Thursday of Seventeenth Week of Ordinary Time

Lectio

    Matthew 13:47–53

Meditatio

“Do you understand all these things?”

    In this chapter of Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus explains the kingdom of heaven. He has taken the Twelve aside to offer a more intense explanation, first of the weeds and wheat, then of the mustard seed, the buried treasure, and the fine pearls. Now he speaks to them of the wide net thrown out by the fishermen. The Twelve are to be fishers of men—in fact, most of them are fishermen by profession—and they will have to use a large net, throw it out over the waters and haul in as many fish as possible. When they proclaim the kingdom they will have to reach out to as many people as can hear. An attempt will be made to include everyone in the kingdom, but not all will be chosen. As with the fish, a division is made: they “put what is good into buckets. What is bad they throw away.”

    Jesus is explaining not just the kingdom of God on earth, but also the Last Judgment, when the good and bad will be separated. The wicked will be taken by angels to the “fiery furnace, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth,” in other words, the sufferings of separation and regret.

    Jesus paints a vivid picture for the disciples of the urgency of their mission. They must bring his message to everyone—preach it as far and wide as possible so that many people (ourselves included) will accept the Good News and be ready for the great judgment. “Do you understand all these things?” Yes, they say. Then, he says, you must be “like the head of a household who brings from his storeroom both the new and the old.” Distribute to your hearers all knowledge: the wisdom of our tradition and the spirit of the Good News. How often do we thank the Master for sending these fishermen, and those others throughout history, to share the heart of his message with us?

Oratio

    Dear Master, thank you for providing fishermen who would pursue the catch down through the ages of your Church. Let us docilely receive your word, humbly submit to what you desire, and intelligently live it out in our lives. And may we, inspired by the head of the household in your story, embrace what is new, and treasure what is old in our tradition. Enrich us, mind and heart, so we, too, will become fishers of the men and women of today.

Contemplatio

    My mind and heart await your word.

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ORDINARY GRACE Weeks 1–17: Daily Gospel Reflections (By the Daughters of St. Paul)