Homily- Sixteenth Sunday of Year A
Whoever Is Sown in Christ Grows into Abundance (C)-In this Time of
Pandemic
v Wisdom 12:13, 16-19
v Ps 86:5-10, 15-16
v Rom 8:26-27
v Matt 13:24-43
Like last
Sunday, Christ continues to speak to us in parables in today’s Gospel reading (Matt
13:24-43). In God’s hands, we are like many things, his instruments. We are a little
mustard seed that gradually grows into a big bush with wide branches, which later
accommodate a variety of birds. We are a small amount of yeast, which a woman mixes
into three measure of flour until the whole batched is leavened.
In addition,
God sows each of us like good seed sown in a field with the expectation of a
great crop. Though the seed itself is good seed, it grows alongside weeds. Those
who cultivate wheat and rice know the risk of being impatient or of failing to skillfully
handle the weeds that compete for soil, nutrients, and space.
In today’s
parable, it is better to wait until harvest time to separate the weeds from the
wheat. From creation and throughout Israel’s history, God has planted us amidst
other weeds: tribulation, exile, persecution, injustice, racism, discrimination,
tribalism, parochialism, war, terrorism, covid-19, and other human-made or
natural hardships or disasters.
But today’s
first reading (Wisdom 12:13, 16-19) reminds us that in the midst of all these
weeds, and disasters, there is no God besides our God, and he “cares for all.” His
might is the source of the justice once denied to men, women, children, and the
weak. He judges with clemency and patience, and he offers hope and repentance. As stressed in various biblical passages he is erekeh payim and full of hesed and tsedigkim for those who
are disposed to his kindness, love, and righteousness (Exod 34:6-7; Pss 85:1-2; 103:8-12; Neh 9:17; Joel 2:13; Jonah 4:2; Isaiah
38:17; Micah 7:18-20).
. In other words, our God stands
by us, he is with us in spite of the challenges of our time.
We are
equally in the midst of these challenges called not only to be patient with our
weak brothers and sisters, but to be kind to them. By so doing, we remind ourselves
of what Paul says in today’s second reading: “the Spirit helps us in our
weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought” (Rom 8:26).
In other
words, like seeds sown by God that face worldly competition and temptation—to sin,
to fight back, to curse, to seek revenge, to terrorize, to be unkind, to discriminate,
to lie, to be deceptive, to be selfish, to hate, to be nasty, to gossip—may we come
back to Christ, realizing that whoever abides in him grows into the abundance of
his love and the goodness of his mercy.
Reflection
Questions:
1. What
prevents you from realizing that you are a seed sown by Christ?
2. What
have you learned from today’s Gospel parable of the weeds and the wheat?
3. What
prevents you from trusting more deeply in the Lord, the source of time?
4. What
prevents you from being who you are called to be—holy, merciful, and gracious?
