20140820 THE JUSTICE OF MAN AND THE JUSTICE OF
GOD
Reading 1, Ezekiel 34:1-11
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.
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 23:1-3, 3-4, 5, 6
2 In grassy meadows he lets me lie. By tranquil streams he
leads me
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
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 day's
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.
THE
JUSTICE OF MAN AND THE JUSTICE OF GOD
Today’s parable shows that
Jesus had a dark sense of humour. Not only did He surprise us by having
the owner reward the workmen who had toiled all day last, but they were further
given false hope of getting more. Surely if we were those workmen,
we would not think it is funny. In fact, we would be just as angry as
them. Like them, we would also complain that God is unjust.
Indeed, life can seem
unfair at times. I am sure you have your own life experiences where
you believe you had been given a raw deal. You slog so hard on a team
project, whilst others failed to pull their weight, and then they end up with
better grades than you! Or you slaved for the company for years, hoping
to get that promotion, and then somebody with higher qualifications comes along
and takes it from right under your nose. Wouldn’t you think God is
unfair? But is He really unfair?
When we think in this
manner, then we are thinking like the Pharisees who were the original
audience of today’s parable. The Pharisees felt that they were the holy
ones and the faithful ones, very close to God because they observed the Torah
and prayed seven times a day. That was why they were angry with Jesus for
extending God’s love to sinners and outcasts. In the mind of the
Pharisees, these people were unworthy of God’s love and mercy. Only
they themselves were worthy.
But precisely, in telling
today’s parable, Jesus wanted to emphasize to us that that is not the way
God looks at us. If we think that God is unfair and is not
sufficiently meritocratic, then it is because we see life by the way of logic
and reason. But reason is cold and it deals with facts. It is
objective and therefore, often, it is legal justice. It does not take
into consideration the feelings and circumstances and needs of the
person. Reason demands that those who work hard should be paid
more. Reason demands that we behave according to logic and merit.
But behind the
justification of reason is actually our selfishness. When we follow
the way of strict justice, it is not because of a matter of fair play but
because we want to protect ourselves. We are not concerned about others’
interests but ours. Indeed, the workmen were not happy, not because
they were treated unjustly, but because in their selfishness they could not
bear to see others happy. They became jealous of others’ success
and good fortune. They became calculative. So much so that
they were not even able to thank God for the work that had been given to them,
which in itself is a gift from God. Furthermore, at least they had not
idled their time away; and had gained something in terms of growth for
themselves. No, they could not see all these benefits that God had
already blessed them with. They were like the bad shepherds in today’s first
reading from the book of Ezekiel, without love for others in their
hearts. The bad prophets were more concerned with their needs than
attending to the needs of others. They were not willing to share their
blessings with those who were deprived.
However, the way of love
is different. The way of love is concerned that others are also
saved. Love always thinks of others before self. And that was
why the landowner felt pity for those who had no work. It was not their
fault that they were not working, but they did not have the privilege of being
employed. And so God called them at different times in their
life. God wants all men to be in His vineyard. When and how we are
called is ultimately the grace of God.
Indeed, if God were to
act according to the norms of human justice, none of us would qualify for the
kingdom. This is the meaning of grace. In having the workmen
who did a full day’s work paid last, Jesus intended to shock the Pharisees and
all the selfish people who thought that way. Love is beyond
logic. Love feels. Love is compassionate. Love considers the
other’s interests. Love only desires to bring happiness into the lives of
others. It is not envious of others who are happy or successful.
Yes, the true shepherds
of Jesus are those who are able to say: My greatest happiness in life
is to see and make others happy. In making others happy, we
indirectly find our happiness. But when we try to make ourselves happy
without others, we cannot find our happiness. Let us pray that we may not
behave like the bad shepherds in the first reading.
WRITTEN BY THE MOST REV WILLIAM GOH
ARCHBISHOP OF SINGAPORE
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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