Sunday, July 20, 2008

Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

The parable of the weeds and the wheat provides some comfort to all who deal with evil, in other words, all who are seeking good. Jesus tells this parable as an explanation of why there is evil in the world (that it was sown by the evil one), and why it continues (because it is too destructive to remove it now). Those who dwell among those who seek destruction and the ruin of souls know that his traps are all around us, that like the roots of weeds, they are intertwined. But we can take comfort in the fact that Jesus promises that they will be removed when He comes again - first those who seek evil to their destruction, then those who have responded to God's will to glory.

But there is perhaps another level here than just dealing with people who are evil. We are all plagued by sins, we all harbor destructive thoughts. We go to Confession, we seek to have them rooted from our hearts and minds, but like weeds, they keep coming back. Like weeds, the smallest part of the root may remain and allow it to sprout back. While it is minimally comfortable to understand that this is part of the human condition, we know that Jesus will remove these evils from our hearts and minds, that He can perfect us.

In discernment, there are times when we do not have a clear understanding of God's will for our lives. Like the weeds and the wheat, we pay attention to the grain, not the weeds. We nourish what is good, not seeking to destroy the doubt. We need to ask Christ to remove the doubts, certainly, but we can respond despite the doubts!

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