Ordinary Time 

1) Opening prayer

Father,

through the obedience of Jesus,

Your servant and Your Son,

You raised a fallen world.

Free us from sin

and bring us the joy that lasts for ever.

We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,

who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

2) Gospel Reading - Matthew 10:7-15

Jesus said to his Apostles: “As you go, make this proclamation: ‘The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, drive out demons. Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give. Do not take gold or silver or copper for your belts; no sack for the journey, or a second tunic, or sandals, or walking stick. The laborer deserves his keep. Whatever town or village you enter, look for a worthy person in it, and stay there until you leave. As you enter a house, wish it peace. If the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it; if not, let your peace return to you. Whoever will not receive you or listen to your words, go outside that house or town and shake the dust from your feet. Amen, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.”

3) Reflection

• The Gospel today presents the second part of the sending out of the disciples.  Yesterday we saw that Jesus insists on directing them first toward the lost sheep of Israel.  Today, we see concrete instructions to carry out the mission. 

• Matthew 10:7: The objective of the mission: to reveal the presence of the Kingdom. “Go and announce the Kingdom of Heaven is close at hand.”  The principal objective is that of announcing that the Kingdom is close at hand.  This is the novelty which Christ brings to us.  For the other Jews there was still a long time before the coming of the Kingdom. It would have come only after they had done their own part.  The coming of the Kingdom depended, according to them, on their effort. For the Pharisees, for example, the Kingdom would be attained only after the perfect observance of the Law.  For the Essenes, when the country would have purified itself. But Jesus thinks in a different way. He has a different way of reading the facts of life. He says that the hour has already arrived (Mk 1:15). When He says that the Kingdom is close at hand or that the Kingdom is already among us, in our midst, He does not mean to say that the Kingdom is just arriving at that moment, but that it is already there, independently of the effort made by the people. What they all expected was already present among the people, gratuitously, but the people did not know it, nor perceive it (cf. Lk 17:21). Jesus is aware of this, because He sees reality with different eyes. He reveals and announces to the poor of His land this hidden presence of the Kingdom in our midst (Lk 4:18). It is the mustard seed which will receive the rain of His word and the warmth of His love.  

• Matthew 10:8: The signs of the presence of the Kingdom: accept the excluded. How should the presence of the Kingdom be announced? Only through words and discourses? No! The signs of the presence of the Kingdom are above all concrete gestures or acts, done gratuitously: “Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out the devils. You received without charge; give without charge.”  This means that the disciples should accept within the community those who have been excluded. This practice of solidarity both criticizes religion and society which exclude and proposes concrete solutions.  

• Matthew 10:9-10: Do not take anything for the journey. Unlike other missionaries, the disciples of Jesus should not take anything: “Provide yourselves with no gold or silver, not even with coppers for your purses, with no haversack for the journey or a spare tunic or footwear or a staff, for the laborer deserves his keep.” This means that they have to trust in the hospitality of the people.  The disciples who go without anything, taking only peace (Mk 10:13), show that they trust the people.  It shows a trust in grace from God to act in people and to provide for them. It is certain that they will be welcomed, that they will be able to participate in the life and the work of the people of the place and that they will be able to survive with what they will receive in exchange, because the laborer deserves his keep.  This means that the disciples should trust in sharing. It is also another way of respecting the poor, by not taking from them, and of contrasting the Good News with the laws of the time that demanded payment and tax for so many things. The social structure of the day was built on taking. Jesus builds a structure and community built on giving freely. By means of this practice they criticize the laws of exclusion and recover the ancient values of community life.

• Matthew 10:11-13: To share peace in the community. The disciples should not go from house to house, but should seek people of peace and remain in that house. That is, they should practice stability.  Thus, through that new practice, they criticize the culture of accumulation which characterized the politics of the Roman Empire, and they announced a new model of living together. Once all these requirements were respected, the disciples could cry out: The Kingdom of God has arrived! To announce the Kingdom does not mean, in the first place, to teach truths and doctrine, but lead toward a new fraternal manner of living and of sharing starting from the Good News which Jesus has brought to us: God and Father and Mother of all men and women.

• Matthew 10:14-15: The severity of the menace.  How is such a severe menace to be understood? Jesus has brought us something completely new. He has come to rescue the community values of the past: hospitality, sharing, communion around the table, acceptance of the excluded.  That explains the severity toward those who reject the message, because they do not reject something new, but their own past, their own culture and wisdom! The objective of the pedagogy of Jesus is to dig out from the memory, to recover the wisdom of the people, to reconstruct the community, to renew the Covenant, to rebuild life.

