I believe that God is a just Judge who rewards the good and punishes the bad.
Who among us does not know the struggle between good and evil? Although we tend to read fairy tales to children that end with the victory of good over evil, we believe that God is a just Judge who rewards the good and punishes the bad, which is one of the six main truths of our religion. Only man can consciously and voluntarily act good and evil.
Every act of kindness is the progress of the one who performed it. It is the victory of humanity over the base inclinations of our nature. Benevolence is not a special virtue, it is rather a rare collection of virtues. It manifests emotionally through kindness, friendliness, willingness, and tenderness. So what is charity? The inner disposition of a person to want and do good for others. It has its roots in the depths of the soul. The supreme sign of benevolence is selflessness, which places only the good of another before a person’s eyes. Another sign of benevolence is modesty. It does not dazzle like the flight of great spirits, and it does not dazzle like military masculinity. The good is not worth less because it casts less luster.
And on the contrary, the more bad deeds are committed, the more the ability to do well weakens, and the more often one decides to do evil, the more the position of evil is strengthened in him and the more the ability to do well weakens. Therefore, those who often and for a long time make bad decisions will spontaneously behave badly. Therefore, a wise person will not rely on him; on the contrary, people without honor will seek him. One tends to philosophize.
At the end of the parables of the Lord Jesus about wheat and tares, as well as the mustard seed or another parable about leaven, with which Jesus compares the “kingdom of heaven”, Matthew notes: Jesus “did not say anything to them without a parable, so that what the prophet foretold would be fulfilled: “I will open my mouth in parables, I will speak what has been hidden since the creation of the world” (Mt 13:34-35; Ps 78:2).
When we harvest the crops from the fields, and most of us spend our holidays, the Church reminds us of the parable in which the farmer makes the tares grow next to the wheat, that the Church has always consisted of sinners and saints. Where is the dividing line between good and evil? All three parables deal with beginnings and endings. Something starts somewhere, and something ends. Even in the Church, there is a time of sowing and reaping. Sowing is the life of every person filled with his values. The harvest will occur on the day of judgment when the good will be sorted out from the evil. The fact that someone is baptized, that he declares himself to the Church, to Christ, is not a sign that he acts as a Christian. The essential thing is that he fulfills the will of God. Not all who live in the Church are chosen and permanently secured. Even though God is patient and forgiving, which is what the parable of the good seed and the tares says, the master does not allow the servants to pluck up the tares that the enemy had sown in the wheat while the wheat was growing, the farmer expresses himself clearly: “At harvest time, I will say to the reapers: Gather first the tares and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn” (Mt 13:30).
Parables have meaning. Jesus explained that the role is the world. After original sin, the world is at war between good and evil. God has repeatedly shown the will to people not to commit evil. The church is also a role in which wheat and tares grow. St. Augustine asks: “How many sheep are outside and wolves are inside?! God wants us to be children of light, sheep in the basket of the Church, wheat. That is when we want when we cooperate with God, his gifts, his graces. God does not divide people into good and bad, but each person decides for himself. In all this, we should not presumptuously rely on God’s mercy. God wants to say that the wicked are to return to him, and the good is to help them do so. This is how the kingdom of God is built on earth.
The kingdom of heaven is compared to a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds, and God will make a big tree grow from such a seed. Anyone who only looks at the size of the seed with human eyes cannot imagine the bushy tree that is supposed to grow from the seed. Nothing is impossible for God. God can make a tree grow from even the smallest seed to surpass all the surrounding trees. The simile in the contrast of a tiny seed and a big tree wants to present today’s tiny, what we live, are, and own, to what will be manifested in full power, greatness, and glory one day at the end, when the Son of God comes to the world as Judge, on the day of the harvest. God does not promise those who love his power, glory, and other things on earth, but whoever endures to the end will be saved. So God promises an eternal reward in his kingdom. Worldly power, and worldly fame, will all pass away. And the little that Christ sowed will manifest itself as a glorious Church, on which there will be no spot or wrinkle because it is holy and undefined (cf. Eph 5:27). We are to proclaim this kingdom. We are to live our mission.
