Readings and Commentary: [4]
Reading 1: Wisdom 12:13, 16-19
There is no god besides you who have the care of all,
that you need show you have not unjustly condemned.
For your might is the source of justice;
your mastery over all things makes you lenient to all.
For you show your might when the perfection of your power is disbelieved;
and in those who know you, you rebuke temerity.
But though you are master of might, you judge with clemency,
and with much lenience you govern us;
for power, whenever you will, attends you.
And you taught your people, by these deeds,
that those who are just must be kind;
and you gave your children good ground for hope
that you would permit repentance for their sins.
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Commentary on Wis 12:13, 16-19
The Wisdom author provides a unique insight into the Old Testament perception of God’s power and mercy. The passage begins with a statement that God is the only god. There is no other to whom the Lord God answers, to whom he must justify his actions. His will is the source of justice, and because God is capable of destroying what he created, the fact that he chooses not to is proof that he is “lenient.”
The author tells the people that, when God’s primacy is challenged by unbelieving people, he reveals his might. Those who do have faith in him are expected to be confident and outspoken in praise of God (“you rebuke temerity”). The passage concludes with a testimony of God’s mercy, for in his omnipotence he shows clemency to those who err, and in compassion God gives hope to the people for repentance and forgiveness.
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 86:5-6, 9-10, 15-16
R. (5a) Lord, you are good and forgiving.
You, O Lord, are good and forgiving,
abounding in kindness to all who call upon you.
Hearken, O Lord, to my prayer
and attend to the sound of my pleading.
R. Lord, you are good and forgiving.
All the nations you have made shall come
and worship you, O Lord,
and glorify your name.
For you are great, and you do wondrous deeds;
you alone are God.
R. Lord, you are good and forgiving.
You, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in kindness and fidelity.
Turn toward me, and have pity on me;
give your strength to your servant.
R. Lord, you are good and forgiving.
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Commentary on Ps 86:5-6, 9-10, 15-16
Psalm 86 is a lament. The psalmist sings of a life afflicted and asks God to give his servant relief. The song indicates the faithfulness of the singer, even in times of distress. The themes of forgiveness and mercy are confidently expected for those who believe and trust in God.
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Reading II: Romans 8:26-27
Brothers and sisters:
The Spirit comes to the aid of our weakness;
for we do not know how to pray as we ought,
but the Spirit himself intercedes with inexpressible groanings.
And the one who searches hearts
knows what is the intention of the Spirit,
because he intercedes for the holy ones
according to God’s will.
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Commentary on Rom 8:26-27
In the previous verses, St. Paul’s dialogue has been explaining to the Romans that the glory of Christ will be shared by those who believe in him, and the sufferings of the present life are preparatory to future redemption. It is through the Holy Spirit that interior faith is communicated to God in prayer. Even the imperfect intent of the Christian is received because of the intercession of the Holy Spirit and because of God’s love and mercy.
“The third testimony to the new life and glorious destiny of Christians. Man's aspirations risk being inefficacious because of his natural weakness, but the Spirit adds to them his intercession that transcends that weakness (hyperentygchanei, "intercedes over and above"). The result is that the Christian utters what would otherwise be ineffable. Even to pray "Abba, Father," the Spirit must dynamically assist the Christian (8:15; Galatians 4:6). But the Christian who so prays is aware that the Spirit is manifesting his presence to him. […] He who searches the hearts: An OT phrase for God (Proverbs 20:27; Psalm 139:1; 1 Corinthians 4:5). Only God comprehends the language and the mind of the Spirit, and he recognizes such assisted prayer. according to God's will: Lit., "according to God." It was part of God's loving plan of salvation that the Spirit should play such a dynamic role in the aspirations and prayers of Christians. This plan will now be sketched briefly in vv. 28-30.” [5]
CCC: Rom 8:26-39 2739; Rom 8:26-27 2634; Rom 8:26 741, 2559, 2630, 2736; Rom 8:27 2543, 2736, 2766
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Gospel: Matthew 13:24-43
Jesus proposed another parable to the crowds, saying:
“The kingdom of heaven may be likened
to a man who sowed good seed in his field.
While everyone was asleep his enemy came
and sowed weeds all through the wheat, and then went off.
When the crop grew and bore fruit, the weeds appeared as well.
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?’
He answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’
His slaves said to him,
‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’
He replied, ‘No, if you pull up the weeds
you might uproot the wheat along with them.
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.”’”
He proposed another parable to them.
“The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed
that a person took and sowed in a field.
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.’”
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.”
All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables.
He spoke to them only in parables,
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.
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.”
He said in reply, “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.
The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.
Just as weeds are collected and burned up with fire,
so will it be at the end of the age.
