GOD NEVER GIVES UP ON US

Dear Friends,

I am sure many of us have heard or even sung the famous Christian hymn, “Amazing Grace.” It is one of the most loved hymns. But have you ever wondered who wrote it? The hymn was written by John Newton, and his life is a veritable testimony to the message of today’s readings. As a young man, John Newton was far from God. He became deeply involved in the transatlantic slave trade, transporting thousands of African men, women, and children under terrible conditions. His life was marked by violence, greed, and a complete disregard for human dignity. If anyone looked beyond hope, it was John Newton.

Then one night, while sailing across the Atlantic, his ship was caught in a violent storm. Believing that death was near, he cried out to God for mercy. That moment became the beginning of his conversion. It was not an instant transformation, but over the years, God’s grace gradually changed his heart. He abandoned the slave trade, became a Christian minister, fought against slavery, and eventually wrote the hymn we all know today: “Amazing grace! How sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now am found; was blind, but now I see.” Imagine if God had given up on John Newton because of his terrible past. Imagine if God had judged him before giving him the opportunity to repent. I feel you, and I would never have known his conversion or the beautiful hymn that continues to inspire millions of Christians today.

John Newton’s story reminds us of one simple but powerful truth: God never gives up on us. In the first reading from the Book of Wisdom, we meet a God who is all-powerful, yet surprisingly compassionate and patient. Instead of using His power to destroy sinners immediately, He gives them time to repent. As the author of the book of Wisdom tells us, God governs with clemency and gives His children hope because He permits repentance.

The Gospel continues this same message through the Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds. The servants are eager to pull up the weeds immediately, but the master says, “No, let both grow together until the harvest.” Why?

To answer the question, we need to understand something about the farming practices of Jesus’ time and so appreciate the parable. Jesus’ listeners were farmers. They knew that one of the worst acts of revenge was for an enemy to enter another person’s field at night and secretly scatter the seeds of a weed called darnel among the wheat. In its early stages, darnel looked almost exactly like wheat. It is only when both plants mature that the difference can be recognized. Even more importantly, their roots became intertwined beneath the soil. If someone tried to pull up the weeds too early, the wheat would also be uprooted and destroyed. So this explains why the master answers them. “No. Let both grow together until the harvest.”

In this case, the farmer’s decision seems strange. But Jesus used this illustration to confront a seemingly accepted idea of the people of his time. In His days, many people expected that when the Messiah came, He would immediately destroy evil, punish sinners, and establish God’s Kingdom in visible power. Instead, Jesus was forgiving sinners, eating with tax collectors, welcoming the outcasts, and preaching repentance rather than immediate judgment. People naturally wondered: If Jesus is truly the Messiah, why doesn’t He remove evil? The parable is Jesus’ answer. God is not indifferent to evil. Nor is He powerless against it. Rather, God is patient and never gives up on us.

The master does not protect the weeds because he loves weeds. He leaves them because he loves the wheat. He knows that pulling them up too early would destroy the good crop. Likewise, God delays His final judgment because He desires our conversion. He sees possibilities where we see only failures. He knows that today’s sinner may become tomorrow’s saint. For instance, we think of St. Paul, who persecuted the Church before becoming its greatest missionary. St. Peter, the head of the Apostolic College, denied Jesus three times before becoming the first Pope. If God had judged them too early, the Church would have lost some of its greatest saints.

Today’s Gospel is ultimately a Gospel of hope. It tells us that God never gives up on anyone. Humanly speaking, this may sound weird and unrealistic. This is because, at times, we give up on people. We give up on our friends, our partner, or a family member. We write them off because of their mistakes. We conclude that they will never change. Sometimes we even give up on ourselves. We look at our repeated failures, our sins, our weaknesses, and we begin to think, “There is no hope for me anymore.” The history of our salvation is a story of God who never gives up on man. From the Garden of Eden to Calvary, God made a bold statement that He is interested in our affairs and will never give up on us. But this parable is not only about the evil we see in the world. It is also about the condition of our own hearts. There is wheat, and there are weeds growing within each one of us. We all have moments of generosity and moments of selfishness; moments of faith and moments of weakness. We need discernment to uproot the weeds in our hearts.  God also works patiently in our lives through His grace. The second reading gives us great consolation. St. Paul reminds us that even when we are weak, the Holy Spirit helps us. When we do not know how to pray, the Spirit Himself intercedes for us. God does not simply wait for us to change; He actively helps us to change. His patience is accompanied by His grace. We should also note that His patience is not approval of evil; it is an expression of hope

Dear Friends, the greatest proof that God never gives up on us is our own lives. If God had judged us only by our worst decisions, where would we be today? Yet He continues to forgive us, to teach us, to nourish us with His Word and the Eucharist, and to give us another chance. As long as there is life, there is hope. As long as there is life, there is the possibility of conversion. As long as we are alive, God never stops working in us.

May we never abuse His patience, but rather respond to His mercy with sincere repentance and renewed faith. And just as God never gives up on us, may we never give up on ourselves or on others, trusting that God’s grace can transform every human heart. Amen. Happy Sunday