Sermon – Let Them Grow Together Until the Harvest – July 19, 2026

"Let them grow together until the harvest."

The Lord Himself explains the meaning of this parable in today's Gospel; He sows the Gospel in the world, while Satan sows his own teachings. Both want to conquer the world, each under their own banner.

What seed did Christ sow?

The Bible says: Love God above all else and treat your neighbor as you would like to be treated. Whoever does this will enter the Kingdom of God.

What is the devil's teaching?

What does Satan offer us? Saint Ignatius Loyola tells us this in chapter 142 of his work, "Spiritual Exercises." Satan explains how he tempts people as follows:

(...) First, seduce them with greed for wealth, then drag them into the empty fame of the world, then with increasing arrogance, and after that into all kinds of immorality...

This is a staircase leading to hell:

1. Greed for wealth.

2. The world's empty fame (seeking people's applause).

3. Arrogance.

This is the seed that Satan sowed in the world.

"Let them grow together until the harvest."

Three teachings stand out here:

The first lesson: It is God’s mercy that gives the sinner time to repent, change their life, and save their soul. God is merciful and gives us time to change our lives and become true Christians. God wants all people to be saved, but it is people who do not want to be saved by their own means. “[God] wants all people to be saved and to know the truth.” (1 Timothy 2:4)

Second lesson: A bad person, symbolized by weeds today, can change and become good; similarly, a good person, symbolized by wheat today, can change and become bad.

Third lesson: What makes me a weed or a wheat? My actions. My actions. "You will know them by their fruit," says Jesus.

If I do good and live in friendship with God, keeping His commandments until death, I become wheat, that is, the son of God, and I go to heaven. If I do not persevere in goodness until death, I become weeds and I go to hell. We should know that everyone can become either wheat or weeds.

We shouldn't be surprised to see or know bad people in places where good people should be: corrupt police officers, doctors who commit murder, bad priests, bad nuns, Christians who gossip and spread slander about other people's lives.

Christians should seek the good of all. However, some people pursue only their own self-interest. Their behavior is like weeds sown by the devil.

Let us ask the Virgin Mary for grace so that we may not become like weeds; and if, unfortunately, we are, let us ask her to intercede with God for us and grant us the grace to become true Christians and children of God. Let us also ask for the grace to remain steadfast in righteousness until the hour of our death.