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The "Weeds" and the "Wheat" among us.

Updated on July 19, 2020

Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds

16th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME, YEAR A

“This year 2020 could not get any better …” This was a very recent statement I posted on my FB page referring to so much losses I’ve experienced recently. To name a few: my best friend, Fr. Jesse “Jum-Jum” Guillergan, Jr. died of diabetic complications at the ripe age of 45 while sheltering in place. Just very recently, a Benedictine mentor of mine, Fr. Benildus Maramba, OSB died of pancreatic cancer at the age of 84 just a few days after my uncle (my father’s older brother), Emmanuel “Manolo” Prado died of lung cancer at the age of 79. They all died in the Philippines.

Locally, we have been experiencing a “ping-pong” of ongoing restrictions, guidelines and lockdowns. We’ve experienced the loss of the “freedom” that we normally enjoy pre-COVID 19. We are not used to be being restricted, locked down in our homes and being curtailed of our freedom. And so, we asked as in a mantra, will there be an end to all of these? Can this year 2020 really get any better?

I think that there is an urgent need to unleash the power within us in order for us to survive. Last Sunday, Jesus taught His disciples about the power of the Word through the parable of the sower. This Sunday, using the same image of farming, He delivers another parable to further sow the seeds - the “spiritual powers” to His disciples that will ready them for the mission – to be sent. As present-day disciples of Jesus, He too invites us to accept this gift, the power to overcome today’s unfortunate events. How? Three points from our readings this Sunday:

1. We need to be patient with ourselves. Our second reading reminds us that the Spirit of God will empower us in our weaknesses. At times, when we are confronted with too much stress, we feel so down that we become unproductive and that our weaknesses overpower us. The reading actually assures us that the Spirit will always intercede for us in order that we may succeed. Patience is a gift from the Spirit and much more, it is also a virtue – a good act done repetitively as one endures life’s trials and difficulties.

My uncle Manolo was not a very patient person and not the most pious I’ve ever known among relatives. He went to Church only when he got to be invited as a “sponsor” for weddings. That said, he could be counted as one among the “weeds.” But, if there’s one thing that set him apart from the rest, it would be his love for his family. His one and only daughter, Emmalyne could attest to this. He would take her to the airport as she departs for Dubai and would also be the one to pick her up when she arrives back home in Manila. No matter how long it takes, he would not mind the time and the stress. He would patiently wait at the arrival area until her daughter was back in his embrace. That said, he possessed both a weed-like quality that needed to be burned and a wheat-like quality that needed nourishing.

I believe in the mercy of God and I believe that God has a special place for him in heaven. Patience is a gift that recognizes the potentiality in us to change and become good wheat.

+ Emmanuel "Manolo" Prado

2. We need to be patient as we deal with people around us. The man who sowed good seed showed great patience by allowing the weeds to grow with the wheat. In this Gospel, Jesus teaches us that, we too, must be patient with the way we treat the “weeds” in our society and do everything in our power to lead them back to the right path to heaven through witnessing and constant prayer for conversion.

A Bishop was sailing for Europe on one of the great trans-atlantic ocean liners. When he went on board, he found that another passenger was to share a cabin with him. After unpacking his bags, he went to the purser and inquired if he could leave his gold watch and other valuables in the ship’s safe. He explained that he had just met the man who was to occupy the other berth in his cabin and he was afraid that the man might not be trustworthy. The purser smiled, accepted the valuables and remarked, “It’s all right, Bishop, I’ll be very glad to take care of them for you. The other man has just been up here and left his valuables for the same reason!”

Today’s Gospel reminds us that we should not judge others hastily. There is a lot of good in the worst of us and a lot of evil in the best of us. In other words, the best of us are still "weeds" in God's garden. And so, let us ponder on these questions: How patient are we with one another? With family members? With co-workers? With fellow parishioners? With people we work with in our day-to-day activities? With unending guidelines, restrictions and prohibitions?

+ Fr. Benildus Maramba, OSB

3. Finally, we need to grow up as healthy wheat as we let Jesus take care of the weeds. Our acts of charity, kindness and mercy and selfless service can prompt the “weeds” in our society to look into their lives with reflection and inspire them to change from being a weed to becoming healthy wheat.

Fr. Benildus Maramba, OSB was a mentor to me and to several other students who underwent modules at St. Paul VI Institute of Liturgy. His expertise was liturgical music. I knew how complicated the subject matter was learning sacred liturgy since it's very fluid. When he was the director of the institute, he made sure that we do not only enjoy the subject matter at hand, but most importantly enjoy community and spiritual life among us. Every Friday, we would play bingo (without betting! No gambling!). In fact, winners still win prizes. They were prizes which he provided himself. We would laugh to our hearts content and would enjoy each other's company. For him, sacred liturgy is at the heart of Catholic worship and so is the community who lives up to it!

Fr. Maramba could be likened to a healthy wheat who’s empowering presence and inspiration have made us grow up like him. Evangelii Nuntiandi clearly states, “Modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if he does listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses." To be a healthy wheat is to be a true witness to the Word of God. To be a healthy wheat is to grow up in the faith and to unleash the power within us sown to us by God Himself.

In these trying times we do need power: the power which is given by the Spirit; the power that is earned when we deal patiently with people around us; and the power we earn for ourselves as we try to grow as healthy “wheat.” We may be weakened by current circumstances, but as St. Paul once puts it, “… I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong!” (2 Corinthians 12:10) Let us therefore pray for the gifts of the Spirit to empower us to overcome today’s challenges and difficulties.

Yes, the year 2020 may not look any better or even bleak. But with patience and God's power, there is HOPE. With patience and God's power, WE CAN!

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