“Nobody’s perfect!” Even though we have heard it or said it, sometimes we live as if we do not really believe it. At times, we live in the illusion of perfection. The illusion that somewhere in the world there really is the perfect family, the perfect marriage, the perfect job, even the perfect person. If only we could find it.
Living in the illusion of perfection is dangerous. Hanging on to the prospect that the perfect anything is out there can lead to a restlessness and impatience with the circumstances of our lives. It can lead to the litany of “if only’s”. If only I had a different spouse, went to a different school, lived in a different place, had a different job, even belonged to a different parish my life would be better.
Jesus knew well that we would live in the illusion of perfection so he tells a parable about weeds and wheat growing together. In the parable, the farmer is advised not to pull out the weeds because with them would come the good wheat. That is how Jesus sees the world and the place where we are to build his Kingdom….it is a world of weeds and wheat.
A world of weeds and wheat means the illusion of perfection has to go. Like Jesus, we need to accept that fact that we, along with everybody else are not perfect. Jesus knows we are not perfect and loves us all the same. Are we to do any less with each other?
A world of weeds and wheat means that we are always going to participate in imperfect groups, whether it be family, the workplace or the Church. Even if there was such a thing as the perfect group, it would become imperfect the moment we joined it.
A world of weeds and wheat means settling for less than perfect results. Look at Jesus. He spent three years of his life preaching, teaching, healing, forgiving.
At the end he had only a handful of followers. Not exactly perfect results. At first. Because Jesus did not quit, there is the possibility for the perfect Kingdom of God to unfold. In the meantime, it is weeds and wheat.