Gospel Reflection For Sunday 23rd July 2023

15th Sunday Ordinary Time – by Fr Brian Maher OMI

Gospel Reflection for Sunday July 23rd 2023

Good people want to do good. It’s the most natural thing in the world. We educate our children not to be selfish or mean, not to be aggressive or rude, not to be proud or arrogant. As our children grow we gently but repeatedly reinforce the values and traits that we believe are good.  We hope that by the time our children are adults they will have learned the value of being ‘good’ people and will, in their turn, pass the same on to their own children.

That would work wonderfully well if each family lived in a self-contained bubble, uncontaminated by the big, bad world with its selfishness, dishonesty, greed, ambition, aggression and all the other ideals and counter values just waiting to ensnare our children. They start school and suddenly, out of the blue, they use their first swear word!  “…But X is allowed do this….” becomes a far too frequent complaint and before you know it they are telling you small lies, going places you told them not to go, and worst of all, your wisdom and advice is greeted with a roll of the eyes, a shrug and a tired “whatever…”.

Is it any wonder, then, that as well as good people wanting to do good, they also want to prevent their children coming into contact with what they consider ‘bad’ or ‘evil’. “I don’t know where you are learning these things. It certainly was not in this house!…” you complain, and a bit later that complaint becomes, “I don’t want you hanging around with X. He/she is no good for you!”. Without meaning to, our children are learning that just being good is not enough. We must also root out what is evil.

And so it goes. Each of us becomes fully engaged in the cosmic struggle between good and evil. It is a ‘good fight’ we fight; it is a ‘holy war’ we wage, and God, who is good, is on our side……or so we believe….

By now I’m sure the link with today’s Gospel is becoming clear and you are just beginning to get that slightly sinking feeling that all might not be what it seems. After all, the parable of the ‘wheat and the darnel’ is not difficult to unravel. It is certainly not one of the more subtle parables in the Gospels.

The ‘seed’ is obviously the good we do, the ‘darnel’ is the evil in the world, the ‘sower’ is God, the ‘enemy’ is Satan, the ‘servants’ are all those who want to do good, the ‘harvest’ is the end of the world, the fire where the darnel is to be ‘burnt’ is ‘hell’ and the ‘barn’ is heaven. All clear and simple until we get to the conclusion and realise what Jesus is actually saying: “­Let them both grow till the harvest…”

Now, slightly fearful, you will want to reread the parable, certain that you must have got it wrong. “Yes…”, you discover, “…the darnel will be burned and evil will not win. The wheat will be gathered into the barn and good will triumph.” All’s well that ends well!

The only trouble is that the ‘harvest’ is the end of the world and that’s an awful long time to wait!

Is it possible that Jesus is really telling us not to interfere with what is ‘bad’ in the world – to let good and evil grow together until the end of the world? Difficult as it is to accept, and against everything we are told to do by the world, there can be no other conclusion, “­Let them both grow till the harvest…”!

“­Let them both grow till the harvest…”!

It seems outrageous, unbelievable, preposterous that this should be true. Surely it would be handing a ‘get out of jail free’ card to every tyrant, megalomaniac and despot on the planet?

But then…then… some awkward images came to my mind.

I thought about the Crusades … and all of those ‘good’ men – rich and poor – who left home and family to protect the Holy Land against the ‘evil’ of Islam. Vast armies of Knights in shining armour, with God on their side, rooting out the darnel of evil which threatened to engulf the wheat of Christianity. In the process they killed, pillaged and destroyed all before them.

And I thought about the terror and horror we witnessed on our television screens in recent years as 9/11, ISIS, suicide bombers, indiscriminately killed men, women and children in the most savage of ways. For them it was “Jihad” – “a holy war”.

And I thought about the Inquisitions … courts of Church law, where tribunals of priests and Bishops waged war against heresy and sin. Thousands were tortured until they confessed to be in league with Satan, then burned at the stake as witches and evil. Once more, the darnel was being ruthlessly weeded out to protect the good. It was just a pity that the innocent also died. Ah well, you can’t make an omelette without breaking some eggs!

And I thought about all of the armies of Empires – conquering foreign lands, taking slaves and ripping what is valuable from the earth. They were mostly good people, bringing civilisation, education and God to the pagans. They were accompanied by priests and missionaries, armed with Bible and sword, in some cases forcing conversion to Christianity on pain of death. All of them were good people who were certain that they laboured in the vineyard of the Lord, bringing good and destroying evil.

And I found myself wondering: Did any of these good people read today’s Gospel? If they did, did they hear Jesus say, “­Let them both grow till the harvest…”?

Could it be that Jesus knew us better than we know ourselves? Could it be that Jesus saw in human nature – saw in each one of us – the seeds of ‘good’ and the seeds of ‘bad’?

Every saint who ever lived was also a sinner. The greatest mystic, the most holy and compassionate person, the greatest penitent … all were sinners.

Of course, the opposite is also true; every sinner is also a saint!  The seeds of good and bad, of virtue and vice are present in each human person. The beautiful story of Adam and Eve is exactly this. Their sin was wanting to have “the knowledge of good and evil” which Satan told them eating the apple would give them. But only God has that knowledge and every human creature, although made in the image and likeness of God, must toil and work every day to discern what is good and what is evil. It is not something given to us. We must work it out for ourselves and we will, time and time again, get it wrong and have to start over.

This, I think, in the wheat and the darnel, and in this parable Jesus might be expressing a more profound understanding of human psychology than all the learned of our age understand. Perhaps Jesus is inviting us to look into our own hearts, recognising the possibilities for good and for bad that live there.

Crusades and Inquisitions start with very good motives – to protect, save, root-out evil, bring good… – but these motives can become blurred over time, resulting in something just as ‘bad’ as that to which we were responding.

“Beware…”, this parable seems to say, “…of labels and campaigns which are aimed at rooting out or destroying what we call ‘evil’. Our motives change as situations change and as the world changes. It is better, perhaps, to recognise this and avoid the absolute judgements of ‘good and evil’. It is for God – the only one who can search our hearts and souls – to make these judgements.”

The good seed and the darnel (good and evil) both exist and are growing together. Intervening in this reality, even for good motives, will inevitably cause harm to some who are innocent, and may lead to something far worse. It is such good advice, such wisdom to say, “Let them grow together until harvest; then at harvest time I will say to the harvesters, “First collect the darnel and tie it in bundles to be burnt, then gather the wheat into my barn.”

However, we must not fool ourselves. Living in a way which trusts enough in the victory of good to let it grow with evil all around it, is counter-cultural and will be uncomfortable. Society expects us to solve problems and be strong. We are taught to stand alone, to fight and to win. Our duty, we are told, is to protect society by destroying what is defined for us as evil. Trusting in anything or in anyone is an alien concept. We are told that politicians lie to us, that the media spreads ‘false news’, that all institutions are dishonest, and that God is only a delusion.

Living a positive life, a life that is focused on trust and affirmation, leaving condemnation and judgement to God alone will test us often. Maybe returning to this simple parable of the ‘wheat and the darnel’ will help us not to worry.

The Prophet Micah, in the Old Testament, summed up the way we must live in a simple and beautiful way:

“There are…”, he said, “…only three things God asks for: That we act justly, love tenderly and walk humbly before our God.’

And that’s it, and all positive. Things for us to do, rather than things for us to condemn others for doing.

Many thanks,

Brian 

If you have any comments, questions or thoughts on this scripture reflection, please feel welcome to email me at b.maher@oblates.ie

Let them both grow till the harvest