The Weeds and the Wheat

Saturday, July 27th Readings Reflection: Saturday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time

In today’s Gospel, we hear a parable that Jesus used to describe the Kingdom of Heaven. Christ likened His Kingdom to a man sowing good seed in his field; during the night, the man’s enemy sowed weeds throughout the field. Both the wheat, which the man had planted, and the weeds, which the enemy had planted, grew together. The man, not wishing to uproot his wheat along with the weeds, ordered that they be permitted to grow alongside each other until harvest time. “[T]hen at harvest time I will say to the harvesters, ‘First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles for burning; but gather the wheat into my barn.’”

St. Augustine of Hippo pointed out that there are two levels on which we can interpret this parable. The first is to interpret the field as referring to the Catholic Church; in this interpretation, the weeds are those who are in communion with the Church yet lead evil lives. The second is to interpret the field as the entire world, with the weeds referring to heretics and schismatics. The experience of every Catholic reveals that we live alongside those who do not believe the truth of Christ’s teachings.

When heresies become prominent and pose a serious danger to the faithful, the Church has the God-given authority to silence that heresy, declaring the heretic to be excommunicated (that is, outside communion with the Church) until he repents and retracts his error. Since God permits us to live in an often hostile world, it is only just that the Church exercise her authority whenever necessary in order to prevent the souls of the faithful from being lost to heresy and schism.

In general, however, the weeds grow alongside the wheat quietly, and God permits them to do so. It is certainly within God’s power to destroy the weeds where they stand, but in His infinite wisdom, He chooses not to. One reason for this, St. Augustine explains, is to give the weeds the opportunity to become wheat, the heretics the opportunity to be converted. It is not God’s “will that a sinner should die…and not…be converted from his ways, and live” (Ezec 18:23 DRB). God does not delight in the death of sinners; He desires that all might enter the sheepfold that is His Catholic Church, in order that they might attain eternal salvation.

As the metaphorical wheat, we must strive to strengthen our roots so that no weeds can shake us, living our lives as strong and courageous members of Christ’s flock so that we can lead others to salvation by our example. Mediocrity and tepidity can make a stalk of wheat undistinguishable from the weeds. We must strive, by the grace of God, to always live boldly and authentically Catholic lives, so that everyone we meet will encounter Christ and His eternal Truth through us.

Stained glass window depicting the Sower, from Canterbury Cathedral. Source