For three Sundays in row, we have been reading
Jesus’ parables from Matthew 13: vv. 1-23 for the 15th Sunday;
vv.24-43 for the 16th Sunday; vv.44-52. The Parable of the Sower (vv.1-9) and Jesus’
explanation on the parable (vv. 18-23) for the 15th Sunday; The
Parable of the Tares among the Wheat (vv. 24-30) and Jesus’ explanation of this
parable (vv. 36-43), the Parable of the Mustard Seed (vv. 31-32), the Parable
of the Yeast (v.33) for the 16th Sunday; the Parable of the Treasure
Hidden in the Field (v.44), the Parable of the Pearl (vv. 45-46), the Parable
of the Net Full of Fish (vv. 47-48) for the 17th Sunday.
On the 15th Sunday, through the Parable
of the Sower (vv. 1-9), Jesus has challenged us if we are good recipients of
the seeds of the Word that he has sown in our hearts. Are our hearts are like
the good soil on which the seeds sown grow into manifold harvest? Or, like the
path on which the sown seeds area easily taken away by birds? Or, like the
shallow soil on rocky ground on which the sown seeds may sprout fast but
withers soon because they cannot spread the roots? Or , like the ground full of
thorns, on which the sown seeds growth is choked?
The First Reading for the 15th Sunday
(Isaiah 55:10-11) further likens that the Word sown by Jesus is like rain and
snow that keeps the ground fertile to bring forth good harvest. Also as the
rain and snow are indispensable for sown seeds to grow by watering the earth,
God the Father continues to “water” the
seeds sown by His Son on our hearts by “watering” down the Holy Spirit as
another Parakletos to teach on the
Word “sown” by the Son (John 14:26).
On the 16th Sunday and the 17th
Sunday, the rest of the parables in Matthew 13: the Parable of the Tares among
the Wheat (vv. 24-30) and Jesus’ explanation of this parable (vv. 36-43), the
Parable of the Mustard Seed (vv. 31-32), the Parable of the Yeast (v.33) , the
Parable of the Treasure Hidden in the Field (v.44), the Parable of the Pearl
(vv. 45-46), the Parable of the Net Full of Fish (vv. 47-48) are all
specifically referred to the Kingdom of Heaven. Through the Parable of the Tares
among the Wheat (vv. 24-30), Jesus gives rather a counterintuitive teaching
about the Kingdom: the Kingdom in progress on earth is like the wheat field,
where the tares are also growing along with the wheat, indicating that it is
where both sinners and saints co-exist. And, as the First Reading for the 16th
Sunday (Wisdom 12:13, 16-19) reminds, sinners who may do evil (likened to the
tares) are allowed to coexist with those who are righteous in God’s eyes (likened
to the wheat) because of the extraordinary mercy of the Father, who has not “eradicated”
us even though we have offended Him countlessly ever since the fall of Adam and
Eve. Because of this mercy of the Father, not wiping out sinners from the
earth, they can repent and convert so that they may be righteous in His eyes.
In fact, this has already taken place as many Saints used to be sinners, such
as St. Augustine of Hippo and St. Ignatius of Loyola – just to name a few.
Imagine if God the Father had “zero tolerance” to sinners. Then, how many
Saints would we have?
As the Parable of the Mustard Seed (vv. 31-32), the
Parable of the Yeast (v.33) remind, the Kingdom has been growing – until the eschaton, which Jesus likens to the
harvest time, when the tares are separated from the wheat to be burned, as unrepentant sinners, along with the devil,
who has sown the tares, are condemned as judged at the eschaton (vv.39-42). The consummation
of the growth of the Kingdom on earth takes place at the eschaton, and it is when only the children of the Kingdom, likened
to the wheat, are allowed. However, until then, the growing Kingdom is like
what St. Augustine of Hippo describes as ecclesia
mixtra. And, this is why Pope Francis has likened the Church (ecclesia or ekklesia) to the field
hospital, where the medicine of mercy is needed, as St. John XXIII has said.
The Kingdom is not in its pure state while it is in
progress – as it is still growing. Because of the Father’s mercy, both sinners
and saints coexist, as the tares are not uprooted from the wheat field, while
they are growing, with the hope that the “medicine of mercy” will touch the
hearts of sinners for repentance and conversion.
Finally, on the 17th Sunday, the rest of
the Kingdom-related parables are read from Matthew 13:44-52: the Parable of the
Treasure Hidden in the Field (v.44), the Parable of the Pearl (vv. 45-46), and the
Parable of the Net Full of Fish (vv. 47-48). Just as the Parable of the Mustard Seed (vv.
