“All the world is God’s own field, fruit unto his praise to yield;
wheat and tares together sown, unto joy or sorrow grown.
First the blade, and then the ear, then the full corn shall appear.
Lord of harvest, grant that we wholesome grain and pure may be.
– Henry Alford (ELW # 693)
This weekend, we hear Jesus tell the parable of the wheat and the weeds, a parable of judgment found in the Gospel of Matthew which can also be heard as a parable of patience and grace.