The Word God Spells

Mark 12: 1-12
2 Pt 1: 2-7 / Ps 91: 1-2, 14-16

But the tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’
(Mark 12: 7)

May God grant our stewards the wisdom
To discern what is wrong and right,
That they are opposing God’s kingdom
By legislating against life.

Jesus began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a wine press and built a watchtower. Then he leased the vineyard to some tenants and went away on a journey. At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants to collect from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. But they seized him, beat him and sent him away empty-handed. Then he sent another servant to them; they struck this man on the head and treated him shamefully. He sent still another, and that one they killed. He sent many others; some of them they beat, others they killed. He had one left to send, a son, whom he loved. He sent him last of all, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ But the tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ So they took him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard. What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others. Haven’t you read this scripture: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; by the Lord has this been done, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?” Then they looked for a way to arrest him because they knew he had spoken the parable against them. But they were afraid of the crowd; so they left him and went away. (Mark 12: 1-12)

Reflection

The chief priests and the scribes were offended by this parable of the vineyard tenants that Jesus related because they were familiar with the passage from Isaiah which says, “The vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel” (Isaiah 5:7), and they were the ‘tenants’ that Jesus was referring to. The Jews were aware that the religious leaders of the old Covenant rejected the prophets who came to Israel with the word of God. They mistreated and killed them. Elijah was exiled into the desert by King Ahab and Queen Jezebel; Jeremiah was imprisoned, disgraced, exiled to Egypt, and there murdered by his own countrymen; the prophet Zechariah was stoned to death; and the last prophet, John the Baptist was imprisoned and beheaded. The stewardship of the Pharisees and scribes in God’s vineyard during the time of Jesus had only produced sour grapes (Isaiah 5:4) because of their hypocrisy and corruption, and their servile attitude towards imperial Rome. Like the tenants in our Lord’s parable, they rejected Jesus and His teachings, and plotted to kill Him so that they could maintain the status quo and remain in control of the Jewish people.

The parable of the vineyard tenants may as well be referring to the stewards of our nation today. God provided this country with an abundance of natural resources, and a people of faith. But what have these tenant leaseholders done to one of God’s most beautiful vineyards? They have degraded it with their culture of graft and corruption, and their slavish accommodations with an imperial power. Almost all of our political leaders only want to hold on to power, even if in the process they reduce the population to grinding poverty. In fact they are even planning to reduce the population itself by passing “reproductive health” bills, which have nothing to do with reproduction or health, but with allowing the liberal use of contraceptives and abortifacents in our country according to the policies set by today’s most powerful country and international organization. Our government and legislators, who are supposed to be the stewards and guardians of our constitution and Catholic tradition are the very ones violating their sacred provisions by enacting the passage of anti-life and anti-family bills. Thank God He still sends His modern day prophets, like Sis. Gay and Sis. Jo of Human Life International, who continue to proclaim the Word of God and do battle against this “culture of death” now threatening God’s vineyard in Asia. Let us pray for their protection and for the success of their crusade for life and family. And let us join their fight by campaigning to preserve our traditional family unit, the right of parents in the sexual education of their children, and the right of the unborn child.

Father God, Author and Giver of Life, we ask You to bless and protect Your messengers, who sacrifice so much to work against the scourges of life and family. We also pray for our political leaders, that Your Holy Spirit may enlighten them not to barter their Christian ideals for a few pieces of silver, and consequently, lose their eternal inheritance. Amen.

Mark 8: 27-33
Jas 2: 1-9 / Ps 34: 2-7

… you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.
(Mark 8:33)

How we always fail to discern
That our Lord’s plans are more sublime.
Why not trust that His main concern
Is our Life for eternal time?

Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way he asked his disciples, ‘Who do people say that I am?’ And they answered him, ‘John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.’ He asked them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Peter answered him, ‘You are the Messiah.’ And he sternly ordered them not to tell anyone about him.

