Deacon Tom Anthony

Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 106

Reading 1 Wis 12:13, 16-19

There is no god besides you who have the care of all,
that you need show you have not unjustly condemned.
For your might is the source of justice;
your mastery over all things makes you lenient to all.
For you show your might when the perfection of your power is disbelieved;
and in those who know you, you rebuke temerity.
But though you are master of might, you judge with clemency,
and with much lenience you govern us;
for power, whenever you will, attends you.
And you taught your people, by these deeds,
that those who are just must be kind;
and you gave your children good ground for hope
that you would permit repentance for their sins.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 86:5-6, 9-10, 15-16

R. (5a) Lord, you are good and forgiving.
You, O LORD, are good and forgiving,
abounding in kindness to all who call upon you.
Hearken, O LORD, to my prayer
and attend to the sound of my pleading.
R. Lord, you are good and forgiving.
All the nations you have made shall come
and worship you, O LORD,
and glorify your name.
For you are great, and you do wondrous deeds;
you alone are God.
R. Lord, you are good and forgiving.
You, O LORD, are a God merciful and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in kindness and fidelity.
Turn toward me, and have pity on me;
give your strength to your servant.
R. Lord, you are good and forgiving.

Reading 2 Rom 8:26-27

Brothers and sisters:
The Spirit comes to the aid of our weakness;
for we do not know how to pray as we ought,
but the Spirit himself intercedes with inexpressible groanings.
And the one who searches hearts
knows what is the intention of the Spirit,
because he intercedes for the holy ones
according to God's will.

Alleluia Cf. Mt 11:25

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth;
you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the kingdom.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel Mt 13:24-43  

Jesus proposed another parable to the crowds, saying:
"The kingdom of heaven may be likened
to a man who sowed good seed in his field.
While everyone was asleep his enemy came
and sowed weeds all through the wheat, and then went off.
When the crop grew and bore fruit, the weeds appeared as well.
The slaves of the householder came to him and said,
'Master, did you not sow good seed in your field?
Where have the weeds come from?'
He answered, 'An enemy has done this.'
His slaves said to him,
'Do you want us to go and pull them up?'
He replied, 'No, if you pull up the weeds
you might uproot the wheat along with them.
Let them grow together until harvest;
then at harvest time I will say to the harvesters,
"First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles for burning;
but gather the wheat into my barn."'"

He proposed another parable to them.
"The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed
that a person took and sowed in a field.
It is the smallest of all the seeds,
yet when full-grown it is the largest of plants.
It becomes a large bush,
and the 'birds of the sky come and dwell in its branches.'"

He spoke to them another parable.
"The kingdom of heaven is like yeast
that a woman took and mixed with three measures of wheat flour
until the whole batch was leavened."

All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables.
He spoke to them only in parables,
to fulfill what had been said through the prophet:
I will open my mouth in parables,
I will announce what has lain hidden from the foundation
of the world.

Then, dismissing the crowds, he went into the house.
His disciples approached him and said,
"Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field."
He said in reply, "He who sows good seed is the Son of Man,
the field is the world, the good seed the children of the kingdom.
The weeds are the children of the evil one,
and the enemy who sows them is the devil.
The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.
Just as weeds are collected and burned up with fire,
so will it be at the end of the age.
The Son of Man will send his angels,
and they will collect out of his kingdom
all who cause others to sin and all evildoers.
They will throw them into the fiery furnace,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.
Then the righteous will shine like the sun
in the kingdom of their Father.
Whoever has ears ought to hear."

".

MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS

We are spoiled by God and don’t even know it. As His little children, we act exactly how we are described: We demand everything from Him, we blame Him when things in our lives go wrong, we refuse to take responsibility for our own actions, and we also have our temper tantrums occasionally when we don’t get what we want. Yes, in comparison to Our Father, we will always be viewed as His Little Children, refusing to grow up and change our behaviors. Yet, God still loves us and encourages us to do what is best for us. Just like the role of a father as head of the household here on this earth, God wants the best for us and is willing to make many sacrifices for that hope to manifest itself into reality.

Part of the way that He approaches us with a fatherly love is in the way that He punishes us. The punishments that God may impose on us are not forever. They can be considered chastisements which are intended for us to correct our behaviors and not to inflict everlasting pain. It is through these mortifications that the truth is revealed and what God wants for us. They are an exercise in knowledge, wisdom, and understanding. We receive all three in exchange for a period of castigation that will never be forever. I feel that we all can remember a time when one of our parents made the comment, “This is going to hurt me more than it is going to hurt you,” before a scathing discipline was issued. In reality, whatever God inflicts on us does indeed hurt Him more than it hurts us. We are all witnesses to this through His Passion and Crucifixion. Just like the Crucifixion, God approaches the way that He corrects us with the same love and sacrifice. As Christians, we must look at the Crucifixion as who God really is in relation to us and not only a singular event: He gave His only Son over to suffering and death so that we may be healed and obtain eternal life.

The same time that God might punish us, He is also kissing our bruises and healing our wounds. We are comforted and held ever so tightly. He begs us to let Him into our hearts and correct our behavior because we want to come closer to Him. He knows what is best for us and the way to pure joy can be revealed if we only open our hearts to Him; making a commitment to real and fundamental change. Everything is offered to us, we only have to ask.

Entering into a relationship with Jesus Christ is going to cause us to act and react to things differently. This is part of the healing process. We will become vulnerable to some of the most evil acts and hateful manifestations that are present in the world. Yet, we will be protected from those things that we find ourselves fearing the most. We will begin to see the world for what it is: a place that is dysfunctional because of the free will but can be healed through Jesus Christ.

In the Gospel Reading today, Jesus gives us a picture of what we all will face in our lives. There is good and evil in the world. There are those who refuse to embrace Jesus Christ and choose instead to embrace all that the world offers. Many of those who reject Jesus are those who are closest to us. We will be influenced by them, lured by them, and tempted. We must keep focused on that which we hold most important: our salvation and the salvation of our Christian Community. It is through the constant exercise of our Christian Principles and words of Sacred Scripture that we will find faith, hope, and love.

Struggles are expected and mistakes will be made. It is unavoidable. We are human and imperfect. To recover from our errors and not let them overcome us, we must group ourselves with the wheat and push out the weeds all the while praying for some sort of transformation to occur which may indeed bring about a fundamental change in the weeds. Nothing is beyond the reach of God, even when it comes to the conversion of hearts that can bring about a rebirth. This is exactly what happened to us at a time when maybe we felt more like weeds than wheat.

Jesus Christ is calling us to come together. He is ready to provide for us, heal us, and give us what we need. His Spirit dwells within us and is ready to burst forth if only we turn to Him and away from all that which ensnares us and overburdens us. We are being called to come forth, be healed, and be nourished by Him. We are God’s children. Let us allow our Father to take care of us through His Son guided by His Love.

Deacon Tom