16th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (Cycle A)
Readings:
Wisdom 12:13, 16-19
Psalm 86:5-6, 9-10, 15-16
Romans 8:26-27
Matthew 13:24-43
All Scripture passages are from the New American Bible Revised Edition unless designated NJB (New Jerusalem Bible), IBHE (Interlinear Bible Hebrew-English), IBGE (Interlinear Bible Greek-English), or LXX (Greek Septuagint Old Testament translation). CCC designates a citation from the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The word LORD or GOD rendered in all capital letters is, in the Hebrew text, God's Divine Name, YHWH (Yahweh).
The two Testaments reveal God's divine plan for humanity and is why we read and relive the events of salvation history contained in the Old and New Testaments in the Church's Liturgy. The Catechism teaches that the Liturgy reveals the unfolding mystery of God's plan as we read the Old Testament in light of the New and the New Testament in light of the Old (CCC 1094-1095).
The Theme of the Readings: God is Merciful and Patient
God dispenses justice to both the righteous and the wicked,
but even those who defy Him and disobey His commandments can hope for His mercy
if they turn to Him in repentance. In the First Reading, the inspired writer of
the Book of Wisdom proclaims the power and goodness of the one righteous and just
God. The Lord dispenses His justice with mercy and kindness, and by His
example, He teaches His covenant people that the righteousness He requires of
us must be defined by compassion, mercy, and forgiveness.
In today's Responsorial Psalm, we proclaim that God is slow to anger and abounding in mercy and kindness. His patience with sinful humanity teaches us that God desires repentance, not vengeance, and the salvation of the people of all nations.
In today's Second Reading, St. Paul promises that the Holy Spirit is ready to intercede with God the Father for us when we call upon Him for help. He will always intervene for us, according to the will of the Father, even when we cannot articulate our need for His intervention.
The focus of Jesus's three parables about the Kingdom of God in the Gospel Reading is that God is merciful and patient. Like the prophets of the Old Testament, Jesus, God's Supreme Prophet, taught in parables. In the third great discourse in St. Matthew's Gospel, Jesus taught seven "Kingdom Parables." Using topics of everyday life, Jesus made comparisons to illustrate His teaching points that revealed "the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven."
Jesus taught that there is no middle ground where He is concerned. God is just, merciful, and patient. He does not force us to accept citizenship in the Kingdom of His Son or His gift of eternal salvation. However, we must choose our eternal destination, either Jesus's "narrow path" to eternal life or sin's "broad road" to destruction. If a person does not decide to submit to the Sacrament of Baptism to become reborn as a child in the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (Jn 3:3, 5; Mk 16:16), that person has chosen to be a child of the devil and the destiny of eternal separation from God (1 Jn 3:10)! What choice have you made? Remember, there is no salvation apart from Jesus Christ (Jn 14:6; Acts 4:12). You have until you draw your last breath or, if you are still alive, until the time of Christ's glorious return in His Second Advent to make your choice, but be aware that your decision will have eternal consequences!
The First Reading Wisdom 12:13, 16-19 ~ God is Merciful
13 There is there any god besides you who have the care of all, that you
need show you have not unjustly condemned. [...] 16 For your might is the source
of justice; your mastery over all things makes you lenient to all. 17 For you
show your might when the perfection of your power is disbelieved, and in those
who know you, you rebuke temerity. 18 But though you are Master of might, you judge
with clemency, and with much lenience you govern us; for power, whenever you
will, attends you. 19 And you taught your people, by these deeds, that those
who are just must be kind, and you gave your children good ground for hope that
you would permit repentance for their sins.
This passage proclaims the power and goodness of the One and only God (verse 13). God's power, however, does not make Him an unjust tyrant. On the contrary, He is always righteous and just (verses 16-17) and dispenses His justice with mercy and kindness (verse 18). By His example, God taught His covenant people that compassion, mercy, and forgiveness define righteousness.
