Gospel: Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43
24 He put before them another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field; 25 but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away. 26 So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well. 27 And the slaves of the householder came and said to him, “Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then, did these weeds come from?” 28He answered, “An enemy has done this.” The slaves said to him, “Then do you want us to go and gather them?” 29 But he replied, “No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them. 30 Let both of them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.” ’
36 Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples approached him, saying, ‘Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.’ 37 He answered, ‘The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; 38 the field is the world, and the good seed are the children of the kingdom; the weeds are the children of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. 40 Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, 42 and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let anyone with ears listen!
How special to walk with Jesus, who loves nature, on the hillsides around the Sea of Galilee, and to listen to Him teach us about the Kingdom of God. He uses the attractive natural landscape, all kinds of local trees, flowers, birds and plants. Walk with Him. Enjoy the beauty, the birdsong, the fragrance of the flowers, and the waves on the Sea of Galilee! Each of them offers us a lesson for life.
Walking among the fields, His team can see some weeds among the wheat - though they are very similar and are hard to distinguish until they are ripe and ready for the harvest.
The parable invites us to be aware that the Teacher knows what He has in His field and that the workers are aware of their duties. They refer to their Lord before they execute their own judgement or pre-judgements. No rush, no reason to expose the wheat to danger. The time will come to reap the good and the evil, then screening will be done by the Lord's order.
We may see some weeds in the field and might decide that that they need to be uprooted. But let us refer to the Lord first, no pre-judgements, no condemnation of anyone. Behave with prudence, tolerance and patience. Trust God who is present and knows everything!
St. Paul, based on this spiritual wisdom, wrote to the Corinthians and to us today in 1 Corinthians 4:5 "For that reason, don't judge anything before the due time, until the Lord comes; he will bring to light everything that is hidden in darkness and reveal the designs of all hearts. Then everyone will receive from God the appropriate commendation."
Do we return to God first before taking action against those we may consider weeds among wheat in the field?