The Gospel according to Matthew (13:36-43)
Jesus dismissed the crowds and went into the house.
His disciples approached him and said,
“Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.”
He said in reply, “He who sows good seed is the Son of Man,
the field is the world, the good seed the children of the Kingdom.
The weeds are the children of the Evil One,
and the enemy who sows them is the Devil.
The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.
Just as weeds are collected and burned up with fire,
so will it be at the end of the age.
The Son of Man will send his angels,
and they will collect out of his Kingdom
all who cause others to sin and all evildoers.
They will throw them into the fiery furnace,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.
Then the righteous will shine like the sun
in the Kingdom of their Father.
Whoever has ears ought to hear.”
Reflection:
Today’s Gospel is taken up with Jesus’ explanation of the parable of the weeds & the wheat, which we heard just a week or so ago at Sunday Mass. I was consulting one of the sources I often use to help me plan out these reflections – the website operated by the Irish Jesuits – and caught an interesting comment the writer of today’s Gospel commentary made: “in the original parable, the emphasis seems to be on the necessary and unavoidable coexistence of good and bad within the Christian community, the emphasis here is more on what will happen at the end: the punishment of the wicked and the reward of the good.”
As a Deacon, one of the ministries that I help with at my parish of St Rita’s is that of bereavement – caring for families who have suffered a loss, and walking with them through the process to plan for the Funeral Mass for their loved one. In the last few weeks at St Rita’s, there have been several funerals to plan, including two this very week (including the day when you will be listening to or reading this reflection). I mention all that, because that perspective offered by the Irish Jesuits fits right in with bereavement ministry. After all, we are celebrating the life of one who has left us, commending that person to the Creator, knowing we will miss their physical presence, but trusting in the hope we have as followers of Jesus that the parting is temporary.
But as humans, we could be forgiven if we have some doubt about that. I mean, did I REALLY do enough to be counted among the ones Jesus says will “shine like the sun”? Speaking for myself, having some holy fear about that is not a bad thing. It means that we recognize our human weakness, and know that it is only by the grace of God that we can be “righteous”, and be welcomed into that eternal Kingdom one day. Let us not, though, look to that day with complete fear and nothing else. God truly does do all He can to draw His children to Him in heaven one day. We have to cooperate with that work, because God gave each of us the gift of free will. Let us trust, then, that if we ask God to help us on that journey, we know – we KNOW – that God will fulfill that prayer. He will help us, and not only that, He will help us to draw others to Him, just by the witness of our lives.
Maybe we will have an opportunity to do that with our words, too. Know in that instance that God will give you the words, just as Jesus Himself promised. Let us go forth today and every day and make that prayer, and then trust that God will fulfill it, and will help us, imperfect as we are, to shine like the sun a little bit now, as we make our journey toward heaven together.
Action for the Day:
Offer a prayer, won’t you, for all those who have recently (or even not so recently) lost loved ones? If you would pray today for John Houseman and Adelina Flores from my parish, too, I would appreciate that, and I know the Houseman and Flores families will as well.
Link to the DEACON5 website: https://deacon5.com/
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