Daily Mass gospel Reflection - Living With the Sown Weeds

Word on Fire Ministry ^ | 8.1.23 | Bishop Robert Barron

[MurphsLaw]

Memorial of Saint Alphonsus Liguori,
Bishop and Doctor of the Church
Matthew 13:36–43

Friends, in our Gospel today,
Jesus explains the parable of the weeds among the wheat.
God’s word creates the Church,
the community of those who strive to build up the kingdom.
But this Church is never absolutely pure and untrammeled,
for God’s ways are opposed by a spiritual power, an enemy.
His task is to sow weeds among the wheat—
clandestinely, quietly, unobtrusively.

This sort of coming together of good and evil is to be expected.
The Church will always be a place of saints and sinners,
and the sinners will often look like saints.
The enemy of the Church, who never rests, ensures it.

Vigilance in regards to evil is necessary in a fallen world,
yet we must be wary of a zeal that, in its passion for setting things right,
comes to believe that evil can be dealt with by destroying what is good.
In the midst of a fallen world,
what is expected of us is that we live in hope that at the end,
at harvest time, the Master will separate the good from the bad.

[MurphsLaw]

+++Jesus dismissed the crowds and 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."+++

[ebb tide]

In the midst of a fallen world, what is expected of us is that we live in hope that at the end, at harvest time, the Master will separate the good from the bad.

Why would Boobie Barron preach this, since he hopes Hell is empty?