Of wheat stalks, mustard seed and yeast

This Sunday’s first two readings and responsorial psalm prepare us for an understanding of the three parables that Jesus delivers in the Gospel passage. The first reading, from the book of Wisdom, offers an initial reflection on the nature of our God as one who, without qualification, cares for all. Though a source of might, this God uses divine power for justice and for clemency toward those receiving judgment, while always governing humanity with leniency. Wisdom claims the mastery of our God over all. Such assurance inspires human hope and confidence that our sins will be forgiven. The responsorial psalm’s theology reinforces this portrait by lifting up God’s capacity to forgive. It also celebrates the Almighty as one who hears us and receives our pleas. Further, the psalmist claims that our God is merciful and kind, “slow to anger, abounding in kindness and fidelity” (Ps 86:15). Lastly, while the second reading from Paul continues his letter to the Romans, he also contributes to this divine portrait. He assures this new community that, in unity with God, the Spirit comes to us. Even when we don’t know how to pray, it searches our heart and intercedes for us.  

In this Sunday’s reading from Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus presents three parables, each telling a story that fills in the divine theological portrait that the previous readings sketched. These are part of a larger collection of seven parables that include last Sunday’s parable of the sower and next Sunday’s parables of the buried treasure, the pearl of great price and the dragnet. Collectively, these seven parables manifest the nature of the Kingdom of Heaven, a key theme for the Matthean writer. The Kingdom of Heaven is not a reference to an actual place but rather is the way this evangelist piously refers to the presence of God. How and where God dwells constitute the Kingdom of Heaven. Thus, the very character of our God and the conditions of the divine indwelling both in past centuries and in our own lives are elaborated in these parables.  

In today’s first parable, Jesus tells of the wheat that the landowner has sown. Evil, in the form of weeds, begins to grow among the emerging wheat plants. Immediately, the laborers who work in the field want to go and pull up the weeds. The landowner, however, determines that the roots of the new crop would be disturbed, and he insists that the new wheat and weeds grow together until harvest. Then and only then should the two plants be identified and separated into different groups with the weeds bundled and burnt. Anyone who knows agriculture may legitimately object that the evil weeds may overtake the good wheat before the harvest. More importantly, the mixing of good and evil represented by the wheat and weeds may threaten the survival of the good. 

Yet the conditions wherein the presence of God dwells are places that do not exclude the intermingling of good and the evil, not only in our world but also in ourselves. We all possess the capacity to cultivate lives of both wheat and weeds. The divine sower is willing to wait. This Holy One is forever patient, refusing to prejudge, giving us the necessary time so that, like the wheat, we can exceed the weeds in growth and vitality, cultivating holy lives despite challenging circumstances. 

Still, we may object. How can we be sure of our capacity to overcome such evil? It may be no match for intruding roots of the surrounding weeds in our world or in our own lives. Jesus’ next parable about the mustard seed offers assurance in the face of such limitation. It suggests that, even as we respond to that first tiny glimpse of the divine presence in our lives, God’s power is growing to incalculable proportions. That divine manifestation is like the smallest of seeds, the mustard seed, hardly the size of a speck of ground pepper. Yet, it grows tall and strong, surpassing most other plants in vigor and strength. When that seed of the presence of God animates a believer to live according to Christ-like love, that divine presence becomes the size of a tree, so that its shade and branches can provide rest and protection amid life’s challenges.

In the third parable, Jesus anticipates a question that his ancient and modern audience might raise. How can we be sure of this ongoing presence of God amidst the forces of evil residing in our world and even in ourselves? It is often so difficult to discern. Jesus then tells a short story of a familiar scene: A woman adds yeast to three measures of flour. Once the yeast is mixed in, it disappears. Like the presence of God in our lives, the invisible yeast transforms the flour into enviable loaves of bread that have the capacity to nurture life. Therefore, that manifestation of God in our lives becomes visible in our very own Christ-like cultivation of the good in others and in ourselves. 

Thus, for those listening to these three parables, Jesus assures us about the unfathomable nature of our God and of this awesome divine presence here and now. We may at times have doubts or questions, but Jesus reminds his disciples and us, that we should know better: “Whoever has ears,” he says, “ought to hear” (Mt 13:43).