What Good is Evil?

Sixteenth Ordinary Sunday, Year A
Theme: What Good is Evil?

God's will is inexplicable. What is good in our view may not necessarily His will and what in His will are good for us are mostly unpleasant! This morning, a tropical cyclone Roke is short-lived enough to cancel our visit to the Tai Lam Centre for Women but left the city unscathed. Frankly, I cannot pass the judgment that this visit does not meet His approval. Perhaps this failure signals to me that prison visits are not my ministry and that I should not be over ambitious.

Many people interpret the "Parable of the Wheat and the Tares" (Matthew 13:24-30) as showing God's patience to sinners. He allows them time to repent. But there is a problem. Tares do not change into wheat, at least not in this parable! We need to elaborate the interpretation a bit more. For example, sinners are basically good but weak wheat. They are influenced by bad companies or adverse situations. So, God allows them time to repent. Like the repentant thief who was a typical example of weak wheat, no matter how evil his previous life had been, his last-minute acknowledgement of Christ on the cross was enough to earn him a place in Paradise. His story offers sinners a big hope and inspires great faith in God's mercy. Interpreted this way, tares remain tares and wheat remains wheat. They are predestined. I don't feel comfortable with the idea of predestination. Frankly, who wants to be a tare implanted in God's field by Satan? Not me! ,P. Were we not all created in the image and likeness of God? There was no tare to start with. Therefore, tares might simply be good wheat which turns weak. (Spare me botanists!) Perhaps they are genetically manufactured failures of Satan. In such a scenario, mixing tares with wheat might infect other good wheat with weaknesses and turn it into tares. On the other hand, it offers up a possibility of redemption for tares as well! They might turn good in good companies. (Spare me more, botanists!)

Of course, farmers might laugh at me. Tares will not turn wheat into themselves or vice versa. Tares only compete with wheat for nutrition and retard their growth. Well, this applies only to land with limited resources. But God's love is infinite. Therefore, don't worry. There will be enough nutrition (graces) for the growth of the righteous. I like the idea of pitching good against evil. It will strengthen good, making them more resilient. However, this idea cuts both ways. The competition strengthens evil as well! I am back to square one, like my shoulder pains after acupuncture.
Oh God, You are so inexplicable! If only did we know Your mind, we were already the Holy Spirit! Amen.