St Matthew 13: 47-50
Jesus said: “Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away. This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Reflection
Are you a fan of gritty crime dramas which are based realistically on authentic police procedures? Well, perhaps one of the pioneers of such thrillers is Dragnet, with its central character Sgt. Jo Friday. This was originally an American radio programme in the 1940s; then a black and white TV series in 1951; and finally, a colour TV series from 1967-1970. The name dragnet reflects the show’s systematic approach to solving crimes by drawling painstakingly for evidence using actual police practice.
The show’s creators may not have consciously realised that they were borrowing the name from this parable in Matthews’s gospel.
The parable has all the down-to-earth blunt feel of such stark crime dramas. There is the same sense of forensically sorting the bad from the good. The message seems uncompromising and judgemental. Just as the net gathered all types of fish, regardless of their value, so the gospel is heard by many people who neither repent nor desire to follow Christ. Just as the fish could not be sorted until the net was pulled ashore, so non-believers will not be made known until the end of the age.
Gosh, this seems a terribly bleak message lacking in Christian compassion! How are we to come to terms with such grim judgment about the consequences of response to the gospel?
Well, at the heart of the invitation to enter the Kingdom is that it is just that … an invitation, and the response is in our own hands. So, in this sense it can be seen that it is less that we are condemned by God, but rather that we resolutely insist on condemning ourselves.
The image that comes to mind is a scene towards the end of C.S Lewis’ concluding Narnia story, The Last Battle. Here, the cynical dwarfs trap themselves in a psychological prison of disbelief. When pushed through the stable door into Aslan’s paradise, they stubbornly refuse to see what is in front of their eyes, and instead perceive the magnificent feast before them, (a symbol of the feast of the Kingdom) as just dirty hay and stagnant water.
The gracious gift of the kingdom Is always available; it just requires our acceptance.
Prayer
Gracious God,
You stand at the door
to welcome us into the Kingdom.
May your Holy Spirit open our eyes
and help us to accept the invitation.
Through Jesus Christ Our Lord,
Amen.