Into the Deep

“Weeds and the Problem of Evil”
   Once again, the seed takes center stage. While last week the focus was on the amount of fruit it might, or might not, produce, depending on the soil into which it falls, this week the emphasis is on the nature of the seed itself. And the originality of this parable lies in the fact that it is the only biblical passage in which seeds are mentioned with negative connotations. Indeed, there is a good seed, but there is also a bad seed; they have opposite origins and will produce entirely different fruits. One produces a fruit that nourishes, wheat, while the other produces a useless fruit that saps the strength of the good fruit: the weeds. The problem is that they are mixed together in the field, and for a long time it will not be easy to separate the two plants.
   There are many extraordinarily important lessons in this passage. The first and most fundamental is that God is not the source of evil. In the words of St. Isaac the Syrian (7th c.): “God can only give out love”. “He who sows good seed is the Son of Man” (Mt 13:37) the Son of Man being the Incarnate Word, God Himself. “Your might is the source of justice,” (Wis 12:16) states the first reading, from the Book of Wisdom. Contrary to what we may sometimes think or feel, or what certain philosophical schools such as Manichaeism1 maintain, good and evil are not equal in importance. Good is what comes first. The second lesson is the existence of an enemy, “the devil,” says the Lord. He is not a mythological concept, nor an idea to explain evil in the world, but a very real entity, one who will ultimately lose the battle, though. That is another lesson that fills us with hope: the final victory belongs to God, who brings about justice: “The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all who cause others to sin and all evildoers. They will throw them into the fiery furnace,” (Mt 13:41-42) But there is still a fundamental lesson with very practical implications for our daily lives: in our day-to-day lives, good and evil are intertwined in this world, and it is not always easy to deal with this situation. This is the problem of (moral) evil in the world – on various levels: in the heart, in personal relationships, and in society. What should we do about it? What does God tell us?
   “His slaves said to him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’ He replied, ‘No, if you pull up the weeds you might uproot the wheat along with them.” (vv.28-29).
   Based on God’s own mercy and his desire for what he has planted to be saved, today we contemplate patience. And one manifestation of such patience is tolerance. However, we must be extremely cautious when using that word. Many people understand tolerance as accepting every opinion or behavior as equally valid, or avoiding any judgment about right and wrong. The Scriptures this Sunday present tolerance not as indifference to truth or evil, but as patient love that seeks the conversion and salvation of every person. The first reading describes a God who possesses unlimited power but chooses to exercise it with remarkable gentleness. “Your mastery over all things makes you lenient to all.” (Wis 12:16) God’s strength is revealed not primarily through punishment but through mercy: he gives sinners time to repent. The sacred author concludes that God has taught his people “that those who are just must be kind.” (v.19)
   Why, then, tolerance? Why don’t God or we eradicate all evil more quickly, and why do we often have to wait patiently? Let’s list a few bullet points to try to shed some light on this mystery:
  • Tolerance does not mean that we should not act against evil, first and foremost in our hearts, to the extent possible. “Do not be conquered by evil but conquer evil with good” (Rom 12:21) St. Paul urged the Romans, and us through them.
  • It means, first of all, that we often find it difficult to tell the difference between what is truly bad and what we simply have trouble understanding because it is different.
  • It also means that, sometimes, by trying to impose what is good, maybe harshly and imprudently, we can cause harm and problems for others: “if you pull up the weeds you might uproot the wheat along with them.”
  • We must not forget that God loves giving opportunities to all. He never ceases calling people back to himself. Patience, tolerance show trust in the possibility for conversion everybody is called to: “The Lord does not delay his promise, as some regard “delay,” but he is patient with you, not wishing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” (2 Pt 3:9)
  • And God uses even what is bad to perfect us through the trials we endure with patience as St. James explained: “Consider it all joy, my brothers, when you encounter various trials, for you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. And let perseverance be perfect, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” (Jas 1:2-4)
1 Manichaeism: philosophy originated in the 4th century sustaining that the universe is governed by two equal and eternal opposing forces – good and evil, light and darkness – rather than by the one all-powerful God who created all things good.
   Blessings

Previous Letters:

