Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Every week a few more of our brethren return to celebrate the Eucharist together as one family. What a beautiful sign it is to those around us that especially the elderly come out to worship God in this way. If you have underlying conditions and are not yet ready to come out please be prudent and follow your doctor’s advice. We continue to stream all the Masses and they are available on our website and on our Facebook page.
This week we hear a parable that complements last weeks. The parables of the gospels need to rest in us before we can be fully conscious of their meaning for us today, and they have an importance for all of us. Did you notice that the explanation of the parable takes place back in the house? This shows a greater intimacy that Jesus Christ has with his disciples, and would like to have with us. He doesn’t come to save the crowds but to save individuals, you and me. And we need to continue abiding in his presence in order to understand him, and his words on the Kingdom.
The disciples insist strongly on having Jesus explain the parable to them. They are really hungry for the truth. It is not superficiality or earthly concerns that distract them this week, but someone much more serious, the Devil, as Jesus tells them. Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis is a brilliant book that can give one many insights concerning how the devil tempts others. The more experienced devil, Screwtape, tells his nephew, Wormwood, that it is better to get the recent convert to the faith to only pray about his mother in lofty ‘spiritual’ words, and not to pray about how he can help her with her rheumatism, that will keep the son focused on what he considers her sins and not what he might do to help her.
This parable is unique to Matthew. The master’s toleration of the growth of the weeds among the wheat is not what most Christians would expect. He is teaching the disciples, then and now, the need for prudence and patience. To pull out the weeds now might harm the wheat!! It is better to wait and maybe the weeds will change and become good wheat.
Jesus knows immediately who sowed the weeds and he knew it probably before the wheat was sown, and he sows anyway. After the damage is done he has a real concern for the wheat. The servants have good intentions; however, they are wrong and impatient to purge the field and the world from sin. It is easy for us to assume we are the pure ones, the ones with the light and yet why do we have this fear when we see evil in others? Jesus reminds them and us that their mission is to win disciples, and not to judge those around them.
I invite all of you to use the occasions of life to get to know people at a deeper level and to listen to their concerns. At the right moment, which always comes, invite them to go to Mass with you and have a coffee or whatever is possible afterwards. People today are very isolated and alone. It is crucial that we reach out to those around us in some way each day. It is possible to call or stop by while keeping social distance, and not leave ourselves or others alone.
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