Lord, lead us in the way everlasting
Jesus’ parable of the wheat and the tares (or the wheat and the weeds) is, of course, a description of life as we know it.  Not everything, certainly, goes the way we would like it.  Our own lives are not quite what we would like them to be, always.  So, the wheat and the tares describe our lives, describe the world in which we live.  But the parable, in and of itself, points to a bigger picture, and calls for a degree of patience—in light of the big picture, the final outcome.
Now, I would like, actually, to speak about the Old Testament passage, and, in fact, the big picture, which is the story of Jacob, right from his birth until he returns from his travels back to his homeland.  The reason I do so is because, here, in this passage from the book of Genesis, which spans several chapters, we do have a big picture—a picture which enables us to see our own lives, and develop a sense of patience, and look to how God is building and directing those lives.
We encountered Jacob in the passage that Louise read to us—at Bethel.  Jacob has come from Beersheba, which is in the south of present-day Israel, and is on his way to Haran.  Now, there are those in the congregation who may be able to tell me which country Haran is currently located in—whether it is Syria or whether it is Iraq.  In any case, it is to the north.  So the trip that Jacob took was from the south of present-day Israel via Israel itself either into northern Syria or current-day northern Iraq.
He stopped for the night.  One of the stones served as a pillow for his head.  He had a dream, and the dream concerned angels ascending and descending on a ladder.  There are promises made to him in that dream.  When he awoke, he remarked, “How awesome is this place; this is the very house of God.”  And, in fact, he called the place “Bethel”, which means just that, “house of God”.  Also, right at the conclusion of the passage, we hear that Jacob made certain vows.  The vow included words such as, “If God will indeed provide for me food, and drink, and clothing, and bring me back to my father’s house, then I will make this place special, and will a give a tenth of whatever You, God, give to me.”
So that’s where we encounter Jacob in the whole sequence, that begins quite a bit earlier.   When Jacob was born, his mother, Rebekah found out that she was having twins, and learned, by special inspiration, that the younger—namely, Jacob—would be master over the older—namely, Esau.  Or, to put it the other way, the older, Esau, would serve the younger, Jacob.  And this, in fact, is what took place.
At a service, a couple of weeks ago, we learned that Esau returned from the field, and was ready to sell his birthright to Jacob; and Jacob was quite happy to buy it from him, for a “mess of pottage, as they say.  Also, in another circumstance, Isaac, the father of Jacob and Esau, felt that he was in his last days, and thought he should bestow on his eldest son the paternal blessing for the first-born.  Well, here again, Jacob, with the help of his mother, Rebekah, stood in for Esau—in fact, tricked his father, Isaac, into giving the paternal blessing reserved for the eldest to him instead, the younger one.  This, of course, made Esau, very angry indeed, and, indeed, Esau vowed to kill Jacob once his father had died. 
There were other circumstances which encouraged Jacob to leave the family household, and to journey to Haran, in present-day northern Syria or northern Iraq.  And, on the way he stops in Bethel, as we hear.
He continues his journey, however, and eventually meets a young woman at the well.  Her name is Rachel.  She is the daughter of Laban his uncle.  I won’t go into all the details.  But, first, he marries Leah, the eldest, and has two servant-women as well, with whom he has children, Zilpah and Bilhah, the latter servant being associated Rachel, whom he also marries.  He develops a large family—in fact, eleven children in that land; the youngest is born in the land of his father—this youngest child being named Benjamin.
However, Jacob, the trickster, the one who had taken advantage of his brother by first obtaining his birthright and then the paternal blessing reserved for the eldest, found his match in his uncle.  His uncle, at every turn, seemed to want to trick him out of something.  And, in fact, Jacob, in order to get out of the clutches of his father-in-law, had to escape with his flocks and now a family of eleven, including two wives and servants.  On the way, Laban and his men overtake them.  Again, I won’t go into all the details.  But these two come to an agreement, that neither one will harass the other.  They set up a cairn at Mizpah, and there is a benediction pronounced, “May the LORD watch between me and thee while we are absent one from another.”  Then Jacob is able to go his way with his whole big family and flocks, back to the land of his father and mother.
But, of course, he has to deal with the fact that he has tricked Esau out of the paternal blessing, and, eventually, has to face his brother.  And so, at the river Jabbok, after he has sent ahead gifts to somehow appease Esau, and, after he has set his family in companies, he himself remains behind, and, during that night, he has another a vision, another encounter, an encounter with a divine being, whom he feels is the L0RD himself, a divine being with whom he wrestles, right until the break of day.  As part of the content of that experience, he is given a new name.  He is no longer to be called Jacob, known as the trickster.  He is to be called Israel, the one who has contended with God and human beings, and has come out successfully.
