It is 19th August 2015. The readings are from Jdg.9:6-15 and the Gospel from Mt.20:1-16. The first reading brings out the hunger for power. Gideon defeated the Midianites and the people wanted him to be the king but he refused this offer and always upheld that God is king. He had seventy-two sons. One of them was Abimelech who thought completely different from the father and wanted to rule the people. So he started killing all his brothers except Jotham, the youngest who escaped him and lived in the forest. What we read today is the outburst of emotions of Jotham in a figurative way. People like Abimelech would go to a level of uprooting the others by their evil thinking in order to exercise their power to control others. Power is evil when it is hoarded in wrong hands. The bible condemns monarchy and dictatorship through this story. The responsorial Psalm prays, “O Lord, your strength gives joy to the king.” (Ps.20:2). The Gospel expounds the measures and depth of Justice, God has towards us. Indeed Jesus wanted to provoke the listeners today. God has the choice ultimately to choose and God is completely different. It would be very difficult to understand the way God demonstrates God’s infinite justice. God is gracious and merciful and therefore God is extraordinarily generous. No one can match the generosity of God. We would like to calculate and be selective in giving while God gives without measure even if we oppose God. We cannot control God and direct the Spirit of God. We cannot even suggest God to whom should God give. There is a kind of justice God expresses while giving. God has a way of dealing with human injustices. “The Last will be first and the first, last.” (Mt. 20:16). May we allow the Holy Spirit to guide us to be just and fair in all our lives. May you have day filled with peace.