4) Personal questions

• Today, how can we put into practice the recommendation not to take anything for the journey when going to a mission?

• Jesus orders His disciples to look for people of peace, so as to be able to remain in their house. Today, who would be a person of peace to whom to address oneself in the announcement of the Good News?

• Why would stability, as in not going from house to house while staying in a town, be  important?

For further study

Most, if not all, monastic traditions include a vow of stability – to stay in one place. Take some time to read the ancient rules which guide our various communities, such as the Rule of St Benedict, St Albert, St Bruno, and so on.  The authors of these rules often explain why a particular rule is made, and from where in the Gospel it is inspired. This can give insight into these instructions of Jesus and a historical perspective on the development of Christianity through the Middle Ages.

5) Concluding Prayer

God Sabaoth, come back, we pray,

look down from heaven and see,

visit this vine;

protect what Your own hand has planted. (Ps 80:14-15)

The multiplication of the loaves

Matthew 14:13-21

1. LECTIO

a) Opening prayer:

Come Holy Spirit

Come Fire of love

Come Father of the poor

Come Unction of my soul. 

b)Reading:

13 When Jesus received this news He withdrew by boat to a lonely place where they could be by themselves. But the crowds heard of this and, leaving the towns, went after Him on foot. 14 So as He stepped ashore He saw a large crowd; and He took pity on them and healed their sick. 15 When evening came, the disciples went to Him and said, 'This is a lonely place, and time has slipped by; so send the people away, and they can go to the villages to buy themselves some food.' 16 Jesus replied, 'There is no need for them to go: give them something to eat yourselves.' 17 But they answered, 'All we have with us is five loaves and two fish.' 18 So He said, 'Bring them here to me.' 19 He gave orders that the people were to sit down on the grass; then He took the five loaves and the two fish, raised His eyes to heaven and said the blessing. And breaking the loaves He handed them to His disciples, who gave them to the crowds. 20 They all ate as much as they wanted, and they collected the scraps left over, twelve baskets full. 21 Now about five thousand men had eaten, to say nothing of women and children.

c) A moment of silence:

so that the Word of God may enter into our hearts and enlighten our lives.

2. MEDITATIO

a) A key to the reading:

All the Evangelists tell the story of the multiplication of the loaves. While Luke and John only tell us of one multiplication of loaves (Lk 9:10-17; Jn 6:1-13), Mark and Matthew refer to two occasions of multiplication (Mk 6:30-44; 8:1-10; Mt 14:13-21; 15:32-39). It seems that both stories in Matthew and Mark came from the one source when loaves were multiplied, but which was passed on in two versions according to different traditions. Besides, the story in Mt 14:13-21 and Mk 6:30-44 seem to be the older versions. Here we focus on the subject of our lectio divina, that is, the text of Mt 14:13-21.

This text presents Jesus at the time when He received the news of the Baptist’s beheading by Herod (Mt 14:12). He goes apart «in a lonely place» (Mt 14:13). The Gospels often show us Jesus as someone who goes apart. Generally, but not always, this going apart presents a Jesus who is immersed in prayer. Here are some examples: «After sending the people away, He went up a hill by Himself to pray. When evening came, Jesus was there alone» (Mt 14:23); «Very early in the morning, long before daylight, Jesus got up and left the house. He went out of town to a lonely place, where He prays” (Mk 1:35); «He would go away to lonely places, where He prayed» (Lk 5: 16); «led by the Spirit» after His baptism, Jesus goes away into the desert to be tempted by the devil and He overcomes the devil’s seductions by the power of the Word of God (Mt 4:1-11; Mk 1:12-13; Lk 4:1-13). At other times, Jesus calls His disciples to Him: «Let us go off by ourselves to someplace where we will be alone and you can rest a while» (Mk 6:30-44). In our passage, Jesus prays before multiplying the loaves. The Gospels show that Jesus liked to pray before important events throughout His ministry such at His baptism, His transfiguration and His passion.

