Overheard: Wheat, Weeds ... and Cookies?

This week's Gospel reading included the Parable about the Wheat and Weeds.

At the end of the parable, of course, the harvesters collect the weeds and tie them together to be burned, and the wheat is put into the barn.  

The distinction is quite obvious to the harvesters. But note that the slaves are instructed not to try and pull the weeds out themselves.

Perhaps there is a message in there that we are not try and determine who is "good" and who is "evil".  God is the only one that can, and He allows them to remain until He comes again.  

As I reflected on that, I realized that we constantly try and label people as "good" or "evil" ... "right" or "wrong".  But how often do we really know?  How often do people change?  How often should we be holding up a mirror instead?

It reminded me of the Cookie Thief Poem, attributed to Valerie Cox:

A woman was waiting at an airport one night,
With several long hours before her flight.
She hunted for a book in the airport shop,
Bought a bag of cookies and found a place to drop.

She was engrossed in her book, but happened to see,
That the man beside her, as bold as could be,
Grabbed a cookie or two from the bag between,
Which she tried to ignore, to avoid a scene.

She read, munched cookies, and watched the clock,
As the gutsy “cookie thief” diminished her stock.
She was getting more irritated as the minutes ticked by,
Thinking, “If I wasn’t so nice, I’d blacken his eye!”

With each cookie she took, he took one too.
When only one was left, she wondered what he’d do.
With a smile on his face and a nervous laugh,
He took the last cookie and broke it in half.

He offered her half, as he ate the other.
She snatched it from him and thought, “Oh brother,
This guy has some nerve, and he’s also rude,
Why, he didn’t even show any gratitude!”

She had never known when she had been so galled,
And sighed with relief when her flight was called.
She gathered her belongings and headed for the gate,
Refusing to look back at the “thieving ingrate.”

She boarded the plane and sank in her seat,
Then sought her book, which was almost complete.
As she reached in her baggage, she gasped with surprise.
There was her bag of cookies in front of her eyes!

“If mine are here,” she moaned with despair,
“Then the others were his and he tried to share!”
Too late to apologize, she realized with grief,
That she was the rude one, the ingrate, the thief!

Hmmm ... all of a sudden I am hungry for some cookies.  

(Remember, no judging me!)

God Bless you.

A Twist on Poor Man / Rich Man

I was listening to Bishop Robert Barron's podcast on this weekend's Gospel, and he certainly gave me a lot to think about.  

This Gospel is one we all know well - about Lazarus, a poor man, and an unnamed rich man.  

First things first, I have always considered all of us the "rich man" in this reading.  After all, if you can read this blog, and type a response, you are richer than most of the world.  

Bishop Barron comments that being "wealthy" (remember, it is a relative term, and not just material) is not a bad thing.  Perhaps, he states, God has given us this wealth so that it gets to the people that need it most.    

What an inspirational comment!  Rather than feeling guilty that we have three meals a day (plus dessert!), can read and write, can afford a roof over our heads and a computer to blog ... we can act as stewards of God's treasures and be his "distribution arm" on earth.  

However, just when I had absorbed that thought, Bishop Barron turned that idea on its head.  He reflected that, perhaps, the rich are not just here to help the poor ... what if God also put the poor here to help the rich get to heaven?  What if all those beggars in the street, letters asking for donations, and volunteer emails are opportunities for us to take a step towards our Eternal Home?  

Either way, the guidance is clear.  Love one another, share your gifts, and care for those in need.  

God Bless you!

There's an "I" in "Rich Man"

In yesterday's Gospel, we heard about the Parable of the Rich Fool.  As I listened to it, I realized how many times the word "I" was repeated.

Then he told them a parable. “There was a rich man whose land produced a bountiful harvest. He asked himself, ‘What shall I do, for I do not have space to store my harvest?’ And he said, ‘This is what I shall do: I shall tear down my barns and build larger ones. There I shall store all my grain and other goods and I shall say to myself, “Now as for you, you have so many good things stored up for many years, rest, eat, drink, be merry!”’

Likely not a coincidence, of course.  Jesus is telling us that when we focus too much on ourselves, and not enough on others, we run the risk of being spiritually foolish.  

But, He is also telling us that this man thought and acted alone.  He did not seem to consult others (which was common back in those days).  He did not pray for guidance, or ask the religious leaders.  Any of those could have reminded him to share some of his wealth.

But this man, in his richness, has seemingly isolated himself.  

True, there is no "I" in team ... but there is one in "Rich Man".

God Bless you. 

Are we Really The Good Samaritan?

I was quite moved this week after hearing the first reading about Abraham's servitude again.

I know times were different back then, but could you imagine someone jumping to such generosity today?  I mean, Abraham did not even have a conversation with the three men standing near his tent before requesting that they stay and let him serve them.  

Today, sadly, most of us would probably keep our heads down or continue about our business, hoping we were not interrupted by someone we did not know.  

Abraham's actions also rekindled a thought that was burning inside me since last week's Gospel.  I've heard the famous Good Samaritan reading many times in my life, but as I read it last week, I realized  that I generally see myself - and most Christians - as the Good Samaritan.  

I reflected on that a lot this week.  

I kept asking myself ... in that story, am I really most like the Good Samaritan?  I came to the conclusion that most of the time, I am not.  Instead, on average, I am more like the man on the side of the road.  

Jesus is the Good Samaritan, and I need Him to come carry me.

He is, after all, the one that has paid our tab for eternity!


God Bless you.     

What the Servant with Two Talents Shows Us

Jesus gives us many lessons through the Parable of Talents.

He teaches us about servitude, expectations, judgement and hard work.  

But it dawned on me this weekend that we normally spend most of our reflections thinking about the superstar servant that delivered 10 talents back to his master, and the poor sap that only returned the one he was given.  

We never talk about the middle servant.

But he teaches us an important lesson about God.  

The middle servant only delivers his master 2 talents, versus 5 for his counterpart.  On a value basis, that is much less. 

But on a percentage basis it is exactly the same 100% return!  And if you notice, the master gives the exact same praise to him as he does the servant that returns 5 talents.   

The master did not give them all the same amount of talents (money) just as God does not give us all the same amount of talent (ability, skills, strengths, etc).  

But just like the master in the parable, God does not expect us to return the same total value to Him.  He does, however, expect us to deliver the most that we can based on what we were given.  

As a society, however, we tend to gauge how we are doing by comparing ourselves to others.  Are we going to church more than others?  Do we do more volunteer work than others?  Have we given as much as others?

But the middle servant reminds us that we should instead be determining if we are giving God a 100% return on what He has given us.

God Bless you.

3 Things About The Parable of The Two Sons

This weekend's Gospel includes the Parable of the Two Sons. 

Three things hit me as I reflected on it:

1)  One downside to hearing the Gospels in pieces like we do week to week (versus reading them straight through), is that I often lose sight of context.  It didn't dawn on me until later that, if you read Matthew's Gospel as chronological, Jesus is probably days away from His death when He tells this parable.  

2)  Similarly, it is easy to miss the connection between this passage, and one earlier in Matthew's Gospel where Jesus tells us "Not everyone who says to me 'Lord! Lord!' will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but only the one that does the will of my Father who is in Heaven."

3)  Every time I hear this reading my first reaction is to assume I am the son that does the right thing, even if he initially says the wrong thing.  In reality, I am probably more often like the son that says he will do the right thing, but then does not.  How many promises do I make to God that I don't follow up on? 

God Bless you.

P.S.  For those of you that missed it, our fellow blogger friend Victor has published a new book called The Priest and the Prostitute.  You can see the trailer (yes, there's a trailer!) for it here.