His Excellency,
The Most Reverend Edward K. Braxton, Ph.D., STD
Bishop Emeritus
Diocese of Belleville
Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
July 19, 2026, 9:00 AM Mass
Saints Luke Parish
Wheat and Weeds in the Field of the United States
(This is the text as originally written. During the actual delivery, some passages were omitted and other comments were added spontaneously. Nota bene: This text has not been thoroughly proofread. Therefore, there may be errors in spelling, grammar, and punctuation.)
Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ:
I have just returned from New York’s renowned Chatauqua Institution. During a dramatic presentation marking the semi-quincentennial of the United States, an actor proclaimed, “The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America…We hold these truths to be self-evident, that ALL are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” The attentive listener would have noticed that the speaker omitted Thomas Jefferson’s controversial word “MEN” saying simply, “ALL are created equal”. It is well known that Jefferson did not really mean all men, intending only free, male Europeans, excluding women and Africans held in chattel slavery, excluding those he “owned” at Monticello. Ever since July 4, 1776, we the people of the United States have been working in order to form a more perfect union, establish Justice and ensure domestic tranquility. This has included striving to show that “all men” must mean “all people”. You could say the American people have been striving to separate the wheat from the weeds that have grown since the seeds of the American democratic experiment were sown 250 years ago.
Jesus of Nazareth in this morning’s parable (Matthew 13: 24-30) about the wheat and the weeds is particularly thought provoking because he is dealing with the question of why God who is all-good and all-powerful allows evil and good to exist side by side in the world even though He has to power to uproot the weeds planted by an evil enemy.
Jesus says as seeds grow into wheat, damaging weeds grow and mix with the wheat. What should the farmer do about his field full of good wheat endangered by weeds? The farm workers, using common sense, ask the farm owner to allow them to dig up the weeds so the wheat can grow unharmed. The workers are stunned when the landowner tells them to let the wheat and weeds grow together. At harvest time, the reapers will separate them, storing the wheat in his barn and burning the weeds.
The puzzled disciples wonder why the farmer would allow the weeds to grow with the wheat since the weeds are dangerous.
Jessus explains that the Son of Man plants the good seeds, which are the sons and daughters of the Kingdom of Heaven. The weeds are the sons and daughters of the evil one. The enemy who sowed the weeds is Satan. The harvest is the end of the world, and the reapers are angels. Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, angels will do the same thing to evildoers at the end of the world.
This explanation of the parable tells us that in spite of the life, teachings, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, all manner of evil, all imaginable forms of weeds still flourish in the world. This is the problem of evil that we all experience. Why does evil remain in the world after the resurrection of Jesus?
Some interpretations of Jesus’ explanation of the parable can lead Christians to think that since God will deal with the weeds of evil and suffering in the world at the end of time, Christians have no obligation to fight against the terrible evil of the wars that are causing so much suffering and death around the world, the economic injustice keeping so many in poverty, and the evidence of corruption we may see in some religious and political leaders. We should keep our eyes on heaven and let God keep His eyes on the world.
This view of the parable suggests that Christianity and the Church should not be overly concerned with ridding the world of suffering and evil. Christ would rather allow the weeds of evil to grow for now to make sure the wheat is not harmed. Christians should focus on their personal salvation by raising good Christian families and uprooting the weeds of evil from their personal lives. This is far more important than Christians worrying about the weeds of political, racial, economic, educational, environmental, sexual, and cultural evil in our country and in our world.
This interpretation of the parable seems to be the opposite of Jesus’ teaching throughout the gospels, the opposite of the parable of the Good Samaritan which teaches us to love and care for the beaten and robbed stranger. If we do not cooperate with God to overcome evil on earth, we become passive Christians when our baptism calls us to be active Christians, the Body of Christ in the world.
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Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ:
During the past two and one half centuries, civic and religious leaders, social workers, the courts, judges, government leaders, poets, artists, saints, and everyday citizens, have been working with different degrees of success to uproot dangerous and even deadly weeds and cultivate the healthy wheat needed to form a more perfect union. Some ask, was there a flaw at the foundation?
Were the weeds of evil planted at the start of our country? We have seen the efforts to rid the nation of weeds in the labor movement pressing for the end of child laborers, just wages, safe working conditions, and the right to form unions. We have seen efforts in the civil rights movements to overcome racial bias, discrimination, the suppression of voting rights, and the various movements to recognize the dignity and equality of all women, including the suffragette movement. We have seen efforts in health care reforms and the defense of the dignity of every human life from conception until death, in the challenges to the criminal justice system to assure that all citizens receive equal justice under the law, and the debate concerning abolishing the death penalty. We have seen the efforts to save the earth from man-made climate change, the peace movements urging government leaders to turn away from violence and war and resolve international differences by negotiations, dialogue, and compromise. All of these efforts help to uproot destructive weeds from the field of American democracy. When we as individuals and as a nation succeed, by God’s grace, at being nourishing wheat and making sure that we are not entangled by the weeds here on earth, then God’s work may truly be our own.
As we continue to reflect on the nation’s 250th anniversary, many Americans seem to believe that most of the dangerous weeds, if there ever were any, have all been uprooted and the vast majority of Americans are flourishing as healthy wheat. Others should stop complaining about the few weeds that remain. Many other Americans seem to believe not only that deadly weeds remain but also, they are spreading with the power to destroy the healthy wheat in the years ahead. They believe Americans need to be vigilant if we hope that the country will be a field of flourishing wheat with the weeds under control when in 2276 generations after us celebrate the country’s 500th anniversary. The Holy Spirit surely must brood over this great debate.
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The more active interpretation of Jesus’ parable compels each of us to live our Christianity making sure that we are healthy wheat, not entangled with the weeds, by daily prayer, scripture reading, reception of the Body and Blood of Christ in the Eucharist, regular examination of conscience and spiritual renewal in the Sacrament of Confession and the spiritual and the corporal works of mercy. Then we will be among the righteous shining like the sun in the kingdom of Heaven.
Jesus’ parable teaches us that Christ needs us:
He needs our eyes to continue to see.
He needs our ears to continue to hear.
He needs our mouths to continue to speak.
He needs our hands too continue to serve.
He needs our feet to continue to walk.
And, He needs our hearts to continue to Love.
Praised be Jesus Christ. Both now and forever. Amen!