Jesus cryptically reveals the reality of the Spiritual Combat in the Parable of the Weeds. Every Catholic man can grow in happiness by seeking God’s help to build the Virtue of Faith and by building the Virtue of Justice so he can always defend the innocent from sabotage and theft.
Liturgy
16th Week in Ordinary time – Saturday – Mt 13:24-30
Commentary
Continuing His “Sermon of Parables” (Mt 13), in The Parable of the Weeds among the Wheat, Jesus describes a devious act of sabotage against His Kingdom by Satan and his men (see also Mt 13:36-43).
Intimately knowing the mindset of His audience through His 30 years of living in a small Galilean town, Jesus had first-hand experience of the challenges of securing one’s daily bread. As with The Parable of the Sower (Mt 13:1-9), The Parable of the Weeds among the Wheat speaks directly to people who lived close to the land; those who heard Jesus’ words either directly worked the land or regularly observed the production of food. Even today, The Parable of the Weeds among the Wheat continues to prompt a visceral reaction by those who toil and sweat to produce food, struggling with ever-present weeds which constantly seek to choke out their crops. Jesus knew how to connect with men.
To modern readers, the “plot” of an enemy coming at night to sow weeds may seem to be a bit far-fetched; it is not. The evil tactic of sabotaging another’s field had serious ramifications for families and society that relied on successful crops to survive and to feed warriors who protected their villages from evil attack; if crops failed, people starved and could not defend their land. Knowing the devious practice of casting weeds and the need for food to feed occupying armies, the Romans had made it a crime to sow weeds.
Be awed by Jesus Christ
Be impressed at the skill of Jesus, the Divine Prophet, in the crafting of His parables: Jesus, in His Human Nature, builds a rich and robust understanding of human experience which He uses to create parables; Divine Knowledge, Jesus’ parables are supernaturally conceived, which perfectly integrates the call to holiness and skillfully uses Logic and Pathos (parts of Reason) to appeal to the minds and hearts of men across the ages; mysteriously, Jesus’ parables have multiple levels of meaning, some of which can not be understood unless one has been given and accepted the gift of faith.
Ask God to give you an undaunted faith
Realize: Like the mysterious growth of seeds, the Kingdom of God on earth is mysteriously made manifest in His Holy Catholic Church; every Catholic man’s faith can be strengthened by the mysterious reality that the Almighty Father has given His Holy Catholic Church the authority, wisdom, and power to build His Kingdom on earth.
Believe: Reflect upon the mystery of the Holy Catholic Church (CCC 748-780).
Pray: Almighty Father, help me build the Virtue of Faith (a part of Justice) so I grow in my awe of the gift of Your Holy Catholic Church, I have an undaunted faith, and I more perfectly respond to Your call to help build Your Church.
Defend the innocent from the sabotage of theft
Realize: The evil sabotage that Jesus denounces in The Parable of the Weeds among the Wheat is a form of theft, and continues today in devious modern forms: the destruction and theft of property by mobs who justify their violence as payback for some perceived “injustice”; the devious destruction of a person’s reputation and livelihood by those who oppose the person’s view; the boycott of companies who do not support some political opinion, etc.
Believe: Reflect upon The 7th Commandment-Thou shall not Steal (CCC 2401-2463).
Pray: Jesus, Perfection of Justice, help me build the Virtue of Justice so I always respect the dignity of another’s reputation and property, and think, speak, and act to defend the innocent from thievery by evil men.