Matthew 13:54-58. Capji reflections

August 3

Jeremiah 26:1-9.

Psalms 69(68):5.8-10.14.

Matthew 13:54-58.

He came to his native place and taught the people in their synagogue. They were astonished and said, "Where did this man get such wisdom and mighty deeds? 

Is he not the carpenter's son? Is not his mother named Mary and his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas? Are not his sisters all with us? Where did this man get all this?"

And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and in his own house." And he did not work many mighty deeds there because of their lack of faith.

Meditation: We have heard saying that, to understand a person we must look into his close friends or his relatives. This gospel passage is similar to this saying. Jesus' hometown folk rejected Him because they judged Him based on his relatives. People make the same mistake to the present day. Gandhi, for example, was very impressed by Jesus, but never became a Christian because he was unimpressed with Jesus' relatives, that is, us, Jesus' brothers and sisters. Many people say they quit the Church because of the hypocrites in it. They too reject Jesus because of His so-called followers. How many people turn their backs on Jesus because they were offended by a pastor or some other person in their church? Let us remember Jesus on the basis of His crucifixion and resurrection for love of us. Let us judge ourselves for not fully responding to His crucified and risen love, for Jesus will judge us on Judgment Day.

                Secondly when we are passing a judgment on someone we have to keep away our jealousy, anger and prejudice then try to know him by step into his shoes.

Matthew 13:47-53 Capji reflections

August 2

Jer 18:1-10

Ps 146:1b-2, 3-4, 5-6ab

Matthew 13:47-53 

47 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net which was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind; 48 when it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into vessels but threw away the bad. 49 So it will be at the close of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous, 50 and throw them into the furnace of fire; there men will weep and gnash their teeth. 51 "Have you understood all this?" They said to him, "Yes." 52 And he said to them, "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." 53 And when Jesus had finished these parables, he went away from there.

Meditation: Today the gospel compared to great catch on fishes. Jesus has done a miracle of great catch. Even he does it today. We all are captured by him and his goodness. In our heart of heart there is always an attraction to the highest goodness. Jesus by his goodness has captured the hearts of two thousand years of generation.

 Secondly, just as a drag-net catches every kind of fish in the sea, so the church acts as God's instrument for gathering in all who will come. Just as the drag-net does not or cannot discriminate, so the church does not discriminate between the good and the bad, the useless and the useful. God's kingdom is open to all who will accept and believe. But there will come a time of separation, at the close of the age, when the angels will send the good and the bad to their respective destinations. Our duty is to gather in all who will come. God, in the end, will give the good and the bad the reward they deserve. God offers the treasure of his kingdom to all who believe. Do we hunger for God and his kingdom? 

Thirdly the passage speaks about a scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven. 

"Scribe": among the Jews a scribe was a religious teacher, a specialist in sacred Scripture. Our Lord here uses this word to refer to the Apostles, who will have the role of teachers in His Church. However, every disciple of Christ, every Christian who has received Christ's teaching, has a duty to pass this teaching on to others.  The treasure of Revelation is so rich that it can provide teaching which applies to all times and situations.  It is for the word of God to enlighten all ages and situations not the other way around.  Therefore, the Church and its pastors preach, not new things, but a single unchanging truth contained in the treasure of Revelation: for the past two thousand years the Gospel has always been "good news".

Matthew 13: 44-4 capji reflections

August 1

Jeremiah 15:10, 16-21

Pslam 59: 2-4, 10-11, 17-18

Matthew 13: 44-46

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.

Meditation: In this gospel passage the parables are very alike, but it is interesting to note the differences: we can find the difference only in the explanation of what is kingdom of god but we don’t find any differences in the men who search for it. Both the parables speaks about a man who has lot of love for the kingdom of god and for that he is ready to forsake everything he has, then, finally he finds joy in his life.  

                    The man in the parable raises a question in our heart, what is worth possessing in our life. If there is something worth possessing leave everything behind to achieve it and it is that which gives meaning to your life. Very often we search for the things that are not worth possessing. The kingdom of god is the worth possessing treasure in our life. The treasure means abundance of gifts and the pearl indicates the beauty of the Kingdom.  The kingdom of god has a beauty of a pearl. We often wish to have the most beautiful things in the world. Today, Jesus says, kingdom of god is the most beautiful things in the world. They are many saints among us who saw its beauty and lost themselves.

                    The curious thing that we notice in the parable is that the finder has enough money to buy the field or the pearl. In every one there is hidden capacity to attain the kingdom of god or a hidden capacity to be good. Only thing that, we have to forsake all the unwanted things to find the joy of our life. 

                    The joy of the finder is the climax of the parables. Joy is the thing that every one seeks  but very often we misinterpret joy with pleasure. Pleasure is not everlasting but joy is everlasting. Seek the joy in your hear by digging the kingdom of god in you, this is the message of this gospel passage.