Monday of the Ninth Week of Ordinary Time, Year A, June 05, 2017
1st Reading: Book of Tobit 1:3.2:1a-8.
I, Tobit, have walked all the days of my life on the paths of truth and righteousness. I performed many charitable works for my kinsmen and my people who had been deported with me to Nineveh, in Assyria. Thus under King Esarhaddon I returned to my home, and my wife Anna and my son Tobiah were restored to me. Then on our festival of Pentecost, the feast of Weeks, a fine dinner was prepared for me, and I reclined to eat. The table was set for me, and when many different dishes were placed before me, I said to my son Tobiah: “My son, go out and try to find a poor man from among our kinsmen exiled here in Nineveh. If he is a sincere worshiper of God, bring him back with you, so that he can share this meal with me. Indeed, son, I shall wait for you to come back.” Tobiah went out to look for some poor kinsman of ours. When he returned he exclaimed, “Father!” I said to him, “What is it, son?” He answered, “Father, one of our people has been murdered! His body lies in the market place where he was just strangled!” I sprang to my feet, leaving the dinner untouched; and I carried the dead man from the street and put him in one of the rooms, so that I might bury him after sunset. Returning to my own quarters, I washed myself and ate my food in sorrow. I was reminded of the oracle pronounced by the prophet Amos against Bethel: “Your festivals shall be turned into mourning, And all your songs into lamentation.” And I wept. Then at sunset I went out, dug a grave, and buried him. The neighbors mocked me, saying to one another: “Will this man never learn! Once before he was hunted down for execution because of this very thing; yet now that he has escaped, here he is again burying the dead!” The word of the Lord.
Responsorial Psalm: 112(111):1-2.3-4.5-6.
R/. Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.
Gospel: Mark 12:1-12.
Jesus began to speak to the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders in parables. “A man planted a vineyard, put a hedge around it, dug a wine press, and built a tower. Then he leased it to tenant farmers and left on a journey. At the proper time he sent a servant to the tenants to obtain from them some of the produce of the vineyard. But they seized him, beat him, and sent him away empty-handed. Again he sent them another servant. And that one they beat over the head and treated shamefully. He sent yet another whom they killed. So, too, many others; some they beat, others they killed. He had one other to send, a beloved son. He sent him to them last of all, thinking, ‘They will respect my son.’ But those tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ So they seized him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard. What (then) will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come, put the tenants to death, and give the vineyard to others. Have you not read this scripture passage: ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; by the Lord has this been done, and it is wonderful in our eyes’?” They were seeking to arrest him, but they feared the crowd, for they realized that he had addressed the parable to them. So they left him and went away. The gospel of the Lord.
MONDAY REFLECTIONS:
This is obviously a story about the Father sending His Son into the world. The religious leaders of the time were envious and jealous and wanted to remain in power. As a result, they put their evil plot into motion, killing Jesus in hopes that they would eliminate Him as the Messiah and new King of Israel, thus retaining their religious power. But what they forgot about was the justice of God. In the end, God’s justice always prevails. God will sort all things out and will distribute His justice and mercy in accord with the heart of each person. This reveals two important lessons for us. First, it reveals that, in the moment, evil can seem to win.
We experience this in countless ways. We experience a lack of justice, persecution and hurt. At times we can feel discouraged by the apparent triumph of evil all around us and can fall into despair. However, we must also remember in those times, more than any, to hold on to the hope of the ultimate triumph of divine justice! In the end, God will win. And in the end, all that matters is the final result. Therefore, from the perspective of eternity, all that matters is that we remain faithful and hopeful in God. We must always strive to move past any apparent injustice we encounter. Yes, when God inspires us to confront evil here and now, we must do it. But we must also remember that, in God’s perfect wisdom, there are times when He finds it better to allow injustice to have its way. This can be hard to fathom and accept. But we must hold on to the hope of God’s final fidelity and the ultimate triumph of His Truth.
Together we pray: Lord, when I am down and discouraged and witness oppression and injustice in my life, help me to turn my eyes to You and retain hope. May I always have hope in You and faith in Your perfect fidelity. Jesus, I trust in You that You alone will heal our sick brethren and set them free. May the souls of our faithful departed brethren rest in perfect peace, amen.