Wednesday of Week 20 of Ordinary Time – First Reading

Commentary on Ezekiel 34:1-11

This is a powerful passage whose meaning extends far beyond those to whom it was originally addressed. The Jerusalem Bible comments:

The image of the king-shepherd is deeply rooted in Eastern literary tradition. Jeremiah used it of the kings of Israel to rebuke their slackness in office and to proclaim that God would give his people new shepherds who would pasture them with integrity and from these shepherds would come a ‘Branch’, i.e., the Messiah. Ezekiel takes up the theme from Jeremiah, later to be resumed in Zechariah. For their wickedness he rebukes the shepherds, here the kings and lay leaders of the people. Yahweh will take from them the flock they have ill-treated and himself become the shepherd of his people. This is, in effect, the proclamation of a theocracy [as existed before the era of the kings] and, in point of fact, the monarchy was not restored after the return from exile. But the time was to come when Yahweh would give his people a shepherd of his own choice, another David. The terms in which this prince’s reign is described and the name ‘David’ by which he is called suggest a messianic age in which God himself, by means of his Messiah, rules his people in justice and peace.

In this text of Ezekiel we discern the outline of the parable of the Lost Sheep (Luke 15:1-7), but more especially of the allegory of the Good Shepherd (John 10:1-18), which by virtue of its original context here is seen to be a claim to messiahship on the part of Jesus. The Good Shepherd is later to become one of the earliest themes of Christian iconography. (edited citation)

Today’s reading confines itself to an attack on “the shepherds” of Israel. Later on, the prophet describes Yahweh himself as a very different kind of shepherd altogether in images which are later taken up by Jesus in the Gospels.

By “shepherds” here the prophet primarily is pointing a finger at the rulers of the people, although prophets and priests are also included. At that time, there was no real division between secular and religious rule.

The image of the king as shepherd was common throughout that part of the world. In an earlier chapter, Ezekiel had singled out the princes, priests and prophets for special rebuke (chap 22). David, of course, had been a shepherd when he was chosen and anointed as king and successor to Saul.

The principal accusation is that the shepherds spend their energies on looking after themselves and neglecting the needs of their sheep. They have enjoyed the milk of the sheep, dressed themselves in their wool and sanctimoniously offered them in religious sacrifices. Of course, sheep are raised precisely for their meat, milk and wool. The crime here was the mistreatment of their people (their ‘sheep’). The rulers and leaders totally neglected the needs of the sheep. They did not feed them and especially they did nothing to care for the weak and the sick and wounded.

They made no effort to go in search of those who had strayed or were lost. Says Jeremiah:

My people have been lost sheep; their shepherds have led them astray, turning them away on the mountains…
(Jer 50:6)

In the Gospel, Jesus will tell the parable of a God who, as a shepherd, will leave the whole flock and go in search of just one sheep which is lost (Luke 15:4).

Even worse, the sheep were treated with cruelty. The result was that the sheep became scattered far and wide and became the prey of wild animals. This refers to Israel‘s exile and dispersion and their suffering from hostile foreign nations:

…my sheep were scattered over all the face of the earth, with no one to search or seek for them.

In view of such a situation, what will the Lord do? He will do two things. First, he will call his shepherds to account. They pastured themselves, but not their sheep, so the sheep will be separated from them. They will no longer be shepherds and no longer be in a position to exploit the sheep for their own benefit.

Second, the prophet says God himself will become their shepherd:

For thus says the Lord God: I myself will search for my sheep and will sort them out.

A passage like this gives all of us matter for reflection. It can be applied both to our secular rulers and our religious leaders. In our day there are still too many ‘shepherd-leaders’ who live lives of corrupt luxury while their people wallow in poverty and disease.

So too in the Church, there has been a history of the leadership abusing its position, so that service was replaced by power, simplicity by material comfort, and vocation by privilege. While the more blatant forms of abuse have, thankfully, disappeared, there can still be abuse of power and privilege, and a pattern of being served rather than serving.

And to what extent has the leadership in some areas failed to reach out to those on the edge, to those who have scattered and strayed far from the Church? There have been too many unfortunate examples of shepherds covering over the heinous wrongdoings of some who were entrusted with shepherding.

We might also ask what proportion of the Church’s energies and concerns are concentrated on the already converted, on maintenance rather than on mission? Here we can include not only bishops, priests and religious, but all Christians who regard themselves as ‘practising’.

‘Shepherding’ is the responsibility of all who are entrusted with the care of others—parents, teachers, medical personnel, social workers—in other words, most of us, in one way or another.

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Wednesday of Week 20 of Ordinary Time – Gospel

Commentary on Matthew 20:1-16

Today we have another parable of the Kingdom. And it is not unrelated to the previous story of the rich man. At a first reading we might be strongly inclined to side with the grumblers in the parable. After all, it did not seem at all fair that those who only worked for one hour should get exactly the same as those who had worked from early in the morning and through the heat of the day.

Even though all had agreed to work for a stipulated amount, still in all fairness and decency, one feels that the early comers should have been given more, or the latecomers less. However, if we find ourselves agreeing with this, then it shows that our thoughts are human thoughts and not God’s. A little further reflection will make us feel grateful that God works like the employer in the vineyard.

The story seems, as often happens in the Gospel, to reflect the situation of the early Church. The first Christians were all Jews. Before their conversion they had been trying to live according to the requirements of their Jewish faith. They belonged to a people who had thousands of years of religious history; they were God’s own people. Then, Gentiles began to be admitted into the community. Some of these people probably came from totally pagan environments. They may have lived very immoral lives and yet, once accepted and baptised, they enjoyed all the privileges of the community. Somehow, it did not seem right.

But this is the justice of God which we need to learn. Without exception, he gives his love—all of his love—to all those who open their hearts to it. It does not matter whether that happens early or late. One reason for that is because God’s love can never be earned, only accepted. And, as the previous story indicated, the genuine needs of all should be met. The fact that the latecomers were only employed at the last hour does not make their needs any less than those who came earlier. God’s justice is measured by our needs, not by mathematical divisions.

What each of the workers received was a symbol of the love of God, who is the vineyard owner. All—early arrivals and latecomers—got exactly the same, the love of their Master and Lord. There are not various degrees of that love. It is always 100 percent. God is Love; he cannot not love and he cannot not love totally. He cannot and will not give more of that love to one than another.

This is indeed something we should be grateful for. Because it can happen—perhaps it has already happened—that I move away from God and his love; I may move very far. But I know that at whatever time I turn back to him, even if it be the 11th hour, he is waiting with open arms. Thank heavens for the justice of God!

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