The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite contemplation of the coexistence of good and evil in the world and in our actions.
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| Good and evil in our society |
In the reading from the Prophet Jeremiah the people plead for mercy.
Do not break your covenant with us.1
In Psalm 79 the people realize their own sins have brought about catastrophe.
* [Psalm 79] A communal lament complaining that the nations have defiled the Temple and murdered the holy people, leaving their corpses unburied (Ps 79:1–4). The occasion is probably the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonian army in 587 B.C. The people ask how long the withdrawal of divine favor will last (Ps 79:5), pray for action now (Ps 79:6–7), and admit that their own sins have brought about the catastrophe (Ps 79:8–9). They seek to persuade God to act for reasons of honor: the nations who do not call upon the Name are running amok (Ps 79:6); the divine honor is compromised (Ps 79:1, 10, 12); God’s own servants suffer (Ps 79:2–4, 11).2
In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus explains 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
Barbara Dilly comments that the lessons today speak to her of faithfulness and of patience, not despair, in times such as this. Our faith calls us to continually look to the Lord for the peace and healing we need. It will come.
Lately I am finding that sometimes just a simple sharing of “Let’s remember that we are God’s people and the sheep of his pasture,” is oftentimes very soothing to people who are given to despair. If we can remember who and whose we are, we might not be so easily overwhelmed by the weeds in our lives. We can trust that God will take care of the weeds. That frees us to use our energies to help others. It also gives us more time to give thanks to God. This focus on gratitude helps us get our priorities straight. We can refocus our actions away from despair toward positive steps to bring peace and healing to those around us. In faith, we can all do something. After all, we are God’s people!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 emphasizes that God has sown many good seeds in our life. Thank him for them! Now ask the Spirit how we can tend to just one seed today.
Perhaps God has planted forgiveness in your heart and helped you to repair a relationship. How can you help this seed grow? You might begin by praying for that person and finding ways to bear with the things they do that annoy you. Maybe you could try to resist the temptation to judge them. Most of all, you can pray for grace, for it is “God who causes the growth” (1 Corinthians 3:7).6
Friar Jude Winkler fleshes out the conditions around the penitential lamentation of Jeremiah. We may ask why evil continues to exist even as we consider our own lives. Friar Jude reminds us of the patience of God in our time before the final accounting.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, shares the work of John Dear, a devoted student of Mohandas Gandhi. John has dedicated his life to the promotion of nonviolence through his activism and writing.
Gandhi’s nonviolence was a religious duty. It stood at the center of his spirituality, all his spiritual teachings, and his daily spiritual practice. Gandhi concluded that God is nonviolent, and that God’s reign is the reign of nonviolence. “Nonviolence assumes entire reliance upon God,” Gandhi taught. “When the practice of nonviolence becomes universal, God will reign on earth as God reigns in heaven.” After years of studying the various religions, Gandhi concluded too that nonviolence is at the heart of every religion. It is the common ground of all the world’s religions, the hidden ground of peace and love underlying every religion. . .7
As weeds and wheat grow together, we consider a path of nonviolence to fertilize the wheat in our field.
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