31-32) and the Parable of the Yeast (v.33) for the 16th Sunday are
in pair to remind how the Kingdom of Heavens on earth grows out of something as
small as a mustard seed or yeast into something great, like a huge mustard tree
or enlarged leavened bread, the Parable of the Treasure Hidden in the Field
(v.44) and the Parable of the Pearl (vv. 45-46) for the 17th Sunday are
in pair to tell that there is nothing more precious in the universe than the
Kingdom of Heavens. Just as the person, who has found the hidden treasure in
the field and sold everything in his possession to buy the field with the
treasure and as the merchant who has found the perfect pearl and sold
everything in his possession to purchase it, the Kingdom of Heaven is what we
seek more than anything else. This teaching is echoed by how King Solomon
sought a heart of understanding and wisdom, more than anything else, to serve
as king of Israel from God in the First Reading (1 Kings 3:5, 7-12). Therefore,
a lesson from the 17th Sunday Scripture Readings is that we seek the
Kingdom as the priority, because there is nothing more precious than this.
There is nothing else we desire to attain than the Kingdom. This lesson echoes
Jesus’ teaching in the Sermon on the Mount: Seek first the kingdom [of God] and
his righteousness, and all these things will be given you (Matthew 6:33).
Is the Kingdom of Heavens (of God) the priority in
our pursuit? Or, are we spending our lives to attain something else, such as
material wealth, sensual pleasure, fame, and so on?
Finally, “last” parable in Matthew 13, the Parable
of the Net Full of Fish (vv. 47-48) rather corresponds to the Parable of the
Tares among the Wheat (vv.24-30) from the 16th Sunday, as these
parables are about the Kingdom in completion at the eschaton: how those who are unfit to be the children of the Kingdom
are excluded from it by the judgement and thrown into the Lake of Fire (i.e.
Revelation 19:20), as the tares are separated from the wheat to be burned at the
harvest and as bad fish are separated from good fish at the shore and are
thrown away.
Now, actually, the very last parable in Matthew 13
is in Jesus’ statement on an objective of understanding his parables in v.52: Then every scribe who has been instructed in
the kingdom of heaven is like the head of a household who brings from his
storeroom both the new and the old. This is a parable because a scribe of
heaven – a scribe of the Kingdom is likened to a household who brings both the
old and the new from his storeroom. And,
with this Parable of the Scribes of Heaven, Jesus concludes all the parables in
Matthew 13, which we spend three consecutive Sundays, from the 15th
Sunday to the 17th Sunday, that understanding his parables will lead
to become scribes of heaven (the scribes of the Kingdom), who are, of course,
the children of the Kingdom, to teach the truth and wisdom both from the Old
Testament and the New Testament from the treasure chest, called the Scriptures
(Bible), on behalf of Jesus.
As God the Father has loved us so much, in spite of
our countless offenses against Him through our repetitive sins, not only He has
been allowing us to exist on earth rather than eradicating but also has sent
His only begotten Son to let him dwell among us (John 3:16), by incarnating the
Word, which is God, in the human flesh of Jesus (John 1:1, 14), through the
womb of Mary, the Blessed Virgin, the Immaculate, by the power of the Holy Spirit
(Matthew 1:18; Luke 1:35). The Son has been sent to us to proclaim his Kingdom
through his Gospel, as reflected in the Third Luminous Mystery of the Holy Rosary,
echoing Matthew 4:23; Mark 1:15; Luke 4:43. So, he has sown the seeds of the
Word on our hearts in order for the Kingdom to grow through us – on our hearts,
as reflected in his Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13:1-9). While this is also juxtaposed to how God
sends down rain and snow to make sure that earth is able to produce harvest for
food (Isaiah 55:10-11), first and foremost, our hearts must be in the condition
likened to the fertile soil where seeds can grow into manifold harvest (Matthew
13:8). And, the Holy Spirit, sent by the Father as another Parakletos, in Jesus’ name will continue to nourish the growth from
the seeds – just as rain and snow to water the earth ensures the growth of the
seeds on earth for harvest, because the Holy Spirit as another Parakletos continues to teach us (John
14:26), just as the sower, the Son sent by the Father, the Parakletos (1 John 2:1), has taught.
