We can imagine what a bad surprise can be for a farmer to see his fields filled by darnel. He knows that the wheat will produce less because of the presence of weeds which take room, tap the nutrients from the soil, and then hinder the normal growth of the wheat. Harvesting will also become more difficult because the good crops must be separated from the bad ones. Those who buy the good flour in the market will never know, but the farmer, who lives out of the harvest, is much aware of the damages produced by darnel.

Jesus takes advantage of this image for telling us something about our life. The weed is sowed by evil one, who tries to disrupt the growth of the Kingdom of Heaven: “the enemy who sowed it, the devil” (39). He is the enemy, and so he sets any effort to damage and make God’s children go astray. Jesus is not hiding the work of the devil in our lives. He does not edulcorate our condition but rather makes us aware that Christian life is a struggle against someone who strives to separate us from the source of our life and happiness: God. It is very important to realize that the evil in the world (including the pandemic which are we experiencing now), is not the fruit of the will of God, who is our Father, and wishes only our happiness. Some of us, while facing difficulties in life, can be tempted to ask God: "Sir, was it not good seed that you sowed in your field? If so, where does the darnel come from?" (28). Therefore, while suffering, facing despair and worries, we are called to renew our faith in the infinite love of God for us. God wants our good, he is our Father, and this gospel is bringing us a strong message of hope: the weed is there, but it will not overcome!

Surprisingly enough, Jesus not only says that, but even tells his listener that they do not need to struggle for cleaning the fields and eradicate the darnel. “And the laborers said, "Do you want us to go and weed it out?" But he said, "No, because when you weed out the darnel you might pull up the wheat with it. Let them both grow till the harvest; and at harvest time I shall say to the reapers: First collect the darnel and tie it in bundles to be burnt, then gather the wheat into my barn" (28-30). Through this answer, Jesus tells us something very important. It is important to denounce and counter the evil in society. Jesus did it, and also the pope is doing it all the way. So we are called to give our contribution to the transformation of the world, but we cannot deceive ourselves: the world will always be imperfect, up to the end and heaven will never be on earth. What we can really do is to move from the side of the weed to the one of the wheat, to be good crops, and bear witnesses to Christian life in society. So, besides struggling for the eradication of evil in the world, we need to prioritize our efforts on the growth of the wheat in our lives. We could translate this advice in this way: Jesus is telling us not to focus on the negative (the devil is narcissist, and then eagerly needs to be thought about, to be put on stage, at the center of our thoughts, so… better not to provide him this satisfaction) but on the positive, which is on your spiritual growth, our communion with God, putting into practice the gospel, showing the beauty of Christian life! People will notice it, and some will be attracted and pulled to conversion. In this way, the weeds will become less and less. And once again, the negative will not overcome!

Finally, we are also called to be at peace with the presence of the darnel in our hearts too. Paul was humbly admitting he was living with a disturbing thorn: “a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me.” (2 Cor. 12:7 NRS) The work of the evil one is visible in the world, but also within us. Our lives too are a mixture of good and bad, of holiness and sin, of wheat and weed. We need to make an effort to eradicate the negative inside us, but this gospel is also telling us: give priority to the wheat that is in you, to the positive, to your spiritual growth, to the virtues and love! Instead of keep on blaming yourself because of your weaknesses, try to be extrovert, to love your neighbors, to nourish your communion with your Father in heaven, to do good deeds! Some Christian people are so afraid of their sins and failures, that they even forget to love their neighbors, to live the gospel, and even more, they cannot perceive that despite their frailties they are loved by their Father in Heaven. What a pity! The evil one has succeeded in convincing them that darnel is stronger than wheat. But this is a mistake. Once again Jesus is telling us to focus on the growth of wheat. The weed will be there up to the end, but it will not overcome!

If the wheat grows stronger, there will be less and less room for the darnel in the fields. A brother once told me: “If I think of God as a judge, I become afraid of my sins. But if I think of Him as my Father, it does not even come to my mind to commit a sin.” So, let us concentrate on the growth of the good wheat in society and in our hearts, also during this pandemic. We will see the fruits.