Bible
Study: Judges 9:6-15. / Matthew 20:1-16.
One way to
approach today’s Gospel passage is to remember that Jesus was still responding
to Peter’s question when he uttered this parable of the land owner and the
labourers he hired. As we read yesterday, Peter asked Jesus, “We have left
everything to follow you, what then is there for us?”
God works
through people. Like a land owner, God recruits us every day to carry out one
task or another in his vineyard. The vineyard does not belong to us and even
the work we do is not ours and we dare not take credit for it.
According
to Saint Paul in 1st Corinthians 3:6-9.: “I planted, Apollos watered,
but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is
anything, but only God who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters
are equal, and each shall receive his wages according to his labour. For we are
God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building.”
The fact
that God decides to choose a person for a particular task in his vineyard does
not make that person better than others. It is not even the nature of the task
that makes us holier than others. We are not all gifted the same way, we were
not all born the same day, and we did not even come to know God the same day. So
we really do not have any reason to boast or see ourselves as better as or more
deserving of rewards than others.
Jesus has
said it all “The last will be first, and the first will be last.” The essence
of the Christian life is COLLABORATION, not COMPETITION.
Each is
called to give his or her maximum capacity to achieve the good of all. We are
just like the trees Jotham speaks about in today’s first reading. The trees
came for a meeting to select a king from among them. The olive turned down the
offer, as it felt its oil was too precious. It refused to give away his talent,
same with the fig tree, who felt his fruits were too delicious, the vine tree
as well, because of its wonderful wine until they had to settle for the bramble
tree who seemingly had nothing of value.
We all
have great talents for which we are known but when we refuse to deploy our
talents, when we hide under the cover of mediocrity, when we are not ready to
sacrifice that which is precious to us for the sake of others, our society
suffers. It has often been said that evil thrives in a society when good people
keep silent. There is great danger in withholding our God-given gifts all in
the name of “after-all we are going to get the same reward.”
Can u
sing? Then sing for God. Can you talk very well? Then start making speeches for
God. Can you write? Then start writing for God. Can you pray for people? Then begin
today to use your gift to promote God’s kingdom. Find something to do for God. In
fact, you will never know what you are capable of doing till you start doing
something for God.
It never
ceases to amaze me, how we prefer to use our talents to make money rather than
worship God. We are so money-conscious that anything we do, we derive little or
no satisfaction if such is not fetching money into our pocket. This is the
reason why we are never happy. We carry a lot of bitterness in our hearts and
never stop complaining just like the men who worked all day expecting to earn
more money than those who worked for only one hour.
Let us
pray:
Lord
Jesus, help me to give everything of myself into the mission of promoting your kingdom
on earth and not see myself as better than anyone else. Amen.
Good morning.
Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you.
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