Friday of the Second Week of Lent (March 2, 2018): When things are bad, God makes good

Thứ Năm, 01-03-2018 | 16:00:49

Today’s Readings:

Genesis 37:3-4,12-13,17b-28a
Ps 105:16-21 (with 5a)
Matthew 21:33-43,45-46
www.usccb.org/bible/readings/030218.cfm

USCCB Podcast of the Readings:
ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/18_03_02.mp3

A reading from the Holy 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,
AHe 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, ADid 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.

Good News Reflection:

Name the worst thing that’s happening in your life right now. How bad does it look? Is it hopeless? How frustrated do you feel? How sad? Okay, name the worst two things (we always have much to complain about, don’t we).

In today’s first reading, things looked very bad for Joseph. His brothers ganged up against him and threw him into a cistern so that they could murder him. Even when they changed their minds and sold him to Ishmaelites (a rival clan), he must have felt sure that his life was over despite not dying.

You can imagine how he felt. You and I have had these same feelings.

Joseph did not know that God was going to turn his terrible ordeal into a huge blessing. He couldn’t see the plan that included becoming a redeemer for his people. (Years later, during a severe drought, Joseph would save Egypt and his own Jewish tribe from starvation.)

You can imagine, too, how Jesus might have felt in today’s Gospel story. He knew that he was talking about himself in the parable. How did it feel to be around Pharisees who wanted to get rid of him?

If Joseph had known his future, if he could have foreseen how God would turn his frightening circumstances into a great blessing, he probably would have felt grief and joy simultaneously. Jesus knew his future, and even as he agonized over it in the Garden of Gethsemane on Good Friday, he also understood the joy that was to come on Sunday.

To have faith in Jesus means that we, too, can experience joy even while we suffer and grieve.

We cannot be sure of what our future holds, but we do know Who holds our future. That’s all that we really need to know (although we surely want to know more).

We don’t need to foresee the future. We don’t even need to see the next step on the path in front of us.

By holding tight to God’s hand, letting him lead us while remembering that he is always working a plan for our good (see Jeremiah 29:11 and Romans 8:28) and that therefore we can and should trust in his care, we, too can have hope and joy even while we suffer in anguish.

Faith-filled joy does not wait for our sorrows to end. The stronger our faith, the more joy we can actually feel, even in the worst of times. It’s not a giddy happiness; joy is a peaceful satisfaction that God is good.

Today’s Prayer:

Forgive me, Lord, for all the times I’ve been a stumbling stone for Your plans. Remove in me pride, arrogance, stubbornness and rebelliousness. I want to be Your servant for the sake of my neighbors and for Your Glory. Amen.

Tags: God makes good, Good News Reflection, Holy Gospel according to Matthew, Second Week of Lent, When things are bad