Arulvakku

19.07.2020 — God’s patience and goodness

16th Sunday Ord. Time – 19th July 2020 — Gospel: Mt 13,24-43

God’s patience and goodness

In this parable the land owner is the Lord, who he created the field and saw that it was very good. It’s really immaterial who was responsible for the weeds.  But no one can question the fact that there are many immoral and unethical people scattered among the faithful. The owner isn’t interested in servants pulling up the weeds, for they may destroy the wheat as well. It is apparent that the Lord is not going to remove today’s evil but allows coexisting with the good wheat. Besides who among us is wise and holy to distinguish the just from the unjust? God will decide the difference and bring good out of the evil in his own time. There are also some major differences in this parable. First, the weeds and wheat have different natures. The good and evil people in this world have the same human nature. Since God loves every human person unconditionally, the deviant and deceitful are loved as much as the honest and good. It’s impossible to imagine the landowner loving his enemy’s, i.e., the weeds in the same way. Second, weeds are weeds and no way could they ever convert to becoming wheat. But the people separated from God always have the opportunity of changing over. Knowing their potential for good, God is patient and merciful. He wants the evil as well as the good to be saved. Through this parable, Jesus intended to give the errant souls hope until the harvest time, when the division of the weeds and the wheat will take place.