Thursday 30 July 2026 - The kingdom of heaven

Thursday 30 July 2026

Today is Thursday the 30th of July, in the 17th week of Ordinary Time. The Kyiv Chamber Choir sing In Thy Kingdom from One Thousand Years of Ukrainian Sacred Music. Today’s reading is from the Gospel of Matthew. Matthew 13:47-53 ‘Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and caught fish of every kind; when it was full, they drew it ashore, sat down, and put the good into baskets but threw out the bad. So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ‘Have you understood all this?’ They answered, ‘Yes.’ And he said to them, ‘Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.’ When Jesus had finished these parables, he left that place. Jesus finishes his chapter of parables with a picture of what “the kingdom of heaven” might be like. What might the Kingdom of Heaven be like, do you think? What story would you offer to describe it? How do you notice yourself responding to this parable of the nets catching fish? Imagine the angels sorting them out at the end of the age... Offer whatever arises in you to the Lord. Listen again to the reading, and ask the Holy Spirit to illuminate the reading for you... Matthew 13:47-53 ‘Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and caught fish of every kind; when it was full, they drew it ashore, sat down, and put the good into baskets but threw out the bad. So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ‘Have you understood all this?’ They answered, ‘Yes.’ And he said to them, ‘Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.’ When Jesus had finished these parables, he left that place. 'Have you understood all this?’ Jesus asks. How would you like to respond to this question? What is lingering for you as this time of prayer draws to a close? Speak as one friend to another. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be World without end Amen