Hearing The Word

A weekly newsletter delivering context and insight into the Sunday Gospels.

July 19, 2026

Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Matthew 13:24-30

Jesus proposed another parable to the crowds, saying:

"The kingdom of heaven may be likened to a man

who sowed good seed in his field. 

While everyone was asleep his enemy came

and sowed weeds all through the wheat, and then went off. 

When the crop grew and bore fruit, the weeds appeared as well. 

The slaves of the householder came to him and said,

'Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? 

Where have the weeds come from?'

He answered, 'An enemy has done this.'

His slaves said to him, 'Do you want us to go and pull them up?'

He replied, 'No, if you pull up the weeds

you might uproot the wheat along with them. 

Let them grow together until harvest;

then at harvest time I will say to the harvesters,

"First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles for burning;

but gather the wheat into my barn."'"

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The Mystery of the Kingdom of God

Kelly Anderson, S.S.L., Ph.D

Associate Professor of Biblical Studies for the Major Seminary, Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary + Ambler, Pa.

The parables of today’s Gospel address the fact that God’s Kingdom exists side by side with evil and death. How can we live knowing that God is all good and omnipotent, while he lets evil rears its head against us?

The answer is a surprising one. Jesus first teaches that God allows the weeds and the wheat to grow together lest the wheat be hurt. This weed resembles wheat in its early stages, and it is only distinguished as a weed with time. But by then, the roots are so entangled that the wheat could be harmed if the weed is rooted out before harvest.

But this seems foolish. How can the “wheat” endure the presence of evil? The parable of the leaven, the fourth of the seven parables in Matthew 13, the bullseye of the chapter, gives the answer. The woman has been compared to the Blessed Mother, to Wisdom, or to the Church, and the wheat flour is three measures, a large amount, about sixty pounds, or an ephah. This is the measure that Abraham prepares for the angels of God at Mamre (Gen 18:6), that Gideon brings to the Lord at Ophrah (Judges 6:19), and that Hannah brings with Samuel to the house of the Lord at Shiloh (1 Sam 1:24). In Ezekiel’s vision of the new temple, grain offerings will be an ephah of flour (Ezek 46:7). And so, the huge quantity of bread is an offering to God. Yeast, normally considered a corrupting element in Scripture, is now presented as that which can make the offered bread rise. Thus, that which normally might corrupt us, such as evil, suffering, and death, when quietly folded into the offered bread, actually enables the huge quantity of bread to rise. And so the “wheat” does not just endure the presence of “weeds.” Rather, when the woman brings the corrupting element, the leaven/weeds to the offered bread, the corrupting element becomes a source of salvation.

Live in the World But Not of the World

~Michael Clymer

Cathedral Basilica Saints Peter and Paul + Philadelphia, Pa.

The Kingdom of God is like a field where good seed is sowed but the enemy comes and sows weeds in the same field. The field is our world. Jesus sows the Gospel, and the Devil comes and spreads weeds among this good seed. We live in the midst of this battle where we have the voice of Jesus leading us to Truth, and the voice of the Devil leading us away from it. One phrase that catches my attention is that the enemy comes and sows weeds “while everyone is asleep.”

In today’s world, there are so many distractions. It is easy to lose focus on the Lord. It is in these moments that the Devil comes in and tempts us to stray away from God and his Commandments. Once we get distracted, it is often difficult to refocus. It is important for us to stay focused on Jesus and grow in our relationship with him. Forming habits of daily prayer, attending Mass on each Sunday, and regularly going to Confession are vital for doing this. Having a strong relationship with God will help us distinguish Jesus’ voice from that of the world. As Catholics, we cannot pull up the weeds.

In the Kingdom of God the weeds grow among the fruits. We need to be in the world, but that does not mean that we need to live according to the world. A strong relationship with Jesus and following His Commandments empowers us to bring God’s love in our families and workplaces. The witness of those who follow Jesus extends Jesus’ invitation to relationship with him to others. If we commit to this, then we will help others be counted among the fruit when the Lord returns to gather the harvest.