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From: Jeremiah 18:1-6
Jeremiah in the potter's house
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[1] The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: [2] "Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there I will let you hear my words." [3] So I went down to the potter's house, and there he was working at his wheel. [4] And the vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter's hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do.
[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 potter'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 aspects 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 potter (cf. 1:5) reminds the reader of the Bible of the account in Genesis that describes 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 chooses (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, sicut 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 Escriva, The Forge, 875).
The Net
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(Jesus said to His disciples,) [47] "Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a net which was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind; [48] when it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into vessels but threw away the bad. [49] So it will be at the close of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous, [50] and throw them into the furnace of fire; there men will weep and gnash their teeth.
[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:
47. "Fish of every kind": almost all the Greek manuscripts and early translations 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 result 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 punishment 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 Apostles 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 Bishops 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 teaching, has a duty to pass this teaching on to others, in language they can understand; 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 situations--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 Revelation: for the past two thousand years the Gospel has always been "good news".