Jesus Foretells His Death and Resurrection
Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, ‘Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.’ (Mark 8: 27-33)

Reflection

St. Mark gives us an insight into the human nature of St. Peter, whom he served as interpreter, and from whom he probably sourced much of the events in his Gospel. It is noteworthy that Mark’s Gospel does not include the words of Jesus exalting Peter, which we find in Matthew: “Blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonah, for flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my heavenly Father”( Mt.16:17-19). A humble man, Peter did not include this when he related this event to Mark. But he did not leave out his blunder where he was rebuked by the Lord. In that momentous incident in the heights of Caesaria Philippi, the Holy Spirit came upon St. Peter, and he answered Jesus’ question perfectly: “You are the Messiah.” And yet, when Jesus started to lay out the Father’s plan for Him in the days ahead, St. Peter reverted to his human instincts, and refused to accept what seemed to him such a foolhardy course to take. The lesson in today’s Gospel tells us that we should be prudent in the words we speak, otherwise they can get us into trouble.

Other important lessons in today’s Gospel are: First, our human knowledge is inadequate to discern spiritual truth; only God’s indwelling Spirit can give that wisdom. Jesus said, “The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.” (Jn. 6:63) Second, we must put our full trust in God, no matter how unreasonable His terms may seem to be. We must strive for the faith of Abraham as our model. He obeyed God to offer his only son Isaac as a sacrifice, even if he was already too old to sire another child.

Finally, who Jesus Christ is in our life will determine the kind of person that we want to become. If we accept Him as our life here and now, then He will be our ultimate destination. If we make Him the ideal of what we want to be, then His Divine Entity will occupy our minds and hearts, and will be the core of our being for all time.

Father God, you have given us a clear picture of Your purpose for us, which is to receive Jesus as our Savior. Through Your Holy Spirit, our hearts and minds have been illumined to receive His Truth, which has given our life its purpose. Amen.

Luke 19:11-28
2 Mc 7:1.20-31 / Ps 17

. . . from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away.
(Luke 19: 26)

Thank God for talents we received,
And His Word we’ve come to believe.
May these talents lead us to give
More worth in each day that we live.

They were nearing Jerusalem, where the Jews were hoping a new kingdom would be established if Jesus was truly the Messiah. Thus, Jesus told them this parable about a nobleman who went abroad to receive a kingdom and then return: Calling ten of his servants, he gave them ten gold coins, and said to them, ‘Invest these till I return.’ But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to reign over us.’ Upon his return with the kingship, he summoned the servants that he might know what they had gained by trading. The first came before him, saying, ‘Lord, your money has made ten additional ones.’ And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant! Because you have been faithful in a very little, you shall have authority over ten cities.’ And the second came, saying, ‘Lord, your gold coins have made 5 more.’ And he said to him, ‘Come rule over five cities.’ But one came saying, ‘Lord, here is your gold coin, which I kept laid away in a napkin; for I was afraid of you, because you are a severe man; you take up what you did not lay down, and reap what you did not sow.’ He said to him, ‘Your own words have condemned you, you wicked servant! If you knew I was a severe man, then why did you not put my money in the bank, and I could have collected it with interest?’ And he said to those who stood by, ‘Take the gold coin from him, and give it to him who has the ten. I tell you, that to every one who has will more be given; but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away. But as for these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slay them before me.’” And when he had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.

Reflection

Jesus told this parable to illustrate four kinds of people. The first two are His true and faithful servants who make good use of the gifts He has entrusted to them, each according to his capabilities. The third type are the unreliable followers, those who just “come along for the ride” but are sadly lacking in any personal commitment or even initiative. The last kind are the worst of the lot, who reject Him as their Master, and even conspire against Him. These deserve the most severe punishment.

