Daily Gospel for Friday March 2, 2018

Gospel, Matthew 21:33-43, 45-46

'Listen to another parable. There was a man, a landowner, who planted a vineyard; he fenced it round, dug a winepress in it and built a tower; then he leased it to tenants and went abroad.

When vintage time drew near he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his produce.

But the tenants seized his servants, thrashed one, killed another and stoned a third.

Next he sent some more servants, this time a larger number, and they dealt with them in the same way.

Finally he sent his son to them thinking, "They will respect my son."

But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, "This is the heir. Come on, let us kill him and take over his inheritance."

So they seized him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.

Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?'

They answered, 'He will bring those wretches to a wretched end and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will deliver the produce to him at the proper time.'

Jesus said to them, 'Have you never read in the scriptures: The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this is the Lord's doing and we marvel at it?

'I tell you, then, that the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.'

When they heard his parables, the chief priests and the scribes realised he was speaking about them,

but though they would have liked to arrest him they were afraid of the crowds, who looked on him as a prophet.

Reflection on the Gospel of the Lord

Have you experienced rejection? How does it feel when you are rejected? I think the most painful rejection that we people experienced is when we are rejected by our love ones with whom we love so deeply and that love was rejected. We experience rejection many times like when we are still a student and you want to go to this school but your application was rejected. when we are looking for a job and in the interview and the interviewer says you are not fit for this job, that is also a rejection. In your working on a project at work and that project was rejected. But the most painful rejection is when you are deeply in love with someone and your love was rejected and your heart is broken.

In this Gospel today, I think many of us can relate to what our Lord Jesus Christ experienced, the rejection. Jesus, the son of God, who have a pure and perfect love in his heart has experienced rejection from us. Jesus who was willing to to offer his life as a gift to whoever would accept it is deeply wounded and left deep pain and suffering because of the rejection of so many of us. He love us so deeply but many of us rejected that love and that filled him with so much holy sorrow.

There is only one Goal why Jesus came to this world, to save us all. When he was preaching the good news of God, some people mock him. When he perform miracles, some people don't believe him. When he gave his love, some people rejected it. And in the end they crucified him. With the suffering that he experience and because he love us so much, he responded “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.”. That suffering that Jesus endure is transformed into love. And that love is for everybody if we are willing to accept it.