Greetings on this the Thursday of the Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time
Readings: Jeremiah 18:1-6; Psalm 146:1B-2, 3-4, 5-6ab; Matthew 13:47-53
Summary
Open our heart, O Lord, to listen to the words of your Son (Acts 16:14).
Reflection
In our Gospel portion today, we hear the third of Matthew 13’s triplet of parables: the buried treasure, the pearl of great price, and the net of fish.
Not to put a too fine a point to it but:
- Not everyone searches for treasure
- Not everyone searches for pearls
- But everyone gets caught in the Net of the End Times.
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net thrown into the sea, which collects (every) fish of every kind. When it is full they haul it ashore and sit down to put what is good into buckets. What is bad they throw away (MT 13:47-48).
It doesn’t matter if you do or do not have a burning need to answer the big questions:
- Who am I?
- Why am I?
- What is my final end?
The good news is the Lord doesn’t stop trying to communicate with us and help us form our questions and seek our answers.
Indeed, like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, house of Israel (Jer 18:6b). Whether clay in the potter’s hand or fish in the sea, our freedom exists within a life that belongs finally to God.
Eventually, life presses each of us toward the same question: who shouldn’t I trust?
Put not your trust in princes,
in the sons of men, in whom there is no salvation.
When his spirit departs he returns to his earth;
on that day his plans perish (PS 146:3-4).
So whom shall we trust?
Blessed he whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the LORD, his God.
Who made heaven and earth,
the sea and all that is in them (PS 146:5-6ab).
Personal Reflection
So I’m a fish in this parable. I am free to swim in schools and go anywhere the ocean waters go.
It’s a great life. We can go anywhere and do anything that fish can do – even fishy things (doh! – still a fish in this sentence).
But in all the going and doing let us not fail to search for the treasure and the pearl – relationship with the Lord.
The net will find everyone; wisdom is allowing the treasure to find us first.
Sacred Readings full text: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/073026.cfm
Peace be with you,
Deacon Gerry