Gospel Reflection for the 17th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year A
By The Benedictine Community
Lord, I love your commands. (Psalm 118)
Today's gospel continues Matthew's descriptions of what the kingdom of heaven is like. Jesus never says what the kingdom actually is but tells us what the kingdom is like in parables and similes. We read that the kingdom is like hidden treasure in a field or a pearl of great price, and a dragnet bringing in a mixed haul of fish.
What impresses me about these descriptions is that they are for the mature disciple to ponder. I have in mind the seeker, the searcher, the lost and the lonely. Today there is great unhappiness in middle age: marriages break down, children disappoint, hopes and ambitions fail. This gospel assures us that God never fails us if we seek Him, who is the pearl of great price, the treasure hidden in a field. Such a search calls for great sincerity, perseverance and personal cost.
Finally, John Henry Newmans sees the dragnet full of good and bad fish alike as the Church through the ages. Jesus warns us that the Church will have good and bad members alike so we need not be discouraged when scandals arise. Our particular task is to focus all our attention on the good, the noble, our Redeemer, Jesus Himself.