We find the same teaching in the New Testament in the ministry of Jesus Christ. Our merciful Father sent Jesus the Messiah to redeem humankind and to fulfill the hope of the inspired writer of the Book of Wisdom. He forgives our venial sins through our repentance in the Penitential Rite of the Mass and the Eucharist. And in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, God also provides a way to forgive our mortal sins and restore us to fellowship with Him (fulfills the promise of verse 19; see CCC 1846, 1854-64). The Catechism assures us: "There are no limits to the mercy of God, but anyone who deliberately refuses to accept his mercy by repenting, rejects the forgiveness of his sins and the salvation offered by the Holy Spirit. Such hardness of heart can lead to final impenitence and eternal loss" (CCC 1864),
Responsorial Psalm 86:5-6, 9-10, 15-16 ~ God's Goodness and Forgiveness
The response is: "Lord, you are good and forgiving."
5 You, O LORD, are good and forgiving, abounding in
kindness to all who call upon you. 6 Hearken, O LORD, to my prayer and attend
to the sound of my pleading.
Response:
9 All the nations you have made shall come and worship
you, O LORD, and glorify your name. 10 For you are great, and you do wondrous
deeds; you alone are God.
Response:
15 You, O LORD, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to
anger, abounding in kindness and fidelity. 16 Turn toward me, and have pity on
me; give your strength to your servant.
Response:
The title of this psalm is A Psalm of David. The psalmist, believed to be the great King David, expressed confidence that when he is in distress and called upon God in prayer, God hears him (verses 5-6). He proclaims that God is the only God of all nations who owe Him worship and praise (verses 9-10).
In verse 15, the psalmist repeats the list of God's attributes proclaimed to Moses when he was enveloped in the Glory Cloud, and God stood with him in Exodus 34:5-7. The result of the psalmist's conviction of God's greatness, mercy, and grace is that he declares himself God's servant and has confidence that God will give him the strength he needs to persevere in his struggles (verses 15-16).
Jesus promised that whenever we ask anything in His name, He hears us and will fulfill our request according to God's will for our lives (Jn 14:13). When we turn to God in prayer, we do so in union with His Son. When we invoke Jesus in our prayers, He prays with us and for us as our High Priest in the heavenly Sanctuary. He prays for us because He is our compassionate Savior who is always ready to forgive our sins and restore us to fellowship with Him and His Body, the Church.
The Second Reading Romans 8:26-27 ~ Intercession of the Holy Spirit
26 The Spirit comes to the aid of our weakness; for we do
not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes with
inexpressible groanings. 27 And the one who searches hearts knows what is the
intention of the Spirit because he intercedes for the holy ones according to
God's will.
St. Paul assured the Christians of Rome in the first century and us in the present age that the Holy Spirit, who dwells in us through our spiritual rebirth in Christian baptism (Jn 3:5; Rom 5:5), assists us in our prayers according to God's plan. The Holy Spirit is especially with us when we feel inadequate expressing our fears and desires. He articulates our deepest yearnings to the Father and intercedes for us according to God's will, with our eternal salvation as the object of His intercession.
All Christians long for union with the Most Holy Trinity in our final redemption and the hope of living the glory of the beatific vision. We also look forward to the promise of our second resurrection when we receive our glorified bodies (our first resurrection was in our baptism). This great hope is almost too much to be able to comprehend in our limited natural state, but God the Holy Spirit helps us, prays with us, and intercedes for us in "groanings" and "with sighs too deep for words" to receive this final and eternal gift. Every child who truly loves his family longs to be at home with his loved ones. Our "family" is the Most Holy Trinity, and our spirits long to be at home with Him.
