16th Sunday in Ordinary Time
23rd July 2023 (Sunday) Readings and Reflection
Psalter: Week 4
Reading of the Day
First Reading: Wisdom 12:13, 16-19
Neither is there any God besides you, whose care is for all, to whom you should prove that you have not judged unjustly. For your strength is the source of righteousness, and your sovereignty over all causes you to spare all. For you show your strength when men doubt the completeness of your power, and you rebuke any insolence among those who know it. You are sovereign in strength but you judge with mildness, and with great forbearance you govern us; for you have power to act whenever you choose. Through such works you have taught your people that the one who is righteous must be kind, and you have filled your sons with good hope, because you give repentance for sins.
Psalm 86:5-6, 9-10, 15-16a (R. 5a)
R/. . O Lord, you are good and forgiving
Second Reading: Romans 8:26-27
Brethren: The Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
Alleluia
V/. Alleluia R/. Alleluia
V/. Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have revealed to little children the mysteries of the kingdom.
R/. Alleluia
Gospel : Matthew 13:24-43
At that time: Jesus put another parable before the crowds, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’ He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ But he said, ‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, “Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.” He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.” He told them another parable. “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.” All these things Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed, he said nothing to them without a parable. This was to fulfil what was spoken by the prophet: “I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter what has been hidden since the foundation of the world.” Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples came to him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.” He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.
Daily Gospel Reflection
Highlight: Evil dominates but God predominates!
Guidlines: The prevalence of evil is no sign of God’s indifference but patience. It is a summon to own up our personal responsibility to arrest the growth of evil{alertSuccess}
1. In today's Gospel, there are three parables that refer to the kingdom of God. The first parable of good seed and weed. The second, of mustard grain. And the third, of yeast and flour. How are these three related? The first indicates our human situation and the difference between the action of God and us. The second and third indicate how to respond and act on that situation.
2. First of all, let's take into account the reality of our world. It's so bad. There's so much nastiness. (Undoubtedly, things often go wrong, whether in personal or family life, or the community or society or in the whole world, whether in the physical or emotional or intellectual or social or political or moral or spiritual realm).
3. That is, in the words of the Gospel, there are not only good seeds but also weeds. In fact, you often hear that weed dominates and suffocates good seeds. It often happens that the good suffer the most. The sincere struggle, while the insincere enjoy. The faithful lose, but the treacherous gain.
4. This is not right. So, Why does God who is all-powerful and beloved not intervene? Why is He not acting? Why doesn't He stop evil? Why is He indifferent? The only reason is because God loves us so much that He gives us freedom and respects it.
5. Therefore, He never forces and always leaves each of us free in our choice and in our actions. God is not helpless but patient. He is not indifferent but hopeful and confident of us. In his patience He always offers ample opportunity to always know what is right and wrong, to evaluate the value of everything, to choose the best and to follow what is upright and positive.
6. So we cannot wait for God to intervene every now and then when something goes wrong. Instead, we must take responsibility for our lives. Then do not be over-bothered or critical about what God should do or how He should act.
7. But let's engage with what each of us needs to do and how we should act. What to do and how to do it? An answer is found in the other two parables. In such a situation of the first parable, of the growth of weed together with the good seeds, each of us who is faithful to God, must be like a grain of mustard that is small but gets big, like a kindergarten tree for birds, like the yeast that is little but dissolving turns all the flour.
8. This is where the “miracle of smallness” consists: It does not matter before the Lord, what is our position, the degree of life or the level in society, or the importance of our work or the gains of our abilities.
9. Small or large, the only thing that matters is, What do we do – good or evil? How do we do – with what attitude, how much goodness, kindness, patience, how much humility in everything we do in daily life?
10. Remember: we cannot criticize society that it is so and so, when it is we who make society. How can we criticize others for selfishness, indifference, envy, arrogance, and aberrations, when we too carry and nurture the same, and act in the same way, with the same attitudes in our behaviours and works?
11. How can we criticize hunger and poverty when we throw away a lot of money on entertainment and shallow pleasures? When there is so much licentious freedom, how can one criticise immorality or immodesty?
12. When there is too much arrogance and a sense of false dignity, how can we criticize the collapse of relations? When family values are lowered, how can we complain about the deviations of young people?
13. When there is no respect for the human being, how can we criticize crime? When there is no closeness and reliance on God, how can one complain of stress and anxiety and lack of peace and serenity?
14. So, it takes a perspective that accepts life as a whole of good and evil, a whole of the positive and the negative, a set of good seeds and weeds. It takes a lot of patience, a lot of perseverance, and a lot of personal responsibility.
Practice: It takes a big heart that does even the little things with great dedication{alertSuccess}