Wheat and Weeds 

   The gospel reading for this Sunday was the parable of the weeds among the wheat (Matt 13: 24 – 30).  A man sowed good seed in his field, but an enemy came at night and sowed weeds all through the wheat.  Some asked if they should pull up the weeds, but the owner said no, allow them to grow together.  They will be sorted at the harvest; the weeds will be burned, and the wheat gathered into the barn.

   The one who sowed good seed was the Son of Man, Jesus.  The enemy who scattered the weeds among the wheat was the devil.  The good seeds are the children of God, and the weeds are the children of evil.  At the judgement they will be sorted, the children of evil cast into the fiery furnace and the children of God welcomed into God’s kingdom. (Matt 13: 36 – 40)

   The parable reminds us that there has been evil among the good since and before the time of Jesus just as it is today.  We often think that the evil of our time is different, more wicked than ever before, but we are mistaken.  Evil always has been and always will be present in this world.

   It also speaks to the patience of God.  I think of St. Augustine; he led a life of sin and debauchery for many years before his conversion.  If he, a weed among the wheat, had been pulled up the world would have lost one of its greatest theologians and saints.  We are all sinners, to judge others is the height of arrogance.

   Those who wanted to immediately pull the weeds were like a lot of us.  We complain about those we see as evil in the world, we want to pull the weeds.  But it is not ours to judge.  Jesus is the judge, not you and not me.  We judge by appearance; He sees the heart.  We see the evil that they do today; He sees the potential for repentance, conversion, and even sainthood.