I have discovered I really like the parable about the weeds in the field (Matthew 13:24-43). This passage actually began a couple weekends ago with Matthew 13:24-30. It was the reading from the daily Saturday mass. It really struck me then but upon reading the continuation which was the Gospel for mass on July 30th with Matthew 13:36-43 caused me to go back and read the entire passage. You see, there were six verses that were skipped over, which contain the parable of the mustard seed and the yeast.
Let me just make a few things crystal clear in case you weren’t already aware. If you had told me when I was forty that I would one day attend daily mass (and actually want to do it), I would say you were definitely drunk. I never thought that I would want to attend daily mass nor miss it on the days that I am unable to go. If you had told me that, at some point in my life, I would actually read the bible, I mean just read the bible, I would have thought you to be insane. And then if you had indicated that I would actually find meaning in it, I would have suggested that perhaps you needed to be institutionalized. That was just not who I was (or at least I didn’t think that was who I was or I didn’t know that was who I was). But it’s funny how people can be changed when they simply open themselves up to that mere possibility. So rereading the passages from Matthew speak volumes for me personally.
Let’s talk about the weeds in the field with the wheat. Let’s just say I had, and still have, a lot of weeds in my life. My life is overcome by weeds, the weeds of worry, the weeds of anxiety, the weeds of shame, the weeds of fear, the weeds of dis-trust, the weeds of anger, the weeds of all things negative. But those weeds grow among a lot of good things as well, like friendship, love, concern, empathy, faith, kindness, compassion, hope, understanding, and the fruits of all things beneficial and beautiful. In tearing out the weeds all at one time, we also can remove the things that are bearing fruit. We need to carefully remove those weeds. Those weeds in our lives can also be ways in which we learn and practice things like kindness, compassion, empathy, etc. Eventually, those good things, those practices, help to actually “weed out” the weeds – all those negative things. As we grow in these areas, the negative areas seem to diminish naturally.
Then Jesus talks about the parables of the mustard seed and the yeast. These parables just remind me that we just need to sow small seeds of faith, hope, and love in order to yield big returns. Trust me when I say that my faith began very small, from next to nothing at all. As it has evolved and grown and deepened in the past 4 years, it reminds me that God can take absolutely nothing and make something out of it if we are willing to open ourselves to Him. If we are receptive to Him and are willing to sow those seeds with and for others, there are big changes in store. It is amazing how far a kind gesture can go in impacting someone else’s life. Those are the small seeds or the measure of yeast that we need to share with others, because there is enough to go around. And when we share it, it multiplies exponentially.
But there is always something tempting us to sow bad seed, those seeds are the seeds of doubt, fear, uncertainty, anger, disappointment, frustration, greed, avarice, conceit, and the list goes on. They will always be there to tempt us, to try to draw our attention away from God. That is why nurturing our faith, investing in our prayer life and working on our relationship with God is so important. When our relationship is strong, it is easier to resist those temptations. It is easier to remember that God loves us and that Christ is always with us, even in the midst of our struggles and failures, even when things seem their bleakest. If we remember this and keep God at the center of our lives, then no matter how bad the weeds might seem, they will never be able to choke out the wheat. So today, I encourage you to continue to sow the seeds of kindness – faith, hope and love – and please pray for me as I continue to pray for you.
Tattoos, Motorcycles, Beer, Bourbon and Faith 