Hurrying slowly!

In Today's world everyone is always in a hurry. What was 'fast' in the past has become 'slow' in our days. Speed and more speed is today's characteristic. All sorts of mechanical inventions have made it possible for us to go faster and faster in everything we do.

A quick look around the interior of a factory will leave one impressed by the set-up of the marvellous machinery and by the speed at which all sorts of products, from coats to cars, are being produced, and all this not at the expense of quality. And what about today's means of transport, such as jet aeroplanes?

While today's farmers have at their disposal special machinery to listen and add speed to their work, they know only too well that nature must be allowed to take its course before it can yield good fruit. And this realisation provides the gist of today's parables.

Jesus compares God's kingdom to the work of a sower, who sows good seed expecting a fine harvest. But an enemy comes and sows weeds along with the wheat. The hired workers want to root out the weeds without delay, but their master urges them to wait till harvest day, "lest you will uproot the wheat along with the weeds". "Just wait!'

The Christian community, as it moves through history, is composed of good and bad people, but it cannot always be sure who is who. There are people who are too slow in doing good and completing what needs to be done; others, on the contrary, lack the necessary patience and often run the risk of "uprooting" the wheat with the weeds.

This passage is followed by two other parables, which convey almost the same message: the presence of evil is there and is spread everywhere, even where one would least expect it; the need of patience in doing good works. There is in this passage a clear reference to the end of one's life and to the end of the world, when the supremacy of good over evil will become manifest to all.

These short but powerful parables tell us that "God's ways are not our ways". We are often too short-sighted and restless, expecting to see without delay positive results and tangible signs of success in our efforts to spread God's kingdom in ourselves and all around us.

A fruit must be allowed to take its time to mature. When the success we were aiming at is not always there, that will not necessarily be our own fault, although there may be times when our negligence and loss of trust is part of the story. All this should nonetheless still inspire us with hope and optimism, trusting always in the "Lord of the Harvest".

"Patience is needed with everyone, but first of all with our own selves." This saying, attributed to St Francis de Sales, is also, no doubt, the result of our own experience. We must give ourselves a chance. And this is the case whenever we are trying to help others coming out of their difficult and sometimes hopeful situation. "Work hard, pray fervently, and wait patiently." That should always remain our motto.

"Lord, give me the courage to change what can be changed, the patience to accept what cannot be changed, and the wisdom to know the difference!" I do not remember the name of the author of this well-known saying, but I do know from experience how true it is and what a great difference it can make in our mind and heart, and in whatever we undertake for the sake of Our Lord and for the good of others.