The Carefree Gardener

 The gardening analogy has carried on for another week. This touches on the task of what we consider to be a weed and what we consider to be a plant that we want to flourish. The story about harvesting the darnel and the wheat reminds me of how many exotic species that are appropriate in their own environment grow with abandon in an Australian environment. I am very much aware of how Lantana produces a really pretty flower from native Latin America that smothers the native grasses in Australia. Similarly, Eucalyptus can be considered a weed outside its native environment. This reflection helps us to see what may be a beautiful plant for one person that may be considered a noxious weed when it grows outside its native environment.

No wonder God is so tolerant of weeds in a world that has shrunk due to the prevalence of world travel and the biosecurity measures that we experience in Australia to keep our native environment safe. Yet this is more than just the spread of exotic species but also how ideas and behaviors can be viewed with favor or disdain. Each of us will have noticed how many attitudes can shift about what is considered a virtue and what is considered a vice. It seems that we are in constant flux about what is acceptable about human behavior and what is not. No wonder so many people are confused about how to live a spiritual life in accord with the person of Christ.

I believe that at the heart of the Gospel for this weekend is the call for compassion for the person but not for the sin. By recognizing that our lives can be beset by problems and difficulties we need to notice our own weakness and keep turning back to God in reconciliation. As Paul discovered there is the paradox of discovering how he needs to keep praying with his whole self that transcended words. It was this prayer that allowed us to embody what is in the mind of God for the good of the person and the good of the community. 

We can be thankful that God is mild in judgment which helps us to be kind in our approach to others. As we can see this stands in contrast to the focused outrage that we see too often in our daily news where the spotlight shifts rapidly from one sinful act to another calling us to take a stand. Rather God sees to the heart of the person and seeks what is needed to win that person's salvation. This may be an important lesson for us in an age when everything seems to be turned on its head and what is valued can often seem counterfeit and vice versa. It calls us to be people who pray, reflect on our environment, and act in a way that allows God to draw us closer. This is not so much pondering our sins as allowing God's grace to draw us closer as missionary disciples even in a time of great confusion.