Commentary: 16 OT A

Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, A

Wisdom 12: 13, 16-19

Psalm 86

Romans 8: 26-27

Matthew 13, 23-43



The readings come together today on the concept of God’s provision of time for repentance. In the First Reading, the author of the book of Wisdom says: “And You gave Your sons good ground for hope that You would permit repentance for their sins.” The Responsorial Psalm picks up on this theme in its refrain, “Lord You are good and forgiving,” and by saying twice in the body of the psalm, “You are good and forgiving, abounding in kindness.” The Gospel is three parables: the weeds and the wheat, the mustard seed, and the yeast kneaded into dough. At the conclusion of these, Psalm 78:2 is quoted, connecting Jesus’ use of parables with a citation from the Hebrew Scriptures. The allegorical interpretation of the first parable then follows. Both the parable of the weeds and wheat and its interpretation stress that God gives to all the time that is needed to repent—not on our timetable, but on His. Whoever we tend to identify as “weeds,” we need to be aware that God cares for them, and will deal with them in His own way at His own time. In commenting on this pericope, St. Gregory Palamas says: “The fact is that many godlesssinners, living among people who are upright and devout, repent in time and are converted, and by learning new habits of piety and virtue they cease to be weeds and become wheat.” (Homily 27)



The in-course reading from Romans continues this week. Even though some verses are omitted between last week’s Second Reading and this week’s, there is continuity. Since we, who have the Spirit as first-fruits, are inwardly groaning (that was last week), we are aided by the Spirit, who intercedes for us “with groanings which cannot be expressed in speech” (that is this week). By prayer, we participate in the life of the Holy Trinity, through the Spirit who dwells within each of the baptized.



You can hear a chant with a text taken from the Gospel Reading---"Collegite primum", on the compact disc "Music for the Year of Matthew," sung by the Schola Cantorum of St. Peter's in the Loop, available from The Liturgical Press, Collegeville, MN (www.litpress.org