Does the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares Apply to Me?

He proposed another parable to them. “The kingdom of heaven may be likened to a man who sowed good seed in his field. While everyone was asleep his enemy came and sowed weeds all through the wheat, and then went off. When the crop grew and bore fruit, the weeds appeared as well. The slaves of the householder came to him and said, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where have the weeds come from?’ He answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’ His slaves said to him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’ He replied, ‘No, if you pull up the weeds you might uproot the wheat along with them. Let them grow together until harvest; then at harvest time I will say to the harvesters, ‘First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles for burning; but gather the wheat into my barn’.”^[1]

            When I read parables, one of the first thoughts that come to mind is: In what way does this parable apply to me.  In the case of this parable, the thought becomes: Does this parable even apply to me?  After all, I am baptized; I believe in Christ; I try to obedient to the Word and the principles set forth by the Church.  Does this parable not deal with others in the Church, not me?  In order for this parable to be of benefit, we must make it apply to each of us.

            In order to do this, it is beneficial to focus upon our Lord’s words of explanation: The weeds are the children of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil.^[2]  Venerable George Haydock, in his commentary, tells us that our Lord “speaks of those who receive the corrupted word.”^[3]  We receive the Word corrupted, most often, when we lessen the severity of the Word to justify our deeds or believing that there will be no penalty attached to our sins.

            For example, how many of us have lied or told truths that would lead someone to believe something that is not true?  We, perhaps, might think, “This is wrong, so I’ll go to Confession later.”  We are not repentant.  We lie to remove the trial that we are faced with, thinking, “All I have to do is go to Confession.”  When we sin, can these words not apply to us: You belong to your father the devil and you willingly carry out your father’s desires.  He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in truth, because there is no truth in him.  When he tells a lie, he speaks in character, because he is a liar and the father of lies?^[4]  Since Satan is the father of lies, when we speak lies are we not exhibiting his nature, making him our father?

            What of the times we get angry?  We attempt to justify those times by saying, “He made me mad.”  Another person may be the contributing cause of our anger; nevertheless, it is us who make the determination to be angry or not.  When our Lord was falsely accused, he spoke not a word.  Our Lord, of course, tells us: “I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment.”^[5]  He goes on to make this cutting statement: “For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, unchastity, theft, false witness, blasphemy.”^[6]  Since these are attributes of Satan, what does that speak regarding us?  Can we be of the nature of God and Satan at the same time?  Then our Lord tells us through the pen of St. James: “Consider how small a fire can set a huge forest ablaze.  The tongue is also a fire.  It exists among our members as a world of malice, defiling the whole body and setting the entire course of our lives on fire, itself set on fire by Gehenna.  For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by the human species, but no human being can tame the tongue.  It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.  With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings who are made in the likeness of God.  From the same mouth come blessing and cursing.  This need not be so, my brothers.  Does a spring gush forth from the same opening both pure and brackish water?  Can a fig tree, my brothers, produce olives, or a grapevine figs?  Neither can salt water yield fresh.”^[7]  What does this reveal to us about our hearts?

            St. James gives us a “key” to the treasure box when he says, “No human being can tame the tongue.”  If our tongue is a “selfie” of what our heart is and we are unable to tame it, then help must come from without, from the outside.  Lord, you are good and forgiving, most merciful to all who call on you.^[8]  You, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in mercy and truth.  Turn to me, be gracious to me; give your strength to your servant; save the son of your handmaid.^[9]  You gave your children reason to hope that you would allow them to repent for their sins. ^[10]

            We know that we look at ourselves in the best light, and we are prone to be presumptuous.  We know that God will answer our prayers when we voice these prayers.  However, we learn obedience from what we suffer.  In the days when he was in the flesh, [Jesus] offered prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered; and when he was made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him…^[11]  Although Jesus is the Son of God, he is also wholly man.  Being wholly man, he had a will.  He could have used that will to be as we are, to allow temptations to overcome him.  Because he chose to obey God and offered prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence.  He was saved from eternal death.  When God answers our prayers, most often it is progressive.  Iron sharpens iron.  In the back of our minds, we should be seeing how our sins reflect the attributes of Satan, causing us to offer prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears to the one who was able to save [us] from death.  [Jesus] he was heard because of his reverence, and we also will be heard—if we keep seeking, keep asking.  If it was necessary for Jesus, who was without sin, to offer prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears to the one who was able to save him from death, how much more so for us who are prone to yield to temptations?  God allows this in order that we realize how much we need him and to know that we have not “arrived” yet.  In the same way, the Spirit too comes to the aid of our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit itself intercedes with inexpressible groanings. And the one who searches hearts knows what is the intention of the Spirit, because it intercedes for the holy ones according to God’s will.^[12]

            The disciples did not question Jesus regarding the parable of the mustard seed nor the parable of the woman mixing yeast in the three measures of wheat, which—which I find much more difficult to understand; they questioned our Lord about the one, seemingly, most easily understood.  This should cause us to pause and contemplate what is behind this parable.  Are we truly wheat, or are we tares which resemble wheat?  We are not the Judge who is going to make the determination.

            However, this should not cause us to despair.  As I have just stated, we know the One who can change us, and will change us.  Because the transformation is progressive, we mourn while we rejoice.  We rejoice because He is changing us and will change us, but we groan (mourn) because the transformation seems to take so long and we desire to be rid of sin, desiring to be the image of our Savior.  At that time Jesus said in reply, “I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike.^[13]

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^[1] New American Bible, Revised Edition., (Washington, DC: The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2011), Mt 13:24–30.

^[2] Ibid., Mt 13:38–39.

^[3] George Leo Haydock, Haydock’s Catholic Bible Commentary, (New York: Edward Dunigan and Brother, 1859), Mt 13:24.

^[4] New American Bible, Revised Edition., (Washington, DC: The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2011), Jn 8:44.

^[5] Ibid., Mt 5:22.

^[6] Ibid., Mt 15:19.

^[7] Ibid., Jas 3:5–12.

^[8] Ibid., Ps 86:5.

^[9] Ibid., Ps 86:15–16.

^[10] Ibid, Wis 12:19.

^[11] Ibid., Heb 5:7–9.

^[12] Ibid., Ro 8:26–27.

^[13] Ibid., Mt 11:25.