The prostitutes are ahead of you
My Sunday Scripture 2008.9.28
Jesus said to the chief priests and the elders,
"What do you think of this? A man had
two sons. He went to the first and said to
him: "Son, today go and work in my
vineyard." And the son answered: " I
don't want to." But later he thought better
of it and went. Then the father went to
the second and gave him the same
command. The son replied: "I will
go, sir," but he did not go.
"Which of the two did what the father
wanted?" They answered, "The first."
And Jesus said to them, "Truly, I say
to you: the publicans and prostitutes
are ahead of you on the way to the
kingdom of heaven. For John came
to show you the way of goodness but
you did not believe him, yet the
publicans and the prostitutes did.
You were witnesses of this, but you
neither repented nor believed him.
Matthew 21: 28-32
My reading notes:
The point is, there are two kinds of
decisions or perceiving abilities.
People only do things as they
perceive truly in their mind. If they
do not perceive it , they will not
do it. The prostitutes and publicans
did perceive better than some of the
learned people.
So the important thing is to see into
the real inner meaning of everything.
If you don't see it, you will not do
it, even sometimes people will easily
promise to do things they don't really
wanted to do.
2008年9月28日 星期日
2008年9月21日 星期日
The last will be first
The last will be first
My Sunday Scripture 2008.9.21.
Jesue told his disciples this parable,
"The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner
who went ot early in the morning to hire
workers for his vineyard. He agreed to pay
the workers a salary of a sliver coin for
the day, and sent them to his vineyard.
"He went out again at about nine in the
morning, and seeing others idle in the
square, he said to them: 'You, too, go to
my vineyard and I will pay you what is
just.' So they went.
"The owner went out at midday and again
at three in the afternoon, and he did the
same. Finally he went out at the last
working hour---it was the eleventh---and
he saw others standing there. So he said
to them: 'Why do you stay idle the whole
day?' They answered: 'Because no one hired
us.' The master said, 'Go and work in
my vineyard.'
"When evening came, the owner of the
vineyard said to his manager: 'Call the
workers and pay them their wage, beginning
with the last and ending with the first.'
Those who had come to work at the eleventh
hour turned up and were given a denarius
each (a silver coin). When it was the
turn of the first, they thought they would
receive more. But they, too, received a
denarius each. So, on receiving it, they
began to grumble against the landowner.
"They said, 'These last hardly worked an
hour, yet you have treated them the same as
us who have endured the day's burden and
heat.' The owner said to one of them:
'Friend, I have not been unjust to you.
Did we not agree on a denarius a day? So
take what is yours and go. I want to give
to the last the same as I give to you.
Don't I have the right to do as I please
with my money? Why are you envious when
I am kind? '
"So will it be: the last will be first,
the first will be last."
Matthew 20: 1-16
(《牧靈聖經》譯文)
「天國好比一個家主，清晨六點多出門，為自己葡萄
園僱工人。他和工人講定：每人一天一個銀元，就打
發他們去工作。」
「到了九點多鐘，他看見街上有人閒著沒事做，就對
他們說：『你們也來我葡萄園，我會給你們合理的工
資。』他們馬上就來了。中午和下午家主人又出去了，
用同樣的辨法僱了工人。」
「近黃昏時，就是五點鐘的時候，他又到外面去看看，
見有人閒坐著，就問道：『你們為什麼整天都閒著沒
事﹖』他們說：『因為沒人僱用我們。』於是，家主
人對他們說：『你們也來我葡萄園做事吧！』晚上到了，
家主人吩咐管家：『把工人叫來，給他們發工資，從
後面僱來的發起，直到最先僱用的。』
先來領錢的是五點鐘才僱用的工人，他們拿了一個銀元。
等最先僱用的工人來時，以為會多拿一點，沒料到竟然
也是一個銀元。
他們就向家主人抱怨說：『後來的人只做了一個時
辰，而我們在太陽下做了一整天，你卻給我們一樣的報
酬。』
主人回答其中一人說：『朋友，我對你並不是不公平，
我們不是事先已談妥，工資是一個銀元嗎。拿了錢，就
走吧！我願意讓後來的拿的跟你一樣。難道我在自己的
家裏不能隨我意行事嗎﹖這不過是你嫉妒我善心罷了！』
是的，最後的將成為最先的，最先的又將成為最後的。」
My reading notes:
Different teachings may be obtained from the
parable. Just like attending a very important
class. The late one wished so much to come
earlier. But he encountered heavy rain on the
road. His friends told him, the class is not
important, you may get some notes the next day,
why bother to fight with the rain? The rain was
so heavy, water are coming to the height of
waist. But he managed to walk through the water.
