In this weekend’s Gospel Jesus once again uses a parable (story) to advance His message about the “Kingdom of God.” The story we hear is called the “Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds.” Here’s the story…Jesus presents a wise and patient God who allows both good and the evil to coexist in the world. God actually blesses the evil ones for the good they may have done in their lives…but, God hopes that the “evil ones” may come to leave their dark deeds behind them before their time on earth ends. In other words, God waits and waits and waits for each of us to turn our lives around…while He’s waiting, He gives us the strength we need to not only acknowledge our weaknesses, but also to leave them behind for good. It would be good for each of us to check ourselves as far as judging what appears to us to be the dark deeds of others…and then condemning them for their actions. If God Himself is patient with sinners and longs for them to turn their lives around, what makes us think that we should be judging others. Through the parable of the wheat and the weeds in today’s Holy Gospel, Jesus calls us to be patient with those who appear to fail to meet the expectations of a good Christian. Let us patiently and lovingly treat the “weeds” in our society as our brothers and sisters and by our goo9d example do all in our power to put them back on the right track. Think about it, all of us have been weeds in God’s field more than once, and God has showed us mercy. God is so merciful. Through the power of the Spirit, God can change even the ugliest thorn into a blossom of faith. In God's field we have two responsibilities: to grow in grace and to share His Word and love with others. Let’s put our minds and hearts to the task! A bishop was sailing for Europe on one of the great transatlantic ocean liners. When he went on board, he found that another passenger was to share a cabin with him. After unpacking his bags, he went to the purser and inquired if he could leave his gold watch and other valuables in the ship’s safe. He explained that he had just met the man who was to occupy the other berth in his cabin and he was afraid that the man might not be trustworthy. The purser smiled, accepted the valuables and remarked, “It’s all right, bishop, I’ll be very glad to take care of them for you. The other man has just been up here and left his valuables for the same reason!” Today’s Gospel reminds us that we should not judge others hastily. There is a lot of good in the worst of us and a lot of evil in the best of us. In other words, the best of us are still "weeds" in God's garden. GOSPEL QUESTION FOR THE WEEK: Have you pulled the weeds in your own “garden” lately?