HOMILY OF 17TH THURSDAY ORDINARY TIME — YEAR A
HOMILY OF 17TH THURSDAY OF ORDINARY TIME — YEAR A
HOMILY THEME: “If you judge people, you have no time to love them.”
BY: Fr. Mike Lagrimas
Jesus said to his 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.
ALSO RECOMMENDED: HOMILY OF 17TH THURSDAY ORDINARY TIME
Today we reflect on the seventh parable of the Kingdom in Matthew’s Gospel. The Parable of the Net thrown into the sea is a beautiful and apt image of the Church. Christians are like the fibers woven into the huge net of the Church: all connected to one another in the bond of love and unity in Christ. This net is not lying idle on a beach somewhere. It is thrown out into the sea to catch “fish of every kind.” The vast sea is the world, and the fish are the people. In other words, Christians are basically missionaries, ‘fishers of men’. The gift of faith as well as the other many and varied gifts from God, are not meant to be stored and kept exclusive. These are meant to be shared. Like the net, the followers of Jesus are sent into the world to bring people to the kingdom of God.
This parable gives two important lessons. First, the Church is catholic, that is, universal. She is not selective and exclusive, but inclusive. This is because the will of God is to save the whole of humanity. That is why, the fishermen in the parable are instructed to go out and catch “all” men. Hence, the image that is used is the net, not a hook and line. They are not told to select, but to go out and cast the net into the sea. The selection is not their job; it is God’s sole prerogative at the time of judgment.
Similarly, the disciples have to reach out to everyone: the saints and sinners, their young and old, rich and poor, Jews and gentiles, powerful and weak. They have to gather them into the net of salvation which is the Church. They should never lose sight of their main mission: ‘salus animarum’, the salvation of all souls. Their job is only to gather and love them, not to judge as to who are the good and the bad. As St. Teresa of Kolkata said, “If you judge people, you have no time to love them.”
Secondly, this parable also points to the end of time: “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.”
This world is not eternal; it is ephemeral. Everything is passing away. There is a time when this kingdom on earth will come to its inevitable end. And then everyone, the living and the dead will be judged by God. This, then, is the separation of the good from the bad. The question is, when will this happen? Nobody knows.
So, how do we prepare for this event? Many of us are used to doing things at the last minute. But when we apply this to our eternal destiny, this can be very risky and totally imprudent. Our eternal salvation is at stake here. So, the best thing we must do is to consider everyday of our life on earth as the time for preparation. In fact, our entire life is given to us by God precisely that we may have ample time to prepare for the final judgment. We have to make sure our life is conformed more and more to the example of Jesus by living according to His commands and teachings. And this is on a day to day basis. Then, if we do this, the end of the world, the final judgment and even our death are not scary, after all. After Jesus had pictured the catastrophes that would fall upon a morally disordered civilization, He did not say, “Tremble with fear!” Instead, He said, “When these signs begin to happen, stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand” (Lk 21:28).
With all the unfortunate events happening now everywhere – wars, cataclysmic calamities, persistent plagues, unbridled immorality and criminality – the world is gripped with fear. Rightly so. These are all signs of the impending inevitable end. Unfortunately, “only those who live by faith really know what is happening in the world. The great masses without faith are unconscious of the destructive processes going on.” This is according to the Servant of God, Fulton Sheen. In his talk in 1947, he said, “We are at the end of Christendom!” He does not refer to Christianity or the Church. He elaborates, “Christendom is economic, political, social life as inspired by Christian principles. That is ending. We’ve seen it die. Look at the symptoms: the breakup of the family, divorce, abortion, immorality, general dishonesty.”
But there is always a silver lining. And again, Venerable Fulton Sheen gives this inspiring exhortation: “Christians must realize that a moment of crisis is not a time of despair, but of opportunity. The more we can anticipate the doom, the more we can avoid it. Once we recognize we are under Divine Wrath, we become eligible for Divine Mercy. It was because of famine the prodigal son said: ‘I will arise, and will go to my father.’ The very disciplines of God create hope. The thief on the right came to God by a crucifixion. The Christian finds a basis for optimism in the most thorough-going pessimism, for his Easter is within three days of Good Friday.”
FOR A SIMILAR HOMILY, CLICK HERE >>>>>
Dear friends in Christ, Your support for the past 12years has kept us going. We ask you to support us with your donations to enable us to upset our “annual bills”. Our priests are willing to offer Holy Masses for your Private Intentions. May you Click on “Next”, or the “Donate” button to get started. God bless you!!!
