Homily For Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A, 23rd July, 2023

Readings: Wis. 12:13.16-19; Ps 86; Rom. 8:26-27; Matt. 13:24-43

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia

 

WHY DOES GOD PERMIT ALL THE EVIL GOING ON IN OUR WORLD?

 

No doubt that our society is full of evil and wickedness and oftentimes, when we reflect on the ugly and evil events that happens around us, we wonder why God who is so good and all powerful permit the evil we see and experience in the world He created? And most times, the evil ones are so cruel that we wish that God should just wipe them away from the face of the earth and when this is not coming forth, we complain and even doubt the power of God over this evil, as so many good and virtuous people have been victims of these evil ones.

 

I remember discussing with someone who was so angry and grieved about the ugly situation in our country and he said that, he feels like gathering all the bad leaders and people in our country and delete them from the surface of the earth. Looking at the anger in his face, I struggled to smile and said to him, but God will not allowed that.

 

And he said, why will God not allow that to happen? Why? For today  we see the evil ones becoming more ‘successful’, more recognized, more powerful and honoured in the society while the virtuous and good people are rejected, maltreated and neglected. This raises a lot of questions of which the answer is found in the parables in our Gospel passage today.

 

For in our Gospel this Sunday we have three parables used by Jesus to describe the kingdom of God in relation to the ugly events that is happening in the world, beginning with the parable of the wheat and the weeds, the parable of mustard seed and the parable of the leaven. These parables are quite explanatory to his audience who were basically people living then, as farmers, shepherds, fishermen and others who actually understood the massage.

 

So, in the parable of the wheat and weeds, the sower has sown good seed of wheat in his field for a healthy wheat harvest. But in the dark of night an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well. Here, the wheat represents the good things that God has created and handed on to humanity, Meanwhile, the weeds represent the wickedness and the evil brought by Satan, as well as those who have rejected the love and truth of God’s message.

 

However, what Matthew most likely refers to as weed is darnel or cockle, a harmful weed that closely resembles wheat and is common in Israel. The difference between darnel and real wheat is evident only when the plants mature and the ears appear. So, when the servants notice the weeds, their first response is to question the quality of the seed. Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then, did these weeds come from?

 

When the master replies that an enemy has sown the weeds, the servants were anxious to take care of the problem, to root those nasty weeds out immediately. But the master restrains his servants, saying that, in gathering the weeds they would uproot the wheat along with them. So he orders them to let both grow together until the harvest. Then he will send out his reapers to collect and burn the weeds and to gather the wheat into his barn.

 

In this parable the one who sows the good seed is Jesus, the field is the world, and the good seeds are the children of the kingdom; the weeds are the children 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. However, Jesus did not tell us whom the servants represent.

 

Perhaps they represent the disciples or anyone who has questioned why God allows evil to grow and thrive, and wished to take matters into his or her own hands and root out the evil around. But this will not be easy, because, it is not so easy to tell the weeds from the wheat as their roots are intertwined below the ground. Thus, rooting out the weeds would uproot the wheat as well, doing more damage to the crop than leaving the weeds to grow.

 

Therefore, we can say that this is why God is silent in the midst of all the evil going on in the world today. For he permits them for an appointed time when he will uproot and separate them without affecting the good and innocent ones who are attached and affected by their presence. Hence, Jesus wants us to learn how to be patient and trust God in times of trouble and tribulations for he alone knows the best time and how best to deal with the evil ones. For when that time comes He will gather all evildoers and throw them into the furnace of fire.

 

Little wonder in our first reading we heard that God shows His strength when men doubt the completeness of his power and so rebuke any insolence among those who know it, for he has power to act whenever he chooses. And St. Paul in our second reading tells us that the Spirit comes to help us in our weakness. For when we cannot choose words in order to pray properly, the Spirit himself expresses our plea in a way that could never be put into words, and God who knows everything in our hearts knows perfectly well what we need.

 

Dear friends, the parable of the mustard seed symbolizes the humble beginning of the Christian faith which was well watered by the Holy Spirit to grow and give life and hospitality to all the people of the world. Thus, there is no doubt that in the world we have different kinds of seeds and weeds. But the question we need to ask ourselves are, what kind of seeds are we and what kind of seed are we watering in our lives today? Are we watering valuable seeds or weeds? Are we watering weeds that we do not need such as: weeds of fear, regrets, doubt, jealousy, hatred, disrespect, greediness, lying, gossip, impurity, wickedness and sin.

 

Today we are called to quit watering these weeds because that's what the enemies want and we must not fall into their traps. Rather we are called to water and nurture those valuable mustard seeds of faith, love, holiness, hospitality, obedience, charity and make them our values of life. For when we feed and water our value, our value will grow stronger like the mustard tree where people may find solace in the midst of all the evil and challenges of life.

 

LET US PRAY: Almighty God, you are full of mercy and compassion, slow to anger, abounding in love and truth, as we struggle like the wheat in the midst of weeds, guide and protect us from the malice of the evil ones. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a Grace filled Sunday.