This time the crowd follows Him into the desert (Mt 14:13) and Jesus feels compassion for them and cures their sick (Mt 14:14). We often see compassion in Jesus towards those who follow Him (Mt 15:32). The master is moved because they «were like sheep without a shepherd» (Mk 6:34). Indeed, Jesus is the good shepherd who nourishes His people like the prophet Elisha (2 Kings 4:1-7, 42-44) and like Moses in the desert (Ex 16; Nm 11). In John’s Gospel, Jesus, in His discourse on the bread of life (Jn 6), explains the meaning of the sign of the multiplication of the loaves. This miracle is a preparation for the bread that will be given in the Eucharist. In all the Gospels, Jesus’ actions before He multiplies the loaves, recall the rite of breaking the bread, the Eucharist. The actions are: a) taking the bread, b) lifting «His eyes up to heaven», c) pronouncing “the blessing», d) breaking the bread, e) giving it to the disciples (Mt 14:19). These actions are found in the stories of the multiplication of the loaves and, word for word, in the story of the last supper (Mt 26:26).

All eat of the bread and are satisfied. Twelve baskets full of leftovers are taken up. Jesus is the one who satisfies the chosen people of God: Israel, made up of twelve tribes. But He also satisfies the pagans in the second multiplication (Mt 15:32-39), symbolized now by seven baskets, the number of the nations of Canaan (Acts 13:19) and also the number of the Hellenist deacons (Acts 6:5; 21:8) who were given the task of providing for the daily distribution at table. The community gathered around Jesus, a foretaste of the Kingdom of God, welcomed Jews and Gentiles, all called to accept the invitation to share at the table of the Lord. Jesus shows this also by His action of sitting at table with publicans and sinners and, through His teachings in the parables of the banquet where «many will come from the east and the west and sit down with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob at the feast in the Kingdom of heaven» ( Mt 8: 11; see also Mt 22:34; Lk 14:16-24).

b) Some questions to guide our meditation and practice:

- What touched you most in this passage?

- Which of Jesus’ attitudes touched you most in this text?

- Have you ever thought of Jesus’ emotions? This text focuses on compassion. Can you find other emotions in the Gospels?

- What do you think God wishes to tell you through this story of the multiplication of the loaves?

- Jesus provides food in abundance. Do you trust in the providence of the Lord? What does it mean for you to trust in providence?

- Have you ever thought of the Eucharist as sitting down at table with Jesus? Who are those invited to this table?

3. ORATIO

a) Psalm 78:24-25:

He rained down manna to feed them,

He gave them the wheat of heaven;

mere mortals ate the bread of the Mighty,

He sent them as much food as they could want.

b) Closing prayer:

O God, who in the compassion of Your Son towards us, show us Your fatherly goodness, grant that the bread multiplied by Your providence may be broken in love, and the communion in the bread come down from heaven open us to dialogue with and service of our brothers and sisters. Through Christ our Lord.

4. CONTEMPLATIO

There is one other point which I would like to emphasize, since it significantly affects the authenticity of our communal sharing in the Eucharist. It is the impulse which the Eucharist gives to the community for a practical commitment to building a more just and fraternal society. In the Eucharist our God has shown love in the extreme, overturning all those criteria of power which too often govern human relations and radically affirming the criterion of service: “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all” (Mk 9:35). [...] Can we not make this Year of the Eucharist an occasion for diocesan and parish communities to commit themselves in a particular way to responding with fraternal solicitude to one of the many forms of poverty present in our world? I think for example of the tragedy of hunger which plagues hundreds of millions of human beings, the diseases which afflict developing countries, the loneliness of the elderly, the hardships faced by the unemployed, the struggles of immigrants. These are evils which are present - albeit to a different degree - even in areas of immense wealth. We cannot delude ourselves: by our mutual love and, in particular, by our concern for those in need we will be recognized as true followers of Christ (cf. Jn 13:35; Mt 25:31-46). This will be the criterion by which the authenticity of our Eucharistic celebrations is judged.

John Paul II, Mane Nobiscum Domine, 28.

Three parables of the Kingdom of God

Discovering the signs of God in daily life

Matthew 13:44-52

1. Opening prayer

Lord Jesus, send Your Spirit to help us read the Scriptures with the same mind that You read them to the disciples on the way to Emmaus. In the light of the Word, written in the Bible, You helped them to discover the presence of God in the disturbing events of Your sentence and death. Thus, the cross that seemed to be the end of all hope became for them the source of life and of resurrection.

Create silence in us so that we may listen to Your voice in Creation and in the Scriptures, in events and in people, above all in the poor and suffering. May Your word guide us so that we too, like the two disciples on the way to Emmaus, may experience the force of Your resurrection and witness to others that You are alive in our midst as source of fraternity, justice and peace. We ask this of You, Jesus, Son of Mary, who revealed the Father to us and sent us Your Spirit. Amen.

