Fr. David Johnstone introduces himself as the new parochial vicar at St. Paul, then turns to the parable of the wheat and the weeds with a question worth sitting with: why are we so quick to see what is wrong?
The workers notice the weeds first, and so do we, in others and in ourselves. That comes from a real longing for perfection, but too often it shows up as judgment and control rather than love. The same is true of our own sin. Anyone who has returned to confession with the same failing knows the discouragement of wondering why God has not simply taken it away. Yet there is growth hidden in that struggle, and St. Paul himself spent years persecuting Christians before the Lord knocked him off his horse. God does change us, but in his timing rather than ours.
Fr. Johnstone closes with Mother Teresa's answer when asked what she would change about the Church: "First me, then you." Before we set about fixing everyone else, the weeding begins in our own hearts.
Readings (16th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A):
• Wisdom 12:13, 16–19
• Psalm 86
• Romans 8:26–27
• Matthew 13:24–43