Saint Rita Catholic Church and School in Webster, NY - An Introduction to the Sunday Scripture Readings

“The kingdom of heaven is like . . . .”

In today's Gospel reading, we hear three more parables of Jesus. The first two compare the Kingdom of Heaven to a priceless treasure, so valuable that one would give up everything to possess it. The third parable is like the wheat and the weeds of last week. The good and the bad (fish) are allowed to exist together until the final judgement. At that time, the righteous will be gathered and the wicked thrown away.

In our first reading (1 Kings 3:5, 7-12), we hear of King Solomon being visited in a dream by God, telling him he could have whatever he asked for. Showing a maturity that belied his young age, he asked not for riches or power or for a long life but for “an understanding heart to judge your people and to distinguish right from wrong.” God was pleased with his request and said to Solomon, “I give you a heart so wise and understanding that there has never been anyone like you up to now, and after you there will come no one to equal you."

In our Epistle reading (Romans 8:28-30), St. Paul describes the Christian vocation as designed and destined by God. For those who love God, He “called according to His purpose . . . to be conformed to the image of His Son…. Those He called, He also justified; and those He justified He also glorified. “

In our Gospel reading (Matthew 13:44-52), we hear the final three parables of Jesus in Matthew’s Gospel. Like a pearl of great price or buried treasure, one who understands the true value of the Kingdom of God will do whatever he or she must to obtain it. The Kingdom of God is also like a net thrown into the sea. The fish are separated into the good and the bad.

At the end of today’s Gospel passage Jesus said, “the kingdom of heaven is like the head of a household who brings from his storeroom both the new and the old." Some say this refers to the teachings of Jesus (the new) and the law of Moses and the prophets (the old). It is the confluence of these two realities that continue to drive our Church teachings and culture to this day.

Our readings today help illustrate that our treasure is both in the old testament and the new, especially as the old is interpreted and fulfilled in the new. The old testament is now understood in light of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. May we treasure both.

bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/072626.cfm