St. Peter Chrysologus, bishop & doctor

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊

　Jeremiah 18:1-6

This is the word of Yahweh that came to Jere­miah:

“Go down to the potter’s house and there you will hear what I have to say.” So I went to the potter’s house and found him working at the wheel. But the pot he was working on was spoiled in his hands, so he reworked it all over again into another pot that suits his desire.

 Meanwhile Yahweh sent me his word, “People of Israel, can I not do with you what this potter does? As clay in the potter’s hand so are you in my hands.

 

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

Blessed is he who whose help is the God Jacob.

 

＊＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊＊

Matthew 13:47-53

 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a big fishing net let down into the sea, in which every kind of fish has been caught. When the net is full, it is dragged ashore. Then they sit down and gather the good fish in buckets, but throw the worthless ones away. 

That is how it will be at the end of time; the angels will go out to separate the wicked from the just and throw them into the blazing fur­nace, where they will weep and gnash their teeth.”

Jesus asked, “Have you un­der­stood all these things?” “Yes,” they answered.  So he said to them, “You will see that every teacher of the Law who becomes a disciple of the Kingdom is like a householder who can produce from his store things both new and old.”

 When Jesus had finished these parables, he left the place.

 

Gospel Reflection：

Many religious sects love to promote the end times. It is the biggest selling point of those who recruit members for evangelical groups. It is also a dominant theme in the early stage of Christianity.

When we come to think that, after two thousand years, the end time is yet to come, we begin to wonder, “When really is that end time?” However, our first reading today tells of God’s endless hope for His sinful people.

He recycles His bond with His rotten people through different generations and new settings. The end time is that when, after all the His efforts to remold and reclaim us, we still stick to our sinfulness.

But we really do not know when that is. Sometiemes, we are more impatient about the end time than God. Or, we are more impatient of our fallen brothers and sisters than God.