Trong thế giới của chúng ta, có những người tốt và xấu, tất cả khác nhau, nhưng cùng sống với nhau. Qua những lời của Thánh YNhã thành Loyola viết trong những bài tập Linh Thao của ông, "những người sống trên mặt đất, với sự đa dạng tuyệt vời trong những trang phục và theo cách diễn xuất. Một số trắng, một số đen, một số được an lạc và một số sống trong chiến tranh. Một số thì đau khổ, khóc lóc, một số vui cười, hạnh phúc. Một số thì khoẻ mạnh, một số thì bệnh tật; một số được sinh ra với thế giới và một số phải chết, v. v. ". Và Thiên Chúa Ba Ngôi nhìn thấy thế giới này, "Ngài nhìn xuống toàn bộ bề mặt của trái đất, và nầy, tất cả các quốc gia đang sống trong sự mù lòa, tội lỗi, đang đi xuống và đang hướng tới hoả địa ngục."
Và Thánh Ynhã đã viết: “Bởi vì sự đa dạng của thế giới đang đi vào sự bối rối này mà Thiên Chúa Ba Ngôi trong cõi đời đời đã quyết định sai Con một của Ngài là Ngôi Hai xuống trần gian để làm người như chúng ta và để cứu rỗi con người chúng ta. Vì vậy, khi thời gian viên mãn đã đến, Thiên Chúa đã sai sứ thần Gabriel đến Đức Maria của chúng ta. "
Ngôi Hai nhập thể của Thiên Chúa Ba Ngôi đến và đem Tin Mừng về Nước Thiên Chúa, Ngài tuyển lựa và mời gọi những người theo Chúa, Ngài đã hiến dâng sự sống của mình trên thập tự giá và Ngài sống lại từ cõi chết, Ngài đã để lại Giáo Hội của Ngài để tiếp tục công trình cứu độ của Ngài, "Hãy đi khắp cả thiên hạ rao giảng tin mừng cho mọi loài thụ tạo. Ai tin cùng chịu thanh tẩy thì sẽ được cứu, còn ai không tin thì sẽ bị luận tội "(Mc 16: 15- 16)
Jesus speaks of the ungraspable Kingdom of God in parables. In the context of his audience, the parable of the weeds is readily understandable. In the fields where good seed is sown, weeds from whatever source grow with the plants from the good seed. Before the harvest or at the harvest, the bad weeds are separated and eventually disposed of or burned; the fruit of the good seed is harvested.
In our world, good and bad people, all different, live together. In the words of St. Ignatius of Loyola in his Spiritual Exercises, "those on the face of the earth, in such great diversity in dress and manner of acting. Some are white, some black' some at peace and some at war; some weeping, some laughing; some well, some sick; some coming into the world and some dying, etc." And the Holy Trinity sees this world, "They look down upon the whole surface of the earth, and behold all nations in great blindness, going down and descending into hell."
And St. Ignatius writes that it is into this varied and confused world that the Trinity decrees to send the Second Person to save it: "They decree in Their eternity that the Second Person should become man to save the human race. So when the fullness of time had come, They send the Angel Gabriel to our Lady."
The incarnate Second Person of the Blessed Trinity comes to bring the Good News about the Kingdom of God, chooses and invites followers, gives his life on the cross and rises from the dead, leaving his Church to continue his saving work, "Go out to the whole world and proclaim the Good News to all creation. The one who believes and is baptized will be saved; the one ho refuses to believe will be condemned." (Mk 16: 16)
“Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the Kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears ought to hear.” Matthew 13:43
This passage concludes Jesus’ explanation of the Parable of the Weeds in the Field. Recall that in this parable there were good seeds sown in a field. The Sower is the Son of Man, Jesus, and the seed He sows are the children of the Kingdom, which includes all those who are in a state of grace. The field is the whole world. Thus, Jesus is saying that He has sent His followers, each one of us, into the world to build His Kingdom. But the evil one also sows his “children,” which refers to all of those who live evil lives that are contrary to the will of God. The passage above refers to the reward that the children of the Kingdom receive, whereas the passage just prior to this points out that at the end of the age, the children of the evil one will be condemned and sent “into the fiery furnace, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.”
