Cutting through the weeds

By Norm McGraw

https://bible.usccb.org/readings/calendar
Jeremiah 7:1-11
Matthew 13:24-30

Every week I have lunch with a good friend of mine where we discuss what we’ve been doing since we last saw one another. Although we usually have something positive to say about our experiences over the previous week, we frequently lament over problems we’ve had to address since our last meeting.

This may be like situations that you may have faced with your own friends. Often you may find that you and your friend discuss difficulties you’ve had recently. So, the issue becomes how to overcome those difficulties.

I think this week’s daily readings give us the guidelines on how to deal with these mini crises, both major and minor, that we face in our everyday lives.

In the second reading, from the gospel of Matthew (Matthew 13:24-30), Jesus tells the crowds the parable of the good seeds and the weeds. In agriculture, a weed is defined as “any plant or vegetation that interferes with the objectives of farming or forestry.”  In farming, a weed can also be defined as “any plant growing that is not wanted”.

In this parable, Jesus talks about “a man who sowed good seed in his field. While everyone was asleep his enemy came and sowed weeds all through the wheat, and then went off.”

I believe “the enemy” who sows the weeds in this story is the Devil. But the weeds themselves seem to be those problems, both great and small, that we face in our lives.

Jesus, continuing with the parable, explains that the slaves of the householder came to him and asked, “Do you want us to go and pull them (the weeds) up?” He replied, “No, if you pull out the weeds you might uproot the wheat along with them. Let them grow together until harvest; then at harvest time I will say to the harvesters, ‘First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles for burning; but gather the wheat into my barn’.”

In other words, Jesus is telling us that we will experience personal tragedies in our lives here on earth. To be frank, it’s part of the reality in our lives. 

In effect, Jesus is saying to us that we must “deal with it.”

So how do we deal with it?

The first reading from the book of Jeremiah (Jeremiah 7:1-11) gives us a plan. Jeremiah urges his people of reject false deities and embrace the word of God. To quote: “Hear the word of the LORD’. “Put not your trust in the deceitful words.” The prophet exhorts his people to deal justly with their neighbor.

In effect, Jeremiah is telling them that following God’s word puts them on the road to salvation. 

Isn’t acting the way God wants us to act the secret to dealing with the problem "weeds” in our lives? By following God’s plan, don’t we ensure that we remain the good seeds, gathered up as wheat at the end of the harvest? Isn’t following God’s plan the best way to complete our journey to that lovely — “dwelling place” — heaven — mentioned in the responsorial psalm today.

Once again, Scripture reveals God’s way for us. As someone told me recently, the letters of the Bible could be construed as abbreviations for the phrase “Book Instructions Before Leaving Earth.”