Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)
Wis 12.13, 16-19;
Ps 85; Rom 8.26-27;
Mt 13.24-43
Why do God allow evil to exist? In today's first reading, from the Book of Wisdom. God is shown as a righteous judge. He is all-powerful, but he always judges with mercy and forbearance. The writer says, 'Through such works, you have taught your people that the righteous man must be kind, and you have filled your sons with good hope because you give repentance for sins, ... so that we may meditate upon your goodness when we judge, and when we are judged we may expect mercy.'
This is the same teaching as that of Jesus and here, as in everything He taught, there was no contradiction between what He taught and what He did - He tolerated the presence of Judas among the apostles until His divine purpose was achieved and in today's gospel passage, Jesus shares three parables about the kingdom of God, drawing on familiar farming and cooking scenarios that his listeners would have easily related to. These include the parables of the wheat and darnel, the mustard seed, and the three measures of flour. What lessons or roles does Jesus teach us through these stories? First, we need to stay alert so that the devil doesn’t sow seeds of destruction in our lives. We should refrain from judging others, leaving that to God, our ultimate Judge. Patience and perseverance are essential, trusting that the kingdom is gradually advancing toward its fulfillment. We are called to be like leaven—living out our faith in the world so that we can bring others to Christ through our words and actions. In doing so, we can look forward to the reward Jesus promises at the end of the parables: "The righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father."
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