Wednesday of Week 20 in Ordinary Time
Liturgical Colour: Green
First Reading
Ezechiel 34:1–11
The selfish shepherds are called to account
And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:
Son of man, prophesy concerning the shepherds of Israel: prophesy, and say to the shepherds:
Thus saith the Lord God: Woe to the shepherds of Israel, that fed themselves: should not the flocks be fed by the shepherds?
You ate the milk, and you clothed yourselves with the wool, and you killed that which was fat: but my flock you did not feed.
The weak you have not strengthened, and that which was sick you have not healed, that which was broken you have not bound up, and that which was driven away you have not brought again, neither have you sought that which was lost: but you ruled over them with rigour, and with a high hand.
And my sheep were scattered, because there was no shepherd: and they became the prey of all the beasts of the field, and were scattered.
My sheep have wandered in every mountain, and in every high hill: and my flocks were scattered upon the face of the earth, and there was none that sought them, there was none, I say, that sought them.
Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the Lord:
As I live, saith the Lord God, forasmuch as my flocks have been made a spoil, and my sheep are become a prey to all the beasts of the field, because there was no shepherd: for my shepherds did not seek after my flock, but the shepherds fed themselves, and fed not my flocks:
Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the Lord:
Thus saith the Lord God: Behold I myself come upon the shepherds, I will require my flock at their hand, and I will cause them to cease from feeding the flock any more, neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more: and I will deliver my flock from their mouth, and it shall no more be meat for them.
For thus saith the Lord God: Behold I myself will seek my sheep, and will visit them.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 22(23):1–6
The Lord ruleth me: and I shall want nothing.
The Lord ruleth me:
and I shall want nothing.
He hath set me in a place of pasture.
He hath brought me up, on the water of refreshment.
The Lord ruleth me: and I shall want nothing.
He hath converted my soul.
He hath led me on the paths of justice,
for his own name’s sake.
For though I should walk
in the midst of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evils, for thou art with me.
Thy rod and thy staff,
they have comforted me.
The Lord ruleth me: and I shall want nothing.
Thou hast prepared a table before me
against them that afflict me.
Thou hast anointed my head with oil;
and my chalice which inebriateth me,
how goodly is it!
The Lord ruleth me: and I shall want nothing.
And thy mercy will follow me
all the days of my life.
And that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
unto length of days.
The Lord ruleth me: and I shall want nothing.
Gospel Acclamation
Hebrews 4:12
Alleluia, alleluia!
For the word of God is living and effectual,
and more piercing than any two edged sword;
and is a discerner of the thoughts
and intents of the heart.
Alleluia!
Gospel
Matthew 20:1–16
Is thy eye evil, because I am good?
The kingdom of heaven is like to an householder, who went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard.
And having agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard.
And going out about the third hour, he saw others standing in the market place idle.
And he said to them: Go you also into my vineyard, and I will give you what shall be just.
And they went their way.
And again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did in like manner.
But about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing, and he saith to them: Why stand you here all the day idle?
They say to him: Because no man hath hired us.
He saith to them: Go you also into my vineyard.
And when evening was come, the lord of the vineyard saith to his steward: Call the labourers and pay them their hire, beginning from the last even to the first.
When therefore they were come, that came about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny.
But when the first also came, they thought that they should receive more: and they also received every man a penny.
And receiving it they murmured against the master of the house, saying:
These last have worked but one hour, and thou hast made them equal to us, that have borne the burden of the day and the heats.
But he answering said to one of them:
Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst thou not agree with me for a penny?
Take what is thine, and go thy way: I will also give to this last even as to thee.
Or, is it not lawful for me to do what I will? Is thy eye evil, because I am good?
So shall the last be first, and the first last. For many are called, but few chosen.
Reflection
Today’s readings expose two ways in which self-interest can distort our relationship with other people.
In the First Reading, the shepherds use the flock for their own benefit. In the Gospel, the first labourers resent the generosity shown to those who arrived last. The shepherds ask what the sheep can provide for them; the labourers ask why someone else has received the same gift.
Both readings confront the temptation to place ourselves at the centre.
Ezechiel’s accusation against the shepherds of Israel is uncompromising. They have consumed the milk, worn the wool and killed the fattest animals, but they have not fed the flock.
The image refers to those entrusted with responsibility for God’s people: rulers, religious leaders and others whose authority should have been exercised for the common good. They enjoyed what leadership gave them while abandoning what leadership required from them.
