A Reflection for Saturday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Find today’s readings here.
Patience is a virtue that I struggle with more than others. I have a seemingly uncontrollable necessity in my life to take care of problems immediately, with little time to think about my plan of action. Sometimes I’ll even make decisions on a whim that lead to bigger problems later. Today’s Gospel challenges my lack of patience.
The man sowing the good seed has a problem: Weeds are rooting through his crop. He did everything he should have to foster good seed, yet weeds still crop up. Like the man in the passage it is easy for challenges in life to spring up without warning. It doesn’t matter if you live each day to its fullest in a way you deem to be perfect; tomorrow, anything can happen. That being said, I see this not as a warning, but rather as a call to face these challenges, ones that will inevitably occur, in a spiritually mature way.
During high school, I had a falling-out with a group of friends. Eventually, we all confronted each other about various grievances we had with each other and decided not to speak to each other anymore. This falling-out came out of nowhere and led to many lonely days. As I reflected on the situation even right after I regretted the way I approached it. I responded rashly and caused the situation to be exacerbated further. Like the man in the Gospel, weeds had begun to grow around the good seed I had planted. However, instead of waiting until harvest, I pulled the weeds at the stem and caused the good seed to be uprooted as well.
It sometimes seems easier and more tidy to uproot the weeds growing around seeds early and quickly, but this can damage the potential harvest. Similarly, overcoming challenges like a falling-out with friends are things no one wants to deal with, let alone in a slow and patient manner. Nevertheless, accepting challenges with patience is key to moving forward successfully from them. Most challenging moments in life require perspective, and perspective only comes with time. Of course, that’s not to say that weeds can’t still have an effect on growth, and many plants might grow in a lopsided or warped way due to their effect. Yet the plants will still grow and foster a harvest.
The point is to let the plant continue to grow and fluctuate even under the weight of the weed. I know there will be times of frustration where I will still pull up the weeds and uproot my seeds, but it’s important to still remain patient and resilient. Yes, there might be some misshapen plants along the way, but hopefully a plentiful harvest still can be gathered.
