The Good Wheat!

Tuesday, July 30, 2024

Jer 14:17-22; Mt 13:36-43

Today’s Gospel alerts us to the truth that the spiritual battle is a real one.

Though the coming of the Kingdom of God is a major theme in Matthew’s Gospel, our response to it occupies equal importance too. 

If the Kingdom of God represents the ideal of goodness, the complexity of human life that distorts our response represents the problem of evil. 

In view of today’s parable, though the world was created by God, the influence of evil exists too. 

In other words, the intermixing of the wheat and the weeds teaches us that in this life, the seeds of corruption can be found everywhere. 

As such, the parable invites us to strive to recognize the weeds in our own hearts. 

As the Russian writer Aleksandr observed, ‘The line separating good and evil passes not through states, nor between classes, nor between political parties either, but right through every human heart, and through all human hearts.’

Hence, the parable warns us against complacency. Avoiding reckless confidence is a precondition to strive for goodness and virtues. 

The parable reminds me of an anecdote from Native American life. 

An old Cherokee was teaching his grandson about life. ‘A fight is going on inside me,’ he said to the boy. ‘It’s a terrible fight between two wolves. One is evil: he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, deception, false pride, superiority, and ego. The other is good: he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside you, and inside every other person, too.’ The boy thought about it for a minute, and then asked his grandfather, ‘Which wolf will win?’ The old Cherokee looked at the boy deeply and said, ‘The one you feed.’

In sum, we are not called to live in a perfect world, but we are called to be good wheat. 

Let us pray that, with strength coming from God, we may remain the good wheat while continuing our fight against the evil influences. 

Fr. Dhinakaran Savariyar