The parable of leaven follows this in today’s Gospel. It also points to the contrast between the beginning and the end, the smallness of the beginning, and the greatness of the end. The idea of yeast speaks of the great power of leavening. “Don’t you know that a little leaven leavens the whole dough” (1 Cor 5:6)? Seemingly little, but it can do a lot. The proverb says: A seemingly insignificant case could become important for the full. The parable of the leaven wants to indicate to the followers, the followers of Jesus, that even if they are few, those who are connected with Jesus have power, power over the world. The faith of believers has a dynamic and penetrating power, the power of proclaiming God’s word. Although it appeals even with the shedding of blood, the power of the testimony of faith raises questions and subsequent conversions. In this way, Jesus always gives his people the courage to resist the full world and its hostile powers.
And so the words from the conclusion of these parables can be understood, as noted by St. Matthew: “He spoke nothing to them without a parable, so that what the prophet foretold would be fulfilled: “I will open my mouth in parables, I will tell what has been hidden since the creation of the world” (Mt 13:34-35; Ps 78:2).
Matthew presents Jesus as the greatest preacher, and although he came among his own people, they did not accept him. Even for us, images, events, and people play an important place in our faith, and whoever has his eyes open, sees and wants to hear, hears what others cannot see or hear, because their eyes are covered and their ears are deaf, they are people of sin. The battle between good and evil continues.
Good in its pure form does not exist in the world, nor our personal life, nor in the Church. No one has the right to judge anyone. But we are to do good.
We have been able to split the atom, only the way of thinking of man has not changed. Man chases after comfort, power and does not care about the good. Aren’t we headed for disaster? Self-indulgence, hedonism, sex, consumerism… The sin of man. That’s a cockroach. That doesn’t build a bushy tree. That’s not yeast. And yet today, we are more aware of the good in our surroundings.
The poet Torqato Tasso was a modest and good person. His hater has done him much harm. His friends told him to take revenge for his many misfortunes. And what did he answer them? “I do not want to take his life, nor his property, nor his honor. I want to take his anger with patience and kindness” (J. Jurko: Come, Spirit of love and peace. Poprad 1998, p. 4).
Malice will never drive out malice. The principle applies: Even if someone harms you, do him good so your good deed overcomes his malice.
When three-year-old Alexei begs his sister to read him a fairy tale about a bad wolf, the ten-year-old sister opposes him: “There are no bad wolves in the world, only unhappy wolves.”
Jesus’ words, “Let both grow until the harvest” (Mt 13:30) are a call to let God be God. Let us not fear evil but do good. Forcefully removing evil can cause damage to good as well. Admonishing everyone may not bring a good end. As long as man lives on earth, he is neither perfect nor so bad.
Heinrich Heineg, a German poet and writer, is known from his literature. He was known for his bad nature and behavior, especially against the Church. In one of his works, he wrote: “We no longer want God, the punishing tyrant, we are no longer children, we can do without the paternal care of God.” What has happened? Five years before his death, he wrote in his will. “I die in faith in one God, the eternal Creator of heaven and earth. I am begging for his mercy for my immortal soul.” Those who did not judge him for his blasphemies but prayed for him and begged God to be merciful to him begged him for this.
Today we all have a chance. Good and evil is reality. But we have a God who is Love. He gives us faith, hope, and love. We must not forget that even if we do not immediately understand something, and it seems that evil is winning over good, let us not lose our heads, let us not lose heart. Not the devil is the final victor, but we belong to Christ and to Christ Jesus.
It’s time to philosophize. It’s time to discuss. It is also time to pray:
Lord, help us understand that the Church you founded is not only a community of the good but also of the bad; it is hope for us sinners. Protect us from the judgments of others. Help us keep your word: Do not judge! Because we are asking for mercy so that we are not judged. We believe you are and want to faithfully fulfill what you ask of us.
