Tuesday of the Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time
The Field Of The World
Liturgical Cycle: A | Lectionary Cycle: II
Introduction
Year II. We hear the prayer of the people – a prayer probably composed by Jeremiah himself – appealing to God in time of war and famine. It is like a penitential celebration expressing trust in the Lord and the hope of being spared.
Gospel. Jesus explains the parable of the wheat and the weeds. Good and evil will always coexist in the Church and in the world, until God’s good time comes. The word of the Lord should perhaps help us be patient and understanding of the all-too-human aspects of the Church in the past and in our day. The good will ultimately triumph; we have this assurance, while we already work in the present to purify the Church and ourselves.
Opening Prayer
Lord our God,
sower and lover of all that is good,
We are the times impatient
about the human weaknesses
of your Church, its leaders, and its members.
Help us not to condemn too easily
but to look at our own defects,
and to work with all our might
to reveal in us and in your Church
the genuine face of Jesus,
by the strength of your own Son,
Jesus Christ our Lord.
First Reading
This is what you will tell them: Let my eyes shed tears day and night without stopping! For with a great wound, the virgin daughter of my people has been wounded, a very deep wound.
If I enter the country, I see those murdered by the sword. If I enter the city, I see the destruction caused by famine. For the prophet and the priest did not understand what was happening in the land.
Have you truly rejected Judah forever? Do you despise Zion? Why have you wounded us and left us hopeless? We looked for salvation but found none; we waited for healing, yet terror came upon us!
Lord, we acknowledge our wickedness, that of our ancestors, and the times we have sinned against you.
For your name’s sake, do not despise us; do not dishonor the throne of your glory. Remember us. Do not break your covenant with us!
Among the worthless idols of the nations, are there any who can bring rain or make the skies send showers? We put our hope only in you, Lord our God, for it is you who does all this.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (9) For the glory of your name, O Lord, deliver us.
Remember not against us the iniquities of the past;
may your compassion quickly come to us,
for we are brought very low.
R. For the glory of your name, O Lord, deliver us.
Help us, O God our savior,
because of the glory of your name;
Deliver us and pardon our sins
for your name's sake.
R. For the glory of your name, O Lord, deliver us.
Let the prisoners' sighing come before you;
with your great power free those doomed to death.
Then we, your people and the sheep of your pasture,
will give thanks to you forever;
through all generations we will declare your praise.
R. For the glory of your name, O Lord, deliver us.
Alleluia Verse
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The seed is the word of God, Christ is the sower;
All who come to him will live forever.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Explanation of the Parable of the Weeds
Then he sent the crowds away and went into the house. His disciples came to him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.”
Jesus answered them, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man.
The field represents the world; the good seed is the people of the kingdom; the weeds are those who follow the evil one.
The enemy who sows the weeds is the devil; the harvest is at the end of time, and the workers are the angels.
Just as weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of time.
The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will remove from his kingdom all that is scandalous and everyone who does evil.
And these will be thrown into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. If you have ears, then hear.
Prayers of the Faithful
– That intimate prayer to the Lord may lighten up our faces and our lives, we pray:
– That however humble our task in the Church, the Spirit of the Lord may give us the courage to speak our for what is right and good, we pray:
– That we may not usurp God’s task of separating the weeds from the wheat in the Church, but leave the judgment to him, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord our God,
for the sake of your covenant
We pray you for the bread of strength
of your Son Jesus Christ.
Let him cure us from all our ills
and lead us to you, our God,
Who are our hope and trust
now and forever.
Prayer after Communion
Lord our God,
you want us to be with you
sowers of goodness in this world,
of hope and peace, of freedom and joy.
Use us as we are,
with our assets and faults,
that we may share in the passion
and resurrection of your Son
and bring this world to a new birth
through him who is our Saviour,
Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Blessing
God lets his sun shine on good and bad alike. We are not the judges of the Church or of the world: let God do the judging. Pray that he keep us faithful. May Almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
REFLECTIONS
Matthew 13:36-43
In today's Gospel, Jesus explains the parable of seeds and wheat, but this time, he is not addressing the crowd but his small group of disciples.
We notice a change in emphasis in the explanation of the parable. Matthew indicates that at the end of the ages, the evil forces will be cast into the fire of God’s wrath, describing the terrors that await the evildoers: weeping and gnashing of teeth.
This explanation was a catechesis addressed to the community of Matthew at the end of the first century. Apparently, the early Christians may have lost their dedication to their faith after following Jesus' teachings for a few decades. The author of the gospel seeks to jolt them into action by employing a language and imagery often used by religious teachers of the time, such as fiery furnaces, weeping and gnashing of teeth, and references to angels and demons.
While reading this passage, it's crucial to refrain from misinterpreting God as a condemning authority figure. St. Paul stresses that God is the Father who wishes for the redemption of all (1Tim 2:4). The Gospel of John asserts emphatically that "He did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him" (Jn 3:17).
The only fire that God sends is his Spirit, which descended on the disciples during Pentecost (Acts 2:3). It is the unstoppable flame that will burn all traces of weeds in the heart of every person, leaving only the good grain in each person. The fire of God, the Holy Spirit, will one day wipe out all forms of evil.