Daily Reflection – Sep 24, 2017
Sunday 24 September 2017
First Reading:IS 55:6-9
Responsorial Psalm:
The Lord is near to all who call upon him.
PS 145:2-3, 8-9, 17-18
Second Reading: PHIL 1:20C-24, 27A
Gospel Reading: MT 20:1-16A
Today’s Note: Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Gospel Reading:
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,
the landowner 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,
the landowner 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:
Today’s psalm is a canticle of praise for the love and mercy of our Father and his wonderful care of us.
Pope Francis wants us to hear the Father and embrace and share that loving care as he explores for us the path of evangelisation as leaders and witnesses.
In the familiar vineyard story, Jesus reassures us that, no matter how late we arrive, there is work for us all to do and be justly rewarded.
Christians who give their lives joyfully will be sustained in their effort, however small it appears. Through our closeness to God we can share his mercy with others.
Dear Lord, stay with us and all we meet today.
