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"The kingdom of heaven is like . . . wheat and weeds"
The Word: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/072323.cfm
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Any study of the formation of the Hebrews to become the Jewish nation of Israel will show us a history of both captivity and oppression. It began with the Pharos in Egypt who enslaved the Hebrews yet freed under Moses’ leadership. Once established in the promised land eventually the Assyrians overtook the people, later the Babylonians who destroyed the Temple and took the population off to Babylon. Then, about 500 years later before the coming of Jesus it was the Romans who captured that part of the eastern Mediterranean and placed the Jews under their heavy thumb. Later, they destroyed the sacred Temple, the people were dispersed far and wide, never to return until centuries later as a modern nation.
Each time the people lived
under heavy laws and commands that were foreign to the law of God. But in Jesus
coming he now proclaims a new “Kingdom of Heaven” has arrived and he invites all
to citizenship; to be children of light like healthy wheat which grows. Under
his rule we see and hear God’s plan for humanity revealed. Under this kingdom,
we find mercy, compassion, charity, justice, and peace. Who Jesus is, how we
are to live according to God’s plan, and where ultimately we are headed: the kingdom
of the Father who will destroy the powers of evil.
This Sunday’s Gospel has
three parables in which Jesus describes what the kingdom of heaven is
“like.” He uses images of nature which
the people were very familiar with: wheat, weeds, mustard seeds, and yeast in
dough. He speaks of healthy wheat, of subservice activity by the enemy who
sowed the weeds, of tiny mustard seeds which grow beyond their beginnings, and
yeast which silently expands and increases. Such is God’s mysterious plan and
grace. It confronts evil and overcomes
ever slowly the forces of darkness. It
calls each of us to personal conversion and to decide which “kingdom” we belong
to.
We may treat these simple
stories as charming tales which reflected daily life in ancient times. Yet, the purpose of parables is far more than
simple stories. They invite us to go
deeper beyond the images to the mysteries when our Lord is inviting us to
ponder. One if the purposes of the parables is to point out bad behavior and direct
us for how to create his kingdom on earth.
There are many layers of meaning to them but their basic truths are
timeless.
Apparently the word used by
Matthew to describe the weeds refers to a commonly known plant that was the
scourge of ancient farmers called “darnel.”
Normally, we would pull out the weeds where we see them. But this darnel apparently looked so much
like the wheat in its early growth that it was nearly impossible to identify
one from the other that by the time they matured enough with the wheat, the
roots of both were so intertwined that to pull out one would pull out the
others. So wait till harvest and then
the two will be separated.
Jesus’ explanation at the
end, as last week we heard of the sower and the seed, hits the mark of this
story. God’s intent in creation, the
“field of the world,” was the beginning. Yet, the evil one foiled the original
plan of God as his enemy, and we the children of God remain in a field of good
and evil; of wheat and weeds. The origin
of evil in the world began with a subversive enemy. And that enemy continues to
attack the good we see. So it will be until the Lord returns.
We need not look very far to
know how prevalent the weeds are among us.
God allows or tolerates the weeds, the great question that we all ponder
constantly, in order to bring about a great crop – a greater good. Why does
evil exist? Why is the world fallen in
spite of Jesus’ death and resurrection?
When we think of it, our
days are a combination of life and death, of good and evil, of sometimes having
to tolerate what may seem like a noxious choice in order to bring about a
greater good. Still, why does God tolerate evil in the world? The question is as basic and ancient as the
book of Job. The only reasonable answer to that is some form of, “To bring
about a greater good.” Yet, our human
limit of what is fair or just is confronted with God’s vision.
Any quick history of the
Catholic Church, for example, will illustrate time and again this
principle. The healthy wheat grows in
the martyrs of the Church, great scholars and theologians, saintly leaders of
reform, humble pastors of souls, simple people who do extraordinary things by
the grace of God.
Yet within this scene, we
also see scandal, corruption, corrupt Popes and Bishops such as during the
renaissance, abusive priests in our own day and lukewarm Christians who simply
go through the motions, etc. While the
wheat may grow, the evil weeds continue to challenge the good they see. It is a fact of life that exists side by
side. Jesus parable makes this clear and the new mission is in our hands to sow
seeds of the healthy wheat.
Until that end time comes,
when God separates the wheat and weeds, how are we to live by faith? One thing
that seems meaningful from this parable is that God’s patience is necessary to
allow for the grace of conversion. In our second reading from Wisdom we hear:
"And you taught your people by these deeds . . . that you would permit
repentance for their sins." Our
growth in virtue needs to be watered by our cooperation with God's grace - and
that may take a lifetime - yet he has all that time and more!
If we made efforts to
re-order our lives and the culture in which we live always for the greater
good, modeled after the virtues of love, self-sacrifice, compassion,
forgiveness, reconciliation, peace we see in the Gospel. To show others the way
to Christ in his Church where the weeds may find they have far less power or
influence.
May our share in the
Eucharist be a call for us to model our lives on the Lord of infinite patience
who wishes to grace us with the wisdom and patience to be his authentic missionary
disciples in this world where we identify the weeds among us and fertilize the
wheat that it may expand.
Father, let the gift of your
life
continue to grow in us,
drawing us from death to
faith, hope, and love.
Keep us alive in Christ
Jesus.
Keep us watchful in prayer
and true to his teaching
till your glory is revealed
in us.
We ask this through our Lord
Jesus Christ
your Son, who lives and
reigns
with you in the unity of the
Holy Spirit,
God for ever and ever.
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