Sixteenth Sunday of the Year: A: July 23, 2023

 THE GOD OF PATIENCE AND OF TOLERANCE

First Reading: Wisdom 12: 13 and 16-19

Second Reading: Romans 8: 26-27

Gospel Reading: Matthew 13: 24-42

   *First reading is from the book of Wisdom. The Lord God is the only one who has both knowledge and the power to root out evil as He desires. The Lord God's punishments are not to be seen as a weakness but rather, He wants to bring the godless and the evil people into repentance. We need to learn from the Lord God who always judges with  great patience. 

   *Second reading is from the letter of St. Paul to Romans. Paul expresses the fact that when we pray, sometimes we are unable to express ourselves with appropriate words. He assures us that although we do not know how to pray, the Holy Spirit helps us and intercedes for us to find the will of God. He instructs us that the Holy Spirit enables us to transcend our human nature. 

The parable of the wheat and the weeds (co-existence of good and evil in the world)                                                              Today's Gospel reading is from St. Matthew. The parable of the wheat and the darnel (weeds) is narrated in great details. Jesus speaks of a real life situation in the world. We know from our past experiences that good and evil co-exist in the world. The question often asked by many people is, how is that God allows good and evil to co-exist and grow in world ? Jesus explains to His disciples and us that it is similar to a field in which the wheat and the weeds grow side by side. Jesus compares the Kingdom of God to a farmer who has a difficult problem to deal with. Although he sowed wheat during the sowing season, the field is filled with both wheat and poisonous weeds (darnel) which cannot be distinguished from the wheat at the initial stages of growth. Only when the plants grow to a certain stage, they can be identified. The servants of the farmer are very eager to weed out the darnel. But the farmer disagrees with them and refuses their request. He is concerned that while uprooting the weeds, wheat plants too may get damaged or destroyed. So he allows both of them to grow till the harvest time. It is a fact that we too live in a mix of good and evil - the wheat and the weeds, light and darkness,  grace and sin. God in His great providence is tolerant and patient with us and allows us to grow in the world. If we turn out to be wheat, we will be part of God's loving plan. But if we turn out to be weeds, then violent uprooting and destruction can take place. 

"Even in these high seats, there is both wheat and weeds. Let the good tolerate the bad but the bad change themselves and imitate the good." - St. Augustine

"The Church should let dissent grow with orthodoxy until the Lord comes to separate and judge them." - Bishop Wazzo of Liege