16TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME A
FARMER VS. GARDENER
MT 13: 24-30
MESSAGE
A member of the Little Sisters of Jesus, which is a religious congregation dedicated to working alongside ordinary factory, farm, and household laborers, said that while she was hired as a farmer, she realized the meaning of this parable about the wheat and the weeds. She learned by experience why farmers do not indiscriminately pull out young weeds at once so as not to endanger the also budding wheat.
You see, a farmer is not the same as a gardener. A gardener’s intention is often aesthetics. A farmer’s purpose is always productivity. The gardener will trim, cut, and uproot grasses of all sorts in order to maintain a well-manicured lawn. A farmer, however, will observe and patiently wait; he carefully weighs his decisions before he does something with his plants.
Our God is a farmer who understands that weeds always grow with wheat. To pull the weeds at once will run the risk of destroying the wheat as well, for as saplings, they look the same. He gives a chance for both to grow first, and then chooses the weeds apart from the wheat when they are distinguishable.
In the same way, God gives a chance to all his children before judging them; he withholds his condemnation up to the very end, only for those who truly reject his love. He exercises compassion on all of us, giving space and time for change and conversion.
REFLECT
This week, we are challenged to explore a different image of God. Stop thinking of God as a gardener who is concerned only for the external beauty of his lawn. Start thinking of God as a farmer who has compassion for all the plants; a Divine Farmer who patiently waits for our heart to bear fruit. Amen.
