Sheaves of WheatReadings (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland)
Readings (New American Bible: Philippines, USA)
Gospel Matthew 13:24-43 [Shorter version: 24-30] (English Standard Version Anglicised, India)
Jesus put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be
compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, but
while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. So when
the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. And the servants of the master of the house came
and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then
does it have weeds?’ He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So the servants
said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ But he said, ‘No, lest in gathering the
weeds you root up the wheat along with them. Let both grow together until the 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.’”
[He put
another parable before them, saying, “The
kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and
sowed in his field. It is the
smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden
plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in
its branches.”
He told them another parable. “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.”
All these
things Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed, he said nothing to them
without a parable. This was
to fulfil what was spoken by the prophet:
“I will open my mouth in parables;
I will utter what has been hidden since the
foundation of the world.”
Then he
left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples came to him,
saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.” He answered, “The
one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed
is the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed them is the
devil. The harvest is the close of the age, and the reapers are
angels. Just as the
weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the close
of the age. The Son
of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom
all causes of sin and all law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. In
that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the
sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.]
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 (Matthew 13:30; today’s Gospel).
In 1997 while on a visit to Toronto I read in a newspaper about a woman from the Philippines who had been found guilty of embezzling about Can$250,000 over a period of time from the company for which she worked. The judge had no alternative but to send her to prison. However he was a very compassionate man.
The judge was aware that the woman was no Al
Capone. She had spent the money on surgery for her father in the Philippines,
on improving her family's house there and on other family needs.
She was also pregnant.
The judge delayed the woman's imprisonment until six months after the birth of her child. She was also to serve her time in a women's prison near where she lived so that her family and friends could visit her easily.
The First Reading gives context to the parable of the good seed and the weeds: Through such works you have taught your people that the righteous must be kind, and you have filled your children with good hope, because you give repentance for sins (Wisdom 12:19; First Reading).
The judge in this case was both righteous and kind. As one implementing justice on behalf of the state he had to punish the person before him because she had committed a serious crime. But he also filled her with good hope and, I've no doubt, gave her an opportunity to repent of her sins.
The parable shows once again God's mercy, God's desire to be merciful. He doesn't want to destroy what is good. He wants what is good to grow. He wants to cultivate the virtues in our lives by nourishing them through his grace and with our cooperation.
But the parable also acknowledges the reality of evil. Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, the householder instructs his workers. We can choose to be 'weeds', to spurn God's mercy. The consequences are the result of our choice, not of God's. The author of the Book of Wisdom says to God, you give repentance for sins. God himself offers the grace of sorrow for our sins, the grace to ask God for forgiveness, won for us by Jesus on the Cross. Then Jesus said, 'Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing' (Luke 23:34).
The greatest expression of the God's mercy, given as a gift to the Church, is the Sacrament of Reconciliation, which we often call confession or penance. In his Letter to Priests for Holy Thursday 2001 Pope St John Paul II wrote: Dear priests, let us make regular use of this Sacrament, that the Lord may constantly purify our hearts and make us less unworthy of the mysteries which we celebrate. Since we are called to show forth the face of the Good Shepherd, and therefore to have the heart of Christ himself, we more than others must make our own the Psalmist's ardent cry: 'A pure heart create for me, O God, put a steadfast spirit within me' (Ps 51:12). The Sacrament of Reconciliation, essential for every Christian life, is especially a source of support, guidance and healing for the priestly life.
Three Columban priests whom I knew in Mindanao, Fr Frank Chapman from Australia, Fr John Meaney from Ireland and Fr Jim Moynihan from New Zealand, lived this very fully in their latter years in Cagayan de Oro. They used to spend hours in the confessional in the Cathedral every weekday and people came from all over to avail of the sacrament of reconciliation. Fr Chapman was still hearing confessions a few weeks before his death in 2004 at the age of 91. He spent the years of World War II in the mountains of Mindanao where he shared all the hardships of the people.
The judge in Canada, though he had to be primarily a judge, also showed the charity of God, as many judges do. He showed compassion, which was expressed not only in the respect he showed the woman from the Philippines, but also in the respect he showed to her unborn child.
And St John Paul II shows how priests are called to show forth the face of the Good Shepherd, and therefore to have the heart of Christ himself so that all of us will meet the Good Shepherd and experience in the merciful heart of Christ himself in confession.
Traditional Latin Mass
Eighth Sunday After Pentecost
The Complete Mass in Latin and English is here. (Adjust the date at the top of that page to 07-23-2023 if necessary).
Epistle: Romans 8:12-17. Gospel: Luke 16:1-9.
When we cry, “Abba! Father!” it is the Spirit himself bearing witness with our spirit
that we are children of God (Romans
8:15-16; today's Epistle).
No comments:
Post a Comment