The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today explore our relationship with God with focus on the treatment of wickedness.
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The passage from Exodus describes Moses’ intimacy with God and the renewal of the Tablets of the Ten Commandments.
* [34:6] Gracious…fidelity: this succinct poetic description of God is an often-repeated statement of belief (see Nm 14:18; Ps 103:8; 145:8; Jl 2:13; Jon 4:2). All the terms describe God’s relationship to the covenant people.1
In Psalm 103, the author proclaims even sin cannot destroy God’s mercy (Ps 103:11–13), for the eternal God is well aware of the people’s human fragility.
* [Psalm 103] The speaker in this hymn begins by praising God for personal benefits (Ps 103:1–5), then moves on to God’s mercy toward all the people (Ps 103:6–18). Even sin cannot destroy that mercy (Ps 103:11–13), for the eternal God is well aware of the people’s human fragility (Ps 103:14–18). The psalmist invites the heavenly beings to join in praise (Ps 103:19–22).2
In the Gospel from Matthew, Jesus gives the Explanation of the Parable of the Weeds.
* [13:37–43] In the explanation of the parable of the weeds emphasis lies on the fearful end of the wicked, whereas the parable itself concentrates on patience with them until judgment time.3
The reflection from Jeanne Schuler reviews some images of God that say humans cannot be friends with gods. The distance between them is surpassing, whereas any friendship requires that something is shared. Some say that God is unknowable and words compromise, so we best worship in silence. For others, God is completely abstract, like a principle or power situated beyond our world.
But in the tent with Moses, God shows another face. Yahweh is the yearning face of God, who reaches out to find us. Whose words are carved in stone to guide us. Who rushes to forgive a contrite heart.
We each have a garden to tend... I want a righteous garden free of weeds… In this dream, no darkness falls and all bad seeds are banished from this earth. Then the master gardener visits. To my surprise, he pushes back some noxious growth to reveal a blossom hidden below. Hope returns. I learn to see what is growing in the shadows. Goodness lurks amidst the weeds. Like this earth, I am a mixed bag. God, please visit this garden. Stay a while. Help us to know which seeds to water. Prepare us for the harvest.4
Don Schwager quotes “Let us become friends of Jesus,” by Origen of Alexandria (185-254 AD).
"Now, having discoursed sufficiently to the multitudes in parables, he sends them away and goes to his own house, where his disciples come to him. His disciples did not go with those he sent away. As many as are more genuine hearers of Jesus first follow him, then having inquired about his house, are permitted to see it. Having come, they saw and stayed with him for all that day, and perhaps some of them even longer. In my opinion, such things are implied in the Gospel according to John... And if then, unlike the multitudes whom he sends away, we wish to hear Jesus and go to the house and receive something better than the multitudes did, let us become friends of Jesus, so that as his disciples come, we may also come to him when he goes into the house. And having come, let us inquire about the explanation of the parable, whether of the tares of the field, or of any other. (excerpt from the COMMENTARY ON MATTHEW 10.1–3)5
The Word Among Us Meditation on Matthew 13:36-43 shares some more good news about being one of God’s good seeds… God never plants just one apple seed or one seed of corn. He sows rows and rows of them! That means he has provided people to encourage you right where you are—wherever you are. It also means he has sown you in the right field; he knows just the right situations where your gifts and the fruit you bear will make a difference.
What about the fruit you’ll bear? Take a look at St. Paul’s list in Galatians 5:22-23: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. You’ll find that you’re peaceful even in a stressful situation. You’ll notice someone who is hurting and want to show them kindness. You’ll be better able to say no to temptation.6
Friar Jude Winkler unpacks the amalgam of encounters of Moses with God prior to the final set of the Ten Commandments. Why does evil still exist? What is the final accounting at the last day? Friar Jude connects the parable of the weeds to these questions.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces Sojourner Truth (1797–1883)—an abolitionist and advocate for women’s rights who was born “Isabella” to an enslaved couple in New York…
Sojourner Truth (1797–1883)—an abolitionist and advocate for women’s rights—was born “Isabella” to an enslaved couple in New York
Isabella gradually came to know God as what I might call “the eternal now,” beyond human comprehension. God is only known by loving and experiencing God. Sojourner Truth wrote of her own mystical encounters with God in the third person.
As it regarded the worship of God, he was to be worshipped at all times and in all places; and one portion of time never seemed to her more holy than another.’7
In our journey, we grow as wheat and weeds. As we accept the invitation of intimacy with God, we are inspired to bear the fruit of the Spirit as Paul proclaimed to the Galatians. (Galatians 5:22-23).
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