FIRST READING (You give repentance for sins.)

A reading from the Book of Wisdom (12:13, 16-19)

There is no god besides you who have the care of all, that you need show you have not unjustly condemned. For your might is the source of justice; your mastery over all things makes you lenient to all. For you show your might when the perfection of your power is disbelieved; and in those who know you, you rebuke temerity. 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. 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. —The Word of the Lord.

R.  Thanks be to God.

RESPONSORIAL PSALM (86:5-6, 9-10, 15-16)

Lord, you are good and forgiving. (Ps 86:5a)

You, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in kindness to all who call upon you. Hearken, O Lord, to my prayer and attend to the sound of my pleading. (R)

All the nations you have made shall come and worship you, O Lord, and glorify your name. For you are great, and you do wondrous deeds; you alone are God. (R)

You, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in kindness and fidelity. Turn toward me, and have pity on me; give your strength to your servant. (R)

SECOND READING (The Spirit intercedes with inexpressible groanings.)

A reading from the Letter of Saint Paul to the Romans (8:26-27)

Brothers and sisters: 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. 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. —The Word of the Lord.

R. Thanks be to God.

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION (Cf. Mt 11:25)

Alleluia, alleluia.

Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth; you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the kingdom.(R)

(Long Form)

GOSPEL (Let them grow together until harvest.)

A reading from the holy Gospel according to 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.”’”

Jesus 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.’”

Jesus 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.” Jesus 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.” —The Gospel of the Lord.

R. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

(Short Form)

GOSPEL (Let them grow together until harvest.)

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (13:24-30)

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.”’” —The Gospel of the Lord.

R. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

“The Kingdom of Heaven is Like a Mustard Seed!”

