July 23^rd 2017. Sixteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time

GOSPEL: Matthew 13, 24-30

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­Translated from a homily by Don Fabio Rosini, broadcast on Vatican Radio

Don Fabio’s reflection follows the Gospel reading ...

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GOSPEL: Matthew 13, 24-30

Jesus proposed another parable to the crowds, saying:
"The kingdom of heaven may be likened to a man
who sowed good seed in his field. 
While everyone was asleep his enemy came
and sowed weeds all through the wheat, and then went off. 
When the crop grew and bore fruit, the weeds appeared as well. 
The slaves of the householder came to him and said,
'Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? 
Where have the weeds come from?'
He answered, 'An enemy has done this.'
His slaves said to him, '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. 
Let them grow together until harvest;
then at harvest time I will say to the harvesters,
"First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles for burning;
but gather the wheat into my barn."'"

The Gospel of the Lord: Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ

Kieran’s summary . . . The parable of the wheat and the weeds is a parable that throws much light on human existence. In all of us there are weeds, weeds of duplicity and sin. How should we respond to his fact? By open warfare on all our imperfections? No, imperfections are part of being human. In the last century many monstrous ideologies sought to create utopian societies by eliminating human “problems”. Any focus on human failings is the wrong focus. The fact is that God has sown us with good seed, the best of seed. Our task is to nourish this seed so that it will yield a harvest in God’s own time. The parables of the mustard seed and the yeast reveal that God is working in hidden ways. He is preparing a great harvest for us and all we are called to do is to remain faithful to the good seed that he has planted within us.

Weeds exist within us alongside the good seeds sown by God. A focus on trying to eliminate the weeds can be symptomatic of a perfectionism that is damaging. Instead of being obsessed with the weeds, it would be better to try to nourish the god seed

The first reading this week is a marvellous reading from the Book of Wisdom. We are told of God’s mercy, how he uses his power in a paternal and meek manner. He indulges us, waits for us, remains patient with us. The Gospel reading tells of the weeds in the corn. There are two sowings, the good one and the evil one. And that is how we are, people whose hearts are influenced by two contradictory inputs: the one that originates in the providence of God, his generosity and love; and the one that comes from the Tempter, whose aim it is to put us in difficulty and deceive us. From the time of Eve onwards, these two sowings have been a fact of life for humanity. How can this situation be resolved? Sometimes we tend to think that the evil can be uprooted from our hearts so that we can all present ourselves before God, like soldiers, lined up and perfectly drilled. This is a dream that is dangerous because it is symptomatic of a perfectionism that does not correspond to reality. The existence of evil is a fact that we do not the ability to tackle by ourselves. What is more important is to discern how to live on a daily basis. There are weeds within us. There is something tortuous within us. These things can only be uprooted by God on the last day. It is important for us to realize that these weeds are there. It is essential to acknowledge that the things that come out of our heart have a duplicity about them. They should not be “canonized” by us, as if the weeds were not there. In the last century, many ideologies arose which sought to create a world in which everything was resolved, all human failings were dealt with. It is vital that we realize that this kind of perfection is not possible. Woe to the man who tries to resolve everything! Do we really think that we can do a kind of “ethnic cleansing” inside our hearts, slaughtering everything that is imperfect? This kind of attitude can end up killing also the good seed. It can damage the process of maturation that occurs in our hearts, the sort of patient development that leads eventually to a good result. We must live by discernment, not by spontaneity whereby we make rash decisions about the worthiness of what comes from within us.

The Lord is present in our lives in hidden ways. The parable of the mustard seed and the yeast tell us that the Lord is bringing us to fruition. Our job is to allow him to act.

In all of God’s work with us, there is a hidden element. The longer version of the Gospel speaks of the mustard seed and of the operation of the yeast in the dough. These parables tell us that the Lord does not enter our lives with impatience to castigate us and resolve all problems.  No, the Lord remains hidden in things and saves us in hidden ways. At this point the Evangelist makes a comment – rare for the Gospels - on Jesus’ modus operandi. “All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables. He spoke to them only in parables, to fulfill what had been said through the prophet: I will open my mouth in parables, I will announce what has lain hidden from the foundation of the world.” The Evil One may have hidden ways of acting, but the Lord is also active in unseen ways. In fact, it is these hidden things that save us. The secret of salvation is something that remains hidden from people from the foundation of the world. That secret reveals itself to us when we realize that despite everything the work of the Lord is being fulfilled. The harvest will come. This harvest may well be at the end of the world, or it may be some upheaval that happens in our lives that leads to knowledge of the truth; we do not know, but what is important is that this line exists and he who remains faithful to that line, to that light that is in his heart, will come to a good end.

The Christian life is not about eliminating sin in a huge and violent battle. Rather, it involves nurturing and cherishing the seed of love and mercy that god has planted in our hearts.

It is good to be aware that belief in God is not something that brings quick results. Belief in God means to remain faithful to that light that one has received. Every human being receives the seed that enables him to recognize the beauty of that which really counts in the midst of thousands of other things. It is this hidden awareness that gives meaning to our lives. There is nothing to be gained by focussing on a full-scale war against the weeds within us. What is important is to nourish the seed within our hearts, to defend that within us which is the fount of mercy, the source of authentic relationships with others. That fount is the love of God for us that we remember deep in our hearts.