16th Sunday of Year A

Wisdom 12:13,16-19
Romans 8:26-27
Matthew 13:24-43

Judging the wheat and darnel around and within us.

The world is filled many different types of people – people with good intentions; and those with bad intentions. And often, these are the same people – people who performed righteous acts in moments of grace; and the same people performing evil acts in moments of weakness. In the language of the Gospel parable this week, not only is the world filled with wheat and darnel; we ourselves are filled with wheat and darnel. Let’s reflect on the parable a little deeper.

In the Parable of the Wheat and Darnel, even though the darnel (weed) is growing among the wheat, the householder instructed the slaves to not try to pull out the weeds, saying, “No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them.” (verse 29) Why did the householder say that? It is because, when they are small, the wheat and darnel are almost indistinguishable from each other. So, any attempt to pull out the darnel is prone to mistakes. This is the case with the world. Around us, sinners and righteous people live alongside each other, often indistinguishable from one another. Not only that, sinful and righteous acts are often performed alongside each other too, also indistinguishable from each other. For example, consider two persons performing the same charitable act, say, both donating the same amount to the same charity. One may do it out of pure love, while the other do it solely to attract publicity and praises. And it can be hard to distinguish one act from the other, as we cannot see the disposition of the heart.

The same applies to religious practices such as the worship rituals of our Church. We cannot see the disposition of the heart, whether a person is genuinely fervent in their faith; or just pretending to be pious. It is the same with prayers. Most of us think a good prayer must be in words. We admire those who pray in rich and profound words. While we may be impressed with those who can pray eloquently, what we do not see is the heart of the person. As Jesus cautioned us, “When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” (Mt 6:7-8) In the same vein, St Paul said to the Romans in this week’s Second Reading, that in prayers, it is what is in the heart that matters: “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words.” (verse 26)

Indeed, whether an act is pure and righteous, or corrupt and evil, only time will tell. Over time, as they grow, the wheat and darnel do become distinguishable. So it is in life. With the passage of time, we can distinguish sinfulness from righteousness by the types of fruits they bear. A righteous person with altruistic motives will bear good fruits – in the words of St Paul, “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” (Gal 5:22-23) An evil person with ulterior motives will bear bad fruits – in the words of St Paul, “fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these.” (Gal 5:19-21) Not only that, but God blesses and multiply good works. Hence, we can also judge is by examining how God multiplies the good fruits. As Jesus explains in the Parable of the Mustard Seed in this week’s Gospel, “it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.” (verse 32)

But such judgement not only takes wisdom, it also takes time for the truth to be revealed. So in most instances, we are not in the position to judge justly. Hence, we must always err on the side of love and mercy. The First Reading teaches us that even God, who has the ultimate wisdom and power to judge and punish us for our sins, treats us with gentleness and mercy. For there are wheat and darnel in each and every one of us. “Although you are sovereign in strength, you judge with mildness, and with great forbearance you govern us; for you have power to act whenever you choose.” (verse 18) This is a stern reminder to us, especially those of us vested with authority. That we must exercise our power in a responsible way; and always acts with mercy and compassion. The same applies when we judge others. There are always elements of wheat and darnel in those we judge. We must follow the example of God to act with love and mercy. This is what God calls us to do: “Through such works you have taught your people that the righteous must be kind, and you have filled your children with good hope, because you give repentance for sins.” (verse 19)

Let us conclude with a final point of reflection. While it is often difficult for us to judge others, it is not so when we judge ourselves. We always know our true motives when we act in a certain way – we just have to be honest with ourselves. Hence, we must be always on the alert about our apparent acts of righteousness – whether we are donating money, volunteering, helping someone, worshiping and even just praying. Are we doing so as wheat or darnel? Am I at peace with my conscience when I perform the act? Out of pride, do I musk my evil intent with righteous sounding reasons? Over time, would God reward me with good fruits; or in fact, multiply these good fruits like he does with the mustard seed? Or would I be punished by bad fruits? My dear friends, as we reflect on our life and our work, let this be our self-contemplation this week. May the wisdom of the Holy Spirit be with us as we reflect. Amen.