2. Reading

a) A division of the text as an aid to the reading:

Matthew 13:44: The parable of the hidden treasure

Matthew 13:45-46: The parable of the merchant looking for precious pearls

Matthew 13:47-50: The parable of the dragnet cast into the sea

Matthew 13:51-52: A parable to conclude the discourse of the parables

b) A key to the reading:

On this 17^th Sunday of Ordinary Time we meditate on the three parables that make up the final section of the Discourse of the Parables: the hidden treasure, the merchant of precious pearls and the dragnet cast into the sea. Jesus’ parables help us adjust our sight to better see the presence of the Kingdom of God in the most ordinary things of life. As we read, it would be good to keep in mind the following: “What is for me a hidden treasure, a merchant of precious pearls or a dragnet cast into the sea? How does my experience help me understand the parables of the treasure, of the pearl and of the dragnet?”

c) The Text:

44 'The kingdom of Heaven is like treasure hidden in a field which someone has found; he hides it again, goes off in his joy, sells everything he owns and buys the field. 45 'Again, the kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls; 46 when he finds one of great value he goes and sells everything he owns and buys it. 47 'Again, the kingdom of Heaven is like a dragnet that is cast in the sea and brings in a haul of all kinds of fish. 48 When it is full, the fishermen bring it ashore; then, sitting down, they collect the good ones in baskets and throw away those that are of no use. 49 This is how it will be at the end of time: the angels will appear and separate the wicked from the upright, 50 to throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth.

51 'Have you understood all these?' They said, 'Yes.' 52 And He said to them, 'Well then, every scribe who becomes a disciple of the kingdom of Heaven is like a householder who brings out from his storeroom new things as well as old.'

3. A moment of prayerful silence

so that the Word of God may penetrate and enlighten our life.

4. Some questions

to help us in our personal reflection.

a) What part of the text struck me most? Why?

b) In my experience of life, what do I understand by a hidden treasure, a merchant of precious pearls, or a dragnet cast into the sea?

c) How does this experience of mine help me understand the parables of the treasure, the pearl and the dragnet?

d) What difference is there between the parable of the treasure and that of the pearl?

e) What does the text say about the mission to be carried out as disciples of Christ?

5. For those who wish to go deeper into the theme

a) The context of the parables told by Jesus:

The Gospels contain many parables of Jesus. Matthew even says, “All these things Jesus said to the crowd in parables and did not speak to them unless in parables” (Mt 13:34). This was a common method of teaching used in those days. It was in this way that Jesus made Himself understood by the people. In the parables, He starts from very ordinary things of life and uses them as terms of comparison to help people better understand the less known things of the Kingdom of God. In this Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus starts with three well-known things in the lives of people: the treasure hidden in the field, the merchant who seeks pearls, and the dragnet that fishermen cast into the sea.

b) A commentary on the text:

Matthew 13:44: The parable of the hidden treasure

Here the term of comparison used to shed light on the things of the Kingdom of God is the treasure hidden in the field. No one knows that there is a treasure in that field. By chance, a man finds it. He did not know he was going to find it. He finds it and rejoices and gratefully welcomes the unexpected. The discovered treasure does not belong to him yet, it will be his if he succeeds in buying the field. Such were the laws in those days. So he goes, sells all he owns and buys that field. By buying the field he also acquires the treasure.

Jesus does not explain the parable. The same applies here as was said on previous occasions: “He who has ears to hear let him hear” (Mt 13:9, 43). Or: “The Kingdom of God is this. You have heard. Now try to understand!” If Jesus does not explain the parable, nor will I. This is the task for each one of us. But I would like to offer a suggestion beginning from what I have understood. The field is our life. In our lives there is no hidden treasure, no precious treasure, more precious than all else. Will anyone who comes across such a treasure give away everything that he or she owns in order to buy this treasure? Have you found it?

Matthew 13:45-46: The parable of the merchant of precious pearls

In the first parable, the term of comparison is “the treasure hidden in the field”. In this parable, the accent is different. The term of comparison is not the precious pearl, but the activity, the effort of the merchant who seeks precious pearls. We all know that such pearls exist. What is important is not to know that they exist, but to seek them ceaselessly until we come across them.