God names the people whom they neglected.
The weak were not strengthened. The sick were not healed. The wounded were not bound up. Those driven away were not brought back. The lost were not sought.
These are not abstract failures of administration. Each failure leaves a person more vulnerable than before.
A shepherd cannot claim success merely because the strongest sheep remain nearby. The condition of the vulnerable reveals whether the flock is truly being cared for.
This remains a demanding measure of leadership. Authority is not justified by its title, visibility or privileges. It is judged by what happens to those placed within its care.
Parents, clergy, employers, public officials, teachers, community leaders and anyone responsible for another person can hear themselves addressed in this passage. Leadership becomes corrupt when people are treated as resources to be consumed rather than persons to be served.
The shepherds did more than neglect the flock. Ezechiel says that they ruled “with rigour, and with a high hand.”
Authority that should have protected the sheep became another source of fear. Those already weakened received cruelty rather than care.
The resulting scattering was therefore not accidental. When leaders fail to feed, protect and seek their people, the flock becomes exposed. Some wander because nobody notices their absence. Others leave because the place that should have sheltered them has caused harm.
God does not blame the scattered sheep for the negligence of their shepherds. He calls the shepherds to account.
This is an important distinction. Religious communities can sometimes speak about those who have left without examining why they felt compelled to go. Ezechiel requires leaders to ask whether neglect, harshness, hypocrisy or indifference helped drive people away.
The passage does not permit endless excuses based on position or reputation. God says, “I will require my flock at their hand.”
Those entrusted with others remain answerable to the true owner of the flock.
The Catechism teaches that ministry in the Church is entirely dependent upon Christ and ordered towards the good of humanity and the building up of the Church. Sacred authority must follow the example of Christ, who made himself the servant of all (CCC 874–876).
Leadership shaped by Christ cannot exist primarily to preserve the leader’s comfort. It must become service.
Yet the First Reading is not only a condemnation of failed shepherds. It also contains a promise: “Behold I myself will seek my sheep, and will visit them.”
When human shepherds fail, God does not surrender his claim upon the flock. He intervenes personally.
This promise reaches its fulfilment in Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd. He does what the false shepherds refused to do. He seeks the lost, restores the wounded, feeds his people and lays down his life for the sheep.
The Catechism describes the Church as the flock whose one necessary gateway is Christ. Although governed by human shepherds, it is continually led and nourished by Christ himself, the Good Shepherd who gave his life for the sheep (CCC 754).
This gives hope to those who have been neglected or wounded by human leadership. The failures of a shepherd do not mean that God has forgotten the sheep.
Human representatives can misrepresent him. Institutions can fail in their duty. Those failures are serious, but they do not cancel the faithfulness of Christ.
The psalm gives voice to that faithfulness: “The Lord ruleth me: and I shall want nothing.”
Where Ezechiel describes shepherds who feed themselves, the psalm describes a Shepherd who feeds his people.
He provides pasture and water. He restores the soul and leads along the paths of justice. He remains present through the shadow of death. He prepares a table, anoints the head with oil and promises mercy throughout the whole of life.
The psalm does not claim that the faithful person will never experience darkness. The path still passes through “the shadow of death.”
Its assurance is not that every valley will be avoided, but that the Shepherd will remain present within it: “Thou art with me.”
The rod and staff represent guidance and protection. The Shepherd does not merely observe danger from a distance. He accompanies the flock and directs it towards life.
This changes the meaning of security. Christian confidence does not depend upon controlling every circumstance or trusting that human leaders will never disappoint us. It rests never finally upon the presence of God.
The Gospel turns from shepherds and sheep to a landowner and labourers.
The landowner goes out repeatedly during the day to hire workers for his vineyard. Some begin early in the morning. Others are called at the third, sixth or ninth hour. The final group enters at the eleventh hour, when only a small part of the working day remains.
Their explanation is simple: “Because no man hath hired us.”
The parable does not describe them as lazy. They are still waiting in the marketplace because nobody has given them work.
The landowner sees those whom everyone else has passed by. Even at the eleventh hour, he gives them a place in his vineyard.
When evening comes, each worker receives a penny. Those hired first are not cheated. They receive precisely the wage to which they agreed.
Their anger begins not with an injustice committed against them, but with generosity shown to someone else.
