Catechism Links[1]
CCC 543-550: The Kingdom of GodCCC 309-314: God’s goodness and the scandal of evil
CCC 825, 827: Weeds and seed of Gospel in everyone and in the Church
CCC 1425-1429: Need for ongoing conversion
CCC 2630: Prayer of petition voiced profoundly by the Holy Spirit
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| “Landscape with the Parable of the Tares among the Wheat” by Abraham Bloemaert, 1624 |
Reading 1: 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.
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Commentary on Wis
12:13, 16-19
The Wisdom author provides a unique insight into the Old Testament
perception of God’s power and mercy. The passage begins with a statement that
God is the only god. There is no other to whom the Lord God answers, to whom he
must justify his actions. His will is the source of justice, and because God is
capable of destroying what he created, the fact that he chooses not to is proof
that he is “lenient.”
The author tells the people that, when God’s primacy is challenged
by unbelieving people, he reveals his might. Those who do have faith in him are
expected to be confident and outspoken in praise of God (“…you rebuke
temerity”). The passage concludes with a testimony of God’s mercy, for in
his omnipotence he shows clemency to those who err, and in compassion God gives
hope to the people for repentance and forgiveness.
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Responsorial
Psalm: Psalm
86:5-6, 9-10, 15-16
R. (5a) Lord,
you are good and forgiving.
You, O Lord,
are good and forgiving,
abounding in
kindness to all who call upon you.
Hearken, O
Lord, to my prayer
and attend to
the sound of my pleading.
R. Lord, you are good and forgiving.
All the
nations you have made shall come
and worship
you, O Lord,
and glorify
your name.
For you are
great, and you do wondrous deeds;
you alone are
God.
R. Lord, you are good and forgiving.
You, O Lord,
are a God merciful and gracious,
slow to
anger, abounding in kindness and fidelity.
Turn toward
me, and have pity on me;
give your
strength to your servant.
R. Lord, you are good and forgiving.
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Commentary on Ps
86:5-6, 9-10, 15-16
Psalm 86 is a lament. The psalmist sings of a life afflicted and
asks God to give his servant relief. The song indicates the faithfulness of the
singer, even in times of distress. The themes of forgiveness and mercy are
confidently expected for those who believe and trust in God.
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Reading II: 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.
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Commentary on Rom 8:26-27
CCC: Rom 8:26-39 2739; Rom 8:26-27 2634; Rom 8:26 741, 2559, 2630, 2736; Rom 8:27 2543, 2736, 2766
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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.”
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Commentary on Mt
13:24-43
In the first parable (unique to St. Matthew’s Gospel) we see the
metaphor of the field used to describe the whole of mankind. The fact that the householder does not permit
his slaves to tear out the weeds for fear of killing the wheat as well is a
warning to the disciples not to judge or attempt to alienate themselves from
those with whom they have contact who reject the word.
The parables of
the “Mustard Seed” and “Yeast” (see also Mark
4:30-32 and Luke
13:18-21) emphasize that
from the smallest of beginnings with the proclamation of the word, the Kingdom
of God expands to encompass all peoples.
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Or
Shorter From: 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.”’”
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Commentary on Mt
13:24-30
CCC: Mt 13:24-30 827
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Reflection:
“Don’t
play God.” That is the message the Lord
gives us in his first parable. There are
other times when Jesus tells his disciples not to be judgmental. The most notable is “Stop judging, that you may not be judged. For as you judge, so will you
be judged, and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you.
Why do you notice the splinter in your brother's eye, but do not perceive the
wooden beam in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me remove
that splinter from your eye,' while the wooden beam is in your eye?” (Matthew 7:1-4). The parable of the Weeds is a bit more
complex but with a similar injunction which, of course, also applies to us.
As
we have been told time and again over the past several weeks, we are called to
be an apostolic people. We have been
given so much. The Lord has shown us his
love and mercy. He has told us that this
love is given without cost and without merit.
This same beneficence is reiterated in the reading from Wisdom
today. God alone has power over all that
is, that moves, breathes, and has life.
It is through his mercy that we are able to have life and hope. His unconditional love is made clear in the
fact that we are given free will; we can accept God’s Word and believe in him
or we can choose the other path.
It
is because of this offered choice that the Parable of the Weeds was
necessary. If God had chosen, he could
have made us in such a way that we would come into being completely obedient to
him with absolute faith. We would be
like angels, always worshiping and adoring God, ever faithful in our words and
actions. But as a creation made in his image and likeness, with
free will, we are governed only by our understanding of God’s existence, and
our faith in his continued presence, indwelling as the Holy Spirit, omnipresent
in his creation, and specifically present in the Eucharist we share.
Yet
we grow up in the world as members of a global community. Many of those we encounter do not share our
faith in Christ and have rejected his word.
These individuals are potentially “…the
children of the evil one.” And the
key word describing them is “potentially.”
We are not God! We do not know
their hearts. Only God may presume to
see clearly who are the true enemies and who are simply misguided. Our command is the same for all: “Love one
another.” Jesus makes it even more
explicit when he says: “Love your enemies.”
It is in this way that the wheat may be cultivated even as it grows
among the weeds. It is this way we can
nourish one another and even the byproduct of that nourishment may help the
weeds become more like the grain desired by our Heavenly Father.
Today
we pray that we are always able to express the love of God to those we meet and
that we also remember that judgment of others is reserved to God who created
all things.
Pax
In
other years on this date: Optional
Memorial of Saint Bridget of Sweden, Religious
[1]
Catechism links are taken from the Homiletic Directory, Published by the Congregation for
Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, 29 June 2014
[2]
The picture used is “Landscape with the Parable of the Tares among the Wheat”
by Abraham Bloemaert, 1624
[4]
The readings are taken from the New American Bible with the exception of the
Psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for
English in Liturgy (ICEL). This re-publication is not authorized by USCCB and
is for private use only.
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