The parable of the weeds among the wheat

Today’s gospel is about another parable. Last Sunday we had the Parable of the Sower and for this Sunday, it is the Parable of the Weeds among the Wheat, which you can read in Matt. 13:24-43.

24 “[Jesus] proposed [a] parable to [the crowds] “The kingdom of heaven may be likened to a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 While everyone was asleep his enemy came and sowed weeds all through the wheat and then went off. 26 When the crop grew and bore fruit, the weeds appeared as well. 27 The slaves of the householder came to him and said. ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where have the weeds come from?”

28 He answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’ His slaves said to him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?” 29 He replied, ‘No, if you pull up the weeds you might uproot the wheat along with them. 30 Let them grow together until harvest. Then at harvest time I will say to the harvesters, “First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles for burning; but gather the wheat into my barn.”

31 He proposed another parable to them. “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a person took and sowed in a field. 32 It is the smallest of all the seeds, yet when full-grown it is the largest of plants. It becomes a large bush, and the ‘birds of the sky come and dwell in its branches.”

33 He spoke to them another parable. “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with three measures of wheat flour until the whole batch was leavened.” 34 All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parable. He spoke to them only in parables, 35 to fulfill what had been said through the prophet: “I will open my mouth in parables. I will announce what has lain hidden from the foundation [of the world].”

36 Then, dismissing the crowds, he went into the house. His disciples approached him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.” 37 he said in reply, “He who sows good seed is the Son of Man, 38 the field is the world, the good seed the children of the kingdom. The weeds are the children of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sows them is the devil.

The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. 40 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. 42 They will throw them into the fiery furnace where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears ought to hear.”

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The parable of the weeds among the wheat is the story of humankind itself. If you opened your Bibles to Matt. 5: 44-45 listen to the words of Jesus, “But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you. 45 that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.”

What does this scripture reading teach us? That in our lifetime, we meet all sorts of people… many who will take advantage of us… bully us, hurt us and choke our lives. They disturb our lives to the point that we end up hating these people… and ask God, why do this people exist in our lives? But this is what our Lord is telling us…those kinds of people are the weeds who our lives. So we have to ask ourselves…are we weeds or are we wheat?

Yet in Matt.5: 44, our Lord “But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you.” Indeed, loving one’s enemies makes Christianity totally different from all the religions of the world, where more often than not, people are taught through the centuries “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.” But then…this is how we humans think… while the God who created us thinks so differently and talks only of love. Of course, ours is not to question God’s ways. We get into trouble when we question God’s will.

While this teaching may sound very unfair… God doesn’t hide his plans for those who believe in him and follows his will. It was then that our Lord Jesus Christ explains this parable to his disciples and speaking plainly he told them, “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.”

Yes, we do live with the devil within our midst and the temptation is more often than not…difficult to resist. But through constant prayer, God sends us his “Sanctifying Grace” which is enough for us to be away from temptation. Then at the end of the age comes the harvest.

As our Lord point out to his disciples, “The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. 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.” In the end… the Good will get their reward in God’s kingdom.

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