I believe our Lord taught this parable not so much for the benefit of His apostles and closest followers, (who gained authority over cities), nor for His enemies, (the scribes, pharisees and high priests), who rejected Him. His lesson was intended for the great masses of people who are uncommitted or lukewarm, or for some reason are afraid to take the leap of faith. Jesus seems to be telling them: “From him who has no faith, even the little that he has will be taken away.” Most Christians belong to this “third category” of Christ’s servants, who fill up His churches on Sundays and holy days of obligation, but are mostly ignorant about His Word. Their idea of God is a Severe Disciplinarian Whose rules and statutes must be strictly followed, but Whose Good News of salvation is “kept laid away” like their unopened Bible, gathering dust on a shelf. God has given each one of us a ‘gold coin’ or gift that we can use in propagating His kingdom here on earth. He does not expect that we can multiply His capital in our life five or ten times over. But at least let us give back to Him some “interest” for His investment, lest we lose our most precious possession.

Thank You, Father God, for Your gift of faith. May we use the talent that You have given us to propagate Your Good News in our community and places of work. Amen.

Luke 17: 7-10
Wis 2:23–3:9 / Ps 34

We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.
(Luke 17:10)

For the gift of life it’s only right
That we serve the Lord in all our ways,
Our hope in His Word our guiding light,
Divine reward by His loving grace.

“Suppose one of you has a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Will he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat’? Won’t he rather say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink’? Will he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’” (Luke 17: 7-10)

Reflection

At first glance it would seem that our Lord Jesus aimed this parable at the pharisees and the high priests, who were proud and feeling righteous in their rigid observance of Judaic laws and practices. However, when taken in the context of the foregoing verses, this parable is actually a continuation of Jesus’ response to His apostles who asked Him to increase their faith (Lk.17:5). It is only by admitting our unworthiness, and humbly acknowledging God’s power over all our works can we grow in faith.

As St. Paul said, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God — not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Eph.2:8-10) It is important to keep this in mind, so that we do not fall into the same pit as the pharisees in Jesus’ time, who thought that their faithful tithing and observance of rituals were enough to gain salvation, if not divine merits. None of our works of mercy, religious devotions, or witnessing to others can be means of attaining grace; instead they are manifestations of the grace of God at work in our lives.

Today the Church commemorates the feast of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, the first canonized saint of the United States (1850-1917). Migrating from Italy, this frail nun traveled with six sisters to New York City to help thousands of Italian immigrants living there. From the very start of her mission she faced challenges that would have broken men of weaker faith. Even the New York archbishop advised her to return home when quarters for her first orphanage in the United States seemed unavailable. But the resiliency of her faith never made her waver in her mission. In 35 years she established 67 institutions that cared for the poor, the abandoned, and the sick. She also organized schools for uneducated immigrants in order to increase their faith. Her strong faith also gave her the courage to cross the Atlantic Ocean more than 30 times despite her great fear of drowning. She died of malaria in her own hospital in Chicago. St. Frances Xavier Cabrini accomplished so much not because she was seeking to earn credits in heaven, but because she believed that she was merely an obedient servant, doing the works that her Master intended for her to do. She is truly an ideal model of the faithful servant in today’s Gospel.

Lord Jesus, sometimes, we feel that the more we serve You, the more You allow us to share in Your pains and labors while You were here on earth. We consider our ‘stripes’ a great privilege— for the greatest joy is the hope of spending eternal happiness with You in heaven for persevering in Your service. Amen.

Luke 15: 1-10
Rom 14:7-12/Ps 27

In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.
(Luke 15:10)

Be God’s instrument of conversion,
Bring a lost sheep back to His fold;
As Jesus showed in His mission,
In this task everyone is called.

