20250820 GRACE TRANSCENDS JUSTICE
20 August 2025, Wednesday, 20th Week in Ordinary Time
First reading | Judges 11:29-39 |
Jephthah sacrifices his daughter in fulfilment of a vow
The spirit of the Lord came on Jephthah, who crossed Gilead and Manasseh, passed through to Mizpah in Gilead, and from Mizpah in Gilead made his way to the rear of the Ammonites. And Jephthah made a vow to the Lord, ‘If you deliver the Ammonites into my hands, then the first person to meet me from the door of my house when I return in triumph from fighting the Ammonites shall belong to the Lord, and I will offer him up as a holocaust. Jephthah marched against the Ammonites to attack them, and the Lord delivered them into his power. He harassed them from Aroer almost to Minnith (twenty towns) and to Abel-keramim. It was a very severe defeat, and the Ammonites were humbled before the Israelites.
As Jephthah returned to his house at Mizpah, his daughter came out from it to meet him; she was dancing to the sound of timbrels. This was his only child; apart from her he had neither son nor daughter. When he saw her, he tore his clothes and exclaimed, ‘Oh my daughter, what sorrow you are bringing me! Must it be you, the cause of my ill-fortune! I have given a promise to the Lord, and I cannot unsay what I have said.’ She answered him, ‘My father, you have given a promise to the Lord; treat me as the vow you took binds you to, since the Lord has given you vengeance on your enemies the Ammonites.’ Then she said to her father, ‘Grant me one request. Let me be free for two months. I shall go and wander in the mountains, and with my companions bewail my virginity.’ He answered, ‘Go’, and let her depart for two months. So she went away with her companions and bewailed her virginity in the mountains. When the two months were over, she returned to her father, and he treated her as the vow that he had uttered bound him. She had never known a man.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 39(40):5,7-10 |
Here I am, Lord! I come to do your will.
Happy the man who has placed
his trust in the Lord
and has not gone over to the rebels
who follow false gods.
Here I am, Lord! I come to do your will.
You do not ask for sacrifice and offerings,
but an open ear.
You do not ask for holocaust and victim.
Instead, here am I.
Here I am, Lord! I come to do your will.
In the scroll of the book it stands written
that I should do your will.
My God, I delight in your law
in the depth of my heart.
Here I am, Lord! I come to do your will.
Your justice I have proclaimed
in the great assembly.
My lips I have not sealed;
you know it, O Lord.
Here I am, Lord! I come to do your will.
Gospel Acclamation | Ps118:27 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Make me grasp the way of your precepts,
and I will muse on your wonders.
Alleluia!
Or: | Ps94:8 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Harden not your hearts today,
but listen to the voice of the Lord.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Matthew 22:1-14 |
Invite everyone you can to the wedding
Jesus began to speak to the chief priests and elders of the people in parables: ‘The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a feast for his son’s wedding. He sent his servants to call those who had been invited, but they would not come. Next he sent some more servants. “Tell those who have been invited” he said “that I have my banquet all prepared, my oxen and fattened cattle have been slaughtered, everything is ready. Come to the wedding.” But they were not interested: one went off to his farm, another to his business, and the rest seized his servants, maltreated them and killed them. The king was furious. He despatched his troops, destroyed those murderers and burnt their town. Then he said to his servants, “The wedding is ready; but as those who were invited proved to be unworthy, go to the crossroads in the town and invite everyone you can find to the wedding.” So these servants went out on to the roads and collected together everyone they could find, bad and good alike; and the wedding hall was filled with guests. When the king came in to look at the guests he noticed one man who was not wearing a wedding garment, and said to him, “How did you get in here, my friend, without a wedding garment?” And the man was silent. Then the king said to the attendants, “Bind him hand and foot and throw him out into the dark, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth.” For many are called, but few are chosen.’
GRACE TRANSCENDS JUSTICE
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Jdg 9:6-15; Psalm 21:2-7; Mt 20:1-16]
It is in the DNA of every human being to seek justice in life. What is justice? The meaning of this word is elusive. In principle, justice means that everyone is treated fairly, equally, and impartially, according to what is due to her or him. This implies that persons with equal qualifications or contributions should receive equal remuneration. However, such fairness is not always easy to measure. What is considered just also depends on the culture and prevailing laws. There is no single, universal concept of justice. So, whilst all people seek justice, even governments cannot agree on what is truly just. Each country determines, from its own perspective, what justice should look like. This explains why, both internationally and locally, although justice is invoked, there remains much division and disagreement about what it really means. Otherwise, there will be no wars, trade conflicts, or territorial disputes.
Even on the personal level, we all know that life is not always fair when we compare ourselves with others. Why are some born more intelligent and talented than others? Why are some born into rich, loving and caring families while others are not? Why are we born in a specific place and time? We can ask many such questions, but there are no clear answers. Faced with this, we may become bitter and resentful – toward life, toward those who seem better off, and ultimately even toward God, because it appears that He does not love us as much as He loves others, since they seem to be more greatly blessed than we are.
