Saturday, 18 July 2026
Sunday, July 19, 2026 - Will you continue to be wheat even in a field that is made up largely of weeds?
To read the texts click on the texts:Wis12:13,16-19, Rom 8:26-27; Mt 13:24-43
The first parable of the
Gospel text of today, found only in the Gospel of Matthew, is known variously
as the parable of the wheat and weeds or the parable of the wheat and darnel or
tares. It is one of the only two parables which have been allegorized, the
other being the parable of the sower. Though the text for today includes the
parables of the mustard seed (13:31-32), and the yeast or leaven (13:33), let
us focus on the parable of the wheat and weeds (13:24-30).
The story is told of a
man who went from church to church, hoping to find and then join a “perfect
church.” In the midst of his search someone was bold enough to say to him, “I
feel sorry for that church if you ever find it, for in the moment you join it,
it will not be perfect anymore!” The parable seems to speak precisely of this:
were there to be a perfect church, it would be less than perfect once any human
joined it, simply because all are sinners. It also warns us against relying on
our human capacity to know full the mind of God. It suggests that what might
appear to be bad and corrupt or good and pure to us might not necessarily be
any of these. The master’s instructions to the servants are therefore clearly
that they are not to get involved with separating the wheat from the weeds. The
master goes so far as to say that if they ever try to do it, they could end up
damaging the wheat
This is reiterated by
both the first and third readings. The reading from Wisdom speaks of God’s
leniency, though he has all the power. He gives sinners time for repentance
because though he is just, he is also merciful. Through this patience God
teaches humans how they must behave towards their fellow humans. The virtuous
must be understanding towards others and slow to condemn.
The text from Romans
makes clear that no one can penetrate the mystery and depth and any attempt to
do so is futile. God is indeed a mystery and we will never be able to know him
fully. One can only accept this fact humbly and realize its truth.
However, the fact is that
in every generation, in every century in every epoch of time, there have been
and are people who attempt to be more religious than God himself and some who attempt
to be more Catholic than the Pope. Such people try to make others feel
irreligious, guilty and not very good inside, like weeds in a field of wheat.
As humans we are often quick to judge. We want to remove the obstacles in our
way, get rid of, or avoid people who disagree with us. We want to make life as
simple, as easy, and as straightforward as possible. And unfortunately, many
people throughout history have taken it upon themselves to choose who belongs
in the field and who should be weeded out.
But we are called today
to recognize that it is not for us place to judge others. Our task is not to
judge how others should live their lives, for that is between them and God. Our
task is to think and judge for ourselves how we should live our own lives. By
weighing what we see, feel, and discern, in the context of community, we are
given the chance to choose whether we will let what is good grow in us or what
is evil. We are called to be wheat as far as possible.
Nothing can stop God’s
work in Christ. His kingdom is forever. Even when it is difficult to discern
signs of the kingdom, because the field might seem to us to be full of weeds,
we must continue to remember that the wheat will continue to grow.
In the meantime we have
to accept the fact that we live in a world that has both wheat and weeds. But
who can identify weeds? Can we pull up every plant that looks vaguely
suspicious?
The truth is that none of
us is completely free of evil. As someone once said, “there is more bad in the
best of us, and more good in the worst of us, than any of us, in this life,
will ever know.” This is all the more reason to leave the sorting of good and
evil to God who is patient, merciful and wise. We need to spend our time trying
to be wheat in the world rather than pull up weeds. At the harvest, that is
what will matter most.
Friday, 17 July 2026
Saturday, July 18, 2026 - How do you usually react to stressful situations? Will you learn from Jesus’ response today?
