Blowing in the Wind
Are there weeds on your lawn?
I have been having a running battle with the dreaded dandelion and I am losing the battle.
Part of the reason is that so many other lawns, like the one in the photo, are dandelion nurseries.
While I wouldn't call them evil, I certainly see them as irresponsible, since they don't seem to mind the little buggers and I do.
He put before them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field; but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well. - Matthew 13:24-26
In today's reading, Jesus deals with weeds and I am not really sure I like the outcome.
He seems to be saying that we should let the weeds be, but this is a parable, and parables are designed to be catalysts for conversation. We are supposed to get riled and want to challenge, discuss, agree and disagree with the many differing points of view in the story.
Focus on the word "enemy" for a moment and you will see what I mean.
In my situation, the enemies of my pristine lawn are natural and man made. Once these little yellow flowers turn into seed heads, all it takes is a gentle breeze to scatter those seeds everywhere.
Lawn mowers are also enemies, since they chop up the weeds and scatter their nasty bits into the wind, sometimes with the help of a noisy blower.
But I am also my own enemy when I fail to get the whole root while digging these guys out.
No matter how many hours I spend, new flowers pop up seemingly as soon as I turn my head.
Some might say this is a metaphor for life's struggles. The more I try to make the world conform to my vision, the more it punches back.
I am not the master of my world. My world is not mine.
Perhaps I need to rethink my weed-pulling battle. I can start a campaign to get all my neighbors to want to clean up their lawns, pushing the weeds to the perimeter of our community, but that won't make them go away.
They will still have the ability to penetrate our defenses.
Look at all the ways we try to rid our neighborhoods, cities, countries, etc of those we consider weeds, the undesired, the unwanted, the evil little buggers. Are those methods working?
Just like my lawn, if we let them be, we have less than a perfect picture of beauty; we have weeds among us and who wants that?
Yes, I think the parable has the power to stir up a lot of discussion on many levels. We can get together and talk about those things, or we can keep plucking and pulling and cutting and blowing in the wind, and let the seeds fall where they may.
More to come...
Photo taken on my daily walk. My apologies to the neighbor whose lawn I showcased.