He swam across the roads, and finally, he reached
the school. He was the last to attend the class.
But he was the first, definitely.
My Sunday Scripture 2008.9.21.
Jesue told his disciples this parable,
"The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner
who went ot early in the morning to hire
workers for his vineyard. He agreed to pay
the workers a salary of a sliver coin for
the day, and sent them to his vineyard.
"He went out again at about nine in the
morning, and seeing others idle in the
square, he said to them: 'You, too, go to
my vineyard and I will pay you what is
just.' So they went.
"The owner went out at midday and again
at three in the afternoon, and he did the
same. Finally he went out at the last
working hour---it was the eleventh---and
he saw others standing there. So he said
to them: 'Why do you stay idle the whole
day?' They answered: 'Because no one hired
us.' The master said, 'Go and work in
my vineyard.'
"When evening came, the owner of the
vineyard said to his manager: 'Call the
workers and pay them their wage, beginning
with the last and ending with the first.'
Those who had come to work at the eleventh
hour turned up and were given a denarius
each (a silver coin). When it was the
turn of the first, they thought they would
receive more. But they, too, received a
denarius each. So, on receiving it, they
began to grumble against the landowner.
"They said, 'These last hardly worked an
hour, yet you have treated them the same as
us who have endured the day's burden and
heat.' The owner said to one of them:
'Friend, I have not been unjust to you.
Did we not agree on a denarius a day? So
take what is yours and go. I want to give
to the last the same as I give to you.
Don't I have the right to do as I please
with my money? Why are you envious when
I am kind? '
"So will it be: the last will be first,
the first will be last."
Matthew 20: 1-16
(《牧靈聖經》譯文)
「天國好比一個家主，清晨六點多出門，為自己葡萄
園僱工人。他和工人講定：每人一天一個銀元，就打
發他們去工作。」
「到了九點多鐘，他看見街上有人閒著沒事做，就對
他們說：『你們也來我葡萄園，我會給你們合理的工
資。』他們馬上就來了。中午和下午家主人又出去了，
用同樣的辨法僱了工人。」
「近黃昏時，就是五點鐘的時候，他又到外面去看看，
見有人閒坐著，就問道：『你們為什麼整天都閒著沒
事﹖』他們說：『因為沒人僱用我們。』於是，家主
人對他們說：『你們也來我葡萄園做事吧！』晚上到了，
家主人吩咐管家：『把工人叫來，給他們發工資，從
後面僱來的發起，直到最先僱用的。』
先來領錢的是五點鐘才僱用的工人，他們拿了一個銀元。
等最先僱用的工人來時，以為會多拿一點，沒料到竟然
也是一個銀元。
他們就向家主人抱怨說：『後來的人只做了一個時
辰，而我們在太陽下做了一整天，你卻給我們一樣的報
酬。』
主人回答其中一人說：『朋友，我對你並不是不公平，
我們不是事先已談妥，工資是一個銀元嗎。拿了錢，就
走吧！我願意讓後來的拿的跟你一樣。難道我在自己的
家裏不能隨我意行事嗎﹖這不過是你嫉妒我善心罷了！』
是的，最後的將成為最先的，最先的又將成為最後的。」
My reading notes:
Different teachings may be obtained from the
parable. Just like attending a very important
class. The late one wished so much to come
earlier. But he encountered heavy rain on the
road. His friends told him, the class is not
important, you may get some notes the next day,
why bother to fight with the rain? The rain was
so heavy, water are coming to the height of
waist. But he managed to walk through the water.
He swam across the roads, and finally, he reached
the school. He was the last to attend the class.
But he was the first, definitely.
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