(Matthew 13: 24 - 30, 36-43)

24-26He told another story. "God's kingdom is like a farmer who planted good seed in his field. That night, while his hired men were asleep, his enemy sowed thistles all through the wheat and slipped away before dawn. When the first green shoots appeared and the grain began to form, the thistles showed up, too. 27"The farmhands came to the farmer and said, 'Master, that was clean seed you planted, wasn't it? Where did these thistles come from?' 28"He answered, 'Some enemy did this.' "The farmhands asked, 'Should we weed out the thistles?' 29-30"He said, 'No, if you weed the thistles, you'll pull up the wheat, too. Let them grow together until harvest time. Then I'll instruct the harvesters to pull up the thistles and tie them in bundles for the fire, then gather the wheat and put it in the barn.'"

36Jesus dismissed the congregation and went into the house. His disciples came in and said, "Explain to us that story of the thistles in the field." 37-39So he explained. "The farmer who sows the pure seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, the pure seeds are subjects of the kingdom, the thistles are subjects of the Devil, and the enemy who sows them is the Devil. The harvest is the end of the age, the curtain of history. The harvest hands are angels. 40-43"The picture of thistles pulled up and burned is a scene from the final act. The Son of Man will send his angels, weed out the thistles from his kingdom, pitch them in the trash, and be done with them. They are going to complain to high heaven, but nobody is going to listen. At the same time, ripe, holy lives will mature and adorn the kingdom of their Father.

A consistent mistake that people make when they are confronted by a difficult situation is to act too quickly and to assume that if something needs to be sorted then it needs to be sorted out straight away. Macbeth (Act 1 Scene 7) may have said 'If it were done when 'tis done, then 'twere well it were done quickly'. However the point that Macbeth is considering when he says this is the murder of Duncan the king. This is not advice that we need to think of taking too readily.

Things go wrong when we try to hard to correct and sort things out. I have just come back from holiday in Croatia. What had not been burnt down in 1995 because it was Croatian was burnt down in 1995 because it was Serbian. It was repeating the cycle of vengeance that had continued after the Second World War. It was not possible to understand the war of the 1990s without understanding the 1940s and not possible to understand the 1940s without appreciating the formation of Yugoslavia and the political context in the 1920s.

In the Gospel story for today Jesus says that sometimes that when things are difficult it is best to do nothing and to wait (least said, soonest mended) even if this means leaving the weeds and the thistles growing together. It is pertinent to the current situation within the Anglican communion with special interest groups bending the ideal of the church to their own particular view of the truth. The Inclusive Church network want to see same sex blessings and gay and Lesbian clergy incorporated within the mainstream of the church life - this parable would say 'Wait! Let things happen in God's time and not our own.' The evangelical constituency want to see a more robust statement of faith adopted by the church leadership - this parable would say 'Wait! Let things happen in God's time and not our own.'

Here are some clues of how to wait when you feel that you are in a difficult situation or that you have been hard done by -

What is forgiving and forgetting in a relationship (www.coping.org/relations/forgive.htm)?

Forgiving is allowing another person to be human for faults, mistakes, or misdeeds.
Forgetting is putting these behind you; they are no longer brought up and no longer remain a barrier to your relationship.

Forgiving is letting another know that there is no grudge, hard feelings, or animosity for any wrongdoing.
Forgetting is the lack of further discussion, with no ongoing negative references to the event.

Forgiving is letting the other person know that you accept as genuine the remorse and sorrow for actions or words that hurt or disappointed you.
Forgetting is promising that this deed, whether of omission or commission, will not be brought up again.

Forgiving is accepting the sincerity of penance, sorrow, and regret expressed over a grievous personal offence; making it sufficient to clear the air.
Forgetting is your commitment to let go of anger, hurt, and pain over this offence.

Forgiving is giving a sign that a person's explanation or acceptance of blame for a destructive, hurtful, or painful act is fully accepted.
Forgetting is the development of future plans and a willingness to put behind you what has happened

Forgiving is the highest form of human behaviour that can be shown to another person. It is the opening up of yourself to that person to be vulnerable to being hurt or offended in the future, yet setting aside this in order to reopen and heal the channels of communication.
Forgetting is equally as high a human behaviour; it is letting go of the need to seek revenge for past offenses.

Forgiving is a gift that you give to someone else to calm the fear of rejection, quieten a sense of failure, and lighten the burden of guilt.
Forgetting is also a gift offering people the reassurance of a happy and full life with no fear of recrimination, remonstrations, or reminding of past offences.

Forgiving is an act of compassion, humanity, and gentleness.
Forgetting is the act of encouragement and support by which you assist the other person to rebuild, reconnect and re-establish a loving, caring, healthy relationship with you, others, and the world