DAILY READING and REFLECTIONS For Wednesday, August 20, 2014 20th Week in Ordinary Time - Psalter 4 (White) Feast of St. Bernard, Abbot and Doctor Readings: Ezk 34:1-11; Ps 23:1-6; Matt 20:1-16 Response: The Lord is my shepherd, there is nothing I shall want. Rosary: Glorious Mysteries Key Verse: The last will be first, and the first, last. SAINT OF THE DAY: Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, Abbot and Doctor St. Bernard, Abbot and Doctor of the Church St. Bernard was born of noble parentage in Burgundy, France, in the castle of Fontaines near Dijon. Under the care of his pious parents he was sent at an early age to a college at Chatillon, where he was conspicuous for his remarkable piety and spirit of recollection. At the same place he entered upon the studies of theology and Holy Scripture. After the death of his mother, fearing the snares and temptations of the world, he resolved to embrace the newly established and very austere institute of the Cistercian Order, of which he was destined to become the greatest ornament. He also persuaded his brothers and several of his friends to follow his example. In 1113, St. Bernard, with thirty young noblemen, presented himself to the holy Abbot, St. Stephen, at Citeaux. After a novitiate spent in great fervor, he made his profession in the following year. His superior soon after, seeing the great progress he had made in the spiritual life, sent him with twelve monks to found a new monastery, which afterward became known as the celebrated Abbey of Clairvaux. St. Bernard was at once appointed Abbot and began that active life which has rendered him the most conspicuous figure in the history of the 12th century. He founded numerous other monasteries, composed a number of works and undertook many journeys for the honor of God. Several Bishoprics were offered him, but he refused them all. The reputation of St. Bernard spread far and wide; even the Popes were governed by his advice. He was commissioned by Pope Eugene III to preach the second Crusade. In obedience to the Sovereign Pontiff he traveled through France and Germany, and aroused the greatest enthusiasm for the holy war among the masses of the population. The failure of the expedition raised a great storm against the saint, but he attributed it to the sins of the Crusaders. St. Bernard was eminently endowed with the gift of miracles. He died on August 20, 1153. READINGS FROM THE NEW AMERICAN BIBLE: READING 1, Ezekiel 34:1-11 1 The word of Yahweh was addressed to me as follows, 2 Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy and say to them, Shepherds, the Lord Yahweh says this: Disaster is in store for the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Are not shepherds meant to feed a flock? 3 Yet you have fed on milk, you have dressed yourselves in wool, you have sacrificed the fattest sheep, but failed to feed the flock. 4 You have failed to make weak sheep strong, or to care for the sick ones, or bandage the injured ones. You have failed to bring back strays or look for the lost. On the contrary, you have ruled them cruelly and harshly. 5 For lack of a shepherd they have been scattered, to become the prey of all the wild animals; they have been scattered. 6 My flock is astray on every mountain and on every high hill; my flock has been scattered all over the world; no one bothers about them and no one looks for them. 7 Very well, shepherds, hear the word of Yahweh: 8 As I live, I swear it -- declares the Lord Yahweh -- since my flock has been pillaged and for lack of a shepherd is now the prey of every wild animal, since my shepherds have ceased to bother about my flock, since my shepherds feed themselves rather than my flock, 9 very well, shepherds, hear the word of Yahweh: 10 The Lord Yahweh says this: Look, I am against the shepherds. I shall take my flock out of their charge and henceforth not allow them to feed my flock. And the shepherds will stop feeding themselves, because I shall rescue my sheep from their mouths to stop them from being food for them. 11 For the Lord Yahweh says this: Look, I myself shall take care of my flock and look after it. RESPONSORIAL PSALM, Psalms 23:1-3, 3-4, 5, 6 1 [Psalm Of David] Yahweh is my shepherd, I lack nothing. 2 In grassy meadows he lets me lie. By tranquil streams he leads me 3 to restore my spirit. He guides me in paths of saving justice as befits his name. 4 Even were I to walk in a ravine as dark as death I should fear no danger, for you are at my side. Your staff and your crook are there to soothe me. 5 You prepare a table for me under the eyes of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup brims over. 6 Kindness and faithful love pursue me every day of my life. I make my home in the house of Yahweh for all time to come. GOSPEL, Matthew 20:1-16 1 Now the kingdom of Heaven is like a landowner going out at daybreak to hire workers for his vineyard. 2 He made an agreement with the workers for one denarius a day and sent them to his vineyard. 3 Going out at about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the market place 4 and said to them, You go to my vineyard too and I will give you a fair wage. 5 So they went. At about the sixth hour and again at about the ninth hour, he went out and did the same. 6 Then at about the eleventh hour he went out and found more men standing around, and he said to them, Why have you been standing here idle all day? 7 Because no one has hired us, they answered. He said to them, You go into my vineyard too. 8 In the evening, the owner of the vineyard said to his bailiff, Call the workers and pay them their wages, starting with the last arrivals and ending with the first. 9 So those who were hired at about the eleventh hour came forward and received one denarius each. 10 When the first came, they expected to get more, but they too received one denarius each. 11 They took it, but grumbled at the landowner saying, 12 The men who came last have done only one hour, and you have treated them the same as us, though we have done a heavy days work in all the heat. 13 He answered one of them and said, My friend, I am not being unjust to you; did we not agree on one denarius? 