Fr. Matt’s Corner: . . . What Has Lain Hidden. . .
Greetings to you, my dear friends in Christ. As we continue our journey with Jesus through the 13th Chapter of Matthew’s Gospel, He once, twice, and three times more opens His mouth in parables, to announce what has lain hidden from the foundation of the world.
So, what is this great mystery that He announces to us through these parables? It is none other than The kingdom of heaven which may be likened to a man who sowed good seed in his field, and to a mustard seed that a person took and sowed in a field, and to yeast that a woman took and mixed with three measures of wheat flour until the whole batch was leavened. Of these three parables, the only authoritative interpretation we hear from the lips of Jesus Himself is of the first of these – of Jesus who sowed good seed in His field.
The biggest and most perplexing theological question that every honest believer must wrestle with goes something like this: If God is All-Knowing, All-Loving, and All-Powerful, then how can there be evil in the world? Jesus gives us one answer to this riddle in this particular parable. Perhaps God allows the weeds and the wheat to grow together until harvest in order not to uproot the wheat along with the weeds.
Certainly, if we all had perfect purity of heart as God does, then we would be free from all of our entanglements with evil. But none of us does have that kind of purity. Almost everything we think, say, or do involves a mixture of pure and impure motives. Even our best good works – caring for the poor and the young and the elderly, volunteering to help build a new home for someone, helping out at church, giving gifts of food or clothing to someone in need, doing the dishes when it’s not my turn – whatever good work we do (let’s be completely honest here) involves some mixture of motives. Likewise, no evil deed is done with purely evil motives. Ask any criminal why he did what he did, and you’ll hear a laundry list of good intentions and admirable excuses.
Why does God allow that? Well, maybe it is necessary in this world to let them grow together until harvest in order that the wheat may exist at all. Good and evil in this world are inexorably bound together at the root. The heroism of the firefighter would not occur had it not been for the villainy of the arsonist. The inspirational love of the organ donor would not have blossomed if not for the failure of her brother’s kidneys. Therefore, the Lord says, if you pull up the weeds you might uproot the wheat along with them. Let them grow together until harvest.
Rather than ascribing motives of pure evil to those with whom we disagree, perhaps we can humbly acknowledge that we might have something to learn from those who see the world differently – as we place our faith, center our hope, and direct our love in Jesus Christ the Lord. He, after all, is Lord of the harvest; He is the only Way, the Truth, and the Life.
Peace to all of you this holy day and to all who love the Lord in simplicity of heart, Fr. Matt