another photo from aug 15 2006

 

Aug 23 2006

Ez 34:1-11 The word of the Lord came to me: Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, in these words prophesy to them to the shepherds: Thus says the Lord GOD: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who have been pasturing themselves! Should not shepherds, rather, pasture sheep? You have fed off their milk, worn their wool, and slaughtered the fatlings, but the sheep you have not pastured. You did not strengthen the weak nor heal the sick nor bind up the injured. You did not bring back the strayed nor seek the lost, but you lorded it over them harshly and brutally. So they were scattered for the lack of a shepherd, and became food for all the wild beasts. My sheep were scattered and wandered over all the mountains and high hills; my sheep were scattered over the whole earth,with no one to look after them or to search for them.Therefore, shepherds, hear the word of the LORD: As I live, says the Lord GOD, because my sheep have been given over to pillage, and because my sheep have become food for every wild beast, for lack of a shepherd; because my shepherds did not look after my sheep,but pastured themselves and did not pasture my sheep; because of this, shepherds, hear the word of the LORD: Thus says the Lord GOD: I swear I am coming against these shepherds. I will claim my sheep from them and put a stop to their shepherding my sheep so that they may no longer pasture themselves. I will save my sheep, that they may no longer be food for their mouths. For thus says the Lord GOD: I myself will look after and tend my sheep.


Ps 23:1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6
R. (1) The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.In verdant pastures he gives me repose;Beside restful waters he leads me;he refreshes my soul.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
He guides me in right pathsfor his name’s sake.Even though I walk in the dark valleyI fear no evil; for you are at my sideWith your rod and your staffthat give me courage.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
You spread the table before mein the sight of my foes;You anoint my head with oil;my cup overflows.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
Only goodness and kindness will follow meall the days of my life; And I shall dwell in the house of the LORDfor years to come.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

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.”
"The last will be first and the first will be last." Somehow in the new covenant the tables are often turned. I think it is foolish to look at others and compare what God has given them to what God has given me. There is no reason to compare if I am content with what I have been given it should not matter what the person who came after me was given. I do not have a special entitlement to anything on this earth or in heaven.

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. There is a vast sereneness and comfort in feeling and believing that the Lord is watching over and leading me and there is a peace that surpasses any riches that this world may offer. The 23rd psalm has been a source of great inspiriation and for me a way to calm and comfort the dying. There are many times that I have been with people who were dying and I recited the psalm from memory to them as a prayer. It every time created a response of peace and comfort that was visible and at times verbalized. God speaks to me in the psalms and scriptures and it is my heart and mind that need to be open to listen and follow. I pray this morning that may be today an instrument of God's peace.