Both parables have some common and some different elements. In both cases, it is about something precious: a treasure and a pearl. In both cases there is a finding of the object desired, and in both cases the person goes and sells all he owns so as to be able to buy the precious thing found. In the first parable, the finding is by chance. In the second, the finding is the result of the effort of seeking. Here we see two basic aspects of the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom exists, it is hidden in life, waiting for those who will find it. The Kingdom is the result of a seeking (obtaining). These are the two basic dimensions of human life: gratitude of love that welcomes us and comes to meet us, and the faithful observance that brings us to meet the Other.

Matthew 13:47-50: The parable of the dragnet cast into the sea

Here the Kingdom is likened to a dragnet, not any kind of net, but a net cast into the sea and gathers fish of all kinds. It is something typical of the life of those who were listening, most of whom were fishermen who lived by fishing. This is an experience they are familiar with, the casting of the net that gathers all, some good and some less good. The fisherman cannot prevent the less good fish from entering the net, because he cannot control what happens in the deep waters of the sea where he drags his net. He will only know when he pulls up the net and sits with his mates to sort the fish out. Then they will separate what is worthwhile from what is worthless. Again, Jesus does not explain the parable. He just gives a hint: “This is how it will be at the end of time”. Then the good will be separated from the evil.

Matthew 13:51-52: Conclusion of the discourse of parables

In Matthew’s Gospel, the discourse of parables ends with a brief dialogue between Jesus and His listeners and that acts as a key to the reading of all the parables. Jesus asks, “Have you understood all these?” The people reply, “Yes!” Then Jesus concludes with these very beautiful words, “Well then, every scribe who becomes a disciple of the kingdom of Heaven is like a householder who brings out from his storeroom new things as well as old”. These closing words are another parable. “The things new as well as old that the householder brings out from his storeroom” are the things of the life that Jesus has just suggested in the parables: seeds cast in the field (Mt 13:4-8), the mustard seed (Mt 13:31-32), the leaven (Mt 13:33), the treasure hidden in the field (Mt 13:44), the merchant of precious pearls (Mt 13: 45-46), the dragnet cast into the sea (Mt 13:47-48). Each person’s experience of these things is his or her treasure. It is in such experiences that each person finds the term of comparison that will permit him or her to understand the things of the Kingdom of God! Sometimes when the parables do not mean much to us and do not yield their message, the cause may not be a lack of study, but a lack of experience in life or a lack of depth in one’s life. Those who live superficially without any depth of the experience of life, have no storeroom from which to bring out things new as well as old.

c) A deepening: The teaching of the parables

The parables of Jesus are a pedagogical device that uses daily life to show us how the things of daily life speak to us of God. The parables make reality transparent and reveal the presence and action of God. They transform one’s sight into a contemplative gaze. A parable is about the things of life and thus is an open teaching that involves us. We all have experience of the things of life. The teaching in parables begins with a person’s experience of common things so as to be able to understand the Kingdom: seed, salt, light, sheep, flowers, woman, children, father, net, fish, treasure, pearl, etc.

Jesus did not usually explain His parables. Generally He ended with this exhortation: “He who has ears to hear let him hear!” (Mt 11:15; 13:9, 43), or, "That’s it. You’ve heard! Now try to understand!” Jesus left His parables open ended;He did not finish them. This is a sign that Jesus believed in the ability of people to discover the meaning of the parable starting from their own experience of life. Occasionally, at the request of His disciples, He would explain the meaning. (Mt 13:10, 36). For instance, verses 36-43 explain the parable of the wheat and the weeds. It is also possible that these explanations are the reflection of the catechesis given to the communities of first Christians. The communities met and discussed the parables of Jesus, seeking to understand what Jesus meant to say. Thus, gradually, the teaching of Jesus started to be assimilated into the catechesis of the community and this then becomes an explanation of the parable.

6. Palm 19:7-14

The Law of Yahweh is perfect

The Law of Yahweh is perfect,

refreshment to the soul;

the decree of Yahweh is trustworthy,

wisdom for the simple.

The precepts of Yahweh are honest,

joy for the heart;

the commandment of Yahweh is pure,

light for the eyes.

The fear of Yahweh is pure, lasting forever;

the judgements of Yahweh are true,

upright, every one,

more desirable than gold,

even than the finest gold;

His words are sweeter than honey,

that drips from the comb.

Thus Your servant is formed by them;

observing them brings great reward.

But who can detect his own failings?

Wash away my hidden faults.

