Days of Drought and Decision

 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. 

Harvest and Weeds

The Reading from the Prophet Jeremiah laments The Great Drought.

n. [14:17] Jer 9:17.

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/ 

Grow with the Seed of Faith

 The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to sow the seeds of love and seek the generosity and patience needed for growth from our sowing.

Seeds and Separation of Weeds

The Reading from the Book of Wisdom offers a warning about defying God.

* [12:17] The brunt of divine anger and justice is borne by those who know God but defy divine authority and might. Cf. 1:2; 15:2, but also 12:27; 18:13. (Wisdom, CHAPTER 12 | USCCB, n.d.)

Psalm 86 is an individual lament of the psalmist.

* [Psalm 86] An individual lament. The psalmist, “poor and oppressed” (Ps 86:1), “devoted” (Ps 86:2), “your servant” (Ps 86:2, 4, 16), “rescued…from the depths of Sheol” (Ps 86:13), attacked by the ruthless (Ps 86:14), desires only God’s protection (Ps 86:1–7, 11–17). (Psalms, PSALM 86 | USCCB, n.d.)

The Reading from the Letter of Paul to the Romans proclaims that after patient endurance in steadfast expectation, the full harvest of the Spirit’s presence will be realized.

* [8:18–27] The glory that believers are destined to share with Christ far exceeds the sufferings of the present life. Paul considers the destiny of the created world to be linked with the future that belongs to the believers. As it shares in the penalty of corruption brought about by sin, so also will it share in the benefits of redemption and future glory that comprise the ultimate liberation of God’s people (Rom 8:19–22). After patient endurance in steadfast expectation, the full harvest of the Spirit’s presence will be realized. On earth believers enjoy the firstfruits, i.e., the Spirit, as a guarantee of the total liberation of their bodies from the influence of the rebellious old self (Rom 8:23). (Romans, CHAPTER 8 | USCCB, n.d.)

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus teaches using Parables of the Weeds Among the Wheat, the Mustard Seed, the Yeast and explains the Parables..

* [13:24–30] This parable is peculiar to Matthew. The comparison in Mt 13:24 does not mean that the kingdom of heaven may be likened simply to the person in question but to the situation narrated in the whole story. The refusal of the householder to allow his slaves to separate the wheat from the weeds while they are still growing is a warning to the disciples not to attempt to anticipate the final judgment of God by a definitive exclusion of sinners from the kingdom. In its present stage it is composed of the good and the bad. The judgment of God alone will eliminate the sinful. Until then there must be patience and the preaching of repentance.

* [13:25] Weeds: darnel, a poisonous weed that in its first stage of growth resembles wheat.

* [13:30] Harvest: a common biblical metaphor for the time of God’s judgment; cf. Jer 51:33; Jl 4:13; Hos 6:11.

* [13:31–33] See Mk 4:30–32; Lk 13:18–21. The parables of the mustard seed and the yeast illustrate the same point: the amazing contrast between the small beginnings of the kingdom and its marvelous expansion.

* [13:32] See Dn 4:7–9, 17–19 where the birds nesting in the tree represent the people of Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom. See also Ez 17:23; 31:6.

* [13:33] Except in this Q parable and in Mt 16:12, yeast (or “leaven”) is, in New Testament usage, a symbol of corruption (see Mt 16:6, 11–12; Mk 8:15; Lk 12:1; 1 Cor 5:6–8; Gal 5:9). Three measures: an enormous amount, enough to feed a hundred people. The exaggeration of this element of the parable points to the greatness of the kingdom’s effect.

* [13:34] Only in parables: see Mt 13:10–15.

* [13:35] The prophet: some textual witnesses read “Isaiah the prophet.” The quotation is actually from Ps 78:2; the first line corresponds to the LXX text of the psalm. The psalm’s title ascribes it to Asaph, the founder of one of the guilds of temple musicians. He is called “the prophet” (NAB “the seer”) in 2 Chr 29:30, but it is doubtful that Matthew averted to that; for him, any Old Testament text that could be seen as fulfilled in Jesus was prophetic.

