FRIDAY OF THE SECOND WEEK OF LENT - Gospel (Matthew 21:33-43. 45-46) - THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE
- NHA CHUA CHA
- Mar 22
- 5 min read
“The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; by the Lord has this been done, and it is wonderful in our eyes.” (Mt 21:42)
FIRST READING - Gen 37:3-4, 12-13a, 17b-28a
A reading from the Book of Genesis
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.
GOSPEL OF THE DAY - Mt 21:33-43, 45-46
From the Gospel according to Matthew
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.

FRIDAY OF THE SECOND WEEK OF LENT - Gospel (Matthew 21:33-43. 45-46)
THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE
Dear People of God,
Today’s Word of God teaches the high priests, Pharisees, and Jewish leaders who have authority over the people, who lead the people. He also teaches the shepherds, the leaders who are given authority and responsibility by God to take care of His vineyard, so that when the time comes, God will come to collect the profits from His vineyard; that is, He will settle accounts with the shepherds and leaders to see how many souls they have made a profitable and saved for God.
In the past, when God sent His servants, who are His people, to the vineyard to collect the crops, they were all killed by the tenants. Finally, God sent His only Son to collect the fruits of the harvest for God, but He was also killed by men. The Son of God is Jesus Christ, the cornerstone that was rejected by the builders. Therefore, whoever rejects the cornerstone, which is Jesus Christ, will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
Today, God also teaches His shepherds: that when taking care of the vineyard, which is the Church that Jesus founded, in the Church there is Jesus as the head, the cornerstone. In His body, there are the members—the souls of all the members of God's people.
God wants the shepherds not to fall into Satan's trap, like the high priests and Jewish leaders of old, who killed the Son of God sent to collect the fruits of the harvest and profits for God and to give the Word of God to humanity. We should take this lesson as an example so that we do not make the same mistake, lest God reject us from His vineyard and not allow us to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
Then we will suffer greatly because we will no longer have the opportunity.
God always loves all the souls of His children. He does not want to lose any soul to fall into the hands of Satan. Therefore, God wants the shepherds and leaders to make a profit for God by saving many souls for Him. Then He will reward them appropriately in the Kingdom of Heaven.
God is the One who understands all of our thoughts and actions.
He will record and reward every action of the shepherds and leaders when they know how to make a profit for God, which is to save many souls who know how to abandon the path of sin and return to God, to escape the imprisonment of Satan. God wants the shepherds and leaders to:
-Follow His teachings, because He is the head, the only leader.
- We must follow the example of Jesus, always caring for our flock, and knowing how to make a profit by saving souls for God.
-We must always protect, build, and unite with the Church, headed by Jesus Christ.
Thanks be to God. Amen.
Comments