In today’s Gospel Jesus continues to use the image of the sower & the seed to teach the crowds about the mystery of God & his relationship with us. When we see terrible things happening in our world – such as the devastating wars, wildfires, & all the inequalities between people, we can be tempted to ask “Why doesn’t God do something about this?” The 3 parables Jesus offers us today partly answer this question and help us understand better the ways of God.

Let us look at one of these parables – the darnel and the wheat. The sower’s good seed is contaminated by the darnel seed sown by the enemy. Should the darnel not be pulled up straight away & destroyed? This would have been a real-life dilemma for Jesus’ original audience – darnel was one of the curses against which farmers had to struggle. This weed resembles wheat so closely in its early stages that it is impossible to tell them apart. It is only when it produces its seed head that darnel can be distinguished from the wheat but by then its roots are so intertwined that the darnel cannot be weeded out without tearing up the wheat with it. In Jesus’ day the farmer had to wait until harvest time to separate them by hand.

This is a parable about God’s patient waiting until the fullness of time, and waiting is something we find difficult. God waits because he loves us and so delays harvest time (final judgement) so that as many of us as possible can receive his mercy/salvation and so enter his kingdom. God alone is the final judge – not us! And before we start judging others, branding them as ‘darnel’, we need to admit that in our own lives there have been times when the darnel has outnumbered the wheat! This should make us grateful that God doesn’t impose instant judgement and punishment on us but gives us time to change. So God is not inactive or uncaring - Jesus’ life & death reveal God’s passionate love for us. Rather he is compassionate & patient! So we should be too!


With blessings & prayers from Fr Richard, Fr Ephrem & all the parish team
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------