Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 13, 47-53
‘Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and caught fish of every kind; when it was full, they drew it ashore, sat down, and put the good into baskets but threw out the bad. So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ‘Have you understood all this?’ They answered, ‘Yes.’ And he said to them, ‘Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.’ When Jesus had finished these parables, he left that place.
The Good and The Bad
1. Cast and receive. In your everyday life, there are always moments when you can gather, reap what you’ve sown. You can receive the smile of your spouse or children, or maybe a greeting from a stranger. There is always something in your day that will leave a mark, a footprint, that will be like a small seed of something new to contribute to your life. That is why you should not end your day without asking yourself, ‘What did I learn today that might be speaking to me?’ Think about it, because there is always something you can receive.
2. Throw away what’s bad. Today, find time to think about your life. You cannot continue carrying so much weight, it only weighs you down and does not allow you to experience the life God wants you to have. Discard whatever is not letting you continue, because the ‘garbage’ in your life will only end up smelling rotten; it is time to let go of some of that weight. It is necessary that you should stop and start looking at what’s good and what needs to be thrown away. Only you can do the work, nobody else can. And if you do not do it, you will end up too tired to live your life and the ‘garbage’ will only leave a bad smell, the smell of being a compulsive niggler so that no one will want to be around you.
3. He walked away from there: There are times when you have to walk away from everything and make space for yourself. Before and after you make decisions, private space is important. It is good to walk away, it is good to take time and space for yourself. This also applies when we are accompanying someone at a certain moment in their life and we show them something in their lives that they may need to discard or change. We need to move away and let them process the information. It will not help if we try to do the work for them.
God bless you and be with you, in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. And don’t forget, Heaven is our goal!