July 12, 2026: The Soil
July 5, 2026: We Hold These Truths
June 28, 2026: Eyesight
June 21, 2026: Provider
June 14, 2026: Ordinary
June 7, 2026: Salvation Has Come to This House
May 31, 2026: Why Three?
May 24, 2026: Fruits
May 17, 2026: For Greater Glory
May 10, 2026: Orphans?
May 3, 2026: A Good Shepherd II
April 26, 2026: A Good Shepherd
April, 19, 2026: Necessary
April 12, 2026: Merciful Patience!
April 5, 2026: Breaking News!
March 29, 2026: Sic Transit Gloria Mundi
March 22, 2026: Lord of the Dead and the Living
March 15, 2026: Light and Darkness
March 8, 2026: Thirst and Desire
March 1, 2026: Transfigured
February 22, 2026: The Law of Freedom
February 15, 2026: In Defense of Marriage
February 8, 2026: Salt and Light
February 1, 2026: Poor Who Enrich
January 25, 2026: Catholic School Education
January 18, 2026: Humbled and Exalted
January 11, 2026: Born and Reborn
January 4, 2026: What’s the Price of a Mass?
December 28, 2025: Families Serving Families
December 21, 2025: Decisions
December 14, 2025: Make Firm
December 7, 2025: Hope and Justice
November 30, 2025: Armor of Light
November 23, 2025: Behold Your King
November 16, 2025: Remember Your Dignity
November 9, 2025: St. Leo and the Cross of Christ
November 2, 2025; Dying in Christ
October 26, 2025: Forgive Us
October 19, 2025: Pray For Us
October 12, 2025: Pillar of Faith
October, 5, 2025: Compendium of the Gospel
September 28, 2025: Failed to Do
September 21, 2025: An Enemy Did This
September 14, 2025: In Hoc Signo
September 7, 2025: My Son Carlo
August 31, 2025: Humility?
August 24, 2025: How Difficult?
August 17, 2025: Politically Incorrect
August 10, 2025: Got Faith?
August 3, 2025: Greed
July 27, 2025: Ask and You Shall Receive
July 20, 2025: The Better Part
July 13, 2025: Who is the Samaritan
July 6, 2025: Joy and Spoons
June 29, 2025: In Fire
June 22, 2025: A Beating Heart in the Tabernacle
June 15, 2025: The Mirror
June 8, 2025: Filled With the Holy Spirit
June 1, 2025: He Loved Us
May 25, 2025: Servant of Your Faith and Joy
May 18, 2025: Leo
May 11, 2025: The Deposit of Faith
May 4, 2025: Costly Mercy
April 27, 2025: Who is Peter?
April 20, 2025: I Make All Things New – Arise!
April 13, 2025: I Make All Things New – To Do My Penance
April 6, 2025: I Make All Things New – I Declared My Sin to You
March 30, 2025: I Make All Things New – I Firmly Resolve
March 23 2025: I Make All Things New –  I am Sorry for Offending You
March 16, 2025: I Make All Things New –  Examining Your Conscience
March 9, 2025: I Make All Things New
March 2, 2025: Pruning
February 23, 2025: The Anointed of the Lord
February 16, 2025: Be My Valentine
February 9, 2025: Wash Away My Guilt II
February 2, 2025: Wash Away My Guilt I
January 26, 2025: Catholic Education
January 19, 2025: Shall Marry You
January 12, 2025: Called by Name
January 5, 2025: Pilgrims of Hope
December 29, 2024: Priests for the Family
December 22, 2024: Messengers of Joy
December 15, 2024: Blessed Are the Poor
December 8, 2024: Love, Hope and Joy
December 1, 2024: Hope Does Not Disappoint
November 24, 2024: Are You King?
November 17, 2024: Seven Words
November 10, 2024: Tu es Petrus
November 3, 2024: Pray For Those Authority
October 27, 2024: These Are the Feasts
October 20, 2024: Someone Else
October 13, 2024: Be Prudent
October 6, 2024: Project and Dreams II
September 29, 2024: Projects and Dreams I
September 22, 2024: Pastor
September 15, 2024: Take Up Your Cross
September 8, 2024: Guardians of Shared Memory
September 1, 2024: From Their Hearts
August 25, 2024: The Cost of Discipleship
August 18, 2024: For Real?
August 11, 2024: Too Long For You
August 4, 2024: A New Manna
July 28, 2024: Bread of Life
July 21, 2024: Shepherds After My Own Heart
July 14, 2024: Woe to Me…
July 7, 2024: Come and Rest (II)
June 30, 2024: Come and Rest (I)
June 23, 2024: Storms
June 16, 2024: I Will be a Father to You
June 9, 2024: Burning Furnace of Love
June 2, 2024: In the Midst of Him
May 26, 2024: Forever I Will Sing the Goodness of the Lord
May 19, 2024: Through the Holy Spirit
May 12, 2024: The Ark of the Covenant
May 5, 2024: Source and Summit
April 28, 2024: Rejoice Always
April 21, 2024: I Believe in the resurrection of the body Part II
April 14, 2024: I Believe in the Resurrection of the Body Part 1
April 7, 2024: Rich in Mercy
March 31, 2024: Sine Dominico Non Possumus About Sunday
February 11, 2024: I Was Ill and You Cared For Me
February 4, 2024: Why Evil?
January 28, 2024: Catholic Schools Week
January 21, 2024: Attachments
January 14, 2024: The LORD Shines
January 7, 2024: Epiphany 2024
December 31, 2023: A Family of Families
December 25, 2023: New Beginnings
December 17, 2023: Christmas
December 3, 2023: Watch
November 26, 2023: Be Healed
November 19, 2023: Sealed
November 12, 2023: Religious?