Matthew 20:1-16

Judges 9:6-15

Psalm 21:2-3, 4-5, 6-7

Matthew 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.”

Opening Prayer: Lord God, you have promised to shepherd your sheep and care for your children. You fulfilled this promise by sending your Son to shepherd us. Help me with your grace to be a good shepherd in my family and lead my loved ones to eternal pastures.

Encountering the Word of God

1. Working in the Lord’s Vineyard: In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus tells many parables about the Kingdom of Heaven. Some of the parables speak about how the seed of the Kingdom is welcomed, grows over time, and welcomes people from all nations. Other parables speak about how there will be good and evil within the kingdom until the end of time. Today’s parable speaks about the end of the kingdom. The image used by Jesus in the parable is that of being contracted to work in a vineyard. Some people begin their work in God’s Kingdom at a young age; others respond to the call later in life. The parable stresses how what is important is responding to the call. Whether a person begins early or responds later in life is secondary to the fact that God is the one who takes the initiative and makes the first move, so to speak.  Any good we have done in the Kingdom of Heaven has been empowered by divine grace.

2. Divine Generosity: The main point of the parable is that God is generous. Those who work their entire lives in the kingdom and those who only work during the last hour will receive the same wage. The same wage is eternal life. But Jesus’ parables should not be read in isolation. They all reveal different and complementary dimensions of the kingdom of heaven. Thus, while it is true that all those who responded to the call to work in the Lord’s vineyard receive the wage of eternal life, the Parable of the Talents suggests that the heavenly reward will also vary. As St. Terese of Lisieux teaches: Everyone’s glass in heaven will be full, but some glasses will be larger than others. Earlier, St. Thomas Aquinas taught that while all in heaven see God face to face, some will see God more profoundly, according to the degree of their charity. Those with a greater charity are able to receive more.

3. Abimelech: The Book of Judges narrates the story of twelve judges in different parts of the land of Canaan. Not all of the judges were good. In fact, many of the good ones were flawed, and some were outright evil. Abimelech was the son of the judge Gideon and was one of the evil judges. His name in Hebrew means, “my father is king.” Although Gideon declined to be appointed as king by the people, he little by little acted as a tyrannical king and led the people into apostasy. When Abimelech was made king by the citizens of Shechem, a man named Jotham went to the top of Mount Gerizim and called out to the people. Mount Gerizim was one of two mountains that overlooked the city of Shechem. It was the mountain on which the blessings of the covenant of Deuteronomy were proclaimed under Joshua. Jotham’s parable “warns that nothing but disaster can come from sinister politics and power-hungry kings. Gideon and his 70 sons are represented by the noble trees that refuse royal honor, while Abimelech is the bramble shrub that accepts the crown but is fruitless and worthless” (Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, 388).

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, I can learn so much from you as the Good Shepherd and the Generous Landowner. I need to discern your voice amid the noise of the world so that you can lead me to good pasture and set me to work in the vineyard.

Living the Word of God: When have I heard the call of God in my life? How have I responded to those calls? Can I imitate God’s generosity today in some way?