First Reading: Wisdom 12: 13, 16 - 19
13 For neither is there any god besides thee, whose care is for all men, to whom thou shouldst prove that thou hast not judged unjustly;
16 For thy strength is the source of righteousness, and thy sovereignty over all causes thee to spare all.
17 For thou dost show thy strength when men doubt the completeness of thy power, and dost rebuke any insolence among those who know it.
18 Thou who art sovereign in strength dost judge with mildness, and with great forbearance thou dost govern us; for thou hast power to act whenever thou dost choose.
19 Through such works thou has taught thy people that the righteous man must be kind, and thou hast filled thy sons with good hope, because thou givest repentance for sins.
Psalms 86: 5 - 6, 9 - 10, 15 - 16
5 For thou, O Lord, art good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call on thee.
6 Give ear, O LORD, to my prayer; hearken to my cry of supplication.
9 All the nations thou hast made shall come and bow down before thee, O Lord, and shall glorify thy name.
10 For thou art great and doest wondrous things, thou alone art God.
15 But thou, O Lord, art a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.
16 Turn to me and take pity on me; give thy strength to thy servant, and save the son of thy handmaid.
Second reading: Romans 8: 26 - 27
26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words.
27 And he who searches the hearts of men knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
Gospel Reading: Matthew 13: 24 - 43
24 Another parable he put before them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field;
25 but while men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away.
26 So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also.
27 And the servants of the householder came and said to him, `Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then has it weeds?'
28 He said to them, `An enemy has done this.' The servants said to him, `Then do you want us to go and gather them?'
29 But he said, `No; lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them.
30 Let both grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.'"
31 Another parable he put before them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed which a man took and sowed in his field;
32 it is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches."
33 He told them another parable. "The kingdom of heaven is like leaven which a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened."
34 All this Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed he said nothing to them without a parable.
35 This was to fulfil what was spoken by the prophet: "I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter what has been hidden since the foundation of the world."
36 Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples came to him, saying, "Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field."
37 He answered, "He who sows the good seed is the Son of man;
38 the field is the world, and the good seed means the sons of the kingdom; the weeds are the sons of the evil one,
39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the close of the age, and the reapers are angels.
40 Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the close of the age.
41 The Son of man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers,
42 and throw them into the furnace of fire; there men will weep and gnash their teeth.
43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.
Sunday Sermon / Preaching / Homily
Why does God allow evils to exist in this world? This is a question which disturbs human mind. A few years ago a popular bumper sticker read, “Stop the world, I want to get off”. The slogan was in protest to all the insanity going on in the world. Large and small scale insanities like nuclear stock piling and wars, terrorisms, cruelties against fellow human beings and the nature, immoralities and crimes, if continue the list grows longer and longer. Was it the same from the beginning? Bible says yes. Cain killed Abel and God punished him. He became frightened and felt sad. Then God gave him protection. Saul and David lived under the same roof, Judas and other disciples were together with Jesus. Mahabharat, the ancient epic of Hinduism says that Pandavas(known for good works) and Kauravas(known for evil doings) were taught together by the same teacher Dhrona. In today’s gospel Jesus says that the wheat and weeds are allowed to grow together. That is a succinct description of human history.
The First Reading from the book of wisdom, providing a background to today’s gospel says that God’s power is not directed toward evil people, but it shows itself in God’s patience, wanting people to repent and allowing them time to do so. St.Paul in the Second Reading tells us that the Holy Spirit is ever with us to help with patience, hope and prayer on our journey towards eternal destination. The gospel says that there will always be sinners and evil doers who will make righteous one’s life more difficult. It is tolerated by God for his own wise purposes.
Parable of wheat and weeds is Christ’s answer to the questions so frequently asked: “Why does God permit evil to triumph so often in this world, why are the wicked allowed to prosper?” Jesus well said that the triumph of the wicked is short-lived, the reward of the righteous one who suffers from others wickedness is everlasting. The very wickedness and injustices of evil-doers are one of the ways that God uses to perfect His elect.
The man who sowed wheat knew the enemy’s cheat. But he didn’t take any revenge or immediate action. He was tolerant till the last moment. As we see in his answer to the servants, he was more concerned of wheat’s safety. The parable says that the enemy sowed the weed during night. The enemy is working 24 hours to sow the evils.
The parable, by telling of God’s patience, is cautioning us to avoid unrealistic purism, angelism and rigid intolerance at home and in the community and provide maximum time for repentance and conversion. It reminds us not to be disappointed or agitated against God, but be grateful. Many times we may think or act like those zealous servants who wanted to uproot the weeds. In our zeal to serve God and society we may go on a crusade against those we perceive as evil, with the intention of cleaning up the church, the nation, or the world. Imagine the surprise and shock the servants must have felt when they went to the farm owner to report the presence of the weeds in the farm and asked for permission to go and pull them out. As far as the servants were concerned that was the right thing to do in order to maximise output, as any good farmer knows. Why then did the farm owner restrain them from pulling out the weeds?
No one who tries to grow a garden or cultivate a farm lets the weeds grow along with the vegetables or wheat. My father was a good farmer. He never allowed weeds to grow with paddy or vegetables in our farm. The man in the parable, who represents God, said, ‘let the wheat and weeds grow together and we will separate them at harvest time’. Because God does not always do things the way we think he should, many people often get angry with God or turn away altogether. There we forget who is the Master.
The master knew that the wheat would survive in spite of the presence of the weeds. The weeds might inconvenience the wheat temporarily but they would not choke them to death or take over the farm. He runs the universe in his eternal wisdom. Although we admit we all fail to be as holy as we know we should be, and we know God is patient and merciful, this is a time to be grateful for His way of dealing with us stems from his infinite love for us. He gives us his help to continue growing in holiness. God bless you.
by
13 For neither is there any god besides thee, whose care is for all men, to whom thou shouldst prove that thou hast not judged unjustly;
16 For thy strength is the source of righteousness, and thy sovereignty over all causes thee to spare all.
17 For thou dost show thy strength when men doubt the completeness of thy power, and dost rebuke any insolence among those who know it.
