Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint 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.
Like a net thrown into the sea
1. All kinds of fish. When I hear this in the Gospel I remember a man I knew in my parish when I was young: “Don Arce”. He was very helpful. He was not the president of the Catholic Action Movement, nor of Caritas, he was not a catechist nor an altar boy. Don Arce was the one who cleaned the church, helped collect the alms, rang the bells and was always available to help. He was that Christian who did not need to be a pastoral agent or hold parish offices, he just needed to serve. Before entering the seminary I went to say goodbye to him, and we talked at length. He told me that he was part of AA, that he had a hard time fighting his addiction, but that he was winning the battle and in the parish he’d found the place to serve and feel useful, it made him happy to prepare everything so that when people arrived they could enjoy the mass. His change took place one day when he was drunk and lying on the street, and a group of young people with a priest came to help him, cleaned him up and helped him to get off the streets. That gesture alone was enough to stop him from never leaving Jesus aside again. Many times, we are prejudiced and forget that the Church is for all and not for some. Today, you and I have the task of getting into this sea that is the world, where there are waves of lies and deceits, of anguish and loneliness, of ideologies and fundamentalisms. You and I bring Christ, a Christ who belongs to all and not to some.
2. What to throw away. Following the line of the Gospel there’s also a second point to consider. In the Christian process, once you’ve been “collected”, taken by God, you must take the time to see what you‘re keeping in your life and what you must let go of. There are many things that are on your conscience and in your heart, but only weighing you down. It’s time to ask yourself if you really want to go on carrying those weights that are no longer necessary, and that you don’t even want to carry anymore. Sooner or later, you’ll have to see which things remain with you and which don’t because they simply don’t contribute to your life and don’t help you to continue growing. Let them go.
3. The new and the old. It’s curious because the Gospel mentions “every scribe”. This refers to people who are learned and instructed in the faith. When you meet Christ there’s a change, where you’ll have to let go of many things in your life, but you’ll also have to assume what your life now implies. You must go step by step knowing that you must accomplish what you came to this life for.
Always remember that something good is on the way!
God bless you, be with you and protect you in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
