Daily Gospel Reflection for July 27, 2019

Today's Gospel: Matthew 13:24-30 When I was single, I lived in a little cottage with a small front lawn. I couldn't afford a gardener, so I mowed the lawn myself. I did my best to take care of that lawn, but my next-door neighbor didn't care about his front yard. I used to think of this parable when, despite my efforts, the dandelion seeds blew over from my neighbor's yard and grew into weeds on my lawn. Of course, this parable is not really about agriculture or gardening. In this passage, I see Jesus giving us answers to some age-old questions: Why do bad things happen to good people? Why do those who do evil seem to escape justice? Why does the good that I do fail to produce the outcomes that I expect? Whether we are talking about farming or our lives, the most important part is the end: the harvest, or our eternal life. Did we stay firmly planted in God's loving soil despite the proverbial weeds in our lives? Whether or not the beautiful head of lettuce I bought at the farmer's market grew up among weeds never really crossed my mind. So too, in the final judgment, the evil ones who escaped justice on earth and the troubles we faced despite our best efforts will surely seem irrelevant. Our task here on Earth is to grow in God's love so that we might become fruit that is fit for the heavenly banquet.