2ND WEEK OF LENT
Day of abstinence from meat (age 14 and up)
Psalter: Week 2 / (Violet)
Ps 105:16-17, 18-19, 20-21
Remember the marvels the Lord has done.
1st Reading: Gen 37:3-4, 12-13a, 17b-28a*
Now Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other children, for he was the son of his old age and he had a coat with long sleeves made for him. His brothers, who saw that their father loved him more than he loved them, hated him and could no longer speak to him in a friendly way.
His brothers had gone to pasture their father’s flock at Shechem, and Israel said to Joseph, “Your brothers are pasturing the flock at Shechem; come along, I’ll send you to them.” (…)
They saw him in the distance and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him. They said to one another, “Here comes the specialist in dreams! Now’s the time! Let’s kill him and throw him into a well. (…)
So as soon as Joseph arrived, they stripped him of his long-sleeved coat that he wore and then took him and threw him in the well. Now the well was empty, without water.
They were sitting for a meal when they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, (…) “What do we gain by killing our brother and hiding his blood? Come! We’ll sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him, for he is our brother and our own flesh!” (…)
Gospel: Mt 21:33-43, 45-46*
Listen to another example: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a fence around it, dug a hole for the wine press, built a watchtower, leased the vineyard to tenants, and thent went to a distant country. When harvest time came, the landowner sent his servants to the tenants to collect his share of the harvest. But the tenants seized his servants, beat one, killed another, and stoned a third. (…)
Finally, he sent his son, thinking, ‘They will respect my son.’ But when the tenants saw the son, they thought, ‘This is the one who is to inherit the vineyard. Let us kill him, and his inheritance will be ours.’ So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.
Now, what will the owner of the vineyard do with the tenants when he comes?” They said to him, “He will bring those evil men to an evil end, and lease the vineyard to others, who will pay him in due time.”
And Jesus replied, “Have you never read what the Scriptures say? The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This was the Lord’s doing, and we marvel at it. (…)
When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard these parables, they realized that Jesus was referring to them. (…)
Reflections
THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED HAS BECOME THE CORNERSTONE
God’s ways are really not our ways. Sometimes we wonder why a person whom we consider unfit for an office is chosen to occupy that office. Of course when Jesus uttered these words, he was referring to himself. He was rejected by his people and yet He was chosen to be the Savior of these very people. Another similar thing that Jesus said is very true: THERE IS NO PROPHET IN ONE’S OWN COUNTRY. The ones closest to him were blinded by this very closeness, because if you had been the neighbor of the Holy Family in Nazareth and you have interacted with them day in and day out, you have seen Mary wash clothes. Maybe St. Joseph repaired your chair. Maybe even Jesus played with your children. Can you really believe that Mary is the Mother of God and Jesus is the Son of God? We really have to learn to see from God’s perspective. And even if we are justified about our misgivings about people we can still get consolation from the fact that: GOD CAN WRITE STRAIGHT WITH CROOKED LINES!
Daily Reflection 2018
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Biblical Texts are taken from Christian Community Bible, Catholic Pastoral Edition (57th Edition) The New English Translation for the ROMAN MISSAL
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