Wednesday Mass readings (Israel thinks it needs a king / Equal wages for unequal work)

[distracted]

August

Reading 1
Jgs 9:6-15

All the citizens of Shechem and all Beth-millo came together
and proceeded to make Abimelech king
by the terebinth at the memorial pillar in Shechem.

When this was reported to him,
Jotham went to the top of Mount Gerizim and, standing there,
cried out to them in a loud voice:
“Hear me, citizens of Shechem, that God may then hear you!
Once the trees went to anoint a king over themselves.
So they said to the olive tree, ‘Reign over us.’
But the olive tree answered them, ‘Must I give up my rich oil,
whereby men and gods are honored,
and go to wave over the trees?’
Then the trees said to the fig tree, ‘Come; you reign over us!’
But the fig tree answered them,
‘Must I give up my sweetness and my good fruit,
and go to wave over the trees?’
Then the trees said to the vine, ‘Come you, and reign over us.’
But the vine answered them,
‘Must I give up my wine that cheers gods and men,
and go to wave over the trees?’
Then all the trees said to the buckthorn, ‘Come; you reign over us!’
But the buckthorn replied to the trees,
‘If you wish to anoint me king over you in good faith,
come and take refuge in my shadow.
Otherwise, let fire come from the buckthorn
and devour the cedars of Lebanon.’”

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 21:2-3, 4-5, 6-7

R. (2a) Lord, in your strength the king is glad.
O LORD, in your strength the king is glad;
in your victory how greatly he rejoices!
You have granted him his heart’s desire;
you refused not the wish of his lips.
R. Lord, in your strength the king is glad.
For you welcomed him with goodly blessings,
you placed on his head a crown of pure gold.
He asked life of you: you gave him
length of days forever and ever.
R. Lord, in your strength the king is glad.
Great is his glory in your victory;
majesty and splendor you conferred upon him.
You made him a blessing forever,
you gladdened him with the joy of your face.
R. Lord, in your strength the king is glad.

**
Gospel
Mt 20:1-16**

Jesus told his disciples this parable:
“The Kingdom of Heaven is like a landowner
who went out at dawn to hire laborers for his vineyard.
After agreeing with them for the usual daily wage,
he sent them into his vineyard.
Going out about nine o’clock,
he saw others standing idle in the marketplace,
and he said to them, ‘You too go into my vineyard,
and I will give you what is just.’
So they went off.
And he went out again around noon,
and around three o’clock, and did likewise.
Going out about five o’clock,
he found others standing around, and said to them,
‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’
They answered, ‘Because no one has hired us.’
He said to them, ‘You too go into my vineyard.’
When it was evening the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman,
‘Summon the laborers and give them their pay,
beginning with the last and ending with the first.’
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.
Did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage?
Take what is yours and go.
What if I wish to give this last one the same as you?
Or am I not free to do as I wish with my own money?
***Are you envious because I am generous?’***Thus, the last will be first, and the first will be last.”

*Somewhere else in the OT God gets angry because the people want a king (a human one) to rule them instead of being ruled just by Him… hmmm… where have we heard that one before?? In this psg it seems that no one wants to be their king (the symbolism of the trees). I wouldn’t want to rule over people who are supposed to be God’s chosen… who are supposed to have HIm for king either… :hypno: God is a tough act to follow…

Gospel: If a person is good, hard-working, always praying Christian all his life (does anyone know this kind of person? :coffeeread: ) he usually expects to get something extra in Heaven (?) but apparently the person who accepts Christ at the very end gets the same reward (?). Or at least They both get Heaven, in any case.

If a person is baptized before death, he will go straight to Heaven, assuming he doesn’t commit any sins before death… At least this is what I THINK the Church teaches… because baptism washes away all sin…

It is very hard to be a Christian in this world (a good one) so i can see why people postpone it… but we never know when we’re going to go so…

and besides, just because people get “equal” rewards in the end doesn’t mean that they will get it immediately… They may have to go through Purgatory first… *

does this psg mean there are not levels of Heaven? Does anyone know what the RC Church teaches about this?

