In the first reading, we read of the grief of Jeremiah over the destruction of his homeland by the Babylonian army. In spite of his forewarnings, his compatriots did not believe in him. They continued to rebel against God and aligned themselves with foreigners. Most of all, they were not faithful to the Covenant. This national tragedy led the inhabitants, including Jeremiah, to try to understand the significance of their sufferings. As the true prophet, it behoved Jeremiah to interpret for the people how their sufferings were God’s judgment on His people and also part of a larger plan that God had for Judah.

When we face crises in life, we, too, like Jeremiah, always begin by lamenting about our predicament. Such a time of mourning is always necessary. However, it is more important that such events force us to look deeply into ourselves and search for God’s plan for us. Through failures, mistakes and sufferings, we are driven to self-realization and wisdom. Through the trials and challenges of life, we experience the growing pains of Christ’s kingdom inside us. Let us not delude ourselves into thinking that God’s kingdom always comes in spectacular ways. More often than not, it works quietly like the seed and yeast. Our frustrations, doubts and questions, sinning and repenting are all the growing pains of Christ coming to life in us. This is the message of today’s scripture readings.

There is a purpose for God permitting sin and evil to exist in this world. The parable of the weeds and wheat is a clear reminder that goodness and evil co-exist in this world. At any time, there is a hostile power that is at work seeking to destroy goodness. In this world, there will always be tension between doing the right thing and the wrong thing. The kingdom of God does not come without a struggle. This battle takes place ordinarily in our daily struggles in our relationships and in the choices we make. Often, we feel rather frustrated because we are always torn between doing good and succumbing to evil. The temptation is for us to fall into legalism and see all things as neatly demarcated into evil and good. The truth is that we do not want to live in tension. This is what fundamentalists seek to do when it comes to difficult areas of doctrines, be they concerned with morals or faith.

The truth is that life is rather complex, and decision-making is never easy. The discernment process is even trickier. This is what the parable of the weeds and wheat is meant to illustrate. We must not seek the easy way out by bundling everything into good or evil. Like the tares and the wheat, they look so alike. In the early stages, the tares closely resemble the wheat that it is impossible to tell one from the other. Only much later, when both have headed out, can they be distinguished. Unfortunately, by then the roots of both would have been so inter-twined that it is impossible to remove the tares without also pulling up the wheat.

In our lives too, we must be careful not to judge people too quickly when we do not have all the facts about the person. Often we hear one or two remarks about the person, and we are ready to sum up the person. Knowing just a part of the person does not give us the right to judge the whole person. How often have we come across people who appear to be good and holy, only to find out later that they are living double and hypocritical lives? And the reality is, how many of us can truly say that we always live lives of integrity? The world is so quick to judge and is very unforgiving of people who make mistakes. The world will pass judgement on those who have sinned or failed in their responsibilities, as if we ourselves are faultless. All the good that the person has done are immediately forgotten. We choose to pick that one fault and the person is condemned. Indeed, we must be careful that we do not label or classify people too quickly without first examining all the facts. This explains why all judgment must be left to the Lord. Only He can read the hearts of men when we can only see their external actions. Only He can see our whole life from the day we were conceived in our mother’s womb till the day we die, whereas we can see only certain actions of our fellowmen.

Secondly, we too can ill afford to remove difficult people from our lives just because we find them irritable. We also have to learn to live with the imperfections and sins that we have inherited or cultivated. We are what we are today partly because of our upbringing, the culture we have inherited and our own personal choices. As it is said, we are spiritual benefactors to each other. The good can influence us to be like them. The bad can purify our love and our motives. The difficult people who are always finding fault with us could very well be agents of God’s purifying work to help us grow in love. Consequently, we must accept the mystery of God’s grace at work in our lives. Good or evil, we can be influenced either way. It is how we want to respond to grace. So we must let both the strong and the weak, good and evil, healthy and sick co-exist. Through their interaction, the strong becomes stronger and the weak becomes strong. The weak purifies the strong; and the strong strengthens the weak.

Consequently, it behoves us to recognize that we are in solidarity with others in sin. Before we pass judgment on others, let us be conscious that none of us can say that he is without sin, for all of us have sinned, albeit differently. So like Jeremiah, although he lamented at the ruins of Israel, he did not condemn his own countrymen for causing the downfall of all, especially the innocent. On the contrary, he identified himself as a fellow sinner with the rest, imploring God for His forgiveness, mercy and compassion. He prayed, “Lord, we do confess our wickedness and our father’s guilt: we have sinned against you.”

Of course, we must always be on guard lest we drag each other down the slippery path. Because as the gospel says, there will be a final judgment. “Well then, just as the darnel is gathered up and burnt in the fire, so it will be at the end of time. The Son of Man will send his angels and they will gather out of his kingdom all things that provoke offences and all who do evil, and throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth. Then the virtuous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Listen, anyone who has ears!”

In the meantime, we must place all our hopes in Christ. He will be victorious in the end. He intends that the stones He puts in our way be stepping stones to heaven. It is said that if God sends us stony paths, He also provides strong shoes. So if God allows us to suffer disasters in life, it is to help us to appreciate who we are and what we have forgotten. One of the greatest artists in history is Rembrandt, a 17thcentury Dutch painter. His wife died in the midst of his career and that caused him to fall into deep depression and sadness. Upon coming out of his bereavement, he assumed his work with greater passion. It seems that the mourning period for his wife was the turning point of his career. As in all things, and as in the case of the Israelites, God allows tragedy in life to mould us according to His designs for us. God wants to transform us into His image. Leo Tolstoy once remarked, “It is by those who suffer that the world has been advanced.”

