Mt 13:47-53
[Jesus said to his disciples,] 47“The kingdom of heaven is like a net thrown into the sea, which collects fish of every kind. 48When it is full they haul it ashore and sit down to put what is good into buckets. What is bad they throw away. 49Thus it will be at the end of the age. The angels will go out and separate the wicked from the righteous50and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.
51“Do you understand all these things?” They answered, “Yes.” 52And 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.” 53When Jesus finished these parables, he went away from there.
Reflection:
What is bad they throw away. This seems like a frightening scenario instead of a message of hope and good news. Perhaps we fear we belong more to the bad that will be thrown into the fiery furnace.
But the kingdom of heaven is about the net, not the selection. We are part of that net that collects all kinds. We simply have to take everything sometimes. We are not to judge, to be selective, or to be selfish. Our nets should catch everyone and everything. It is the Lord who will pick up all the good we have collected and throw the bad we may have adopted. That is the good news. The first requirement is to understand these things first, as Jesus asks his disciples.
Their positive answer implies humility and acceptance on the disciples’ part. Then they have truly become a net for God’s kingdom.
Pick one bad memory and throw it out of your system for good.