Antoni BigCuore*
Date: 24.09.17
Location: Brazil, São Paulo,SP.
Announcement of the Gospel (Mt 20: 1-16a).
"At that time Jesus told this parable to his disciples:
"The Kingdom of Heaven is like the story of the boss who left at dawn to hire laborers for his vineyard. He combined with the laborers a silver coin a day, and sent them into the vineyard.
At nine o'clock in the morning the master left again, saw others standing in the square, unoccupied, and said to them: 'Go ye also to my vineyard! And I will pay you what is fair. ' And they were. The boss left again at noon and at three in the afternoon, and did the same thing.
He went out again at five o'clock and found others standing in the square and said to them, 'Why are you unoccupied all day?' They replied, 'No one hired us.' The master said to them, 'Go ye also into my vineyard.'
When the afternoon came, the boss told the administrator: 'Call the workers and pay them a day's rent, starting with the last to the first!'
Those who had been hired came at five in the afternoon, and each received a silver coin. Then came those who were hired first, and thought they would receive more. But each of them also received a silver coin.
When they received the payment, they began to grumble against the boss: 'The latter worked for an hour, and you equaled us, who endured fatigue and heat all day.' Then the boss said to one of them, 'Friend, I was not unfair to you. Do not we combine a silver coin? Take what's yours and come home! I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you. Do not I have the right to do what I want with what belongs to me? Or are you envious, because I am being good? 'So the last will be the first, and the first will be the last. "
A. BIGCUORE´S REFLECTION: On this 25 Sunday of Ordinary Time, the evangelist Matthew tells us, the parable of Jesus' teaching, first addressed to the Disciples and Pharisees and Masters of the Law.
At first sight, it may seem that the Master has been unfair to the workers, for some have worked harder than others and received the same SILVER COIN.
The logic of God is quite different from human logic.
It should be noted, going back in history, that Israel was the Lord's favorite Vineyard. But with the coming of Jesus, He sets a new parameter: all are called to work in the vineyard of the Lord God.
The Pharisees and teachers of the law were those who complained, claiming that they worked harder and therefore deserved more value. Jesus says, "Friend, I was not unfair to you. Do not we combine a silver coin? Take what's yours and come home. Do not I have the right to do what I want with what belongs to me? "
As the theologian José Bertolini says, "In the Kingdom there are no marginalized. Everyone has the same right to partake of the divine goodness and mercy, which surpasses all that men regard as justice. In the Kingdom there is no place for jealousy. Those who think they have more merit than others should learn that the Kingdom is a FREE DOM. "(1)
All are called to participate in the Project of God, including the pagans. The Pharisees consider themselves "better" than the others, just because they had more culture than those. In fact, they were slaves of the Law of Moses (more than 600 laws exist for the poor to fulfill !!!).
Jesus, come to finish this! In my kingdom there is room for everyone, as long as people want, of course. God created man free, so He respects each person's choice.
In fact, those who worked the most were envious of those who worked less. God probably chose the strongest physically to work harder and the weak to work less. The text does not speak, but we can infer this thought.
The goodness and mercy of God, are infinite !. It all depends on our choices.
A happy and holy Sunday to all, with the blessings of Almighty God, in the name of the Father + of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit Amen!
(1) The Pauline Bible, p.1.165 / 66
(*) author is a writer, Friend of the Good and Discloser of the Gospel of Jesus Christ for the whole planet. Know his Blog Bem Viver Brazil - antonibigcuore.blogspot.com and poetic and philosophical link: WWW.recantodasletras.com.br/autores/antonibigcuore