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From: Exodus 40:16-21, 34-38

Moses’ Obedience to God’s Commands

[16] Thus did Moses; according to all that the Lord commanded him, so he did.
[17] And in the first month in the second year, on the first day of the month, the
tabernacle was erected. [18] Moses erected the tabernacle; he laid its bases,
and set up its frames, and put in its poles, and raised up its pillars; [19] and he
spread the tent over the tabernacle, and put the covering of the tent over it, as
the Lord had commanded Moses. [20] And he took the testimony and put it in-
to the ark, and put the poles on the ark, and set the mercy seat above on the
ark; [21] and he brought the ark into the tabernacle, and set up the veil of the
screen, and screened the ark of the testimony; as the Lord had commanded
Moses.

The Glory of God Fills the Tabernacle

[34] Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of’ the Lord filled
the tabernacle. [35] And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting, be-
cause the cloud abode upon it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.
[36] Throughout all their journeys, whenever the cloud was taken up from over
the tabernacle, the people of Israel would go onward; [37] but if the cloud was
not taken up, then they did not go onward till the day that it was taken up. [38]
For throughout all their journeys the cloud of the Lord was upon the tabernacle
by day, and fire was in it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel.

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Commentary:

40:34-38. The book of Exodus ends by speaking once again about the Lord’s
presence among his people, mentioning the cloud and the glory of God (cf. Ex
13:21-22). The cloud will stay with the people throughout their journey in the de-
sert (cf. Num 9:15ff), showing them the way to go. In Christian tradition the cloud
is seen as an image of faith, which guides the Christian night and day as he
makes his pilgrim way to the promised land. The Fathers also saw this cloud as
a figure of Christ: “He is the pillar who, keeping himself upright and strong, cures
our infirmity. By night he sheds light, by day he becomes opaque, so that those
who do not see are enabled to see and those who see become blind” (St Isidore
of Seville, “Quaestiones In Exodum”, 18, 1).

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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

[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:

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”.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.