20190322
GOD
ACCEPTS ALL REJECTS AND MAKES THEM HIS SUBJECTS
22 MARCH, 2019,
Friday, 2nd Week in Lent
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour:
Violet.
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First reading
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Genesis
37:3-4,12-13,17-28 ©
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Let us kill him: then we shall see what
becomes of his dreams
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Israel loved Joseph more than all his
other sons, for he was the son of his old age, and he had a coat with long
sleeves made for him. But his brothers, seeing how his father loved him more
than all his other sons, came to hate him so much that they could not say a
civil word to him.
His
brothers went to pasture their father’s flock at Shechem. Then Israel said to
Joseph, ‘Are not your brothers with the flock at Shechem? Come, I am going to
send you to them.’ So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan.
They
saw him in the distance, and before he reached them they made a plot among
themselves to put him to death. ‘Here comes the man of dreams’ they said to one
another. ‘Come on, let us kill him and throw him into some well; we can say
that a wild beast devoured him. Then we shall see what becomes of his dreams.’
But
Reuben heard, and he saved him from their violence. ‘We must not take his life’
he said. ‘Shed no blood,’ said Reuben to them ‘throw him into this well in the
wilderness, but do not lay violent hands on him’ – intending to save him
from them and to restore him to his father. So, when Joseph reached his
brothers, they pulled off his coat, the coat with long sleeves that he was
wearing, and catching hold of him they threw him into the well, an empty well
with no water in it. They then sat down to eat.
Looking
up they saw a group of Ishmaelites who were coming from Gilead, their camels
laden with gum, tragacanth, balsam and resin, which they were taking down into
Egypt. Then Judah said to his brothers, ‘What do we gain by killing our brother
and covering up his blood? Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, but let us
not do any harm to him. After all, he is our brother, and our own flesh.’ His
brothers agreed.
Now
some Midianite merchants were passing, and they drew Joseph up out of the well.
They sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty silver pieces, and these men
took Joseph to Egypt.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 104(105):16-21 ©
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Remember the wonders the
Lord has done.
The Lord called down a famine on the land;
he broke the staff that
supported them.
He had sent a man before them,
Joseph, sold as a slave.
Remember the wonders the
Lord has done.
His feet were put in chains,
his neck was bound with iron,
until what he said came to pass
and the word of the Lord
proved him true.
Remember the wonders the
Lord has done.
Then the king sent and released him
the ruler of the people set
him free,
making him master of his house
and ruler of all he possessed.
Remember the wonders the
Lord has done.
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Gospel Acclamation
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Jn3:16
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Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus!
God loved the world so much that he gave
his only Son:
everyone who believes in him has eternal
life.
Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus!
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Gospel
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Matthew 21:33-43,45-46 ©
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This is the landlord's heir: come, let
us kill him
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Jesus said to the chief priests and the
elders of the people, ‘Listen to another parable. There was a man, a landowner,
who planted a vineyard; he fenced it round, dug a winepress in it and built a
tower; then he leased it to tenants and went abroad. When vintage time drew
near he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his produce. But the
tenants seized his servants, thrashed one, killed another and stoned a third.
Next he sent some more servants, this time a larger number, and they dealt with
them in the same way. Finally he sent his son to them. “They will respect my
son” he said. But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, “This
is the heir. Come on, let us kill him and take over his inheritance.” So they
seized him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. Now when the owner
of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?’ They answered, ‘He
will bring those wretches to a wretched end and lease the vineyard to other
tenants who will deliver the produce to him when the season arrives.’ Jesus
said to them, ‘Have you never read in the scriptures:
It was the stone rejected by the builders
that became the keystone.
This was the Lord’s doing
and it is wonderful to see?
‘I tell you, then, that the kingdom of God
will be taken from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.’
When
they heard his parables, the chief priests and the scribes realised he was
speaking about them, but though they would have liked to arrest him they were
afraid of the crowds, who looked on him as a prophet.
GOD ACCEPTS ALL
REJECTS AND MAKES THEM HIS SUBJECTS
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ GEN 37:3-4, 12-13, 17-28; PS 105:16-21; MT 21:33-43, 45-46 ]
The reason why there are
so many wounded people in the world and why we are also hurting each other is
because we feel rejected by society. We feel that our parents do not love us
unconditionally. Often, like Jacob who favoured Joseph above all his other
children, those who of us who are discriminated feel as if we are second-class
members of the family. We do not feel that we are loved for who we
are. That is why most of us suffer from deep inferiority complex.
We are always seeking to please our parents and elders, hoping to find
recognition from them. Indeed, those who are loved and recognized by
their parents tend to do better in life than their siblings who are not as
favoured or appreciated.
As a result, we suffer
from low self-esteem. This leads to many other sins. We become envious of others who have more
than us, just like the brothers of Joseph. We read that “Israel loved
Joseph more than all his other sons, for he was the son of his old age,
and he had a coat with long sleeves made for him. But his brothers, seeing how
his father loved him more than all his other sons, came to hate him so much
that they could not say a civil word to him.” Envy leads to anger and
hatred. Indeed, often, because of envy, we seek to destroy those who are
more favoured than us, even when at times, it is not their fault that they are
being favoured. It is a misplaced anger. This happens especially in
the office when the boss favours some staff over others.
