Reflection for July 19, 2020

Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)
Wisdom 12:13, 16-19   |   Psalm 86:5-6, 9-10, 15-16   |   Romans 8:26-27   |   Matthew 13:24-30

Today’s readings describe an extremely patient God. The selections suggest that we give the persistence of evil a second look as a sign not of God’s indifference but rather of his mercy.

A man was walking through a supermarket with a screaming baby in the shopping cart. A woman nearby noticed that time and again the man would calmly say: “Keep calm, Edgar. Keep calm, Edgar. Impressed for the man’s patience as the child continued to cry noisily, the woman walked up to him and said: “Sir, great job for your patience with baby Edgar! A bawling baby can rattle even the most level-headed person.” To which the man replied, “Ma'am, I am Edgar!”

The Book of Wisdom offers a profound reflection on the great power God possesses. God has the authority to do anything he wants simply because he is God. He does not have to explain his actions and judgments to anyone. Yet, God does not take delight in displaying his powers and does not use his strength capriciously. Unlike the rajah ruling the populist kingdom along the banks of the Pasig River, God does not order a network to shut down its free television and radio for failing to air his political advertisements. He does not weaponize the law to instill fear and deter people from complaining about his leadership. He does not resort to a blaming-everyone-but-oneself strategy to cover up failure and exaggerate success in fighting the Coronavirus. Despite God's unlimited power, he acts with patience and moderation, even towards his enemies. Instead of destroying them suddenly and utterly with a single blow, God is lenient, giving his enemies both the time and the possibility to come to recognize him as the true God, and to amend their wicked ways. His power is immense that it can afford to demonstrate patience. A more common translation for patience is “slow to anger” and the one that best captures the original Aramaic arak (עָרַךְ) is “forbearance”. In short, God waits a very long time before He gets in your face!

Nanette is a widow who is raising six children after her husband Crisanto, who used to be a rubbish picker at the Payatas dump, was mistakenly killed by police in a crackdown on illegal drug use. She was left alone to care for two children from her late husband’s previous marriage and four from their marriage together. Crisanto's unexpected death sent Nanette into a pit of sorrow. Vincentian fathers and brothers began visiting Nanette, but she remained lonely and depressed. "I am no longer able to pray to God," she confided to them, "In fact, I am not certain I believe in God anymore." After an awkward moment of silence, Fr. Daniel, one of the visiting priests responded, "Then we will believe for you. We will pray for you." In the following weeks the clerics met weekly to bring grocery donations and pray with Nanette asking God to help her experience God's presence and healing. Months later, as the priests and brothers gathered again in Nanette's tiny makeshift shack right by the road, Nanette greeted them with a smile. "It is no longer necessary for you to pray for me," she said. "Instead, I would like you to pray with me."

In his Letter to the Romans, the apostle Paul reminds us that although we are weak, God is patient with our human limitations. God gives us the Holy Spirit to aid us in our weakness and intercede for us with Him. The apostle Paul’s intent is clear: he wants to encourage us, especially when we feel our own weakness, because the Holy Spirit is praying for us. Even though we do not know how to pray as we should, we should be encouraged to keep praying. So, if you say, “I don’t have the strength to stand for what is right and true,” then kneel at the feet of Jesus in your weakness. Cry out to Him for deliverance. “But, I don’t have 73 congressmen backing up my crusade for press freedom and sustainable livelihood” or "I am scared to be subpoenaed by the Investigation Bureau for calling out elected officials and drawing attention to the facts." The next time you’re about to lose hope and get discouraged, run to Jesus. Every time you feel your weakness and inability, call out to Jesus. God has not left us alone in our weakness. Rather, His Spirit helps us by interceding for us. All saints have been weak men and women who did great things for God because they reckoned on the Spirit of God being with them. Let us realize that when we pray the Spirit is always joining with us, so that we are not praying alone.

Ruben, a young seminarian, was taking a pre-ordination evaluation. During the questioning, Fr. Joselito, one of the priest-examiners asked him if he believed in a personal devil. "No," he replied, "I do not believe in the devil." Hearing this, the formators began to discuss the seminarian's fitness for ordination. They were on the verge of disqualifying him when Monsignor Berto, one of the older faculty members spoke up: "Don't worry about Ruben's present disbelief in a personal devil. This whole thing will take care of itself. Assign him immediately to work in the parish and it will not take more than two weeks before he changes his mind."

In our Gospel, Matthew explains that the Christian community contains the good, the wicked and all in-between these two opposites. The good seed is that which is sown by God, but the evil one sows weeds. If every weed were to be torn up, the risk is real of harming the wheat. What looks like inaction is actually Divine patience. We aren't supposed to give up because things aren't perfect yet. God is still at work. God never condones evil. Sometimes, to impatiently pull out the evil growth might potentially uproot the good growth. Yes, there is the possibility that the evil might overpower the good, at least for a six-year single term presidency. Yet, there is also the possibility that the good may have a positive influence on the evil. God’s patience with the wicked is aimed at providing the possibility for repentance. He wants to give another chance to those who started out as bad seed. The weeds and the wheat are supposed to grow together. Just let them be for now. There will come the ultimate time when growth is complete, then the harvesters will have to separate the weeds from the wheat. As Fernando Poe Jr uttered in his 1987 blockbuster movie, "Kapag puno na ang salop, dapat nang kalusin" (literally, "when the container is full, the excess is shaved off".) God is patient so that the “weeds” might become more like “wheat”. God cares for all of us. We are weeds and wheat, perfectly imperfect but thank God for loving us anyway. So while we may have to endure what seems unjust around us, we also have time to allow God to purify what is unjust within us. God isn't giving up on any of us. We shouldn't either. Keep wrestling, keep hoping until the end of the ages. In the meantime, let us live an abundant harvest life among the tall weeds. Be our best selves and love God and love our neighbors the best we can. When each of us cooperates more and more with the cultivating grace of the Lord, the wheat of goodness, compassion, justice and decency can flourish again in and through us and likewise in our beloved Philippines. <enrique,ofs>