Second Reading: Rom 8:26-27
Gospel: Mt 13:24-43
As we are in the Sixteenth
Sunday of ordinary time, the Catholic Church invites us to commemorate this day
as World Day for Grandparents and Elderly. Pope Francis established this
grandparents day in view of the Feast of St. Joachim and Anne – the
grandparents of Jesus – which we celebrate every year on 26 July.
When we think of elderly, our mind quickly associates them with wisdom. The
long lived experience of the elderly serves as a wisdom for the young. I
believe that it is a divine will that on this day we should have our first
reading from the book of Wisdom. In this reading we hear about God who is
mighty with full sovereignty. Although He is sovereign and has all the rights
to exercise His power over creation, the Lord God shows patience in governing the
world (Wis 12:16, 18). His sovereignty makes Him to be kind towards His
creatures. For humans, righteousness consists in giving one’s due – reward for
good and punishment for evil. Whereas for God, righteousness consists in
forbearance and kindness (Wis 12:18). When mighty exercises patience towards
the lowly, the greater good (peace) is preserved. The mighty has every right to
take on the lowly if they do not fall on the line. In doing so, the mighty is not
doing anything exceptionally. He would neither be blamed nor gain any
appreciation. The mighty may get noticed only when He does something
exceptionally towards the lowly. The master gets noticed only when he behaves
like a father towards his servant. Our God is such. He is dealing with us – the
servants – kindly. He does so not to get praise but to help His creatures (us)
to reach His desired end. This is the gift of the elderly toward the younger
generation. They offer their wisdom to the young to help them achieve the will
of God in their lives. This sharing is the
kindness of the elderly. Pope Francis in his message for the grandparents’ day
points out the fruitful encounter between young Mother Mary and elderly
Elizabeth. Every youngster should go with haste like Mother Mary to greet the
elderly in his/her family and society so that they in turn may pronounce the words
of blessing just like Elizabeth who acclaimed Mary as blessed among all women
(Lk 1:42).
In the Gospel, we have three
parables to understand the Kingdom of God. The sower of the good seed is the
Son of Man (Mt 13:37). The seed is very small (mustard seed) in comparison to
what it would bring forth. The seed is like yeast which can cause great
transformation in the place where it is sown. The master of the field is aware
that the enemy has sown the seed of the weeds (Mt 13:28). The master’s forbearance
with the weeds is not to allow the good grains to get spoiled but to preserve
even the single good grain. He does not weed out during the growth of good grains
as it may cause death to some good grains. In our life we may ask God to weed
out some evil people who cause rupture and destruction to both our personal
life and the society. We wish such a weeding out but this wish never gets
fulfilled. If God weeds them out, along with them some good people may get
affected. For instance, think of an immoral corporate owner who’s weeding out
may cause more unemployment and economic disaster to the country. God’s
forbearance has meaning and eternal purpose. The weeds may spoil some good
grains in time and space but they are never lost in eternity. Spoiling is done
by the evil one and the weeds. The harvest is done by the Lord God. It is good
to be harvested with some wounds than lose the eternal reward completely. The sins
we commit are the cause of weeds present amidst us. We get spoiled and damaged
by them. Yet, the good news is that we are not lost. The mercy of God cover all
our damages and heals the wounds in the Sacrament of Confession. Mother Mary
sings that God’s mercy is from generation to generation (Lk 1:50). To lead our
lives amidst this wolves and weeds we need the assistance of those who have
walked this path before us. Thus, we need the wisdom of the elderly. Pope
Francis says that in depriving the elderly from our company as useless we are
depriving ourselves from getting the necessary help. We are all good seed at
the time of sowing. As we grow we need proper maturation, else we get rotten. The
elderly are the pruners. May their hands shape our future with their wisdom
from the past in the present living. The evil amidst us is huge. The presence
of evil in the world surpasses the good. Let us not loose heart. As the small
mustard seed bring forth big tree and just as a little yeast transforms the
three measures of flour so do our small holiness would bring big change in our
surrounding. Do not concentrate on the weeds as the servants did. The weeds do
not matter to our God. His whole concentration is on US. We are not servants,
rather Sons and Daughters of God who focus on doing the will of God. Let our focus
be on the Sower who sowed us.
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