Wheat and Weeds
Matthew 13:24-43 – Wheat and Weeds
The disciples of Jesus came to him and said, ‘Explain the parable about the weeds in the field to us.’ He said in reply, ‘The sower of the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world; the wheat is the subjects of the kingdom; the weeds, the subjects of the evil one; the enemy who sowed them, the devil; the harvest is the close of the age; the reapers are the angels. Well then, just as the weeds are gathered up and burnt in the fire, so it will be at the close of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels and they will gather out of his kingdom all things that cause sin and all who do evil, and throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth. Then the virtuous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Listen, anyone who has ears!’
The need for Ongoing Conversion
The wheat are the subjects of the kingdom of heaven. They are the virtuous, who after death will shine like the sun in the Kingdom of their Father.
The weeds are the subjects of the evil one, the devil. They are the ones who cause sin and who do evil. After death they will be cast into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth.
Wow! I need to change some things in my life because I am the field that is filled with wheat and weeds, good and evil. There is within me both thoughts, speech and actions that are good and that which is really evil. Thank God we cannot read the mind of one another because we have some really bad thoughts – right.
Gotta get the weeds out
If you don’t get the weeds out by their roots, then they just grow back.
There are seven vices at the root of all sin: pride, envy, acedia, anger, greed, gluttony, and lust. We are all enslaved by two or three of these. How do we identify and remove them?
i. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you which vices have taken root
ii. Do a daily examination of conscience and ask yourself: which vice is at the root of my bad thoughts, speech and actions. Over the course of about a week we start to see patterns of vice.
iii. Confess your root vices in the Sacrament of Reconciliation
iv. Overcome your vices by
a. Making the resolution to practice the conquering virtues: humility, good-will, zeal, meekness, generosity and detachment, temperance, chastity and charity.
b. By daily meditation and frequent reception of the Eucharist we receive the grace to change from vice to virtue.
The reason for parables
Pope Benedict XVI explains why Jesus uses parables. Yes, they are a good tool to make a point but there is more:
A two-fold movement is involved here
On one hand, the parable brings distant realities close to the listeners as they reflect upon it.
On the other hand, the listeners themselves are led on a journey.
This means, however, that the parable demands the collaboration of the learner:
For not only is something brought close to him
But he himself must enter into the movement of the parable and journey along with it
Parables cause problems! The movement required is a change in one’s lifestyle
By means of the parable - Christ is drawing near to them and then passing by:
Will they get up and follow Christ by means of changing their lives?
Christ is drawing near to us: Will we get up and follow Christ by changing our lives?
The harvest is the close of the age; the reapers are the angels.
With every moment and each day, we are drawing to the close of the age – our death, when our Guardian Angle will escort us to the place we have chosen: heaven, purgatory or hell.
CCC 1007 Death lends urgency to our lives: remembering our mortality helps us realize that we have only a limited time in which to bring our lives to fulfillment.
The Imitation of Christ
Every action of yours, every thought, should be those of one who expects to die before the day is out. Death would have no great terrors for you if you had a quiet conscience…Then why not keep clear of sin instead of running away from death? If you aren't fit to face death today, it's very unlikely you will be tomorrow.