Today’s Reflection
Gospel: Mt 20: 1-16
August 23, 2023 | Wednesday

Today’s Gospel

This story throws light on the kingdom of heaven: A landowner went out early in the morning, to hire workers for his vineyard. He agreed to pay each worker the usual daily wage, and sent them to his vineyard.

He went out again, at about nine in the morning, and, seeing others idle in the town square, he said to them, ‘You also, go to my vineyard, and I will pay you what is just.’ So they went.

The owner went out at midday, and, again, at three in the afternoon, and he made the same offer. Again he went out, at the last working hour—the eleventh—and he saw others standing around. So he said to them, ‘Why do you stand idle the whole day?’ They answered, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ The master said, ‘Go, and work in my vineyard.’

When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wage, beginning with the last and ending with the first.’ Those who had gone to work at the eleventh hour came up, and were each given a silver coin. When it was the turn of the first, they thought they would receive more. But they, too, received one silver coin. On receiving it, they began to grumble against the landowner.

They said, ‘These last, hardly worked an hour; yet, you have treated them the same as us, who have endured the heavy work of the day and the heat.’ The owner said to one of them, Friend, I have not been unjust to you. Did we not agree on one silver coin per day? So, take what is yours and go. I want to give to the last the same as I give to you. Don’t I have the right to do as I please with what is mine? Why are you envious when I am kind?’ So will it be: the last will be first, the first will be last.”

Today’s Reflection:

Modern life more often than not fosters a culture of competition. In this segment of our lives when social media is “the thing” nowadays, we cannot but climb for fame or notoriety where it has even come to the point that the character of publicity, whether it be good or bad, has become irrelevant. What is important is that one goes viral, or one gains the most likes from his posts. That has sadly become the standard and measure today for most people. In the face of popularity, moral imperatives are irrelevant. We do not complain when justice is not served well or when love is not rendered fully. We complain because we cannot “sell” our popularity. The parable today sheds light on this kind of attitude: The early birds are paid equally with the latecomers. God’s weight is not to compare each and every one of us so that he can determine the best. We are given value by our commitment to persevere with God’s calling. We cannot establish our value with what social media gives us. Our lives are valued according to God’s goodness and not by the number of followers or likes we have on our social media platforms..   ./Vulnerasti, 2023