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.
Whoever has ears ought to hear.”
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Commentary on Mt 13:24-43
In the first parable (unique to St. Matthew’s Gospel) we see the metaphor of the field used to describe the whole of mankind. The fact that the householder does not permit his slaves to tear out the weeds for fear of killing the wheat as well is a warning to the disciples not to judge or attempt to alienate themselves from those with whom they have contact who reject the word.
“In this narrative in parable form Jesus creates an atmosphere that illustrates how, as divine Word, he attracts by persuading rather than by compelling. The number and variety of the parables show God’s wisdom as leaving no approach to man’s heart untried. The omnipotent Word manifests his power through mercy administered with patience. He wants to be loved more than to be obeyed, or to be obeyed only as a mode of being loved.” [6]
The parables of the “Mustard Seed” and “Yeast” (see also Mark 4:30-32 and Luke 13:18-21) emphasize that from the smallest of beginnings with the proclamation of the word, the Kingdom of God expands to encompass all peoples.
CCC: Mt 13:24-30 827; Mt 13:41-42 1034; Mt 13:41 333; Mt 13:42 1034
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Or
Shorter From: Matthew 13:24-30
Jesus proposed another parable to the crowds, saying:
“The kingdom of heaven may be likened to a man
who sowed good seed in his field.
While everyone was asleep his enemy came
and sowed weeds all through the wheat, and then went off.
When the crop grew and bore fruit, the weeds appeared as well.
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?’
He answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’
His slaves said to him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’
He replied, ‘No, if you pull up the weeds
you might uproot the wheat along with them.
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.”’”
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Commentary on Mt 13:24-30
The shorter form focuses specifically on the parable of the “Weeds,” and excludes the explanation of the parable in Matthew 13: 26-42. While the longer form provides a broader view of the Kingdom of God, the shorter form focuses on the consequences of belief or rejection of the “Good News.”
CCC: Mt 13:24-30 827
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Reflection:
“Don’t play God.” That is the message the Lord gives us in his first parable. There are other times when Jesus tells his disciples not to be judgmental. The most notable is “Stop judging, that you may not be judged. For as you judge, so will you be judged, and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you. Why do you notice the splinter in your brother's eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me remove that splinter from your eye,' while the wooden beam is in your eye?” (Matthew 7:1-4). The parable of the Weeds is a bit more complex but with a similar injunction which, of course, also applies to us.
As we have been told time and again over the past several weeks, we are called to be an apostolic people. We have been given so much. The Lord has shown us his love and mercy. He has told us that this love is given without cost and without merit. This same beneficence is reiterated in the reading from the book of Wisdom today. God alone has power over all that is, that moves, breathes, and has life. It is through his mercy that we are able to have life and hope. His unconditional love is made clear in the fact that we are given free will; we can accept God’s Word and believe in him or we can choose the other path.
It is because of this offered choice that the Parable of the Weeds was necessary. If God had chosen, he could have made us in such a way that we would come into being completely obedient to him with absolute faith. We would be like angels, always worshiping and adoring God, ever faithful in our words and actions. But as a creation made in his image and likeness, with free will, we are governed only by our understanding of God’s existence, and our faith in his continued presence, indwelling as the Holy Spirit, omnipresent in his creation, and specifically present in the Eucharist we share.
Yet we grow up in the world as members of a global community. Many of those we encounter do not share our faith in Christ and have rejected his word. These individuals are potentially “the children of the evil one.” And the key word describing them is “potentially.” We are not God! We do not know their hearts. Only God may presume to see clearly who are the true enemies and who are simply misguided. Our command is the same for all: “Love one another.” Jesus makes it even more explicit when he says: “Love your enemies.” It is in this way that the wheat may be cultivated even as it grows among the weeds. It is this way we can nourish one another and even the byproduct of that nourishment may help the weeds become more like the grain desired by our Heavenly Father.
Today we pray that we are always able to express the love of God to those we meet and that we also remember that judgment of others is reserved to God who created all things.
Pax
In other years on July 23: Optional Memorial for Saint Bridget of Sweden, Religious
[1] Catechism links are taken from the
Homiletic Directory, published by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, 29 June 2014.
[2] The picture used is “Landscape with the Parable of the Tares among the Wheat” by Abraham Bloemaert, 1624.
[3] S.S. Commemoratio[4] The readings are taken from the New American Bible with the exception of the psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
[5] Jerome Biblical Commentary, Prentice Hall, Inc., © 1968, 53:90, p. 317.[6] Fire of Mercy Heart of the Word Volume II, Erasmo Leiva-Merikakis, Ignatius Press, San Francisco, CA, © 2003 p. 237.
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