DARNEL AND WHEAT MIXED TOGETHER

XVI SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Matthew 13:24-43

In his preaching, mainly to the common people, Jesus made big use of parables, that is short and simple stories, easy to memorise and to reflect upon. This is very much a feature of all oral cultures and, even today, one marvels at the easiness with which many people make up stories full of insight. The parable always speaks to the listener according to his situation and can be understood from different angles. We may ignore it, but, if we pay attention to it, then it challenges us and forces us to have a good look at our attitudes and thoughts.

This Sunday, with the parable of the wheat and the darnel, Jesus invites us to reflect upon the reappearance of a puritanical mentality in our society.

Someone sowed good seed on his field. It germinated well and it was promising. However, something very strange happened: mixed and intertwined with the wheat, there was quite a bit of darnel. Puzzled, the workers questioned the owner of the field about the darnel: Where did it come from? The owner answered: “Some enemy has done this”, but that answer does not solve the problem. The workers thought of a solution and they put it forward: “Let us weed it out.” It was a radical solution and it seemed flawless. However, they forgot the obvious: being so intertwined, they would pull up the wheat together with the darnel. The solution was completely different: allow them to grow together and then, at the time of harvest, it will be easier to separate them.

The world is like that field of wheat, with plenty of darnel in it. And may question ourselves how to get rid of it. Throughout history, there have always been groups of people, who consider themselves good and pure, who plan to clean society of all mischief and all evil and they will do that by eliminating the corrupt and sinful. The Pharisees were like that. And many other movements have appeared which tried to create a new society, in which only the pure and the holy have the right to exist. Anyone who thinks differently is a heretic and should be burned at the stake. 

Nowadays, we are going through a wave of puritanism in which everything and everyone has to be politically correct. All those who do not profess the creed, based on the new fundamental truths - such as white supremacy, systemic racism and toxic masculinity, which make blacks, women, homosexuals and transgender people the eternal victims, must be excluded and vilified. They may lose their jobs and even barred from their neighbourhood. We are seeing an attempt to banish the past and cleanse the present of everything that is a memory of times gone by, to create a new society. For that, they are willing to use revolt, looting and vandalism. There is a clear plan of cutting the roots, showing total ignorance of the paths that have brought us here. But will they create a society where fairness, freedom, compassion and peace are at home? If we forget that we carry the darnel in our hearts, we will bring nothing else than chaos, which will end in a more oppressive society than the one they condemn. 

The parable shows clearly that God's plans and ways are vastly wiser than our plans and ways.