To read the texts click on the texts: Micah 2:1-5; Mt 12:14-21
The reason why the
Pharisees conspire against Jesus, how to destroy him is because he healed a man
with a withered arm on the Sabbath, and though at first glance it might seem
that this is an overreaction on the part of the Pharisees, when looked at in the
broader context of the Kingdom of heaven which Jesus represents and the Kingdom
of Satan which is represented by the Jewish leaders and which continues to
oppose the Kingdom of heaven, then it is easier to understand the reaction of
the Pharisees. The response of Jesus to this conspiracy is to withdraw from
that place. However, it is to be noted that Jesus does not withdraw to run away
or from fear, but to continue the work of healing and making whole. In this
withdrawal is strength and not weakness and it explicates the response of God
(Jesus) to human violence and plotting of destruction. Even in his making
people whole, Jesus does not want to be known or acclaimed and so commands
those whom he has healed to remain silent about their healing and not to make
him known. This attitude of Jesus leads to the quotation from Isaiah 42,1-4
which is the longest scriptural quotation in the Gospel of Matthew. It is about
the suffering servant of Yahweh whose primary mission is to accept those who
have been rejected by others as is shown in his not breaking the bruised reed
or quenching the smouldering wick. Also, he does this without much fanfare, and
yet his ultimate goal is to bring justice to those who place their hope in him.
He will ultimately triumph.
Our response to
challenging situations or to situations that threaten us is sometimes to run
away from fear, and sometimes to use defence mechanisms. Neither of these ways
is advocated by Jesus whose way would be to face the challenges head on.
Thursday, 16 July 2026
Friday, July 17, 2026 - How often do rules rule you? Will you try to rule rules today?
To read the texts click on the texts: Isaiah 38:1-6,21-22,7-8; Mt 12:1-8
The story, which forms
the text of today, may be termed as a Sabbath controversy. Matthew refers here
to Sabbath for the first time in his gospel. The point of contention is not
very clear in Matthew, because the law permitted a person passing through a neighbour’s
grain field to pluck heads of corn and eat them (Deut 23:23-25). The point here
seems to be whether such an act could be done on the Sabbath. While in Mark the
Pharisees ask a question, in Matthew, they are clearly hostile and make a
charge. In his response to the Pharisees, Jesus quotes refers to the story of
David in 1 Samuel 21:1-6, where David went beyond the rule to the need of his
men. If David could do such a thing, then Jesus who is greater than David can
do so even more. The Matthean Jesus also refers to the text from Numbers
28:9-10 where the priests in the Temple sacrifice there on the Sabbath,
indicating that sacrifice is greater than the Sabbath. Since mercy is greater
than sacrifice, it is surely greater than the Sabbath.
Reaching out in love to
anyone in need takes precedence over every rule, law and regulation. It is the
human who must always come first. The rule, law and regulation follows.
Wednesday, 15 July 2026
Thursday, July 16, 2026 - What is it that is tiring you? Will you lay it at the feet of Jesus?
To read the texts click on the texts: Isaiah 26:7-9,12,16-19; Mt 11:28-30
Jesus invites all those
who are burdened to come to him for rest. The burden in this context seems to
be that of the law and its obligations. When Jesus invites the burdened to take
his yoke, which is easy, he is not inviting them to a life of ease, but to a
deliverance from any kind of artificiality or the blind following of rules and
regulations. The disciple must learn from Jesus who is in Matthew “the great
teacher”. The rest that Jesus offers is the rest of salvation.
We can get so caught up
today with wanting to have more that we might lose sight of the meaning of life
itself. The desire to acquire more and more and be regarded as successful based
on what we possess sometimes leads to missing out on so much that life has to
offer.
Tuesday, 14 July 2026
Wednesday, July 15, 2026 - Is your pride preventing you from encountering Jesus? What will you do about it today?
To read the texts click on the texts: Isaiah 10:5-7,13-16; Mt 11:25-27
This text is addressed to
all those who accept the message of Jesus unlike those in Chorazin and
Bethsaida.
Jesus begins his prayer here by giving thanks to the Father. It is openness to the revelation of God that Jesus makes which is responsible for the receipt of this enormous privilege.
Acknowledging Jesus is not a matter of one’s superior knowledge or
insight, but given as a gift to those who open themselves to this revelation.
Jesus himself is an example of such openness, which allowed him to receive
everything directly from God. It is his intimacy with the Father and not his
religious genius, which is responsible for this grace.
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