Word to the Wise
Sunday, July 27, 2014 - 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time - A
[1 Kgs 3:5, 7-12; Rom 8:28-30; Matt 13:44-52 or 13:44-46]SUNDAY, JULY 27, 2014 SEVENTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
[1 Kings 3:5, 7-12; Romans 8:28-30; Matthew 13:44-52]
Again, 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.....
Some years ago, I preached a retreat for the Brothers of the Sacred Heart at a retreat center in southern Mississippi. They run high schools in Mississippi and Louisiana and had the policy of inviting staff members from their schools to attend the retreat. The model of retreat they requested did not call for the usual "conferences" each day, but rather preaching on both the daily scriptures assigned in the lectionary - the first at Morning Prayer and the second at Eucharist in the afternoon. After supper there was an optional "Compline" at which retreatants could share what those scriptures had inspired. On one of the days, the gospel scripture was the parable about the fishermen and the drag net with all different kinds of fish in it. At the evening sharing, a lady told a story about an uncle of hers who was a fisherman out of Biloxi, MS, on the Gulf of Mexico. She spoke of him commenting about other fishermen from the area who were Vietnamese. His comment was that the Vietnamese fishermen never threw anything back. They kept the entire catch. She concluded by saying, "I find myself hoping that God is Vietnamese!" I have never forgotten her words.
Jesus' parable is meant to confront us with the reality that we will be held accountable for our lives. We may respond, "Yes, I understand there will be a final reckoning, but I worry about...." That "about" could be one's children or colleagues or parishioners whose practice of the faith has lapsed or whose lifestyles are less than admirable. The lady who told the story did not say one way or the other about whom she was worried. Some worry that God WILL include certain people and some worry that God WILL NOT! The parable suggests that God will not keep all the catch, but it won't be a matter of capricious whim. Unlike the fish, we have a choice about being a "keeper." We do the best we can to help those who are unsure about the reality of that "net" or the selection process! Ultimately, it is God's catch.
My father was a recreational fisherman and he kept a poem on the wall next to his bed that was called "A Fisherman's Prayer." I cannot remember all the words except the last line that when all was said and done he would be found "big enough to keep." To that I can only say, AMEN.
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