THE QUESTIONING...
The first expresses the plight of
the people of God in the face of the great drought. The prophet Jeremiah echoes
out their suffering before God in the form of questions: ‘‘Have you rejected
Judah altogether? Does your soul loathe Zion? We looked for peace, but no good
came...’’ At the end, he acknowledged their wickedness and sinfulness, begging
God not to reject them. Jeremiah affirmed their faith in God who sends rain: ‘‘We
set our hope in you, for you do all these things.’’
In the Gospel, the apostles, Seeing
that Jesus taught the crowds in parables but never explained it to them (Mt
13:34), on entering the room questioned Jesus about the meaning of the parable
of the weeds in the field. Jesus did not hesitate to unravel the hidden meaning
of the parable to his little ones (cf. Mt 11:25).
UNDERSTANDING THE PARABLE
Sometimes our lives unfold like a
parable: the events in the story are familiar but the hidden meaning propelling
it is elusive. We seem to be in control of our actions/lives but cannot
determine its outcome. At other times, turbulent situations may make us feel
isolated, even from God. At such moments, one may begin to question like
Jeremiah if God still hears prayers or if one is saying the right prayers. Our
hearts yearn for answers; we hunger to understand the deep meaning of the
parable of our lives.
It is then that we follow Jesus
to the quiet room of our hearts and seek for deeper meaning. We will always find the reason and meaning about our parables once we listen to the Lord. His ready answer reveals God's plan for us.
