16^th Sunday in Ordinary Time   revisited

Gospel – Matthew 13:24-30

Be Patient, My Child

Tied Up in Knots!

Many years ago, I remember one summer when it was time for our daughter Jaime to learn how to ride a bicycle.  So I took off the training wheels, she climbed onto the bike and proceeded to take off.  I followed close behind, holding onto the back bumper, trying to keep the bike upright and trying to make sure she didn’t fall.  It was exhausting for both of us.  I thought I was being a good dad by doing everything I could to keep her from falling.  But it didn’t work.  We were both getting frustrated.  Finally, she had had enough and she banished me to sit on the front porch while she worked it out on her own.  It took time and it took a lot of patience, something neither one of us had much of at the start of the process. I was getting impatient with the process and she was getting impatient with me.  Patience was in short supply.  But in the end, patience won out.

In today’s Gospel, we hear the parable of the weeds among the wheat.  A man sows good seed on his farm and then one night, after all have retired, his enemy comes and sows weeds among his crop.  His servants discover the deed when the weeds begin to sprout.  And they ask the master whether they should pull up the weeds.  And he says no; if they did, they would end up pulling up the wheat as well and destroy the crop.  Rather, he says, wait until harvest time.  Then harvest it all, separate the weeds from the wheat and then destroy the weeds.

For most of us, we see this parable as a story about the Last Judgment, when God will separate the good from the bad, the weeds from the wheat.  And the image we have of God is that of a just Judge, a god who rewards the good and punishes the wicked, a stern God who doles out punishment on the Last Day.

But maybe there is something else going on, something more than just a lesson on Judgement Day, something more than just picturing God as Judge.  Maybe there is another lesson to be learned.  When the weeds are sown along with the wheat, God doesn’t take immediate action; He doesn’t jump in and destroy the weeds.  He waits!  He lets the weeds grow along with the wheat. 

Every one of us makes mistakes; we falter.  But our sins of yesterday are not the end of the story.  Every one of us has the opportunity to learn and grow from our mistakes.  The possibility of growth is available to us all.  And that is what’s happening here.  God is giving the weeds the chance to learn, to change!  Our God is not just a God of the Law.  He is a God of love and compassion.  He is a God of patience.

We all tend to be impatient or frustrated whether it’s with ourselves or others, whether it’s with learning to ride a bike or rushing to get a job done.  Life can tie us up in knots that seem unsolvable.  But unlike us, God is willing to wait, to take His time!  And He reminds us today that even though we stray, we can grow and convert, we can change from that weed to wheat!  God is patient!

And so we pray today for the gift of patience – patience with ourselves and with others.  We pray for the wisdom to learn from our mistakes and we ask God for the grace and the strength to recognize that, even as sinners, we have a future, if we trust in God!