16th Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)

Wisdom 12:13, 16-19; Rom 8:26-27; Mt 13:24-43

A man said to his wife: “You are beautiful but stupid at the same time.” The wife responded: “You are correct. God made me beautiful, and for this you got attracted to me. God made me stupid, and for this I got attracted to you.”

(The story is told by Fr. Jerry Orbos)

The parable of the weeds among the wheat provides an interesting description of our earthly condition: There is in every person the presence of the good (the wheat) and the bad (the weeds). Beauty and stupidity exist together in us. Even the most beautiful person has a dark spot or a negative side. Because we wish to be pleasing in the eyes of people and of God, our human frailties sometimes make us down and discourage.

The parable inspires us to be patient with ourselves, to trust that God is not finished with us yet. If God is patient with us, why couldn’t we be patient with ourselves? If God forgives us, why couldn’t we forgive ourselves, too? The infinite mercy of God should make us humble and open, ever willing to learn from our mistakes. Paradoxically, our failures could be the first step of the road to holiness. Christian maturity begins when we realize that we are helpless in the midst of our own weakness and sinfulness. It is important to recognize our great need of God as we traverse the path of righteousness.

Good and evil exist not only in us but also among us. There are good and bad citizens, hardworking and lazy workers, sensible and foolish teenagers, responsible and neglectful parents, honest and corrupt politicians, etc. If this is the situation, what are we supposed to do? Canonize the good ones and annihilate the bad ones? Why not bring all bad people to the lethal chamber? This is the suggestion of the servant in the parable: Let us get rid of the weeds by pulling them out! This, however, is not the way of God. He remains patient and hopeful even in the most desperate situations.

Some people today think that by killing people they can change the world and that by sowing terror there will be peace. But we know that these people are misled. We cannot deliver peace by terrorism and we cannot bring progress by killing people. Martin Luther King, Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Theresa and John Paul II – made a difference in the world by their discipline, self-sacrifice, hard work, and personal convictions . . . but never with violence. The path of terror is a misguided attempt to get a quick-fix solution to world’s problems. King, Gandhi, Theresa, and the great pope followed the way of God in their compassionate waiting, secured with the knowledge that the great harvest will come at the prescribed time. In God’s time, goodness will triumph over evil: the good will be gathered in the house of God and evil will be thrown into fire.