Wednesday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time
(Ezekiel 34:1-11; Matthew 20:1-16)
Every fall, priests in their daily office or prayer read a
long commentary on today’s first reading.
St. Augustine wrote the commentary and intended it for parish priests. His concern is priests’ preoccupation for
their own welfare and disregard for their people’s. He says, for example, that pastors too often fear
to give offense by refusing to admonish the people to live holy lives. Ezekiel,
however, has political not religious leaders in mind in his writing.
In ancient Israel the prophets served as correctives of the
kings. They were the country’s moral
conscience who defined for rulers the will of God. The prophets kept faith in the public square
and considered the temple a primary work of the state.
Today we do not see such a religious-political arrangement
as helpful for western societies. There are just too many faith traditions as
well as a strong secular force in most countries to call for an established religion. Nevertheless, we should not accept too great a
wall between Church and state. Religious
values have profound moral content that should inform governmental
policies. To name one, it is wrong to
give permission to take away human life as is done in abortion and assisted
suicide. Sooner or later, these wrongful
policies will take their toll on the people’s well-being. We can be grateful
that Catholic bishops have taken their stand on these and other social issues.
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