20250321 A MAN OF DREAMS
21 March 2025, Friday, 2nd Week of Lent
First reading |
Genesis 37:3-4,12-13,17-28 |
Let us kill him: then we shall see what becomes of his dreams
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.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 104(105):16-21 |
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.
Gospel Acclamation | Jn3:16 |
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!
Gospel |
Matthew 21:33-43,45-46 |
This is the landlord's heir: come, let us kill him
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.
A MAN OF DREAMS
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [GEN 37:3-4, 12-13, 17-28; PS 105:16-21; MT 21:33-43, 45-46]
What are your dreams in life? It is important for us to have dreams. Dreams keep us going and striving. A man without dreams has no passion in life. He lives aimlessly, drifting through life. A man without dreams has no vision in life. Nothing interests him. He is not able to give himself to a cause or a mission. Such a man lives a meaningless life and becomes a nuisance to others as he does not know what he wants or what he should do with his life.
From the book of Genesis, we have Joseph the dreamer. He was chosen by God to be a leader of Israel. He shared his dream with his brothers: his sheaf stood above all that of his brothers whilst their sheaves gathered around his and bowed to his. In another dream, he recalled how the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to him. Of course, his dream that his siblings and even his parents would one day be subjected to him only accentuated the insecurity of his brothers who were already jealous of him because their father loved him more than them, and even made a coat with long sleeves for him. Upon hearing his dreams, they hated him all the more. Instead of supporting in his quest to fulfil his dreams, they sought to put him to death. So, one day, when he was sent to Shechem to pasture the flock, they plotted to kill him and put an end to his dreams.
Of course, at the other extreme, there are some who are overly ambitious about chasing their dreams that they will do all it takes to succeed, regardless whether it is by fair means or not. They are so obsessed with their ambition that they will make use of people just to realize their dreams. They lack love for their fellowmen, and if they are good to them, it is only because they are useful to them. Indeed, we read in today’s gospel how the tenants became greedy and lawless when the master sent his servants to collect the produce owed to him. “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.” But they also killed the heir and seized his inheritance.
Such ambition will cause us to suffer the consequences. That was what happened to the greedy and ungrateful tenants. The owner of the vineyard brought them to their wretched end “and lease(d) the vineyard to other tenants who will deliver the produce to him when the season arrives.” When we are overly ambitious and even unscrupulous in our ways, we will destroy ourselves. We see this so often in the corporate world, especially when those in charge seek greater control of the business empire. They would do anything to secure power, influence and wealth. Greed for power and wealth will destroy everyone. This is true not just in business but also at work when politics is at play because of competition, jealousy and envy at the success of others.
Sometimes, sharing our dreams can cause jealousy. There will be some who will oppose our dreams. Some will get jealous and because it is not their dream, they will not support us. Some do not want us to succeed. Others think that their dreams are better. Like the brothers of Joseph who were not receptive to his dreams. Their pride did not allow them to accept someone younger to rule over them. Indeed, it is difficult for leaders who are young to lead older members in the organization because quite often, the seniors think that they know better. Why should they listen to someone younger and perceived to have less experience than them? This was the case of Jesus in the gospel. The tenants in the parable symbolized the religious leaders. They were so sure of themselves and their position among the People of God that they found it difficult to accept a wandering rabbi who was not trained in scripture and theology, and yet became so popular because of His miracles, His enlightened teaching, and His compassion for all.
Regardless of whatever dreams we have, in truth there is only one dream – that is the dream of God, which is to gather everyone to Himself. What is the dream of our heavenly Father? His dream is to share His life and love for His people. By choosing Israel as His people, He dreamed they would be the instruments of salvation for the rest of humanity. This would of course only be revealed later when Trito-Isaiah said of Israel, “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the survivors of Israel; I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” (Isa 49:6) Then, following their return from exile, Trito-Isaiah prophesied the ingathering of all, “Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will appear over you. Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.” (Isa 60:1-3)
Jesus was sent as His Only Begotten Son to fulfil the dream. Jesus said to the religious leaders, “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?” He was thought to be a deviant Rabbi. They could not accept Him, His works and teachings. “Though they would have liked to arrest him they were afraid of the crowds, who looked on him as a prophet.” Indeed, Jesus was seen as someone who was a threat to Judaism and especially to their position in Judaism. They thought of themselves as respectable, educated and trained in the scriptures. They had their own popular views of the Messiah as one who would be strong and powerful and could withstand the power of the Romans. But they were wrong. They were mistaken. As a consequence, the Lord said, “I tell you, then, that the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.”
God wanted His plan to be fulfilled, not by strength and power or by force but by mercy, forgiveness and compassion. Jesus, in God’s divine plan, was to go through His passion, crucifixion and death on the cross. What would be considered a failure in the eyes of man, would be the means by which God demonstrates His power over evil, sin and hatred. God would raise Jesus from the dead. By so doing, God could say that He is one of us and He understands all that we are going through. He comes not to condemn us but to save us, as St John said, “”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)
To realize our dream then, we must learn from Jesus who desired only to fulfil the dream of God according to His plan. Jesus on His part, did not choose His way of establishing the Kingdom. The devil in the temptation story on the First Sunday of Lent illustrated how he tried to distract Jesus by urging him to use His divine power for Himself by changing stone to bread; or to use spectacular means to impress people into cowing down in the face of God’s power by jumping down from the parapet of the temple. Jesus refused to take the short-cut or use the power, glory and riches of Satan to get people converted. (cf Mt 4:1-11)
Indeed, we must trust in the divine plan of God. Man can try to wreck His plan but God’s divine plan is inexorable. His divine plan will triumph in the end, regardless of how man tries to derail the plan of God. This was true for Joseph when the brothers tried to kill him. In the end, they sold him to a group of Ishmaelites who were merchants going to Egypt with their goods. God is great. He used the sins and evils of man for His divine plan. This is why St Paul remarked, “We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn within a large family. And those whom he predestined he also called; and those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified.” (Rom 8:28-30) Jesus trusted in His Father and committed His life into His hands on the cross. The psalmist reminds us, “Remember the wonders the Lord has done.” We must therefore allow the divine plan of God to be realized concretely in our own life.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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