倘若是莠子，又如何？ What If It Were Weeds?

Fifth Lenten Sunday, Year B
Theme: 倘若是莠子，又如何？ What If It Were Weeds?

This is the last Sunday in the Lenten season that began with the covenant between God and Noah, then between God and Abraham. We came to the zenith of the Old Testament, the Sinai Covenant on the third Sunday. God gave the Ten Commandments as a sign to this Old Testament. Last Sunday, we read of how Cyrus the king of Persia released the Israelites from Babylonian Captivity to return home and to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem. It shows that the LORD God actively intervenes in human history to honour His pledge to Abraham. Today, we hear how the LORD God declares His intention to establish a new covenant! So, the covenant theme runs through the Lenten season in Year B.

In fact, this so called new covenant is actually a renewal and an improved version of the old covenant. Let’s read what the LORD God says through the prophet, “See, days are coming --- oracle of the LORD --- when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah” (Jeremiah 31:31). How is this new covenant different from the old? “I will place my law within them, and write it upon their hearts; I will be their God, and they shall be my people” (31:33b). So, this new covenant is basically the same as the old, “So that He may establish you today as His people and He may be your God, as He promised you and as He swore to your ancestors, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob” (Deuteronomy 29:12). That is why I said earlier that this new covenant was actually a renewal of the previous Sinai Covenant which had been a failure because the Israelites failed to honour their obligations. It was understandable because God put the Law on two stone tablets and people would easily focus on the letters instead of the spirit of the Law. Now in this new covenant, God places the Law in people’s hearts to enhance the tendency to seek the spirit of the Law instead of letters. In order to ensure that the new Israel is able to observe the Law more easily, the Father sent His only begotten Son not to abolish the Law and prophets but to fulfil it (Matthew 5:17). In this way, the new Covenant is an improved version of the old.

However, we should not make the mistake in thinking that the new Covenant has replaced the old and thus, we are free not to observe the old Law. Wrong. Of course, some old practices could not be observed. For example, the second Temple in Jerusalem is destroyed. It is impossible to offer sacrifice in the Jerusalem Temple any more. Furthermore, Jesus foresaw its destruction and taught, “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in Spirit and truth” (John 4:24). If Jesus does not abolish, neither do we. Therefore, we “Christianise” the old practices. We advocate love as the spirit of the Law (Deuteronomy 6:5; Leviticus 19:18); observe the LORD’s Day instead of the Sabbath and offer the non-bloody sacrifice of the Holy Eucharist instead of holocausts etc.

Before we meditate the gospel message today, let us take a look at the context in the gospel of John. Jesus triumphantly entered Jerusalem after raising Lazarus from the dead at Bethany. “So the crowd (from Bethany) that was with him … continued to testify. This was why the crowd (in Jerusalem) went to meet him, because they heard that He had done this sign” (John 12:17-18). Some Greek pilgrims approached Philip to express their wish to see Jesus. Together with Andrew, Philip reported to Jesus who started teaching them an important teaching recorded in all four canonical gospels. The importance of this teaching is on a par with the miracle of feeding the 5000, Passion and Resurrection because all canonical gospels record it. In John’s version, Jesus says, “Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life” (12:25; Matthew 16:25; Mark 8:35; Luke 9:24). However, the Synoptic gospels put this teaching after Jesus’ first prediction of His passion and before His Transfiguration, whereas John put it after the Triumphant Entry into Jerusalem. Why does John arrange it this way? I’m still searching for a meaningful answer.

It is worth meditating how Jesus preluded this important teaching in the gospel of John. He says, “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit” (John 12:24). I still remember vividly the first time I read this verse during the funeral of Rev. Fr. Enea Tapella, PIME (1929-1977). His noble and heroic life for the service of the physical and mental retarded children has touched the lives of hundreds, if not thousands of people in Hong Kong. Among a group of young secondary school students, I am grateful that we were able to serve the children under his guidance and continued even after his transfer to other parishes. I would say he had planted the seed of diaconate vocation in my heart in those days. Unbeknown to me, my secondary school classmate, Andrew Kung, who had worked with Fr. Tapella earlier and longer was also ordained a permanent deacon in Canada in the same year nine years ago. I pray that we will be able to die and produce much fruit like Fr. Tapella. Interested readers may find more details of the life of this altruistic missionary from the hyperlink below¹. The prelude was paraphrased by Tertullian in his apology, saying, “We multiply when you reap us. The blood of Christians is seed” (Apologeticus, L.13) or more popularly further paraphrased into “The blood of martyrs is the seed of the Church”. History has proven this right. In fact, it is stupid of worldly powers to persecute Christians as a public spectacle because making them martyrs only helps them evangelize.

I could not resist another teaching of Jesus alluring at the back of my mind, the parable of wheat and weeds. I muse, “What if it is not wheat but weeds? What would Jesus say?” Let’s fire up our imagination and design Jesus’ script. One possible script might be “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless a grain of weed falls to the ground and dies, it remains a grain of weed; but if it dies, it produces much weeds!” Are you joking, Deacon? No, I have been troubled by such a possible scenario for quite some time! Don’t we desire to see justice prevail and the wicked perish? I have reservation because I desire to see justice prevail but not at the punishment/death of the wicked. The philosophy of correctional services has changed. Capital punishment of the guilty is ineffective as a deterrence of crimes. People would congratulate each other for a while and they will soon forget. Moreover, the vacancy created by a kingpin would soon be replaced by another and nobody can guarantee that the next chairperson would be a more conscientious one! That is the reason why assassinating a tyrant, such as Qin Shi Huang or Hitler, is always a bad idea! And before the next “king” ascends the throne, a period of warring kingdoms would arise and thus would produce more “weeds” in the future!

Perhaps this may help us understand why God “protected” Cain by putting a mark on him so that no one would kill him at sight (Genesis 4:15b) because seeing the death of one wicked person would inspire more wicked people to come forth to replace the dead one. It also agrees with God’s intention as expressed by another prophet, “I find no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies --- oracle of the LORD God. Turn back and live” (Ezekiel 18:32). The LORD God doesn’t want to see His images, His master-pieces to perish. He reserves vengeance for Himself because He knows how much force to apply but we don’t. Look at the tortures invented throughout the ages in all civilizations and we cannot deny that most of the time, we enjoy overdoing our revenge. Thus, St. Paul reminds believers, “Beloved, do not look for revenge but leave room for the wrath; for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the LORD’” (Romans 12:19; Leviticus 19:18a; Deuteronomy32:35a).

Beloved brethren! We are approaching the end of this Lenten season, a period of abundant outpouring graces from the merciful LORD. It is hard but essential to love the unlovable and to pray for the people we hate. Work harder to enter the Kingdom through the narrow gate (Matthew 7:13). Amen.
God bless!
¹HK Diocese Archive

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2021 Reflection
Picture Credit: reason2bcatholic.com