Sixteenth Ordinary

Matthew 13: 28 – 30

Jesus continued, “The farmhands asked, ‘Should we weed out the thistles?’ He said, ‘No, if you weed the thistles, you’ll pull up the wheat, too. Let them grow together until harvest time. Then I’ll instruct the harvesters to pull up the thistles and tie them in bundles for the fire, then gather the wheat and put it in the shed’”.

In one of the more affluent suburbs of Melbourne, in front of an expensive home, there is a front yard that looks uncared for and virtually abandoned. It has made the news because the new owner has taken out the green, unmowed lawn and let the yard revert back to its natural, grassland state. This was done much to the chagrin of the neighbours who consider it to be an eyesore and a blight to the entire community. Next to their trimmed bushes and landscaped lawns, it looks strikingly different and a little wild.

There are no lack of critics, not only of gardens and yards, but also of human behaviour. They are quick to pass judgment about other people’s actions and preferences. They feel they are right no matter what anyone else says. And they want to set their way as the standard that all are expected to follow and aspire to live by. In doing so, they run the risk of throwing out what might be good with what they consider weeds.

We are all of us human. We should let God be the judge of our actions. We have enough to do worrying about ourselves without trying to judge others at the same time.