July
20, 2008
Waiting
for the Wheat
Sommer
in the Summer
There are still a few dates available in July and August for a visit
with your pastor. To set up a “Sommer in the Summer” visit,
e-mail or call Father Ralph and pick a date for some time together with
family, neighbors or friends.
Save
the Date
One date that Father Ralph will not be available to visit is the evening
of Monday, July 28th when he’ll be attending the Westbury Village
Board of Zoning Appeals at 7:30pm at the Westbury Middle School. The
Board will hear the application by SCO Family Services to use our Convent
Building as Westbrook Preparatory School -- a residential school for
24 students with Aspergers or High Functioning Autism. This is a perfect
fit for our building and our community and a great way to support families.
Plan on attending to show your support.
e-mail Father Ralph:
Past
Columns:
July 13: What
we Wear
uly
6: We Welcome Westbrook
June
29: Sommer in the Summer
June 22: Welcome
Father Jaime
June 15: Father
Gonzalo Lopez
June 8: What happened
on Sunday
June 1: Where
do you belong?
May
25: We are the Body of Christ
May 18: Trinity,
It's About Unity
May 11: We are
One in the Spirit
May 4: Who's in
Your Top Twelve?
April 27: Now
that he's gone...
April 20: Yay
Deacons!
April 13: Here
comes the Pope
April 6: Fresh Oil
March 30: What are you doing
for Easter?
March 23: Can Easter come
too early?
March 16: Which crowd is
yours?
March 9: We believe, yet...
March 2: Oil or Mud
February
24: What are you thirsting for?
February 17: Who are You
Wearing?
February 10: Just Say No
February
3: The January
20: Being Safer
January 13: Conversations
in 2008
January 6: Matthew's Magi
December 30:
What's Next?
Christmas
2007 Homily
Columns
from 2007
Columns
from 2005
Columns
from 2004
Columns
from 2003
Columns from 2002
I recently
stopped in at a local Long Island farm where they were growing fields
of winter rye -- they sort of look like wheatfields. The kind farmer let
me cut some bunches of the “wheat” to use for decoration in
church next Holy Week. (I like to plan ahead.)
I noticed that while at a distance
the field look like it contained only wheat, when I got up close, I noticed
the weeds growing at the base of the wheat plants. Jesus’ parable
about the weeds and the wheat came alive at that moment. It would have
been impractical -- actually impossible -- for the farmer to pull out
the weeds as the wheat was growing. He would have stepped on all the wheat
plants to get to the weeds. So he did what Jesus said the farmer did in
his parable -- he left the weeds alone. In a week or so, the farmer will
harvest the wheat here. Then he’ll run the plow over the field and
the weeds will be plowed. Gone!
This is a parable of patience.
We all have “weeds” in our lives -- those troublesome people
or circumstances that compete for our happiness. Weeds aren’t good,
but if our lives revolve around the weeds, then we give them more power
than they ought to have. Jesus urges his followers to persevere with patience
despite the weeds of life. In the end, he says, God will take care of
the weeds, so we don’t have to fuss about them.
How can we live free of weeds?
Well first, we must realize that we can’t. Weeds are part of the
human condition. Yet we don’t have to give them power. There are
some things that can help:
(1) Recognize the beauty in weeds. Little children joyfully pick dandelions
as “flowers” while we curse the invasion in our lawn. The
self-sowing Queen Anne’s Lace and Chicory that spring up roadside
add bits of color and texture to our travels. So too it can be with the
really annoying people in our lives: there is some beauty there, for they
too are made in God’s image. We just need the eyes to see.
(2) Look up, not down. If we grow toward the Son (Jesus) and not focus
on the weeds growing at our roots, we’ll have the right attitude
for living. Spend some time with Jesus this week and he’ll take
care of the weeding.
