Reading 1
Ex 24:3-8
When Moses came to the people
and related all the words and ordinances of the LORD,
they all answered with one voice,
“We will do everything that the LORD has told us.”
Moses then wrote down all the words of the LORD and,
rising early the next day,
he erected at the foot of the mountain an altar
and twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel.
Then, having sent certain young men of the children of Israel
to offer burnt offerings and sacrifice young bulls
as peace offerings to the LORD,
Moses took half of the blood and put it in large bowls;
the other half he splashed on the altar.
Taking the book of the covenant, he read it aloud to the people,
who answered, “All that the LORD has said, we will heed and do.”
Then he took the blood and sprinkled it on the people, saying,
“This is the blood of the covenant
that the LORD has made with you
in accordance with all these words of his.”
50:1b-2, 5-6, 14-15
Responsorial Psalm R. (14a)
Offer to God a sacrifice of praise.
God the LORD has spoken and summoned the earth,
from the rising of the sun to its setting.
From Zion, perfect in beauty,
God shines forth.
R. Offer to God a sacrifice of praise.
“Gather my faithful ones before me,
those who have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.”
And the heavens proclaim his justice;
for God himself is the judge.
R. Offer to God a sacrifice of praise.
“Offer to God praise as your sacrifice
and fulfill your vows to the Most High;
Then call upon me in time of distress;
I will rescue you, and you shall glorify me.”
R. Offer to God a sacrifice of praise.
Gospel
Mt 13:24-30
Jesus proposed a parable to the crowds.
“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.”
Meditation: Matthew 13:24-30
“Let them grow together until harvest.” (Matthew 13:30)
How tempting it can be after hearing this reading to try to figure out who the “weeds” might be among us! And it can be even more tempting to want to uproot these weeds ourselves. But Jesus counsels us not to do it. And his reason why is rather direct: In our zeal to establish justice as we see it, we might just end up yanking some wheat along with the weeds. It’s better, he says, to wait until the harvest, when God will sort everything out.
Clearly, Jesus is much better than we are at determining wheat from weeds. He alone knows what is inside every person’s heart, and he doesn’t need our help, however well intentioned, to try to sort things out. That’s not our job, anyway. Our job is to share his good news with everyone we can and to learn how to love our neighbor as ourselves. He has called us to bring his light to the world. He hasn’t given us the role of judge—and certainly not executioner!
What does Jesus see that we can’t? Maybe that gruff, short-fused co-worker is stretched to the limit caring for his dying wife. Maybe that neighbor who never waves hello or joins in community gatherings is suffering from a crippling shyness and just needs a little more time or a warm invitation. Maybe that high school kid down the road who got arrested for drug possession is one prayer away from a powerful conversion. The world is filled with stories that only God can see. Our only concern should be to look after the weeds in our own gardens and not worry about someone else’s.
Jesus tells us: “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone” (John 8:7). He also tells us: “Stop judging, that you may not be judged” (Matthew 7:1). Rather than judging, he wants us to look at each other with his own eyes of compassion and mercy. So let’s all try to be a little more like the Lord, who was “quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to wrath” (James 1:19).
“Jesus, I want to see as you see and to love as you love. Help me to give my heart to you more and more, so that I can become a vessel of your mercy and compassion.”
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