Friday of the Second Week of Lent
SUFFERING SAVES
Joseph suffered because his brothers were jealous. Yet, later, he would save them from famine. Jesus was rejected and died for our sins. He became the keystone for a new kingdom, for the life of all. And we?
We want happiness without pain, without paying the price for it, though sacrifice and happiness are close relatives. If the grain of wheat does not die… We know about this, but it’s too uncomfortable to put into practice if we are not forced by circumstances …
Reading 1: Genesis 37:3-4
Gospel: Matthew 21:33-44
“Here’s another story. Listen closely. There was once a man, a wealthy farmer, who planted a vineyard. He fenced it, dug a winepress, put up a watchtower, then turned it over to the farmhands and went off on a trip. When it was time to harvest the grapes, he sent his servants back to collect his profits. “The farmhands grabbed the first servant and beat him up. The next one they murdered. They threw stones at the third but he got away. The owner tried again, sending more servants. They got the same treatment. The owner was at the end of his rope. He decided to send his son. ‘Surely,’ he thought, ‘they will respect my son.’ “But when the farmhands saw the son arrive, they rubbed their hands in greed. ‘This is the heir! Let’s kill him and have it all for ourselves.’ They grabbed him, threw him out, and killed him. “Now, when the owner of the vineyard arrives home from his trip, what do you think he will do to the farmhands?” “He’ll kill them—a rotten bunch, and good riddance,” they answered. “Then he’ll assign the vineyard to farmhands who will hand over the profits when it’s time.” Jesus said, “Right—and you can read it for yourselves in your Bibles:
The stone the masons threw out
is now the cornerstone.
This is God’s work;
we rub our eyes, we can hardly believe it!
“This is the way it is with you. God’s kingdom will be taken back from you and handed over to a people who will live out a kingdom life. Whoever stumbles on this Stone gets shattered; whoever the Stone falls on gets smashed.”
When the religious leaders heard this story, they knew it was aimed at them. They wanted to arrest Jesus and put him in jail, but, intimidated by public opinion, they held back. Most people held him to be a prophet of God.
Prayer
God, we do not want to die;
we want to live.
We want to be happy
but without paying the price.
We belong to our times,
when sacrifice and suffering are out of fashion.
God, make life worth the pain to be lived.
Give us back the age-old realization,
that life means to be born
again and again in pain,
that it may become again
a journey of hope to you,
together with Christ Jesus, our Lord.
Reflection:
10 March 2023
Matthew 21:33-43, 45-46
Throwing the Word out of our lives?
We remember the famous Song of the Vineyard, composed by Isaiah, which talks about a vine-grower who prepared the soil, carved it, cleaned it from the stones, planted some precious vines, built a watch-tower, and then expected it to produce the best grapes, and from the grapes, wine and happiness. But instead, the vines produced inedible bunches of wild grapes. It is the sad story of the unreturned love of God for the people.
And Jesus knows this song of the vine well, and in the parable, he recalls precisely all these concerns of the Lord for his people. We are at the end of the Gospel according to Matthew, and also at the end of the life of Jesus. The top religious authorities are about to commit a great crime – to capture and kill Jesus.
After entrusting the vineyard to the peasants, the Lord, the owner of the vineyard, goes far away. It represents the Lord, who has now entrusted his followers with the mission of producing joy.
What was expected of these servants who were entrusted with the vineyard of Israel? The Book of Isiah had taught them: “Learn to do good; seek the right. Make justice your aim: redress the wronged, hear the orphan’s plea, defend the widow” (Is 1:17). Those are the fruits that the Lord of the vineyard wanted.
The Lord loves his vineyard so much that he continues to send his prophets. But Israel rejected them and killed them. The owner of the vineyard loves this vineyard to the extent that finally, He sends his Son. But the managers expelled the son and killed him. The parable clearly describes what Jesus foresaw; he realized that the religious authorities were about to take him out of the way and expel him from the vineyard. Jesus was executed outside the Holy City as if he were someone who contaminated it.
Today our Church communities must be careful because the danger of chasing God’s Son out of the vineyard continues to happen. When we cast the Gospel out of our lives, we cast the Son out of the vineyard. Think of the challenges that confront the sacraments of marriage and family, debates on abortion, and many more issues – many in the Church prefer to follow the values of the world. The values of the Gospel are regarded as outdated and old-fashioned, and many Christians prefer to chase away Christ and his Gospel.
What is the result of throwing the Gospel out of our lives? Wars, crimes, destruction of creation, despair and loneliness. This parable is addressed to us today. Open your eyes, recognize the Son, don’t throw him out of the vineyard – out of our lives.