God’s Shared Field: Caring for Both the Good and the Bad Alike
Listening to the Spirit
Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful. And kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created. And you will renew the face of the earth.
Lord, by the light of the Holy Spirit you have taught the hearts of your faithful. In the same Spirit help us to relish what is right and always rejoice in your consolation.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Listening to the Word
Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared. “The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’ “‘An enemy did this,’ he replied, “The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’ “‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’” He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.” He told them still another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough.” Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables; he did not say anything to them without using a parable. So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet: “I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world.” Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.” 37 He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. “As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear.
Reflection
We continue our journey with Jesus as He proclaims the Kingdom of God to everyone in the Gospel of Matthew. Even though the Kingdom of God is a mystery, Jesus always explains it in a simple way, using everyday examples from the lives of the people at that time. Today, Jesus teaches us through the Parable of the Weeds and the Parable of the Mustard Seed and the Yeast. Let me bring you to the first parable.
In the story, the helpers want to pull up the weeds right away. But the Master stops them to protect the good wheat. He says, "No, because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them." (Matthew 13:29). Then Jesus explains that the Master has His own plan, “Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.” (Matthew 13:30). It was a rather risky decision, but the Master chose to let everything live until harvest time. The Master chose to care for and tend to the wheat until harvest time, allowing it to live and thrive throughout its growing season.
If we look closely at the Master’s choice to let the good plants and the weeds grow together, we see how wonderfully God takes care of us. Think about the dirt in that field. To help the good wheat grow big and strong, the Master has to send rain and warm sunshine. But when He does this, He also feeds the weeds. God does not hold back His blessings. He does not starve the weeds just to favor the good wheat. Instead, He pours out His love on the whole field. This shows us how incredibly kind God is. He is such a generous Father that He even feeds those who turn away from Him, just to make sure His beloved children have everything they need to grow and be safe.
Sometimes, we pray and ask God to take us away from hard situations or to remove difficult people from our lives. We want Him to pull up the "weeds." But God’s protection does not mean keeping us in a perfect, glass greenhouse away from the real world. He places us in a messy world, but He promises to feed us with His love, no matter who or what is around us. We get our strength from the very same God who takes care of everyone else. When we look at our lives this way, we see that we do not have to worry. God’s love is so big that there is always more than enough to go around. He takes care of the whole field, holding nothing back, just to make sure you are safe, fed, and loved until the very end.
God does not protect us by hiding us away in a perfect glass house. Instead, His protection looks like a big, open field. He patiently holds back the storm, sends His rain to everyone, and whispers to us: "Just grow. I will make sure nothing pulls you out of my dirt."
Reflection Questions
Gospel Reflections
Beyond the Gathering: Loving Through Conflict
Allowing Jesus to Change Us
