself finally destroyed in a manner of such violence and brutality—starvation, pillage, fire, rape, infanticide—that is almost unspeakable?
And Why were the Prophets who foresaw all of these things and faithfully warned God’s people so persecuted, rejected and murdered?
….
Then to carry these questions forward into the NT, Why was the true and final Messianic King, the very Word of God Himself, called a blasphemer…by none other than the religious leaders themselves?
Why was He so bitterly opposed during His life on earth by the ones He came to save?
And Why did they falsely accuse Him?
Condemn Him?
Torture Him?
And finally crucify Him?
From Jesus’ own mouth:
An enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way…
A closing word
Again, this is only one dimension, and not the only one (as we contribute a lot more than we think to this whole picture…); nevertheless, it is a dimension. And as such, we should take Jesus at his Word and then follow the words of the Fathers in their exhortations to be fully aware of such evil of the enemy and watch in faith and readiness.
For as we do this, then we experience not simply the hardship and pain and sorrow…but the powerful, redemptive working of the Messianic King Who Himself endured such bitterness and Who became as the Suffering and Dying Servant the One Who renews all of life into the New Creation in His Body broken and Blood shed.
Amen!
So let it be!