Both/And
Dear Friends:
This Sunday we will hear Jesus tells a parable about a farmer who sowed good wheat seeds in a field, but at night, an enemy came and sowed weeds. When asked why he doesn’t remove the evil weeds that grow alongside the wheat, the farmer answers, “If I do that, how will I avoid uprooting the wheat?” So instead, he leaves them both, growing side by side.
Whenever I hear this parable, I think about the master gardeners and naturalists in our congregation who have taught me how, contrary to our usual thinking, there are many beneficial weeds that can be helpful, not only in our gardens, but in the natural ecosystems that sustain wildlife. They hold top-soil, pull up water and nutrients, provide food, restore balance to the insect population, and more. There is a lot that weeds can teach us about the garden, I am told, and about the soil in which we want our vegetables and other flora and fauna to grow.
Over the past 10 years, I’ve been a loyal follower of Fr. Richard Rohr’s daily meditations, published through his Center for Action and Contemplation in Santa Fe, New Mexico. One of the groundbreaking steps that Rohr has made in modern Christianity is to break us out of our dualistic thinking and embrace non-binary ways of understanding the world. How is it that we Christians, who have for so many centuries seen the world in terms of good or bad, light or dark, yes or no, in or out, can follow a teacher who didn’t see things as either/or but as both/and?
Jesus knew how easily we get distracted by ideas of good and evil. Trying to distinguish weeds from seeds can consume us, causing us to miss their unique beauty and benefits. Fighting outer enemies, we can be overtaken by inner weeds of perfectionism and pride. Searching for the best weed killers, we forget to dwell in the grace that gives us all what we need. Jesus knew how fond we are of battle lines, how quickly we see ‘us’ and ‘them’ within and without. So, he says, let them be. Let them grow together.
My doubt and your certainty, their opinions and our beliefs…all can dwell together in peace. Can we lean in to this as if it were true? Even in this time of rising anxiety over climate change, information technology, and civil rights, can I let my rising anxiety and your rising hope embrace? Can your favorite fears find rest among my best efforts? Whether seeds or weeds, let’s embrace the possibility that they can grow together into their fullness, just being themselves, as they are, both challenge and blessing.
In Christ,
Amelie+
