DAILY- HOMILY

MARCH 1, 2013
FRIDAY 2ND WEEK OF LENT – YEAR I

Gen 37:3-4,12-13,17-28 / Ps 105: 16-17. 18-19. 20-21 / Mt 21:33-43,45-46

GENESIS 37:3-4,12-13,17-28
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, "Your brothers are pasturing the flock at Shechem; come along, I'll send you to them." Joseph replied, "Here I am." The man said, "They have gone from here, for I heard them say: Let's 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's the time! Let's kill him and throw him into a well. We'll say a wild animal devoured him. Then we'll 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'll 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.

MATTHEW 21:33-43,45-46
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 harvest time came, the landowner sent his servants to the tenants to collect his share of the harvest. But the tenants seized his 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 realized that Jesus was referring to them. They would have arrested him, but they were afraid of the crowd, who regarded him as a prophet.

REFLECTION
The first reading narrates the beginning of Joseph's story. It is a tale of the jealousy and hatred of his brothers over the pride of Joseph and his dreams. Stopping at the point where Joseph is sold by his brothers, with his bloodied coat making it appear like a violent death from an animal attack, it seems like another sad ending to a bible story. Who would have thought there is a better ending to this unhappy drama – that many years later, Joseph would be the salvation of the Egyptian nation and its neighbors, including his family, during a time of great famine! Yet many times we encounter similar situations in our lives. Why do bad and sad things happen to us, why this untimely death of a child, why an unjust accusation from which we cannot defend ourselves, why a devastating flood that demolished the homes of hapless people? God weaves such fascinating narratives with unexpected happy endings to stories such as these. And if we fail to look at events in our lives with the eyes of faith and lose hope instead of patiently awaiting the outcome of this chapter in our lives, we miss out on seeing all the good God does for us, how He molds us by unlikely occurrences, how like the potter that He is, He teaches us patience and perseverance by the trials that come our way.

O loving Father, when seemingly cruel events happen in our lives, help us to trust with patience that Your love and mercy will bring everything to a good ending. Amen.

PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray …
… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the unborn.
… for the speedy recovery and healing of
- Ditas dela Paz
- Toots Monfort
- Andy Lecaros
- Chief Samrose Anyaugo
- Toots Monfort
- Ditas dela Paz
- Alejandro Lecaros
… for the personal intentions of
- Dr Ugo Anyaugo, Oge Anyaugo, Barr (Mrs) adaugo Barbara Okoronkwo, Engr. Ifeanyi Matt Anyaugo, Chuba Anyaugo and Ezinne Cordelia Anyaugo
… for the eternal repose of the soul of Rodrigo Alonzo. Eternal rest grant unto them and may perpetual light shine upon them. May they and all the dearly departed rest in peace.
… for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- Birthday: Jeffrey N. Sarmiento
- Birthday: Marissa Ducut
- Birthday: Alex C. Ongtenco
- In Memoriam (+): Bp. Alfredo B. Baquial
- In Memoriam (+): Tan Giok Bee
… for families who are in need of healing
… for world peace and reconciliation.

Finally, we pray for one another, for those who have asked our prayers and for those who need our prayers the most.

Have a good day!

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