The Darnel and the Wheat

The meaning of the parable of the darnel and the wheat is pretty clear:  we live in God’s world but we find it populated by people who do not all live by God’s will.  If fact we sometimes ask ourselves ‘why does God allow there to be people who are really evil in the world?’  Why does God allow fanatics to bomb innocent people on buses and trains and at concert venues?  Why does God allow dictators, like Hitler to systematically exterminate millions of Jews, men, women and children; or like Mao Zedong, to kill 70 million of his own people?  We can think of many examples, but the question still remains: why does God allow good and bad to live alongside each other?  If he is all-powerful, why does he not simply eliminate the bad or turn their hearts to good?  In the Gospel today, Jesus attempts to answer this question.

The problem with darnel is that it looks very similar to wheat and grows happily alongside it; its seeds can be fatally poisonous to humans when infected by a fungus that thrives on it but does not infect wheat.  It can only be laboriously separated from wheat once threshed when its black seeds stand out against the golden grains of wheat.

In scripture, the harvest is often used as a metaphor for the judgment when all people, good and bad alike, will come before the Lord to give an account of their lives. It is only at judgment that one will be separated from the other, the one to be saved, the other lost. Until then, we all live shoulder to shoulder, the good alongside the bad.  

But who are we to judge who is good and who is bad?  This is Jesus’ point in the parable.  It is true, we do do a bit of weeding, and we have to.  We do take out of society those who represent a threat to our lives, our homes, our property.  But we know that sometimes the wheat is pulled up in this process instead of the darnel and sometimes the darnel escapes being weeded out.  Miscarriages of justice do occur for various reasons. Sometimes police, prosecutors and juries get it wrong and sometimes travesties of justice occur because of corruption at some level or another.

Not only is there good and bad in society, there is good and bad in each of us. Someone once said that each of us has the potential to become another Hitler or another Mother Teresa. Alexander Solzhenitsyn wrote, in The Gulag Archipelago:

Gradually I came to realise that the line which separates good from evil passes not between states, or between classes, or even between political parties – but right through the human heart.

Even in hearts that are overwhelmed by evil, one small bridgehead of good is retained.  And in the best of all hearts, there remains an un-uprooted small corner of evil.

Even in a thoroughly ‘bad’ person there will be a small grain of goodness which, in the right company and with appropriate encouragement, can be brought on to change their character completely and so overwhelm whatever it is that makes them bad. Earlier this month we kept the feast of St Maria Goretti.  She was only 11 years old in 1902 when a farmhand, Alessandro Serenelli, stabbed her 14 times because she refused to give in to his sexual advances.  As she died later in hospital, her last words were, “I forgive Alessandro Serenelli and I want him to be with me in heaven forever”.  She is said to have appeared in a vision to Serenelli in prison after which he underwent a complete conversion of life.  After serving a sentence of 27 years in prison, he was released and later became a Franciscan Friar and was present with Maria’s mother at the child’s canonisation in 1950. With the help of God’s Grace, it is always possible for the tiniest grain of goodness in a person to flourish and transform the worst of characters.

The message is, we are a mixed society of saints and sinners and it is up to those who have been shaped and redeemed by Christ to be the good example and tireless help to others that will enable them to change their lives for the better so that, come the judgment, they will be counted among the virtuous too and come to share the kingdom prepared for the just by the Father since the beginning of time.

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The Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groaning too deep for words.” It is very easy to celebrate the sacred liturgy in a mechanical manner. We get in a habit, and it becomes like second nature. However, we also need to remember the main protagonist during the celebration of the sacred liturgy – the Holy Spirit. We describe this mystery in terms of ‘synergy’ – the energy of the Holy Spirit that permeates the energy of men and women to conform them to Christ. The Holy Spirit prepares, recalls, manifests, actualizes, and forms unity during the celebration of the sacred liturgy. During the introductory rites, the Holy Spirit gathers us together to form communion. During the celebration of the Liturgy of the Word, the Holy Spirit prepares and disposes one to listen to the Word attentively. During the celebration of the Eucharistic Prayer, we invoke the Holy Spirit to sanctify the gifts of bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ, and also to transform us into one body and one spirit. In preparation for communion, the Holy Spirit allows us to call God ‘Our Father’ in the Lord’s Prayer, and fosters communion between us and God and between each other. With the final blessing, the Holy Spirit is called upon to transform our lives into what we consume in the Eucharist. Although explicit at times, and the Holy Spirit is at work implicitly. With this in mind, we should never worry what we should pray for, for the Holy Spirit is at work. One of the prayers in preparation for the celebration of Divine Liturgy according to the Byzantine Rite beautifully says – “Heavenly King, Comforter, Spirit of Truth, everywhere present and filling all things, Treasury of Blessings and Giver of Life, come and dwell within us, cleanse us of all stain, and save our souls, O gracious One.” 

Prayer of the Faithful:

For Pope Leo, the bishops, and priests who serve us – 

that they may be guided by the Holy Spirit, so that while still conscious of their human weakness, they may continue to be spiritual leaders in our world, by the example of their faith and warm love.

For those who struggle in life- 

that they may call on the Holy Spirit, who alone can help them to turn again to God, the Father of consolation, who is ever ready to assist and to console.

For a deeper spirit of prayer in our parish family – 

that we may ask the Holy Spirit to help us in our weakness, teaching us how to pray for the things of the Spirit, by always calling on God as a Father.    

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Key

CFE - Celebration Hymnal for Everyone

L – Laudate

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Amazing Grace (CFE40, L846)

Sing of the Lord's goodness (CFE654, L713)

Bring forth the kingdom (CFE821, L854)

God is working his purpose out (CFE217, L86)

Unless a grain of wheat (CFE754, L748)

On eagles' wings (CFE832, L952)

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