Gospel

A reading from the holy Gospel according to 

Matthew 13:44 - 52 

 

He sells everything he owns and buys the field.

Jesus said to the crowds, ‘The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field which someone has found; he hides it again, goes off happy, sells everything he owns and buys the field.

‘Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls; when he finds one of great value he goes and sells everything he owns and buys it.

‘Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet cast into the sea that brings in a haul of all kinds. When it is full, the fishermen haul it ashore; then, sitting down, they collect the good ones in a basket and throw away those that are no use. This is how it will be at the end of time: the angels will appear and separate the wicked from the just to throw them into the blazing furnace where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth.

‘Have you understood all this?’ They said, ‘Yes.’ And he said to them, ‘Well, then, every scribe who becomes a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out from his storeroom things both new and old.’

Gospel Reflection

The twin parables of today’s gospel – the treasure in the field and the pearl of great value – reveal a paradoxical truth about the kingdom of Heaven. Throughout the gospels, Jesus presents the kingdom as ‘now but not yet’; as ‘present but future’. This paradox is captured in these twin parables. In both cases, the kingdom is likened to something of great value that is discovered but cannot be immediately grasped. In both parables, the finder must go away and sell everything so that they can eventually come to possess the treasure they have discovered.

By comparing this experience with the kingdom of Heaven, Jesus suggests that most of us can only ever catch glimpses of what it means to live in the kingdom. For most of us, only in the future reality of heaven will we ever fully come to understand the kingdom. However, those glimpses that we catch – those moments of inspiration and connection with God and with one another – are like the treasures of the parables. They are enough to inspire us to do what it takes to make sure that we will one day enter into that kingdom reality.

The third parable of this gospel passage reveals yet another truth about the kingdom. The dragnet thrown into the sea is like the message of Jesus – it is flung far and wide and does not discriminate about where it falls or on whom it falls. This parable rounds out the chapter that began with the parable of the sower and the image of casting the net is a neat parallel to the indiscriminate casting of seed. It is not up to the one who casts the net, the seed or the Word. Rather it is up to each individual to determine how they will respond to receiving the Word.

Gospel Focus – The Kingdom is like…

Throughout the gospels, Jesus consistently uses the figures of speech of simile and metaphor to describe the kingdom. He never directly describes the kingdom. It is always described as being like some situation or person or as if… This figurative use of language means that we have no single clear picture of what the kingdom is like but we do have a multitude of metaphors and descriptions. This style of description adds to the paradoxical nature of the kingdom – it is like many things yet we don’t really know what it is like at all.

Scriptural context – Matthew Ch 13

Over the last few weeks we have now heard Matthew Chapter 13 almost in its entirety. We heard first the parable of the sower then last week three short parables about weeds amongst the wheat, the mustard seed growing into a great tree and leaven in the flour. Finally, today we have had these additional pithy parables. The entire chapter seeks to paint metaphoric images of the kingdom. Woven through these images is a suggestion that the kingdom is open to all – all are presented with the invitation – but not everyone will accept that invitation or respond to it in the same way.

Have you thought? Interpretation

In today’s passage the gospel writer appears to describe himself: ‘every scribe who becomes a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out from his storeroom things both new and old.’ It is a fantastic description of what it means to be an interpreter of the gospel. To interpret scripture, one must draw on what is old; applying understandings of the text in its original context and its original audience. But one must also draw on what is new; making connections between that original setting and the context in which it is being read today.