Parable of the Weeds Explained

In today's Gospel, Matthew 13: 36-43, Jesus explains the parable of the weeds in the field. The one who sows good seeds, of course,  is Jesus. The "field is the world". The good seed [is] the children of God's Kingdom. The weeds, or bad seeds, are "the children of the Evil One and the enemy who sows them is the Devil." At the end of time, the angels will "collect out of his Kingdom all who cause others to sin and all evildoers--[the bad seeds or the weeds]." These individuals will be cast out of God's sight forever and will live in everlasting torment. They will be thrown "into the fiery furnace, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth."  The righteous, on the other hand, will be led by the angels into God's eternal Kingdom. They will see God face to face and live with God forever in unspeakable love, joy and peace which this world cannot give!

Lord, thank you for securing entrance into the Everlasting Kingdom by your death and resurrection for those who cling to You, seek You with all their heart, and serve you and others by their loving service. Thank you also, Lord, for being there when we get caught by Satan's lies, fall into sin, and, through grace, repent of our wrongdoing and turn back to You. Thank you for everyone who is a good seed that you have sown in the garden of my life and who, by grace, continue to bear good fruit. Have mercy, Lord, on the "weeds" among us, on those who, knowingly or unknowingly, are "children of the Evil One" and who are sown by the Devil.

Lord, have mercy on those who cause others to sin!  Have mercy on evildoers--human traffickers, sexual predators, corrupt, depraved individuals who, as children of the Evil One, go about treating others cruelly, act unjustly, hatefully without compassion and without love and thus deprive others and Mother Earth of their basic human rights. Have mercy on all who deceive others and vent venomous, hate-filled actions upon them!  Show mercy to anyone who has become a plaything of Satan and who, being lied to by the Devil, the Father of Lies, is thus caught in Satan's trap.  May these people, and all of us, look to You, Lord, for help, admit when we become entangled in Satan's lies.  When we fall into sin, may we seek Your forgiveness of our wrongdoing! I ask this in Jesus' name.

The Spiritual and the Unspiritual at War within Us

In today’s first reading, Galatians 5: 18-25,  Paul presents a clear picture of the two laws operative within human nature: the law of the flesh and the law of the spirit. They are easily recognizable by the works which flow from them. If I am operating from the  flesh, I will be involved in immoral acts, acts of impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, rivalry, jealousy, outbursts of anger, acts of selfishness.  In that case, I will also  be planting seeds of divisiveness, creating factions, being envious, engaging in orgies and acts of drunkenness, Paul tells me.  On the other hand, when I am functioning under the guidance of the Spirit, the works that follow will yield the fruits of “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control”.

Like Paul, (cf Rom 7: 14-25), each of us encounters  within us that  which is “unspiritual,” things of the flesh.  There are times when we do not “understand” our “own behavior,” when we “fail to carry out the things” we “want to do,” that is, things under the guidance of the Spirit, and find ourselves “doing the very things” we hate, behaviors prompted by the law of the flesh.  “When,” in the words of Romans 7: 16, “…[we] act against …[our] own will, [against the law of the Spirit, then,]  the thing behaving that way is not …[our true] self but sin living…[in] us….Who will rescue…[us from our false self] doomed to death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!”

If we remain in Jesus, our Lord, the true vine, Jesus tells us in John 15:1-7, we   will bear “fruit in plenty; …(Jn 15: 5).  “Every branch in…[Jesus] that bears no fruit …[the Father] cuts away and every branch that does bear fruit…he prunes to make it bear even more. You are pruned already, by means of the word that I [the Lord] have spoken to you….”

Oh, the wonders of our salvation in Christ Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.