14 Take your earnings and go. I choose to pay the lastcomer as much as I pay you. 15 Have I no right to do what I like with my own? Why should you be envious because I am generous? 16 Thus the last will be first, and the first, last. REFLECTIONS: Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (To the Greater Glory of God) OPENING PRAYER: God our Father, may we love you in all things and above all things and reach the joy you have prepared for us beyond all our imagining. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. ON READING 1: Ezekiel 34:1-11 Oracle against the shepherd of Israel In some Sumerian and Egyptian texts the image of the shepherd is sometimes applied to leading men and gods. In the Bible it is often applied to kings (1 Kings 22:17), perhaps because David began life as a shepherd (1 Sam 17:34; Ps 78 : 70-72), and to the Lord (cf. Ps 23:1-6; 80:2-3). The prophets, particularly Jeremiah, use the image when talking about rulers, be they kings or priests (cf Jer 2:8 ; 10:21; 25:34-36; Zech 11:4-17). In this first address to the exiles, Ezekiel talks about bad shepherds, that is, the evil rulers who led the people into the disaster of the exile (vv. 1-10) -- and, by contrast, he speaks of the Lord, the supreme shepherd who takes over the reins of government to rule his people without intermediaries (vv. 11-22), and of the new messiah-ruler whom God himself will place at their head: he will be their new shepherd, David, who will lead his flock to the best pastures (vv. 23-31). Jesus found this a very appropriate image for explaining his role as Messiah and Saviour ( in 10:1-18 ) and as Judge at the end of time (cf. Mt 25:31-46). Moreover, he confirmed his words by actions. When, at the multiplication of the loaves, he gathers those who have followed him (they are like sheep without a shepherd: Mk 6:34: cf. Ezek 34:5), and nourishes them with bread and with the word of his teaching, he is fulfilling this prophecy of Ezekiel which promises a new king, a true shepherd, and a new Covenant. Jesus is, then, the shepherd who assembles all mankind to lead it to salvation: He is the one who has gathered together into one flock all the holy sheep from all the nations under heaven, without neglecting any of the peoples of the earth: he carries out every day what he once promised, when he said: There are other sheep, that are not of this flock, and these too I will tend, and they will listen to my voice, and there will be one flock, and there will be one shepherd (St. Leo the Great, Sermones, 63, 7). And as Bl. John Paul II teaches: The figure of Jesus Christ as shepherd of the Church, his flock, takes up and represents in new and more evocative terms the same content as that of Jesus Christ as head and servant. Fulfilling the prophetic proclamation of the Messiah and saviour joyfully announced by the psalmist and the prophet Ezekiel (cf. Ps 22-23; Ezek 34:11ff), Jesus presents himself as the good shepherd (Jn 10:11, 14), not only of Israel but of all humanity (cf. Jn 10:16). His whole life is a continual manifestation of his pastoral charity (Pastores dabo vobis, 22). As is usual in condemnatory oracles, the charges are mentioned first (vv. 2 6) and then comes the sentence, which begins with the usual Therefore (vv. 7-10). The rulers of the people (cf. 23:23-31), that is, the princes, priests, elders and professional prophets, have exploited the people and sought their own gain. What Ezekiel says here carries a message for those who hold office in Christian communities: In the Church of Christ, everyone is obliged to make a tenacious effort to remain loyal to the teaching of Christ. No one is exempt. If the shepherds do not themselves strive to acquire a sensitive conscience and to remain faithful to dogma and moral teaching -- which make up the deposit of faith and the inheritance of all -- then the prophetic words of Ezekiel will be borne out: Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say to them, even to the shepherds, thus says the Lord God: Ho, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! This is a strong reproof, but the offence against God is even worse when those who have received the task of promoting the spiritual welfare of everyone abuse souls instead, depriving them of the crystal water of baptism, which regenerates the soul; of the soothing oil of confirmation, which strengthens it; of the tribunal which pardons; of the food which gives eternal life (St Josemaria Escrivá, Christ Is Passing By, 81). ON THE GOSPEL: Matthew 20:1-16 (The Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard) Today’s Gospel presents a parable which is found only in Matthew’s Gospel. It is not in the other Gospels. Like in all parables, Jesus tells a story about daily elements, daily things of the life of the people. He presents a picture of the social situation of his time, in which the auditors recognize themselves. But, at the same time, in the story of this parable, there are things which never take place in the reality of the life of the people. And this, because speaking about the master, Jesus thinks about God, about his Father. And this is why in the story of the parable; the master does things which are surprising which never take place in the daily life of the auditors. But, in this strange attitude of the master, it is necessary to find the key to understand the message of the parable. This parable is addressed to the Jewish people, whom God called at an early hour, centuries ago. Now the Gentiles are also being called -- with an equal right to form part of the new people of God, the Church. In both cases it is a matter of a gratuitous, unmerited, invitation; therefore, those who were the first to receive the call have no grounds for complaining when God calls the last and gives them the same reward -- membership of His people. At first sight the laborers of the first hour seem to have