The end result of being the children of the Kingdom is quite hopeful. “Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the Kingdom of their Father.” This promise from our Lord should be pondered, believed and become the driving force of our hope in life.
Hope is an essential virtue that we often do not speak of enough. The gift of hope is not simply wishful thinking, such as when one hopes they win the lotto. The theological virtue of hope is a gift from God that is based on truth. The truth that it is based on is the promise of eternal life in Heaven if we accept all that God speaks to us and if we fulfill His glorious will in our lives.
By analogy, say that you have a large mortgage on your home. And say that the bank was doing a promotion in which they were going to pay off the mortgage for one lucky family. And that family was yours. They contacted you and let you know that all you need to do is fill out an application for this grant and that it would then be given to you. What would you do? Of course you would go and fill out the application. The bank is trustworthy, and you are confident that if you do what they ask, a small task of filling out the application, then they will follow through with the promise they made of paying off your mortgage. In a sense, there is hope established within you once you learn of this offer; and that hope, which is based on a true promise, is what drives you to do the small task of filling out the application.
So, it is with God. The “mortgage” that He promises to pay is the debt of all our sin. And the requirement to receive this promise is fidelity to all He commands of us for our good. The problem is that we often do not fully understand the reward we are promised. That is: to “shine like the sun” in the Kingdom of our Father in Heaven. Having your mortgage paid off by the bank is something concrete and clear and very desirable. But the reward of shining like the sun in the Kingdom is of infinitely greater value. Do you believe that?
The best way to strengthen the virtue of theological hope in our lives is to become more and more certain of the truthful promise of our Lord. We need to understand Heaven and the infinite value we receive by obtaining it. If we truly understood what Jesus was promising us, we would become so intensely driven to do all that He commands us to do that this would become the single focus of our life. The hope would become a strength so strong that we would become consumed with doing anything and everything necessary to obtain such a reward.
Reflect, today, upon the depth of hope you have in your life. How driven are you by the promises made by our Lord? How clearly do you understand those promises? If you struggle with hope, then spend more time on the end reward that is promised to you by Jesus. Believe what He says and make that end goal the central focus of your life.
My glorious King, You invite all people to share in the glories of Heaven. You promise us that if we are faithful, we will shine like the sun for all eternity. Help me to understand this glorious gift so that it becomes the single object of my hope and the drive of all that I do in life. Jesus, I trust in You.
Opening Prayer: Lord Jesus, grant that I may recognize the good seed sown and cultivate it with prayer, sacrifice, and charity.
Keeping the End in Mind: In today’s Gospel passage, Jesus explained the parable that we saw earlier in the month. There is a great contrast between the good seed and the weeds. At the end time, God appears wrathful, collecting and burning the weeds. But this is his justice, by which he is glorified. We can also imagine the heart of God rejoicing over those righteous ones that shine like the sun in the kingdom of the Father. This is his greatest desire, that not one be lost. Until the end harvest, there is time to labor—and the labor is urgent. Are we aware of the battle taking place between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of the evil one? This parable helps us to see what is at stake. How can keeping the end in mind influence our daily choices to grow in friendship and discipleship in the Lord?
Today, through the parable of the weeds and the wheat, the Church urges us to ponder over the coexistence of good and evil. Good and evil within our heart; good and evil we may spot on others, good and evil we can see in the world, all around us. “Explain to us the parable” (Mt 13:36), his disciples ask Jesus. And, today, we can mean to be more careful with our personal prayer, our everyday dealings with God. —Lord, we can ask him, explain to me why I do not progress enough in my interior life. Explain to me how can I be more faithful to you, how can I look for you in my work, or through these circumstances I do not understand or I do not want. How can I be a qualified apostle? A prayer is just this, to ask God for “explanations”. How is my prayer? Is it sincere?, is it constant?, is it trusting?
Jesus Christ invites us to keep our eyes fixed on Heaven, our eternal home. Quite often, haste can drive us crazy, but we seldom stop to think that there will come a day —, «the man who strives to live must die; whereas the man who does not strive to avoid sin has to live eternally» (St. Julian of Toledo).
We shall reap what we have sown. We have to fight to give today the 100%. So when we are called into God's presence we might be able to go with our hands full: of acts of faith, hope and love. Which result in minor things and events that, when lived on an everyday basis, make us better Christians, saints and human.
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