WEDNESDAY OF THE TWENTIETH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME, AUGUST 21, 2024

MASS READINGS:

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."

REFLECTION

 Are you envious because I am generous?

When we give a gift we give it freely without an obligation and without any strings attached. We can be as generous as we want ...it is after all our gift. But this gift is no longer ours to take back. It is given with the hopes that the person receiving it, would use it well.

In today's parable, we can identify with the sentiments of the various workers and with the land owner. The workers say that the pay arrangements are not fair only because they are comparing what they got with what others got. To them it was an unfulfilled expectation of what they thought was everyone's hourly wage. On the other hand, the land owner can be as generous as he can be as it is his decision what to do.

People are not content when they feel they got the short end of the deal. They grumble, complain and just plain do not understand. However, if they got the better deal, they are all smiles and happy with their good fortune. They rarely complain that they got a good deal above and beyond what they expected.

There are instances when we, as a nation, must say, "That is not fair". "That is not right". What about the nascent baby who cannot scream in their defense for their execution in abortion? There is the child born into an abusive family, born with a mental or physical impairment, the impoverished, the hopeless or a homeless beggar who does not have the same advantage as others. They are the forgotten ones, the heartbreaks that go unnoticed. Who will come to their defense? Who will speak up for the injustice of their plight?

The grumbling laborers or complainers think they have been cheated. They are actually envious of the other persons' good fortune. Their sin of envy blinds them from seeing the goodness of the Lord. None of us are deserving of His grace, His generosity and His blessings. None of us deserve to be with God in eternity. Yet He beckons us and waits for us whether we have been believers since infancy, recent converts or are snatched at the last minute from the clutches of hell.

One thing I know for sure and I don't have to be a theologian, a linguist or a philosopher. God is good all the time. He loves us. Seize the opportunity to reach out with the heart of Jesus filled with pity for all who are lost or forgotten. Penetrate past the image to the idea. Tell them of God's love, His goodness.

God Bless You.