And from pride preserve Your servant,

never let it be my master.

So shall I be above reproach,

free from grave sin.

May the words of my mouth always find favor,

and the whispering of my heart,

in Your presence, Yahweh,

my rock, my redeemer.

7. Final Prayer

Lord Jesus, we thank You for the word that has enabled us to understand better the will of the Father. May your Spirit enlighten our actions and grant us the strength to practice what Your Word has revealed to us. May we, like Mary, Your mother, not only listen to but also practice the Word. You who live and reign with the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen.

The mysterious growth of the Reign

God’s patience

Matthew 13: 24-43

1. Opening prayer

Spirit of Truth, sent by Jesus to guide us to the whole truth, enlighten our minds so that we may understand the Scriptures. You who overshadowed Mary and made her fruitful ground where the Word of God could germinate, purify our hearts from all obstacles to the Word. Help us to learn like her to listen with good and pure hearts to the Word that God speaks to us in life and in Scripture, so that we may observe the Word and produce good fruit through our perseverance.

2. Reading

a) Division of the text:

The text is made up of three parables, a break, and the explanation of the first parable. The three parables of the darnel and the wheat (13: 24-30), the mustard seed (13: 31-32) and the leaven (13:33), have the same purpose. They wish to correct the expectations of Jesus’ contemporaries who thought that the Reign of God would come with vehemence and immediately eliminate whatever was contrary to it. Through these parables, Jesus wishes to explain to His listeners that He did not come to restore the Reign by force, but to inaugurate a new era gradually, in the day-to-day history, in a way often unobserved. And yet His work has an inherent strength, dynamism and a transforming power that gradually changes history from inside according to God’s plan…if one has eyes to see!

In 13:10-17, between the parable of the sower and its explanation, the evangelist inserts a dialogue between Jesus and His disciples where the Master explains to them why it is that He speaks to the crowds only in parables. Here too, between the parables and the explanation, the evangelist inserts a brief comment on the reason why Jesus speaks in parables (13: 34-35).

Then follows the explanation of the parable of the darnel and the wheat (13: 36-43). What is striking in this explanation is that, while many of the details of the parable are interpreted, not a single reference is made to the core of the parable, that is, the dialogue between the owner and his servants concerning the darnel that grew together with the wheat. Many scholars deduce that the explanation of the parable is not from Jesus, but from the evangelist who changes the original sense of the parable. While Jesus meant to correct the messianic impatience of his contemporaries, Matthew addresses lukewarm Christians and exhorts them, almost threatens them, with God’s judgement. However, the parable and the explanation are part of the canonical text and, therefore, both should be considered because both contain the Word of God addressed to us today.

b) The text:

24-30: He put another parable before them, '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, then the darnel appeared as well. The owner's laborers went to him and said, "Sir, was it not good seed that you sowed in your field? If so, where does the darnel come from?" He said to them, "Some enemy has done this." And the laborers said, "Do you want us to go and weed it out?" But he said, "No, because when you weed out the darnel you might pull up the wheat with it. 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." '

31-32: He put another parable before them, 'The kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed which a man took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the biggest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air can come and shelter in its branches.'

33: He told them another parable, 'The kingdom of Heaven is like the yeast a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour till it was leavened all through.'

34-35: In all this Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables; indeed, He would never speak to them except in parables. This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet: I will speak to you in parables, unfold what has been hidden since the foundation of the world.

36-43: Then, leaving the crowds, He went to the house; and His disciples came to Him and said, 'Explain to us the parable about the darnel in the field.' He said in reply, '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 it, the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; the reapers are the angels. Well then, just as the darnel is gathered up and burnt in the fire, so it will be at the end of time. The Son of man will send his angels and they will gather out of His kingdom all causes of falling and all who do evil, and throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth. Then the upright will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Anyone who has ears should listen!

3. A moment of prayerful silence

so that the Word of God may enter into us and enlighten our life.

4. Some questions

to help us in our personal reflection.

a) What is your reaction towards the evil that you see in the world and in yourself? Is it the reaction of the servants or that of the owner?

b) What are the signs of the presence of the Reign that you can see in the world and in your life?

c) What image of God appears from these three parables? Is this your image of God?

