On The Side Of The Angels?

The parable in today’s Gospel Lesson is about a farmer who sowed good seed into his field. Under cover of the night, an enemy sowed “darnel (weeds) all among the wheat.” And when the new wheat sprouted and ripened, the darnel appeared as well.

We find it hard to imagine that someone would go to the trouble of purposely sowing bad seed in another person’s fields, but among the ancients this was a favorite method of revenge or punishment. According to most translations, the bad seed is what is nowadays called “bearded darnelle.” Darnel and wheat is a particularly insidious combination, because the sprouts of both seeds are indistinguishable, even to a trained eye. Consequently, the darnel cannot be weeded out as soon as it emerges, lest the wheat be pulled up by mistake. By the time the plants can be distinguished, it’s too late to weed out the darnel because the roots of the darnel and the roots of the wheat become intertwined.…