Meditating on the readings

Today's Mass readings can be read together under so many different angles, I don't know which one to focus on.

There's the "political-economic" lens in which Ezekiel's concern for the weakest of Israel's "sheep" corresponds to the vineyard-owner's generosity toward the workers hired late in the day.

There's the "leadership lessons from the Bible" approach (similar to the above, but focusing more on the movers and shakers).

There's the "where do I fit in?" angle: am I a shepherd? an exploited, vulnerable sheep? a vineyard worker who dances for joy at receiving a full day's pay, or a tired, sweaty worker who feels cheated by that same wage?

If anything, today's parable of the eleventh hour workers demonstrates what St. John said so clearly: Jesus knows the human heart all too well. Maybe the challenge for me today is not to be embarrassed at being known so intimately by one who is still, in all things, my Good Shepherd.