I wonder if Jesus is a terrible farmer or is he trying to make us think?
Jesus says that the kingdom is like somebody who sowed good seed in the field,
but then found that there were weeds growing along with the wheat. The
field workers ask if they ought to pull up the weeds, but the owner says, “No,
you would risk pulling up some of the good stuff at the same time. Just
wait till harvest and then we’ll sort it out.”
It is a ridiculous approach. It is the opposite of what you would
actually want to do. Most of us know from experience that if you don’t
control the weeds in your garden, by the end of the summer you might not even
be able to find your peppers and tomatoes for all of the weeds.
In this world, there is good existing alongside the bad. There are weeds
among the wheat. Of course, we like to think of ourselves as the wheat,
the good person, while the weeds are the bad guys. The question for us is,
“What do we do about those weeds?” Another question that might make us
uncomfortable, what about the weeds in my life?
We all have wheat and weed within us. I think we are both. We are all
capable of great things and terrible things. It might be more helpful to
think of the wheat and weeds being mixed up – in our world, in our community,
in our church, even within ourselves. We might ask ourselves: Why do we allow
weeds in our garden?
Thank God, He is patient. Thank God, He is loving. Thank God, He is merciful. That’s the good news of this Gospel. That Jesus sees the potential within each of us to be a weed or abundant fruit – and keeps giving another chance, keeps waiting, Because even when we’ve made a mess of things, even when our sins have caused a mess in our lives and hurt others, He can create something new.
So much is messed up in our world right now. But before I let that completely unsettle me and go down unproductive rabbit holes where I start making judgments and suggestions to the Lord on how things ought to be, I’ve learned it’s then that I need to stop… And to come back to being grateful, for example, knowing that the Lord has given me more time – to be attentive to my own weeds in my garden. And maybe that’s the Lord’s hope, His plan – how much better would the entirety of His garden look if we all were to do the same?
Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends who have many gifts of wheat like joy, kindness and compassion. We are grateful for these graces. However, when the weeds appear like impatience, anger and judgment let us learn to pray to be honest with ourselves and ask Our Lord for wisdom to burn the weeds out of our garden and grow to be abundant fruit.
