Matthew 13:52

Matthew 13:52 offers an interesting possible model for church. So he said to them, 'When, therefore, a teacher of the law has become a learner in the kingdom of Heaven, he is like a householder who can produce from his store things new and old.' I find this a fascinating comment. Strictly, it is more individual than church can be and yet, I think, we can push the boundaries. Surely we are all "learners in the kingdom of Heaven". This verse is also fascinating because a number of scholars think that Matthew is here bringing himself into his account. This is how it is for him and this represents the contribution he can make. What we have here is virtually a parable in its own right in among a string of parables that form Matthew 13. What I see as the interesting point is the necessary mix between continuity and discontinuity. The church cannot, and must not, lose sight of what it has been - but it needs to be constantly renewing itself ("semper reformanda"). The Gospel is clear that Jesus uses Jewish perceptions and practices, but they are reinterpreted in the light of the role that is his. The task of the disciples is to "live and maintain the tension and praxis of bringing out what is new and what is old" (Warren Carter: Matthew and the Margins, Orbis, 2000, p. 297). I think that is a pretty good summary of what the church should be doing. It makes no sense to discard all the past with its huge array of wisdom, but it is equally senseless to refuse to seek out God's new transforming future. Both elements have a critical role - the trick is to know what fits where!