Today’s gospel, 31 July: A hard saying

 


Today’s gospel speaks of the kingdom of heaven - Matthew's preferred name for the reign and ways of God. The gospel suggests that although in this age we live in a world in which good and evil co-exist and clash, God's kingdom will come and God's will shall be done "on earth as it is in heaven". This is what we pray for every time we say the Lord's Prayer or Our Father.

This parable is one of Jesus' "hard sayings".  Matthew includes a note of warning in describing the eventual separation by God of that which is evil and that which is good, just and righteous. With its unsettling imagery it is a timely reminder that the evil which the world is witnessing currently in "the Land of the Holy One" and in other domains where violence, cruelty and terror are being permitted to reign, is not God's will or in keeping with God's just, good and loving ways and the way of peace. 

Let us pray...




Matthew 13:47-53

‘Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and caught fish of every kind; when it was full, they drew it ashore, sat down, and put the good into baskets but threw out the bad. So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

‘Have you understood all this?’ They answered, ‘Yes.’ And he said to them, ‘Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.’ When Jesus had finished these parables, he left that place.




Sacred Space

You can find a prayer guide and reflection here:

https://sacredspace.com/daily-prayer/2025-07-31/


Christian Art

You can find a reflection on a painting here:

https://christian.art/daily-gospel-reading/matthew-13-47-53-2025/

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