2nd Week of Lent
10th March 2023 (Friday) Readings and Reflection
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Reading of the Day
First Reading: Genesis 37:3-4, 12-13a, 17b-28
Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his sons, because he was the son of his old age. And he made him a robe of many colours. But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peacefully to him. Now his brothers went to pasture their father's flock near Shechem. And Israel said to Joseph, "Are not your brothers pasturing the flock at Shechem? Come, I will send you to them." So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan. They saw him from afar, and before he came near to them they conspired against him to kill him. They said to one another, "Here comes this dreamer. Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits. Then we will say that a fierce animal has devoured him, and we will see what will become of his dreams." But when Reuben heard it, he rescued him out of their hands, saying, "Let us not take his life." And Reuben said to them, "Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but do not lay a hand on him" that he might rescue him out of their hand to restore him to his father. So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the robe of many colours that he wore. And they took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it. Then they sat down to eat. And looking up they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing gum, balm, and myrrh, on their way to carry it down to Egypt. Then Judah said to his brothers, What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother, our own flesh." And his brothers listened to him. Then Midianite traders passed by. And they drew Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. They took Joseph to Egypt.
Psalm 105:16-17, 18-19, 20-21 (R. see 5a)
R/. Remember the wonders the Lord has done.
Gospel : Matthew 21:33-43, 45-46
At that time: Jesus said to the chief priests and the elders of the people, "Hear another parable. There was a master of a house who planted a vineyard and put a fence round it and dug a wine press in it and built a tower and leased it to tenants, and went into another country. When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to get his fruit. And the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. Again he sent other servants, more than at first. And they did the same to them. Finally he sent his son to them, saying, 'They will respect my son.' But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, 'This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.' And they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?" They said to him, "He will put those wretches to a miserable death and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons." Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the Scriptures: "The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord's doing, and it is marvelllous in our eyes'? Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits. When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he was speaking about them. And although they were seeking to arrest him, they feared the crowds, because they held him to be a prophet.
Daily Gospel Reflection
The Reflection by Fr. Thumma Mariadas Reddy MSFS{alertWarning}
Main Theme: Covetousness and jealousy kill!
Indicative: God entrusted us with this life to take care of it, live it meaningfully and bear fruits. We will be punishable if we fail in this duty{alertSuccess}
1. The world is in the evil embrace of greed and envy. Many are not satisfied with what they have. They crave more. Desire in itself is not wrong. But what is wrong is they desire what is not their due. Greedy people want to usurp and appropriate what belongs to others. Further, they employ any wrong or deceptive means to get what they want
2. Envy is another malaise that devours many today. It cannot see and digest the good in others and their growth. Those who suffer from jealousy feel uncomfortable and unhappy when others do well. Both this avarice and envy lead to evil and destruction
3. This is illustrated by two stories in today’s word of God. The first reading describes jealousy and the gospel, greed. In the first reading, Joseph, the son of Israel became the victim of the jealousy of his own blood brothers because of their father’s special love for Joseph. In consequence, they sell him into slavery
4. The gospel depicts how greed turns wicked and destructive through the parable of the wicked tenants. They covet the owner’s vineyard and so maltreat some servants and kill some others and in the end kill his own son. These tenants point to the unbelieving Jews
Imperative: Interestingly, both greed and jealousy are capital sins and all of us are gravely infected by them. They vitiate the heart as well as relationships. We must eradicate them{alertSuccess}