THE WORD
Jer 7,1-11 / Mt 13,24-30
Jesus proposed another parable to them. “The kingdom of heaven may be likened to a man who sowed good seed in his field. While everyone was asleep his enemy came and sowed weeds all through the wheat, and then went off .
When the crop grew and bore fruit, the weeds appeared as well. The slaves of the householder came to him and said, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where have the weeds come from?’ He answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’ His slaves said to him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’ He replied, ‘No, if you pull up the weeds you might uproot the wheat along with them. Let them grow together until harvest; then at harvest time I will say to the harvesters, ‘First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles for burning; but gather the wheat into my barn.’”
IN OTHER WORDS
There is a famous story of three Japanese warlords who have three different reactions to a bird not singing. One says he will by force make the bird sing. The other says that if the bird does not sing, he will kill it. The third says that he will wait for the bird to sing. This story depicts the temperament of these warlords. Two are impatient and want to use force to get what they want while the other exudes the value of patience. Patience is de ned in Wikipedia as the “state of endurance under difficult circumstances, which can mean persevering in the face of delay or provocation without acting on annoyance/anger in a negative way”. In today’s gospel, the Master of the household asks his servants to be patient and not succumb to a hurried solution that might destroy the wheat when they pull the weeds at the early stages of their growth. What Jesus is telling in the parable is that things can still change. There is always the possibility of conversion. God is infinitely patient with us. In spite of our repeated sinfulness, His love for us makes Him wait for our renewal and conversion. The President of the Federation of Parents Teacher Association of Holy Name University, said in a speech: “Patience to a child is love. Patience to a spouse is trust. Patience to oneself is confidence. And Patience to God is faith.” Let us constantly ask for the grace of patience in our lives.
- Fr. Francisco “Kito” Estepa, SVD | Tagbilaran City, Bohol
The Word in other words 2016
An annual project of Logos Publications, The WORD in Other Words Bible Diary contains daily scripture readings and reflections written by priest, brothers, and sisters of the three congregations founded by St. Arnold Janssen (the SVD, SSpS, and SSpSAP). It hopes to serve as a daily companion to readers who continually seek the correlation of the Word of God and human experience.
