A very important aspect of the Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds, one that is easy to overlook, is the wisdom and maturity of the servants. If they had been immature or reckless servants, this parable might have ended in a different way, such as this:

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 then the owner replied, “No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them.” And one of the slaves answered, “Not me, Master! I know exactly the difference between wheat and weeds!!” And he went out and began to pull out the weeds but some of them turned out to be wheat, just as the Master had foretold.

I think too many Christians today are like such over-zealous servants who cannot tolerate the weeds. In their zeal to serve God, they go on a crusade against anyone they perceive as evil with the intention of cleaning up the church, the nation, or even the world. In the end, they often discover they have made a mistake.

Why then did the farm owner stop the servants from pulling out the weeds? We can think of two reasons.

First, the owner knew that the wheat would survive in spite of the presence of the weeds. The weeds might inconvenience the wheat temporarily but they would not choke them to death or take over the farm. Second, and this is crucial, he knew how difficult it is to distinguish between the wheat and the weeds.

They look so much alike. Only at harvest time could they be distinguished for sure by their fruits. If it were possible to distinguish with accuracy the weeds from the wheat he would probably not have prevented them. But he prevented them for this one reason, “lest in pulling up the weeds you dig up the wheat along with them.”

Jesus then went on to explain to his disciples that “the field is the world, and the good seed are the children of the kingdom. The weeds are the children of the evil one. This makes it clear that one of the lessons of the parable is that Christians don’t have to worry about judging who they think are the “good” or “bad” people of the world. Judging is for later, and judging is for God.

Sometimes, we just must allow what we think as good and evil live side by side in the world until the day when they will be known for sure by their fruits. We may have to be content just let what we think are “good and bad” people live in the same house, the same apartment building, the same convent, the same neighbourhood, the same country and in the same world, for the simple reason that we cannot absolutely identify, without error, who is “good” and who “bad.” That is God’s job.

Of course we all have our ideas of who the good and the bad guys are but, like the servants, we could be wrong. Faithful servants of Jesus are those who recognize this possibility, that they could be wrong, and so are prepared to stop judging. Intolerance, the desire to get rid of who we think might be “bad” people, around us, breeds fanatics who ultimately, end up being unfaithful servants.

Sometimes we spend so much time trying to find and get rid of the weeds, that we lose sight of the wheat. Jesus tells us: don’t worry about judging the weeds and the wheat. God may be alive and working where you and I, today, just cannot see it. Jesus and his angels will separate weeds from wheat.

You and I must work on being, good wheat.

Matthew 13, 1-23



Seeds on a path, seeds on rocks, seeds in the midst of weeds, seeds in good soil.
Jesus told the crowds many things in parables, stories from life situations or nature. The parable then, would leave the listener with some questions about how you should understand and apply the story, hopefully motivating us into deeper thought and reflection. We need to allow a parable to sit in our minds and hearts and bring us the sense that there is more here than we first think!


For many of us, like me, the image of sowing seeds may be limited to planting a small home garden. Still, I don't think that its too hard to imagine a person planting seeds on the four different types of soil: seeds on a path, seeds on rocks, seeds in the midst of weeds, seeds in good soil.


What is clear in the gospel, but not really spelled out, is that we have a choice. Each one of us here has been singled out, blest, to hear the Christian message. But, how do you prepare your life, what are the choices you need to make to prepare for those seeds of faith to be planted? You see, the amazing thing about this gospel is that God's grace, God's love is everywhere and grows everywhere.


But, what is this gospel saying to us today? I guess, what Jesus is saying is that “we are dirt!" Aaaah, but what kind of dirt? and what do we do with this "dirt?" or maybe "soil" would be a more acceptable term!


Seeds on a path, seeds on rocks, seeds in the midst of weeds, seeds in good soil.


Is your life, like the kind of soil that makes up a path? Do you hear the Gospel without really understanding it? What do you do in your life to deepen your understanding of your faith? Do you take the time to pray? read the Scriptures? Study the Scriptures? Or do you show up here weekly and hope like heck that the birds won't eat the seeds of faith planted in you?


