Sunday Gospel Reflection, July 19, 2026: Your might is the source of justice...

Your might is the source of justice…
Just how open is God’s kingdom? 

    Jesus spends a lot of time in Matthew’s Gospel teaching the crowds about the kingdom of heaven, particularly through the use of parables. We are pretty familiar with the image of the mustard seed, which grows into a large bush where the birds of the sky come and dwell (ordinary mustard seeds do nothing of the sort!) and the image of the yeast, which suggests that God’s kingdom expands in ways we cannot imagine. More complex is the parable of the weeds among the wheat, in which good seed grows and bears fruit, but darnel, a pernicious weed, grows as well. When asked, Do you want us to go and pull the bad weeds?, the master gardener instructs his workers, No, if you pull up the weeds, you might uproot the wheat with them. God is patient, not judgmental; like the farmer, God is willing to wait until all have a chance to show themselves. And, as Psalm 86 reminds us, the Lord is good and forgiving, open to all who seek to live in right relationship with him. 

    This notion of God’s expansive compassionate justice is announced in the Book of Wisdom as well. Though you are master of might, you judge with clemency, the author of Wisdom states, and with much lenience you govern us. Rather than simply annihilate the enemies of God’s people, God gives all good ground for hope because God permits repentance for sins, not only to the people of Israel, but to all. God has the care of all. Moreover, should we ever be tempted to impose our own judgment, we should remember what Paul tells the Romans: the Spirit comes to the aid of our weakness. The Spirit joins us in our groanings, enabling us to pray for our world and its sinful brokenness. God is the one who searches hearts, and only God is called to judge them. 

    Jesus’ parables reveal a secret: the reign of God is here and the reign of God works more profoundly than we could possibly imagine! We are called to do whatever reveals his love – to let him rule our lives, direct our hearts, rule our hearts. In so doing, we will see that reign dawn and division decrease. But if we give into fear, we lose the very thing we put our faith in. It’s God’s way we follow, God’s justice we enact… not our own. And God’s kingdom is large enough to hold all! 

This post is based on Fr. Pat’s Scripture Class.
Image source: www.wordclouds.com