Can we ever accuse the Lord our God of being unfair?
If He judged us according to the standards of the world are we not surely doomed! What if He were to judge You using your very own standards and judgement? Will you be saved? Would it be better for us if we had no God? I for one would not want to live in this World if my Lord and God were not present.
Open your eyes and you will see what happens when we live according to the Will of the World! As it is the Sanctity of Life and human dignity, marriage, family life, of all that we should hold dear are already being threatened. Are we not hailing the Thorn bush when we say Yes to same sex marriage, abortions, Euthanasia? Is it not having double standards, when we say No to ethnic cleansing, sexual trafficking, sexual exploitation, lynching?
Let us all say Yes instead to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Hail Him as Lord of lords, King of kings in our heart, mind and soul. For He indeed is our merciful, loving and generous God who goes out of His way to seek us and bring us back into the fold. He loves us into His Kingdom where we are given opportunities to toil for love of Him and our brethren.
Thy kingdom come Lord, thy Will be done on earth as in Heaven. Now and forever. Amen
First reading
Judges 9:6-15 ·
The tale of the trees and their king
All the leading men of Shechem and all Beth-millo gathered, and proclaimed Abimelech king by the terebinth of the pillar at Shechem.
News of this was brought to Jotham. He came and stood on the top of Mount Gerizim and shouted aloud for them to hear:
‘Hear me, leaders of Shechem,
that God may also hear you!
‘One day the trees went out
to anoint a king to rule over them.
They said to the olive tree, “Be our king!”
‘The olive tree answered them,
“Must I forego my oil
which gives honour to gods and men,
to stand swaying above the trees?”
‘Then the trees said to the fig tree,
“Come now, you be our king!”
‘The fig tree answered them,
“Must I forego my sweetness,
forego my excellent fruit,
to stand swaying above the trees?”
‘Then the trees said to the vine,
“Come now, you be our king!”
‘The vine answered them,
“Must I forego my wine
which cheers the heart of gods and men,
to stand swaying above the trees?”
‘Then all the trees said to the thorn bush,
“Come now, you be our king!”
‘And the thorn bush answered the trees,
“If in all good faith you anoint me king to reign over you,
then come and shelter in my shade.
If not, fire will come from the thorn bush
and devour the cedars of Lebanon.”’
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.’
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