WISDOM 12: 13, 16-19
PSALM 85: 5-6, 9-10, 15-16
ROMANS 8: 26-27
MATTHEW 13: 24-43
In today’s Gospel, Jesus continues to use parables to teach about the mysteries of the kingdom of God. It speaks of the good and evil in our midst.
Sometimes the evil in the world is so overwhelming that we can become swallowed by it. We feel that since we cannot overcome it, we might as well accept it or be part of it. Jesus in the Gospel is telling us to be strong. In the midst of the weeds, we must stay true and bear the fruits of God for in the end, good will prevail.
Sometime the evil we see can lead us avoid and despise or to hate others. We tend to judge, condemn and reject them. These may be street people, those with severe mental disorders, vandals and criminals, or just people we do not like.
There was an incident in Clarkson where I was the parish priest and we were in the process of building the church. I had a difficult encounter with a young teenage boy. One day I caught him destroying school property. I told him off. I won’t say what he said.
After we had built the church, at the first Sunday Mass, there he was, sitting at the back row, all dressed up. I was stunned. I spoke to him and welcomed him. I didn’t see him again in church but he also didn’t cause any more trouble. I tell this story because we can never really say what is in a person.
Jesus’ parable is a parable of patience and respect for each other. In the time of the early church, there were some, like the Pharisees who believed that the Church should consists only of so-called ‘good’ people and sinners should be ruthlessly weeded out. In using this parable of Jesus, St Matthew was showing that this was not what Jesus intended.
There is no single dividing line neatly dividing good people from bad people. The Church is made up of people, good and bad. To reject a person because of the bad that he/she has done is to fail to notice the good in them.
This fails to recognise that Christ came to save all of us who are sinners. A Church without sinners is like a hospital that refuses to accept the sick.
And there is a struggle of good and evil in each one of us too. We are all capable of evil deeds but also great admirable deeds. When we become less patient with other people, we run the risk of being less patient with ourselves as well. We can lose sight of God’s love and mercy and doubt His forgiveness for us when we do wrong. And personal failure in this case can lead to despair and depression.
The response to evil in the world in found in the first two readings. In the first reading, we hear of the just, caring and patient God whom we are called to imitate. St Paul’s letter to the Romans talks about the Holy Spirit whom we rely on to overcome our own weakness. Recognising our own need for the Holy Spirit gives us hope when we fail, and strength to persevere.
And allowing the Holy Spirit to change us, we become like the mustard seed to give strength and hope to others; we become like the yeast making a difference in the midst of evil.
There will always be evil in this world. We should never succumb to it or become judgmental of others but to be an instrument of God to make present His Mercy.