Mothers’ Union Devotion for the Sixth Sunday after Trinity

Reflection

The slaves said to him, “Then do you want us to go and gather them?” But he replied, “No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them. Let both of them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.”  Matthew 13. 28b-30

I wonder if you managed to establish a new routine during lockdown. Finding new things to do which replaced the things from your old routine that you could no longer do. Like all new things the first time we do them they can feel strange and unwelcome. Particularly if you are doing it through necessity rather than choice. Before lockdown I had never heard of Zoom or Microsoft Teams but now, they are part of my weekly routine. Maybe this has been the first time you have used home delivery for the weekly supermarket shop. It takes practice ordering everything at once, rather than topping up the shop midweek because you have run out of something unexpected. Although at the beginning we thought ‘I don’t like this’ by now such new routines have surreptitiously become established parts of daily life. The question now is how much of the new you would like to keep and how much are you desperate to drop as soon as possible.

As we begin to emerge from the cocoon of our homes, we need to find some time to ask such a question or we may find ourselves losing some important gains. In the passage from Matthew’s Gospel set for today Jesus describes a field in which both good seed and bad are growing. The slaves want to pull up the unwanted plants immediately. The Master, however, tells them that if they do that, they will destroy the productive plants as well. Better to leave them both to grow to maturity and at the time of harvest it will be easier to separate the good from the bad.

So now seems to be a good time to reflect on what you have gained during the last few months that you would like to hold onto. It might be a new hobby or skill. It might be the increased contact you have had with family and friends. It might be a new exercise regime. One thing I hope is that during this time without church services you have all managed to find comfort in prayer and reflection. Increasing the time, you are able to sit and talk to God. Hopefully, this has been life-giving and can continue to flourish as you find yourselves being sucked back into the busyness of everyday life.

Love and prayers

Revd Sandra