* [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.

* [13:38] The field is the world: this presupposes the resurrection of Jesus and the granting to him of “all power in heaven and on earth” (Mt 28:18).

* [13:39] The end of the age: this phrase is found only in Matthew (13:40, 49; 24:3; 28:20).

* [13:41] His kingdom: the kingdom of the Son of Man is distinguished from that of the Father (Mt 13:43); see 1 Cor 15:24–25. The church is the place where Jesus’ kingdom is manifested, but his royal authority embraces the entire world; see note on Mt 13:38.

* [13:43] See Dn 12:3. (Matthew, CHAPTER 13 | USCCB, n.d.)

*

Rev. Kent Beausoleil, SJ, comments that in the end then, we find our hope through Jesus to be strong in love, for the spirit indeed does come in aid of our weakness.  In every human being, every human being, there is a soul that is longing and groaning for the truth. Let the Spirit come.

We all long for what is right and good. We all know this feeling. Let the Spirit come.  We can bury it. We can hide it. We can medicate it. We can do all kinds of things to push it away. Let the Spirit come.  

 

For there is an unrest or uneasiness with things that are not the way they are supposed to be. Let the Spirit come.  So, this day and always may we continue to find hope in a God who encourages us with the powerful truth that God’s love for us, all of us, will never die.  As God is merciful, we are called to be merciful, to judge not, to let the kingdom come, and wherever and whenever we are weak in love, weak in loving ourselves or others, we have a holy spirit that will come.  Let the spirit come then.  Let it come.  Let it come!  LET IT COME! (Beausoleil, 2026)

Don Schwager quotes “Faith as a grain of mustard,” by Jerome (347-420 AD).

"The man who sows in his field is interpreted by many as the Savior. He sows in the souls of believers. By others he is interpreted as one who sows in his field - that is to say, in himself and in his heart. Who is it that sows if not our mind and heart? They take up the grain of preaching and nurture the plant with the moisture of faith, making it sprout and shoot up in the field of the heart. The preaching of faith in the gospel appears to be least among all tasks. Indeed, anyone who preaches the God-man of truth, Christ who died, and the stumbling block of the cross may not think immediately of mere faith as the primary doctrine. Put this particular doctrine side by side with the teachings of the philosophers, their books, their splendid eloquence and fine discourses, and you will see just how small it is compared with the other seeds of the gospel plant. When those teachings grow, they have nothing to show that is pungent or vigorous or vital. Everything turns out weak and withering in a plant and in herbs that quickly dry up and fall to the ground. But when this tiny gospel teaching that seemed insignificant at the beginning has been planted either in the soul of the believer or throughout the world, it does not turn out to be just a plant. It grows into a tree, so that the birds of the air, which we interpret as the souls of believers or deeds dedicated to the service of God, come and dwell on its branches." (excerpt from COMMENTARY ON MATTHEW 2.13.31)

[Jerome (347-420 AD) was an early church Bible scholar who translated the entire Bible from the original Hebrew and Greek texts into the common language of his day (Latin)]. (Schwager, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler comments that the Book of Wisdom speaks about the might of God .Yet God enlivens justice with mercy. Mercy is not weakness. and not a weak virtue. We are to exercise mercy when people are not worthy of it. Spirit, the love between the Father and the Son, teaches us how to pray as relational prayers to build true love. The Spirit reveals how to pray and what to pray for. The Gospel of Matthew presents parables dealing with the Kingdom of Heaven. It is likely the final editor of Matthew was a Pharisee and uses the Kingdom of Heaven. instead of the Kingdom of God. The farmer has his field filled with weeds from the enemy. Jesus teaches to wait until the harvest so evil people are given time to have the opportunity to convert .The will be a reckoning, in Matthew’s Gospel. The mustard seed is very small but grows to fill the garden. Friar Jude suggests that by smiling and forgoing criticism of someone it may be like the butterfly effect and change the course of the world over time. He also notes that considering mustard is a very invasive plant in the garden this may be a not so subtle message, like yeast in dough. Do small things and change the entire world.

