Well, Jesus says something surprising
In this familiar parable.
It’s very realistic.
We hear the farmer sows good seed in his field,
But during the night the enemy comes and sows wheat
Among the seeds with the weeds.
Now, when both begin to grow, the servants are disturbed
And they want to act quickly
And pull out the weeds right away.
But what does the master say?
It’s actually something quite surprising,
“let them grow together until the harvest.”

This parable speaks directly, I think, to our world today.
We look around and we see goodness and generosity,
But we also see cruelty, injustice, violence, and fear.
And we ask ourselves: why does God allow this?
Why doesn’t God just remove all the evil?
The servants, in the same way, ask that very question.
And Jesus is in saying that evil doesn’t matter.
He’s teaching us that God’s patience is not weakness,
It’s mercy.
God’s patience is not weakness, it’s mercy.
If the weeds are pulled too early,
The wheat might be damaged.
And we’re reminded that God sees more deeply than we do.
God knows the difference between judgment and growth,
Between correction and destruction.
And so here’s the danger.
When people decide too quickly who is good and who is bad,
Who belongs and who does not,
We run the risk of playing God.
And we are not the harvesters.
God is.

Let me share this little story that helps, in a simple way,
Understand this Gospel.
There was a gardener who once noticed a plant in her garden,
And it looked weak and all tangled.
And she was ready to pull it out until a friend of hers,
Another gardener, told her, “stop. Wait. Give it time.”
And weeks later, that same plant bloomed into
One of the strongest flowers in her garden.
What looked like a weed just needed time.
And so it is with us.
That’s the way it is with people.
Grace takes time.
Conversion takes time.
Healing takes time.
And so the Gospel calls us not to ignore evil,
But to resist it in a different way.
By choosing patience over vengeance,
And hope over despair, and mercy over fear.
And our task isn’t about uprooting the world,
But becoming strong wheat,
Rooted in prayer, compassion, justice, and love.
God will take care of the harvest.
Until then, we’re called to grow as the good wheat, so to speak.
Be faithful, do good, stay rooted in God,
And trust that God will sort all this out in God’s own time.