5. A key to the reading

for those who wish to go deeper into the text.

a) The Reign of God:

In the two compendia that Matthew offers us on the ministry of Jesus, he presents Him preaching the Gospel or the good news of the Reign and healing (4:23; 9:35). The expression "Reign of Heaven" appears 32 times in Matthew. It is the same as the "Reign of God", found only once in Matthew, whereas it is the more usual expression found in the rest of the New Testament. As a matter of respect, the Jews avoid not only the use of the Name of God as revealed to Moses (see Ex 3:13-15), but also the word "God" which is substituted by various expressions such as "Heaven" or "The heavens". Matthew, the most Jewish of the Gospels, conforms to this practice.

The expression is not found in the Old Testament, where, however, we often find the idea of the royalty of God over Israel and over the universe and the verbal equivalent of the New Testament’s "God reigns". In fact, the Reign of God, as presented also in the New Testament, is above all the action of God who rules and the new situation as a consequence of His ruling. God has always been ruler, but because of sin, Israel and the whole of humanity avoid His royalty and create a situation opposed to His original plan. The Reign of God will be established when everything will be once more subjected to His dominion, that is, when humanity will accept His sovereignty and thus realize His plan.

Jesus proclaimed the coming of this new era (see for example Mt 3: 2). Somehow the reality of God’s Reign is made present and anticipated in Him and in the community He founded. But the Church is not yet the Reign. The Reign grows mysteriously and gradually until it reaches its fulfillment at the end of time.

b) God’s logic:

The reality of the Reign and its growth, as described by Jesus, place us before the mystery of God whose thoughts are not our thoughts. We confuse royalty and force, and impositions, and triumphalism. We like things done on a grand scale. We see success as an undertaking praised and involving many people. However, these are temptations which seduce even the community, and instead of serving the Reign, the community finds itself opposing it. God, on His part, prefers to advance His plan through small, poor and insignificant things and while we are always in a hurry to complete our plans, God waits with great patience and forbearance.

6. Psalm 145

Hymn to the Lord Ruler

I will extol Thee, my God and King,

and bless Thy name for ever and ever.

Every day I will bless Thee,

and praise Thy name for ever and ever.

Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised,

and His greatness is unsearchable.

One generation shall laud Thy works to another,

and shall declare Thy mighty acts.

On the glorious splendor of Thy majesty,

and on Thy wondrous works, I will meditate.

Men shall proclaim the might of Thy terrible acts,

and I will declare Thy greatness.

They shall pour forth the fame of Thy abundant goodness,

and shall sing aloud of Thy righteousness.

The Lord is gracious and merciful,

slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

The Lord is good to all,

and His compassion is over all that He has made.

All Thy works shall give thanks to Thee,

O Lord, and all Thy saints shall bless Thee!

They shall speak of the glory of Thy kingdom,

and tell of Thy power,

to make known to the sons of men Thy mighty deeds,

and the glorious splendor of Thy kingdom.

Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,

and Thy dominion endures throughout all generations.

The Lord is faithful in all His words, and gracious in all His deeds.

The Lord upholds all who are falling,

and raises up all who are bowed down.

The eyes of all look to Thee,

and Thou givest them their food in due season.

Thou openest Thy hand,

Thou satisfiest the desire of every living thing.

The Lord is just in all His ways,

and kind in all His doings.

The Lord is near to all who call upon Him,

to all who call upon Him in truth.

He fulfills the desire of all who fear Him,

He also hears their cry, and saves them.

The Lord preserves all who love Him;

but all the wicked He will destroy.

My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord,

and let all flesh bless His holy name for ever and ever.

7. Closing prayer

For Thou lovest all things that exist,

and hast loathing for none of the things which Thou hast made,

for Thou wouldst not have made anything if Thou hadst hated it.

How would anything have endured if Thou hadst not willed it?

Or how would anything not called forth by Thee have been preserved?

Thou sparest all things, for they are Thine,

O Lord who lovest the living.

Therefore Thou dost correct little by little those who trespass,

and dost remind and warn them of the things wherein they sin,

that they may be freed from wickedness

and put their trust in Thee, O Lord.

Thou art righteous and rulest all things righteously,

deeming it alien to Thy power to condemn him

who does not deserve to be punished.

For Thy strength is the source of righteousness,

and Thy sovereignty over all causes Thee to spare all.

For Thou dost show Thy strength

when men doubt the completeness of Thy power,

and dost rebuke any insolence among those who know it.

Thou who art sovereign in strength dost judge with mildness,

and with great forbearance Thou dost govern us;

for Thou hast power to act whenever Thou dost choose.

Wisdom 11: 24-12: 2,  15-18