Readings for Sunday, September 24, 2023
Il-Ħamsa u Għoxrin Ħadd taż-Żmien ta’ Matul is-Sena
Reading 1 ISAIAH 55:6-9
Seek the LORD while he may be found, call him while he is near. Let the scoundrel forsake his way, and the wicked his thoughts; let him turn to the LORD for mercy; to our God, who is generous in forgiving. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the LORD. As high as the heavens are above the earth, so high are my ways above your ways and my thoughts above your thoughts.
QARI 1 mill-Ktieb tal-Profeta Isaija 55, 6-9
Fittxu l-Mulej sakemm tistgħu ssibuh, sejħulu sakemm hu fil-qrib! Ħa jħalli triqtu l-midneb, u l-bniedem il-ħażin fehmietu; ħa jerġa’ lura għand il-Mulej u jħenn għalih, għand Alla tagħna għax hu jaħfer ħafna. Il-fehmiet tiegħi m’humiex fehmietkom, u t-triqat tiegħi m’humiex triqatkom. Oraklu tal-Mulej. Għax daqs kemm huma ogħla s-smewwiet mill-art, daqshekk ieħor huma triqati ’l fuq minn triqatkom, u l-fehmiet tiegħi mill-fehmiet tagħkom. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej.
Responsorial Psalm PSALM 145:2-3, 8-9, 17-18
Great is the LORD and highly to be praised;
his greatness is unsearchable.
R. The Lord is near to all who call upon him.
The LORD is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and of great kindness.
The LORD is good to all
and compassionate toward all his works.
R. The Lord is near to all who call upon him.
The LORD is just in all his ways
and holy in all his works.
The LORD is near to all who call upon him,
to all who call upon him in truth.
R. The Lord is near to all who call upon him.
SALM RESPONSORJALI Salm 144 (145), 2-3.8-9.17-18
R/. (18a): Qrib il-Mulej lejn kull min isejjaħlu
u nfaħħar ismek għal dejjem ta’ dejjem.
Kbir il-Mulej, ta’ min ifaħħru bil-bosta,
bla tarf il-kobor tiegħu. R/.
Twajjeb u ħanin il-Mulej,
idum biex jagħdab u kollu tjieba,
Twajjeb ma’ kulħadd il-Mulej,
tjubitu fuq kull ma għamel. R/.
Ġust il-Mulej fl-imġiba tiegħu kollha,
twajjeb f’dak kollu li għamel.
Qrib il-Mulej lejn kull min isejjaħlu
lejn kull min isejjaħlu fis-sewwa. R/.
Reading 2 PHILIPPIANS 1:20c-24, 27a
Brothers and sisters: Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me life is Christ, and death is gain. If I go on living in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. And I do not know which I shall choose. I am caught between the two. I long to depart this life and be with Christ, for that is far better. Yet that I remain in the flesh is more necessary for your benefit. Only, conduct yourselves in a way worthy of the gospel of Christ.
QARI 2 mill-Ittra lill-Filippin 1, 20ċ-24.27a
Ħuti, Kristu jkun imsebbaħ fil-ġisem tiegħi, sew jekk ngħix u sew jekk immut. Għax għalija l-ħajja hi Kristu, u l-mewt hi rebħ. Jekk għandi nibqa’ ħaj fil-ġisem, dan ifisser li għandi nagħti l-frott tax-xogħol tiegħi. X’naqbad nagħmel ma nafx; ninsab bejn ħaltejn. Min-naħa l-waħda, nixtieq nintemm u nkun ma’ Kristu, li jkun ħafna aħjar għalija; min-naħa l-oħra, jekk nibqa’ ngħix fil-ġisem, ikun ħafna aħjar għalikom. Ħaġa waħda ngħidilkom: ġibu ruħkom kif jixraq lill-Evanġelju ta’ Kristu. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej.
Gospel MATTHEW 20:1-16a
Jesus told his disciples this parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out at dawn to hire labourers for his vineyard. After agreeing with them for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. Going out about nine o'clock, the landowner 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, the landowner 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."
EVANĠELJU skond San Mattew 20, 1-16a
F’dak iż-żmien, Ġesù qal lid-dixxipli tiegħu din il-parabbola: “Is-Saltna tas-Smewwiet tixbah lil wieħed sid li ħareġ filgħodu kmieni ħafna biex isib nies għax-xogħol u jħaddimhom fl-għalqa tiegħu tad-dwieli. Ftiehem ma’ xi ħaddiema b’dinar kull jum u bagħathom l-għalqa. Ħareġ ukoll madwar it-tielet siegħa, ra oħrajn qegħdin fil-pjazza, bla xogħol, u qalilhom: “Morru intom ukoll l-għalqa, u nagħtikom li jkun ħaqqkom”. U marru. Raġa’ ħareġ għal xi s-sitt siegħa u mbagħad għal xi d-disgħa siegħa, u għamel l-istess. Għall-ħabta tal-ħdax-il siegħa raġa’ ħareġ u sab oħrajn qiegħda, u qalilhom: “Għaliex qegħdin hawn il-jum kollu ma tagħmlu xejn?”. Qalulu: “Għax ħadd ma qabbadna”. Qalilhom: “Morru intom ukoll l-għalqa”. Għal fil-għaxija mbagħad sid l-għalqa qal lill-prokuratur tiegħu: “Sejjaħ lill-ħaddiema u ħallashom, ibda minn dawk li ġew l-aħħar u spiċċa b’dawk tal-ewwel”. Ġew dawk li daħlu għax-xogħol fil-ħdax-il siegħa u ħadu dinar kull wieħed. Ġew tal-ewwel, u stennew li kienu se jirċievu iktar, iżda huma wkoll ħadu dinar kull wieħed. Huma u jitħallsu qabdu jgemgmu kontra s-sid u jgħidu: “Dawn tal-aħħar siegħa waħda għamlu, u int qisthom bħalna li tgħabbejna bil-piż tal-jum u s-sħana!”. Qabeż is-sid u qal lil wieħed minnhom: “Ħabib, minn xejn ma nqastek jien; mhux b’dinar ftehemt miegħi? Ħu li jmissek u itlaq. Lil dan tal-aħħar irrid nagħtih daqs kemm tajt lilek. Ma nistax nagħmel li rrid bi ħwejġi jien? Jew qiegħed tgħir għax jien qalbi tajba?”. Hekk tal-aħħar jiġu l-ewwel, u tal-ewwel jiġu l-aħħar”. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej
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Eight-minute Homily by Fr Tommy Lane S.S.L., S.T.D.