Is your life, like the kind of soil that is filled with rocks? Do you hear the message of the Gospel, come up here to church, get excited and then by the time you hit the gate to the monastery on the way home, the message is forgotten, or dead? What do you do to nurture the Word that we've received, the Bread that we have shared? Do you share the faith you have received? How little we love the gospel if we keep it to ourselves.
Is your life, like the kind of soil that is infested with weeds? Do you acknowledge sinfulness in your life and the need for forgiveness and renewal? Do you see those aspects of your life that prevent the message of Jesus from taking deep root? In your prayer, do you do some daily weeding so that the seeds of faith can really grow and take root?


Is your life, like the kind of soil that is good, rich, dark and fertile? You see, the gospel today is not one that consoles us, makes us feel good, it challenges us. The life of God is always in us, either growing, or dying. There is no holding pattern. And eventually, we become what we choose.


The Eucharist reminds us that God's life will grow in our lives if we give it time and space. We gather here not as disciples who "have it made,” but as women and men and children open to God's action in our lives and ready to make whatever changes may be needed. God will support us. Far from forcing us to do something we do not want to do, God's grace enhances our freedom and enables us to accomplish our deepest desire: to bring forth "a yield of a hundred- or sixty- or thirty-fold."


Seeds on a path, seeds on rocks, seeds in the midst of weeds, seed in good soil. The choice is ours. The seed of faith is in you. Will you allow it to grow?

Matthew 11,25-30


As we now go back to the gospel readings from “ordinary time,” we’re about half-way through Matthew’s gospel with this Sunday’s reading. Jesus seems to be looking back over his activities and what his life and preaching had accomplished thus far. He considers what he has achieved, his successes, his failures, and he comes to this unmistakable conclusion: His message had practically no effect on the wealthy, the learned, and the powerful of ancient Jewish society.

The ones who seem to really hear his message and accept it with joy, are only a small group of disciples who come from the poorest and most humble parts of society. In fact, most often the people who accepted his preaching, were rejected, scorned, judged sinners, unworthy and outcasts, people no one else in “proper” society wanted anything to do with!

Now, you would think that if you really wanted to change the world, you’d have to start with the leaders, those with the most power and influence...Presidents, Church leaders, heads of commerce and business, and yet in Jesus’ time, these were the very folks that just seemed unable to hear and accept the Good News. But instead of being disappointed, the gospel of today begins with one of the very few prayers of Jesus: I bless you, Father, Lord of heaven and of earth, for hiding these things from the learned and the clever and revealing them to mere children.

These words do not mean that God purposely annoys the learned or the important people, or that He doesn’t like them. He is simply acknowledging a fact: the poor, the humble and the mostly lowly have been the first to accept and welcome Jesus’ words of freedom and liberation: liberation from hatred, fear, shame, and from sin.

We know that God is a friend of the just, that he favors those who behave well, while the gospel keeps repeating that Jesus’ preference is for the despised, those that nobody respects or wants: the blind, the lame, lepers, the deaf, public sinners, prostitutes. But why is this so?

Ah...because they are those who need his love the most, and know it. The wise, the wealthy, those who have knowledge and possessions often feel that they are “independent” or “self-sufficient” and of course, by very definition believe they don’t really need God in their lives, or just on Sundays.

And so each of us is challenged to place ourselves within this Gospel. Where do I fall? How much do I really admit I need the Lord in my life? Or do I kind of forget about God, until some crisis in my life or think that my religious vows, or just coming to mass each week is enough?

You see, what Jesus reminds us today is that ALL are welcome in this chapel, ALL are welcome to hear, accept and live the gospel. But, Jesus can only enter your heart, and soul and life, if you invite him. And you can only truly invite him, when you admit you need him. All are welcome and Jesus says to each one:

Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.

This is an invitation from Jesus to you, an invitation calling for a response. What will you say?