August 2, 2014 Our job is not to pull weeds, but to keep sowing

People often say that they don't "get" scripture, that it is a bunch of stories about people from long ago and it uses references that are not understood by us today. 

While it can be challenging at times to sift through some of the nuances that we are unfamiliar with, to the soul who is open to the Spirit's movement, and the willing learner, scripture can speak volumes.

Let me give you and example.

In the Gospel of Matthew we read about the Parable of the Weeds, which is found in Chapter 13, beginning at verse 24 and picking up again at verse 36. 

Jesus is telling a parable about a man who planted good seeds in his field and then his enemy came along and planted weeds among them.  His disciples were asking about whether or not the weeds should be pulled out.  Jesus said no, let them stay and grow alongside the good seeds, because they will be separated out in the end.

There are a few things we might pull out of this if we are seeking some personal relevance to us today.

First, God is the sower in the world, which is his field, and his children are the good seeds.  The weeds are the evil one's children that poison the field.

It is quite clear that the judgment at the time of the harvest is not up to us.  We are not the ones to uproot the weeds; God will take care of that.

But how often do we try to make ourselves the harvester as we pass judgments on those around us, criticizing their faults and getting mad at them over their actions?  We may have good intentions, but it is simply not our job to try to straighten everyone out!

Maybe we should share in the planting and try to strengthen the good.

This passage can also give parents insight when they are dealing with a child who is a good seed being influenced by weedy friends or the culture.

As a parent, ask yourself, “Am I trying to uproot the weeds from my child’s life?  Is that what the parable tells me to do?”  The problem is, weeds seem to increase and grow ever stronger roots the more we try to remove them.


Maybe uprooting the weeds is not our job.  Perhaps being the constant in their life, being a good sower, the person who continuously re-seeds, is what we are called to do as sharers in the mission.

When we try to be the harvester, we may cause greater division.  This can leave families in shambles as personal offenses turn into lifelong separations.  If we are about the business of reconciling and forgiving, we can see that making ourselves judge may be futile.

It seems to me that the enemy, the planter of the weeds, would love to see a family’s members warring with each other.  We have to be careful not to fall into this trap, even with our good intentions, because the evil one uses our goodness to deceive.

Let us do the work that God has given us to do, which is to love, especially those who most challenge us.  Sometimes being a sower involves withholding unkind words of judgment.  Sometimes it is allowing others to forge their own path, even if it is not the one we would lay down.  Sometimes it means not getting lost in the present and retaining hope for future growth.

This work that we do can be a living act of spreading the gospel, which replaces hurtful words with actions of kindness, extends offers of forgiveness and reconciliation where they are most needed, and purposefully leads others to Christ in the process.

Undeniably, scripture is very relevant to us today, for it is God speaking to us through his Word.  The question, of course, is will we be the people that Matthew says have ears and ought to hear?

In the first chapter of the Book of Joshua, the Lord is speaking to Joshua after Moses has died.  In speaking about the entire law given to Moses, the Lord says, “Do not swerve from it either to the right or to the left, that you may succeed wherever you go.  Keep this book of the law on your lips.  Recite it by day and by night, that you may observe carefully all that is written in it; then you will successfully attain your call.”

The point is, we are to take God’s word to heart and live it.  We should know it so well that it is central to our way of life, and clearly, it is to be recited and observed, not just lived in silence.
(The Catholic Times, August 2-8, 2014)