Give Jesus 90 Seconds, He’ll Give You the Full Story

The Gospel reading at Mass this weekend offers a long version and a short version. The priest or deacon has the option of reading the full passage from Matthew’s gospel, which takes about two-and-a-half minutes to recite, or the abbreviated passage, which takes about one minute.

If the priest or deacon chooses the shorter version, what will the people in the pews gain? Well, they will gain 90 whole seconds. This means Mass will end sooner and the folks will have a full one-and-a-half minute head start on the weekly tire-squealing, curb-jumping contest to get out of the parking lot as quickly as possible, even if it means occasionally side-swiping Grandma McGillicuddy, who really should’ve known better than to challenge a Chevy Suburban with her rickety walker.

Now, on the other hand, what will the people in the pews gain if the priest or deacon chooses to read the full two-and-a-half minute version of the Gospel? Oh, nothing much—except the COMPLETE EXPLANATION of what the gospel reading actually means. Gee, who would want to waste a valuable 90 seconds for something like that?

This week, Jesus tells the parable of the wheat and the weeds. A man sowed good seed in his field, but at night an enemy snuck in and sowed weeds throughout the field.

When the wheat began to grow, weeds also appeared. The servants went to the man and asked if they should pull out the weeds. He replied no, as they might accidentally uproot the wheat in the process. Wait till the harvest, then at that time, the harvesters will separate the wheat from the weeds, putting the wheat into the barn and bundling up the weeds to be burned.

And right at that point, the shorter version of the gospel reading comes to an end. So, with the shorter version, the average American Catholic, who has little knowledge of farming, will think Jesus just gave a lesson in basic agriculture.

If the additional one-and-a-half minutes are presented, the people in the pews will hear Jesus’ detailed explanation of what the parable means. Possibly this is worth 90 seconds of a person’s valuable time?

Jesus described each symbolic point in the parable:

• the man who sowed good seed is the Son of Man, that is, Jesus Himself
• the field is the world
• the good seed represents the children of the Kingdom
• the weeds are the children of the evil one
• the enemy is the devil
• the harvest is the end of the age
• the harvesters are angels

Jesus then went on to say, “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.”

In this explanation, Jesus acknowledged the existence of the following: (1) the devil, (2) the devil’s evil followers, (3) a future final judgment, and (4) a place where evildoers will be sent which is, shall we say, not very pleasant.

OK, it seems this parable is slightly different than just a lesson in basic agriculture.

Each of the four realities acknowledged by Jesus—the devil, his evil followers, final judgment, and Hell—are not exactly popular concepts these days. Maybe many people indeed would prefer a lesson in basic agriculture and a 90-second head start toward the parking lot. 

But if Jesus says something is real, then whether we like it or not, it is real. We ignore it at our own risk. And speaking of risk, maybe it’s time we relaxed and took our time while leaving the church parking lot. I hear Grandma McGillicuddy has a mean lawyer.