＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊

Isaiah 55:6-9

Seek Yahweh while he may be found; 

Call to him while he is near.  Let the wicked abandon his way, let him forsake his thoughts, let him turn to Yahweh for he will have mercy, for our God is generous in forgiving.

 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, my ways are not your ways, says Yahweh.  For as the heavens are above the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways,

and my thoughts above your thoughts.

 

Ps 145:2-3, 8-9, 17-18 (18a)

The Lord is near to all who call upon him.

 

＊＊＊ 2nd Reading ＊＊＊

Philippians 1:20c-24, 27a

I am hopeful, even certain, that I shall not be ashamed. I feel as assured now, as before, that Christ will be exalted through my person, whether I live or die.  For to me, living is Christ, and dying is gain. But if I am to go on living, I shall be able to enjoy fruitful labor. Which shall I choose? 

So I feel torn between the two. I desire greatly to leave this life and to be with Christ, which will be better by far, but it is necessary for you that I remain in this life. Try, then, to adjust your lives according to the Gospel of Christ.

May I see it when I come to you, and if I cannot come, may I at least hear that you stand firm in the same spirit, striving to up­hold the faith of the Gospel with one heart.

 

＊＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊＊

Matthew 20:1-16a

 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：

Read:

God asks us to embrace His ways not the ways of the world. He is a father who does not measure his love according to human standards.

Reflect:

God’s wealth is not a limited capital that requires proper labor to justly get good returns. God’s wealth is an unlimited resource. It is not diminished even if given away. We can translate this to a family situation.

A parent’s love is not wasted even if his or her children have different degrees of loving in return. Some children make parents proud, some test their patience. Others need years to finally see it. God’s love is not a salary waiting for work. It is an embrace openly waiting for everyone to come in.

Pray:

We pray for those who have not recognized the love and sacrifices done by people to them.

Act:

Do not stop showing your care to your children, freidnds, and other significant people even if you are the only one loving.