20220817 INCLUSIVE VIEW OF THE SHEPHERD
17 August, 2022, Wednesday, 20th Week in Ordinary Time
First reading | Ezekiel 34:1-11 © |
An oracle against bad and selfish shepherds
The word of the Lord was addressed to me as follows: ‘Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy and say to them:
‘“Shepherds, the Lord says this: Trouble for the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Shepherds ought to feed their flock, yet you have fed on milk, you have dressed yourselves in wool, you have sacrificed the fattest sheep, but failed to feed the flock. You have failed to make weak sheep strong, or to care for the sick ones, or bandage the wounded ones. You have failed to bring back strays or look for the lost. On the contrary, you have ruled them cruelly and violently. For lack of a shepherd they have scattered, to become the prey of any wild animal; they have scattered far. My flock is straying this way and that, on mountains and on high hills; my flock has been scattered all over the country; no one bothers about them and no one looks for them.
‘“Well then, shepherds, hear the word of the Lord. As I live, I swear it – it is the Lord who speaks – since my flock has been looted and for lack of a shepherd is now the prey of any wild animal, since my shepherds have stopped bothering about my flock, since my shepherds feed themselves rather than my flock, in view of all this, shepherds, hear the word of the Lord. The Lord says this: I am going to call the shepherds to account. I am going to take my flock back from them and I shall not allow them to feed my flock. In this way the shepherds will stop feeding themselves. I shall rescue my sheep from their mouths; they will not prey on them any more.”
‘For the Lord says this: “I am going to look after my flock myself and keep all of it in view.”’
Responsorial Psalm | Psalm 22(23) © |
The Lord is my shepherd: there is nothing I shall want.
The Lord is my shepherd;
there is nothing I shall want.
Fresh and green are the pastures
where he gives me repose.
Near restful waters he leads me,
to revive my drooping spirit.
The Lord is my shepherd: there is nothing I shall want.
He guides me along the right path;
he is true to his name.
If I should walk in the valley of darkness
no evil would I fear.
You are there with your crook and your staff;
with these you give me comfort.
The Lord is my shepherd: there is nothing I shall want.
You have prepared a banquet for me
in the sight of my foes.
My head you have anointed with oil;
my cup is overflowing.
The Lord is my shepherd: there is nothing I shall want.
Surely goodness and kindness shall follow me
all the days of my life.
In the Lord’s own house shall I dwell
for ever and ever.
The Lord is my shepherd: there is nothing I shall want.
Gospel Acclamation | Ps118:135 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Let your face shine on your servant,
and teach me your decrees.
Alleluia!
Or: | Heb4:12 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
The word of God is something alive and active:
it can judge secret emotions and thoughts.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Matthew 20:1-16 © |
Why be envious because I am generous?
Jesus said to his disciples: ‘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. Going out at about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the market place and said to them, “You go to my vineyard too and I will give you a fair wage.” So they went. At about the sixth hour and again at about the ninth hour, he went out and did the same. Then at about the eleventh hour he went out and found more men standing round, and he said to them, “Why have you been standing here idle all day?” “Because no one has hired us” they answered. He said to them, “You go into my vineyard too.” 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.” So those who were hired at about the eleventh hour came forward and received one denarius each. When the first came, they expected to get more, but they too received one denarius each. They took it, but grumbled at the landowner. “The men who came last” they said “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.” He answered one of them and said, “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?” Thus the last will be first, and the first, last.’
INCLUSIVE VIEW OF THE SHEPHERD
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [EZEKIEL 34:1-11; MATTHEW 20:1-16]
What is the cause of disunity in the world today? Firstly, as the prophet Ezekiel said, it is due to the lack of good and caring shepherds. This was the problem of the House of Israel. God warned Israel, “Trouble for the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Shepherds ought to feed their flock, yet you have fed on milk, you have dressed yourselves in wool, you have sacrificed the fattest sheep, but failed to feed the flock. You have failed to make weak sheep strong, or to care for the sick ones, or bandage the wounded ones. You have failed to bring back strays or look for the lost. On the contrary, you have ruled them cruelly and violently. For lack of a shepherd they have scattered, to become the prey of any wild animal; they have scattered far. My flock is straying this way and that, on mountains and on high hills; my flock has been scattered all over the country; no one bothers about them and no one looks for them.”
However, during the time of Jesus, some of the Jews were serious about living a righteous life in accordance with the Torah. The scribes and pharisees were the religious leaders of the day, the former concerned with the translation, explanation and application of the scriptures especially the Law of Moses; whereas the latter was concerned in living out the laws meticulously. This is why they called themselves Pharisees, “the separated ones.” They sought to be different from those who were not observing the laws as taught by the elders. However, such exclusivity led to a separation between them and the rest of society. By taking themselves out of society because the rest of them were deemed unclean and therefore unworthy for them to be in contact, it only drove the sinners and the pagans further away from them.
