The farmer in Jesus’ story planted good seed in his field and expected a great harvest. Soon a host of sturdy green shoots sprang up, covering the field from end to end. It looked as if it would be a great year.
But then one morning he discovered weeds growing among wheat. Not just an odd weed here and there, but weeds everywhere. I bet he got a terrible shock and was bitterly disappointed. When he looked at the field now, all he could see were the weeds. The wheat seemed to have disappeared.
Sooner or later the weeds appear in our field as well - a friend betrays us, a partner disappoints us or proves unfaithful… We somehow prepare for the badness of bad people we expect, but the badness of good people takes us by surprise, and hurts even more. If that happens, for a while at least, we tend to see everything as bad - we become very negative.
Instead of reacting quickly, what did the farmer do? Well, for one thing he calmed down. This enabled him to see things in better perspective. True, there were some weeds in his precious field. But there was wheat there too, wheat that was just as green and vibrant as ever. He would have to be humble and patient. He would have to work hard on the wheat, coaxing and encouraging it in the hope that it would outgrow the weeds.
We should not despair either. The world is a mixture of light and darkness, good and evil. Wheat and weeds grow side by side in the same person, indeed, in ourselves. But all is not lost - there is good there too. No one understood this better than Jesus. Even in the small garden (that is, the twelve apostles) which he tended carefully for three years, the weeds persisted, yet he didn’t write it off.
While we may encounter evil in this world, the goodness of the people is not far away either. A good example is our Vacation Bible School two weeks ago. So many people dedicated themselves to show our kids what it means to follow Jesus through the Holy Mass. 85 children participated in this program along with 80 volunteers, both teens and adults. In a special way, I would like to express a sincere gratitude to Julia and Sophia Gomez who organized and implemented this program. All volunteers! THANK YOU! Without your help, our kids would have a great time with the Lord. Most of all, I give the best kudos to our Lord, our God who allows us having a great time in Him.
-Fr. John Kim