Reflections on Scripture | Thursday of the 17th Week in Ordinary Time

Join Msgr. Don Fischer as he reads and delivers a short reflection on today’s gospel, followed by 3 1/2 minutes of contemplative music and a closing prayer. Msgr. Don hopes that today’s reflection on the gospel will empower you to carry the Word in your heart throughout the day.

Choose either the video or audio below.

Gospel
Matthew 13:47-53

Jesus said to the disciples:
"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.
Thus it will be at the end of the age.
The angels will go out and separate the wicked from the righteous
and throw them into the fiery furnace,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth."

"Do you understand all these things?"
They answered, "Yes."
And he replied,
"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."
When Jesus finished these parables, he went away from there.

Reflection

It's clear from the way Jesus taught that He was something very new, something different than the Old Testament. Yet one needs to understand that the full story of who God is, is in both the Old and the New Testament. And all of it is important. So the reminder here is that if you really want to know and feel the wisdom of the Kingdom of Heaven, you must study it all, understand it all, the new and the old.

Closing Prayer

Father, the rich treasure of Scripture is such a gift, and we need to be wise in our understanding of all that is there. Bless us with good teaches, bless us with an open heart, blesses with the ability to ponder images that are loaded with meaning and purpose. And we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Kyle Cross