August 03, 2017

Gospel: Mt 13:47-53
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a big fishing net, let down into the sea, in which every kind of fish has been caught. When the net is full, it is dragged ashore. Then they sit down and gather the good fish into buckets, but throw the bad away. That is how it will be at the end of time; the angels will go out to separate the wicked from the just, and to throw the wicked into the blazing furnace, where they will weep and gnash their teeth.”
Jesus asked, “Have you understood all these things?” “Yes,” they answered. So he said to them, “Therefore, every teacher of the law, who becomes a disciple of the kingdom of heaven, is like a householder, who can produce from his store things both new and old.”
When Jesus had finished these parables, he left that place.

REFLECTION:
The kingdom-parable on the dragnet, a big fishing net catching every kind of fish, partly gives us an answer to the question regarding the scandalous presence of evil in the world. As someone once said, such reality begs questions such as: If indeed the Church is the sacrament of salvation, a holy institution, how can evil subsist in it? How can evil continue to exist in the very institution whose mission is to free the world from it?
The answer is implied in the parable itself. Until the Final Judgment the Church of God must carry in her womb the best and the worst of people. God allows saints and sinners into His family. But at the end of time, he will sort them out and reward everyone according to his/her deeds. Between now and the Final Judgement the Church endeavors to constantly purify herself, make every effort to sanctify all her members and invite all peoples to join in with her in joyfully discovering the joy and fulfillment that only the kingdom of God can offer.