Scripture Scribbles: July 19, 2026
the Gospel
Matthew 13:24-30
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."
the scribble
Recently, a prominent design publication posted something related to the rise in popularity of Christian designers. I was interested to see how their secular audience received this topic and dove into the comments section. One thread particularly caught my attention. A Christian, urging conversion, posted a quick list of healings he or she had witnessed as evidence for Christianity. Someone else fired back, pointing out that many suffer and never receive the healings for which they pray. The latter concluded that our God could not be a good God if he allows so much suffering and evil, especially to the innocent.
In today’s central parable, the slaves ask similar questions to this commenter. The presence of evil (the weeds) makes them question if the sower is inept or careless.
'Master, did you not sow good seed in your field?
Oh how gently the Lord receives these questions - both in our central parable today and in the hearts of those struggling with these questions now. He gives us Truth we can hold onto: he sows good seed. You and I are good seed. The presence of evil does not mean the sower is careless or inept. It means there is an enemy.
He answered, 'An enemy has done this.'
As the parable continues, we see the sower of the good seed allow the evil to continue to grow until harvest time. He is not shaken or distracted by the presence of evil. His great attention and care is entirely oriented toward protecting the good seed as it grows. Oh what sweet mercy we see in this action. If I imagine myself sprouting in the soil of the sower, entwined with weeds, how grateful I am that he has not cleared the weeds yet. He gives his children (that’s all of us!) time to grow and strengthen and receive the nourishment of the sun and soil he has prepared for us until the time of harvest.
Another gorgeous reality is that the glory of God is made most apparent amongst the weeds.
The lives of the saints and Christians I know today point to this. And this is what I would want to share with the commenter I mentioned above if we could chat over coffee: it is not the absence of suffering or injustice that marks the lives of saints and Christians whose witnesses have changed me. It is in fact, the way they suffer and grieve with faith, hope, love and even inexplicable joy, that makes God’s presence and goodness so undeniable. If we walk with the saints we will see suffering and we will see healings and miracles. But so often, the healings and miracles come to those they pray for, rather than in relief of their own personal suffering. Can you imagine the enemy’s frustration? He sows evil, but the goodness of God prevails with even greater beauty because of it. The effort of the weeds to strangle one child of God turns into a witness that wins souls to the Lord.
This is such encouragement to my heart to continue to grow in faith, hope and love and to become more and more like Him with the nourishment and healing of the sacraments. I want to be the saint he calls me to be and point to his goodness and glory in and through all things. I hope it is encouragement to your heart, too!
Today’s devotion was written by Lucia Parker DeMarco
