We are quickly coming to the conclusion of the liturgical year and will then begin a new liturgical year starting with the 1st Sunday of Advent. With this reality set before us we begin to place our focus upon the end of time. There will come a day when Christ will come again. Until then we must heed the words of Sacred Scripture for we know not the time nor the hour. No matter how much we attempt to escape it’s grasp death will catch up with each of us. Therefore, we must place our attention upon the four last things which are death, judgement, Heaven, and hell.
In our Gospel we are given this image into this reality. Here we were given the image of a man who sowed good seed in his field. The enemy then comes and mixes in this other seed that looks identical to wheat. The problem is that once it grows it is too late to pull up because it would take with it the wheat. For this reason the cockle must remain in the field until the harvest comes when it is bound up and burned.
This is what takes place within our life. We have been created in the image and the likeness of God. Through our baptism we were given the gift of faith in order that we may do something with it and not squander it. As we go about this life we must stay on guard against the wicked one in order that we may always do that which is good and holy. The devil wants to entwine himself into our life and lead us astray through the assaults of his lies, but we must remain vigilant in our practice of faith.
Through such vigilance we will make sure that this cockle does not enter into our life and cause us great confusion. The faith which we practice is always oriented towards truth, but such cockle attempts to confuse us and lead us away from such truth. There will come a time when the harvest will come and we will face judgement. In our Gospel such a reality took place as the cockle was collected into bundles and burned.
Likewise, we cannot confuse ourselves to think that judgement is not a reality. There is not one of us who will not die and be judged either to Heaven or hell. Despite this judgement we must realize that the faith has given us everything that we need in order to live out good and holy lives. The gift of God’s grace is more powerful then anything that the father of lies can throw at us. Through the sacraments we are given such grace and through our study of Sacred Scripture we come know Christ whom we are called to enter into relationship with.
This day let us remain the wheat that has not been infected with this foreign seed. When our time on this earth comes to its end may we be found ready to be called home to God where we will dwell with Him forever. There is a lot of fleeting temptations that attempt to make us lose sight of this goal, but through our persistence with God’s grace we will run that race which leads us towards Everlasting Life. Let us seek the Kingdom of God above all things.
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