In today’s Gospel Our Lord teaches us that evil will be present in the world until the last days of Judgement, when its fruits are measured. Since evil festers in peoples’ hearts, it is not always seen on the surface. Things may seem to be okay, even normal, but, just as good is at work in the world, like the wheat, trying to grow into something good, evil is at work doing the opposite, preying on the good in parasitic way to serve nothing other than itself, like a weed.
Jeremiah’s in today’s First Reading is sent to the Temple itself to warn Israel that they are being weeds, not wheat, in the sight of the Lord. They’re counting on the Lord to never abandon them, but the Lord is warning them that he’ll do exactly that if they do not amend their ways. This warning reminds us that while we live on this earth we can become wheat, not matter how long we’ve been weeds,or vice versa. Our Lord doesn’t just help believers to become wheat; through our testimony, and his, of an upright and moral life and the difference between right and wrong, without sophisms, we help everyone to go beyond appearances and examine the forces in this world that are truly good and truly evil.
Jeremiah today warns us that we can appear observant while still being a weed. Ask Our Lord today to help you go beyond appearances, deep into the roots of your soul, and become a source of good fruit again if you’ve strayed.
Readings: Jeremiah 7:1–11; Psalm 84:3–6a, 8a, 11; Matthew 13:24–30.
