From: Jeremiah 18:1-6
Jeremiah in the potter’s house
[5] Then the word of the Lord came to me: [6] “O house of Israel, can I not do
with you as this potter has done? says the Lord. Behold, like the clay in the pot-
ter’s hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel.”
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Commentary:
18:1-12. Nothing extraordinary happens during Jeremiah’s visit to the potter’s
workshop, but the prophet uses the potter’s work as an image to illustrate as-
pects of his preaching. God is like a potter who has clay in his hands and hopes
it will lend itself to be moulded to the shape he wants. The image of God as pot-
ter (cf. 1:5) reminds the reader of the Bible of the account in Genesis that des-
cribes God forming Adam out of dust from the ground (Gen 2:7), and it recalls
other passages of the Old (Is 29:16; 45:9; 64:7) and the New Testaments (Rom
9:20-23) in which clay in the hands of a potter serves to show the omnipotence
of God and the littleness of man. The Lord can do with Judah whatever he choo-
ses (v. 6). And if God has authority over his people, then it means that he is able
to make it anew and that, if he so wishes, he can destroy any nation or people
(vv. 7-10). Just as the potter can change the shape of vessels he has formed out
of soft clay, so God expects his people to let themselves be remade (v. 11). But
Judah, in its obstinacy, has freely chosen to oppose God (v. 12).
In the potter’s house Jeremiah reflects on the power of God and the wisdom of
those who yield to his hands and put no obstacles in his way, and he causes
others to do the same: “Lord, help me to be faithful and docile towards you, si-
cut lutum in manu figuli, like clay in the potter’s hands. In this way it will not be
I that live, but you, my Love, who will live and work in me” (St Josemaria Escri-
va, The Forge, 875).
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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.
From: Matthew 13:47-53
The Net
[51] “Have you understood all this?” They said to Him, “Yes.” [52] And He said
to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the Kingdom of Heaven
is like a householder who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”
[53] And when Jesus had finished these parables He went away from there.
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Commentary:
44-46. In these two parables Jesus shows the supreme value of the Kingdom
of Heaven, and the attitude people need if they are to attain it. The parables are
very alike, but it is interesting to note the differences: the treasure means abun-
dance of gifts; the pearl indicates the beauty of the Kingdom. The treasure is
something stumbled upon; the pearl, the result of a lengthy search; but in both
instances the finder is filled with joy. Faith, vocation, true wisdom, desire for
Heaven, are things which sometimes are discovered suddenly and unexpected-
ly, and sometimes after much searching (cf. St. Gregory the Great, “In Evange-
lia Homilae”, 11). However, the man’s attitude is the same in both parables and
is described in the same terms: “he goes and sells all that he has and buys it”:
detachment, generosity, is indispensable for obtaining the treasure.
“Anyone who understands the Kingdom which Christ proposes realizes that it
is worth staking everything to obtain it [...]. The Kingdom of Heaven is difficult to
win. No one can be sure of achieving it, but the humble cry of a repentant man
can open wide its doors” St. J. Escriva, “Christ Is Passing By”, 180).
47. “Fish of every kind”: almost all the Greek manuscripts and early transla-
tions say “All kinds of things”. A dragnet is very long and about two meters wide;
when it is extended between two boats it forms double or triple mesh with the re-
sult that when it is pulled in it collects all sorts of things in addition to fish—algae,
weeds, rubbish, etc.
This parable is rather like the parable of the cockle, but in a fishing context: the
net is the Church, the sea the world.
We can easily find in this parable the dogmatic truth of the Judgment: at the end
of time God will judge men and separate the good from the bad. It is interesting
to note our Lord’s repeated references to the last things, especially Judgment
and Hell: He emphasizes these truths because of man’s great tendency to forget
them: “All these things are said to make sure that no one can make the excuse
that he does not know about them: this excuse would be valid only if eternal pu-
nishment were spoken about in ambiguous terms” (St. Gregory the Great, “In
Evangelia Homilae”, 11).
52. “Scribe”: among the Jews a scribe was a religious teacher, a specialist in
sacred Scripture and its application to life. Our Lord here uses this word to refer
to the Apostles, who will have the role of teachers in His Church. Thus, the Apos-
tles and their successors, the Bishops, are the “Ecclesia docens”, the teaching
Church; they have the authority and the mission to teach. The Pope and the Bi-
shops exercise this authority directly and are also helped in this by priests. The
other members of the Church form the “Ecclesia discens”, the learning Church.
However, every disciple of Christ, every Christian who has received Christ’s tea-
ching, has a duty to pass this teaching on to others, in language they can under-
stand; therefore, he should make sure he has a good grasp of Christian doctrine.
The treasure of Revelation is so rich that it can provide teaching which applies to
all times and situations. It is for the word of God to enlighten all ages and situa-
tions—not the other way around. Therefore, the Church and its pastors preach,
not new things, but a single unchanging truth contained in the treasure of Reve-
lation: for the past two thousand years the Gospel has always been “good news”.
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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.
Yep.
V 5 and 6 sum it up for me.