18 Thou who art sovereign in strength dost judge with mildness, and with great forbearance thou dost govern us; for thou hast power to act whenever thou dost choose.
19 Through such works thou has taught thy people that the righteous man must be kind, and thou hast filled thy sons with good hope, because thou givest repentance for sins.
Psalms 86: 5 - 6, 9 - 10, 15 - 16
5 For thou, O Lord, art good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call on thee.
6 Give ear, O LORD, to my prayer; hearken to my cry of supplication.
9 All the nations thou hast made shall come and bow down before thee, O Lord, and shall glorify thy name.
10 For thou art great and doest wondrous things, thou alone art God.
15 But thou, O Lord, art a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.
16 Turn to me and take pity on me; give thy strength to thy servant, and save the son of thy handmaid.
Second reading: Romans 8: 26 - 27
26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words.
27 And he who searches the hearts of men knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
Gospel Reading: Matthew 13: 24 - 43
24 Another parable he put before them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field;
25 but while men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away.
26 So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also.
27 And the servants of the householder came and said to him, `Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then has it weeds?'
28 He said to them, `An enemy has done this.' The servants said to him, `Then do you want us to go and gather them?'
29 But he said, `No; lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them.
30 Let both grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.'"
31 Another parable he put before them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed which a man took and sowed in his field;
32 it is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches."
33 He told them another parable. "The kingdom of heaven is like leaven which a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened."
34 All this Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed he said nothing to them without a parable.
35 This was to fulfil what was spoken by the prophet: "I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter what has been hidden since the foundation of the world."
36 Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples came to him, saying, "Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field."
37 He answered, "He who sows the good seed is the Son of man;
38 the field is the world, and the good seed means the sons of the kingdom; the weeds are the sons of the evil one,
39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the close of the age, and the reapers are angels.
40 Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the close of the age.
41 The Son of man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers,
42 and throw them into the furnace of fire; there men will weep and gnash their teeth.
43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.
Sunday Sermon / Preaching / Homily
Why does God allow evils to exist in this world? This is a question which disturbs human mind. A few years ago a popular bumper sticker read, “Stop the world, I want to get off”. The slogan was in protest to all the insanity going on in the world. Large and small scale insanities like nuclear stock piling and wars, terrorisms, cruelties against fellow human beings and the nature, immoralities and crimes, if continue the list grows longer and longer. Was it the same from the beginning? Bible says yes. Cain killed Abel and God punished him. He became frightened and felt sad. Then God gave him protection. Saul and David lived under the same roof, Judas and other disciples were together with Jesus. Mahabharat, the ancient epic of Hinduism says that Pandavas(known for good works) and Kauravas(known for evil doings) were taught together by the same teacher Dhrona. In today’s gospel Jesus says that the wheat and weeds are allowed to grow together. That is a succinct description of human history.
The First Reading from the book of wisdom, providing a background to today’s gospel says that God’s power is not directed toward evil people, but it shows itself in God’s patience, wanting people to repent and allowing them time to do so. St.Paul in the Second Reading tells us that the Holy Spirit is ever with us to help with patience, hope and prayer on our journey towards eternal destination. The gospel says that there will always be sinners and evil doers who will make righteous one’s life more difficult. It is tolerated by God for his own wise purposes.
Parable of wheat and weeds is Christ’s answer to the questions so frequently asked: “Why does God permit evil to triumph so often in this world, why are the wicked allowed to prosper?” Jesus well said that the triumph of the wicked is short-lived, the reward of the righteous one who suffers from others wickedness is everlasting. The very wickedness and injustices of evil-doers are one of the ways that God uses to perfect His elect.
The man who sowed wheat knew the enemy’s cheat. But he didn’t take any revenge or immediate action. He was tolerant till the last moment. As we see in his answer to the servants, he was more concerned of wheat’s safety. The parable says that the enemy sowed the weed during night. The enemy is working 24 hours to sow the evils.
The parable, by telling of God’s patience, is cautioning us to avoid unrealistic purism, angelism and rigid intolerance at home and in the community and provide maximum time for repentance and conversion. It reminds us not to be disappointed or agitated against God, but be grateful. Many times we may think or act like those zealous servants who wanted to uproot the weeds. In our zeal to serve God and society we may go on a crusade against those we perceive as evil, with the intention of cleaning up the church, the nation, or the world. Imagine the surprise and shock the servants must have felt when they went to the farm owner to report the presence of the weeds in the farm and asked for permission to go and pull them out. As far as the servants were concerned that was the right thing to do in order to maximise output, as any good farmer knows. Why then did the farm owner restrain them from pulling out the weeds?
No one who tries to grow a garden or cultivate a farm lets the weeds grow along with the vegetables or wheat. My father was a good farmer. He never allowed weeds to grow with paddy or vegetables in our farm. The man in the parable, who represents God, said, ‘let the wheat and weeds grow together and we will separate them at harvest time’. Because God does not always do things the way we think he should, many people often get angry with God or turn away altogether. There we forget who is the Master.
The master knew that the wheat would survive in spite of the presence of the weeds. The weeds might inconvenience the wheat temporarily but they would not choke them to death or take over the farm. He runs the universe in his eternal wisdom. Although we admit we all fail to be as holy as we know we should be, and we know God is patient and merciful, this is a time to be grateful for His way of dealing with us stems from his infinite love for us. He gives us his help to continue growing in holiness. God bless you.
by
No comments:
Post a Comment