Daily Scripture Reflection & Prayer: August 21, 2024

Date: Wednesday of the 20th Week in Ordinary Time/Memorial of St. Pius X

Scripture Text:  Matthew 20:1-16

Jesus told his disciples this parable:

"The Kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out at dawn to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with them for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard.Going out about nine o'clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and he said to them, 'You too go into my vineyard, and I will give you what is just.' So, they went off. And he went out again around noon, and around three o'clock, and did likewise. Going out about five o'clock, he found others standing around, and said to them, 'Why do you stand here idle all day?'They answered, 'Because no one has hired us.' He said to them, 'You too go into my vineyard.'

When it was evening the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, 'Summon the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and ending with the first.' When those who had started about five o'clock came, each received the usual daily wage. So when the first came, they thought that they would receive more, but each of them also got the usual wage. And on receiving it they grumbled against the landowner, saying, 'These last ones worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us, who bore the day's burden and the heat.'

He said to one of them in reply, 'My friend, I am not cheating you. Did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? Take what is yours and go. What if I wish to give this last one the same as you? Or am I not free to do as I wish with my own money? Are you envious because I am generous?' Thus, the last will be first, and the first will be last."

Breaking the text open – background and summary:

The gospel reading for today from Matthew recounts Jesus’ telling his disciples the parable of the Workers in the Vineyard. The parable involves workers who are paid the same though their length of service was different. In the parable, those who worked the whole day expected more pay than those who worked only a couple of hours. But each received the same promised “usual daily wage.” Our sense of “fairness” may lead us to side with the workers who felt they should receive more. But we must ask ourselves, does salvation come in different sizes?  

Meditating on the text with personal questions:

Am I envious of the blessings I see others receive? Am I judgmental of the LORD as well as of the one who receives the blessing?

Praying:

LORD, You are the Good Shepherd, You come in search of us if we are lost. And when You find us, You bring us back to the fold, not a different fold. You desire that we all have life and have it in abundance. There is only one salvation, and it is yours to give. Send your Spirit to enlarge my vision, to tenderize my heart, and to purify my soul so that I might want what You want, the salvation of all souls. May your transformative love open me to your will so that I might more faithfully seek to live it. Amen.