Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time 2026: The Parable of the Weeds and God's Mercy
Readings and Virtual Homily for July 19, 2026, Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time; From Venezuela With Love; Holding the Fort at St. Clement; Twentieth Anniversary Celebration is Right Around the Corner
Readings for Mass this Sunday:
Wisdom 12:13, 16-19
Psalm 86:5-6, 9-10, 15-16
Romans 8:26-27
Matthew 13:24-43
Dear Friends and Family,
As with last week's readings, there is an option for a much shorter Gospel; seven verses instead of twenty. The longer version includes Jesus' explanation of the Parable of the Weeds Among the Wheat, and for that reason I may read it at Mass, Sunday -- with Jesus' explanation included in the reading, I can keep my homily shorter and more focused. This parable has particular relevance to our time, it seems to me, but of course, it had relevance among the first community of disciples in Jerusalem, as well.
Because I want to concentrate on the passage from Matthew, just a brief overview of the first and second readings and the psalm.
The reading from Wisdom (one of my favorite Old Testament books) ties neatly into the theme of the Gospel passage (as it should -- the first reading is selected to coincide with and illuminate the Gospel reading each Sunday). The author of Wisdom assures us that God is "lenient" in his governance of us (vs. 16), and that God will allow us time to repent for our sins (vs. 19).
Psalm 86 underscores the "lenience" or mercy of God: "Lord, you are good and forgiving, most merciful to all who call upon you" (vs. 5). The psalm goes on to further attest to God's merciful ways: "But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in mercy and truth" (vs. 15).
The reading from Romans should give us abundant hope in God's merciful care, assuring us as it does that God himself makes intercession for us: "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" (vs. 26). The Spirit is, in the Last Supper Discourses of John's Gospel, described as the Advocate (John 14:16). Here we can see why. The Spirit goes before the Judgment Seat for us like a defense attorney. Paul concludes that "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" (vs. 27).
If we stop and think about that...God the Holy Spirit pleading our case before the divine majesty...well, it is something to think about.
So then to the Gospel passage, from Chapter Thirteen of Matthew's Gospel, which is all about parables. If the longer option is read at the Mass you attend this weekend, you will get a couple more parables thrown in with it, but the main parable in today's passage is that of the weeds sown among the wheat. There are at least two main considerations to be included in any analysis of this parable.
The first is to realize that not all people who claim to be Christian behave in a Christ-like manner. This sounds obvious, but in fact, I have many times heard believers who don't get to Mass very often say that the main reason they are not regularly at Mass is the hypocrisy of a lot of the people who are always there. Never mind the judgment of others involved here. Never mind the (understandable but frankly naive) expectation that anyone who claims to follow Christ should, in fact, well, FOLLOW Christ.
The point I want to make is that Jesus, knowing human nature, warned us at the start that we must be realistic about the Christian community, about the Church. It is made up of human beings. Flawed and weak; struggling with sin and brokenness. Some of its members may, in fact, be serious and unrepentant sinners. Jesus knew that some people would be scandalized (in more contemporary language, would be very put off) by the reality of hypocrisy among those who claim to be followers of Christ. So he gave us this parable, to help us stay the course. The fact of the matter is, has been and always will be that not everyone who claims to follow Christ actually follows Christ. Don't throw the Church out because of it, Jesus is urging us.
The second consideration here emphasizes the theme of today's other readings: God's tender and loving care, God's abundant mercy, God's "lenient" governance of his sometimes unruly flock. When the weeds are found among the wheat, the workers (who represent angels) inform the owner (who, of course, stands in for God). The workers, dismayed at the presence of the weeds, offer to "go and pull them up" (vs. 28). The owner demurs, arguing that they might accidently pull up wheat with the weeds; "Let them grow together until the harvest" (vss. 29-30).
Here the parable directly confirms the assurance from the first reading: God will give us time to repent of our sins. Something (someone) that looks like a weed may yet prove to be wheat. Time will tell, and God, in his mercy, gives us that time.
I have a close personal identification with this parable, given my somewhat misspent youth. I guess you could not have called me a weed among the wheat, when I was in my twenties, because I was not in the wheat field at all. I was not going to Mass, let alone going to confession. I was not even pretending to follow Christ. I was following deeply held conviction and cherished ambition -- I was worshipping at the altar of literary success with no excuses and no apologies.
The Lord, in his leniency, in his fathomless mercy, granted me time to recognize my sins, to follow the bright path of repentance. This is why the owner does not allow the workers to pull up the weeds. "Let them grow together until the harvest." The Lord gave me the dangerous decade of my twenties to come to my senses and start worshiping at his altar, rather than one of my own making. In the four decades that span that time to now, I have had abundant evidence of his ongoing tender care, his ongoing mercy. In his eyes, all of us are wheat -- or possess the capacity to so be. If we will let him save us from ourselves he is more than ready to meet the challenge.
I have a stack of thank-you notes on my desk as I am writing this (Wednesday afternoon) which I plan to get into the mail tomorrow -- the response to the events in Venezuela has been huge, at this point, and I am thanking and praising the Lord for it and for you. I still have a family out of their home (but domiciled with relatives until they can return). Two of my Caraquenos are out of work 'til probably the end of the month, while their places of employment undertake repairs. A third, temporarily idled, has since been able to return to the restaurant where he heads up the wait staff.
I have also heard at this point from my "Venezuelan diaspora;" my many Venezuelan friends here and all about the Western hemisphere, with regard to their families in Caracas (and elsewhere in the country). It almost seems like a miracle, but all of them have assured me their loved ones came through the quakes without much more than a very great scare.
The death count continues to rise, but -- so far -- it is not close to the apocalyptic predictions many experts (including those at the US Geological Survey) initially were making. A lot of people who were missing have turned up; many, though, remain unaccounted for. I will continue to send cash to Caracas as I am able to do so, for the foreseeable future. I mean I send money regularly anyway -- I mean that this special response is going to continue probably the rest of the summer. Meanwhile, Venezuela tops my Rosary intentions and this week I have started fasting for the country as well. That, it seems to me, is about the limit of my ability to respond. As it is all that I can do, I am doing all of it.
Father Jesus, pastor here at St. Clement, left this week for a seventeen-day pilgrimage through central Europe. He tried to get a little extra outside help where our Masses, confessions, baptisms and so on are concerned, and -- and this is unusual -- he came up empty. It's just me and Fr. Celestine (our beloved support priest from Rwanda, who is studying at the GTU and helps us regularly on weekends). Because Celestine is not here during the week, I have the morning Mass every day straight from July 12 to the 29 -- a joyful start to my mornings, this second half of July. I've also got some of our Spanish Masses -- Fr. Jesus takes those himself, when he is here. Saying a few Masses in Spanish this summer is a genuine alegria para mi. Not just the chance to practice my Spanish, but the chance to be with our Hispanic community, with whom I have formed a long-lasting bond.
I have a parallel bond with the English-language community here as well, and all of us, both languages and every ethnicity, are planning a real celebration to mark my twentieth anniversary -- now just a week off, next Sunday, the 26. The 1115 Mass followed by a reception in the hall at which, the latest development to be brought to my attention, Jesse Manibusan will be performing. Jesse and I know each other slightly -- our paths have crossed several times, both in the parishes and at O'Dowd. I was very pleased to hear that Jesse, hearing of the party, offered to come and sing. It should be a bright and joyful day. I look forward to it.
Gonna wrap it here. Hope your summer is going well. I am feeling deep rest, at this point, and am grateful for it.
God bless; take good care.
Love,
Fr. Brawn