Sisters and brothers in Christ, what struck me the most from today's reading is what Judah said to his brothers after the conspired to sell Joseph to the Ishmaelites for 20 pieces of silver. Judah said to his brothers, "After all, he is our brother, our own flesh."
This struck me because how often do we come up with reasons or excuses to justify our actions or inactions to put our mind at ease so that we can sleep at night. In this instance, their initial plan was to kill their brother, Joseph. However, rather than stopping them, Rueben talked them into throwing Joseph into the cistern. And, of course, Judah convinced them to sell Joseph into slavery. All of these are evil acts against their "own flesh."
When we do not love and cherish what we have in our lives, the gifts that God has blessed us with, they will be taken away from us, as Jesus said the Pharisees and chief priests in today's Gospel. This is especially important when it comes to the gift of our faith. If we do not love and cherish the virtue of faith that helps us to know our Lord and our God, we will end up not only losing our faith but also our inheritance - the Kingdom of God.
. . .
Gospel of the Day
Jesus said to the chief priests and the elders of the people:
""Hear another parable.
There was a landowner who planted a vineyard,
put a hedge around it,
dug a wine press in it, and built a tower.
Then he leased it to tenants and went on a journey.
When vintage time drew near,
he sent his servants to the tenants to obtain his produce.
But the tenants seized the servants and one they beat,
another they killed, and a third they stoned.
Again he sent other servants, more numerous than the first ones,
but they treated them in the same way.
Finally, he sent his son to them,
thinking, 'They will respect my son.'
But when the tenants saw the son, they said to one another,
'This is the heir.
Come, let us kill him and acquire his inheritance.'
They seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him.
What will the owner of the vineyard do to those tenants when he comes?""
They answered him,
""He will put those wretched men to a wretched death
and lease his vineyard to other tenants
who will give him the produce at the proper times.""
Jesus said to them, ""Did you never read in the Scriptures:
The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
by the Lord has this been done,
and it is wonderful in our eyes?
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.""
When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables,
they knew that he was speaking about them.
And although they were attempting to arrest him,
they feared the crowds, for they regarded him as a prophet.
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