Wednesday, August 23, 2006
20th Week in Ordinary Time
Rose of Lima


A GENEROUS GOD

Ezk 34:1-11; Ps 23:1-3,3-4,5,6; Matthew 20:1-16


Daily Gospel

Opening Prayer

God, you are high above us
and get nearer to us
than we are to ourselves;
you hate evil and yet you give a chance
to people who fail;
you know us as we are
and still you love us.
Teach us your surprising ways,
that your thoughts may become ours
and that we may generously share
with those around us all the good gifts
and the life you have given us
in the generosity of your heart,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Liturgy of the Word

Introduction to the First Reading
       After the fall of Jerusalem, Ezekiel criticizes the kings who have led the people into their misery as bad shepherds. They should have pastured the people in the name of God, and not played politicians.

First Reading: Ezk 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.

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 23:1-3,3-4,5,6

R. (1) The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
In verdant pastures he gives me repose;
Beside restful waters he leads me;
he refreshes my soul.
R. (1) The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

He guides me in right paths
for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk in the dark valley
I fear no evil; for you are at my side
With your rod and your staff
that give me courage.
R. (1) The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

You spread the table before me
in the sight of my foes;
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
R. (see 18a) You have forgotten God who gave you birth.

Only goodness and kindness will follow me
all the days of my life;
And I shall dwell in the house of the LORD
for years to come.
R. (1) The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

Introduction to Gospel Reading
     The parable of the laborers in the vineyard tells us, contrary to what we often hear, that God is not a bookkeeper. Of course, he loves those who lead exemplary Christian lives. But in his heart there is also room for the stragglers and latecomers as well as for the pioneers. God loves us and is generous to us, not because we are good but because he is good.

Gospel Reading: Matthew 20:1-16

       Jesus said to his disciples, "This story throws light on the kingdom of heaven. A landowner went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. He agreed to pay the workers a salary of a silver coin for the day, and sent them to his vineyard.

        "He went out again at about nine in the morning, and seeing others idle in the square, he said to them: 'You, too, go to my vineyard and I will pay you what is just.' So they went.

        "The owner went out at midday and again at three in the afternoon, and he did the same. Finally he went out at the last working hour - it was the eleventh - and he saw others standing there. So he said to them: 'Why do you stay idle the whole day?' They answered: 'Because no one has hired us.' The master said: 'Go and work in my vineyard.'

        "When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager: 'Call the workers and pay them their wage, beginning with the last and ending with the first.' Those who had come to work at the eleventh hour turned up and were given a denarius each (a silver coin). When it was the turn of the first, they thought they would receive more. But they, too, received a denarius each. So, on receiving it, they began to grumble against the landowner.

        "They said: 'These last hardly worked an hour, yet you have treated them the same as us who have endured the day's burden and heat.' The owner said to one of them: 'Friend, I have not been unjust to you. Did we not agree on a denarius a day? So take what is yours and go. I want to give to the last the same as I give to you. Don't I have the right to do as I please with my money? Why are you envious when I am kind?'

        "So will it be: the last will be first, the first will be last."

Commentary

Ezekiel rails against the shepherds of Israel who pasture themselves at the expense of the sheep, letting them die, be scattered and lost. And God will come among those shepherds and take the sheep from them and care for them himself. Jesus' parable mirrors the state of Israel, its leaders and people, using the image of a vineyard instead of a sheepfold. All the workers will be paid the same-justice and what they need. While those who came early think they deserve more, the owner insists that he made a just deal with them. Now he chooses to give mercy to others. God will take care of all of us, but the poor, the sick and those in need first. We should be honored to be in the vineyard and able to serve God.

General Intercessions

- That Christians may contribute to our world a sense of giving out of pure generosity and goodness and a sense of celebration, we pray:

- That in our communities everyone may be accepted as he or she is; that we may not exclude any one from our love and that we may learn to forgive everyone, we pray:

- That those who are jobless, sad or bitter because they think they are useless and nobody needs them, that we may give them the chance to contribute to the good of society, we pray:

Prayer over the Gifts

Generous Father,
in these signs of bread and wine
you give us, weak and tired as we sometimes are,
your Son as our companion.
We open ourselves to his strength and love.
May he help us in the heat of the day
to bear the burdens of our struggles
and to seek your will in all we do.
Grant this through Christ our Lord.

Prayer after Communion

Generous Father,
in this eucharist we have experienced again
that life and all that we are
is nothing else than a gift from you.
May the demanding word of your Son
stir us to accept and serve our neighbor
as you have accepted and loved us
without any merit on our part.
And may the body of your Son sustain us
to put your word into practice.
We ask you this in the name of Jesus the Lord.

Blessing

We have looked at God today as an unbelievably good God. For God, every person is valuable, also the weak and those we consider good for nothing. Everyone counts. May almighty God bless you all, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

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