Homily: 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle A
Friends, we continue to hear these
parables from the thirteenth chapter of Matthew’s Gospel, and I see today’s
main parable as a very hopeful sign in the midst of the world. The sign is this: that the wheat can grow
(and grow fruitfully) in the midst of weeds.
This is what I would like to focus on today.
The parable of the sower and the seeds
that we heard last week reminds us that God understands that there would be
some people who might ultimately be lost.
As we remember, Jesus said, “Some seed fell on the path… some seed fell
amidst rocks… some seed fell among thorns…”
All these predicting that the seed of the Gospel will not always find
good soil in which it can take root and bear fruit. This is unfortunate, of course, and not
desired by God. But the reality of our
sinful nature means that it is possible (and all of us can see this playing out
in the people around us) and so Jesus shares this with his disciples to point
out the truth.
This week, we hear Jesus take it a
step further and use today’s parable to point out that the Evil One will then
work to try to disrupt even the seed that feel in good soil by sowing weeds
among the good seed. The hopeful message
that we see in the parable, however, is that this effort by the Evil One is
ultimately futile. The wheat and the
weeds can grow together without detriment to the fruitfulness of the wheat.
What this means for us is a reminder
that by our faithfulness we will be saved.
In the imagery of the parable, the wheat just needs to keep being wheat
until the time of the harvest in order for it to be separated from the weeds
and “gathered into God’s barn”. So too
for us: If we, having become Christians, strive to remain faithful to living as
Christians, no amount of evil grown around us could cause us to be lost.
This, of course, is where this
parable—a metaphor—starts to lose its power.
We all know that, genetically speaking, wheat can’t stop being wheat and
transform into weeds (and so be lost).
Yet we humans can be pulled from our Christian faithfulness and fall
into evil, to the point even of becoming fundamentally oriented to evil in our
lives. In other words, having been made
wheat, we can become weeds by our own choices.
But this is where the rest of the parable is helpful.
Given the state of our fallen nature,
it is natural to think, like the Master’s field workers thought in the parable,
that it would be best to pull up all the weeds at once and so prevent any
threat to us, the wheat. The wise Master
sees that pulling up the weeds could have a detrimental side effect on the
wheat, however, and so prevents them from doing so. He trusts in the capacity of the wheat to
continue to grow in the good soil that he prepared for it and so is willing to
tolerate the presence of the weeds until the time for the harvest. Believe it or not, our Father in heaven looks
at us the same way: by baptism and the life of grace, we possess all of the
strength we need to continue to grow in the good soil of the Church which he
has prepared for us, even if evil and the temptations to evil have been sown
heavily among us and are growing alongside us.
The other metaphorical reason
why the Master doesn’t pull up the weeds touches on the same reason we
discussed earlier: yes, weeds can’t stop being weeds and turn themselves into
wheat; but human beings who have fallen into evil and have given themselves
over to evil—thus, metaphorically speaking, having become weeds—can still turn
away from evil and back to faithfulness in God and his commandments and become
wheat. Thus, by leaving the weeds with
the wheat, the Master maintains the possibility that the witness of the
wheat—and the promise of being “brought into the barn”—would lead the weeds to
convert and become wheat before the time of the harvest. Those who don’t would still be lost, but they
would have been given every chance to do so. ///
That being said, what do we do—here in
this pastorate community—in the midst of the difficult news that we have
received today, along with the grief, anger, etc., that it has caused? Well, first and foremost, we remain faithful
to the life that has been given to us.
In other words, we remain faithful to living as adopted daughters and
sons of God through baptism by our faithfulness to his commandments and to the
Way that Jesus has shown us. The fact of
the matter is that the kingdom of heaven is still among us, working (often
invisibly) around us. Our faithfulness,
even in the midst of difficulty and strife, will allow it to continue to grow
and to manifest itself among us.
More specifically, however: we turn to
God in prayer. As Saint Paul wrote to
the Romans, in the midst of such difficult news it can sometimes be difficult
to find words in prayer, but the Holy Spirit within us takes over in those
moments and “intercedes with inexpressible groanings” (you know, like you when
you just “groan out” from your core: UGHHHH!!!!). This turning to God in prayer, even with only
these inexpressible groanings, is a powerful way to maintain our faithfulness
in distressing times.
Verbal acts of faith, however, are
also powerful ways to resist the temptations to doubt and despair. Repeated phrases like, “Jesus, I trust in
you” and “Your mercy endures forever” and “Your faithfulness is renewed every
morning” help us to counteract the thoughts of doubt and despair that can creep
into our minds and hearts (like “See, I knew you’d betray me” and “I guess your
mercy only goes so far” and “This is a sign that you are not faithful to
us”). As much as it hurts, sometimes,
fortifying ourselves with these verbal acts of faith helps us to endure.
Finally, we need to turn to each other
in support, and assure each other during this time. God is bigger than us and our pastorate is
bigger than any one person. By
supporting each other in faithfulness—that is, by consoling one another in
sorrow and building each other up by speaking hopefully—you will help each
other remain faithful, and the kingdom of heaven will continue to grow among
you.
My friends, as difficult as it may be
to believe at times like this, the Lord is close to you. He sees you, and he understands what is
happening in your minds and your hearts.
Be faithful, therefore, and the Lord will see you through this “valley
of tears” to lead you into the everlasting joy of heaven. How do I know? The proof is here in the Eucharist: in which
he gives us his Word to strengthen our minds and hearts, and in which he lowers
himself to meet us here, at this altar, to share his life with us.
May our Eucharist today strengthen us
and heal us. And may we see the fruits
of our faithfulness: both now and in eternity.
Given at St.
Augustine Parish: Rensselaer, IN – July 18th & 19th,
2026
Given at
Sacred Heart Parish: Remington, IN – July 19th, 2026
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