16TH SUNDAY A
Let both grow together…
We give thanks to God as we begin a new week. The Liturgy today celebrates the patience of God in dealing with sinners as the first reading and the parable of the Weeds of the Fields reveals. Last Sunday we reflected on the parable of the Sower which deals mainly with the acceptance of the message of God as depicted in the types of soil. Today’s parable deals with the God of both the saints and the sinners. We are invited to be like God who is generous with His love and gives forgiveness after sin.
FIRST READING (WISDOM 12:13.16-19)
The Book of Wisdom was written by a Jewish Author in touch with the achievements of the other cultures around. Cultural exchanges in places like Alexandria in Egypt could have played a role in his writings. The Book makes it clear that it is the wisdom of God that guides all of human affairs and directs the world with justice and with provident care.
Today’s passage taken in its context beginning from Chapter 11:21ff is about God who is All Powerful and Merciful. It begins by saying, “For it is always in your power to show great strength, and who can withstand the might of your arm? …But you are merciful to all, for you can do all things, and you overlook peoples sins, so that they may repent.”(11:21-23) The author invites us to see a God who does not ignore evil practices, but allows time for repentance and conversion and to see this as a model for the righteous.
The fate of the unrighteous is addressed by this passage. Chapter 10 puts before the readers how God has been kind to rescue the righteous ones in the past. So, what is the fate of the unrighteous? The passage tells us that, God’s care is for all people and His sovereignty over all causes God to spare as He does not need to prove to anyone that he has not judged unjustly. In fact, the omitted verses says, “You are righteous and you rule all things righteously, deeming it alien to your power to condemn anyone who does not deserve to be punished. For your strength is the source of righteousness, and your sovereignty over all causes you to spare.”(12:15-16)
The author tells us that though God has power to intervene directly in the affairs of the world at any time, the mildness and forbearance by which He governs the world is a lesson that the “righteous man must be kind.” This is a source of hope for God’s children because He gives repentance after sin, though that is not an encouragement to continue to sin. This passage opens us to the parables of the Kingdom in the Gospel of today.
Summary: God is the source of all things. God is merciful, patient and forgiving; he is not power-drunk; his power is exercised with patience.
SECOND READING (ROMANS 8:26-27)
Prayer is a means through which we keep a constant touch with the divine. Just as Jesus taught his disciples how to pray, the Spirit helps them to pray and to pray well. The prayers of Jesus for His disciples is basically that the Father’s wish might be accomplished. The Spirit knows the will of the Father and it dwells in the disciples and so the Spirit is able to intercede in the right manner for the faithful of God. Despite the ever present inclination to set their minds on the things of the world therefore, the Spirit comes to the aid of the faithful to guide them into the right places. Today’s passage tells us therefore that, “The Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the spirit himself intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words.” So even when we do not have the right words with which to pray, our disposition for prayer is all it takes and the Spirit picks up from there to supply what is missing.
GOSPEL (MATTHEW 13:24-43)
There are three parables in today’s Gospel and they all talk about the kingdom of God: the parable of the weeds of the field; the parable of the mustard seed and the parable of the leavened dough. Of these three, Matthew provides the explanation for just the first one. It is not difficult to see the beauty of the created world and how wonderfully they have been made. In the same way, you do not need a research to see the evil in the world which seems to be in conflict with the whole intent of God to create the beautiful world. How do you explain the presence of evil in a beautiful world created by a good God? Where is God in the midst of the chaos that we find in the world? Does God take notice of what is happening in the world? Why the seeming silence from the heavenly place when things go wrong? Today’s parable explains the silence of God in the face of what we see going wrong in the world of today.
In the parable of the Weeds of the Field, Jesus presents the excellent work done by the farmer who had sown good seeds (wheat) in his field, and as it is the usual practice returned home to take his rest. His enemy came and planted weeds among the wheat. The servants approached the householder for permission to remove the weeds which he recognised as the work of the enemy, but he told the servants, “Lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. Let both grow together until harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.” This was an advise to his listeners, to be patient with the sinner, in the hope that the sinner will repent of his evil deeds and return to the right path with God. This parable reveals God’s patience in dealing with sinners. Are we patient too?
The Parable of the Mustard Seed points to the enormous growth of the Kingdom despite its humble and minute beginnings. When a mustard tree grows wild, its branches extend even outside the boundaries of its own plot. The Kingdom of God crosses the boundaries of nations, race and colour into the areas where even the human sower may not have intended. The birds of the air finding refuge in its branches is a reference to the inclusion of Gentiles and Pagans in the Kingdom of God an issue of concern even to the early Christians.
The Parable of the Leaven asserts that the Kingdom of God included those who are unclean, sinners and outsiders. The Israelites were used to Unleavened bread. When Jesus refers to Leavened bread in this parable, it is a sign that the barriers between the Jews and the Gentiles will be broken for the sake of the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God does not exclude anyone.
There is some good and some bad in each of us—there is good and bad in the world. The bad further highlights the good. The stars shine brightest in the darkness. There is the potential for good in each of us.
The parable of the weeds is also a clear lesson that even though we desire the good things of life, there are situations when we have to face up to the bad. Life is full of ups and downs. We have the potential for good but sometimes the result may not be the expected but we must always strive to do the good. A family must stick together in the bad days to overcome and experience the good. But do you also sleep deep enough to give up on the necessary vigilance as to allow the evil one to sow the bad seeds in your farm? Are you keeping your eyes on your children not to allow the devil have its way in their lives? Child upbringing just like growing your business requires vigilance. Are you vigilant enough? Remember the devil is prowling round like a lion looking for someone to devour, have you forgotten to lock your door, to prevent the lion in?
Here the serenity prayer is of good help: God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference.
Today’s Liturgy calls us to see the Church as a mixed bag of saints and sinners and never to exclude anyone from the Kingdom. God is not indifferent to all that goes on in the world, but as the first reading today explains, “You who are sovereign in strength judge with mildness, and with great forbearance you govern us.”
Let us pray: Lord bless us in your kindness and grant us the grace of forbearance towards all. Amen. May the Almighty God bless you, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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