​Last week we heard again the parable of the sower and the seed, and we reflected on the seed that fell on different kinds of soil – the soil representing different kinds of people who heard God’s WORD. But today’s parable turns this around a bit because in the Gospel today the soil is the WORLD (or the CHURCH), and – in that soil – mall kinds of things (or people) grow: like wheat and weeds. And I am sure many of us can think quickly of candidates we would nominate as “weeds.”
​For the people of Palestine at the time of Jesus, this parable was easily understood because anyone who planted wheat knew that weeds always sprouted too because the tiny seeds of the weeds were often intermingled with the wheat seeds. Only after they started to grow together would you see the weeds, but the roots were often so tangled you could not pull them out without destroying the wheat.
​As the householder tells the workers, let them grow together because, “you might uproot the wheat along with them.” Jesus reminds his disciples that there will be enough time at the harvest to separate the good wheat from the bad weeds. God is patient – like the landowner. Matthew’s allegorical or metaphorical application of this parable to the community of listeners is seen in the private instruction Jesus gives to the disciples later – identifying the wheat with the righteous, and the weeds with evildoers and with those who cause others to sin. How can we understand this?
Beginning last week, we have entered into a section of the St. Matthew’s Gospel in Chapter 13 that presents us with some 6 major parables or stories that are meant to teach us a deeper lesson on the mysteries of our faith.
​At the end of last week’s Gospel, Jesus tells his disciples, “Blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears, because they hear. Amen, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see and did not see it, and hear what you hear but did not hear it.” This is what Scripture scholars refer to as the “privilege of discipleship” – that we who are disciples and who have been taught to understand the metaphors of these parables also have sight and hearing to help us understand more deeply the ministry of Christ.
​Returning to today’s parable, we begin with the earth but now turn to a new idea or concept – a new metaphor – of the weeds sown among the wheat plants. Attached to it are two smaller parables, that of the mustard seed and of yeast.
​The challenge today comes from the first parable, because it addresses one of the most perplexing mysteries of human life – the existence of evil all around us. In our Gospel, the weeds are seen to be doing better than the wheat, growing and flourishing in the same field, and even threatening the life of the wheat around them.
​The mystery of the tension between good and evil in our world, how these two concepts can exist side by side in a divinely created world, like the weeds and the wheat in the Gospel, is really in essence the mystery of all creation.
​The tension between good and evil is not yet resolved because, simply enough, creation is not yet finished. It is not completely true to state that God has created a good world. It is much truer to say that God is creating a good world, that right now the process of creation is still going on.
​The moral challenge of Christianity is to learn to live lovingly in a world that is often today very illogical, unjust, even evil, not only because of what it is now, but because of what it is meant to be, and should…. BECOME.
​This Gospel passage, as well as a number of other ones, insists that it is God who is the author of this final justice. He will perfect what he has begun.
​Despite the desire of the disciples to know RIGHT NOW who are the good and who are the evildoers, Jesus reminds them: “Just wait!” The community – our community – as it moves through time and history has been, is, and always will be composed of good and bad people, but we cannot always be sure who is who.
​(Example of the tattooed father of the young girl who died of a heart condition.) Precipitous judgment – a frivolous separation of good from evil – may destroy the good, or the potential good while trying to uproot the weeds or evil.
​And this parable of the wheat and weeds anticipates the next ones – of the mustard seed and of the leaven, where again things are not always as they may seem.
​The mustard seed – so tiny and insignificant – can, when grow into a mustard tree, be a big nuisance, since it produces a sprawling and hearty bush that takes over everything around it. Jesus tells the disciples that the “reign of God” is like this cumbersome mustard seed – small and insignificant, but as it grows and spreads the birds of the skies fill its branches. Small seeds and insignificant mustard bushes ARE where to find his reign.
​And the final parable turns from the earth and farming to the kitchen, and to a woman kneading flour for bread. This parable shows how from a small bit of yeast, a few grains, suddenly transform the dough into large loaves of bread.
​Brothers and sisters, these short but powerful parables tell us that “God’s ways are not our ways.” (Isa. 55:8) Often we would like God’s reign to unfold in particular ways, perhaps by rooting out the weeds; hoping that it might be more powerful and visible if we were only a community of saints. We might desire a view of God that is more majestic and powerful than a troublesome and somewhat ugly mustard bush.
​
​Parables do teach us that God is unpredictable – he has depth and layers of meaning for us. But God is also very patient with us – both to the strong and the weak among us; those with deep convictions, and those with continual doubts. But as the 2nd reading today reminds us, “God alone searches hearts.”
​The parable in the end teaches us not to worry about the weeds around us – don’t be distracted by the sins of others, but always look towards the good among us – the wheat shafts.
​The wheat, the good of our world, is the assurance that there will be a harvest. Despite the weeds, by God’s grace, there will be a harvest. The only question is whether we will be part of the magnificent Resurrection harvest or not.

Prayers

Celebrant: Jesus Christ has taught us how to enter the kingdom of heaven. Let us pray for the coming of that kingdom, knowing that the Holy Spirit is within us, helping us to pray.

READER:  That our Bishop, Cardinal john Tong may follow God’s will and seek the good of those he serves, (Pause) LET US PRAY TO THE LORD.

READER: That those entrusted with dispensing justice and interpreting the law may look to the example and teachings of Christ as the source of wisdom, (Pause) LET US PRAY TO THE LORD.

READER: That we may wait for God’s harvest time and not pass harsh judgment on others, (Pause) LET US PRAY TO THE LORD.

READER: That the elderly and sick in our community may be sustained by our thoughtfulness and friendship, (Pause) LET US PRAY TO THE LORD.

READER: For all who are living through a period of distress and suffering, that the Holy Spirit might come to the aid of their weakness, interceding for them according to God’s will and obtaining for them grace and strength, (Pause) LET US PRAY TO THE LORD. 

READER: For those who have asked for our prayers and for our faithful departed and the bereaved who mourn for them, (Pause) LET US PRAY TO THE LORD.

CELEBRANT: Lord of heaven and earth, hear and grant our petitions, the pleas of your people, expressed by the Holy Spirit. We ask this, through Christ our Lord. (all) AMEN.