First reading: 1 Kings 3:5,7-12
Psalm: Ps 119:57, 72, 76-77, 127-128, 129-130
Epistle: Rom 8:28-30
Gospel: Matt 13:44-52

And he replied,
—Then every scribe who has been instructed in the kingdom of heaven
is like the head of a household
who brings from his storeroom both the new and the old.—

The old and the new. Today’s readings and Gospel are an exposition of the differences between the old and the new as well as a caution concerning the old and the new.

In our first reading we see a scenario we are very familiar with. God is speaking to one of His kings in much the same way He spoke to other kings and prophets. He says that Solomon should ask Him for something. Solomon asks for wisdom and he receives that gift, plus so much more.

The conflict we see in many of the Old Testament books is one between God’s select messenger, a king or prophet, and the stubborn people of Israel. In many cases the people just wouldn’t listen. Jesus accused the lawyers, scribes, and Pharisees in regard to what they did to the prophets. In Luke 11:47-48 He said:

Woe to you! for you build the tombs of the prophets whom your fathers killed.
So you are witnesses and consent to the deeds of your fathers; for they killed them, and you build their tombs.

That was the old. St. Paul tells us how it is to be in the New Covenant in Jesus Christ:

We know that all things work for good for those who love God,
who are called according to his purpose.

In our Christian life we are all called. We listen to and serve God as a community. We know that we are called for God’s purpose, to work as one, not as individual prophets each offering our personal take on God, but as a prophetic people united in voice and in teaching.

As Jesus’ people we witness our life and our conformity with Him most directly and completely when we come together as community. We do that here in church and when we go from church as brothers and sisters united in our mission to convert the world. When we are united in bringing the knowledge of Christ to those who do not know Him.

Brothers and sisters,

That is the difference between the old and the new. In the new we cannot rely on one man, one woman, or one committee to witness to Christ. We are all His prophets, His teachers, and His Holy Church. We are all called according to God’s purpose.

In fully understanding the difference between old and new we must recognize Jesus’ caution. What did the person who found the property with the buried treasure or the pearl of great value do? Jesus tells us:

he goes and sells all that he has and buys it.

To buy something we have to have made some investment mustn’t we? We had to have worked at building up those things we own. Today we would think of that in terms of our savings and investments. The man who found the buried treasure and the pearl of great value did not throw out the old investment to get the new. Rather he built upon the old investment in acquiring the new.

So it is in Jesus’ caution. The scribe, and Jesus was talking about a faithful scribe, someone who was more than a person who wrote things down, but rather a person learned in the law who also had knowledge of God’s kingdom, has to be like the head of the household, —who brings from his storeroom both the new and the old.—

The storeroom contains both the old and the new. Both are necessary, the aged wine and the fresh grain. This applies to us in this way: We must build upon our past and we must recognize it as the foundation upon which our Christian life is built. We cannot throw out the old and simply replace it with the new. We need old which the new is founded upon.

The Christian life is built upon 2,000 years of faith and Tradition. It is the Gospel of Christ, the teaching of the Apostles, the words of the Fathers and the great Councils. It is the creeds and Holy Liturgy practiced by the Apostolic line of bishops right down to the current day. It is men who conform themselves to Christ and are commissioned as His teachers; priests and deacons sent forth in the same way the Apostles sent forth presbyters and deacons. It is a 2,000 year old investment in the things that will bring about change in our lives. The things that will assist us in conforming ourselves to Christ and His mission.

We are cautioned to build upon the past and to be very careful in not just discounting the 2,000 year old treasure of Catholic teaching we have been given.

What we have is a valuable treasure. Our Holy Polish National Catholic Church proclaiming the truth consistent with Holy faith and Tradition right now, in this age. Today we are sent forth as a prophetic people, as a community of faith built on a solid foundation. Let us join our hearts and hands in working for the Kingdom of God. Amen.