In his letters, St. Paul always impressed his audience with the necessity of prayer, as Jesus taught in Matthew 6:5-15 (in the Sermon on the Mount). In his letters, St. Paul frequently addressed the topic of prayer in the life of the Christian (see Rom 12:12; 1 Cor 7:5; Eph 6:18; Phil 4:6; Col 4:2; 1 Thes 5:17; 1 Tim 2:8; and 5:5). St. Paul wrote that he was constantly praying for the faith communities to whom he had written (Rom 1:10; Eph 1:16; Phil 1:4; Col 1:3, 9; 1 Thes 1:2, 3; 3:10; 2 Thes 1:11; Phile verse 4). He requested that they also pray for him (Rom 15:30; 2 Cor 1:11; Eph 6:19; Phil 1:19; Col 4:3; 1 Thes 5:25; 2 Thes 3:1; Phile verse 22; Heb 13:18). The Holy Spirit enables Christians to approach the throne of God the Father and to speak to Him like a little child to a loving Father.
The Gospel of Matthew 13:24-43 ~ The Kingdom Parables Continued
In the third great discourse in St. Matthew's Gospel, Jesus
taught seven parables. In Matthew Chapter 13, Jesus uses the word "kingdom"
twelve times (Mt 13:11, 19, 24, 31, 33, 38, 41, 43, 44, 45, 47, and 53), and for
this reason, that collection of seven parables is called "the Kingdom
Parables." Last week's Gospel reading introduced the first "Kingdom Parables."
In the usual sense in Greek literature, a parabole presents a "comparison" to teach a lesson and inspire more profound thought. The Greek Septuagint translation of the Old Testament uses the word parabole to translate the Hebrew word masal. In the Hebrew text of the Old Testament, masal is the designation given to various literary forms, including allegories, axioms, proverbs, and similitudes (The Anchor Bible Dictionary, vol. 5, "Parable," page 146). In the New Testament, parables are primarily stories intended to illustrate a certain truth. Jesus used parables that are comparisons between the truths of His teachings and the events of everyday life.
Like the Old Testament prophets, in the seven "Kingdom Parables" in Matthew Chapter 13, Jesus, God's Supreme Prophet, taught using topics of everyday life to make comparisons and emphasize His teaching points that reveal "the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven" (13:11):
Jesus gave the reason why He taught in parables in Matthew 13:13-15. He used a little proverb to explain why He began speaking in parables, and then, quoting from Isaiah 6:9-10, He made another of the ten fulfillment statements from the Old Testament in the Gospel of Matthew (see another fulfillment statement concerning parables in Mt 13:34-35). Since the religious leaders and some people influenced by them had rejected His message, Jesus spoke in parables so they would not readily understand. He did this to fulfill the judgment prophecy in the Book of Isaiah against an unrepentant people (see the harsher statement in Mk 4:12).
Matthew 13:24-30 ~ The Parable of the Weeds Among the Wheat
24 He proposed another parable to them. "The Kingdom of
heaven may be likened to a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 While
everyone was asleep, his enemy came and sowed weeds all through the wheat, and
then went off. 26 When the crop grew and bore fruit, the weeds appeared as
well. 27 The slaves of the householder came to him and said, 'Master, did you
not sow good seed in your field? Where have the weeds come from?' 28 He
answered, 'An enemy has done this.' His slaves said to him, 'Do you want us to
go and pull them up?' 29 He replied, 'No, if you pull up the weeds, you might
uproot the wheat along with them. 30 Let them grow together until harvest; then
at harvest time I will say to the harvesters, 'First collect the weeds and tie
them in bundles for burning; but gather the wheat into my barn.'"
Later the disciples would ask Jesus to explain this parable (verse 36). We will look at the parable's meaning in verses 36-43. However, for now, it is sufficient to understand that, like the Parable of the Sower in last week's Gospel reading:
The Greek word translated as "weeds" is darnel, a poisonous weed that resembles wheat early in its growth cycle. The only use for the darnel was to bundle the plants and burn them for fuel (see Mt 13:30). It is a good metaphor for the unrepentant sinner who can masquerade as one of the righteous but is not fit for the Kingdom of God.
