Daily Catholic Lectio. Sat, 27 July 2024. Let them grow together!

Daily Catholic Lectio

Sat, 27 July 2024

Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time – Saturday

Jeremiah 7:1-11. Matthew 13:24-30

Let them grow together!

In today’s gospel reading, Jesus gives a parable of the Kingdom of Heaven. In the parable, a landlord sows good seeds in his field. When the servants are asleep, the enemy sows weeds. When the servants warn the landlord about the weeds, he tells them to let the wheat and the weeds grow together.

The parable brings forth three elements of the Kingdom of Heaven, or of God: “God’s providence,” “God’s knowledge,” and “God’s patience.”

(a) God’s Providence

God does not keep his land idle or empty. He always fills it with his goodness and abundance. He never lets our wells run dry.

(b) God’s Knowledge

God knows about the evil in the world and its source. The Kingdom of Heaven does not keep itself aloof from the evil, but makes relate to it.

(c) God’s Patience

God does not act on the weeds immediately. He keeps patient. The weeds, when they are left to themselves, grow fast. They become hard and strong. The weeds do not become wheat, even when they are let out on their own. They, in fact, impede the growth of the wheat. They take the space reserved for the wheat. However, the landlord is patient. God does not act immediately when we witness a lot of evil in the world. He lets it grow. He gives human persons time for their conversion. God’s patience does not mean God’s indifference. This is a sign of his mercy and compassion.

In the first reading, Prophet Jeremiah, standing in front of the Temple of Jerusalem, prophesies to the people. He points to the unjust acts prevailing among the people; he points to the worship of Ba’al in the Temple.

The people of Israel, despite their injustice to neighbours and their infidelity to God, felt that they were safe in the hands of God and in the temple. In fact, what they had was pseudo-safety. The Temple, which they call their’safety’’, will soon be destroyed.

Further, the Lord warns the people that they have transformed the Temple into a den of thieves.

The people of Israel possessed the Promised Land because of God’s providence. However, they were unfaithful to God’s covenant. God showed them his patience.

What are the lessons for us?

(a) If our nature is that of wheat, we need to keep it up; we need to keep it undefiled. We must never wish to be like weeds. Compromising with evil is never an option. However, we must accept the fact that we must live amidst evil.

(b) We must possess God’s patience in our lives and relationships. If the landlord had acted immediately on the words of the servants, he would have destroyed the wheat as well. The landlord has serenity and patience.

(c) We must let go of the servant mindset. The servants make a noise about the weeds when the master is least interested in them. We are not greater than the Master. He knows everything. He knows when to do what to do. We must not be anxious or worried like these servants. And we must never try to influence the master.

And the servants, who were asleep while the enemy sowed the weeds, are making a commotion now. In order to foil their earlier carelessness, they now pretend to be responsible. We must be very alert about our ‘sleep’ – the moments when we lose control of our ‘field.’ God expects from us total vigilance.

The pilgrims of hope know that carelessness costs our lives! (Jubilee 2025 AD, bite 158).

Fr. Yesu Karunanidhi

Archdiocese of Madurai

Missionary of Mercy