"Let them grow together until harvest"
Ws 12: 13, 16-19
Rm 8: 26-27
Mt13: 24-43
There is a saying
that goes: “If you want the rainbow, you
gotta put up with the rain.” We
might lay that on the Gospel this Sunday and say: “If you want the wheat, you
have to put with the weeds.” This Sunday we again hear from Jesus the
storyteller, whose frequent method of teaching were parables. They are essentially simple stories that
challenged those who heard them, to think differently about their lives and
about how we feel life should be for us.
They were taught to see the world in a different way.
Yet, the “kingdom of heaven” Jesus speaks about
cannot be limited to just one story.
These parables are like pieces of a whole or a small window on a large
wall. There is much more and many layers
of meaning to them but their basic truths are timeless.
Clearly, along with
the additional two parables used in the longer form of the Gospel today about
yeast in bread and the amazing growth of a tiny mustard seed, Jesus is teaching
something to us about the wondrous mystery of our spiritual growth. He reveals
to us that God is at work in the world often in silent, gradual, and mysterious
ways that may not be obvious to us. Yet,
we are asked to be patient with this divine master. We are not called to be
fatalistic about things – whatever happens, happens – but to find a way to
respond more fully in the realities of our lives to what Jesus is showing us
about our values and expectations.
If we think about
the first parable with wheat and weeds growing together, on one surface it was certainly
a reasonable request of the slaves of the Master to remind him that an enemy
snuck in here and has sown weeds among our wheat. All of our hard work may be
lost so we need to pull up the weeds so the wheat will grow more freely and we
have better crops. Good idea!
However, the Master
advises them to leave the crop alone and let them grow together. “If you
pull up the weeds, you might uproot the wheat along with them.” This seems practical because the weeds may
have intertwined roots with the wheat.
And besides, are you sure you know which is which? So, let them grow and
eventually, the separation will come at harvest time.
While that may seem
like wise advice, the impression of the parable reminds us of that hidden work
of God who allows both good and evil to grow side by side. Yet, when we think of it, our days are a
combination of life and death, of good and evil, of sometimes having to
tolerate what may seem like a noxious choice in order to bring about a greater
good. Still, why does God tolerate evil in the world? The question is as basic and ancient as the
book of Job. Why do bad things happen to
good people? Or better, why do good things happen to bad people? The only
reasonable answer to that is some form of, “To bring about a greater good.” Yet, our human limit of what is fair or just
is confronted with God’s vision.
Yet, the medical
community for all of their advancement may need to put patients through some
very uncomfortable treatment in order to achieve the good of healing. I think of cancer patients who are asked to
tolerate the rough treatment of chemotherapy.
No doctor, at least that I’ve ever met, enjoys inflicting discomfort or
pain on their patients but they know that a temporary treatment may be
necessary to achieve the hope of good health.
It’s all in a way a symbol of what we know in our everyday experience. The
larger evils such as war, hunger, suffering of the innocent still are questioned
in light of this. Here, perhaps, is
where we are called to heroic faith.
Some of the
greatest Saints of the Church were produced as a result of great suffering like
the martyrs of ancient Rome who suffered greatly at the hands of evil Roman
emperors. Martyrs in our own day that our Holy Father Pope Francis has referred
to in the dark days of the present Middle East where Christian have been
targeted more than other religious groups for persecution and even worse. For
some, it may even be the increased diversity of the Church. When the family takes on new members, the way
of doing things may change a bit and the status quo is challenged.
In the parable of
the wheat and weeds, I think one of the most easily applied, we are called to
patiently put aside our own expectations of how we feel life should go. We can and should do our best to order our
lives well but we all know that “the best laid plans – often go astray” at
times.
Still, we can have
confidence that God’s mercy and love are never diminished by darkness but are
always greater and ultimately will win in the end when the weeds and wheat are
separated. I’ve often heard from folks
at funerals for example or when going through an unexpected health concern, “I
don’t know how people without faith could endure this.” Very good point – for non-believers, where do
you go?
Until that end time
comes, when God separates the wheat and weeds, how are we to live by faith? One
thing that seems meaningful from this parable is that God’s patience is
necessary to allow for the grace of conversion. In our second reading from Wisdom we hear: "And you taught your people by these deeds . . . that you would permit repentance for their sins." Our growth in virtue needs to be watered by our cooperation with God's grace - and that may take a lifetime - yet he has all that time and more!
In any community, particularly in a faith community where certain spoken
and unspoken standards of behavior are set, we see both those who embrace the
Gospel with seeming virtue and some who we may question whether they get it or
not – or if they even care or not. The
point may more be, how do I really know?
Isn’t it better for all to tend their own gardens and be more concerned
about the example I am giving rather than what my fellow member(s) may be doing
or saying?
When I see sin in
my own life, how seriously do I make an effort to overcome it? Do I allow my weeds to take over or my wheat
to flourish? For those family members
who have strayed away from the Church either through some unfortunate bad
experience or simply have become indifferent or lazy, how would it be best to
show them that the Church still has great value? How patient can I be to simply set the best example
and lift them up in constant prayer and gentle invitation? Am
I really as committed as I wish they would be?
God invites all of
us to embrace these parables not as entertaining stories but lessons in how we
are to live and the culture we are called to form – the “kingdom of heaven.” If we
made efforts to re-order our lives and the culture in which we live always for
the greater good, modeled after the virtues of love, compassion, forgiveness,
reconciliation, peace we see in the Gospel, the weeds may find they have far
less power or influence.
If we stopped
complaining about every little inconvenience and ache and pain, wouldn’t we
find ourselves more concerned about using opportunities of grace that come
along as moments of conversion?
If we are really
grateful to God for sending his Son who suffered greatly surrounded by the
weeds of injustice and rejection along with the wheat of many followers,
leading ultimately to the Cross and Resurrection – our salvation – we can see
how far less sacrificial lives as having a real purpose.
May our share in
the Eucharist be a call for us to model our lives on the Lord of infinite
patience who wishes to grace us with the wisdom and patience to be his
authentic missionary disciples in this world.
Just as the bread broken
was first scattered on the hills,
then was gathered and became one,
so let your Church be gathered
from the ends of the earth into your kingdom,
for yours is glory and power through all ages.
(Didache - 1st-2nd century)
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