In verse 30, the owner of the field, the "householder," tells his slaves to let the "wheat" (children of God) and the "weeds" (those who reject Jesus as Lord and Savior) grow together. The owner's answer applies to the human harvest of souls. The owner does not want to take the chance that uprooting the weeds will destroy any of the wheat accidentally pulled up. God, in His mercy, gives sinners every opportunity to repent of their sins and return to a fruitful relationship with Him. He will not visit judgment upon the sinner until the last breath the sinner takes in this life (see CCC 827, 1036-37).
The Church teaches that even in the community of the faithful, the "weeds of sin will be mixed in with the good wheat of the Gospel until the end of time" (CCC 827). Like the slaves of the owner of the field, the Church gathers to herself sinners already caught up in Christ's salvation but still making their way on the journey to holiness. Some scholars suggest that the slaves of the master are the disciples of Jesus. However, it is more likely, since Jesus is the "householder," that the slaves of His house are the members of the ministerial priesthood who must welcome the sinner and the saint into the household of Christ that is His Church.
According to the parable, the harvest will determine the fate of the "weeds" (unrepentant sinners) and the "wheat" (the righteous children of God). In the Bible, "harvest" is a common metaphor for the fulfillment of God's judgment (see Jer 51:33; Hos 6:11). God destines the wheat/children of God for eternal life in His heavenly Kingdom, and the weeds/children of Satan (1 Jn 3:10), who reject Jesus Christ, are destined for eternal destruction in the fires of the Hell of the damned. It is ultimately a free-will choice made by both the "wheat" and the "weeds."
Matthew 13:31-32 ~ The Parable of the Mustard Seed
31 He proposed another parable to them. "The Kingdom of
heaven is like a mustard seed that a person took and sowed in a field. 32 It is
the smallest of all the seeds, yet when full-grown it is the largest of plants.
It becomes a large bush, and the 'birds of the sky come and dwell in its
branches.'"
Jesus used hyperbole in describing the mustard seed as the smallest of seeds and its plant in full growth as the largest of plants/trees (a mustard tree could only grow as high as 8-12 feet). The contrast here is between the small beginnings of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ and its future expansion to encompass the whole earth, sheltering all who come to dwell in the household of Jesus that is the Church. The allusion to the Kingdom becoming so large that "birds of the sky come and dwell in its branches" is a reference to the dream of King Nebuchadnezzar in which he saw a huge tree that sheltered "birds of the sky" and other animals (Dan 4:7). Daniel interpreted the tree and the animals to represent Nebuchadnezzar's Kingdom and the many different peoples over whom he ruled. The comparison is that the Kingdom of Jesus Christ will be even greater than the Kingdom of the Babylonians (see Dan 9:17-19).
Matthew 13:33 ~ The Parable of the Yeast
33 He spoke to them another parable. "The kingdom of
heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with three measures of wheat
flour until the whole batch was leavened."
Yeast is a fermenting agent that, when mixed with flour into a dough, causes the dough to rise and expand. In the Bible, leaven/yeast is usually a negative image, often representing sin (Ex 12:15, 19; 13:7; Mt 16:6; 1 Cor 5:6-8), but not in this parable. Three is always a significant number in Scripture, symbolizing perfection, completeness, or an important event in salvation history. Three measures of wheat flour is a tremendous amount and could produce enough bread to feed over a hundred people (Jeremias, Parables of Jesus, page 147). This parable, like the Parable of the Mustard Seed, illustrates the same point: the amazing growth of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, His New Covenant Church.
Matthew 13:34-35 ~ The Use of Parables
34 All these things, Jesus spoke to the crowds in
parables. He spoke to them only in parables, 35 to fulfill what had been said
through the prophet: "I will open my mouth in parables; I will announce what
has lain hidden from the foundation [of the world]."
The quote in verse 35 is from Psalm 78:2; the Hebrew text uses the word masah, which, in the Greek translation of the Old Testament, is the word parabole/parable. As in the other ten "fulfillment" statements in the Gospel of Matthew, St. Matthew applied the fulfillment of this verse to Jesus's parable teachings. The superscription of Psalm 78 attributes the psalm to Asaph, who was called a prophet in 2 Chronicles 29:30.
