THE WHEAT AND THE DARNEL

SATURDAY, SIXTEENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

Reflection from Friar Nicholas Okeke, OP 

Jer 7:1-11; Ps 84:3-6,8,11; Mt 13:24-30

The good and the bad seeds

Our life on earth is a time of trials, pains, and death, notwithstanding the brief moments of joy and pleasure we also have. To make good of the difficulties of the short human life, we must allow God to plant the good seed of eternal life in us. The seed of the word of God must grow in our souls, tended by personal awareness. Our Lord used the parable of Sower to enlighten us on the importance of safeguarding the heavenly seed God plants in our souls through his word. In today’s gospel, he paints a complementary picture of our reality by informing us of another seed, not of God but of the evil one, our ancient enemy. There is a good seed, sown by the Son of God from the heavenly Father. The enemy of our souls also sows a bad seed. Our Lord revealed this truth himself, which should preoccupy us. “Jesus put another parable before the crowds: The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. While everybody was asleep his enemy came, sowed darnel all among the wheat, and made off. When the new wheat sprouted and ripened, the darnel appeared as well.” Just as in Genesis, the evil one planted a lie in the hearts of Eve and Adam and confused them about the truth of the word of God, he comes to plant his lies within our hearts when we are not on guard over the word of God we have received.

Part of this parable overlaps with that of the Sower; according to Jesus, the seeds that fell on the pathway are souls that lack vigilance and receive the word without understanding. The evil one comes to carry away the eternal truth sown in their hearts, leaving them with his lies. In this case, he cannot remove the truth of the germinated word but puts his lies beside the true seed. His aim is usually to influence the growth of the truth of the faith in our minds negatively by competing for the attention of our minds. This aspect relates to Yahweh's concern about the worship in the Temple of Jerusalem; he sent the prophet Jeremiah to condemn it. “Listen to the word of the Lord, all you men of Judah who come in by these gates to worship the Lord. The Lord Sabaoth, the God of Israel, says this: Amend your behaviour and your actions and I will stay with you here in this place. Put no trust in delusive words like these: This is the sanctuary of the Lord, the sanctuary of the Lord!” The prophet warned the people about their corrupted worship of God. The enemy has left them with an empty and delusive praise of the external forms of their religious practices, emptied of essential and spiritual contents. The prophet called their attention to the essentials they had abandoned: treating each other fairly, not exploiting strangers and the weak, not shedding innocent blood, not worshiping idols, etc.

The danger of evil influence abounds everywhere today. It comes in various forms, subtle and difficult to detect. Hence, we must be extra vigilant over our lives and conduct. We must be mindful of what we take in daily through the senses; especially social media. Evil seeds are sown even through religious outlets and in the garb of the word of God. Social media have made this problem pervasive and with terrifying dimensions and consequences. Our reflections have focussed on the word of God and the need to meditate and pray daily because of this prevalent problem. A critical evaluation of all our assumptions and presuppositions with the word of God ensures we are living by God’s will and not following the teaching of the evil one. This is the source of the deepest struggles of Christian souls. There are so many things done in the name of religion and the worship of God that are not in accord with the word of God. The false teachings and practices would come to light at the time of judgment. God allows true and false religion to thrive for his good purpose. An attempt to weed out the darnel might cause the pulling up of the wheat. “Let them both grow till the harvest; and at harvest time I shall say to the reapers: First collect the darnel and tie it in bundles to be burnt, then gather the wheat into my barn.” We must wait on God daily and allow the Holy Spirit to enlighten us on the will of the Father and pray for the grace to live it out. The Rosary prayer and meditation help discern the will of God and distinguish good from evil.

Let us pray: Grant us, Lord, that through the intercession of Our Lady of the holy Rosary, we may daily take the word of God to heart, and use it as lamp to guide our path away from lies of the evil one and steadfast on the truth of eternal life.