“’Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where have the weeds come from?’ He answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’ His slaves said to him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’ He replied, ‘No, if you pull up the weeds you might uproot the wheat along with them. Let them grow together until harvest” (Mt 13:27-30).

One of my favorite trees is a Maple. When JoAnn, the kids, and I moved to Florida twenty years ago, I did not believe that Maples grew in Southern Florida. A few years after we moved into our home, I was walking in our backyard and thought I saw a maple leaf. I squatted down for a closer look and found that not only was it a maple leaf but a sapling with three leaves! I carefully cleared some of the grass around it, but otherwise let it be because it was so small. As it grew I cleared more around it. Today it is a fully mature Swamp Maple!

A few weeks ago, I saw a new Maple sapling emerging, though this time poison ivy was growing in the brush and weeds around it. I sprayed poison ivy killer, thinking I was carefully avoiding the Maple. Unfortunately, I must have gotten some of the poison on the Maple leaves because it shriveled up and died.

You can understand why I related well to Jesus’ first parable in today’s reading. The master warned his servants to let the wheat and weeds grow together until they were more mature at the time of the harvest, so as not to pull up the wheat with the weeds. Weeds in this verse is translated from the original “Greek [as] zizanion [which] refers to a noxious weed that in its early stages closely resembles wheat and cannot be readily distinguished from it” (Harrington, 204). Both, in their immature state, were indistinguishable.

The practical application for us is to recognize the importance of resisting the temptation of judgment. We may be quick to judge or even condemn someone who is not living what we believe our faith tradition dictates, or maybe the person is of another faith or no faith. Even those who commit heinous acts of evil, we may feel justified in our judgment to condemn. Jesus says no. The Father is the ultimate arbiter and judge.

All of humanity has been created in the image and likeness of God, we are a unique gift to this world, we have been created good, yet we all fall short of the glory and grace of God. God the Father will judge at the end of time and only he knows the time or the hour. We are rather to be about following the teachings of Jesus, repenting, and encouraging others in the maturation process which can include, convicting others at times, yes, but condemning, no. As St Paul wrote: “We who are strong ought to put up with the failings of the weak and not please ourselves” (Romans 15:1).

May we resist the temptation to spread the poison of judgment, gossip and condemnation, otherwise we are promoting death, as I did with our second gift of a Maple that withered and died. Let us instead welcome, nurture and care for one another, promoting life, as I did with our first little gift of a Maple. We need to pray for patience, understanding, and the ability to forgive and seek forgiveness in our interactions with each other. Life, even when going well, is hard. We need each other if we are to mature and actualize the fullness of who God calls us to be. “Encourage each other while it is still today” (Hebrews 3:13).

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Mass readings for today, Sunday, July 23, 2017:
http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/072317.cfm

Harrington SJ, Daniel J. 2007. “The Gospel of Matthew”. In vol. 1,
Sacra Pagina Series, edited by Daniel J. Harrington, 204.
Minnesota, Liturgical Press.