This was also the case
of the religious and political leaders of Israel. They felt threatened by the prophets that
God sent to them. They were greedy like the tenants in the gospel who
were not willing to share the produce they made. They wanted to grab
everything for themselves. They were ungrateful that the master gave them
the vineyard to till. We read, “when vintage time drew near he sent
his servants to the tenants to collect his produce. But the tenants seized his
servants, thrashed one, killed another and stoned a third. Next, he sent some
more servants, this time a larger number, and they dealt with them in the same
way.” They refused to listen to the appeal of God. In truth, the
religious leaders of Israel during the time of Jesus were also envious of
Jesus. He was becoming too popular. The people were all going to
Him. Their status quo was threatened. They tried to discredit Jesus
by asking Him all sorts of questions but Jesus put all of them in their place.
What is frightening is
that envy and greed will lead to anger and killing. This was the case with the brothers
of Joseph. The brothers “made a plot among themselves to put him to
death. ‘Come on, let us kill him and throw him into some well; we can say
that a wild beast devoured him, then we shall see what becomes of his
dreams.'” So too the religious and political leaders felt the same way
during the time of the prophets. This was what the Lord said of them. “I
will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and
persecute,’ so that this generation may be charged with the blood of all
the prophets shed since the foundation of the world, from the blood of
Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the
sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it will be charged against this generation.”
(Lk 11:49-51)
Today we are told that
we are not rejects of God. Every one of us is important to Him. Even if we were like the Prodigal
Son, He would welcome us back with great joy. “But while he was still far
off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms
around him and kissed him. The father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly,
bring out a robe – the best one – and put it on him; put a ring on his finger
and sandals on his feet. And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat
and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was
lost and is found!” (cf Lk 15:20-24) Indeed, St Paul reminded the
Corinthians, “Consider your own call, brothers and sisters; not many of
you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of
noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the
wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose
what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing
things that are, so that no one might boast in the presence of God.”
(1 Cor 1:26-29)
This is the truth of
God’s love. God loves us all. “For
God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes
in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” (Jn 3:16) He loves us in spite of our weakness,
as in the case of Joseph who was partly at fault because he was so over
confident of himself and boasted of his dreams. He dreamt that one day he
would tower over his brothers and they would serve him. (cf Gen 37:5-11) He rescued them from death and
slavery. In Jesus’ case, although He was harsh with the Jewish
leaders, it was because He wanted to wake them up from their blindness to the
truth about themselves. He loved the leaders too and continued to appeal
to them for conversion and not destroy themselves. He continued to appeal
to them to repent so that they could find true freedom. Indeed, God loves
each one of us so much that He would sacrifice His only Son to save us
all. “Finally he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he
said. But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the
heir. Come on, let us kill him and take over his inheritance.’ So they seized
him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.” This was the way,
the Jewish leaders repaid God’s kindness and mercy. Unfortunately, this
is also the way we repay God’s love for us by rejecting Him.
That is why we must
trust in the Lord and surrender our lives to Him, our strengths and our
weaknesses. We must trust the Lord as Joseph did. But for this to happen, God had to
teach and humble Joseph first so that he would be a good and humble
leader. Joseph on the other hand, had to surrender to the will of
God. He was almost killed by his brothers, sold as a slave, then worked
as a servant, imprisoned after being framed, and then rose to power when the
Pharaoh made him second in command to him. Joseph cooperated with
God. He did not bear grudges but forgave his brothers.
Indeed, if we trust in
Him, God will send people to rescue us and save us, just as He inspired Rueben
to save Joseph. “Reuben
heard, and he saved him from their violence. ‘We must not take his life,’ he
said. ‘Shed no blood,’ said Reuben to them, ‘throw him into this well in the
wilderness, but do not lay violent hands on him.’ – intending to save him from
them and to restore him to his father.” Then He sent some Midianite
merchants who bought Joseph “for twenty silver pieces, and these men took
Joseph to Egypt.” From there, the Lord realized the dream of Joseph in
unexpected ways, but not in the way he had planned.
God writes straight in
crooked lines. It
was the same case for our Lord. He was put to death and His Father would
raise Him from the dead. Of course, this went against the plan of Peter and the
apostles. “Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, ‘God
forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you.'” (Mt 16:22) God will turn our disadvantages to
His advantage. Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the
scriptures: It was the stone rejected by the builders that became the
keystone. This was the Lord’s doing and it is wonderful to see?” By allowing
the Lord to be killed, God showed His power over sin and death. St Paul
exclaimed, “‘Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is your
victory? Where, O death, is your sting?’ The sting of death is sin.” But
thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus
Christ.” (cf 1 Cor 15:55-57) Indeed, through the expected
death of our Lord and the more amazing fact of His resurrection, God showed His
power over sin and death. “We know that all things work together for good
for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.” (Rom 8:28)
God is the One who gives
us the grace to become who we are meant to be. We need to accept His grace and
cooperate with Him by working with others. No one is a threat to us but
all are our collaborators in building the kingdom of God. So let us have
hope in His grace. Our refusal to cooperate with God is the cause of our
misery, as in the case of the tenants in the gospel. And the Lord warned
us, “‘Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those
tenants?’ They answered, ‘He will bring those wretches to a wretched end
and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will deliver the produce to him
when the season arrives.’ I tell you, then, that the kingdom of God will
be taken from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.”
So let us remember the
wonders of the Lord so that we will never falter in our faith when the trials
of life set in. When
the psalmist recalled how the Lord helped Joseph to realize his dreams, he
could not but find hope in the wondrous ways the Lord works in our lives. We
must never give up our dreams. Joseph never did, neither did our
Lord. We can keep our dreams alive when we remember the wonders of the
Lord as the Israelites did and as Christians do when we celebrate the
Eucharist, the memorial of His passion, death and resurrection.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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