In this Sunday's gospel reading, Jesus presents a couple of parables, “The Parable of the Weeds Among the Wheat,” “The Parable of the Mustard Seed,” and “The Parable of the Yeast.” As Jesus, near the end of the reading, explained the parable of the weeds in the wheat. I reflected upon it to figure out what it could mean, and it reminded me of the unjust and unfairness of our current immigration system. The process which ICE takes to round up immigrants and to remove them from this country regardless of fair trial, is what I found most similar to this parable.

As Jesus said in his parable where the servants are discussing with their landowner, “‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’ He replied, ‘No, if you pull up the weeds you might uproot the wheat along with them.” This response had me correlating the rush operations ICE does, by capturing immigrants and quickly removing them. Not all immigrants are weeds. Those that strive to do good are or become wheat. These immigrants who are wheat provide for their families, their community, and more in order to live a good life. However, with this heavily flawed system, in its attempt to remove weeds, it goes and removes weed and wheat, being blind to the good it uproots. This splits families and destroys lives that were just looking for an opportunity to grow and nurture others and themselves. Deeper in the parable, it presents to us the wisdom the landowner does to differentiate the weeds from the wheat. By being patient and letting both develop, as they bloom, we can clearly see the difference between what is good for harvest and what is bad. Our current immigration system lacks the patience and wisdom presented in this parable, however, God does not.

As God has patience with us, he will see us grow. Under his love and care, we are also tasked to help others in situations like these. We can listen, learn the stories of those who are in situations like these, and we can try to provide support in any way we can. We may not be able to change the system overnight, but it does not give us the excuse to ignore those that seek help. I myself, whose family was split years ago, am thankful to those who supported my family and I in those difficult moments (through communication, prayer, and more), and I thank God for them, and we can do the same for others as God teaches us to.

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Mary Acosta

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