The presence of evil in the world is an undeniable fact: physical evil, moral evil, sin. It is, above all, the suffering of the innocent that poses serious questions to the believer that put his faith to the test, the question will always remain pending: Why does evil exist? It is not about justifying the work of God but trying to understand the mystery of evil. There is no rational answer that fully satisfies man.
The Gospel of this Sunday (Cf., Mt 13, 24-43) presents us with three parables through which Jesus speaks to us about the Kingdom of God: the parable of the wheat and the tares (Mt 13, 24-30), the mustard seed (Mt 13, 31-32), and yeast (Mt 13, 33). Last Sunday we were told about the parable of the sewer. This time we will focus our reflection on the parable of the wheat and the tares, the same one that somehow raises the problem of the coexistence of good and evil in the world.
According to that parable (Cf., Mt 13, 24-30), we are told of a man who sowed good wheat seed in his field; but after a little while he saw that a weed had grown that he had not planted; the workers said to the owner of the field, where did that weed come from? Do you want us to go rip it off? Anyone would have expected the boss to order the weeds to be uprooted, but that was not the case. As in the case of the parable of the Sower, in this parable, Jesus himself explains its meaning (Cf., Mt 13, 36-43): Jesus is the Sower of the good seed, the field is the world; the good seed are those who are on the side of the Lord, the weeds are those who are on the side of the evil one, the harvest is the end of the world. With this we are told that evil will be present until the end of human history. Man will not be able to build paradise on earth by pretending to uproot evil.
The utopia of a world in which there is no suffering, crying or pain, is collected in the Bible in the descriptions made of the eschatological kingdom (Cf., Is 11, 6-9; 25, 6-8; 35, 5 -8). We all yearn for a just and humane society; however, reality refers us to a world marked by the sign of evil, suffering, and pain. The believer, however, lives in the hope of a better world. Some would like to hasten the arrival of that world, build a paradise on earth, and banish the wicked. In the history of the Church, there have been movements that have wanted to establish a community of pure or good people, trying to expel sinners. Even today there are still those who think that way. Faced with these puritanical attitudes, Jesus presents us with the parable of the wheat and the tares or weeds. God certainly does not want the presence of evil in the world, nor is He responsible for the existence of these evils. God only sows good seed; if there are weeds that are not his work. There are many who are tempted to divide people into two large groups: the good, and the bad who must be condemned or eliminated; and, of course, those who make this division are always located in the group of good, the bad would be the others, those who do not agree with our ideas or ways of acting. Once this division is made, it is very easy to take intolerant attitudes against those whom we have considered responsible for evil: we want to finally eliminate them from the middle. There are people who wonder: Why does God allow those we consider 'bad' to exist? Jesus tells us that the wheat grows along with the weeds and that it is dangerous to try to uproot the weeds because you can also uproot the wheat. There are those who, in their eagerness to uproot the weeds, also end up uprooting the wheat. There is no field where only good grass germinates.
The parable of Jesus is an invitation to tolerance towards the other, not to condemn others and want to do justice with our own hands, to put aside hypocrisy, self-righteousness and recognize our human condition also marked with the sign of sin. Each of us has some wheat and some tears, sin and grace. No one is just before God. The Lord is patient with us and always gives us new opportunities to banish from our own life what may be tares, that is, sin. God will surely do justice, but He knows when to do it. The call of Jesus to patience, to tolerance, does not mean, of course, condescension towards evil; but one cannot assume puritanical, sectarian attitudes, of believing oneself good and condemning others, believing that we are converted and that it is the others who need to convert.
The one who judges, the one who condemns or despises the other and considers himself as 'pure', resembles the Pharisees against whom Jesus has very harsh words (Cf., Mt 23, 13ss). It is absurd to try to demonstrate one's own virtues by denouncing the vices of others. No one can claim to usurp the task of judging that corresponds to God. No one, it is true, can become an accomplice in evil or keep a guilty silence in the face of the injustices that are committed; but it is one thing to fight against evil and another to condemn people considering ourselves as the 'good', the 'just', the 'pure'.
A good dose of tolerance with ourselves and with others is necessary; we must learn to tolerate ourselves, and accept ourselves as we are, to be able to tolerate and accept others. Tolerance of oneself is acceptance of oneself with humility, it is not about belittling oneself or living obsessed with our past mistakes. Tolerance with others is not permissiveness, moral relativism, or renouncing the sense of justice; It does not mean resignation in the face of evil, it does not mean bowing your head, keeping silent, or applying the philosophy of letting go and letting go. Tolerance is the exercise of prudence, patience, and wisdom. God expresses that tolerance with us because he is always giving us new opportunities. The Book of Wisdom tells us that "God judges with moderation and treats us with great indulgence" (Wis 12, 18). He always gives way to repentance. The parable of the wheat and the tares teaches us that evil is present through the work of the evil one until the end of time. In the end it will be God who separates the wheat from the tares, that is, it is not up to us to judge but to God. We must trust in the Word of the Lord that assures us that in the end justice will triumph, "then the just will shine like the sun in the Kingdom of his Father" (Mt 13, 43).
The Church, as we say in the Catechism, is holy, but in need of purification, she herself needs to be constantly converted and renewed; she embraces sinners in her bosom; and we must all recognize ourselves as sinners. "In all the weeds of sin are still mixed with the good seed of the Gospel until the end of time" (Catechism No. 827). Man needs to fight to overcome the evil present in himself and the evils that afflict society, in this way, he also contributes to the growth of the Kingdom of God; This is not an effort in vain, but he must be aware that he will never be able to eradicate evil by his own forces, build authentic peace without God's help. Full happiness is not an exclusive work of man but of God who asks for the cooperation of man.
The Christian has an optimistic vision of human history since he is convinced that in the end good will triumph over evil, justice over injustice, and truth over lies. It is necessary to cultivate patience and hope; but only the one who commits has hope, not the one who folds his arms or limits himself to lamenting the situation. Whoever entertains himself too much trying to uproot the tares will not have time to gather the wheat.