Wisdom 12:13, 16-19/ Romans 8:26-27/ Matthew 13:24-43
Among the science-fiction movies that became block-busters, one of the most interesting and fascinating is the Star Wars series.
Even if we have not seen a Star Wars movie, we know something about it.
I remembered watching the first Star Wars movie and it had a dramatic beginning.
There were those blue words on a black screen “Long long ago in a galaxy far far away …” and then that famous instrumental theme of the movie.
One of the more famous characters, if not the most famous character, of the Star Wars series, is not one of the heroes or one of the good guys.
Rather it was one of the bad guys, and he can be called THE bad guy.
And he is none other than Darth Vader. And who doesn’t know Darth Vader. He is that imposing character in a black suit and strange looking helmet and he looks like half-man and half-robot.
And there is his famous heavy breathing and he talks through his mask.
But more than his strange dressing and breathing, this Darth Vader character is also intriguing.
In the prequel, which was shown after the sequel (confusing isn’t it) the background and identity of Darth Vader was revealed.
He was originally one of the good guys, but he was tempted to walk on the dark side, which he eventually did.
And the Star Wars story which is essentially a story of good against evil goes on from there.
That story highlights the universal existence and tension between good and evil.
And it also tries to explain a mystery. It tries to explain the mystery of evil.
It tries to answer questions like “Where does evil come from?” “Why do we become evil and commit evil acts?”
In today’s gospel, Jesus tells a parable that also dwells on the mystery of evil.
Good seeds were sown in the field. Then an enemy came and sowed weeds in the field.
So the cause of evil is zeroed in on this “enemy”. But who is this enemy? And where is this enemy?
It would be convenient to assume that the enemy is somewhere out there lurking in the dark.
Or better still, we can even identify the enemy as the devil, and for the evil that is happening, we can blame it on him.
In a way that is quite true. Even the gospel parable seems to put it like that.
Yet there is another enemy – the enemy that is within!
This story may illustrate what is meant by the enemy within.
The Great Wall of China was and still is a massive structure.
It was also built at a massive cost, especially in terms of human lives. (It has been estimated that more than a million Chinese died over the centuries that it took to build the Wall)
It was built to keep out and to prevent the barbarians from invading the country.
When it was completed, it was thought to be impregnable. Until one day it was broken into, and broken into quite easily.
Along the walls, there are also many gates for the troops to move in and out.
The enemy simply bribed one the gate-keepers, and when everyone was asleep, he opened the gates for the enemy.
The irony was that the Great Wall which was built at the cost of many lives, was breached not by the enemy from without but by the enemy from within.
And that brings up the point about the enemy in today’s gospel.
The enemy that sowed the weeds may not be from without or from somewhere out there.
The enemy may be from within. In other words, there is no greater enemy than ourselves.
In fact if the enemy is from without, it would make us more united.
But it is the enemy from within that will cause the most extensive damage because it begins with internal damage.
And internal damage begins with evil thoughts which will lead to evil desires and evil actions.
At the heart of it all is none other than the heart itself.
Our hearts are created by God and created to be pure and holy.
When we choose to walk on the dark side, we shut God out of our hearts and consequently we let the devil sow his weeds of evil into our hearts.
We become like Darth Vader who was originally on the good side but chose to walk on the dark and evil side.
But even if we choose to walk on the dark and evil side, there is the wheat of goodness in the hearts.
All the evil cannot take away the goodness in our hearts, because it is a goodness that is sown by God Himself.
So let us come back to the light and walk in the love of the Lord and bear a harvest of goodness.