Jer 7:1-11
Ps 84:3, 4, 5-6a and 8a, 11
Mt 13:24-30 Full Readings
The Wheat and the Weeds
Brethren, the image Jesus uses in today's Gospel is a common everyday example of planting, harvesting, and sorting the good fruit from the bad. Weeds can spoil and even kill a good harvest if they are not separated and destroyed at the proper time. Uprooting them too early, though, can destroy the good plants in the process. And so Jesus says that the sower will leave the wheat and the weeds to grow and at the time of harvest, he will separate the wheat from the wheat and the weeds, and the wheat will be burnt. Jesus used this image to teach us what will happen on the last day, the day of our last reckoning, for God will sit at his judgement seat and separate the good from the evil and the evil will burn in hell forever while the good enjoy eternal life with him. In all we are doing, we keep in mind our last reckoning?
The image of wheat and weeds makes known to us the reality of evil in the world. Evil is real and according to the Gospel it is being sown every day by the devil which is always seeking to ruin souls and destroy the good seeds in the world. At baptism, the goods seeds of the word of God were sown in us and the task of weeding them, watering them so that they bear fruit was given to us too with the help of the Holy Spirit. However, the devil also approaches us daily with its glittering pleasures to sow the bad seeds so that the weeds may grow in our hearts too. If we allow it, we may lose the kingdom of God. The choice remains in our hands, to choose evil or choose good, but in these choices we make, we must keep in mind our last reckoning.
Knowing that evil is real will help us make better decisions. Jesus Himself says the weeds will not be uprooted but will be allowed to grow with the wheat. So it is with evil and the devil, it will always be with us and will flourish when we accept it but will lose value when we ignore it and focus on the good. What we have to be aware of is that the devil is always looking for us, who do good deeds and live lives worthy of the Kingdom. The gardener will tell you that the weeds also like the rich loamy soil and will flourish when left to grow, so is the devil, it likes us who try to avoid it so that when we fall to it we will be ashamed in front of everyone.
How do we come out when we have allowed weeds to grow in our hearts? While the weeds can never become wheat, it is possible for human beings to turn from being like wheat to being wheat. Again it is our choice, if we want to do weeding in our hearts, the solution is to turn to Jesus and repent through the sacrament of reconciliation. This sacrament is what we can call weeding so that we will leave only good seeds to flourish in our hearts. God Himself is patient and allows both the good and evil people to live together and even gives all them rain, but His patience doesn't mean His judgement and justice will never come, it will come at the end and if we have not lived lives worth of Him, we will be thrown to hell. His patience therefore is an invitation for us to change our way of living. That's why we need weeding through sacrament of reconciliation.
Jeremiah in the first reading tells us that the Lord sees whatever we are doing, and as he rebuked the Israelites who made God's temple a den of thieves because they do all acts of evil and then come back to his temple to praise him just by mere lip service. God became angry with them and that why he sends Jeremiah to warm to them lest they face the wrath of God. This warning is for us too for many times we too pretend to be righteous while we are full of malice inside. The time is now to change form weeds to wheat.
Reflect today on your last reckoning. How would you want it to be? The way you want it to be is solely your choice and depends on how you live your life here on earth. The decision is yours and you also know the consequences; either become wheat or weeds. Pray for the Holy spirit to help you make good choices in living your life.
Let us pray
Lord, I know that the way I live my life today and the choices I make will affect my life after here. Send me your Spirit to be my guide so that I may live a life and make decisions worthy of your kingdom. Amen
Be blessed
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