16th Week in Ordinary Time : Sunday 23rd July 2023

With this parable of the weeds, Jesus answered those scandalised at seeing evil everywhere. Good and bad will be mixed until the end of the world. Good and evil will always be found together in persons and institutions.

Darnel is a weed, a grass-like plant. It is hard to tell the difference between wheat and darnel at first because they look alike in their early stages of growth.

Likewise, the motives and desires in our hearts are hard to discern at first. Therefore, we must pray for wise patience of the self, like the farmer said to his workers, “Let them both grow together.”

We use good Pharisees to illustrate each individual’s coexistence of good and evil. It is good to be self-disciplined and strive to be morally good. But suppose he falls into the trap of focusing too much on self, giving a lot of energies to self-supervision and self-monitoring, and seeing goodness as consisting of external performance. In that case, there is the darnel as well.

We must remember that the true purpose of being good is for relationships. A relationship is looking away from the ego-self and looking at the other in love.

When we have a conscious relationship with God, we are given to know how much God loves us and we are called  to look away from our ego-self.

Lord God, help me to notice the flowers and the weeds in me. Forgive me! Heal me. May I walk humbly with You for as long as I live.