The Lord Is Just In All His Ways And Loving In All His Deeds

Judges 9:6-15
Matthew 20:1-16

If you were to rule the world what would you do? If you are in the position to rule a nation will there be bloodshed or mercy In the land? If you were to rule will there be poverty, wickedness, or hunger in the city or will there be justice, generosity, equity, and fairness in the land? In Today’s first reading, we hear the story of Abimelech, the king of Shechem. He ruled just for only three years but in those few years, there was wickedness and bloodshed right from the king’s family and then out into the entire kingdom.

The tales of the trees given to us by Jotham, represent what happened to the household of Gideon.
Abimelech initially told his parents that it is better for him to rule than the other brothers for they will cause division in Gideon’s household. He managed to bribe his mother’s brothers and later on, went to kill seventy of them on the same stone only Jotham escaped. He was eventually killed in battle. He was the little bramble that holds fire, burning himself and his own household. As children of God, we were meant to lead and be led. We are called to serve and not to be served we are called to lay down our lives for the sake of others so that we can all be together at the end in the kingdom of God.

Concerning God’s kingdom, the Lord Jesus presents to us in today’s Gospel the parable of the just and sympathetic householder, who goes about employing workers for his vineyard at different times of the day with the same agreement of one denarius each.
He was aware that they needed the occupation for survival. He cares for the workers irrespective of their conditions and the time of their employment. The Lord is compassionate, merciful and just. He shares his divine life with us even though we do not deserve it. God is so good and generous in all his ways but are you envious of God”s generosity to others?

Following in the footsteps of Christ requires working for peace and justice.
Yes, Laborers deserve a just wage for the labor they provide. But when it comes to the kingdom, the “prize” cannot be segmented into different levels. What more privilege can we receive than to spend eternity with the God who loves us more than we can imagine?

Fr Joseph Osho