The Sunday Sermon Archive

Dear Friend,

Today we see another example of the Kingdom of Heaven. We are given such examples to enlighten us to the realities of the world around us and to the realities for all those who would enter into the kingdom of Heaven.

The Kingdom of Heaven is like the man who sowed good seed in his field and then had evil men over sow cockle in his fresh field.

Christ Himself explains the parable for us. He is the man that sows the good seed in His field. We, the members of the Catholic Church, are the field, and the seed that He sows is the true faith. And the devil is the enemy that over sows the cockle (false doctrines) in the hearts of men.

The true doctrines of Christ are impossible for the evil doers to eradicate. Christ's kingdom here on earth will last to the end of time. They therefore prefer to weaken the effects of the true doctrines by over sowing false doctrines. With the many false doctrines floating around it becomes difficult to distinguish the good from the bad, the true from the false.

Many are therefore mislead because they accept the false doctrines instead of the true ones. They are unable to distinguish wheat from cockle, and the saddest aspect is that they will not listen to those who are able to distinguish one from the other. They prefer to blindly choose one doctrine and defend it with all their effort for no other reason than that this is the one they choose and it "appeals" to them.

Then there are those who will listen to false teachers. There are men who are all too willing to instruct others but who are themselves just as ignorant as those they are trying to instruct. They are truly the blind leading the blind. They will not listen to those who are knowledgeable and proficient in discerning wheat from weed; truth from falsehood, but prefer evil and/or ignorant guides.

It is truly a tragic situation in which we find ourselves in this kingdom of Heaven with the over proliferation of weeds — false doctrines surrounding us. The truth is being overshadowed and outnumbered. There are many more false doctrines for every single true doctrine, just as there are many times more weeds than there are blades of wheat.

The first impulse of those who love the kingdom and the true doctrines is to set out to rid the kingdom of all these false doctrines (weeds). But in such misdirected zeal they are only more likely to destroy the good with the bad. In removing the weeds we often do more damage than if we had left them alone.

We meet regularly those who condemn the entire kingdom because of the evil weeds that are growing up within it. These are the ones that would throw out the baby with the bath water. Just because we see evil parts, we are not justified in destroying the whole.

The Protestants who may have seen some real evil in the kingdom have decided to abandon the kingdom altogether in search of a different kingdom. And in this new kingdom (which is not the kingdom of heaven _ the true Church) they find the illusion of goodness. They have not escaped the evil they claim to have been the cause of their leaving, they have taken it with them and relabeled it as good. After all, it is said, a weed is but a plant out of place. So they have created a kingdom where weeds (false doctrines) have a place and are protected and cultivated.

All too many "Traditionalists" have committed exactly the same error. They have abandoned the true doctrines of the Church in an over zealous effort to rid themselves of the evils that they perceive. For example many will hear nothing of obedience to legitimate authority, simply because they have witnessed many false teachers who abused their apparent position of authority. They will not trust nor will they obey anyone _ even the true ones that God has sent.

We must learn the patience of the master in today's parable. Let us be patient and persevering in our efforts of discernment constantly praying to God for this grace. It is necessary that we not mistakenly take up the false doctrines, but it also just as necessary that we do not destroy or throw out the true ones either.

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