09 Mar 2012, Friday of the Second Week in Lent

Reading 1 Gn 37:3-4, 12-13a, 17b-28a

Israel loved Joseph best of all his sons,
for he was the child of his old age;
and he had made him a long tunic.
When his brothers saw that their father loved him best of all his sons,
they hated him so much that they would not even greet him.

One day, when his brothers had gone
to pasture their father's flocks at Shechem,
Israel said to Joseph,
"Your brothers, you know, are tending our flocks at Shechem.
Get ready; I will send you to them."

So Joseph went after his brothers and caught up with them in Dothan.
They noticed him from a distance,
and before he came up to them, they plotted to kill him.
They said to one another: "Here comes that master dreamer!
Come on, let us kill him and throw him into one of the cisterns here;
we could say that a wild beast devoured him.
We shall then see what comes of his dreams."

When Reuben heard this,
he tried to save him from their hands, saying,
"We must not take his life.
Instead of shedding blood," he continued,
"just throw him into that cistern there in the desert;
but do not kill him outright."
His purpose was to rescue him from their hands
and return him to his father.
So when Joseph came up to them,
they stripped him of the long tunic he had on;
then they took him and threw him into the cistern,
which was empty and dry.

They then sat down to their meal.
Looking up, they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead,
their camels laden with gum, balm and resin
to be taken down to Egypt.
Judah said to his brothers:
"What is to be gained by killing our brother and concealing his blood?
Rather, let us sell him to these Ishmaelites,
instead of doing away with him ourselves.
After all, he is our brother, our own flesh."
His brothers agreed.
They sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 105:16-17, 18-19, 20-21

R. (5a) Remember the marvels the Lord has done.
When the LORD called down a famine on the land
and ruined the crop that sustained them,
He sent a man before them,
Joseph, sold as a slave.
R. Remember the marvels the Lord has done.
They had weighed him down with fetters,
and he was bound with chains,
Till his prediction came to pass
and the word of the LORD proved him true.
R. Remember the marvels the Lord has done.
The king sent and released him,
the ruler of the peoples set him free.
He made him lord of his house
and ruler of all his possessions.
R. Remember the marvels the Lord has done.~

Gospel Mt 21:33-43, 45-46

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.

Meditation: Matthew 21:33-43,45-46

“The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.” (Matthew 21:42)

When we think of cornerstones, we may think of noble figures like Abraham, David, or Jeremiah. We may think of heroic saints like Mother Teresa or John of the Cross. And, of course, we think of Jesus. All of these figures stand out in our imagination as people with almost superhuman talents, skills, and dedication to their causes. But sal­vation history is also filled with the stories of many people whose lives didn’t start off so well, but who did become vital cornerstones for the people of God.

What about you? Have you ever thought of yourself as a cornerstone? Joseph’s brothers rejected him and sold him into slavery. But his humil­ity and his willingness to rely on God allowed him to rise above these con­ditions and become the cornerstone to save his family and all of Egypt.

Francis of Assisi was little more than a wandering party boy at first. And when he did try to follow the Lord, he was rejected and disinher­ited by his father. But because of his reliance on God, Francis became one of the most important corner­stones for the church in the Middle Ages. In these instances and more, it wasn’t the rejection that was crucial but the humility and steadfastness of the people who were rejected. That’s what turned them into pillars of faith and witnesses to the gospel.

Are you ready to become a cor­nerstone? Maybe you think that God can’t use you because you’re not good enough, smart enough, or heroic enough. But we don’t need to be powerful or brave to serve God. We just need to be humble and teachable. Or maybe you’re afraid that you will be rejected, as Joseph and Francis were. But God promises that he will never allow us to be tested beyond our abil­ity to endure—provided we lean on him and his power. So, confident in his provision, and eager to build up his church, let’s lay our lives before the Lord and tell him we want to dedicate our lives to advancing his kingdom in this world.

“Lord, make me like you, a pillar of faith for those around me. I want to be more willing to rely on you. Open my eyes and ears so that I may be more alert to your calling.”