Reading 1
Ez 34:1-11
The word of the Lord came to me:
Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel,
in these words prophesy to them to the shepherds:
Thus says the Lord GOD: Woe to the shepherds of Israel
who have been pasturing themselves!
Should not shepherds, rather, pasture sheep?
You have fed off their milk, worn their wool,
and slaughtered the fatlings,
but the sheep you have not pastured.
You did not strengthen the weak nor heal the sick
nor bind up the injured.
You did not bring back the strayed nor seek the lost,
but you lorded it over them harshly and brutally.
So they were scattered for the lack of a shepherd,
and became food for all the wild beasts.
My sheep were scattered
and wandered over all the mountains and high hills;
my sheep were scattered over the whole earth,
with no one to look after them or to search for them.
Therefore, shepherds, hear the word of the LORD:
As I live, says the Lord GOD,
because my sheep have been given over to pillage,
and because my sheep have become food for every wild beast,
for lack of a shepherd;
because my shepherds did not look after my sheep,
but pastured themselves and did not pasture my sheep;
because of this, shepherds, hear the word of the LORD:
Thus says the Lord GOD:
I swear I am coming against these shepherds.
I will claim my sheep from them
and put a stop to their shepherding my sheep
so that they may no longer pasture themselves.
I will save my sheep,
that they may no longer be food for their mouths.
For thus says the Lord GOD:
I myself will look after and tend my sheep.
Gospel
Mt 20:1-16
Jesus told his disciples this parable:
“The Kingdom of heaven is like a landowner
who went out at dawn to hire laborers for his vineyard.
After agreeing with them for the usual daily wage,
he sent them into his vineyard.
Going out about nine o’clock,
he saw others standing idle in the marketplace,
and he said to them, ‘You too go into my vineyard,
and I will give you what is just.’
So they went off.
And he went out again around noon,
and around three o’clock, and did likewise.
Going out about five o’clock,
he found others standing around, and said to them,
‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’
They answered, ‘Because no one has hired us.’
He said to them, ‘You too go into my vineyard.’
When it was evening the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman,
‘Summon the laborers and give them their pay,
beginning with the last and ending with the first.’
When those who had started about five o’clock came,
each received the usual daily wage.
So when the first came, they thought that they would receive more,
but each of them also got the usual wage.
And on receiving it they grumbled against the landowner, saying,
‘These last ones worked only one hour,
and you have made them equal to us,
who bore the day’s burden and the heat.’
He said to one of them in reply,
‘My friend, I am not cheating you.
Did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage?
Take what is yours and go.
What if I wish to give this last one the same as you?
Or am I not free to do as I wish with my own money?
Are you envious because I am generous?’
Thus, the last will be first, and the first will be last.”
Meditation: Matthew 20:1-16
“Are you envious because I am generous?” (Matthew 20:15)
Why does the master keep going back to the marketplace to hire more laborers? Not because the work is so overwhelming that there aren’t enough workers to do it. Rather, this great-hearted master doesn’t want to overlook anyone who is willing and able to work. He knows that if a man is not hired on a given day, his family will have nothing to eat that night. He has compassion for that family and for the man who feels like a failure if he is unable to provide for them.
It is sad to note, however, that the laborers hired first did not absorb their master’s attitude. Not content to have just provided for their own families, they begrudge the master giving a last-minute opportunity to other men to do the same. They are proud of their long, hot day of work, and they feel they deserve a bigger reward, even if it means that their co-workers have to suffer.
Many of us have been given far more than our “daily bread.” Our families may not have every luxury they would like, but they probably won’t go to bed hungry tonight. And compared with the grinding poverty that so many in the developing world experience, we probably live like kings and queens.
So how generous are you with all that you have been given? Is there someone standing idle in the marketplace longing for an opportunity to find meaning in life? Is there a charitable organization in your area that is in need of financial help? Or perhaps one that could use your talents to build up its ministry? Let’s beg the Master to share his generous heart with us so that we can reach out to others with the love that sustains us every day. We have opportunities to share physical bread with others, and we have opportunities to share spiritual bread—through prayer, thoughtful support, and Christ-led companionship. God is calling us: “You too go into my vineyard” (Matthew 20:7). Let’s not delay in answering!
“Master, thank you for providing for my every need, especially my need for love and for meaning in life. Give me your generous heart toward all those you have placed in my life.”
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