Homily for Sixteenth Sunday of the Year (A)
First Reading – Wisdom 12: 13, 16 – 19
Second Reading – Romans 8: 26 – 27
Gospel – Matthew 13: 24 – 43
Today’s readings tell us about a very patient and compassionate God Who is hopeful that the so-called “weeds” among us will be converted. They warn us that we should not be in a hurry to eliminate such elements from the Church or Society or the family based on unwarranted and hasty judgment. The first reading from the Book of Wisdom shows us a merciful and patient God, rather than the disciplining and punishing God presented in the book of Genesis. The second reading, taken from Paul’s letter to the Romans, reminds us that the Spirit of God constantly empowers us in our prayers and in our weakness. So, we should be patient with ourselves and with others. in the Gospel parable of the wheat and the weeds, Jesus presents a wise and patient God who allows the good and the evil to coexist in the world until the harvest, and blesses the evil ones for the little good they may have done, so that they may come to conversion before their time ends: “Let the wheat and the weeds [darnel] grow together till the harvest time.” In other words, God is “delaying” the end of the world for repentant sinners, giving them more time, and offering them the graces of strength and good will so that they may get reconciled with Him. God calmly recognises that there is evil in the world, but He sees that evil is no excuse for the good people not to do good with the power of God at their disposal. Through the parable of the wheat and the weeds in today’s Gospel, Jesus calls us to be patient with those who seem to us to fail to meet the high ethical standard expected of a Christian.
We should not be discouraged because of the “weeds” in the Church: Why does God permit evil to triumph so often in this world? Why are the wicked allowed to prosper? Jesus answers these questions in the parable. 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.
We need to pray for the conversion of “weeds” to wheat. We are called to recognise evil, name it, and then to give it to God in prayer so He can take care of it, the way the farmer in the parable told his servants that he would take care of the weeds. God wants us to do good instead of evil, to bless instead of cursing, to praise instead of criticising, to help instead of standing aside, to love instead of hating, to forgive instead of resenting, and to tell the truth instead of lies. The disciples to whom Jesus addresses this parable include Judas who will betray Jesus, Peter, who will deny him, Thomas, who will doubt him, and James and John, who cherish personal ambitions. In the end, only Judas is (apparently) lost, showing us that many “weeds” can become high yielding wheat.
Why we should NOT treat others as “weeds”: The Parable hints at why we should not treat others as “weeds,” i.e., evil or wicked. 1) 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 recognised that struggle within himself. 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 Cor 12:9). Relying on the power of God, we, too, must learn to be patient with evil-doers. The time for judgment has 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. Here is Karl Rahner’s piece of advice to enthusiastic “weed”-gatherers: “The number-one cause of atheism is Christians themselves. 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 defence 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.”
“Honour Grandparents”: Pope’s Message for World Day of Grandparents and Elderly with a call to honour and never abandon grandparents, “Let us honour them, neither depriving ourselves of their company nor depriving them of ours. May we never allow the elderly to be cast aside!” This is Pope Francis’ heartfelt invitation in his Message for the Third World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly, which the Church will celebrate on Sunday, 23 July. The World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly, the Holy Father said, is meant “to be a small but precious sign of hope for them and for the whole Church.” The Church observes the World Day each year on the fourth Sunday in July, close to the feast of Jesus’ grandparents, Saints Joachim and Anne. Pope Francis instituted this Day in 2021 since, he believes, grandparents are often forgotten, yet they “are the link between generations, passing on the experience of life and faith to the young.” ‘His Mercy is from age to age’ Pope Francis chose as this year’s theme “His mercy is from age to age” (Lk 1:50), which he recalled, takes us back to the joyful meeting between the young Mary and her elderly relative Elizabeth (Lk 1:39-56). The Holy Spirit had descended upon Elizabeth, and had earlier, descended upon Mary, prompting her to respond with the Magnificat, in which she proclaimed that the Lord’s mercy is from generation to generation. That same Spirit, the Pope observes in the Message, “blesses and accompanies every fruitful encounter between different generations: between grandparents and grandchildren, between young and old.” Bring joy to the elderly’s hearts The Pope expressed the delight that young people can offer older generations. “God wants young people to bring joy to the hearts of the elderly, as Mary did to Elizabeth, and gain wisdom from their experiences. Yet, above all, the Lord wants us not to abandon the elderly…” The Pope lamented how often they tragically are pushed aside. This year, the World Day, the Pope recalled, takes place close to World Youth Day, stressing how maintaining quality connections with the older generations has priceless value for the young. “The Lord,” the Pope suggested, “trusts that young people, through their relationships with the elderly, will realise that they are called to cultivate memory and recognise the beauty of being part of a much larger history.” Become friends Friendship with an older person, he said, can help the young “to see life not only in terms of the present and realise e that not everything depends on them and their abilities.” For the elderly, on the other hand, he noted, the presence of a young person in their lives “can give them hope that their experience will not be lost and that their dreams can find fulfilment.”