The Holy Priest-Martyr Athenogenes and His Ten Disciples (284-305)
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1 Corinthians 1:1-9; Matthew 13:24-30
In commenting on the Gospel reading for today, St. John Chrysostom says the following, “As long as they stand by the wheat, we must spare them (the tares), for it is possible for them even to become wheat; but when they have departed, having profited nothing, then of necessity the inexorable punishment will overtake them” (Homily XLVI on Matthew XIII). This commentary reminds us of two important things.
First, this world has many people who are unabashedly opposed to the faith. They work to undermine the faith, question believers, and destroy the Church. Their greatest desire is for the Church to fail and for believers to fall away. We all know that Saul of Tarsus was one of these people yet, as a tare among the wheat, he became the wheat that Christ desires us all to become. It is possible for the most hostile anti-Christian to become a great disciple of Christ.
Second, it is not our responsibility to separate the tares from the wheat. Rather, our Lord will separate the tares from the wheat at the final judgement, giving each according to their works. In this world, it is possible for anyone to convert from tares to wheat but, once our Lord returns, wherever we find ourselves is where we will be accordingly judged.
Brothers and sisters, as wheat among the tares of the world, stand with the tares and in living as a disciple of Jesus Christ, work to make every tare you encounter into wheat.