Jesus dismissed the crowds and went into the house. His disciples approached him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.”
The disciples spent private time with Jesus, which is made clear in today’s Gospel reading as he dismisses the crowd. He went on to explain to the disciples the parable of the weeds. Teaching the disciples behind closed doors was an essential part of Jesus’ ministry, just as parents spend time with their children to explain the ways of the world.
God, help me understand that there are certain things you will have to spell out to me time after time. “Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the Kingdom of their Father.” When you say this, Lord, you are speaking not in parables but in truth. Can I overlook my actions day after day when you say, “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”?
In prayer, I can’t help wondering about how the disciples tested Jesus’ patience just as Abraham tested the extent of God’s mercy in dealing with the people of Sodom and Gomorrah. Was Jesus tired and irritable as he dismissed the crowds, or did he want the intimacy with his disciples through which he taught them everything? Imagining Jesus dismissing the crowds, I can’t help thinking of John Paul II among crowds. Rather than dismissing crowds, he moved among them eye to eye so that he could see and embrace people. Yet, he also needed quiet time in prayer to let the word of God grow and thrive within him.
Today, the Memorial of Saints Joachim and Anne, I want to be present to those closest to me. Let me remember not to dismiss others close to me—or people I might meet throughout the day—but to set time aside to talk together about the world now and the world to come. That attempt to sow good seed is essential now and in the life to come. “The seed is the word of God, Christ is the sower; all who come to him will live for ever.”