What has happened to cause Jesus to stop teaching directly to the crowds and to begin only teaching in parables (aside from fulfilling the prophecy of Psalms 78:2)? It is the same reason the Old Testament prophets began to speak in parables during their ministries. What happened was the reaction of the Pharisees and chief priests; their questioning of Jesus had turned to outright rejection and hostility. Jesus reacted to the opposition of the religious leadership in the same way that other prophets of God reacted to the rejection of God's messenger or the failure of the civil and religious authorities to guide the people in righteousness. Like those earlier prophets, He began to speak in parables.
Matthew 13:36-43 ~ The Parable of the Weeds Explained
36 Then, dismissing the crowds, he went into the house. His
disciples approached him and said, "Explain to us the parable of the weeds in
the field." 37 He said in reply, "He who sows good seed is the Son of Man, 38 the
field is the world, the good seed, the children of the Kingdom. The weeds are
the children of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The
harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. 40 Just as weeds
are collected and burned [up] with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. 41
The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his Kingdom
all who cause others to sin and all evildoers. 42 They will throw them into the
fiery furnace, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth. 43 Then the
righteous will shine like the sun in the Kingdom of their Father. Whoever has
ears ought to hear."
There are two themes in this parable: the patience of the Lord in waiting for sinners to repent and the inevitability of a final judgment. As in the Parable of the Sower, when His disciples did not understand, Jesus patiently explained His teaching (Mt 13:1-9, 18-23). Jesus told His disciples that the "field" is the world, and the "harvest" is the judgment at the end of the age. There are five different people or kinds of people mentioned in the parable (six if you count the slaves of the master/owner). Jesus identifies five different groups/persons:
| 1. The sower of the seed | He who sows good seed is the Son of Man |
| 2. The good seed/wheat | the good seed, the children of the Kingdom |
| 3. The darnel/weeds | The weeds are the children of the evil one |
| 4. The sower of the weeds | and the enemy who sows them is the devil |
| 5. The harvesters | and the harvesters are angels |
The slaves and the harvesters are two different groups since the master told the slaves in Matthew 13:30 that He would instruct the "harvesters" at the time of the harvest to collect the weeds first. Notice the contrast between "the children of the Kingdom" and the "children of the evil one." Once again, Jesus taught that there was no middle ground—a person was either for or against Him. God is just, merciful, and patient; He does not force us to accept citizenship in the Kingdom and His gift of eternal salvation. If a person has not chosen to be a child of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, he has chosen to be a child of the devil (1 Jn 3:10)!
What choice have you made? Remember, there is no middle ground. You have until you draw your last breath or, if you are still living, until the time of Christ's glorious return in His Second Advent to make your choice, but be aware that your choice will have eternal consequences!
Catechism references for this lesson (* indicates
Scripture quoted or paraphrased in the citation):
Wisdom 12:19 (CCC 1846, 1854-64)
Romans 8:26-27 (CCC 2634); 8:26 (CCC 741, 2559, 2630, 2736); 8:27 (CCC 2543*, 2736*, 2766)
Matthew 13:24-30 (CCC 827*); 13:41-42 (CCC 1034); 13:41 (CCC 333*); 13:42 (CCC 1034*)
The Kingdom of God (CCC 543*, 544*, 545*, 546*, 547*, 548*, 549*, 550*)
God's goodness and the scandal of evil (CCC 309-311, 312*, 313*, 314*)
Weeds and the seed of the Gospel in everyone and in the Church (CCC 825, 827*)
The need for ongoing conversion (CCC 1425*, 1426*, 1427*, 1428*, 1429*)
Prayer of petition voiced profoundly by the Holy Spirit (CCC 2630*)
Michal E Hunt, Copyright © 2014; revised 2023 Agape Bible Study. Permissions All Rights Reserved.