Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Today’s gospel reading is a continuation of last Sunday’s gospel about the sower and the seed. Today we have the parable of the weeds among the wheat, the parable of the mustard seed, and the parable of the yeast in the dough. These parables are so powerful that it is often possible to miss the detail that the parables are about the the ‘mysteries of the Kingdom of God.’ Jesus says, “I will open my mouth in parables, I will announce what has lain hidden from the foundation of the world.” In a very real sense, then, to focus merely on the parables is to miss the point. We should really be focusing on the mysteries of the Kingdom of God that these parables reveal.
I want to offer three points for us to reflect upon.
1) I want to begin by repeating a point from my homily last week. Why all these parables? When the disciples asked Jesus “Why do you speak to them in parables?” Jesus replied, “This is why I speak to them in parables, because they look but do not see and hear but do not listen or understand.” And then Jesus ends the parables by saying, “Whoever has ears ought to hear!” I understand Jesus’ answer to mean that the parables are not merely stories with a twist or a moral. Parables are about a pedagogy – a method of teaching and learning. Parables by their nature invite us look deeper and only the one who wants to go deeper will go beyond the parable. Only to the one who is willing to go deeper will the mysteries of the kingdom of God be revealed.
Here is the practical implication of Jesus’ parables for us. Because of technology and our numerous gadgets and apps, we have to make a heroic effort to overcome superficiality. An average American spends between 1 – 1:15 hours of quality on their smart phone. This adds up to 7 – 9 hours a week, 240 hours a month and 2,816 hours a year! Add to this the fact that life is hard for most of us. We spend hours at work or at school, there are children, grandchildren and tough schedules to manage. Add to this the fact that materialism and consumerism has the power to strip us of our capacity for depth. Jesus’ parables, on the other hand, are an invitation to seek the deeper realities of life. In our superficial world, as Jesus says, we can often “hear but not understand; look but not see.” Prayer, meditation, silence, spiritual reading are ways to counter superficiality.
2) The question that we should ask, then, is this: What mysteries is the parable of the wheat and the weeds revealing to us? Behind this parable is a great mystery – that God cares for all and not just the worthy. Today’s first reading from Wisdom says, “There is no God besides you who have the care of all. For your might is the source of justice your mastery over all things makes you lenient to all.” In other words, God is not weak when God allows the weeds to grow among the wheat. On the contrary, as the first reading again states, “God is the master of might and power attends God.” The saying “absolute power corrupts absolutely” does not apply to God. God’s absolute power, justice and might make God lenient and kind. This mystery is revealed to us in Jesus’ life. The parable of the weed counters the criticism of Jesus’ opponents that he was associating with tax collectors, prostitutes and sinners. People wanted him to condemn the adulterous woman, refuse to eat at Zacchaeus’ house, and to pull his feet away from the sinful woman. But Jesus does not. Why did Jesus act that way? Because, even though God is immensely just, powerful and mighty, God is also immensely kind, merciful, and loving. Jesus was this face of God; was innocence itself yet the most merciful; most powerful yet hanging powerlessly on the cross to show us God’s love; Son of Justice yet suffering injustice so that reconciliation may ever remain open; the author of life yet endured death to lead sinners like us to the Kingdom of God. “Whoever has ears ought to hear.”
3) And then there is the parable of the mustard seed and the yeast and the dough. What is the mustard seed? What is the yeast? Both these things represent the human heart! Just and a small mustard seed becomes the largest bush and just as a little yeast affects the entire dough so can the human heart. If the human heart can connect with the heart of God then it can be as big as the heart of God. But if it does not, it is as small as our fists. These parables remind me of Pope Francis’ exhortation to us. He says, “I invite all Christians, everywhere, at this very moment, to a renewed personal encounter with Jesus Christ, or at least an openness to letting him encounter them; I ask all of you to do this unfailingly each day.” In this way, the Pope is asking us to connect with the heart of God, to seek the deeper life and to become Christians who live out Christ’s mission in the world.
- Fr. SatishJoseph