Gospel: July 27, 2024
(Saturday)
16th Week in Ordinary Time
Psalter: Week 4/(Green/White)
Blessed Virgin Mary
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 84: 3, 4, 5-6a, 8a, 11
How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!
1st Reading: Jeremiah 7: 1-11
These words were spoken by Yahweh, to Jeremiah, “Stand at the gate of Yahweh’s house and proclaim this in a loud voice: Listen to what Yahweh says, all you people of Judah (who enter these gates to worship Yahweh). Yahweh the God of Israel says this:
Amend your ways and your deeds and I will stay with you in this place. Rely not on empty words such as: ‘Look, temple of Yahweh! Temple of Yahweh! This is the temple of Yahweh!’
It is far better for you to amend your ways and act justly with all. Do not abuse the stranger, orphan or widow or shed innocent blood in this place or follow false gods to your own ruin. Then I will stay with you in this place, in the land I gave to your ancestors in times past and forever.
But you trust in deceptive and useless words. You steal, kill, take the wife of your neighbor; you swear falsely, worship Baal and follow foreign gods who are not yours. Then, after doing all these horrible things, you come and stand before me in this temple that bears my name and say, ‘Now we are safe.’
Is this house on which rests my name a den of thieves? I have seen this myself—it is Yahweh who speaks.
Gospel: Matthew 13: 24-30
Jesus told the people another parable, “The kingdom of heaven can be compared to a man, who sowed good seed in his field. While everyone was asleep, his enemy came, and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away.
When the plants sprouted and produced grain, the weeds also appeared. Then, the servants of the owner came, and said to him, ‘Sir, was it not good seed that you sowed in your field? Where did the weeds come from?’
He answered them, ‘This is the work of an enemy.’ They asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull up the weeds?’ He told them, ‘No, when you pull up the weeds, you might uproot the wheat with them. Let them grow together, until harvest; and, at harvest time, I will say to the workers: Pull up the weeds first, tie them in bundles and burn them; then gather the wheat into my barn.’”
Reflection: “Becoming God’s partners”
Today, we learn another parable from Jesus’ third discourse. Today’s Gospel narrates the parable which is commonly known as the parable of the wheat and the weeds. It tells of the weeds growing among the wheat. The parable narrates of enemy sowing weeds among the wheat while the man who sowed the wheat was asleep.
Eventually, the weeds and the wheat sprout together. The servants asked the owner if they were to uproot the weeds right away. The owner said no because the wheat might also be uprooted. With this parable, we may reflect on the reality of evil in the world. When confronted with the existence of evil, we would right away look for reasons why God is allowing evil to thrive.
However, we may further reflect on the parable as God’s way of inviting us to become his partners in his ongoing fight against evil. How are we going to accept God’s invitation that we become his partners? We begin by being fully aware that within ourselves, the weeds and wheat also grow together.
In due time, the weeds will be uprooted. In the meantime, while the weeds grow with the wheat, we are given a chance to cultivate compassion.
