Gospel: Mt 13:24-30
JESUS proposed a parable to the crowds. “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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The slaves in the parable want to uproot the weeds that have grown alongside the wheat. The Master decides against such a rash action, aware of the possible danger it poses to the young plants. The Master knows that he has sown good seed, so the weeds must be the handiwork of an enemy. The Master is confident in the power of the wheat to grow, ripen, and mature.
The wheat and the weeds demonstrate how goodness and evil coexist in the world. God does not punish sinners outright because before God every sinner is potentially a holy person. God allows evil people to thrive with the good since God knows that every person has the capacity to change for the better.
With this parable, Jesus teaches us to be patient with other people and also with our own failings and tendencies to sin. He urges us to avoid getting obsessed with our sinfulness and dwell instead on the fantastic power of the seed, the power of the Holy Spirit that changes things from within.
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SOURCE: “365 Days with the Lord,” ST PAULS, 7708 St. Paul Rd., SAV, Makati City (Phils.); Tel.: 895-9701; Fax 895-7328; E-mail: [email protected]; Website: http://www.stpauls.ph.
