Sixteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time,
Year A. July 23, 2017.
1st Reading: Wisdom 12:13, 16-19
There is no god besides you who have the care of all, that you need show you have not unjustly condemned. For your might is the source of justice; your mastery over all things makes you lenient to all. For you show your might when the perfection of your power is disbelieved; and in those who know you, you rebuke temerity. But though you are master of might, you judge with clemency, and with much lenience you govern us; for power, whenever you will, attends you. And you taught your people, by these deeds, that those who are just must be kind; and you gave your children good ground for hope that you would permit repentance for their sins. The word of the Lord.
Responsorial Ps: 86:5-6, 9-10, 15-16
R/. Lord, you are good and forgiving.
2nd Reading: Romans 8:26-27
Brothers and sisters: The Spirit comes to the aid of our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes with inexpressible groanings. And the one who searches hearts knows what is the intention of the Spirit, because he intercedes for the holy ones according to God’s will. The word of the Lord.
Holy Gospel: Matthew 13:24-43
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.”‘
He proposed another parable to them. “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a person took and sowed in a field. It is the smallest of all the seeds, yet when full-grown it is the largest of plants. It becomes a large bush, and the ‘birds of the sky come and dwell in its branches.'”
He spoke to them another parable. “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with three measures of wheat flour until the whole batch was leavened.”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. Then, dismissing the crowds, he went into the house.
His disciples approached him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.” He said in reply, “He who sows good seed is the Son of Man, the field is the world, the good seed the children of the kingdom. The weeds are the children of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. Just as weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all who cause others to sin and all evildoers. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears ought to hear.” The gospel of the Lord.
SUNDAY REFLECTIONS:
The introduction to this parable should wake us up to the reality of the evil one in our midst. The specific action of the “enemy” in this parable is disturbing. Imagine if this story were true and you were the farmer who worked very hard at sowing the seed throughout your field. Then, if you awoke to hear the news that weeds had been sown also, you would be quite saddened, angered and disappointed. But this parable is especially about the Son of God. Jesus is the one who has sown the good seed of His Word and watered that seed with His Precious Blood. But the evil one, the devil, has also been at work trying to undermine the work of our Lord.
What’s also interesting to note is that Jesus does not root out all evil in our world here and now. According to the parable, He refrains so that the good fruit of the Kingdom will not be negatively affected. In other words, this parable reveals to us the interesting truth that the “weeds” all around us, that is, the evil alive within our world, cannot affect our growth in virtue and entrance into the Kingdom of God. We may have to endure evil on a daily basis and find ourselves surrounded by it at times, but our Lord’s willingness to allow evil for now is a clear sign that He knows it cannot affect our growth in virtue if we do not let it.
Together we pray: Lord, I pray that You do deliver us all from the evil one. May we be freed from his lies and snares and always keep our eyes upon You, our Divine Shepherd. I turn to You in all things, dear Lord. Jesus, I trust in You that You alone will heal our sick brethren and set them free. May the souls of our faithful departed brethren rest in perfect peace, amen. Have a blessed and fulfilled Sunday.