Now the tax collectors and “sinners” were all gathering around to hear him. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” Then Jesus told them this parable: “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent. Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Does she not light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” (Luke 15: 1-10)

Reflection

The Pharisees and scribes felt that their criticism of Jesus was justified in the context of the Scriptures that said: “Blessed are those who do not keep company with sinners.” (Ps 1:1) But the psalm referred to those who tolerated the sinful activities of bad company. To illustrate His true intention, our Lord related the parable of the Lost Sheep and the Lost Coin, and then followed them with the most beautiful parable of all: The Prodigal Son. The message here is that conversion or deliverance always comes first as God’s initiative. His acceptance of their company could be the first step in the right direction for their lives. The important thing was that He was seeking them out, because, as He said, “I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.” (Mt.9:13)

Jesus asks us, “Who among you, having a hundred members in your community, and losing one of them, will not leave the ninety-nine and seek out the errant member, and try to bring him back to active status?” How concerned are we when one of our brothers takes a fall (his car was spotted going to a motel, or he lost a bundle in the casino)? Do we find ways to get him into a one-on-one dialogue? Or are we instead relieved that he is no longer attending our fellowships and prayer assemblies?

Our Lord shows us in this parable that we must be willing to get our pristine-white clothes dirty in order to find a lost sheep or a lost coin. He Himself, the Creator of the universe, became a man to elevate us to His glory and kingship (setting us on His shoulders). Even in our sinfulness, in the name of love, because He is Love, He took a big gamble not only in becoming a man (vulnerable to temptation), but in offering us a place in His divinity, notwithstanding our sinful nature.

Teach us, dear God, to imitate our Good Shepherd: to discard our prejudices and our feelings of righteousness, and to seek out brothers and sisters who have wandered away from our flock. After all, we are all sinners; we are all in need of repentance. Amen.

Luke 14: 15-24
Rom 12:5-16 / Ps 131

Blessed is the one who will dine in the kingdom of God.
(Luke 14:15)

How we hurt God with our rejection
When we spurn His invitation.
Woe to those who have refused to come
To the banquet of God’s kingdom.

Our Lord’s parable was an indictment of the Jewish leaders at that time who rejected His invitation for them to accept Him as the Messiah and His words of redemption. Because of their rejection, this parable of a wedding banquet was also His prophecy that salvation would be given instead to the gentiles.

Today’s Gospel also reflects modern man’s rejection of God’s invitation to reform his ways and turn to a new life in Christ. Many have become so materialistic in their outlook that they have lost sight of the more important purpose of their existence — to become worthy guests to enter the kingdom of God at the appointed time.

Reflection

Free will is a gift from God that many of us take for granted. So is faith, love and the hope of an eternal life with Him in His kingdom. In our human weakness, we often forget that although these gifts were freely given, they entail a good amount of responsibility and sacrifice. The freedom to choose what we want to do with our life does not mean we are not accountable for all our actions. The gift of faith does not ensure our ticket to heaven unless we strive for our complete transformation. God’s greatest gift to us was His Son, Who humbled Himself, even unto a painful and humiliating death to show us the real meaning of love as a great sacrifice; unless we take up His cross and follow after Him, we cannot be worthy of that love. (Mt.10:38)

God’s gift of hope is His invitation to join Him and all the faithful to an eternal feast in His kingdom. He does not impose on our freedom to heed His call, just as He does not influence our beliefs and our capacity to love. But to spurn God’s invitation, after all the love and sacrifice that He has given us is like being invited to a wedding feast, saying “Yes, I will come,” and afterwards giving a lame excuse that you cannot make it because of some other matter that needs your attention. What a great insult to the One Who paid such a high price to offer us this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

Many years ago, I invited an acquaintance to a big party in our house to celebrate the silver wedding anniversary of my parents. Being poor, he did not have the proper attire, so I lent him my coat and tie. He was tall and handsome, and none of the ladies that he danced with in the party could have guessed his origins. When we met many years later, he told me that single invitation to our party was the turning point in his life. It was when he discovered he had the confidence to become successful.

What we have become we owe everything to You, Lord, when You invited us to Your fellowship. As your guests we have received all Your gifts because we have nothing of value that we can give to You, but our willingness to accept Your invitation. Amen.