GREATNESS CONSISTS IN KINDNESS

First Reading: Wis 12:13, 16-19
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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