Matthew 13:47-53 Capji reflections

August 2

Jer 18:1-10

Ps 146:1b-2, 3-4, 5-6ab

Matthew 13:47-53 

47 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net which was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind; 48 when it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into vessels but threw away the bad. 49 So it will be at the close of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous, 50 and throw them into the furnace of fire; there men will weep and gnash their teeth. 51 "Have you understood all this?" They said to him, "Yes." 52 And he said to them, "Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old." 53 And when Jesus had finished these parables, he went away from there.

Meditation: Today the gospel compared to great catch on fishes. Jesus has done a miracle of great catch. Even he does it today. We all are captured by him and his goodness. In our heart of heart there is always an attraction to the highest goodness. Jesus by his goodness has captured the hearts of two thousand years of generation.

 Secondly, just as a drag-net catches every kind of fish in the sea, so the church acts as God's instrument for gathering in all who will come. Just as the drag-net does not or cannot discriminate, so the church does not discriminate between the good and the bad, the useless and the useful. God's kingdom is open to all who will accept and believe. But there will come a time of separation, at the close of the age, when the angels will send the good and the bad to their respective destinations. Our duty is to gather in all who will come. God, in the end, will give the good and the bad the reward they deserve. God offers the treasure of his kingdom to all who believe. Do we hunger for God and his kingdom? 

Thirdly the passage speaks about a scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven. 

"Scribe": among the Jews a scribe was a religious teacher, a specialist in sacred Scripture. Our Lord here uses this word to refer to the Apostles, who will have the role of teachers in His Church. However, every disciple of Christ, every Christian who has received Christ's teaching, has a duty to pass this teaching on to others.  The treasure of Revelation is so rich that it can provide teaching which applies to all times and situations.  It is for the word of God to enlighten all ages and situations not the other way around.  Therefore, the Church and its pastors preach, not new things, but a single unchanging truth contained in the treasure of Revelation: for the past two thousand years the Gospel has always been "good news".