LIFE IS CHRIST: A GIFT IN THE VINEYARD
We feel sympathy for the workers in Jesus’ parable who worked all day in the vineyard in the heat and yet received the same pay as those who worked for only the last part of the day (Matt 20:1-16). We would have expected those who worked all day to have received more. Yet, everyone received the same standard daily wage, one denarius a day. It is an unexpected surprise at the end of Jesus’ parable. Jesus told this parable to teach us something. What does Jesus want us to understand?
Reading the beginning of the parable again will help us understand. At the beginning of the parable Jesus said, “The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner going out at daybreak to hire workers for his vineyard.” (Matt 20:1) So Jesus is explaining to us about the kingdom of heaven, not teaching about economics. He is using economics to teach us about the kingdom of God. Jesus is explaining about our spiritual lives, about God’s relationship with us.
The landowner in the parable, who stands for God, wants everyone to be in his vineyard, which is the kingdom of heaven. God wants us all in the kingdom of heaven. God wants us all in relationship with him, wants us all to enjoy his friendship. But in the parable, those who worked in the vineyard from early morning complained. Reading this parable in Matthew’s Greek, the landowner responded to their complaints by asking them, “Is your eye evil because I am generous?” The complaining workers had an evil eye, which means they were not seeing correctly. Because of their evil eye, their perception of matters was distorted, and they did not see according to God’s plan.
In the world of economics, one could complain about unjust wages but when it comes to the spiritual life, whether one follows the Lord from early in life, or follows the Lord only from later in life, whether one works in the vineyard from early morning or only the last hour of the day, there is a place for us from God because God wants everyone in his kingdom, wants us all in relationship with him enjoying his friendship. If someone lived a life far from God in the past, we would rejoice when that person would return to live with God.
We would rejoice because that person would now enjoy the happiness of friendship with God. If we didn’t, we would indeed have “an evil eye,” to use the words of Matthew. We care about others; we care about their spiritual well-being and there is nothing we would want more than for everyone to find life with God in his vineyard, enjoying God’s friendship. As Jesus said on another occasion, there is more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine who have no need of repentance (Luke 15:7).
In the parable, those who worked for only the last hour of the day would have been very conscious that they did not deserve the full daily wage even though they received it—it was a gift from the landowner. This reminds us that everything we have is a gift from God. Even if we were baptized quickly after birth and followed the Lord from First Holy Communion, I think we all have reason to identify with the workers in the vineyard who worked for only part of the day because everything we have is a gift from God and we are all undeserving recipients of God’s generosity, love, forgiveness, and welcome. To be technical, we really did arrive in the vineyard later in the day because God’s chosen people, the Jews, were the first in God’s vineyard. We Christians, non-Jews, Gentiles, came into the vineyard after Pentecost.
Paul, in our second reading, gives us a beautiful description of what it is like to be in God’s vineyard enjoying a beautiful relationship with Jesus. Paul wrote, “For to me life is Christ,” (NABRE Phil 1:21) “Life to me, of course, is Christ.” (JB Phil 1:21) In other words, his life completely revolved around Jesus, “Life to me…is Christ.” Jesus was the beginning, middle, and end of his day. Living in God’s kingdom—laboring in the vineyard, to use the language of Jesus’ parable—is a whole way of living, is an entire outlook on life. It is living one’s entire day from beginning to end orientated around the Lord and his kingdom. That is how Paul lived after he met the Lord on the road to Damascus.
As a Jewish person, he was already in God’s vineyard, but on the road to Damascus he got a new understanding of God’s vineyard, God’s kingdom, and what friendship with God meant. Before he met Jesus on the road to Damascus, I would say he was a terrorist. He had stood by watching the first Christian martyr, St. Stephen, being stoned to death. He had terrorized Christians in Jerusalem and he was on his way to terrorize Christians in Damascus when he encountered the Lord on the road. From then on, life for Paul was Christ, “Life to me…is Christ.”
Blessed are we in God’s vineyard. Blessed are we who have been gifted by God in so many ways. Blessed are we, because for us, life, of course, is Christ.
////////////////////////////////////// © Fr. Tommy Lane / https://www.frtommylane.com/
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