“This is our time to be kind,
to be calm, and to be safe.”
Kind, calm, and safe. We find
Dr. Bonnie Henry’s catchphrase on T-shirts, posters, and coffee mugs.
Her wise words help us reflect
on some key messages in our readings today. Because, for one thing, the
readings tell us important things about God himself. Although he rebukes insolence,
although he has the power to act whenever he chooses, God judges “with mildness.”
The first reading tells us that
even though God is “sovereign in strength,” he governs us “with forbearance.” God
is calm and serene in judging his people.
The psalm says that God is
not only merciful but gracious. We often think of him as merciful, which indeed
he is, but gracious not so much. But what a wonderful way of looking at the
Lord—isn’t it a great compliment to say that someone is ‘gracious’?
The second reading says that
the Spirit helps us, that the Spirit intercedes for us—what could be more gracious
than that?
All in all, these readings paint
a lovely portrait of a loving God. Then the Gospel adds another dimension, the
patience of God. He may rebuke insolence and show his strength to those who
doubt his power, but God is patient. Patient enough to let the weeds grow alongside
the wheat. Patient enough to let his kingdom grow slowly from a small seed.
The third little parable really
strikes home for me, even if it’s not as obvious as the first two. I’ve tried
lately to bake some bread. But even the so-called shortcut recipes require
patient mixing. Without enough kneading, the results are uneven and less than successful,
although I never made bread I didn’t manage to eat!
Thus today’s Gospel gives us good
reasons to stay calm in our relations with our kind and generous God—to rejoice
that we are safe in God’s hands and to ask for his help in every situation.
But the Word of God today
takes us even one step further. God is teaching us by example. If he will
tolerate the weeds among the wheat, should we rush to isolate or exclude
sinners? Many times, the Gospels tell us not to judge; today we’re reminded of
that but also asked to put up with the weedy people in the Church, our parish, and
even in other aspects of our lives.
The first reading states this
simply: The righteous must be kind. The Book of Wisdom says that this is
something God has taught us by example: “Through such works you have taught your
people that the righteous must be kind.”
It’s interesting that the
term “self-righteous” is almost more of an insult than unrighteous. The righteous
person who is not kind is self-righteous. And haven’t we met those folks from
time to time in church? They can do a lot of harm within the family of faith.
I don’t know about you, but
my patience is running a bit thin these days. The pandemic has lasted far longer
than I expected, and the fact that no end’s in sight is very discouraging. It’s
easy for me to get cranky or judgmental.
So the timing of today’s
readings couldn’t be better. This is a time to be kind, to be calm, and to
be safe. Kind with others, as God is kind to us, patient with others, as God
is patient with us.
That’s a formula that should
bring calm to our hearts, and keep us safe in God’s love at this difficult time. He's even more reliable than the amazing Dr. Henry.
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