THE STRUGGLE BETWEEN WHEAT AND DARNEL


TUESDAY, SEVENTEENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

Jer 14:17-22; Ps 79:8-9,11,13; Mt 13:36-43

The Good Seed and the Darnel

We take another look at the parable of the good seed, the wheat, and the darnel in the parable of our Lord. Let us strive to gain more clarity on the setting and workings of evil and its agents. About the meaning of the parable, while explaining the parable to the apostles, our Lord says: “The sower of the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world; the good seed is the subjects of the kingdom; the darnel, the subjects of the evil one; the enemy who sowed them, the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; the reapers are the angels.” He refers to the faithful and the unfaithful as the good seeds and the darnels, respectively. He makes us understand that when we receive the word of God and apply it to our lives, we become good seeds; that is, we become the living word of God or the incarnation of God’s word. This is truly the case, for through our baptismal profession of faith in Jesus Christ, we become members of Christ. He lives and acts through us to further the course of the kingdom of heaven. We should always understand ourselves to be Jesus Christ living and acting in the world. This understanding will help us know our role in the redemption of the world.

The same applies to the darnels. The Lord says they are subjects of the evil one. In the same way, we are the word of God living and active in the world; the unfaithful or men and women of evil wills realise the presence of the devil in the world. By their thoughts, words, and actions, they further the course of the kingdom of darkness. If we, as the faithful of Christ, are Jesus Christ present here and now, the evil people or those who are in love with sin are realities of the devil here and now. We note that this is not a once-and-for-all but a continuous dynamism of wills and willing. A good seed, a Christian, can influence a darnel, an evil person, positively and cause him to disconnect with the devil, and reconnect to Christ and God. When this happens, the darnel changes to a good seed. The possibility of this conversion is the reason why the world still exists, and the end of the world is delayed. Though reaping is ongoing, souls are being reaped for heaven and hell continuously. The contrary flow is also possible and occurring; evil persons are influencing and causing good people to lose connection with Jesus Christ and connect to the devil. These cease to be Christians and become darnels and evil workmen. We must never be too engrossed in the world and lose sight of this continuous struggle and war between good and evil.

Jerusalem was chosen and built up as the city of God when God took his residence among the people. Their gradual loss of focus on the presence of God among them was their ruin. For as they failed to draw inspiration from the word of God revealed to them, they invariably drew inspiration from the devil and other demonic spirits who masqueraded as gods of other nations. This is the cause of the grievous wounds of the daughter of Zion; it is their lack of attention to God. Of this, Prophet Jeremiah cries. “Tears flood my eyes night and day, unceasingly, since a crushing blow falls on the daughter of my people, a most grievous injury. If I go into the countryside, there lie men killed by the sword; if I go into the city, I see people sick with hunger; even prophets and priests plough the land: they are at their wits’ end.” The prophets and priests lack divine inspiration when they live disconnected from God. The way back is confession of our sins to God. Let us frequently use the Sacrament of Penance for its wonderful effects of disconnecting us from the devil and his demonic spirits through repentance of sins, omission, and commission, and reconnecting us to Jesus Christ in a deep contrite heart. God will surely rescue us for the glory of his name; for his glory is our dwelling in communion with him.

Let us pray: O God, protector of those who hope in you, without whom nothing has firm foundation, nothing is holy, bestow in abundance your mercy upon us and grant that, with you as our ruler and guide, we may use the good things that pass in such a way as to hold fast even now to those that ever endure. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

CALLED TO KNOW AND PROCLAIM THE GOSPEL

Image
THE CONVERSION SAINT PAUL, APOSTLE Acts 22:3-16; Ps 117; Mk 16:15-18 Proclamation of the Gospel of the New Covenant Celebrating the feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul brings us to a deeper reflection on the meaning and implication of the new covenant in Jesus Christ. As Paul himself narrated in the first reading to his people in Jerusalem, he was so zealous in the practice of Judaism, the religion of his fathers, that his eyes were closed to the new realities and relations God had brought into existence. Though these new realities and relations were prophesied by the prophets and the Law pointed to them, Paul and many of his contemporaries were blind to them. His words are: “I am a Jew and was born at Tarsus in Cilicia. I was brought up here in this city. I studied under Gamaliel and was taught the exact observance of the Law of our ancestors. In fact, I was as full of duty towards God as you are today.” These words of Paul testify that zeal without the knowledge of the will o...
Read more

GOD IS LOVE

Image
SOLEMNITY OF THE MOST SACRED HEART OF JESUS   Deut 7:6-11; Ps 103:1-4,6-8,10; 1 Jn 4:7-16; Mt 11:25-30 Great Things hidden from the Wise We celebrate the solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ. The Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ is a mystery, as coming from the mystery of the Son of Man. The human heart of Jesus Christ is a symbol and reality of the love of the Son of Man for his brothers and sisters. It is a human representation of the heart or love of the Son of God for us, his own people and creatures. As he revealed in Heb 2:14, that he took on our nature, that he may share everything in common with us. “Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity, so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death.” The Father brought us into existence to be the inheritance and the companions of His Beloved Son. The love of the Son for his own could not let him be, but made him take on our nature and appear among ...
Read more

ESTABLISHING OURSELVES IN HIS PRESENCE

Image
THE 6TH DAY OF OCTAVE OF CHRISTMAS     1 Jn 2:12-17; Ps 96:7-10; Lk 2:36-40 Recognising the Incarnate Word for Self The Church, in the opening prayer, prays for the new revelation of God in the flesh to commence its purpose of setting us free from the bondage of sin and servitude to evil. The fact of the Incarnation means that human nature is redeemed in principle, by God joining it to the Eternal Word in a hypostatic union. The Lamb, the Word in human flesh, is already sacrificed to God, waiting for the consummation of the sacrifice on Calvary. Thus, He already started the work of redemption in principle, each of us must now appropriate the result of the redemption. The purpose of his appearance in human flesh is that he may enter our minds as God, who created us in love. He comes to receive us back into his company; this requires he enters the temple within each of us. We must recognise what he has already done for the love of us and respond in a similar gesture b...
Read more