DGeMs- Daily Gospel eMessage
Dear Friend in the Lord,
Envy – Faith: In today’s Gospel, Jesus’ Parable of the “landowner” proclaimed that God is always just, compassionate and generous in His Care and Love for us. However, sadly, if we become envious, we will be “unhappy” when we compare our blessings with others and forget the rich blessings we have received. “Is this true of our daily living?”
Fr Philip Heng, S.J.
Matthew 20:1-2, 8-13, 15-16
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.
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 saying, “The men who came last 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? Have I no right to do what I like with my own? Why should you be envious because I am generous?” Thus the last will be first, and the first, last.’