26 February 2016

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Friday, 26 February 2016 : 2nd Week of Lent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard two stories from the Holy Scriptures, the first being taken from the Book of Genesis, about Joseph, the son of Jacob, descendant of Abraham, who was hated by his brothers because of his special position in his family, and they plotted to remove him from their presence, firstly by trying to murder him, but then, having been stopped by some among themselves, they sold him into slavery instead.

And we see the parallel with what we heard in the Gospel today, about the parable which Jesus spoke about in the parable of the vineyard, where evil and wicked tenants plotted against the master of the vineyard and the son, as well as his servants, refusing to do as what they were expected to do, and instead desiring to have the vineyard for themselves.

But the master of the vineyard did not stay silent for all the things that these wicked tenants had done to destroy him and his works, and he cast these evil and wicked tenants out, and subjecting them to utter and complete darkness. Those who do not deserve to be part of the inheritance and the goodness as had been promised to them. They deserve to be cast out and be destroyed.

Now we have to ask ourselves, are we like the brothers of Joseph, who were swallowed by their jealousy and by their hatred? Are we like the evil tenants who were also swallowed by their greed and desire so as to disobey the orders and wishes of the master who had allowed them to dwell and prosper on the land they had rented? In fact, many of us had walked in this path before, but we did not realise it.

This path is the path of worldliness, of pride, of greed, of desire, of jealousy, of hatred and many other negative emotions and things that kept us separate from the love of God. If we walk on this path, then we should realise that we will only grow ever more distant and further away from God’s grace and salvation. If we do not turn away from this path soon, we may be further trapped in the vicious trap of sin and evil.

In this time of Lent, we have to realise that we all in this world must find the way to the Lord through penitence and forgiveness, and through the fullness of cooperation with the love and mercy of God. God offers us all freely this mercy, but He does not allow wickedness and vile things to prevail over whatever is good. Mankind may plot for certain things and think of certain things, but in the end it is the will of God that will prevail.

This is why in the Scripture readings today and from what we know from the knowledge of the Bible, we heard and know how eventually, Joseph, whom the brothers had sold into slavery to Egypt, he became an agent of God’s salvation of countless people and countless souls from famine and destruction, and in the end even saved the very same brothers who had sold him out. And the master of the vineyard also dealt with the wicked tenants in the way that they had deserved.

Let us in this season of Lent open our hearts, and seek the light of God and find the way to reach out to Him. Let us find out what He wants from each one of us, and most likely this will be the desire for our repentance, for us to turn away from our wickedness and return to righteousness and justice. In this time, the perfect time for mercy and forgiveness, let us all reflect on all of our actions, words and deeds.

Let us no longer be attached to our greed and desire, and let us no longer seek to satisfy our ego and pride. We have to dedicate and commit ourselves anew to the Lord, and in our faith, the faith we have for Him, let this faith shine forth and guide us on the path to salvation and eternal life. May God bless us all, and may He guide us in this way to eternal glory. God bless us all. Amen.

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Friday, 26 February 2016 : 2nd Week of Lent (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Matthew 21 : 33-43, 45-46

At that time, Jesus said to the people and to His disciples, “Listen to another example : There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a fence around it, dug a hole for the winepress, built a watchtower, leased the vineyard to tenants, and then went to a distant country. When the harvest time came, the landowner sent his servants to the tenants to collect his share of the harvest. But the tenants seized the servants, beat one, killed another, and stoned a third.”

“Again the owner sent more servants, but they were treated in the same way. Finally, he sent his son, thinking, ‘They will respect my son.’ But when the tenants saw the son, they thought, ‘This is the one who is to inherit the vineyard. Let us kill him, and his inheritance will be ours.’ So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.”

“Now, what will the owner of the vineyard do with the tenants when he comes?” They said to him, “He will bring those evil men to an evil end, and lease the vineyard to others, who will pay him in due time.”

And Jesus replied, “Have you never read what the Scriptures say? The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This was the Lord’s doing, and we marvel at it. Therefore I say to you : the kingdom of heaven will be taken from you, and given to a people who will yield a harvest.”

When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard these parables, they realised that Jesus was referring to them. They would have arrested Him, but they were afraid of the crowd, who regarded Him as a Prophet.

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Friday, 26 February 2016 : 2nd Week of Lent (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Psalm 104 : 16-17, 18-19, 20-21

Then God sent a famine and ruined the crop that sustained the land; He sent a man ahead of them, Joseph, who was sold as a slave.

His feet in shackles, his neck in irons till what he foretold came to pass, and the Lord’s word proved him true.

The king sent for him, set him free, the ruler of the peoples released him. He put him in charge of his household and made him ruler of all his possessions.

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Friday, 26 February 2016 : 2nd Week of Lent (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Genesis 37 : 3-4, 12-13a, 17b-28

Now Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other children, for he was the son of his old age and he had a coat with long sleeves made for him. His brothers who saw that their father loved him more than he loved them, hated him and could no longer speak to him in a friendly way.

His brothers had gone to pasture their father’s flock at Shechem, and Israel said to Joseph, “They have gone from here, for I heard them say : Let us go to Dothan!” So Joseph went off after his brothers and found them at Dothan. They saw him in the distance and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him.

They said to one another, “Here comes the specialist in dreams! Now is the time! Let us kill him and throw him into a well. We will say a wild animal devoured him. Then we will see what his dreams were all about!”

But Reuben heard this and tried to save him from their hands saying, “Let us not kill him; shed no blood! Throw him in this well in the wilderness, but do him no violence.” This he said to save him from them and take him back to his father. So as soon as Joseph arrived, they stripped him of his long-sleeved coat that he wore and then took him and threw him in the well. Now the well was empty, without water.

They were sitting for a meal when they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, their camels laden with spices, balm and myrrh, which they were taking down to Egypt. Judah then said to his brothers, “What do we gain by killing our brother and hiding his blood? Come! We will sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him, for he is our brother and our own flesh!” His brothers agreed to this.

So when the Midianite merchants came along they pulled Joseph up and lifted him out of the well. For twenty pieces of silver they sold Joseph to the Midianites, who took him with them to Egypt.