The parable about the wheat and the chaff or weeds is a good reminder about how the Gospel of Christ requires us to trust more in the work of God than in our own judgment. The weeds and the wheat do not correspond to different individuals as much as they refer to the mixed nature of our inner life. In the soul of any man or woman you will find both weeds and wheat – both what is obviously good and what is obviously bad. There is a temptation by the disciples of Christ, by those in a position to work the field, to get rid of the weeds. Obviously weeds are the bad thoughts, actions, words, etc., that are discernable at any given time. The question is not whether or not they need to be gotten rid of, but when they need to be gotten rid of. There are some faults – even moral faults – that we may find in ourselves or in others which actually play a role in preventing something worse. These weeds end up protecting the wheat. A great example of this is any humiliating sin. God may indeed allow a humiliating sin so that the wheat of humility will not be removed. Pride is a worse sin than anything we could do that would humiliate us.
Fr. Francis Therese Krautter csj