August 17, Wednesday of the 20th Week in Ordinary Time
Daily readings: Ezekiel 28:1-10 & Gospel: Matthew 19:23-30
"The Kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who goes out at dawn to hire laborers for his vineyard."
The Gospel of today demonstrates the precise characteristics of the God in whose image and likeness we are created: just, merciful, and generous.
A God of justice ‘You too go into my vineyard, and I will give you what is just.’ This parable is an indication that God is faithful to His promise. God reaches out to us, the laborers, at all hours of the day. He invites us to work in His vineyard, to contribute to building His Kingdom in the community and society in many different ways. And the rewards we receive will be just and beyond our expectations, as He promised. Are we ready to answer the call to work for his kingdom?
A merciful God. "Why do you stand here idle all day?" ‘You too, go into my vineyard.’ What did those poor laborers think when nobody was willing to hire them? How did they feel knowing that they might not be able to earn anything to provide for their families? Unexpectedly, the landowner still called them into his vineyard and treated them with dignity. How many times have we been sensitive to the needs of others and respected their dignity as individuals?
A generous God. "Are you envious because I am generous?" The Lord is great in giving us the talents, strengths, and blessings we have experienced in every moment of our lives. We are grateful and rejoice in those gifts. The question is, are we also able to celebrate the contributions of others as our own?
Let us learn from our Master to be just, merciful, and generous to our brothers and sisters, especially those who are less advantaged than we are.
Radio Veritas Asia (RVA), a media platform of the Catholic Church, aims to share Christ. RVA started in 1969 as a continental Catholic radio station to serve Asian countries in their respective local language, thus earning the tag “the Voice of Asian Christianity.” Responding to the emerging context, RVA embraced media platforms to connect with the global Asian audience via its 21 language websites and various social media platforms.
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