August 1, 2017 Tuesday, 17th Week in
Ordinary Time
1st Reading: Exodus
33:7-11;34-5b-9,28
Gospel: Mt 13:36–43
Jesus sent the crowds away and went into the house. And his disciples came to him saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.” He answered them, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world; the good seed are the people of the Kingdom; the weeds are those who follow the evil one. The enemy who sows them is the devil; the harvest is the end of time and the workers are the angels.
“Just as the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so will it be at the end of time. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom all that is scandalous and all who do evil.
And these will be thrown in the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the just will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. If you have ears, then hear.”
D@iGITAL-EXPERIENCE
(Daily Gospel in the Assimilated Life Experience)
God is patient with sinners because he understands that the wounds inflicted by sin take time to heal. Shakespeare expresses a similar idea when he asks, “What wound did ever heal but by degrees?” (Othello). We see God’s patience with sinners in the parable of the weeds where the Master tells those proposing to pull out the weeds, “Let them (wheat and weeds) both grow till the harvest” (Matt. 13:30). As this liberality in farming protects the wheat, so God’s patience with sinners protects good people from unnecessary risks. The analogy does not stop here. In light of Jesus’ preferential option for sinners we can assume that Jesus’ liberality serves not only as protection for good people but also as grace period for sinners to repent.
God will be stern to those who refuse to repent within the grace period. If we look closely at how the parable is constructed, there is a shift from liberality to sternness as the parable ends with a scary warning about what is in store for the weeds after harvest time (Matt. 13:24-30). Jesus’ private explanation of the parable to the disciples did not even mention about letting the weeds grow till harvest time (verse 30 of Matthew 13). “The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom all that is scandalous and all who do evil…” (Mt 13:36–43).
This calls our attention to the greater punishment awaiting stubborn sinners. “The servant who knows what his master wants but has not even started to carry out those wishes will receive very many strokes of the lash. The one who does not know but deserves to be beaten for what he has done will receive fewer strokes” (Luke 12:47-48). – (Atty.) Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., D.M.
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