Daily Gospel Reflection
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March 1, 2024
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.
My family is quite large. One set of grandparents had two daughters and 23 grandchildren. The other one had six children and 40 grandchildren. Neither set showed favoritism. My parents had 11 children, and we all knew that not one of us was more favored than any other. Some of us sometimes got more attention because of some need or trouble we caused, but there never seemed to be any favoritism.
My parents often said that the most important thing to them was that we all get along. Except for the usual sibling tensions growing up, we did, and we do. In fact, since the beginning of COVID-19, those of us who are available Zoom together every Saturday (although I often miss during the Notre Dame football season).
In the Old Testament Scriptures, Israel had 12 sons and definitely showed favoritism. He loved Joseph best, and the others knew it. Out of spite, they sold Joseph into slavery. Then, in rejection, he became the cornerstone of the Hebrew nation.
Jesus’ parable in today’s gospel and his selfless manner of living and loving reveal favoritism’s destructive effects. Those evildoers who put their greedy wants before the vineyard owner’s rights certainly did not love their neighbor as themselves. Likewise, the religious leaders who rejected Jesus and his teachings had no tolerance for anything that threatened their positions of favor.
When we favor anything over communion, our obsessions become destructive because we set what we favor apart from the rest—apart from the will of God. Separation equals sin. Communion through Christ and with all creation is divine love. Let us be like Christ and love one another.
Prayer
Lord, teach us to be filled with you and emptied of an ego that puts our glory over your glory. Let us be your ambassador. Give us your voice and direct our motives this day that we might produce the fruits of the kingdom. Amen.
