Saturday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time
“All that the LORD has said, we will heed and do.” Exodus 24:7
Let them grow together until harvest; then at harvest time I will say to the harvesters, “First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles for burning; but gather the wheat into my barn.” Matthew 13:30
THE HARVEST PRAYER
(Anonymous 17th Century Sermon)
(http://www.ommas-aarden.net/harvest_prayer.htm)
Please be gentle with yourself and others.
We are all children of chance,
And none can say why some fields blossom
While others lay brown beneath the harvest sun.
Take hope that your season will come.
Share the joy of those whose season is at hand.
Care for those around you.
Look past your differences.
Their dreams are no less than yours,
Their choices in life no more easily made.
And give.
Give in any way you can.
Give in every way you can.
Give whatever you possess.
Give from your heart.
To give is to love.
To withhold is to wither.
Care less for the size of your harvest than for how it is shared,
And your life will have meaning
And your heart will have peace.
http://www.usccb.org/nab/072807.shtml
What does it say? Jesus uses another parable of seed planting and harvesting to teach an important lesson today. As farmers, His audience would understand the problem weeds would pose to a growing crop. The image of the harvest is used repeatedly in the Old and New Testament to portray the final judgment.
What does it mean? The notes in the NAB point out that the refusal of the householder to allow his slaves to separate the wheat from the weeds while they are still growing is a warning to the disciples not to attempt to anticipate the final judgment of God by a definitive exclusion of sinners from the kingdom. In its present stage, the world is composed of the good and the bad. The judgment of God alone will eliminate the sinful. Until then there must be patience and the preaching of repentance.
What does it matter? Evil exists in the world. Many times, when tragedy strikes, people start asking questions: “Where was God?” “If God loves us, why would God let such an event happen?” God did not eliminate evil in the world. We have to learn that forces opposed to God’s love exist and those forces sometimes make bad things happen to good people (like a drunk driver killing an innocent victim or a child who gets a serious illness).
What can you do when bad things happen to good people?
First, you can work to prevent the bad from happening. For example, make sure friends and others don’t drive under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
Second, comfort those who face hardship. Like Moses blessed the people in the desert, your life can be a blessing to others. For example, visit friends in the hospital, nursing homes or at home when they are ill.
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