19 July, 2020. 16th Sunday, Year A
1st Reading: Wisdom 12:13, 16-19
Because God is all-powerful he governs the world with patience, allowing time for repentance
For who will say, “What have you done?” or who will resist your judgment?
Who will accuse you for the destruction of nations that you made?
Who will come before you to plead as an advocate for the unrighteous?
For neither is there any god besides you, whose care is for all people, to whom you should prove that you have not judged unjustly; nor can any king or monarch confront you about those whom you have punished.
You are righteous and you rule all things righteously, deeming it alien to your power to condemn anyone who does not deserve to be punished.
For your strength is the source of righteousness, and your sovereignty over all causes you to spare all.
For you show your strength when people doubt the completeness of your power, and you rebuke any insolence among those who know it.
 Although you are sovereign in strength, you judge with mildness, and with great forbearance you govern us; for you have power to act whenever you choose.
Through such works you have taught your people that the righteous must be kind, and you have filled your children with good hope, because you give repentance for sins.
Responsorial: Psalm 85:5-6, 9-10, 15-16
R./: Lord, you are good and forgiving
O Lord, you are good and forgiving,
full of love to all who call.
Give heed, O Lord, to my prayer
and attend to the sound of my voice. (R./)
All the nations shall come to adore you
and glorify your name, O Lord:
for you are great and do marvellous deeds,
you who alone are God. (R./)
But you, God of mercy and compassion,
slow to anger, O Lord,
abounding in love and truth,
turn and take pity on me. (R./)
2nd Reading: Romans 8:26-27
God understands our ill-expressed wishes better than we do ourselves
Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
Gospel: Matthew 13:24-43
God will judge all justly at the end of time
Jesus put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field; but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well. And the slaves of the householder came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then, did these weeds come from?’ He answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The slaves said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ But he replied, ‘No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them. Let both of them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.’”
He put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.” He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.” Jesus told the crowds all these things in parables; without a parable he told them nothing. This was to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet: “I will open my mouth to speak in parables; I will proclaim what has been hidden from the foundation of the world.” Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples approached him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.” He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; the field is the world, and the good seed are the children of the kingdom; the weeds ar 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. Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let anyone with ears listen!
Reflection
The Gospel of today invites us to be merciful and patient. God invites us to ponder his patience and mercy, he also calls us to be like him. It is difficult to categorise people because human beings are complex creatures in whom exist good and evil at the same time. That’s why God is lenient with his creatures, hence we too must be patient and lenient with ourselves and with one another. Often times we classify people to be either good or evil and the once we classify as evil there is no redemption. God is the only one who has the right and the knowledge to judge, yet God is patient and tolerant with us all. Just because a person has a past does not mean the person cannot have a future. We all shall be judged not by a single act or stage in our life but by our whole life, that’s why God makes flawed creatures saints not flawless angels because there is more joy when the victory is hard-won. Mercy and leniency towards our fellow brothers and sisters is an expression not of weakness but of divine strength. As we entrust ourselves and our little mustard seed of Faith to God, we ask him to make it grow to give comfort and spiritual food not only to us but to many. Amen.
Furthermore, we need not waste time trying to decide who are the “wheat,” and who are the “weeds” that should be pulled up and thrown into the fire. Doing that only plays into the hands of the evil one! Instead, may we focus on letting God transform us from “weeds” into “wheat.”May God in his infinite goodness help us to mercificul as he is merciful.
Fr. Patrick Onojake
Archdiocese of Benin