Last Sunday, I referred to a common misunderstanding about God that results from misidentifying God with the created world.  The human mind and heart are capable of perceiving only created things.  For this reason, God makes it possible for us to encounter God through created things such as the Scriptures, the Church, and the Sacraments.  The limits of our perceptions, however, make it possible to misunderstand God, as well.  As I said last Sunday, it is always a mistake to attribute the physical evil in the world, i.e., sorrow, loss, sickness, death, etc., to God’s actions.  Physical evil is nothing more than a consequence of the limitations of the created world.  God is the cause of good alone. 

There is a common misunderstanding about the created nature of the world that is often associated with the misunderstanding about the uncreated nature of God mentioned above.  Often, I hear the complaint that life’s burdens are unfair; equally as often, I hear the statement that events in the world occur for some higher purpose.  It is certainly true that the physical evil in the world is unfair, but it is also true that the created world is incapable of perceiving that injustice.  The notion that there is some higher purpose to evil, on the other hand, is completely false. 

The landowner in the parable in today’s Gospel reading was faced with a seeming impossible dilemma.  He had planted wheat in a field, but an enemy sowed weeds among the wheat. (Mt. 13:25)  He learned of his enemy’s treachery only after both the wheat and the weeds had sprouted.  If he ordered his workers to pull out the weeds, much of the wheat would be destroyed, as well.   

The landowner proved himself to be very clever as well as very patient.  He ordered his servants to wait until harvest time to separate the wheat from the weeds.  The extra labor of the workers during the harvest would produce an extra crop.  The landowner would have not only his full harvest of wheat, but he would have also a harvest of fuel for burning in his oven. 

The parable can be interpreted as supporting the judgment that everything that happens in the world happens for a reason.  The weeds sown among the wheat can be said to represent some redeeming quality present in evil; the landowner profited from the weeds and, therefore, the weeds must be inherently good.  I think this is a mistaken interpretation of both the parable and evil.  

Like everyone else, I’ve witnessed a great deal of physical evil and moral evil (sin).  I’ve seen people suffer tremendous burdens.  I’ve done funerals for people who died too young.  I’ve witnessed great harm done for no other reason than malice.  It has never been my experience that evil makes sense, has a purpose, or has any intrinsic value.  On the contrary, it has always been my experience that evil, both physical and moral, is senseless. 

The parable in today’s Gospel, in fact, does provide an apposite metaphor for evil, but only if we judge evil rightly.  Evil is, in fact, very much like the weeds in the parable insofar as it has no greater purpose, no value, and no intelligibility.  In my experience, evil holds no secret good purpose within it.  Evil does not appear to be subtle, complicated, or interesting; rather, it is merely ordinary, boring, and unnecessary.   

The landowner in the parable did not see a higher purpose behind his enemy’s actions; he did not see any redeeming characteristic in the dirty trick played on him.  He was able to derive some limited good from his enemy’s actions, but only because of his cleverness and his workers’ labor. 

This parable might be about the imperfection that is inherent in creation, or it might be about the imperfection that is inherent in each individual believer.  Perhaps, it is about both.  Each of us encounters daily both physical and moral evil, that is, the imperfections of the world, the imperfections of other people, and the imperfections in ourselves. 

The parable says that evil is inescapable, but that we have a choice about its influence on us.  The landowner’s choice was to make the best of a bad situation.  It is important to note that he did not merely resign himself to the dirty trick played on him, nor did he retaliate in kind.  He found no redeeming quality in his enemy’s evil deed, but he was able to redeem some of the effect of that evil on his life. 

When understood properly, this parable reiterates a central theme of Jesus’ teaching, namely, that we are to avoid participation in evil of any sort.  Our responsibility is to bring forth the harvest of the kingdom by living faithful lives and proclaiming the good news.   

Reflecting on this parable, I wonder whether the notion that every event that happens in the world has a higher purpose is nothing more than a rationalization that gives one permission to add to the physical and moral evil in the world. 

Regardless of how one chooses to understand these issues, there is both a warning and an encouragement offered in this parable.  Jesus sums up these three parables by saying those who live righteous lives “will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.” (Mt. 13:43)  That great reward is possible for, and promised to, only to those who shine like the sun in this life by avoiding all participation in evil.