One surprising thing about the parable of the weeds and the wheat in this Sunday’s Gospel is the calm, patient reaction of the landowner. We know that this was a wealthy and powerful man because only wealthy and powerful people owned multiple slaves.
How do wealthy and powerful people usually react to enemies who try to interfere with their business? Certainly not with such calm and patience, but with quick revenge. And yet this landowner was able to take this attack in stride.
The landowner can stay calm and patient because he represents God, the landowner of the world. And God isn’t just wealthy and powerful; God is also all-powerful. And when you are all-powerful, no attack of evil can really bother you. Omnipotence is like that. An omnipotent God can afford to be patient because, in the end, he will be able to put all things right. His patience is all-powerful. This is not only a pleasant thought; it is also a practical thought.
People often criticise the Catholic Church for being too strict, too demanding. Critics say the Church should relax its “rules” about divorce, abortion, contraception, priestly celibacy, homosexuality, and pre-marital sex. Catholic morality, they say, is too difficult; it requires too much self-control and self-discipline. They almost never say that Catholic morality is wrong — because even those critics know, in the depths of their conscience, that the morality Jesus Christ teaches through his Church is true. Even non-Catholics see that.
The famous talk-radio host, Dr Laura Schlesinger, who is Jewish, once pointed out that if everyone in the world followed what the popes continue to teach about moral issues, there would be almost no unwanted pregnancies, no sexually transmitted diseases, very few broken families, and no sexual crimes or prostitution — it would be a vast improvement for the world. So critics don’t say that Catholic morality is wrong, they say it’s too difficult.
And of course, it is difficult, both because fallen human nature often tends towards vice, and because the culture around us glorifies self-indulgence over self-discipline and self-giving. But that’s exactly why Jesus came! That’s why he gives us the sacraments, the Bible, the Church, the gift of prayer — he knows we can’t do it alone! And so he puts his omnipotence at our service.
As Jesus said in the Gospels, “For men, it is impossible, but not for God: because everything is possible for God” (Mark 10:27). Today let’s thank Jesus for his all-powerful patience, and let’s promise that we will use all the tools he gives us so that his omnipotence can bolster our weakness.
