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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 112:1b-2, 3b-4, 5-6R. (1b) Blessed the man who fears the Lord.
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Come, Holy Spirit, come and renew the face of the earth! Come with your seven gifts! Come, Spirit of Life, Spirit of Communion and Love! The Church and the world need you. Come, Holy Spirit, and make ever more fruitful the charisms you have bestowed on us. Give new strength and missionary zeal to these sons and daughters of yours who part of various Church movements and groups. Open their hearts; renew their Christian commitment in the world.
For the week of:
June 4, 2023
That we give our love unconditionally, especially to those who are closest to us.
The Word Among Us
"It is wonderful in our eyes." (Mark 12:11)
What a bold move! Jesus dares to recount for the chief priests and scribes their predecessors' history of violently rejecting God's servants, the prophets. It's such a sad summary that it would be easy to miss the message of hope that this parable holds for Jesus' listeners and for all of us. So let's take a closer look.
A MAN PLANTED A VINEYARD, PUT A HEDGE AROUND IT, DUG A WINE PRESS, AND BUILT A TOWER (Mark 12:1). The owner gave the tenants not just the land but everything they needed to successfully farm it. In the same way, God pours blessings into our lives, both tangible and spiritual. He may not give us everything we want, but he gives us everything we need to grow into the holy people he wants us to be.
THEN HE . . . LEFT ON A JOURNEY (Mark 12:1). The vineyard owner didn't try to micromanage the tenants. He gave them freedom to farm as they saw fit. Similarly, God gives us free will so that we can choose to love and follow him. AT THE PROPER TIME HE SENT A SERVANT . . . TO OBTAIN . . . SOME OF THE PRODUCE (Mark 12:2). God is patient. He gives us time to produce fruit in our lives. And while he wants us to have enough for our needs, he also expects us to be generous with the blessings he has bestowed on us. He wants us to share our time, money, and talents with those who have less.
HE SENT THEM ANOTHER SERVANT (Mark 12:4). Amazingly, when the first servant was beaten and sent away empty-handed, God sent another servant. And another! This is the same overwhelming mercy God shows us. He gives us chance after chance to place him first in our lives. No matter how badly we mess up, he is always ready to take us back.
THE STONE THAT THE BUILDERS REJECTED HAS BECOME THE CORNERSTONE (Mark 12:10). Clearly no evil is so great, no amount of rejection so violent, that it will convince God to give up on us. In fact, he took the worst evil--the death of his Son--and used it for the greatest, our salvation. Now, no matter what we have done, God is willing to wash away every sin in the river of his mercy.
What a message of hope! This is truly "wonderful in our eyes" (Mark 12:11)!
"Jesus, I marvel at your saving love!"
Living Faith
The Impact of Our Actions
"This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours." (Mark 12:7)
Coincidentally (or not?), a few different people and sources have recently been teaching me that when I choose to sin, it hurts Christ profoundly. I've always known that my mistakes and sins have ramifications for my soul. I've also known that they hurt the heart of God just like my heart aches when my kids do what they shouldn't. Yet, the idea that my sins are like more thorns in Jesus' crowns, or more lashes of the whip during his scourging, startles me into stepping it up to try and sin no more.
Likewise, the parable of the tenants reminds us that our actions do impact Christ. Will our choices be like those of the evil farmers, hurting The One that God sent to save us? Or will we embrace the message, work to sin no more and be the ones who console the heart of Christ?
Claire McGarry
Living With Christ
Today's Good News
"The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone." (Mark 12:10)
Recently I heard from a woman who hated the Bible. She was the eldest child and always had to be the responsible one, looking after her siblings and doing her best to follow their parents' guidance. And when she opened her Bible, what did she see? The oldest sibling rejected in favor of the youngest as far as the eye could see, from Jacob to the parable of the Prodigal Son! She might acknowledge that these Bible passages intentionally overturn cultural narratives. But, on an emotional level, she felt scolded and rejected.
Even the in-group of "people who were rejected" can turn us against those who rejected us, or who don't share our suffering. Only in the gospel do we find a command to the rejected that that honors their suffering yet draws them beyond it--love your enemies.
Eve Tushnet