Scripture Reflections for the Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

“God is about something, our task is to surrender to the divine will”

“the most important way of being fruitful is to be found in cultivating a love for God in our own souls and in the souls of others, for this is the incorruptible fruit that endures for all eternity”

“Today we are virtually surrounded in a sea of information. What can appear normal and attractive can betray us as easily as the darnel plant imitates the wheat – but the darnel is poisonous.”

“Christ’s judgment will be perfectly just and also, fortunately, perfectly merciful”

“So the question is not “What is the kingdom of heaven?” but instead “Who is the kingdom of heaven?”; and the answer is Jesus of Nazareth”

“Judgement is God’s, however that is inseparable from his mercy. We judge ourselves by rendering ourselves incapable of receiving God’s mercy if we cannot recognise it”

“Our judgement is not sound enough to be certain. In an impetuous zeal for a purge we may uproot the good with the bad, or even instead of the bad. That would be a serious injustice.”

“To be called into the Church is a grace, which we accept. But membership of the Church does not mean automatic entry into the kingdom”

“Christ teaches us that, until the end of time, the children of the Kingdom and the subjects of the Evil One are very hard to tell apart; no manner of physical appearance, social custom or tongue, no badge or identity card, will tell you who is who among the Children of God”

“The Christian community should exercise the same optimistic tolerance. Any attempt to expel those suspected of being out of step with the values of the community would inevitably result in many innocent casualties.”

“at the end of the day some evils can be dealt with only by God. It's only God who has the delicacy and the wisdom to seperate the wheat, the wheat from the weeds. Maybe sometimes in the presence of terrible evil we have to be patient and allow God to do his work.”

“What is the risk of including people and getting it wrong? Mistaking weed for wheat? Actually, is there much of a risk because God has it all in hand, we do trust that right?”

“Like it or not weeds and wheat grow up together in this world. Tearing up the weeds isn't always the right answer. In fact, the wheat can be compromised.”

“God's purpose is not to destroy the enemy but to change him, not to destroy the enemy culture but to convert it. Why doesn't God just eliminate his enemies, just get rid of them? Well because God loves his enemies.”

“when you see evil in your parish, you see evil in the national church, you see evil in the church internationally, be careful, be prudent, the extrication of that evil is always going to be a delicate business lest you compromise the good in itself”

“sometimes in the face of evil the best thing to do is in prayer and in patience let the delicate hands of God do their work”

“drawing strength from our faith in God’s continual love-energy at work in our world...we can take small steps to act wherever we are. We can act with what resources we have, and with whom we are near, to enhance, support, and encourage sprouts of God’s rule of justice, solidarity, and community”

“We, who are the grass growing, are surrounded by God’s goodness—grace. Is that blade of grass next to me weeds or wheat? I can’t tell. No point judging the grass around me. The question is: Am I weeds or wheat?”

“Everyone is a sinner living among sinners. If we demand too much, condemn too quickly, or break off from others too easily simply because of their weaknesses, then we may find ourselves also doomed and living in perpetual loneliness.”

“Wisdom affirms that God’s supreme power does not imply that God is a tyrant. Our God is a God strong enough to be gentle; that is, challenges to his authority do not, so to speak, shake his self-confidence and provoke a violent response, as is the case with human dictators or “strongmen.””

“As we all see and know in the world today – there are a lot of weeds around us. We’re followers of Christ. Yes – we sin. And if we’re not careful, sin overcomes us and we become a weed ourselves.”

“We live in challenging times, an era of contradictions, fake news, eroded moral values and human indignity. Jesus reminds us: Let us not lose heart. Let us be steadfast, and let us “gather the wheat in my barn,” remain in Me.”

“only Jesus knows the weeds from the wheat, because sometimes what looks like a weed, is actually a plant that is not fully developed yet. Some people are late bloomers.”

“Like the missioner who goes abroad and seeks to understand another culture, each of us is called to take this time, to get to know one another, and to seek greater understanding. As we stop concerning ourselves with uprooting weeds, we may actually discover new varieties of wheat. We may even find a friend we can count on.”

“This wisdom isn’t something we can make on our own or even deserve by our hard work. We receive it, simply because by God’s love we have the great fortune to do so.”