So, when we speak of justice in terms of being paid according to what we can do, this in itself is not entirely fair, because we are all competing with different natural resources and opportunities. Consider the Gospel parable of the workers in the vineyard: all the workers were waiting in the market place to be employed. Some were hired at the beginning of the day, others later, and some even at the last hour. Again, this does not appear fair, because while all wanted to work, not all were given the chance to be employed. It was not because they were lazy and idle; in truth, they were desperate for work, for without it they could not feed their families. This shows how human justice is flawed in many ways, as we often judge solely by what each person can contribute, without considering that we are not competing on a level playing field. It would therefore not be truly just to base rewards only on merit and effort, when circumstances and external factors differ greatly. But that, unfortunately, is the reality of life.
Then we ask, why? Life is not fair! How can there be God if He does not seem fair to us? In the final analysis, this question can only be answered by the principle of grace. In other words, everything we are, and everything we have is the result of God’s grace. To be healthy, to have the opportunity to study, to be financially and materially provided for, to enjoy good friends and a loving family – these are all gifts of grace. We begin with grace, and live each day sustained by grace. This is why the Lord taught that if we were to measure justice strictly from the perspective of merit and effort, then those who started working earlier in the day would indeed have the right to expect higher pay than those who arrived later.
But God does not measure justice simply by what we can do or contribute. He also takes into consideration our circumstances. In terms of legal justice, he has fulfilled his contract with those who accepted to work for him. If he wanted to give others who came later the same amount or even more, that is his prerogative. That was why, he said to them, “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 be envious because I am generous?” God considers all circumstances, and His justice is rooted in generosity. He is truly just because He takes into account the graces we have received. God gives each of us what is necessary to live out our vocation, to find salvation, happiness, joy, meaning, and eternal life.
Therefore, we must trust in God’s wisdom in granting us the gifts we have received. We may never be able to understand why different people are given different gifts, or why some receive more than others. As St Paul wrote to the Corinthians: “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.” (1 Cor 12:4-6;11) In another letter, he said, “God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work.” (1 Cor 9:8)
True justice is when we seek the good of everyone. Those who have more are called to share generously with others, and those who have not are called to receive with thanksgiving what others give. Again, St Paul gives us the obligation of giving and sharing. He said, “it is a question of a fair balance between your present abundance and their need, so that their abundance may be for your need, in order that there may be a fair balance. As it is written, ‘The one who had much did not have too much, and the one who had little did not have too little.'” (2 Cor 8:13-15) So in the parable, God is truly just. He gave each worker one denarius – the wage needed to feed a family for a day. This is the justice of God: that all are cared for and loved, regardless of their background or circumstances. God’s justice flows from His love, and He loves each and every one of us alike.
Those who have more are called to give more, while those who have less, are expected to give less back to society. This is the essence of true Christian justice. So, there is nothing for us to boast about when we give to the poor, or to the community – whether financially, or through our time, skills, and resources. If we have been blessed with talents, opportunities, and good health, we must use them not just for ourselves but for the greater good of our brothers and sisters. We are not to keep God’s blessings solely for ourselves, or even just for our loved ones. To do so would be too narrow and selfish a response to the grace we have received.
Of course, although everything is the grace of God, we are also called to cooperate with His grace. Unfortunately, some people, though blessed with talents and opportunities, fail to use them well. Instead, they abuse the gifts they have received, using them only for selfish enjoyment and pleasure. Others are lazy and irresponsible with their gifts. Rather than cultivating and developing their potential, they squander it on futile pursuits. On this basis, God will judge us accordingly. We will be punished and suffer the consequences of our negligence.
Perhaps, we can learn a lesson from today’s first reading. Although, the fable was told more to reprimand the people for choosing Abimelech as King of Israel – despite his reputation for corruption, evil, incompetence, selfishness, and violent ambition – they irresponsibly chose him to be their king. As a consequence, they had to endure the abuses and injustices of King Abimelech. The lesson is clear: we must choose wisely.
But there is also another indirect lesson we can learn from the fable: those who were capable, honest, and of integrity were unwilling to step out to serve in positions for which they were suited. They were talented and blessed, yet at times, situations demand that we sacrifice what we are really good at, or like to do, to undertake a greater task for the good of the community – especially when no other leaders are available. Someone must be willing to set aside personal convenience and preferences to do God’s will and serve the people. Today, we need generous people who are willing to prioritise the interests of others over their own. We might not feel adequate to perform tasks for which we are not trained in, but when the need is there, God will always qualify those whom He chooses. When we cooperate with His grace, God will help us to accomplish His work – even as all the prophets and apostles in the Bible often felt inadequate. We must rely on His grace alone!
Best Practices for Using the Daily Scripture Reflections
- Encounter God through the spirit of prayer and the scripture by reflecting and praying the Word of God daily. The purpose is to bring you to prayer and to a deeper union with the Lord on the level of the heart.
- Daily reflections when archived will lead many to accumulate all the reflections of the week and pray in one sitting. This will compromise your capacity to enter deeply into the Word of God, as the tendency is to read for knowledge rather than a prayerful reading of the Word for the purpose of developing a personal and affective relationship with the Lord.
- It is more important to pray deeply, not read widely. The current reflections of the day would be more than sufficient for anyone who wants to pray deeply and be led into an intimacy with the Lord.
Note: You may share this reflection with someone. However, please note that reflections are not archived online nor will they be available via email request.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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