Posted: 7/18/2026 7:39:26 AM EDT
 Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 106 19 JULY 2026 A.D.  Reading 1 Wisdom 12:13, 16-19 There is no god besides you who have the care of all, that you need show you have not unjustly condemned. For your might is the source of justice; your mastery over all things makes you lenient to all. For you show your might when the perfection of your power is disbelieved; and in those who know you, you rebuke temerity. But though you are master of might, you judge with clemency, and with much lenience you govern us; for power, whenever you will, attends you. And you taught your people, by these deeds, that those who are just must be kind; and you gave your children good ground for hope that you would permit repentance for their sins.  Responsorial Psalm Psalm 86:5-6, 9-10, 15-16 R. Lord, you are good and forgiving. You, O LORD, are good and forgiving, abounding in kindness to all who call upon you. Hearken, O LORD, to my prayer and attend to the sound of my pleading. R. Lord, you are good and forgiving. All the nations you have made shall come and worship you, O LORD, and glorify your name. For you are great, and you do wondrous deeds; you alone are God. R. Lord, you are good and forgiving. You, O LORD, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in kindness and fidelity. Turn toward me, and have pity on me; give your strength to your servant. R. Lord, you are good and forgiving.  Reading 2 Romans 8:26-27 Brothers and sisters: The Spirit comes to the aid of our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes with inexpressible groanings. And the one who searches hearts knows what is the intention of the Spirit, because he intercedes for the holy ones according to God's will.  Alleluia Matthew 11:25 R. Alleluia, alleluia. Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth; you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the kingdom. R. Alleluia, alleluia.  Gospel Matthew 13:24-43 Jesus proposed another parable to the crowds, saying: "The kingdom of heaven may be likened to a man who sowed good seed in his field. While everyone was asleep his enemy came and sowed weeds all through the wheat, and then went off. When the crop grew and bore fruit, the weeds appeared as well. The slaves of the householder came to him and said, 'Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where have the weeds come from?' He answered, 'An enemy has done this.' His slaves said to him, 'Do you want us to go and pull them up?' He replied, 'No, if you pull up the weeds you might uproot the wheat along with them. Let them grow together until harvest; then at harvest time I will say to the harvesters, "First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles for burning; but gather the wheat into my barn."'" He proposed another parable to them. "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a person took and sowed in a field. It is the smallest of all the seeds, yet when full-grown it is the largest of plants. It becomes a large bush, and the 'birds of the sky come and dwell in its branches.'" He spoke to them another parable. "The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with three measures of wheat flour until the whole batch was leavened." All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables. He spoke to them only in parables, to fulfill what had been said through the prophet: I will open my mouth in parables, I will announce what has lain hidden from the foundation of the world. Then, dismissing the crowds, he went into the house. His disciples approached him and said, "Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field." He said in reply, "He who sows good seed is the Son of Man, the field is the world, the good seed the children of the kingdom. The weeds are the children of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. Just as weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all who cause others to sin and all evildoers. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears ought to hear." Overview of the Gospel: • Last Sunday, we were introduced to Matthew 13 as a chapter of parables. This week we have three more parables, all with “growth” as a theme. • Jesus tells another parable about a “sower”, this time one who has an enemy who secretly sows his field with weeds. This certain type of weed (called “tares” or “darnel” in some translations) contained a fungus that was poisonous to people and animals, causing severe nausea. This was sometimes done for revenge or maliciousness and the Romans had severe penalties to those caught committing such an act. These weeds look just like wheat in the early stages of growth thus making them almost impossible to remove without ruining the wheat. • The owner of the field decides to let the wheat and the tares grow side by side until the harvest. In biblical terms, “the harvest” is often associated with a day of God’s judgment (Jeremiah 51:33; Joel 4:13; Hosea 6:11; Revelation 14:14-20). [special thanks to Vince Contreras Scripture Study - Year A] "But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” 2 Peter 3:18 |
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The malicious planting of fake wheat seeds, called "tares" or darnel--not an insignificant thing. If caught, the perp could face execution! Under ancient Roman law, maliciously planting tares (specifically bearded darnel, or Lolium temulentum) in another person's wheat field was classified as an act of agricultural sabotage and was legally prosecuted under property damage and anti-poisoning frameworks, primarily yielding monetary restitution for the economic loss of the ruined crop or severe criminal penalties if treated as a poisoning attempt. The exact legal mechanics, remedies, and penalties are preserved in Justinian's Digest (D. 9.2.27.14), which details the classical Roman jurisprudence surrounding this specific crime. The Legal Proscriptions (Remedies)When an individual committed this act of revenge, Roman law provided the victim (the owner or the tenant farmer) two main civil avenues for legal recourse, though they could only choose one:Actio in factum ex lege Aquilia: The Lex Aquilia was Rome's foundational statute regarding wrongful property damage (damnum iniuria datum). Because planting a seed does not cause immediate physical destruction by direct force, jurists like Celsus and Ulpian established an actio in factum—a special lawsuit based on the specific fraudulent facts of the case to cover indirect contamination. Interdictum quod vi aut clam: This was a powerful possessory remedy granted by a Roman praetor specifically targeting property damage committed either by force or secretly (clam). The victim had to bring this action within exactly one year of the offense. The Penalties and Compensation--the penalties depended heavily on whether the act was handled as a civil tort (delict) or upgraded to a state crime:Financial Restitution: Under the Aquilian action, the perpetrator was sentenced to pay full monetary damages. The court calculated the penalty based on the projected market value of the healthy wheat crop at harvest minus the cost of the ruined, toxic yield. Criminal Poisoning Charges: Because bearded darnel is naturally toxic and causes blindness, severe illness, or death if ground into flour, extreme cases of crop poisoning crossed from civil property damage into criminal territory. It could be prosecuted under the Lex Cornelia de sicariis et veneficis (The Cornelian Law on Assassins and Poisoners). Under this criminal statute, penalties for intentional poisoning of food supplies included deportation (deportatio), confiscation of property, or execution.This rigorous legal backing underscores why the scenario was chosen for the famous biblical Parable of the Tares (Matthew 13:24–30); first-century Mediterranean audiences knew it as a highly realistic, malicious crime that carried devastating financial and legal consequences. |
