Sixteenth of Year A. 11
July 2011
Today’s parable about the weeds among the wheat and last weeks parable about the sower of the seed are an effort by the Christians of the first century to understand and explain why some people received the Good News and followed it and others did not accept it or did not follow it having first accepted it. Or how to explain how some were implacably opposed to the Good News.
That some people are all for the Good News and some people are all against the Good News and others are sometimes or partially for and sometimes or partially against the Good News should surprise nobody. Just look at politics, economics, entertainment, education, social services, health care or any science you wish and you find the very same thing.
Given that human beings have free will - they think independently (or should think independently). Given that truth is a very elusive reality coloured by ones point of view, ones perspective, ones background, ones subjective observations, ones ambitions and self interest etc. one would automatically be highly suspicious of any human society where all, or nearly all, believed the same thing on any subject whatsoever.
Take for instance ‘young earth creationism.’ Literally millions of people, many of them highly educated, believe that the ‘book of genesis’ is literally true. That the earth and all forms of life were created by God in 6 days about ten thousand years ago. This flies in the face of all scientific discoveries. Yet people believe it.
We ourselves, as Christians generally, and as Catholics in particular, believe many things which, for other people, are totally irrational. For instance we believe that God became a man. We believe he died. We believe in resurrection from death. We believe that God is present in a piece of bread; all of which, in our view of God, are totally rational and fitting.
On the other hand many fervently believe ‘old wives tales’ such as wearing a roman collar is a sure sign of sanctity, or that a group of bishops can sit around a table and invent a law that binds us under pain of mortal sin (that is, deserving of Hell fire for all eternity) and that God goes along with this!
Now you are probably wondering where all this is going to end up!!
What I want to say is that we are all in the same boat when it comes to our beliefs and opinions. Therefore we must not throw stones but treat all systems of belief, all religious and cultural customs with respect and tolerance. Just as we wish others to treat us.
Being amused is one thing, ridiculing is quite another.