We have this powerful parable about the weeds and the wheat. Now, the wheat seeds knew that they were wheat and weed seeds knew they were weed, weeds. But you know, how do they really know that they’re good or bad? How do they really know?

The wheat’s just growing up as seeds grow and weeds are growing up as seeds grow. How does one know that it’s wanted and one know that it’s not wanted? How does one know that it’s good and one know that it’s really an interruption to the whole story, the whole program?

When it comes to wheat and weeds, um, you know, we know the difference. But Jesus is talking about more than wheat and weeds. Isn’t he? He’s talking about being His disciple and what it means to be His disciple, what it means to act as His disciple. And then, what it means not to be a disciple.

You know, here in the realm of faith it’s not as easily distinguished. Although, Jesus does give us some very clear examples. I want to share a quick story about a brother and sister.

They grew up in Chicago and they grew up with, you know, their parents and going to mass. But then, the daughter kind of fell away from faith, but the son when he got married continued in the faith.

And they both lived their lives -son, brother, daughter, wife or sister I should say. The sister and brother lived their life just normally and, uh, the brother lived as a faithful man and the sister lived without faith.

And things were going along okay until one time the sister had a horrible loss of one of her grandchildren -as time progressed on. She lost her granddaughter. And she was inconsolable. She was just inconsolable. And the brother tried to console his sister at the loss of his great-niece. Tried to console his sister but his sister looked at him and said, “Look, thank you for the consolation, but you brother-you have faith. I don’t have anything that consoles me.”

In that very moment she realized she was without. Without faith and some might say she was lost. And she, perhaps, didn’t even know until that moment that she was lost.

Friends, Jesus invites us, with this parable He invites us to not only remember that we are called to be disciples -the wheat of the world- but He also calls us to have a heart for the lost. A heart for those who maybe don’t even know that their lost.

How do we as Jesus’ disciples keep our hearts and our souls and our beings open to those who are lost and struggling and looking for connection in the world?

Looking to have what we have, which is a deep faith in Jesus our savior that we receive at the eucharist. How do we have a heart for the lost?

The weeds and the wheat are indistinguishable. I mean, we know how to separate them and certainly the servants knew how to separate them. But when it comes to souls we’re called to have a very deep love and heart for those who are lost or disconnected.

As disciples can we recommit ourselves to doing that?