Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 13, 24-43
Jesus proposed another parable to the crowds, saying:
“The kingdom of heaven may be likened
to a man who sowed good seed in his field.
While everyone was asleep his enemy came
and sowed weeds all through the wheat, and then went off.
When the crop grew and bore fruit, the weeds appeared as well.
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?’
He answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’
His slaves said to him,
‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’
He replied, ‘No, if you pull up the weeds
you might uproot the wheat along with them.
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.”‘”
He proposed another parable to them.
“The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed
that a person took and sowed in a field.
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.'”
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.”
All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables.
He spoke to them only in parables,
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.
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.”
He said in reply, “He who sows good seed is the Son of Man,
the field is the world, the good seed the children of the kingdom.
The weeds are the children of the evil one,
and the enemy who sows them is the devil.
The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.
Just as weeds are collected and burned up with fire,
so will it be at the end of the age.
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.
They will throw them into the fiery furnace,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.
Then the righteous will shine like the sun
in the kingdom of their Father.
Whoever has ears ought to hear.”
Everything has its time
1- Discernment. God always sows his seed in your heart but there are also evil weeds that you must work on so that they don’t drown the good fruits and good seeds that are within you. That demands inward work in your heart and discernment to see what there is in you, what you should accept responsibility for and work on, and what you should leave aside. Discernment is the ability to know what to choose and know what to discard. Are you sure of what you should keep and what you should cast aside in your life? You know what is good for you and what is not, and at this point you shouldn’t allow your feelings to cloud your judgement. Be honest with yourself and try to recognize good from evil as best you can.
2- Time. Time is very important because it’s only over time that you can see who’s who and become aware of someone’s true colors. All processes are slow. But gradually you will manage to have a broad and clearer view of things, of people and of yourself. Time will lead you to truth.
3- Uprooting. When we discover what doesn’t help us, what doesn’t do us good, we must root that out because weeds destroy all that is good in us, weeds can ruin all our hard work to bear fruit. That is why we must pull out all the bad things, but not before discerning carefully and that takes time. Don’t let yourself be carried away by anxiety, or by the foolishness of the fast-paced life you may be leading. If you are sure about what doesn’t contribute positively to your life and what doesn’t do you good, uproot it, cast it aside and do not delay doing so by being sentimental.
Always remember that something good is on the way!
May God help you discern and know what to leave in your life and what to cast aside. God bless you and be with you, in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
