Our Venerable Father Sisoes the Great (c. 429).
1 Corinthians 3:18-23; Matthew 13:36-43.
Read Matthew 13:36-43
Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory forever!
In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus gives His disciples the interpretation of the parable of the wheat and the weeds. This parable is extremely topical for us, especially as we see all the malice, confusion, and division in the world – even within the bosom of Church Herself. As we reflect on the interpretation of the parable, let us consider two questions: Who are the wheat and who are the weeds? And why does Christ forbid the rooting up of the weeds until the ‘end of the age’?
Jesus tells us pointedly that, ‘the good seed means the sons of the kingdom; the weeds are the sons of the evil one’ – both grow together. The particular reality depicted here is the close association of the wicked and the good in this life. We see that the weeds are very similar in outward appearance to the wheat, such that it is difficult for the servants to distinguish one from the other. The wicked may not even appear bad and perhaps we have even seen how the weeds, and therefore the wicked, can appear healthier than the wheat or the good.
Because our perspective is naturally limited, Christ implores us not judge before the time. This can be very difficult, as many of us who are striving to live an authentically Christian life can be inclined towards a zeal that wants to root out evil wherever we see it. But the Lord, in the person of the householder, decisively forbids such a means of struggling with evil. Why? – Because no one except God, Who alone is the Knower of hearts, is able to distinguish the weeds from the wheat without error. Moreover, because we are not God, we are limited by the particular times and circumstances in which we observe someone. Crucially, we do not know who in the final reckoning will be weeds and who wheat – but we do know from the lives of saints as St. Augustine of Hippo and St. Moses the Ethiopian that great transformation is possible.
So what are we to do? Rather than responding with a passionate zeal, we can respond with love and patience, as St. John of Kronstadt says, “Sinful they are, but love the sinners and pity them. Unreasonable zeal strives to destroy everything that causes evil. Concerning it, the Apostle Paul said that this zeal is not according to knowledge. This zeal can itself prove to be a great evil, because it can cause much harm and confusion and temptation in the midst of the Church.”
Second, we can keep watch, and be vigilant over ourselves, lest we be numbered among the weeds as well. The parable is clear that the enemy comes and sows weeds, “while men slept”. St. Philaret of Moscow explains that “Men sleep spiritually when they carelessly close the eyes of their mind and do not wish to gaze at the light of evangelical truth, and when, like those who dream during sleep, they do not control their thoughts and do not bridle their desires. They sleep, and in the darkness of forgetfulness of God and His law he steals in and sows his tares.”
Let us then strive to be patient and let God’s plan unfold. But let us also make this time of patience, a time of active vigilance, not of sitting idly and waiting. Let us also keep watch and work out our salvation with fear and trembling (Phil. 2:12 ), judging nothing before the appointed time (1 Cor. 4:5)