Friday of the Second Week of Lent - March 18, 2022
Genesis 37:3-4, 12-13a, 17b-28a Matthew 21:33-43, 45-46
There
is a strong parallel in today’s readings. In the first, Joseph is the favorite
of all of Israel’s sons. A dreamer, his brothers were jealous and grew to hate
him. When Joseph’s father instructed him
to visit his brothers in the fields, they conceived a plot to kill him. Not
wanting blood on their hands, they eventually sold Joseph into slavery.
In
the Gospel reading, Jesus tells a parable about a landowner who left his land to be farmed by tenants.
When the time came to collect the harvest, the landowner sent his servants out;
only to be killed by the tenants. Eventually, the landowner sent his son. But
when the tenants saw the son, they said to one another, ‘This is the heir, let
us kill him and acquire his inheritance.’
Jesus
asks his listeners, “Did you never read in the Scriptures: The stone that the
builders rejected has become the cornerstone.
Therefore, I say to you, the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you
and given to a people that will produce its fruit.”
Both
Joseph and Jesus are “stones rejected” that became the cornerstone.” In the
gospel reading, we are the tenants. The
vineyard we have been given by God could represent many things: our families, our church, our friends, our
work, our communities. How we tend to
our vineyard is a testament to how we live our life. Will we reap the rewards in the end?
I
thank God every day for giving me the
parents I had, who provided my four
siblings and I with our Catholic upbringing.
My parents were the cornerstone, they laid the faith foundation for each
of us. For me, life has presented the
usual challenges—good times and bad, disappointments and success, heartaches
and tragedy. I could not have met these
challenges without a strong faith foundation. I
still have a lot of work to do in tending to my vineyard if I expect to
reap the rewards in the end. And, I know
there will be more challenges along the way.
But I also know that He will be right there beside me. I must always remember…you reap what you sow!
Q: How am I a cornerstone? And to what buildings, institutions, communities, people am I a cornerstone?
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