16 A – Mt 13: 24-43 Some of the movies I saw growing up were low-budget cowboy movies, westerns where everyone knew from the start that the good guys were wearing white hats, and the bad guys were wearing black hats. The movie plotlines ran that way, too: and there were very few cowgirls or women, except for Annie Oakley!  In truth, however, we can acknowledge that MOST of us are mixtures of redeeming grace & stubborn pride.

So why start our reflection this way? Because it helps explain WHY, when the disciples ask Jesus did he want them to start pulling the weeds out right away, he said no, let it be for now. Those who study the Sacred Scriptures as their life’s vocation tell us there’s an ancient word for these parable weeds: it’s called darnel, pronounced DARN-ill. This darnel is a plant that is a close imitation of wheat. As it grows, especially in its earlier stages, it is impossible to discern the wheat from the darnel: yes, the darnel DOES pose as a liar, fraud, an impostor, and a wolf in sheep’s clothing!                                                                                                            

Only at harvest time does the darnel grain completely reveal itself; that’s when the difference between the wheat and the darnel is most visible. For at harvest, the darnel grain is GRAY in color, and flour ground from darnel grains tastes awful & is poisonous if eaten!                                                                            On the other hand, wheat is that light orange color: its flour nourishes people world-wide.   

And as we put two and two together, & see that the wheat represents the good people, and the darnel represents the evil ones, what is the effect of Jesus postponing the judgment day for the wicked ones? It is nothing short of love and grace! It provides more time for them to change their hearts in a TRUE conversion of life: And to be clear, this is NOT just doing something more productive for themselves and their own lives, but productive and beneficial for the reign of God, and the spreading of Jesus’ Name and the Gospel to others. Yes: imagine the stories of the people who started out in the WEED division, & then wind up helping to further God’s Plan. Saul of Tarsus, for all his limitations and idiosyncrasies, started out killing Christians; when he became St. Paul, he brought Good News to people hearing about Jesus Christ for the very first time.

Now, with all our years of listening to & meditating on the Scriptures, & hearing today’s reflection, we may think that we have an innate ability to discern good & evil in other people. We’ll often hear people say, “I’m an EXCELLENT judge of character.” Where are those accurate and excellent judges? Many are police officers & detectives, who size up truth-tellers & lying weasels each days; others are parents and teachers, who know kids SO well that they KNOW a scam when they hear it! But the providential thing about today’s Gospel parable is that NONE of us has to deliver an evaluation or an assessment concerning someone’s veracity/mendacity, goodness/evil. Because this parable isn’t just about the wickedness that may be growing in OTHER people: it’s meant for us to be applied to ourselves:  it’s a verbal way to put a mirror up in front of our eyes, and assessing what’s REALLY growing within us: and that means in every dimension of us: the spiritual, social, emotional, physical, and you know all the other levels in which we live.

Before we come to the Eucharist today, the Heavenly Food that helps us fight lies & evil,               we might like to thank God our Creator, whom we come to know through the words and deeds of Jesus, for two specific gifts: 1) God’s promise to always be with us; and 2) God’s always-patient and never-ending supply of mercy, for us and for the world. Amen.