 

[cheeto1]

"Then all the trees said to the buckthorn, ‘Come; you reign over us!’
But the buckthorn replied to the trees,
‘If you wish to anoint me king over you in good faith,
come and take refuge in my shadow.
Otherwise, let fire come from the buckthorn
and devour the cedars of Lebanon.’” "
–What does this mysterious passage mean? Anyone?
especially the end…

"You have granted him his heart’s desire"
***-- *And what was his hear’s desire? Apparently a gold crown and

• eternal life. I wonder what good a gold crown is in heaven?*
  We want God to grant our heart’s desire too, but sometimes He can’t because
  of our choices. Imagine if we went to college and became an accountant. But
  for some reason, the whole time, we were praying to God that we would be a
  doctor. Is it God’s fault if we devote all our time to studying to be an accountant?

“Why do you stand here idle all day?’
They answered, ‘Because no one has hired us.’
He said to them, ‘You too go into my vineyard”
– And how about you? are you idle today, or working in the vineyard?
I am idle, here on this website, alone. But I am leaving after this, for
the vineyard. Will I notice what work is to be done? Or will I just look
around in there, not watering anything, or picking any weeds? I pray
we will all do a good day’s work!

Today is the day of St. John Eudes. For some reason, my missal calls
him an apostle.

 

[distracted]

"-- And how about you? are you idle today, or working in the vineyard?
I am idle, here on this website, alone. But I am leaving after this, for
the vineyard. ]

there is plenty of work to be done here on the i-net, don’t you think??

so many unChristian people to beat over the head with the Bible and/or the Church!!!

but seriously… there are a lot of … strange ideas here… and rudeness… lots of rude-ness!!!

yet, how can we stop people from being rude and unChristian??

apparently we can’t… :banghead:

 

[Huiou_Theou]

"
‘If you wish to anoint me king over you in good faith,
come and take refuge in my shadow.
Otherwise, let fire come from the buckthorn
and devour the cedars of Lebanon.’” "
–What does this mysterious passage mean? Anyone?
especially the end…

Hi Cheeto!
This thing you see is a curse. The vine, olive, and fig are all more honorable and desirable than the bramble (buckthorn) which produces no fruit of any value to man or to God – yet these trees have chosen it to rule over them.

God had saved Israel from a foreign invader by an Israelite called Gedeon some years before this; And this Gedeon on the way to battle had asked for food from one of the towns which refused to cooperate for they feared the foreigners more than Gedeon – So Gedeon’s army had to fight hungry in the midst of betrayal.
On the way back, Gedeon took all the thorns and briers of the desert and brought them to that town – and used them to kill all the elders who made the decision against him. The remaining people of other cities offered to annoint him king, and all his sons after him – but Gedeon refused – and simply took some wealth instead.

Gedeon had 70+ sons, and one of them was by a woman who was not his wife – this son was named Abimalech, and Abimalech tricked his own tribe into annointing him king by saying – would you rather have one king or 70? (There were no kings at all! except God by Gedeon’s word!)

So, with the fear of 70 kings Abimalech arranged a pseudo - coup - and killed all his half brothers except one – who escaped. It is this last son of Gedeon who is shouting out the parable from the top of a mountain to Abimalech his murding half brother. The thorns recall the curse his father placed on the faithless city on his way to battle. It is clear, and will come to pass, that those who gain power by teaching murder and sedition – will then have murder and sedition to rule over. Ultimately, there is no honor among thieves.

 

[cheeto1]

Thank you! So then is the fire coming from the buckthorn Abimalech saying, “Make
me king or I’ll kill you”?

 

[Huiou_Theou]

Thank you! So then is the fire coming from the buckthorn Abimalech saying, “Make
me king or I’ll kill you”?

Yes, but more in the reverse sense.
Since you have made me king – If you change your mind I will kill you (and you will kill me). I think it was a mere three years before Abimalech had to go to war against his own subjects who had changed their mind… I’ll have to re-read it.

In the end Abimalech has his own sword bearer kill him so that a woman who struck him will not be credited with his death … funny, the story still gives her credit for braining him…