Saturday, July 23, 2016
16th Week in Ordinary Time
1st Reading: Jer 7: 1-11 Gospel: Matthew 13:24-30
Jesus told his disciples another parable, “The kingdom of heaven can be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. While everyone was asleep, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and left.
When the plants sprouted and produced grain, the weeds also appeared. Then the servants of the owner came to him and said: ‘Sir, was it not good seed that you sowed in your field? Where did the weeds come from?’
He answered them: ‘This is the work of an enemy.’ They asked him: ‘Do you want us to go and pull up the weeds?’ He told them: ‘No, when you pull up the weeds, you might uproot the wheat with them. Let them just grow together until harvest; and at harvest time I will say to the workers: Pull up the weeds first, tie them in bundles and burn them; then gather the wheat into my barn.”
D@iGITAL-EXPERIENCE
(Daily Gospel in the
Assimilated Life
Experience)
Coexistence is beneficial to both the good and the bad person. Bad people test the faith of good people, while good people inspire bad people by their lives of witnessing. We can never undermine the power of the Holy Spirit to inspire bad people to conversion by the witnessing of good people. Good people only need to let their light shine (Matt. 5:16); God will do the rest. As rain will not return to the heavens until it has watered arid lands, good works will always create an impact on the hearts of their beneficiaries. “Walang matigas na tinapay sa mainit na kape”.
Growing spiritually in the midst of bad people does not mean passive submission. Passivity is dangerous to a believer because in the tug-o-war between good and evil, bad people are better equipped with skills in treachery, deception and trickery. Remaining passive is like putting one foot on the side of the enemy. As one coexists with bad people he must be careful not to be swayed by their bad influence. Sometimes the only way not to be swayed to the side of evil is to flee. The better kind of might is flight.
This does not mean leaving them alone and abandoning our duty to correct one another. We must correct bad people because we are our brother’s keeper. But we do so in a prudent way using non-violent means. If the non-violent way does not work, then it is time to take them as our cross and pile up merits from their hardheartedness.
Thus far are some benefits one can derive from coexisting with bad people. But who is good and who is bad? Nicholas Gordon’s quote can be a good guide. He wrote: “To be good one must love evil people among whom he must include himself”. –Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., DM. Email:[email protected].
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