“When the crop grew and bore fruit, the weeds appeared as well.” Now being a farm girl I know that weeds are never welcome. They distract from the process of growth. They interfere with the plan. They can become destructive and overpower the fruit. Get them out before too much damage is caused.
However, upon reflecting upon my own weeds, I can see that they might serve a valuable purpose. I think the important thing is to do my own inner work and determine what is “wheat” and what is “weed”. They can be confusing you know. Perhaps the uprooting is necessary but as Jesus declares in time, all will be harvested and the destructive weeds will be eliminated. In the meantime, can I learn something from my own weeds? It is possible that in yanking out the weed some wheat would be eliminated as well.
Obviously, Jesus is much better than I am at determining wheat from weeds. He alone knows what is inside my heart and is full of compassion and mercy rather than harsh judgment. Today’s gospel causes me to reflect on what my weeds are teaching me. I have been about doing damage control these past few days because of a public statement I made that sounded judgmental and even unkind. After reflecting on what I said, I realized that I left out a very important sentence. My spirit was killed because of comments I heard during a presentation not because of the presenter or the content of the report but rather the uncharitable comments I heard around me as the report was being given. The wheat and weeds were confused. And I came across to some as judging, rude, unkind, unchristian. My heart knows what I meant and Jesus does too, and hopefully the harvest will be worth the pain of misunderstanding.
I ask for the grace to safeguard the gifts of wheat and to let go of the weeds in my own heart that I might contribute to a just and fruitful harvest.