At that time, 24 Jesus told the crowds another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field.

 

Mt 13,24-30. Saturday of the 16th Week of the TC, July 27, 2024.

Gospel

At that time, 24 Jesus told the crowds another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 While everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. 26 When the wheat sprouted and began to produce ears, then the weeds also appeared. 27 The servants went to the owner and said to him, 'Sir, didn't you sow good seed in your field? Where did the weeds come from?' 28 The owner answered, 'An enemy did this.' The servants asked him, 'Do you want us to go and pull up the weeds?' 29 The owner answered, 'No! It may happen that while you pull up the weeds, you will also uproot the wheat. 30 Let both grow until the harvest. And at harvest time I will tell those who harvest the wheat, 'First pull up the weeds and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.'"

— Word of Salvation.

Reflection

The clarity of Jesus' teachings belongs to His disciples. Jesus Himself is the one who sows the good seed, which are the children of the Kingdom; the field is the world; the weeds are the children of the evil one; the adversary is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; the reapers are the angels. In fact, the text deals with an issue that is not only eschatological, emphasizing not sowing but harvesting, but also the very reality of the Christian community. Therefore, it contradicts the messianic impatience of Jesus' followers, dismissing the idea of ​​a community of "pure" people, disconnected from the reality of the world. The disciples must keep their eyes fixed on God's justice, even though they live in a field that is also full of injustice. It is not up to them to do justice in any way, trying to immediately eliminate their enemies. This would be a form of preserving Pharisaism, a clear expression of hypocrisy, since we are all sinners. Furthermore, it would be a tremendous betrayal of both the teachings and the practice of Jesus Himself. It is not up to them to harvest, but only to sow.

Two attitudes mark this text: the enemy's attitude in causing the destruction of the wheat and the farmer's attitude in preserving even the weeds, so that not a single wheat stalk is lost. Furthermore, it is possible to observe the farmer's patience. His concern is with the future, that is, with the harvest, without losing any of His people. On the other hand, it also points to the fate of those who live in enmity with God. One can even affirm the Lord’s mercy, but nothing justifies a life free from faith, amidst adversity, in a persistent experience of sin, and yet still be welcomed into the Kingdom of God. The glorious future depends mainly on God’s initiative, but also on each person’s conscious response. The Christian community develops in the midst of a world where many adversaries of the Lord also inhabit it. The Church cannot exist in the world separate from everything else. It is not possible to understand a story with total clarity between good and evil, nor to separate them absolutely in institutions and people while they act on a battlefield. The definitive separation will occur in the future, at the final judgment. Even within each person there is a true struggle between what is good and what only hinders a life of holiness. It is necessary to stay alive in the battle, knowing that, to the extent that one places oneself before God, obeying His will and forming oneself in the Word of Salvation, one’s own life is strengthened and tends, by the power of God’s grace, to victory. Each person and the community itself cannot fall asleep in faith and goodness. May the disciples be sponsors of goodness, may they be motivators of life and living in truth, may they always be bearers of salvation, just the opposite of those represented by the weeds, who make others sin by practicing evil. The end result is that, for the disciples, communion with God is reserved, but for the enemies, eternal condemnation. Even if the Kingdom of God seems powerless in the face of evil in the world, we will win with Christ.