God Will Make All Things Right

Jesus continues to use agricultural themes when speaking in parables in the Gospel (Matt 13:24-43) for the 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time: Weeds among the Wheat and the Parable of the Mustard Seed.

The Secret of Parables

Parables are like a hidden treasure and Jesus' words are like precious gems, "I will announce what has lain hidden". His vivid language creates images which can help us better understand the kingdom of God. He speaks of good and evil, wheat and weeds. In our garden we take care to ensure that weeds are under control. Weeds take water from the other plants and rob them of precious nutrients. But aren’t weeds also plants? Don’t they have a purpose?

Good vs Evil

Our world is a mixture of good and evil. There are people who have a wonderful attitude, are generous, kind, patient and never seem to complain. There are people who seem to wander off the path of beauty and become tangled up in a web of lies and self-destruction. I can’t help but think that God has a purpose for all creatures in his kingdom, even weeds and evil.

Living The Message

We need to learn how to live with them but we have the tendency to try and kill both. We could run out into the garden, pull up all of the weeds and we could go out into the world trying to rid it of all evil influences but if we do that, we risk pulling out some of the good stuff. The smallest of seeds grows into one of the largest of all plants, just as the smallest and humble of persons can develop into true greatness. I think the loving thing to do is to find beauty in the small beings in God’s kingdom, grow plants which discourage weeds from spreading and recognize, name and face evil for what it is: a force that cannot destroy us.