FIRST READING
Jeremiah 18:1-6
This word came to Jeremiah from the LORD:
Rise up, be off to the potter’s house; there I will give you my message. I went down to the potter’s house and there he was, working at the wheel. Whenever the object of clay which he was making turned out badly in his hand, he tried again, making of the clay another object of whatever sort he pleased. Then the word of the LORD came to me: Can I not do to you, house of Israel, as this potter has done? says the LORD. Indeed, like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, house of Israel.
RESPONSORIAL PSALM
Psalm 146:1b-2, 3-4, 5-6ab
R. Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Praise the LORD, O my soul; I will praise the LORD all my life; I will sing praise to my God while I live.
R. Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob.
or:
R. Alleluia.
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.
R. Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob.
or:
R. Alleluia.
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.
R. Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob.
or:
R. Alleluia.
ALLELUIA
See Acts 16:14b
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Open our hearts, O Lord, to listen to the words of your Son.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GOSPEL
Matthew 13:47-53
Jesus said to the disciples:
“The Kingdom of heaven is like a net thrown into the sea, which collects 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. Thus it will be at the end of the age. The angels will go out and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.”
“Do you understand all these things?” They answered, “Yes.” And he replied, “Then every scribe who has been instructed in the Kingdom of heaven is like the head of a household who brings from his storeroom both the new and the old.” When Jesus finished these parables, he went away from there.
REFLECTIONS:
What can a story of a dragnet and a great catch of
fish tell us about God's kingdom? The two most common ways of fishing in
Jesus' time was with a casting-net (or hand-net) which was thrown from
the shore and the drag-net or trawl which was let down or cast into the
waters from a boat. As the boat moved through the waters the drag-net was
drawn into the shape of a great cone which indiscriminately took in all
kinds of fish and flotsam and jetsam swept in its path. It usually took
several men to haul such a net to shore. What is Jesus' point here? 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 you hunger for God and his kingdom?
"Lord Jesus, increase my hunger for your kingdom and fill my heart with
eager longing for you that I may one day gaze upon your face in everlasting
bliss."
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