Jesus said to his disciples: "The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field, which a person finds and hides again, and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls. When he finds a pearl of great price, he goes and sells all that he has and buys it.
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. 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."
Homily
The parable of the net teaches us a valuable lesson about the Church: It’s in the world, but not of the world. The net symbolizes the Church, and the fish are you and me. The water symbolizes the world where the Church lives and interacts. But at the end of day, the net will be hauled ashore. Some of the fish will be kept and some will be thrown back. Until then, the net remains fully immersed in the water.
Picture the huge net as it’s suspended in the water. Although it’s separate from the water, it’s still affected by everything that happens to the water: the currents, the storms, the waves. The net will move in response to all of these influences, but it will also maintain its integrity.
That’s what the Church is like. It’s affected by the cultural trends around us, but it’s never weakened or broken by them. It’s flexible enough to adjust to the ebb and flow of history, while maintaining its own shape and strength, keeping the fish safe inside. The Church is supposed to be active and present in the world as it spreads the message of the Kingdom of God. If that’s how the Church is supposed to be, then that’s also how the members of the Church are supposed to be: We are to be in the world, but not of the world.
St Paul understood this. It’s even the point of his famous lines from today’s Second Reading, that God foreknew, predestined, called, justified and then glorified all those who are his children. As we grow in our spiritual maturity, we come to realize just how close, loving and powerful God is as he guides us through life. Also, as we grow in our faith, we grow in our confidence in God, whose net is unbreakable. This lesson is beautifully illustrated by one of the Church's saints.
One day a beggar stopped St John Bosco and asked for enough money to buy a shirt. The saint, who didn’t have any money himself, immediately took off his shirt and gave it to him. Surprised by this selfless act of charity, the man asked, “But what about you?” St. John replied with a smile, “Don’t worry about me. Today God takes care of you; tomorrow he will take care of me.”
The waves and currents of the world can toss us around, just as they swirl around the net, but the net holds fast. As St Paul reminds us, “All things work for the good of those who love God.”
Keeping in mind the fact that the Church is in the world, but not of the world will also help us deal with two difficulties:
First, the difficulty of understanding why scandalous things happen in the Church. Remember, the net is in the ocean, so when it’s being dragged through polluted water, some of the pollution is bound to flow through the net. This is why Pope-Emeritus Benedict reminds us that we must first evangelize from within the Church before we can evangelize the world. Scandals in the Church sadden all of us, but they shouldn’t weaken our faith. As long as the net is in the polluted water, it will affect some of the fish.
Secondly, this perspective helps us understand why we are constantly bombarded by temptations. Just because we pray, receive the sacraments and try to follow Church teaching doesn’t mean that our lives are going to be free from conflict and suffering. God in his wisdom has left the net in the water, which means we are not insulated from the storms of life. But as long as we stay inside the net, the storms can’t do us any lasting harm—they’ll just make us better swimmers!
So how do we stay inside the net? By following Christ’s example and teaching. As we heard in today’s Psalm: “Lord, I love your commands more than gold.” Obedience is highly prized by God. In fact, he even makes it the defining standard of supreme love: “If you love me,” he told us at the Last Supper, “you will obey my commands.” Ask the Lord of the Net to give you the courage to obey him and to serve him in the Church and in the world today and every day.