Darnel and Wheat

One of the oldest and most baffling questions of man is the presence and prevalence of evil in the world. The parable of the darnel and the wheat (the parable, the explanation by Jesus)attests to this – in the world, there is both good and evil. But in the end, the good will triumph and the evil will be destroyed.

At first glance, this comes as a strong warning. True enough. We are called not to side with evil, and instead be with the good. In the Star Wars parlance, we are called not to side with the dark side, but to be with the light.

But more than a warning, the parable is a message of hope – that no matter how seemingly the evil triumphs now, it will not be so for all eternity. Goodness will eventually win. God will triumph over evil. There is a song by the Jesuit Music Ministry entitled “Far Greater Love”. The lyrics put it well: Who would have known it would be, a history so torn with wars, the sky, seems grayer in our hearts. Who would have known life would be such a mystery, but the world is turning still, and our hearts yearn and believe that something is greater than our hearts. The storms of life may shake our ground but a greater peace still dwells in our hearts. Fear no harm, we are ruled by a far greater love. We’re never alone. All else may go wrong, still there will be a love far greater than our hearts.

This is at the core of the second encyclical of Benedict XVI, SPE SALVE – On Christian Hope. The Pope reminds us that in hope we are saved. And this hope is no other than Jesus Christ. The Christian should then not be fazed by difficulty, nor crushed by the trials of life. The Christian should trust that Jesus has won eternal life for us, and that is our destiny. But the Pope takes this further – he reminds us that hope is not only an attitude or internal disposition. It is to be “performative”.

Our lives should mirror the hope of a better life, of the triumph of goodness, of eternal life. Our life should not be a submission to the forces of life, but to be a witness of a hopeful struggling to do good and to overcome evil.

In the face of evils, Christians may not be silent, may not be complacent. Definitely, it would be a herculean task – real difficult and enormous. But we cannot, may not and should not disregard this task. Our life should not be a submission to the forces of life, but to be a witness of a hopeful struggling to do good and to overcome evil.

We begin with ourselves. In the final analysis, all evils of the world are rooted in acts of individuals. Repeated, condoned and unchecked, they took root and became structures of sin.

The fundamental challenge for us is to look into ourselves, and to confront the evil in us. We are to be discerning of what is good and what is evil. We are to be careful not to support the scheming of the evil, or in our careless disregard, be perpetuators of evil as well. We are to be, as the Gospel tells us, “innocent like doves, but smart like serpents” (Mt 10, 16). We should never be overconfident. We are to be always cautious. The Apostle Peter warns us, “Be sober and alert. Your opponent the devil is prowling like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, solid in your faith.” (1 Peter 5, 8-9)

There is a story about an old man giving an advice to his grandson. The old man told his grandson, “There are in each one of us two wolves struggling against each other – one good, the other evil.” The grandson anxiously asked, “Grandpa, who will prevail?” The reply came, “The one you feed.”

The words of St. Paul are a fitting reminder: Do not let evil defeat you. Instead, conquer evil with good. (Rom 12, 21)