St. John Eudes, priest 

St. Ezekiel Moreno, priest 

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊

Ezekiel 34:1-11*

The word of Yahweh  came to me in these terms, 

“Son of man, speak on my behalf against the shep­herds of Israel! Say to the shepherds on my be­half: Woe to the shepherds of Is­rael who feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flock? (…..)

 This is what Yahweh says: I will ask an ac­count of the shepherds and reclaim my sheep from them. No longer shall they tend my flock; nor shall there be shepherds who feed themselves. I shall save the flock from their mouths and no longer shall it be food for them.

 Indeed Yahweh says this: I myself will care for my sheep and watch over them.

 

Ps 23:1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6

The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

 

＊＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊＊

Matthew 20:1-16

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.”

 

Gospel Reflection：

The Lord wants His mission to be a family affair. In the family, questions about justice and fairness are not about how much is due to an individual child. They are about what holds the family together.

An elder child may do harder chores than his younger sibling, but he does not expect to have more food on his plate. He is even sad when no one is eating with him. The food holds the family together. the role of the salary in our Gospel is to hold every worker together in God’s mission.

Disciples and missionaries do not work according to payroll and terms of compensation. They work to have more workers to share in God’s bounty. This may sound naïve for those who fight for social equality and justice.

But, a true missionary is very happy when more people come to be part of God’s workforce.