Homily Notes 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Are Weeds a Good Thing? 16th Sunday of Ordinary time.
When we were children we all remember the first days of spring. One of the sure signs of spring was that a certain weed would start to grow; the dandelion. To little children the dandelion is a beautiful flower. To adults, dandelions are a nuisance that needs to be eradicated. But even grown-ups make wine out of dandelions, don’t they?
What is a worthless weed? Sometimes it is not so easy to tell. Just like Jesus’ parables are not easy to interpret. Most of us have not grown up farming so it is hard for us to appreciate fully what Jesus is saying. But even the people who listened to him had to be confused. Matthew explains a couple of Jesus’ parables, but scripture scholars tell us that the Lord did not do that. Jesus’ parables challenge our way of thinking. Also, they leave unanswered questions.
Jesus tells three parables in the Gospel we just read. To us they seem disconnected. To the people of 1st century Palestine probably it seemed like what Jesus was saying was interconnected. All of what he said, led to similar questions.
The weeds and the wheat image is pretty straight forward. Weeds sown in a field of wheat cannot be pulled up without destroying the whole crop. Imagine if we went out in our lawn to try to pull up all the water grass that we find there this time of year. Our lawn would end up a rutted mess. We spray herbicide on the lawn which kills the water grass over time, but leaves the grass we like. Jesus says by his story that acting hastily can destroy everything.
The second image relates to something similar. The mustard plant was not something that was admired. The plant was considered a nuisance. To me a mustard plant sounds something like pig weed. Pig weed is an obnoxious plant that grows to be as big as a bush. The plant smells bad. Spikes grow all over it. Recently a new strand has started to grow that is even difficult to kill with herbicide. The plant is hard to pull out just as the mustard plant was difficult to remove. The idea that someone would go out to sow such weeds in a field must have seemed ludicrous to the farmers who listened to Jesus. But this is what Jesus said. Jesus seemed to admire this weed that could grow anywhere. He compared it to the Kingdom of God.
Finally, Jesus uses another plant as an example, a microscopic one. He speaks of leaven which is a yeast. We put yeast in bread to make it rise. Yeast causes decay. For the Jews, it was considered unclean. At Passover, they were not allowed to use it. Yet, Jesus points to it as a symbol of the reign of God.
What are we to make of all this? Jesus, seems to say, that what we sometimes consider bad is good. What we consider good is bad. Jesus says that we must be slow to judge. Most of the time we must leave it to God to pass judgements. Jesus does not have a rigid attitude. The Pharisees who listened to Jesus must have been beside themselves because they liked certainty.
We all can identify with what Jesus is saying because we all have the sins we condemn. We also have sins we commit. Maybe it is the sin of hypocrisy. We see it so often today in the political realm. Politicians can seem to go in whatever direction will lead to votes. Some condone behaviors that one leader engages in, but say the same fault in another leader is a terrible thing. Most of the time, it is hard to see any consistency. Religious leaders can be guilty of the same thing. In fact, we all fall into hypocrisy, especially as we try to live our Christian lives. Jesus is the only one to ever lived out the Christian ideal perfectly.
Sexual sin is another area where we seem to be quick to judge. But how many of us have not fallen in that area? Very often, it seems like we catch ourselves saying, “Well your sexual sin is obviously worse than mine.” We must ask ourselves, “Have I always been above reproach my whole life.” If we are honest, we know we have all struggled in this area.
In the end, what gives us confidence in our God? After all, we believe in the good news. What gives us hope? The allegory of the weeds and the wheat tells us that God gives us time. God is the farmer that does not impulsively start to pull weeds up as soon as he sees them. God is the one who waits until harvest. We have our whole lives to grow in grace. God is patient. Our God does not rejoice in condemnation. As Corinthians 13:5 says, “God does not dishonor others, God is not self- seeking, God is not easily angered, God does not brood over injury…. God’s love perseveres.” God is the one who constantly makes wine out of weeds. And it is that which gives us hope.
Please note: rough draft, grammar may not be perfect.