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Monday, July 25, 2005
The Kingdom and the Scribe
Matthew 13: 44-52 may at first appear unrelated. vv. 44-50 continues the string of parables about the Kingdom that Jesus tells his hearers beginning in verse 1. Vv. 51-52 is a concluding remark about the parabolic lessons just heard. In this remark, Jesus refers to a "scribe instructed in the kingdom of heaven." What is the relationship between a kingdom and a scribe? Answer: a king always has a scribe working for him. Scribes are those who keep records of the kingly administration., records that are both old and new. Scribes are the memory of a king's reign; through them, the continuity between a previous administration to a new one is made possible.
This passage is broken down by the liturgy to smaller passages during the course of the weekday readings for the 17th week in OT. Here is the breakdown:
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Wednesday, Mt. 13: 44-46 Thursday, Mt. 13: 47-53 |
In Mt. 13:44-46, the kingdom of heaven is compared to a treasure buried in a field on the one hand and to a pearl of great price. The first of these parables emphasizes the hiddenness of the treasure that can be discovered only by "digging up" the earth, that is, by toil and hard work. The second emphasizes the search that one undertakes before one finds a pearl of great price. In both cases, when one finds the kingdom it is with great joy, and with joy also that one gives up all that one has for it. Both these parables should somehow remind one of Jesus' teachings about discipleship and most specifically of the story of the Rich Man who could not be Jesus' disciple because he could not give up his wealth.
Mt. 13:47-50 is a parable that can be compared to the one about the darnel and the wheat because of the reference to the day of judgment (cf. vv.24-30.36-43). Here however the emphasis is on the coverage of the kingdom of heaven. At first it gathers in all -- both good and bad -- and only afterwards will the separation between good and bad occur. The God who lets the rain fall on both good and bad wants his kingdom to draw in both good and bad. This should be a reminder to all that while God wants all to be perfect as He is perfect, He also desires that the "imperfect" be perfected in His mercy and compassion*.
Mt. 13:51-52 is the saying about the scribe who is compared to the master of the household who has a rich store of supplies that he can distribute as provision. Since the scribe passes on memories, this particular saying of Jesus are for the "teachers" of the Matthaean community who are supplied with these parables so that they can teach others what the kingdom of heaven means.