The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to contemplate the good and evil that we encounter on our journey and consider how Jesus would teach us to deal with this dichotomy.
The Reading from the Prophet Jeremiah laments The Great Drought.
o. [14:19] Jer 8:15; 2 Chr 36:16.
p. [14:20] Ps 106:6; Dn 9:5, 8.
q. [14:21] Jer 14:7; Lv 26:44; Ps 25:11.
r. [14:22] Jer 5:24; Zec 10:1. (Jeremiah, CHAPTER 14 | USCCB, n.d.)
Psalm 79 admits that their own sins have brought about the catastrophe of destruction of Jerusalem.
* [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). (Psalms. CHAPTER 79 | USCCB, n.d.)
In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus presents the Explanation of the Parable of the Weeds.
* [13:36] Dismissing the crowds: the return of Jesus to the house marks a break with the crowds, who represent unbelieving Israel. From now on his attention is directed more and more to his disciples and to their instruction. The rest of the discourse is addressed to them alone.
* [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. (Matthew, CHAPTER 13 | USCCB, n.d.)
Edward Morse comments that as the hospital for sinners, even the church is not safe from these effects. Saint Augustine saw the church as containing weeds and wheat, too.
His greatest concern for new converts was not the influence of the pagan world, but the influence of bad Christians! So we can all read this parable and Jesus’ explanation of the final judgment with a little uneasiness. We know that without the grace of God, none of us can produce a harvest worthy of being gathered in by the Master. Moreover, we are all liable to being choked out by weeds. God forbid that we might be weeds rather than good plants; recall that the weeds were sown by the enemy, not by the Master! (Morse, 2026)
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) (Schwager, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler reflects on the Readings for today. Jeremiah normally offers a condemnation of the people of Israel. Today it is a lamentation imploring God to be merciful and take back the punishment. The author voices the woes of the people and takes the time to say the punishment and pain is too great. There are very good lamentations in the Psalms. God has to take care of his people. In the Gospel of Matthew Jesus gives the explanation of the parable of the weed and wheat. God waits till the harvest to separate good and evil. Friar Jude queries that if the Kingdom is dawning why is there still evil? The Kingdom has not fully come but there will be a time of reckoning at the end of time.
The Word Among Us Meditation on Matthew 13:36-43 notes that St. Augustine argued against this kind of thinking by leaders who wanted to exclude people who had renounced their faith under persecution. They believed the Church should consist only of perfectly holy people. Augustine disagreed, saying that the Church will remain a corpus permixtum, a “mixed body,” with good and bad together, until the final judgment. Perhaps recalling his own sinful past, Augustine urged, “They who today are tares, may tomorrow be wheat” (Sermon 23).
Jesus and Augustine are telling us there is always hope! God wants all people to know his salvation. His patience is meant to lead everyone to repentance (Romans 2:4). For now, our Church is a mixture. That’s why our best strategy is to leave the weeding to God. We can also ask the Lord to search our own hearts and help us uproot our sins. And we can pray that all darkness would be turned back and that everyone we know would turn to God and shine like the sun at the end of time.
“Lord Jesus, purify my heart today.” (Meditation on Matthew 13:36-43, n.d.)
Father Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis who explains how Jesus told the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:29–37) to illustrate God’s desire that no one be left alone in their hour of need. Rabbi Jesus is talking to a religious leader—a lawyer—about what it means to be faithful.
Together, they review the Jewish scriptures: The way to live right is to love God with everything you have and love your neighbor as yourself. Looking for a loophole, the lawyer wants to know who qualifies as a neighbor. Jesus answers by telling a story about a man who was robbed, beaten, and left for dead by a marauding gang. A priest and another religious man walked by and, seeing the man on the ground, they did nothing…. But a Samaritan—a mixed-race person considered in ancient times to be an impure enemy of the Jewish people—did not cross the street. Instead, he tended to the wounded man….
In using this story to answer his companion’s question about the definition of neighbor, Rabbi Jesus was getting to what he considered to be the essential laws—love God with all you have and love your neighbor as yourself…. If you want to know what love looks like, Rabbi Jesus is saying, here it is: Love crosses borders and boundaries; it makes new cultural rules; it cares for the stranger. Love turns strangers into friends. [1] (Rohr, n.d.)
We implore the Spirit to illuminate our attitude of self righteousness that blinds us to the plan of God to sustain both the good and evil in faith, love, and hope for a return to the community that seeks fullness in the Bread of Life.
References
Jeremiah, CHAPTER 14 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved July 28, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/jeremiah/14?17
Matthew, CHAPTER 13 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Bible Readings, Audio and Video Every Morning | USCCB. Retrieved July 28, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/13?36
Meditation on Matthew 13:36-43. (n.d.). Word Among Us. Retrieved July 28, 2026, from https://wau.org/meditations/2026/07/28/1634233/
Morse, E. (2026, July 28). Daily Reflection July 28, 2026 | Creighton Online Ministries. Creighton Online Ministries. Retrieved July 28, 2026, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/daily-reflections/daily-reflection-july-28-2026
Psalms. CHAPTER 79 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Bible Readings, Audio and Video Every Morning | USCCB. Retrieved July 28, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/79?8
Rohr, R. (n.d.). Daily Meditations — Center for Action and Contemplation. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved July 28, 2026, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/reading-the-good-samaritan/
Schwager, D. (n.d.). The Righteous Will Shine like the Sun in the Father's Kingdom. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved July 28, 2026, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/
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