Reflection for July 30 Thursday of the Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time: Matthew 13:47-53

Gospel: Matthew13:47-53

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:

The story is told of a mother who pleaded with her son to straighten out his wayward life. Yet, despite her loving appeals, her son pretended not to hear her pleas. He continued to live in sin until he grew old and eventually died. After his death, the devil immediately whisked him away to hell.

Hell and the devil are not only realities of the life to come; they can also become realities in our present lives. Whenever we choose to remain in sin instead of turning back to God, we distance ourselves from His grace and begin to experience a foretaste of the emptiness, restlessness, and suffering that sin brings.

Our peace of mind gradually fades, our relationships become strained, and our hearts grow weary. At the root of this troubled life is our refusal to let go of sin and embrace the new life that God lovingly offers us.

Our Gospel for today reminds us of the seriousness of our choices: “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” (Matthew 13:49–50).

There is a price for our sinfulness that we will eventually have to pay. As the saying goes, sin is like a credit card: enjoy now, but pay later. But why should we bear the painful consequences of sin when Jesus continually invites us to repentance, forgiveness, and new life? His mercy is always available to those who humbly return to Him with sincere and contrite hearts.

Today, the Lord lovingly calls each one of us to turn away from whatever separates us from Him. No sin is worth losing the peace, joy, and eternal life that He desires for us. His grace is greater than our failures, and His love is always ready to restore us when we come back to Him.

The question is not whether God is willing to forgive us—He already is. The question is: What sin are we still holding on to that Jesus is asking us to surrender today? Will we continue delaying our return to Him, or will we choose, by His grace, to walk with Him beginning right now? – Marino J. Dasmarinas