Reflections on Today's Gospel Reading (Mt 20:1-16)
Verses nine through 13a:
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.
I see in this passage (public revelation) a lesson about private revelation (given to various Catholic mystics throughout the centuries): Although many struggle with the same problem, and all grumble against the Lord, "He said to one of them in reply" -- he does what is sufficient. It's up for us to trust the word of those to whom God has spoken; he does not need to talk to each of us individually. (We operate in this manner on a daily basis: Working at an office, a coworker tells you something the boss said -- you don't normally disregard what your coworker says and demand to speak with the boss and hear it from him directly, unless it regards some grave matter and you have reason to doubt the coworker. That is, in a healthy working environment, you trust what your peers tell you.)
I think verse 16 is also food for thought:
[Or] am I not free to do as I wish with my own money? Are you envious because I am generous?
I'm reminded of St. Augustine's pondering in his Confessions about the origin of evil, in this case, envy: Why do we become jealous at the good fortune of others, when we ourselves are not lacking? Is it not from this concupiscence arising from original sin? Is it not as Jesus tells us, that evil comes from within the hearts of men? So we should not be so wary of the devil, who can only tempt us -- we ought to be wary of ourselves and our actions, lest we fall into sin.
(For those curious: The Church has assigned readings for every day, which are also read at Daily Mass. You can read Today's Reading from http://www.usccb.org/bible/ and can download the liturgical calendar at http://www.usccb.org/about/divine-worship/liturgical-calendar/ which also tells you the vestment color and various feast days of the saints. I sometimes use the PDF there to select readings out of my own Bible, to avoid using the internet, website, bandwidth, etc.)
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.
I see in this passage (public revelation) a lesson about private revelation (given to various Catholic mystics throughout the centuries): Although many struggle with the same problem, and all grumble against the Lord, "He said to one of them in reply" -- he does what is sufficient. It's up for us to trust the word of those to whom God has spoken; he does not need to talk to each of us individually. (We operate in this manner on a daily basis: Working at an office, a coworker tells you something the boss said -- you don't normally disregard what your coworker says and demand to speak with the boss and hear it from him directly, unless it regards some grave matter and you have reason to doubt the coworker. That is, in a healthy working environment, you trust what your peers tell you.)
I think verse 16 is also food for thought:
[Or] am I not free to do as I wish with my own money? Are you envious because I am generous?
I'm reminded of St. Augustine's pondering in his Confessions about the origin of evil, in this case, envy: Why do we become jealous at the good fortune of others, when we ourselves are not lacking? Is it not from this concupiscence arising from original sin? Is it not as Jesus tells us, that evil comes from within the hearts of men? So we should not be so wary of the devil, who can only tempt us -- we ought to be wary of ourselves and our actions, lest we fall into sin.
(For those curious: The Church has assigned readings for every day, which are also read at Daily Mass. You can read Today's Reading from http://www.usccb.org/bible/ and can download the liturgical calendar at http://www.usccb.org/about/divine-worship/liturgical-calendar/ which also tells you the vestment color and various feast days of the saints. I sometimes use the PDF there to select readings out of my own Bible, to avoid using the internet, website, bandwidth, etc.)