Friday of the Second Week of Lent - March 22, 2019

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Genesis 37:3-4, 12-13, 17-28  Matthew 21:33-43,45-46

I have always liked when parables are read in the gospel reading at mass. I think this goes back to when I was a child attending mass. Parables helped me better understand God’s Word. In today’s parable, the landowner (God) provides everything to his tenants (us). When He sends His servant to collect the share at harvest time (kingdom of heaven) the servant is beaten, stoned and killed.  After hearing this news, the landowner sent his son (Jesus) to collect the share of the harvest only to receive the same treatment from the tenants. 

God has provided for us, given us free will and seen to our basic needs only to have us rebuke his efforts.  God sent his son to earth only to be treated similarly to the landowner’s son.  In this parable, Jesus foretold His fate--a powerful message that was not understood until later.

The gospel ends with one of my favorite lines. “The stone the builders rejected has become the corner stone.”  This line has significant meaning for me, as my great grandfather, William Reintjes, was a master stonemason in Kansas City. His company built Our Lady of Perpetual Help Redemptorist Church at Linwood and Broadway about 100 years ago. I like to imagine that he was probably the one who picked out the corner stone for the structure. This is a reminder to us not to overlook our friends, neighbors, classmates and family because they might surprise you and become your cornerstone.

Q: Who has surprised me and become my cornerstone at different times in my life? What are the different ways I make Jesus my cornerstone?

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