They had carried “the burden of the day and the heats.” Their labour was real, and the landowner does not deny it. The distortion occurs when they use their service as a reason why the latecomers should receive less.
Comparison changes their experience of a fair wage into a grievance.
This is why the landowner asks, “Is thy eye evil, because I am good?”
An “evil eye” describes the envy that looks resentfully upon another person’s blessing. The landowner’s goodness becomes offensive because it refuses to follow the workers’ preferred hierarchy.
We can fall into the same attitude towards grace.
A person may have served God for many years and then resent the mercy shown to someone who returns late. Another may carry responsibilities faithfully but become bitter when a newer person receives attention, forgiveness or opportunity.
We begin to treat our relationship with God as though it were a wage contract. Prayer, sacrifice and service are placed before him as evidence that we deserve more than someone else.
The Catechism teaches that grace is God’s free and undeserved help. It is his initiative that enables us to respond to his call and become his children (CCC 1996).
The kingdom is therefore never payment for having outperformed another person. Eternal life remains a gift before it becomes a reward.
The Catechism also explains that, before God, there can be no strict merit on the part of humanity because everything has first been received from him. Even our ability to cooperate with grace begins with grace (CCC 2007–2008).
This does not make faithful labour meaningless. The landowner genuinely calls people into the vineyard, and their work matters.
The parable instead corrects the belief that length of service gives us ownership over God’s generosity. We may labour faithfully, but we never become the proprietor of the vineyard.
The first workers see only the single hour worked by those who arrived last. They do not consider the long hours during which those people stood unwanted in the marketplace.
The landowner sees the whole person. He knows the humiliation of being passed over and the insecurity of reaching the final hour without employment.
His payment is not merely a calculation of productivity. It is an act of generosity that allows every worker to return home with what is needed for the day.
God likewise sees histories that we cannot see. We may notice only that someone arrived late. We do not know the rejection, confusion, suffering or lack of opportunity that preceded that arrival.
This should make us cautious about comparing another person’s path with our own.
Some receive faith early and remain within the Church throughout life. Others encounter Christ after years of distance. Some return only after grave failure. The grace given to one does not reduce the grace available to another.
God’s mercy is not a limited fund that becomes smaller when it is shared.
The shepherds in Ezechiel and the first workers in the Gospel appear different, but the same self-centred logic operates within them.
The shepherds regard the flock’s resources as something to be consumed. The workers regard the landowner’s generosity as something they should control.
One group exploits those beneath them. The other resents those placed beside them.
Both fail to see other people as God sees them.
God sees the weak sheep who needs strengthening, the wounded sheep who needs binding, the lost sheep who needs seeking and the eleventh-hour worker whom nobody has hired.
Divine generosity moves towards the person most easily overlooked.
These readings therefore ask more than whether we occupy an official position of leadership. Every Christian exercises some form of influence. Someone may depend upon our patience, honesty, attention or example.
Who becomes stronger because we are present? Who receives care? Who is brought back rather than pushed further away? Whom have we stopped looking for?
The readings also examine our response when goodness reaches someone else.
Can we rejoice when another person receives an opportunity we wanted? Can we welcome a latecomer without reminding them how long we have laboured? Can we accept that mercy is generous without demanding that God first consult our sense of rank?
Envy often disguises itself as concern for fairness. The first workers speak as though the landowner has wronged them, but he has honoured their agreement.
Their true complaint is that someone else has been treated too well.
Gratitude provides the remedy. When we remember that our own place in the vineyard is a gift, another person’s inclusion no longer threatens us.
We can thank God for calling us early without believing that he must refuse those who arrive late.
The final reversal—“the last shall be first, and the first last”—destroys every attempt to turn discipleship into a ladder of superiority.
In God’s kingdom, greatness is not secured by standing ahead of others. The true Shepherd places himself at the service of the flock, and the generous landowner continues searching for those who remain outside.
Today we are invited to imitate both movements.
We are called to care for those entrusted to us rather than use them for our own benefit.
We are also called to rejoice when God seeks, welcomes and provides for someone else.
The Shepherd has not forgotten his flock. The landowner has not stopped visiting the marketplace. Even at the eleventh hour, his invitation remains open.
One line to carry today:
I will care for those entrusted to me and rejoice when God is generous to others.
Scripture Source:
Douay-Rheims Bible: Ezechiel 34, Psalm 22, Hebrews 4 and Matthew 20.
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