Let them grow together
In the gospel reading Jesus gives a parable of the kingdom of heaven. According to the parable a man sows good seed in his field. When everyone is asleep his enemy sows weeds through the wheat. When his servants warn him about the growing weeds he tells them to let the wheat and weeds grow together.
God's providence, God's knowledge, God's patience - these three elements are the values of the kingdom of heaven.
(a) God's providence
God does not keep his land - that is, the world - bare and empty. He fills it with goodness and takes care of it. He is the fountain of our life.
(b) God's knowledge
God knows about the evil in the world, and its origin. Kingdom of heaven is not an entity that is isolated from the evil, but to be amidst the evil, yet untouched by it.
(c) God's patience
God does not intervene immediately to pull up the weeds. The weeds when left by themselves tend to grow and become hard. Even when they are left to be themselves they don't change their nature. They remain weeds always. Moreover, they take in the water and other resources which are meant for the wheat. And they disrupt the growth of the wheat. However, the master is patient. Despite the outgrowth of evil in the world God does not intervene. He is patient so that people may change their evil nature. Divine providence is not indifference, but God's mercy.
In the first reading Jeremiah prophecies in front of the Jerusalem Temple. He points out to the presence of injustice among the people of Israel and invites them to shed their evil ways. He warns that the comfort zone of the temple will give away shortly.
The Lord says, "Has this house which bears my name become in your eyes a den of thieves? I too see what is being done."
Through God's providence the people of Israel possessed the land. God knew about their evil deeds. Still God is patient with them.
What are the lessons of these two readings?
(a) We need to retain our good nature, nature of wheat, till the end, even though we need to live among weeds. At times we may be tempted to adopt the nature of weeds. We must not yield to this temptation.
(b) We need to have divine patience in our lives. If the master had reacted upon heeding to the servants he would have pulled up wheat as well. Haste makes waste. When we lose patience we ourselves. Patience is a great ornament.
(c) We need to get rid of the servant mindset. The servant mindset wants perfection, immediate action, and annihilation of a few. But the master mindset seeks nearest perfection, patient waiting, and growth of all.
(Source: Fr. Yesu)
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