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In Matthew 13:30, it is written, “Let the wheat and the weeds both grow together until harvest.” Being members of a community, some people have this wrong notion that we are perfect and therefore sinless. Well, I want to be perfect and sinless. The problem is I am not. Not yet. With a humble and contrite heart, I acknowledge that I am a sinner; that I am not perfect. That to a certain extent, I am a “weed.” In fact, I struggle every minute of the day to live a life that is truly pleasing to the Father. As of now, I am still far from it. But through the grace of God, I am quite confident that He will mould me close to perfection. And I thank the Lord for giving me the chance to mingle with the “wheat” that through this union, I may also become wheat someday worthy to be stored in His barn.

In the above parable, our most forgiving Father in heaven is so gracious to allow the weeds and the wheat to grow together and “even stopped his servants to uproot the weeds in its initial growth.” In real life, the Lord is giving all of us an equal chance to repent until “harvest time” comes.

In a recent conversation with Fr. Julius Haryanto, CM, he emphasized that we should welcome in church even those who are divorced or separated and are now living with another man or woman, because they are still our brothers and sisters in Christ. By welcoming them, it does not mean that we are tolerating their relationship. However, there are certain rules of the church that these people must follow, e.g., they are not allowed to receive communion while still in the state of sin. In another discussion with our Spiritual Director, Fr. Aurelius Pati Soge, SVD, he also stressed that we should not stop our brothers or sisters who are in the state of sin from attending our prayer meetings. Just like what Jesus explained in the above parable, we should give them a chance to repent and be converted. Let’s welcome them but at the same time encourage them to repent and walk away from their sinful ways. Again, this does not mean that by accepting them in our community, we are supporting their sinful activities. And this should be made very clear to them, lest they misinterpret our gesture.

In his book, Parable of Jesus, Fr. Steven C. Zabala narrated a story about a woman who was formerly an active church volunteer. She was asked by the new parish priest to come back and serve. She replied, “I will never come back until all the hypocrites in your church are gone.” I believe that sometimes, we are also like this woman. We are at times indifferent to our brothers and sisters who have gone astray.

Fr. Steven emphasized, “If this is how we view the Church, I do not think we will never stay in this Church. The Church we love will never run out of hypocrites. It will always have its bunch of sinners. It will always have disappointing members. It will always have weeds.” Further, he adds, “We can never find a community made of perfect people. We do not say this in order for the Church to remain sinful. We do not say this for us to have a grand excuse in enjoying our sinful ways and to be deliberate in our shortcomings. Far from it.”

The above parable reminds us once again how patient, understanding and merciful is our God. In the same manner, we should also be tolerant and patient with our fellow sinners in our Church. BUT we must encourage them to repent, ask forgiveness from our heavenly Father, who is full of mercy and love, and be converted. Let us pray: Lord forgive our sins and lead us to a life everlasting. Amen!

E-mail the author: ramon@genesis.faithweb.com