Friday of the Second Week of Lent
Genesis 37:3-28 ; Matthew 21:33-46
ALMIGHTY God, who seest that we have no power of ourselves to help
ourselves: keep us both outwardly in our bodies, and inwardly in our souls;
that we may be defended from all adversities which may happen to the body, and
from all evil thoughts which may assault and hurt the soul; through Jesus
Christ thy Son our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the
Holy Spirit, ever one God, world without end. Amen.
In our readings today we find the theme of the rejection of the good
and innocent man doing his father’s work. First in Genesis it is the rejection
of Joseph by his brothers who are jealous of the favour shown to their father’s
youngest son. They almost kill him in the wilds but instead sell him into
slavery and fake his death by a wild animal. In the Gospel parable of wicked
tenants of the vineyard the tenants in the vineyard refuse to pay the owner of
the vineyard his dues in the form of a proportion of the harvest. They thrash
and kill the owner’s servants, and then when the owner sends his son (whom he
thinks they will respect) they murder him.
On the face of it we might well ask, why is it that good people can be rejected even to the point of becoming victims of murder? What was it that drove Joseph’s
brothers to consider selling him to slavery or even consider murdering him?
What was it that led the religious opponents of Jesus to consider finding a way
to have him killed? Jesus had only done good in His life. But He had also
challenged and pointed out the Jewish leaders’ errors. Was that enough for them
to consider having him executed? It is naturally difficult for us to see how
this can happen, and I think the early Christians must have also struggled with
this question. The parable of the wicked tenants of the vineyard in part
answers that question, showing the long history of the rejection of the
prophets by Jerusalem leaders, and then finally the rejection of the Father’s
only Son.
What causes the heart of man to consider the murder of a good man as
the best option? The short answer is, of course, sin. It was jealousy. It was
anger. It was looking for the easy way out. It was fearing earthly powers more
than God. It was pride and not wanting to lose one’s own status.
The sad fact is that when light shines, those that wish their deeds to
remain hidden despise the light. The light that shines from a good and righteous
man can cause those who are attached to their sin to react against that good
and righteous man, sometimes in ways that are surprising and shocking to us.
But this is the way of the witnesses of Christ, in which we are all called to
walk. We are called to live Christ’s way even when it is counter to everything
that the world stands for. We are living in a time when increasingly we who
answer the call of Christ to bear witness to him will face rejection and
conflict. Let us ask for the prayers of the Martyrs that we may have the
courage to be faithful to Christ and less concerned about the world’s reaction.
And when we suffer because of our faith, whether it is in a small or big way,
let us offer that suffering to God as a prayer for the salvation of souls,
praying especially for those who persecute us.
ALMIGHTY and everlasting God, who hatest nothing that thou hast made
and dost forgive the sins of all those who are penitent: create and make in us
new and contrite hearts, that we, worthily lamenting our sins and acknowledging
our wretchedness, may obtain of thee, the God of all mercy, perfect remission
and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord, who liveth and reigneth
with thee, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, ever one God, world without end.
Amen.
Fr Ian is a catholic priest of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of
Walsingham in England. He is by papal dispensation married. He lives in a
former convent with his wife and children in Devon, near the sea.
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