This is the same question and dilemma we face today. Should we stay away or exclude those not observing the commandments of God or our tradition? This is true especially for those who no longer subscribe to the biblical values on morality, especially on gender, sex and marriage, and even human life. How do we reconcile those who supposedly still believe in God and in our Lord, find the faith helpful and meaningful in their lives but cannot agree with the Church’s teaching on gender and marriage; abortion and euthanasia, invitro fertilization, freezing of human embryos, wars and armament? Can we accept them as full members of the Church, allow them to receive Holy Communion and be considered ‘good’ Catholics?
If we say that we should embrace them regardless of their moral position, what about those who commit perhaps less serious sins, or at least do so out of moral weakness and not because they are against the biblical and Church teaching? At least in the first reading, when we read of those who strayed away from the faith, or those who inflicted injustices and oppressed the poor, or the failure of the leaders to take care of their flock by failing to provide them security and proper jobs, they would have realized that what they were doing was wrong. They would have known their sins, or at least know they were guilty but perhaps lacked the wisdom, humility, courage and will to change their lives.
Yet, in today’s gospel, the parable of the labourers in the vineyard reminds us that God desires all men to be saved. This is what St Paul says, God “desires everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God; there is also one mediator between God and humankind, Christ Jesus, himself human, who gave himself a ransom for all.” (1 Tim 2:4-6) Jesus in today’s gospel illustrates how God calls us all according to His own time and grace to His vineyard. Whether we are called earlier or later, there is nothing to boast about or anything that we can claim as merit. It is purely the grace of God. Some He called at the first hour and some at the eleventh hour. Why are some called earlier and others later? Precisely, it is the grace of God, a mystery to us, only known to God alone.
Indeed, today’s gospel is a reminder to us who have been called by the Lord earlier and been given the grace to serve Him faithfully, just like the religious leaders and the elders during the time of Jesus. They thought highly of themselves as portrayed in the parable. They despised those who were not called to labour in the vineyard of the Lord. They thought they earned the grace of God and therefore should be rewarded more than those who came in later. They were those who “grumbled at the landowner. ‘The men who came last,’ they said, ‘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.'” In other words, they should be given preferential treatment.
But the owner of the vineyard treated the last as the first and all were given the same remuneration. “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.’ So those who were hired at about the eleventh hour came forward and received one denarius each. When the first came, they expected to get more, but they too received one denarius each.” Jesus wants us to remember that there is nothing we can merit. Everything is God’s grace. We should be grateful if we are called by the Lord before others. And we should never think we are better than them. Judgment belongs to the Lord. It is not ours.
In the light of what we have reflected, what lessons can we draw to apply to those who still have not yet attained full knowledge and wisdom of the truth? St Paul prayed for the Christians, “For this reason, since the day we heard it, we have not ceased praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of God’s will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you may lead lives worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, as you bear fruit in every good work and as you grow in the knowledge of God.” (Col 1:9f) Faith is a growing thing. We come to realize the depth of the truth of God’s word gradually. We must be patient with those who are slow to accept the truth of the gospel. Sometimes, it could be due to ignorance. Some are influenced by the values and arguments of the secular, individualistic and materialistic world. Others are influenced by their friends and peers. Some have been shaped by their past experiences of Church and religion. Many are scandalized by the counter-witnessing of supposedly good Catholics, priests and religious.
For this reason, the Church must exercise more tolerance if we were to win back the lost sheep, the wounded sheep, the weak sheep. They are where they are because they are weak and vulnerable. If we insist that they must meet up to the values of the gospel, we will be left with very few members. In the same vein, how many of us can truly live up to the demands of the gospel in every way? How many of us measure up to the standards of the beatitudes and the Sermon on the Mount that our Lord expected of His disciples? How many of us are ready to serve humbly, unconditionally, selflessly, and yet be rejected and persecuted? In truth, we all have failed to live up to the gospel in different ways. So, who are we to judge others? As St Paul wrote, “I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore, do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive commendation from God.” (1 Cor 4:4f)
Isn’t this what the Lord is asking of us in today’s scripture readings? He wants us to have a wider view of those under our charge. “For the Lord says this: ‘I am going to look after my flock myself and keep all of it in view.'” We need to keep all in view, whether they are sick, weak, strayed, wounded or even the fat ones. All are important to the Lord. We must find ways to deal with the different needs and challenges of our flock. This is what the Good Shepherd is ultimately called to do. As the responsorial psalm says, “The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want. Fresh and green are the pastures where he gives me repose. Near restful waters he leads me, to revive my drooping spirit. He guides me along the right path; he is true to his name. If I should walk in the valley of darkness no evil would I fear. You are there with your crook and your staff; with these you give me comfort.” Are we like Jesus?
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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