"Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears ought to hear." - Matthew 13:43

"Whoever has ears ought to hear" - Matthew 13:43

I remember growing up to the stories of the Bible animated to me by my grandmother. It was through her that I first learned about "Papa Jesus" (wrong reference. hehe) and the whole concept of faith. And an important tool back then was being able to imagine things through parables. In the Gospel reading, wasn't that the first thing you noticed? That it was full of parables? I don't know if you find it helpful or maybe even annoying how Jesus, instead of going straight to the point, used parables.

As I find myself reading the Bible, I sometimes find that these parables are doing more harm than good. I mean, understanding the Bible is difficult as it is. Why put in these metaphors?

 A common misconception is that a parable is as story about characters like animals or even  inanimate objects (i.e the parable of the lost sheep, the parable of the talents etc.)

But mali pala! Fable yun, di parable! The dictionary meaning of a parable is a succinct, didactic story, in prose or verse, which illustrates one or more instructive lessons or principles. It differs from a fable in that fables employ animals, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature as characters, whereas parables have human characters. A parable is a type of analogy. You see, it wasn't the lost sheep that was the star of the story, but the shephered who looked for it.

Jesus explains the parable to us:  “He who sows good seed is the Son of Man, the field is the world, the good seed the children of the kingdom. The weeds are the children of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.  Just as weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all who cause others to sin and all evildoers.

They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.

Then the righteous will shine like the sun."

I guess you can say that it is both beautiful and scary at the same time, right? God's promise is amazing and true. Imagine, shining like the sun! But why do we fear? Becuase we know that we most often than not, falter, and could be just as easily thrown into the fiery furnace. But let me share the other readings today (and I love how they all fall perfectly in place.) "Lord, you are good and forgiving" - Responsorial Psalm.   ” You, O LORD, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in kindness and fidelity. Turn toward me, and have pity on me; give your strength to your servant." Our God is so awesome that his mercy is relentless. And he goes on saying in the first reading "And you taught your people, by these deeds, that those who are just must be kind; and you gave your children good ground for hope that you would permit repentance for their sins."Think about it, why didn't God just uproot the wheat when it became infected? He could very so just "replant". Well, it's because he believes in us. He wants to give us a chance to grow. To choose. To live. It's amazing really. If only we believed in ourselves as much as God believes in us. 

Our life, if we really think about it, could be a great parable in the making. Circumstances fall into our lives everyday. We have choices to make, be it the good, or the bad. But that's the thing. It's a choice. We have control over the circumstances, not the other way around. Contrary to what we have been believeing, the circumstances, the sins, are not in domnion over us.

We have a choice. Choose God. Amen.

-Lanzi Borromeo