a genuine grievance--because they do not realize that to have a job in the Lords vineyard is a divine gift. Jesus leaves us in no doubt that although He calls us to follow different ways, all receive the same reward -- Heaven. Matthew 20, 1-7: The five times that the landowner goes out to look for labourers. “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a landowner going out at daybreak to hire workers for his vineyard. He made an agreement with the workers for one denarius a day and sent them to his vineyard”. This is how the story begins and it speaks for itself and does not need too many comments. In what follows, the landowner goes out four times to call other workers to go and work in his vineyard. Jesus refers to the terrible lack of work at that time. Now some details of the story: (a) the landowner himself goes out personally five times to contract workers. (b) When he contracts the workers, he fixes the salary only for the first group: one denarius a day. To those of nine o’clock in the morning he says: I will give you what is just, fair. With the others, he does not fix anything. He contracted them only to work in the vineyard. (c) At the end of the day, when it was the time to pay the workers, the landowners orders the administrator to carry out this service. Denarius: a silver coin bearing an image of Caesar Augustus (Matthew 22:19-21). The Jewish method of calculating time was different from ours. They divided the whole day into eight parts, four night parts (called watches) and four day parts (called hours)--the first, third, sixth and ninth hour. The first hour began at sunrise and ended around nine oclock; the third ran to twelve noon; the sixth to three in the afternoon; and the ninth from three to sunset. This meant that the first and ninth hours varied in length, decreasing in autumn and winter and increasing in spring and summer and the reverse happening with the first and fourth watches. Sometimes intermediate hours were counted--as for example in verse 6 which refers to the eleventh hour, the short period just before sunset, the end of the working day. Matthew 20, 8-10: The strange way of fixing the accounts at the end of the day. When it was evening, the landowner of the vineyard told his administrator: Call the workers and pay them, beginning from the last ones to the first ones. Here, at the time of drawing the accounts, something strange takes place, which does not happen in normal life. It seems that things are inverted. The administrator begins to pay those who were contracted just an hour before. The salary is the same for all: one denarius as it was agreed with the first ones who were contracted at the beginning of the day. When the first came, they expected to get more but they too received one denarius each. Why does the landowner act like that? Would you do the same? It is precisely in this surprising gesture of the landowner that the key of understanding this parable is hidden. Matthew 20, 11-12: The normal reaction of the workers before the strange attitude of the landowner. The last ones also receive their salary as those who were contracted first. The story says that these began to grumble against the landowner and said: “The men who came last have done only one hour and you have treated them the same as us, though we have done a heavy day’s work in all the heat”. This is the normal reaction of a good sense. I think that all of us would have had the same reaction and would have said the same thing to the landowner. Would we have not? Matthew 20, 13-16: The surprising explanation of the landowner who gives the key of the parable. The response of the landowner is the following: “My friend, I am not being unjust to you. Did we not agree on one denarius? Take your earnings and go. I choose to pay the last comer as much as I pay you; have I no right to do what I like with my own? Why should you be envious because I am generous?” These words give the key which explains the attitude of the landowner and indicates the message which Jesus wants to communicate to us: (a) The landowner was not unjust, because he acts according to what he had agreed with the first group of workers: one denarius a day. (b) It is the sovereign decision of the landowner to give to the last ones the same amount that he had agreed upon with those of the first hour. These do not have the right to complain and claim anything. (c) Acting with justice, the landowner has the right to do the good that he wants with the things that belong to him. The worker, on his part has this same right. (d) The last question touches on the central point: Why should you be envious because I am generous? God is different and his thoughts are not our thoughts (Is 55, 8-9). The Vulgate, other translations and a good many Greek codices add: For many are called, but few are chosen (cf. Matthew 22:14). The background of the parable is the circumstance of the time, for Jesus as well as for Matthew. The workers of the first hour are the Jewish People, called by God to work in his vineyard. They bear the weight of the day, from Abraham to Moses, for over one thousand years. Now at the eleventh hour, Jesus calls the pagans, the gentiles to work in his vineyard and they succeed in having the preference in the heart of God. “Thus the first ones will be last and the last will be first”. FINAL PRAYERS: Kindness and faithful love pursue me every day of my life. I make my home in the house of Yahweh for all time to come. (Ps 23,6) Lord, let us be your presence this day. Give us the wisdom and the grace to discern what we need to surrender to you. Grant us the courage to trust in you and to look forward to the details of this day with renewed hope. Amen. Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ. -- St. Jerome The Father uttered one Word; that Word is His Son, and He utters Him forever in everlasting silence; and in silence the soul has to hear it. -- St. John of the Cross
Posted on: Tue, 19 Aug 2014 23:04:59 +0000
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