In both first reading and Gospel we hear of rejection. In the first reading Joseph’s brothers
rejected him and plotted to kill him. In
the Gospel, in the parable of the wicked tenants we hear how the tenant farmers
reject, seize and kill, not only the vineyard owner's servants but also his
son.
Jesus refers to himself as the stone which the builders rejected. He too will be seized and
killed by those who reject him.
The tale of rejection goes back to the beginning when Adam
and Eve rejected God’s command, thereby rejecting His plan for them and for
mankind. By rejecting God they forfeited
paradise.
The sinner rejects God’s truth and God’s plan; he pretends
that his life belongs to him for his own purposes.
Sometimes the teachings of the Church are found difficult—they
infringe on our sinful habits and attachments—and so they are rejected. They are difficult so often because we have
hardened our hearts against them.
Yet, as G.K. Chesterton said, “Christianity has not been
tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and not tried.”
God sends his missionaries and messengers into our lives in
order to free us from pretend lifestyles.
The Gospel helps us to remember that I am not the vineyard owner, merely
a tenant; and God has sent his Son, to free us from our sins.
Our Lenten practices of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving are
meant to till the hardened soil of our hearts; to wake us up out of our
tendency to reject God’s truth, and to help us obtain a life free of envy,
impatience, jealousy, violence, arrogance, self-centeredness—for a life of
authentic service of the glory of God and salvation of souls.
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