If you are anything like me, you are a fan of instant gratification. Whether Amazon Prime isn’t fast enough, or your instant noodles aren’t as instant as you want them to be, many of us in modern society do not like waiting. In fact, I cannot wait until next weekend, when our parking lot is finally finished being repaved, so I can park next to the rectory again—and we haven’t even started the project yet!
But how much more often do we desire instant results when it comes to the injustices we see in our world? When we are slighted—whether truly or simply in our perception—we often want instant justice. We want it now, and we want the person to “get what’s coming” before the next email refresh, before the next news cycle, before we have to confront the uncomfortable reality that good and evil can exist together in the same field.
This is where Our Lord’s parables challenge us. In Matthew 13, Jesus tells us about a field where good seed is sown, but while everyone is asleep, an enemy comes and sows weeds among the wheat. When the servants notice what has happened, they ask the householder, “Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where have the weeds come from?” The answer is simple: an enemy has done this. Then the servants ask the obvious question: “Do you want us to go and gather them?” But the master responds, “No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them. Let both of them grow together until the harvest.”
This weekend, the Gospel reminds us that God’s timing is different from ours, and that impatience can lead to mistakes—even sincere ones. Because we are not simply dealing with weeds. We are dealing with a field where wheat is present as well, and sometimes our attempts to eliminate what is wrong can unintentionally harm what is good. God is not telling us to be indifferent to evil. Rather, He is teaching us not to confuse our anger with righteousness and not to rush into a judgment that ultimately belongs to Him.
But the parables do not simply tell us to wait. It also reminds us that the Kingdom of God grows—often slowly and quietly. Jesus tells us that the Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed: the smallest of seeds, yet when it grows, it becomes the greatest of shrubs. He also compares the Kingdom to yeast mixed into flour—something small that works through everything until the whole batch is leavened.
That is the spiritual reality: God’s work can be real even when it appears small.
This matters because all of us here are imperfect people. We make mistakes. At some point, every one of us has chosen something worldly over God. And yet God does not throw us away. He continues to work in us—in our hearts, in our families, and in our parish—often in ways that we do not recognize until much later. The Church reminds us that prayer brings forth fruit with patience.
So, returning to the image of the weeds, many of us would like them gone right now. But our desire for instant answers can distort our vision and make it seem as if God is not paying attention. The Gospel gently corrects that temptation: the separation comes at the harvest. The Son of Man will send His angels to remove the causes of sin and evildoers, while the righteous will shine in the Kingdom of their Father.
So how do we accept this reality? We accept it by living faithfully in the meantime—by allowing God to shape us, not only so that we may endure, but so that we may grow.
We do this through prayer, because prayer teaches us to trust God in every circumstance, even when we would rather have things fixed immediately. We do this by asking the Holy Spirit to help us see clearly, to act with prudence, and to respond with charity rather than impulse. And we do this by embracing the spiritual disciplines the Church gives us, so that our hearts are not ruled by resentment, but by love.
And then, bit by bit, God makes something grow. Even if what begins in us is as small as a mustard seed, it can become something beautiful and fruitful in time.
So, brothers and sisters, let us cultivate our hearts for God. Let us allow Him to grow and mature our faith in His time, not ours. Let us be patient with ourselves and with one another—without pretending that evil does not matter, but also without taking shortcuts into condemnation. Because ultimately, God’s plan is greater than anything we can imagine.