DAILY MEDITATION: “Let them grow together”

Liturgical day: Saturday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Gospel text (Mt 13,24-30): Jesus proposed a parable to the crowds. '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.'''

“Let them grow together”

Fr. Manuel SÁNCHEZ Sánchez
(Sevilla, Spain)

Today, we ponder over a parable concerning community life, where good and evil, Gospel and sin, constantly get mixed up. Settling this situation as the servant suggests would seem the logical approach: “Do you want us to go and pull them up?” (Mt 13, 28). But God's patience is infinite, and He waits until the very last moment —as a good father would— for the possibility of a change: “Let them grow together until harvest” (Mt 13, 30).

An ambiguous and mediocre reality, perhaps, but that is where God's Kingdom grows. We must seek to discover the signs of the Kingdom of God, so we can bring it about, while avoiding whatever conforms us to a life of mediocrity. However, living in that mixture of good and evil should not hinder nor hamper the advance of our spiritual life; for, otherwise, we would be transforming our wheat into weeds. “Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where have the weeds come from?” (Mt 13, 27). It is not possible to grow in any other way, nor can we look for the Kingdom anywhere else than simply in this society we are given to live in. Our task is to make the Kingdom of God grow in it.

The Gospel invites us to overcome bigotry and hypocrisy in the Christian community. In all groups, no matter how healthy they are meant to be, it is easy to find this kind of attitude. Leaning on ideals, we all feel tempted to think we are the lucky ones that have already achieved perfection, while the rest is still far from it. Yet, Jesus proves that all of us, without exception, are still on our way.

Let us be on the alert therefore, to prevent the devil from sneaking up on us, which is what normally happens when we conform ourselves too much to this world. St. Angela of the Cross said, “we are not to listen to the voices of the world saying there are who do this or that; we stick to our own way, without inventing any variations, and always following our way of doing those things, which are like hidden treasures; for they will open the gates of Heaven for us.” Let the Mother of God help us conforming only to love.

Source: evangeli.net