Today Jesus is asked to explain the parable of the weeds in the field (Mt 13: 36-43) and gives a point-by-point description of all the elements of the story-- the good seed, the bad seed, the field, the sower of good seed and the sower of the weeds, and the harvest. Essentially Jesus tells us that at the end of the age there will be a separation of the righteous from those who are not being welcomed into God's Kingdom-- the weeds from the wheat, as it were. None of that is very surprising to anyone familiar with Jesus' preaching. But I find the language which Jesus uses to describe those who will be cast out of the Kingdom particularly interesting. He says that the angels will "collect out of his Kingdom all who cause others to sin and all evildoers." The "evildoers" reference is expected. But such harsh treatment for those who "cause others to sin"? One might have thought that sinning oneself is a lot worse than being a cause for someone else to sin. After all, that other person, if he or she is really to sin, must have made his or her own decision to act in a way that is contrary to God's wishes. Surely that independent decision of the one who is "caused" to sin must reduce the guilt of the "causer", right? But obviously that's not how Jesus sees it. For Him, being the cause of someone else's sin seems to be just as bad as being an "evildoer" oneself. So that means we might spend a bit of time reflecting on what it means to cause someone else to sin. How might we do that? I suppose there are some pretty direct means. Encouraging folks to use drugs, or excessive amounts of alcohol, or porn, or non-marital sex-- those would all seem to qualify. But what about those things we cause in others by our example. If we aren't concerned about going to Mass on Sunday, doesn't that give others the permission to behave the same way, causing them to sin? Or if we tolerate behavior that is racist, or sexist, or divisive, or cruel-- doesn't that give other people the cover they need to do the same? Aren't we then becoming a "cause" for that sin? In some real way when we don't stand up for the values Jesus teaches when we are given the chance-- things like honesty, integrity, respect for others, concern for the poor, the homeless, the vulnerable, the immigrant-- aren't we causing others to sin? Sadly, I think it is pretty easy to cause others to sin. Just standing by in silence under the right circumstances can be enough. I know we all hate the idea of being drawn into the taking sides that seems to be so pervasive these days, and we'd like simply to sit down and avoid the controversy. Fair enough. But sometimes we have to stand up and not encourage mockery, intolerance, hypocrisy, dishonesty and arrogant cruelty. When we see those things, we need to name them and criticize them as the sins that they are. Otherwise aren't we causing others to sin?