Today again we hear from St Matthew’s ‘day of parables’. Parables were a means of teaching, with the aim of to catching the hearer’s attention to make him/ her think. St Matthew gathers them all together in his gospel with the result that we may feel we have heard all this before. Their aim remains valid for us, however: to get us to remember and think about what Jesus reveals to us.

The parable of the treasure hidden in the field reflects a society which is politically unstable or in fear of invasion. In our time it might be the attitude of someone who does not trust banks or currencies. The implication is that the present owner does not know about the treasure hidden in his field. The parable does not concern itself with the rights or wrongs of the situation. What matters is the determination of the buyer, perhaps the ploughman, when he has found it. He is only too happy to sell everything.

When the treasure is found it is a surprise. The pearl is found as the result of a search. The response is more calculated but equally definite, a single-minded determination. Pearls had a very high status amongst the ancient Greeks and Romans.

In both cases what is found has the capacity to change life for him who acquires. The Kingdom of God is there, the opportunity of a lifetime, not to be missed.

The ‘dragnet’ was a seine net, either dragged between two boats, or laid down by a boat and dragged to land by long ropes. The fishermen sit down to make their choice. Some of the catch would be inedible; some forbidden by the Law of Moses [fish that do not have fins or scales Leviticus 11:10]. The fish that are of no use are thrown away, not back into the sea. The focus of the parable is the same as that of the wheat and the weeds: how to deal with the mixed response that the gospel receives. How should believers react towards those who reject? The solution is the same also: patience and tolerance until the day of judgement. Leave it to God to set matters straight.

The scribe’s role is also a parable, although not really a story. Every household needs the new and the old: new clothes for the special occasion, well-tested utensils and tools in kitchen or garden, even old rags on occasion.

• It has been said that in telling us about the scribe, Matthew is talking about himself: writing an account of what Jesus did and said, and drawing attention to the Old Testament to back it up. The new and the old. Do I long for ‘the good old days’? Was the old always good and is the new always a source of anxiety?

• In his gospel Matthew stresses that Jesus, the new Moses, is the authoritative guide for life here and now. Do I find it so?

• The fishermen sit down. They do not rush their decisions about what fish are of no use. One would expect experienced fishermen to get the job done quickly. What does that picture suggest about judgement?

• “I will speak to you in parables and expound things hidden since the foundation of the world.” “Many prophets and holy men have longed to hear what you hear and never heard it.” Do I find it hard to keep my sense of wonder at the ‘good news’?