July 30, 2015
Thursday, 17th Week in Ordinary Time
1st Reading:
Exodus 40:16-21, 34-38
Gospel: Mt 13:47–53
Jesus said to the crowds, “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 in buckets, but throw the worthless ones 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 throw them 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, “You will see that every teacher of the Law who becomes a disciple of the Kingdom is like a householder who can produce from his store things both new and old.” When Jesus had finished these parables, he left the place.
D@iGITAL-EXPERIENCE
(Daily Gospel in the Assimilated Life Experience)
The parable of the fishnet fills us with hope that our struggle with evil is only short-lived because the good will triumph in the end. It assures us that on the Day of Judgment the wicked will be thrown out of the kingdom while the righteous ones will “shine brightly like the splendor of the firmament and those who lead many to justice shall be like the stars forever” (Daniel 12: 2-3).
The consoling part is that the Day of Judgment will satisfy good people’s thirst for justice. For now we have to learn to co-exist with wicked people. There are two important implications. The first is that co-existence with the wicked will expose good people to the destructive effects of the deeds of evil. This explains why good people suffer. These sufferings, however, will catapult them to great spiritual heights. The second implication is that wicked people only have this lifetime as grace period to repent. At the end of time “the Son of Man will send his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom all that is scandalous and all who do evil” (Matthew 13:36-43).
The message of today’s Gospel fills both bad and good people alike with hope. The good ones who suffer today can look forward to their eternal reward. On the other hand the bad ones who tread the path to damnation can look to this lifetime as their big chance to reverse their fate. This kind of hope gives meaning to our daily strife. But as Francis Bacon wrote, “Hope is a good breakfast, but a bad supper” (Apophthegms). While there is still time, hope is useful to the good and the bad that coexist in this world. But when the end is near there is little that hope can do to the unrepentant. – Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., DM. Email: dan.delosangeles@gmail.com. Website: www.frdan.org.
May comment ka ba sa column ni Father Dan? May tanong ka ba sa kanya? I-type ang BANDERA REACT <message/ name/age/address> at i-send sa 4467.