Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time(Click here for readings)
Jesus proposed another parable to the crowds, saying: "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.
The sower of good seed is the Son of Man. Every word that comes forth from the mouth of Christ is good seed, and what a blessing it must be for young souls to grew up with these seeds on their mind, on their lips and in their hearts. O, to be educated in the ways of the Lord, and from an early age, must be a blessing! If only it would happen more often! This is the way to build up self-esteem and discover self-worth. This is way to diminish fears and anxieties.
What a pity it is that this good seed is constantly denied entry on grounds it is sectarian. This is the work of the devil.
The sower of the evil seed is the devil. This summer, I've been reading Oscar Wilde's "The Picture of Dorian Gray." What a masterpiece! Talk about a book composed of good and bad seed!
As I've been reading, I've been writing. I wrote down the following quote a few days ago: "The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it. Resist it, and your soul grows sick with longing for the things it has forbidden to itself..."
Sounds true, doesn't it? But the brutal facts speak for themselves. The soul doesn't grow sicker with longing. It grows stronger. And the best way to get rid of a temptation is not to yield to it, but to replace it.
But like most sayings that are pure evil, at first glance they appear to be logical and true; that is, natural and normal. It's not always easy to distinguish a good word from a bad word, or a good seed from a bad seed. That's where our elders can be useful to all. They are ingenious early warning signals for young sprouts, the flares that shine in the middle of the dark night of a young soul. Unfortunately, they are being choked out by the entertainment industry. In just a few decades, they have done a remarkable job at crushing and ridiculing their knowledge and wisdom.
Sure, the soul grows sick with longing for things that are forbidden, but it grows even sicker when it gobbles them all up. How many tears must be shed before lessons are learned? How many teens must grow sick or die before values and morals (and some abnegation) are once again respected and taught?
The world is the ground. Life is give and take. Living is all about giving and receiving. Our world is a world of give and take. It's not ruled so much by competition as it is by cooperation. It's more about synergy and community than elimination and the individual.
Similarly, human beings are expected to give fairly and take fairly. But Christians, on the other hand, are expected to give more than they receive, for they have received the seed that when they give more they receive more. This practice has been cultivated by many of our elders.
The weeds and the wheat. We live in a world where the good and the bad live side by side. There is only Heaven, and Heaven is Hell for those who do not wish to be there.
Our God allows the good to grow next to the bad. Why? Because there is a lot that can be learned from what surrounds us.
There are two ways to learn something: the easy way and the hard way. We can learn from others or we can learn by ourselves. We can listen to the people who love us the most or we can choose to ignore them. Regardless of what we choose, what is good will always triumph over evil and shine brighter and stand taller, even if it smacks right in the face of modern "progress."
Like the Lord, we too grow side by side with one another, just like wheat and weeds, for the Father knows there are principally two ways for us to get back to where we belong: either by forgiving and giving or by contrition and forgiveness.
"Sure, the soul grows sick with longing for things that are forbidden, but it grows even sicker when it gobbles them all up. How many tears must be shed before lessons are learned? How many teens must grow sick or die before values and morals (and some abnegation) are once again respected and taught?"
ReplyDeleteFather:
Father Knows Best. I do think each young generation thinks they know better than their parents. Perhaps it's part if growing up. We've all been there. The difference now is that the cultural norms that supported good moral values that could help us when we ignored our parents and fell down are no longer in place. Everything in popular culture cries out for hedonism. Nothing is forbidden, nothing is wrong. Kids are bombarded by their friends, the internet, movies with homosexuality, promiscuity, drugs, etc. Even if kids listen for their parents they are constantly asking why? They want to know why homosexual marriage is wrong. They want to know why contraception is wrong.
And the answer is... The hardest thing is that our generation often wants to share the Truth with our kids but we don't what it is, or if we do, we don't know how to explain it. We are the product of he 70s catechesis. If it had not been for my parents, I don't think that I learned anything in CCD except how to color and that God loves everyone. That's why our generation actively needs to seek catechesis so we can be the good soil to help our kids grow :)
"Perhaps it's a part of growing up."
ReplyDeleteThe West is remarkably arrogant when it comes to past generations and elders. The entertainment industry, starting with Rated - G movies, insists on beating up on the past and on our elders. Spielberg has made a fortunate portraying parents as stupid and teens as saviors of the world.
It's much more complex than saying "this is part of growing up", for the grown ups continue to perpetuate the myth that kids know better.
I had to chuckle to your reference to Spielberg. You're right to say that he's made a fortune portraying the bungling parent trying to make things right in the face of disaster, and the kids having to cope with their parents failings (see War of the Worlds, Jurassic Park, Hook, etc.). Ironically, this is what people see when they classify his movies as "family-friendly".
DeleteThat being said, it's rather hard to find movies where the parent, or parent-figure, is somewhat admirable. They either take the formula you mention, or they do not really bother with it. Most movies portray adults and children as autonomous individuals in their own worlds, not really as members of a family.
I have read that Good Pope John was ever mindful of a saying from among his "ain folk": "Where weeds may grow, wheat might flourish!"
ReplyDeleteIn fairness, Father, I said "perhaps". :) Rebellion is the natural consequence of separation from our parents. On some level, all teens go through it. My native culture is one where elders are revered and respected. This concept is nonexistent in the West and is quickly being eroded even in the Eastern cultures as they Westernize. India case in point. When teens used to fall down, elders and social influences used to catch them. That safety net is not there anymore. We need to strengthen our net.
ReplyDelete