It don't get more binary than this.

There’s little more offensive to the woke world these days than being “binary.”

Defending that there are only “men” and “women” is a hate crime in many places, such as New York City (land of the infamous 31 genders) where “misgendering” is a criminal offense. 

And then there’s the reviled binary of “right” and “wrong.”  In the new melting pot there is no black and white - only the thin grey gruel of everyone’s own “lived truth.”

But won’t that completely undermine our legal system?

You betcha. 

And that is why people whose lives are built on the sand of relativism, like Sam Harris, are desperately trying to figure out how to have law and order in a world where there is no basis for law and order.

Yes, some aspects of life are nuanced and require us to be wise as serpents and to balance justice with mercy.  But in most situations the Truth is plainly obvious, and to deny that is to run afoul of the now-popular words of Isaiah, “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness...”

In last Sunday’s Gospel passage, Jesus gives a stern warning that the cold, hard “binary” hammer will eventually drop for each one of us - “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."'

There will only be weeds and wheat.  There won’t be WheaDS, or trans-wheat, or whatever.  There will only be two options – to choose Jesus, or deny Him – and no amount of fancy-pants, slippery-tongued, ACLU-minted double talk will get us out of just those two options.

Is that a difficult message?  For sure.

But the earliest Fathers always understood it in a positive light to mean that none of us are “fixed” as being wheat or weeds.  Until our dying breath, we can choose Christ (as we hope with some of the famous death bed conversions, like Oscar Wilde and John Wayne). 

That’s why we should never give up on anyone.  Nor take our own salvation for granted. 

Not that we should live in despair.  If we are following the basic precepts of the Church (follow the commandments, weekly Mass, regular confession…) – we are justifiably confident in our salvation.

Likewise, we should hope and pray for the salvation of everyone.  In fact, right now is as good a time as any -

“Merciful Lord Jesus, at this moment there is someone about to depart this life who is in dire need of the grace to choose You.  I offer this moment, this small sacrifice of prayer, to humbly beg for that grace.”  (and if there is a small additional sacrifice you can unite to this prayer, all the better!)

Blessings on your journey with Christ -

Steve and Karen Smith

Interior Life

Postscript:  Mt 13:24-30,36-43

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."'"

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."