The Word Among Us Meditation on Matthew 13:24-43 comments that God’s work may have such tiny, unimpressive beginnings and grow so slowly that we barely notice it. This tends to be true in our spiritual lives, too. That kind of growth is often hidden, like the yeast that the woman put into “three measures” of flour (Matthew 13:33). We may not see dramatic signs of Christian maturity in ourselves or our loved ones right away. On the contrary, it can be easy to spot the “weeds” in our lives and our world that seem to take root and grow so quickly. And that can be discouraging!

That’s why Jesus encourages us to remember the mustard seed. He wants us to trust in the goodness of the seed of faith he has placed within us and in his Church. He wants us to keep looking for the green shoots of his kingdom. And he wants us to keep asking for the grace to nurture their growth in ourselves and the people around us.

So don’t worry! God’s work often starts off small and slow. He is faithful, and his seed will bear fruit!

“Lord Jesus, thank you that your grace is always at work. Help me to see it.” (Meditation on Matthew 13:24-43, n.d.)

Father Richard Rohr, OFM, explains why both action and contemplation are part of a fully articulated life of faith. The most important word in our Center’s name is not Action, nor is it Contemplation; it’s the word and. We need both compassionate action and contemplative practice for the spiritual journey. Without action, our spirituality becomes lifeless and bears no authentic fruit. Without contemplation, all our doing comes from ego, even if it looks selfless, and it can cause more harm than good.

The contemplative, nondual mind is not saying, “Everything is beautiful,” even when it’s not. However, we may come to “Everything is still beautiful” by contemplatively facing the conflict between how reality is and how we wish it could be. We must face dualistic problems, name good and evil, and differentiate between right and wrong. We can’t be naive about evil, but if we stay focused on this duality, we’ll become unlovable, judgmental, dismissive people. I’ve witnessed this pattern in myself. We must eventually find a bigger field, a wider frame, which is nondual thinking.  

Beginning with necessary, dualistic action and moving toward contemplation seems to be the more common—and for some, perhaps the more trustworthy—path these days. We see this pattern in Dorothy Day, Thomas Merton, Martin Luther King, Jr., Saint (Mother) Teresa of Calcutta, and many others. Such people enter into the pain of society and have to go to God to find rest for their soul, because their souls are so torn by the broken, split nature of almost everything, including themselves. (Rohr, n.d.)

We seek the guidance of the Spirit as we act in our environment among weeds with our seeds of faith, hope and charity and the humility and patience of Jesus to contemplate our actions with intent to be more like Christ in our mission.

References

Beausoleil, K. (2026, July 19). Daily Reflection July 19, 2026 | Creighton Online Ministries. Creighton Online Ministries. Retrieved July 19, 2026, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/daily-reflections/daily-reflection-july-19-2026 

Matthew, CHAPTER 13 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Bible Readings. Retrieved July 19, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/13?24 

Meditation on Matthew 13:24-43. (n.d.). Word Among Us. Retrieved July 19, 2026, from https://wau.org/meditations/2026/07/19/1626334/ 

Psalms, PSALM 86 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Bible Readings, Audio and Video Every Morning | USCCB. Retrieved July 19, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/86?5 

Rohr, R. (n.d.). Daily Meditations — Center for Action and Contemplation. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved July 19, 2026, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/action-and-contemplation/ 

Romans, CHAPTER 8 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Bible Readings. Retrieved July 19, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/romans/8?26 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). The Righteous Will Shine like the Sun in the Kingdom of Their Father. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved July 19, 2026, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/ 

Wisdom, CHAPTER 12 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved July 19, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/wisdom/12?