My dear friends, Christ speaks in parables in today’s gospel. His first parable addresses the problem of sin, good, and evil in his kingdom. Ordinarily, the Pharisees believed that the Messiah should be for saints only and not for sinners. But Christ disagrees with them and their beliefs. He wants to allow both saints and sinners, good and evil, to coexist until the judgement day because he has come not only for the righteous but sinners too. A sinner can become a saint if he or she changes. Christ believes in change and offers such opportunity to anyone who wishes to take it. That’s the reason behind his patience with everyone – an open window for any sinner to turn a new leaf. He demonstrates such equal opportunity to everyone in his parable of the darnel and wheat in the gospel today.
Resemblance in African Culture
The parable of the darnel and wheat demonstrates the ancient practice in some African culture in land disputes between two parties. In such a case, one party can plant one type of crop and the other can go and plant another in same piece of land just to create confusion. And if the first party takes away the crops of the other, the other will retaliate in the same way until the land dispute is settled by the elders of the community. Sometimes they would put an injunction that none of the parties would be able to access the land. They can get an independent person to oversee the crops until harvest time. The harvest can be shared between parties and the land dispute settled. And that gives both parties equal opportunity for peace to reign. That’s what Christ has done in his first parable in the gospel today. He granted an equal opportunity for both darnel and wheat for easy separation at harvest time.
Clarification of Disciples
When Christ finished his teaching and entered the house, the disciples went to him for more clarification over his parable about the darnel in the field. That is when he explained to them that the Sower of the good seed is no other person than the Son of Man. ‘The field is the world; the good seed is the subjects of the kingdom; the darnel, the subjects of the evil one; the enemy who sowed them, the devil; and the harvest is the end of the world; the reapers are the angel’ (Mt 13:37-39). He explained to them that at the end of time, he will send the angels for the harvest and the way the darnel is gathered and thrown into the fire will be the way those who do evil will be punished while the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of God. He therefore warns everyone who has ear to listen and get it right before it would be too late.
Christ’s Teaching
The parable teaches us that there is always a hostile power working in the world, seeking, and waiting to destroy the good in us. You and I can sometimes be that hostile power whenever we live in jealousy, greed and envy and wanting to influence the good. We, therefore, need to be careful and always resist such temptation. This is because we are like a pencil. The worth or the goodness of a pencil is within. It brings the good when sharpened as we go through life, sharpened by discipline and trials of life to give the best, otherwise we become useless when not sharpened.
The Patience and Example of Christ
The patience of Christ and his example in this parable is amazing and worth emulating. He had demonstrated that he had not come to call the just, but sinners to repentance. He recognized the fact that there is good and evil in everyone. We all have a mixture of both. The people we call good may have terrible things in them -anger, jealousy, sin while the people we call bad may have the best of other virtues. He never excludes but, rather, patiently welcomes everyone. Christ saw the weeds and wheat in Peter and Judas, yet he appointed them to be his apostles and even made Peter to be the head. He knows that encouragement can make a difference. His patience is worth emulating. We must aim at God’s understanding and tolerance as we have his teaching to guide us.
Peace with you!
