In a world of good and evil
Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Readings: Wisdom 12:13, 16-19; Psalm 86, R. Lord, you are good and forgiving.; Romans 8:26-27; Gospel – Matthew 13:24-30 (short form)
This Sunday we have two parables on the Kingdom of God. Let me focus on the Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds. Our first point is how this parable pointed out the existence of good and evil in the world, with the latter as insidiously present.
The second point is the need for discernment, preceded by the importance of awareness. We read how the Master delayed the separation of the weed from the wheat, lest the wheat become collateral damage in the effort to clean up.
Third is our summary lesson: the need for awareness, discernment, and action.
Why bad things happen to good people
Almost 50 years ago, one of my friends went through a very challenging mental health issue. For years, he went through various treatments and therapy and experienced some peace and stability only after over a decade.
His spiritual and psychological question was, why does evil exist in the world? And on a very personal note, he asked, why do bad things happen to good people?
The parable clearly put forward that evil exists in the world side by side with the good. Vividly, it also portrayed the introduction of evil as an insidious work of the evil spirit or, from other perspectives, the devil.
God, represented by the Master in the parable, sowed good seed. Then, in the dead and darkness of the night, the agent of evil planted the weeds. This is a very simple yet very clear declaration that our world is fundamentally good—or we dare say, created good.
But somehow, evil has seeped into our world.
This is true for the world around us, but I think it is also true for our interior world. We are, as persons, fundamentally good, but there is in us also a propensity for evil or sin.
Self-awareness, discernment, and synthesis
This is the reality of the human situation. An awareness of this situation is what this first point invites us to nurture and deepen. Ignatian spirituality applied to education calls this developing a realistic knowledge of both the self and the world.
For St. Ignatius of Loyola and many others after him, self-awareness is the starting point of a good spiritual life, and even other aspects such as leadership.
With awareness as foundational, the next grace or virtue is discernment. The Master again pointed it out clearly, instructing slaves not to uproot the weeds as they might also pull out the wheat. At the proper time, the separation of the weeds from the wheat can and will be done.
Part of the discernment is to know where the wheat is to be stored, and the weeds are to be disposed of. The discernment naturally flows into action.
This gives us our third point: the point of synthesis, which is the see-judge-act process, or to see-choose-act. To this we add what Pope Francis pointed out about coming out better in situations, especially crises.
To come out better in a situation or crisis, we must see clearly, choose well, and act right. In a world such as ours, constant discernment rooted in prayer is our best “weapon” to overcome the insidious presence of evil in so many developments around us.
What overcomes evil
Ending with some sort of epilogue. In the scene of the Agony in the Garden in Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ,” the temptation to give up—Jesus struggling to overcome this temptation was vividly portrayed as the serpent, if I remember correctly, the devil incarnate.
In the most crucial moment of our redemption, there is an insidious presence of evil. What overcame this evil was loving obedience.
“Father… not my will but your will be done.” Jesus dug deep into his identity and his mission. He is the Beloved Son. We are enjoined to follow him, “listen to him,” and, like him, to be lovingly obedient.
