7/19 - 16th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Dear Parish Family,

The parable of the wheat and weeds that we reflect on this week tells us how and why evil coexists with good in the world and how we should treat the evil ones. Today we face tremendous odds. It is very easy to enter into negativity in our thoughts and attitudes given the fact that we live in a mediated world that continuously focus on the ‘news worthy’ events. By way of selection the events of violence, destruction and hate get greater coverage. This parable makes us to stop a while and asks us to confront evil.

Each one of us is a combination of wheat and weeds.  In each of us there are elements of the Kingdom of God and elements that are deeply opposed to it.  Even Paul recognized that struggle within himself (Romans 7:21-25).  God told Paul that it was precisely through his weaknesses that He could reveal His glory.  “My power is made perfect in [your] weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9).  Relying on the power of God, we, too, must learn to be patient with the evil doers. God seemed to be very patient with the evil and the evil ones, even to the point of our annoyance. But God is also patient with the evil within each of us.

Another teaching of the parable is that the time for judgment is not yet come because the Kingdom of God is still in the growing stage. Now is the time to expect conversion, because with the help of God’s grace sinners can change. Another reason we should avoid judgment is that we cannot draw a line which would neatly separate the good from the bad because everyone is a mixture of good and evil. According to Karl Rahner, the critical and intolerant attitude of the Christians is a major factor in leading people to stop believing in God. “What an unbelieving world finds simply unbelievable is the presence of those who proclaim God with their mouths and deny Him with their lifestyles. Perhaps, the best defense of God would be to just keep our mouths shut and to live as He told us to. The Gospel would then have such a power and attraction that we wouldn’t have to worry about defending it.”

The parable also exhorts us to wait for the time of the ‘harvest’ or the day of reckoning.  This timetable is unknown to us although we like to guess its arrival by trying to interpret the sign given in the Scriptures. But this is a futile and misleading attitude. The triumph and prosperity of the wicked are short-lived, whereas the reward of the Christian who suffers from their wickedness is everlasting. God uses the very wickedness and injustices of evildoers to perfect His elect. Today’s Gospel reminds us of God’s patience, leniency and willingness to wait – to allow time for the wicked to come to conversion and for good people to overcome their small faults.

Fr. Tom Kunnel C.O.