Some reflecting questions to ask ourselves now in
concluding these three consecutive Sundays in reading the series of the
parables from Matthew 13 are: Are the seeds of the Word that Jesus has sown in
our hearts growing healthily toward abundant fruition and harvest at the eschaton? Is there any condition that
may compromise the growth of the Word in our hearts, because of weakened faith
or waning faith or too much anxiety? If so, how can we restore our faith
through the Holy Spirit, as one of His gifts is faith (1 Corinthians 12:9)?
Keeping our faith through the Holy Spirit is like keeping our hearts fertile for the seeds of the Word sown by Jesus to ensure their sustained growth toward abundant harvest. And, the Father will continue to water down the Holy Spirit, who gives faith, just as rain and snow keep the earth fertile for seeds to grow. And, the seeds of the Word sown by Jesus may be as tiny as the mustard seed or may even be seen as insignificant as the yeasts to some. Nevertheless, as they are on the right type of the soil, they grow into something as great as the large mustard tree or they will raise the small batch of dough into enlarged leavened bread. Is the Kingdom in progress growing like the mustard tree or leavened dough in our fertile hearts?
As our faith is strong, we are fully engaged with
the Word. It means that we listen to the Word with our full attention and
interest. And, this also reflects that our priority is the Kingdom – because it
is like the treasure hidden but found in the field, for which the person, who
found, sold everything to purchase and like the pearl, for which the merchant
sold everything to buy. Are we seeking the Kingdom first (Matthew 6:33), as
King Solomon sought out the heart of understanding and wisdom more than kingly
power and fame (1 Kings 3:5, 7-12)?
Since the growing Kingdom is likened to the field,
where the tares are also growing among the wheat (Matthew 13:24-30) and likened
to the net full of all sorts of fish, good ones and bad ones (Matthew
13:47-48), it is not in its pure and perfect state yet. However, in the
meantime, we are to strive for the perfection of the Father (Matthew 5:48) as
we love our enemies among us (Matthew 5:43), just as the tares among the wheat
can grow among the wheat (Matthew 13:29-30). And, the perfection of the Father
(Matthew 5:48) is indeed His mercy, which allows us to exist on earth, even
though we have sinned and may not yet fully reconciled with Him.
The Second Reading for the 15th Sunday
(Romans 8:18-23) reminds us that the growth of the seeds of the Word sown by
Jesus is for the new creation that the earth has been in her groaning labor
pain. And this new creation is the establishment of the Kingdom on earth as it
is in heaven. The Second Reading for the 16th Sunday (Romans
8:26-27) reflects on our constant need of the Holy Spirit as our intercessor to
overcome our weakness. This is to keep our hearts fertile for the seeds of the
Word – the seeds of the Kingdom sown by Jesus through his words in his teaching
can grow without any compromise. And the Second Reading for the 17th
Sunday (Romans 8:28-30) gives a very assuring and inspiring message that God
the Father has predestined us to be conformed to the image of His Son for our
justification of the Kingdom. It also means that the Father has already
ordained us to serve as the scribes of the Kingdom (Matthew 13:52) to evangelize
with the seeds of the Word, catechize with the wisdom and knowledge, and
charismatize through the Holy Spirit. This way, we serve as active agent for
the Kingdom to expand just as yeasts makes dough rise and expand.
By using parables in his teaching, Jesus knows that
those whose hearts are likened to the fertile soil (Matthew 13:8) can find the
kernel of truth in the Word spoken by him, as a person finds the hidden
treasure in the field (Matthew 13:44), while others may never know of the
treasure as it had been hidden. It
demands our attention and active listening for a parable to be appreciated. So,
we must be actively seeking the kernel of truth in the Word buried in parables.
But, parables actually help us understand the kernel of truth on the Kingdom
better as Jesus has thrown things familiar to us, such as seeds, wheat, yeasts,
treasure, pearl, fishing net, and so forth along with the truth. Parable in the
biblical Greek, παραβολή (parabole), literally
means to” throw (βάλλω/ballo ) + besides
(παρά/para)” . So, Jesus has cast out some familiar objects
to us in his parables. And the question is: Do we see the kernel of truth
besides these cast familiar objects? And, are we making most out of this kernel
of truth discerned from the parables while the Kingdom continues to grow in our
attentive hearts?
As our hearts remain fertile to the seeds of the
Word, assuring the Kingdom’s growth in our hearts, we are able to understand
all of Jesus’ parables, thus, becoming ready to serve as the scribes of the
Kingdom in all nations to aid further growth and expansion of the Kingdom.
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