P.S. From Chris Stefanick...
In the parable of the wheat and weeds (Matthew 13:24-30), which Catholics around the world heard in yesterday’s Gospel, a man sows good seed in his field, but his enemy comes at night and sows weeds among the wheat. When the servants offer to pull the weeds, the master tells them to let both grow together until the harvest, so as not to uproot any wheat by accident, and then after harvest, separate them—burning the weeds and gathering the wheat into his barn. Jesus told his apostles that the field is the world where good and evil (the children of the kingdom and the children of the evil one) grow together until the end of time, when the angels will separate the righteous from the wicked at the final judgment.
Lots to take away from this one, but my takeaway is one of the most powerful and underrated words in the spiritual life: RELAX.
When we see the evils in the world, the conflict in our families, and the imperfections in our marriages, so often we can’t sit still. We want the wrong righted. We want the weeds gone. All of them!
But what if they’re there for a reason? What if all the rubs and bumps and bruises we get from living in an imperfect world is a feature and not a flaw in God’s plan? What if the competing weeds are the very things that make the grains of wheat stronger and taller as they fight for their spot in the sun, and as they push their roots deeper as they compete for good soil? (That’s actually not far from how it works in nature—plants and trees really can grow taller under a little pressure.)
You’re not gonna get perfect in this life. Life is full of weeds.
Family members will annoy you.
All marriage issues won’t be completely resolved.
And you’re gonna live in a world where the wicked and the holy live side by side….actually it’s worse: you’re even gonna pray in a church where the wicked and the holy sit side by side in pews.
Of course we should work on healthy conflict, the healing of wounds, and all the rest. (And some weeds—like real abuse and serious sin—do have to be pulled. God isn’t asking us to sit still for those.) But don’t work at it all with the idea that we’re gonna grow old in a sterile field, thoroughly cleansed of every weed. They’ll always be there in this life. Jesus was clear on that point.
So maybe instead of expecting to successfully pull every weed out of life, we should ask the Master of the Harvest, “How do you want me to grow in the ground where I’m planted? How are you using the conflicts and discomforts to make me grow stronger—to make me more patient, humble, listening, and merciful?”
Because if we’re honest with ourselves, we’ll see that the real divide between righteous and wicked isn’t “out there.” It’s in our own hearts. Or, in the words of Solzhenitsyn, “the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being.” Maybe that’s why God lets the fields of our lives—on this side of heaven—get sprinkled with weeds. It strengthens the wheat in us.
So stop squirming so much and get used to the discomfort. RELAX in it, even. That prickly weed is part of the plan.
God bless you,
Chris Stefanick
Real Life Catholic