This faith in the triumph of goodness is possible because God is faithful to His name and His covenant. That was how Jeremiah and the psalmist prayed. “For your name’s sake do not reject us, do not dishonour the throne of your glory. Remember us; do not break your covenant with us.” Jeremiah appealed to God’s power as the basis for this surety of God’s promise, “Can any of the pagan Nothings make it rain? Can the heavens produce showers? No, it is you Lord our God, you are our hope, since it is you who do all this.” So too we pray with the psalmist, “For the glory of your name, O Lord, deliver us.”

Exodus 14:13-14
Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again.

14 The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

1 Samuel 1:14

14 and said to her, “How long are you going to stay drunk? Put away your wine.”

15 “Not so, my lord,” Hannah replied, “I am a woman who is deeply troubled. I have not been drinking wine or beer; I was pouring out my soul to the Lord. 16 Do not take your servant for a wicked woman; I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief.”

17 Eli answered, “Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him.”

Hence, we must not be too discouraged when things do not turn out the way we want, just as in the case of Tobit. He remained firm in the Lord and lived a virtuous and honest life even though he thought that the most merciful way for the Lord would be to take his life. He felt that his sufferings were too much for him to handle, or for God to help him. Sarah too felt that way. But they were wrong. God is able to do much more than we can imagine. God was waiting for the right moment to intervene in the life of Tobit and of Sarah. God had prepared the angel Raphael to help Tobit and Sarah. All these were already planned and arranged by the Lord. He knew what they needed and when to help them. Let us therefore entrust our lives to the Lord with confidence and faith.

The ending of the story of Tobit was beyond anyone’s expectations. His son came back home safely. Not only did he recover his eyesight, but he also gained a beautiful daughter-in-law. Sarah was also delivered from the oppression of the demon. Over and above these, he got back the silver he placed on trust with his cousin, Gabael at Rages in Media. The reversal in fortunes brought them great joy and happiness. It was certainly a comforting ending to a story on romance and living a virtuous life. They praised God for His mercy.

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Emmanuel Kant wrote, “Experience without perception is blind. Perception without experience is empty.” In the case of the Jews during the time of Jesus and the primitive Church, they had the experience but they lacked the perception. They had seen Jesus before He was crucified, healing the sick, casting out demons and performing miracles such as calming the storm and multiplying bread for the multitude. Yet, many seeing the signs could still not perceive His true identity.

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Many people are seeking freedom in the world. But the freedom that they seek is pure slavery. Freedom for them means being able to do what they like without restrictions, whether in words, pictures, speech or in action. For them, freedom means not being restricted by any law. There is no right or wrong. Everything is relative and contextualized. Absolute personal freedom is what the world is championing today, at the expense of the greater good of the community and the freedom of others. When we reduce freedom to self-indulgence, in truth, it means that we are slaves, slaves to our passion, desires, attachments, feelings and emotions. We are no longer in charge of ourselves but our passions rule us. So long as pleasures rule us, we are slaves. Indeed, what the world is seeking is slavery, not true freedom. They claim that they are free to do what they like.

Evil today is glorified as something good. (cf Isa 5:20) Self-indulgence is promoted by a consumeristic world and a world of individualism. Today, we worship ourselves as if we are gods.

Isaiah 5:20 (RSVCE)
20 Woe to those who call evil good

and good evil,

who put darkness for light

and light for darkness,

who put bitter for sweet

and sweet for bitter!

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Today, in the light of secularism and individualism, the same struggles exist even in non-believers. Secularism denies the first commandment outright, because it does not subscribe to faith in any God. Their god is humanism, science, technology, pleasure and power. This was what the Israelites were doing in the first reading. Instead of relying on God, they relied on Assyria, their horses and military might. Today, the world believes only in themselves. They supplant the place of God and make themselves their own gods. They believe that they have the answers to all the mysteries of life and all the challenges. They trust in no supernatural being except themselves. Unless they see, hear or feel, they will not believe. Everything is empirical, rational and experimental. Not believing in any God, they hold that there is only one life and this life is on earth. When we die, we will disintegrate and be molecules for new bodies to be formed. There is no life after death and certainly no soul.

Following from secularism is individualism and materialism. Instead of imbibing in the principle of loving our neighbor as ourselves, they just love themselves. If they choose to love their neighbor, it is only because they can benefit from the relationship. So it is about me above everyone else. We fight for our survival, our happiness, our comforts, our security and our popularity. This is why the world today makes use of people and not just things. People are digits that they manipulate and use for their advantage. The powerful control the weak by using money, economic power, pleasures and fame to work for their interests.

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we do by courageously enduring the struggles in our own lives without losing faith in time of sufferings. When others see us as people of faith, not because we are successful but because we remain faithful and confident in our trials, they will see the glory of God in our goodness and perseverance. They will see God’s strength in us in our weaknesses; and that when sin increases, grace abounds all the more.

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first form of love, which is storgi. This is family love, the love between parents and children.

Secondly, there is eros, which is a sexual love, a love that comes from our passion for each other. Again, this is natural for God made man and woman to complete each other. We desire to be physical in love because love wants to find completion and unity. This is very much expressed in the act of sexual intercourse and physical signs of love.

Thirdly, there is philia which is the love of a friend. This kind of love is the purest form of human love. It brings warmth and it is without self-interest. This love is reciprocal.

Finally, there is agape. This is the kind of love that we are called to imitate in God. Unlike the other three forms of love, agape is not moved by passion but by an act of the will.


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