In the tent of meeting God would speak to Moses 'face to face, as a man speaks with his friend'. It was considered impossible to see God face to face, or to hear God's voice, without perishing, so strong was the belief of the people of the Old Testament in man's unworthiness in face of the transcendent sanctity of God. Yet, this God of majesty and awe speaks intimately to Moses; and even on the mountain where God's majesty had first been revealed he now proclaims himself a God of tenderness and compassion, ready to pardon the people's faults and to adopt them as His heritage. Too strong to stress on human unworthiness in God's presence seems to be questioned in the explanation of the parable of the darnel in today's Gospel passage. The kingdom of God is inhabited by people of many different levels of commitment. The decision on who is or is not worthy, is for God alone. And we must not forget that the God who makes this judgement is a God of compassion who knows of what we are made, and remembers that we all are dust.