Fr. Adrian Burke, OSB, in his homily at St. Meinrad last week, talked about Chapter 13 of Matthew as a whole. There are seven parables that describe the Kingdom of God’s Way in Matthew 13. The parables Jesus told in our past two weeks’ Gospel readings were told to the crowds—though the explanations of them were given only to the disciples. This week’s descriptions of the Kingdom were told only to the disciples. What was the message Jesus wanted to give them? How does that relate to us today?
Some Background
Matthew, as a writer, tends to group stories of what Jesus said and did into clusters. For example, Chapters 5-7 are the “Sermon on the Mount.” It wasn’t likely that Jesus preached this one very long homily on a hilltop one day; it was likely that the Sermon on the Mount is a synthesis of what Jesus preached again and again in the early days of his public ministry.
One thing I find interesting about that early narrative summary of teaching is that the story of Matthew’s conversion comes in Chapter 9 after the Sermon on the Mount. I take that to mean that Matthew heard that beginning teaching from the outside. He was in the crowd. What he heard converted him and he became a disciple. (See Matthew 9:9-13) He just barely made the “final cut” before Jesus sent the 12 disciples out to prep the communities for his teaching and healing in Chapter 10.
Now it is later in Jesus’ public ministry. It is perhaps an intense time of formation for the disciples. Jesus is now describing the Kingdom of God’s Way to them with an insider’s point of view. Matthew is there—now on the inside.
Still, Matthew is an evangelist. He is listening to Jesus talk to the crowds. He hears Jesus’ first message of “God loves you, no matter who or how you are” in the first four parables. He knows that is still totally true; but, as a disciple now for more than year, he knows that it is a beginning Truth of the Kingdom of God’s Way. God’s Word spoken by Jesus is planting seeds of faith to all, but only some will be fertile ground to receive it. Even those who receive it will find there are weeds sown all around in their fertile ground; they must continue to grow, no matter who or what is close by; they must persevere in faith. Even if they see their faith as very small, they must have the courage to let themselves grow—until they are strong enough to witness to others, like leaven in dough. Those messages to everyone we, too, have heard the past two weeks.
Matthew, now on the inside, also hears the meaning of those parables, as well as the three we hear today. They were spoken just to those whom Jesus sees as now squarely in the Kingdom—his disciples.
Matthew 13: 44-52
In the Gospel today, Jesus is not saying “Taste and see the goodness of God.” Jesus is saying, “Treasure the Way of God as you are experiencing it as the most important thing in the world to you. You are being given a great treasure: Give up everything to keep it.”
Read these words and see Jesus looking straight at you as he says:
“The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field,
which a person finds and hides again,
and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant
searching for fine pearls.
When he finds a pearl of great price,
he goes and sells all that he has and buys it.
These parables are NOT invitations to “come as you are.” They are not for beginners. They ARE for those who have already tasted of the Kingdom of God’s Way and at least sense its value.
Even so, Jesus seems to be saying, “you still need to sort it out.”
Again, 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.
Why? I take the last few verses to heart:
“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.”
Jesus does not expect his disciples to follow him blindly. This second cluster of description of the Kingdom in Chapter 13 is a transition cluster which asks disciples to consider: is living God’s Way worth EVERYTHING to you? Sort it out, guys, Jesus says. It’s soon going to require all that you are, all that you can be.
If you look at Matthew 14 and 15, you will see that feeding the 5000 is coming up, as well as Peter’s profession of faith, the Transfiguration (which we will have next Sunday) and the turn of Jesus’ heart to climb from Jericho to Calvary. Soon we will hear Jesus predicting his passion. Many disciples left Jesus during this time. Jesus is getting them ready to make tough choices.
Applications: Romans 8:28-30, I Kings 3:5, 7-12, Psalm 119:57,72,127-128,129-130.
The Kingdom of God’s Way is offered to all, but it takes courage to be a disciple. The other readings this week are varied. Where is their theme? How do they relate to Jesus’ three parables?
The passage from Romans is a part of Scripture that divided Catholics and Protestants during the Reformations. John Calvin took it to mean that God decided who would be saved and who would not be saved. Good things surrounded those predestined for heaven—that’s a part of how you could tell you were saved. (That is an extremely simple explanation of something actually very complex.)
Catholic teaching does not see these verses through that lens. In Catholic teaching, this selection from Romans speaks of God’s desire that ALL be saved, combined with recognition that citizenship in God’s Kingdom requires our free will choice. God chooses to invite us; we must have the freedom to say yes or no–because only through freedom can we make the choice to enter into God’s way of loving. Paragraph 381 of the catechism says, “Man is predestined to reproduce the image of God’s Son made man, the “image of the invisible God”, so that Christ shall be the first-born of a multitude of brothers and sisters.”
This leads to an interpretation of this Scripture which says, “No matter what bad things happen, God turns them to goodness if you follow God’s ways. We are all called to holiness.” (That, too, is a very simple explanation of something very complex,)
If these concerns intrigue you, you might look at these paragraphs in the catechism: 1821, 2012, 257, 1272, plus the section on justification 1987-1995.
The selection from I Kings tells of Solomon’s choice early in his reign as king to follow God’s ways. I included reference to the psalm today because Psalm 119 is a very long psalm that is all about seeking to follow God’s Way of living.
It seems to me that the Church is reminding us in these readings that Jesus saying “This is God’s Way and you must freely choose it” is not something new to Jesus. These examples from the Hebrew Scriptures show how God has sought free will choice from people through the centuries.
My Own Application
For me, the parable of selecting from the fisher’s net has been the part of today’s readings that sinks deep into me. The application I make of it is to my concerns about polarities in the Church. I take it to mean for me, today, Jesus in effect says: “I ask you to choose: What is good, put into buckets. What is bad throw away.”
Prayer:
Thank you, Lord, for your invitation to freely choose to follow you—to be more than seed in the ground or grass growing. Thank you for reminding me that following you is not about doing the minimum to stay in a state of grace. It costs—and it’s worth it. Help me to sift through what I hear and read to truly find and keep the treasure of your pearls, give myself to it, and toss away the rest. Make me a wise disciple.
