First Reading: Ex 40:16-21. 34-38; Psalm: 84 R. v. 1; Gospel: Mt 13:47-53
REDEFINING OUR KNOWLEDGE OF SALVATION
BY FR VALENTINE NNAMDI EGBUONU, MSP.
“Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old” (Mat 13:52)
In the parable of today’s gospel, Jesus compared the kingdom of God to a dragnet that hauls in different kinds of creatures both edible and inedible. The fishermen had to separate the good ones from the bad. The good ones were kept and the bad ones thrown away. Jesus then added “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”
The scribes and Pharisees had always believed and taught that there was no place in the temple for sinners. Jesus had to correct this teaching by illustrating in this parable that salvation was for all. The Church is made up of both saints and sinners and gives no room for discrimination. This of course was a difficult teaching for the scribes and Pharisees to accept because they had always taught that salvation was meant only for them who are believed to be righteous. It was for this reason that Jesus added that their knowledge of old should be illumined by the new teaching he now brings before them.
Jesus reminds us today that the door of salvation is opened to all. No one has the moral authority to decide who should be saved or not except God. Sometimes we judge people based on our own evaluation and standard forgetting that we are only witnesses to the faith we profess and preach. Have we become so rigid not to accommodate those who are not as religious as we are because we felt they do not have a place around us? God has equal love for us all and desires that we all be saved. So, as children of the kingdom, we have to bring out of our treasure what is new and what is old. We have to allow the light of the gospel to penetrate our hearts and dispel every subjective sentiments and preconceived ideas.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY
Lord Jesus, give us the openness of heart that we need to help one another towards our journey to salvation. Amen.
