Upon reading the first few lines of today’s Gospel, I thought to myself, “Yes, the Parable of the Sower! I can write about this!” Then I kept reading, and I panicked. This parable, the “Parable of the Weeds among the Wheat” is not a Gospel passage I’m familiar with at all.
So I kept reading Matthew 13, a chapter full of parables and explanations of parables. Thankfully, verses 36-43 offered a far more intelligent explanation for the “Parable of the Weeds among the Wheat” than I could ever provide. I encourage you to read those verses if you are as confused as I was.
Taking all of these words of Scripture to heart, what I wish to offer you today is a modern-day take on this Parable.
Put yourself in the shoes of the man who sowed. Your good seed is the word of God, the good news of the Gospel, while your field may be your work, your school, or your community. While your back was turned, your enemy came and sowed weeds of hatred, intolerance, and every kind of evil and left. What is the result? You see good and evil at war within your “field,” both coming up together and intertwining in the hearts you are trying to reach.
Fellow disciples come to you, asking how evil got mixed in with your group. You recognize it as the work of the devil, of Satan, and so you come up with a plan. Then comes the time for repentance, the harvest time, where choices will need to be made. Times get tough for the man doing the sowing as he has to continue to share the good news in the face of adversity.
What are you going to do? Let your field – your work, your school, your community – get caught up in the works of evil, or will you bring them into the light, into a relationship with Christ?
We talk about evangelization a lot. I know it has been the subject of a few of my blog posts. But it is time for us to take responsibility and action. Let today’s Gospel be another call to action for us to evangelize, for the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. The more that we share Christ with others, the more laborers we will have in the field.
Erin is a Cleveland native and graduate of the Franciscan University of Steubenville. Following graduation, she began volunteering in youth ministry at her home parish of Holy Family Church. Her first “big girl” job was in collegiate sports information where, after a busy two years in the profession on top of serving the youth, she took a leap of faith and followed the Lord’s call to full-time youth ministry at St. Peter Church. She still hopes to use her communication arts degree as a freelance writer and statistician, though. You can catch her on the Clarence & Peter Podcast on YouTube as well as follow her on Twitter @erinmadden2016.
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