Gospel for Sunday, July 30: Matthew 13:44-52
XVII Sunday A
44The kingdom of heaven is similar to a treasure hidden in the field; a man finds it and hides it; then he goes, full of joy, sells all his possessions and buys that field.
45The kingdom of heaven is also similar to a merchant who goes in search of precious pearls; 46having found a pearl of great value, he goes, sells all his possessions and buys it.
47Again, the kingdom of heaven is similar to a net cast into the sea, gathering all kinds of fish. 48When it is full, the fishermen pull it ashore, sit down, gather the good fish into baskets and throw away the bad. 49So it will be at the end of the world. Angels will come and separate the bad from the good 50and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
51Have you understood all these things?” They answered him, “Yes.” 52And he said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who draws out of his treasure new things and old things.”Mt 13:44-52
Dear Sisters and Brothers of the Misericordie, I am Carlo Miglietta, doctor, biblical scholar, layman, husband, father and grandfather (www.buonabibbiaatutti.it).
Also today I share with you a short meditation thought on the Gospel, with special reference to the theme of mercy.
Today’s Gospel presents us with three parables about the Kingdom of God and a final exhortation.
The first two parables rehash the same concept: the Kingdom of God is a wonder, it is absolute amazement, it is immeasurable beauty, it is the most precious thing there is, and it is truly worth abandoning everything in order to gain it. In the first parable, the man who finds the treasure in the field and then hides it, and goes out of his way to buy that field, is surely deceiving the seller, acting like a real smart-ass. But here we are faced with one of those Gospel paradoxes where we have to look not so much at the individual aspects of the passage but at its overall content, which is the same as that enunciated in the second parable: how priceless the Kingdom of God is.
We are in a society often gripped by meaninglessness, anxiety, anguish, fears over our personal situations of illness, aging, death, or the social scenario marked increasingly by war, hunger, and climate upheaval. Today’s Gospel invites us to lift up our eyes (Rom. 8:14) to heaven, to believe strongly that we are indeed called to a stupendous reality, and that all negative things will pass away because there will be “new heavens and a new earth” (Rev. 21:1). And this is not only in an eschatology that will be fulfilled, but already in the present, for Jesus says, “The Kingdom of God is in your midst” (Lk 17:21), and if “you seek the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, everything else will be given to you in addition” (Lk 12:31). For Christians will have “a hundredfold already in this life and eternal life as their lot” (Mt 19:29).
The third parable is one about final judgment, in which we are reminded that following God’s way leads to happiness and our full fulfillment, while straying from his commandments can only lead us to self-destruction and annihilation. But nothing is said about God’s immense mercy, which is capable of purifying the sinner. Often in biblical texts that speak of judgment the theme of fire recurs. But on closer inspection, the scriptural meaning of fire is not that of a terrible torment, but refers to God himself, “consuming fire” (Ex 24:17), which at the end of time will envelop the sinner to purify him, to save him, to make him one with him. His love is overwhelming, all absorbing and consuming: “For the Lord your God is consuming fire, a jealous God” (Deut. 3:4); “Who among us can dwell by a consuming fire? Who of us can dwell among everlasting flames?” (Isaiah 33:14). Isaiah sees the day of judgment as God’s fire that purifies everything: “When the Lord has washed away the filthiness of the daughters of Zion and has cleansed the interior of Jerusalem from the blood that has been shed there…, then will the Lord come as a cloud and as smoke by day, as a glow of fire and flame by night” (Isaiah 4:4-5).
Divine fire is not for destruction but for salvation. As the prophet Malachi says, speaking of the divine Messiah, “He is like the fire of the smelter and like the lye of the launderers. He will sit to melt and purify; he will purify the sons of Levi, he will refine them like gold and silver, that they may offer to the Lord an oblation according to righteousness” (Ml 3:1-4). Zechariah speaks of the “remnant of Israel” who will be purified by fire: “I will pass him through the fire and purify him as one purifies silver; I will try him as one tries gold” (Zech 13:9). Paul also sees in the fire of the day of judgment a means of salvation: “The work of every one shall be clearly seen: he shall make it known that day which shall be manifested by fire, and the fire shall prove the quality of every one’s work. If the work which one built upon the foundation endure, he shall receive a reward of it: but if the work end in burning, he shall be punished: nevertheless he shall be saved, though as through fire” (1 Cor. 3:13-15).
The final exhortation is as necessary as ever especially now, during the synodal journey of the Catholic Church. Indeed, they contrast those who would absolutely like to innovate all doctrinal, pastoral, and liturgical aspects of the Church itself, and conservatives who instead cling to the past. In the wake of the great tradition, the Church has the task of declining the Lord’s teaching in the concrete history of men, modulating it for the lives of her children. Therefore, the Church must remain open to the action of the Spirit: for Jesus said, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, he also that believeth in me shall do the works that I do, and shall do greater works, because I go unto the Father” (Jn. 14:12); “The Comforter, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I have spoken unto you” (Jn. 14:26); “Many things have I yet to say unto you, but for the present ye are not able to bear the burden of them. When he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth, for he will not speak from himself, but will say all that he has heard and will proclaim to you the things to come” (Jn 16:13). It is therefore the Spirit who leads the Church to “the whole truth,” in a continuous dynamic of growth. The Church therefore must never be arrogant, as if it already possesses the whole truth, but remain in humble listening to the Spirit who guides and leads her. “Therefore every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who draws out of his treasure new things and old things” (Mt. 13:52).
Happy Mercy to all!
Anyone who would like to read a more complete exegesis of the text, or some insights, please ask me at migliettacarlo@gmail.com.