The next day, he meets Esau, and Esau greets him in a forgiving and gracious spirit.  Jacob remarks about Esau that, when he saw Esau’s face, it was like seeing the face of God, because, in that face, was grace and forgiveness.  Eventually, he comes back to Bethel.  And, shortly afterwards, Rachel dies, and he buries Rachel.  We needn’t continue further along in the whole account.  That’s a large chunk of the book of Genesis.
The passage, of course, tells us about the big picture, about how God leads a human being, and blesses a human being.  This person who went with nothing to Haran comes back blessed in quite a significant way.  Also, as part of the return trip, Jacob was given space in which to develop as a people, without being harassed by the neighbouring group under Laban, the Arameans.  Finally, he experienced forgiveness from Esau.
All of this represents the big picture.  And, in that big picture, we can perhaps see our own lives.  Day by day, they are full of good and bad.  Some days may feel better than others.  But the big picture tells us to look out for God’s grace, God’s blessing, over the long term—how he leads us, through faith in his Son.  Also, in the picture, we see that God gives us space to develop as human beings.  We are not under the thumb of another person.  We are to develop ourselves, to be the children of God that God wishes us to be—again, in relationship to Christ.  And, also, over the long term, we can consider how we have been able to be reconciled with other people, and find ways to live amicably and peacefully together—all signs of God’s grace.
So the big picture, that the whole account concerning Jacob shows us, is encouraging.  It tells us to look beyond just the present and the troubles of the present, to what God is bringing to fruition, and the signs of God’s goodness along the way.
Jacob had this journey—an outward journey—and returned blessed   But there was also, one could say, an inner journey, that took place, particularly as he was about to encounter Esau, his brother.
In the inner journey, which involved, among other things, an encounter with a divine being, an encounter which is described as a wrestling match, he came forth with a new name, a new identity.  He was somewhat injured we are told; he limped, because the angel or whatever it was, had touched his thigh, so that was out of kilter.  But this new identity meant that he was able to relate to people no longer as the trickster of old, but as a person who was open to God, and open to others in a way that was more in keeping with the name that he was given.
We ourselves are called on an inner journey.  We have the outer signs of God’s grace, God’s blessing.  But there is an inner journey that we are all called on to follow.  It’s an inner journey that can be a struggle, because it may involve repentance on our part, a change of heart.  And, as a result of that experience of wrestling with God, we may find that we are the “poor and contrite of heart”; our heart is changed from being proud and even being manipulative of others, to being more open and receptive to God, and also receptive to the people that God puts in our path.
So, the big picture includes these outer elements, but also this inner journey, whereby we are given a new identity through our faith in God, faith in Christ—forgiveness of sins, and reconciliation with God, peace with neighbour.
One last element of this big picture that helps us to live day by day, in patience and hope, is the note about Jacob that he made vows.  Jacob said, at Bethel, “...If God will indeed be my God, and will provide me with food and clothing, and return me to my father’s house, then I will set aside this place in a special way as Bethel (“House of God”), and I will give to you, O God, a tenth of what you gave to me.”  Jacob made that vow.
He came back to Bethel.  We do not hear just how fully he fulfilled his vow.  But he came back, and again poured oil on the stone.  In the big picture, God was at work, enabling Jacob to fulfil the vow that had made.  And God enables us to fulfil the vows that we make during our lives.
And those vows are not insignificant.  In fact, because of those vows, our lives are structured the way they are.  Our lives attain the reliability that they have because of God enabling us to fulfil those vows.  And, because of those vows, whatever they may be, our own lives are strengthened.  They are part of the way in which God builds us, develops us, as human beings, and as his children.
There are vows we make in the marriage relationship, of course.  There are vows even if you are a scout or a guide, I believe.  There are vows in fraternal organizations of various sorts.  And, of course, there are vows in the Church.  We make vows as we become members.  Some of us make vows as elders, either ruling elders or teaching elders.  And those vows structure and determine our lives.  Also God enables us to fulfil those vows, whereby we make a commitment, in the case of the church, to its worship, its work in the world, and our part in it—in terms of giving, and the energy and gifts we have to share.
So, all of this is the big picture, which the whole account of Jacob exhibits.  And, because of this big picture, we can live, day by day, not worrying so much about getting rid of the “weeds” or getting rid of the bad stuff which is part of our lives, or being impatient about it, or being impatient about other people.  Rather, patiently, we live in the signs of God’s blessing that he gives us over time, in the inner journey he leads us on, which brings us a change of heart, and in the vows he encourages us in, whereby we are strengthened and developed as human beings and as his children.
So may this big picture that God shows us, through Jacob, be a source of hope and strength to us, a source of patience, as we live day by day in the experience of wheat and weeds, in the hope that God will ultimately bring all this picture to its clarity and completion that we look for.