Sunday, July 17, 2011

Saints and Ain'ts Gospel of the Wheat and the Tares

Today's Gospel is the parable of the wheat field that is seeded in the night by the evil one with Tares/darnel, and how the infestation of weeds in the food crop is to be dealt with.

Monsignor Charles Pope at the Archdiocese of Washington has a very interesting homilitic on it today, and linked below.

For those of us who have to tend our own gardens at home we are familiar with weeds that have to be pulled. They are generally easily identifiable from the plants that we have planted with intention in our gardens. But in the story of the Wheat and the Tares from today's Gospel, there is a little bit more that gives context to the parable.

The weed that is called tare or darnel is also called false wheat, because of its similarity in appearance, until it is near harvest time. So, if you knew of its existence among your wheat, because of similarity, pulling it early would put pulling wheat plants at risk as well. If you wait until nearer to the harvest, then the risk is that the weed roots are integrated among the roots of the wheat, and pulling the tare would take the wheat with it. So, it is not until harvest that you could separate the two by their fruits. The wheat yields a lot of seed and the wheat heads droop with the weight. The darnel heads are light and stand up. So, in imagery, the wheat is humbled, while the darnel stands up proud for all to see.

The parable shows us that evil is at work in our lives and in our society,and that there are appropriate steps to take to remove it from our lives and society.

Monsignor Pope sums it up as Wake up, Wise up, Wait up, and Wash up. Read the linked posting to see what he has to say about it.

Is you is or is you Ain't a Saint

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