Dig Deeper into Sunday’s Gospel: Read Matthew 13:24-43

We live in an age of instant gratification, where information is at our fingertips. If we want to know something, we simply ask Siri, search ChatGPT, or Google it. Information is a commodity, and the unknown is treated as a flaw to be corrected.

We may even see this in our spiritual lives. We participate in faith formation from a young age or embark on the OCIA journey as an adult. We join beautiful Bible study communities marked with pink and green. We seek out the experts—the saints, our priests, and spiritual directors—hoping for a clear and definitive roadmap that will answer all of life’s questions. The tendency to believe that we can know everything or have the answer to every question doesn’t just seem realistic in this age; it also seems attainable. 

But the truth is, friends, that we will never have all of the answers to life’s questions. We will never fully know or comprehend our God.

The One who is Creator of the universe and intimate friend, who is justice and mercy, love, truth, and wisdom itself; the One who knows and works in all things; the same God who sees us turn away from Him and yet sacrifices Himself so that we may be saved, is a profound mystery. 

There is no way that our broken, limited, human brains can ever fully comprehend His infinite nature. As St. Augustine humbly said, “If you understood Him, it would not be God.”

And yet, even in the vast mystery of God, He is a good Father, and His desire is to be known by His precious children. The entirety of human existence is marked by the Almighty God coming down to meet us, revealing His heart, and giving us glimpses of His truth. He leads us down the path to know Him—revealing Himself through His Word, in the sacraments, and through the unbroken Magisterium of His Church. 

But then we hit a stumbling block. 

A prayer isn’t answered in the way that we want, so we turn away from Him and aspire to do it ourselves. 

A Church teaching doesn’t fit with our expectations or desires, so we reject it and replace it with our own version of the truth. 

The suffering feels meaningless and cruel, so we look for anything that will take the pain away. 

It is in our moments of stumbling that we are called to keep our hearts open to the mystery of God. On the journey to know Him, the goal is not to have all the answers or achieve complete understanding. When we approach God with humility and allow space for a holy curiosity of His mystery, He will reveal Himself in His own time and way. A humble heart is a teachable one, one that seeks to know God while also embracing the miracle and wonder that cannot be fully grasped. It is a heart that is open to a genuine encounter with Him. 

In the gospel reading for this weekend, we witness Jesus offering small morsels of the mystery of the kingdom of God. The people were hungry to know it all, but Jesus chose to teach them through small parables, or stories, so that they could begin to understand. Knowing that there is no way for us to fully comprehend it, His desire is for us to taste the truth of His kingdom. 

The Parable of the Weeds among the Wheat
In the parable of the weeds among the wheat, Jesus teaches us about patience, trust, and the messy reality of our own hearts. He describes a field where good seed is sown, but an enemy comes at night and scatters weeds among the wheat. Jesus gives us a glimpse of the truth that we have an enemy whose objective is to sow seeds of doubt, sin, and self-reliance, often disguised as good seeds. The enemy is moving in the world to throw us off the path to the kingdom. 

Jesus gently warns us that instead of uprooting the weeds right away, despite our tendency to want to fix everything immediately, we are called to trust Him. When we encounter “weeds” in our lives: a difficult season in marriage or relationships, struggles with anxiety, a stubborn fault we can’t seem to conquer, witnessing a loved one struggle with sin, or observing suffering in the world, our instinct is to tear them out. 

But Jesus invites us to trust Him, the master of the harvest, and lean into the truth: He will handle the complexity of justice, mercy, and redemption according to His timeline, not ours. 

The Parable of the Mustard Seed
Jesus then sets our sights on the power of something incredibly tiny, a mustard seed. It is one of the smallest seeds, yet when full-grown, it becomes a bush reaching ten feet high, which becomes a strong shelter.

When we feel that our prayers and offerings are so insignificant compared to those of the whole world or that our feelings of littleness and brokenness lead us to believe we are never doing enough, Jesus reminds us of the mystery of God’s kingdom. It is built not on grand achievements, but on patient growth. When we give Him our yes—our tiny mustard seeds of trust—He multiplies them into something powerful and beautiful. 

The Parable of the Yeast
Finally, Jesus gives us the parable of the yeast mixed into flour. (As an avid baker, this one is probably my favorite!) He describes a small amount of yeast mixed with flour, bringing the entire batch of dough to rise in abundance. In this image, Jesus teaches us that the Holy Spirit works in our hearts in ways that may seem small and invisible but have the power to bring us abundant life. True conversion and spiritual growth are rarely dramatic or occur in a big burst. Instead, they unfold gradually, like the mystery of how God works through one prayer, one moment, and one conversation at a time, until our entire lives are infused with His grace. 

When we look at these three parables together, Jesus invites us to step back and embrace the mystery. We don’t have to fully comprehend how or when the field is sorted, how the tiny seed grows, or how the yeast rises. We just have to remain open to the mystery of God. As my mom reminded me when I wanted to have the answer immediately, “It is not about knowing; it is about trusting.”

Friend, let us pray for humble, teachable, trusting hearts that don’t demand immediate answers or quick fixes, but instead rest deeply in the quiet, patient, unfolding mystery of God’s kingdom.

With you in the mystery,
Laura

For prayer and journaling ...

What is an area of your life where you are craving a quick fix or an instant answer from God? How can you practice holy patience this week when God seems silent or slow to move? What does having a teachable heart look like for you right now?

Almighty God, I open my heart to the mystery and miracle of Your presence. My thoughts are not Your thoughts, and my ways are not Your ways. Instead of anxiously looking for the right answer, I am just going to choose to trust You. I open my hands to You and surrender the intentions of my heart. Amen.

P.S. One of the best ways to grow in trust in God is to saturate our hearts in His Word. Our I Declare Cards are a beautiful way to declare God’s truth over our lives as we surrender to His perfect will.