Focus

Slow your breathing and become aware of the taking in and letting out of your breath. Focus on putting things aside so you will be open to what God is saying to you today.

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Read

Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43

He put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field; but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well. And the slaves of the householder came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then, did these weeds come from?’ He answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The slaves said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ But he replied, ‘No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them. Let both of them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.’”

Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples approached him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.” He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; the field is the world, and the good seed are the children of the kingdom; the weeds are the children of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let anyone with ears listen!

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Reflect

We are born with an immediate awareness of our physical existence. If we don’t cry at birth, the doctor slaps us: “Welcome to the world!” Pleasure, pain, needs, appetites, fears, and limitations demand our attention and too often our devotion. Our earthly existence can captivate us entirely. It is completely natural to seek pleasure and avoid pain, but evidently, that’s not God’s ultimate priority for our lives.

Arguably, the main theme of this parable is that God will save the righteous and condemn the wicked, but there is another less explicit truth. We get a clue when God rejects the angelic suggestion to immediately remove evil. God deliberately lets evil and suffering exist.

God’s inaction means good and evil live in the same neighborhood. Racism and Samaritan love happen on the same road. Generosity and exploitation share a duplex. We can even see this truth within ourselves. Right within me is both hope and jealousy; there is forgiveness and bitterness, service, and selfishness. Right around the corner from my kindness is revenge. And God allows it all to grow up together.

God uses everything, including evil, to form us into the likeness of Christ. Suffering shapes us in ways contentment never could. Pain can even heal us. As Niebuhr said, hardship is a pathway to peace. It’s good to hate evil and work to oppose it in ourselves and in the world, but we shouldn’t be offended that God allows it. Evil in the world serves God’s purpose for us. If the cross of Christ is an indication, suffering is the very means God uses to loosen the grip this world holds over us and to fit us for the life to come. Those sanctified here and welcomed there will shine like the sun.

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Pray

Lord, we live best when we are centered in You. Our cares and needs in this world are important to You. We need things here to survive, but do not let earthly things be the purpose of our lives. Grant us grace to not be offended by You or by what You allow. If suffering, difficulty, and hardship are the means by which you loosen this world’s grip, then we accept it for You have always been faithful and good to us.

Go with God!