He put before them another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field; but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well. And the slaves of the householder came and said to him, “Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then, did these weeds come from?” He answered, “An enemy has done this.” The slaves said to him, “Then do you want us to go and gather them?” But he replied, “No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them. Let both of them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.” ’ Matthew 13:24-30
Living is a complex and sometimes confusing project. We all like to think of ourselves as good and yet the world often demands that we play politics, fudge the numbers and push others out to get ahead. Living faithfully is hard when most of life is not binary, simple choices clear to us in black and white. Jesus promises that clarity only comes in the harvest time, which adds to our confusion. We are invited to live with the ambiguity, choosing love and justice at every turn.
Wondrous Creator, you have given us a verdant world
full of luscious fruits, grains and green vegetables
to harvest well and feed the whole wide world.
Often the wealthy control the fields and starve the poor
while we stand idle and watch the cruelty as we eat our fill
not willing to name the abuse so we can still be filled.
Help us Lord, to live in ambiguous times with love
not sidling over to the selfish and dark places
rather growing in your light of eternal love. Amen.
