Monday of the Ninth Week in Ordinary Time
Today's Mass Readings
Today’s gospel passage from Mark contains a dramatic parable in a dramatic setting. Jesus addresses the parable to the religious leaders of his time. The symbolism of the story is obviously apparent to these leaders as well as to the rest of the crowd. The vineyard owner represents God the Father, who has put his “vineyard” in the hands of tenant farmers – those who would care for his land and hence assure him produce due to their labors in his absence. These farmers, associated with the religious leaders, are not amenable to the requests of God, the vineyard owner. The servants sent by the vineyard owner represent the prophets sent by God, many of whom were disrespected, even killed. Finally, God, the vineyard owner, sends his own Son, Jesus to this vineyard. Jesus implies that the religious leaders ought to respect him, and he foretells that they will instead kill him out of their own self-interest. Jesus ends the parable by saying that God will find others to care for his vineyard. Though Jesus will be rejected by them, he will be the foundation of something new. In other words, Jesus has just criticized and accused the people who seek to arrest him, and the crowd understands this. So it’s no wonder that they have to retreat at this moment. But, while the religious leaders do retreat this time, ultimately, the telling of this parable comes true. Jesus, the Son sent by the Father, is killed. Jesus became the cornerstone of the religion that was to become known as Christianity. And, indeed, others were found to care for the “vineyard.” One of these people was Peter, the leader of the Apostles and the author of the first reading for today. For the last few weeks we have been reading 1 Peter. In this 9th week of Ordinary Time we begin 2 Peter.
Today’s passage from the beginning of that letter is a particularly beautiful one, providing us with some practical advice on how to live with Jesus as our cornerstone. The word “bestowed” appears twice in this passage, emphasizing the blessings provided by God. It is because of Jesus, this cornerstone, that all things have become possible. Peter sees these gifts as calling for a response from those who believe, and hence begins his chain: faith—virtue—knowledge—self-control—endurance—devotion—mutual affection—love (2 Pt.1: 5-7). These words indicate that Christianity is not simply a “belief system.” It requires both external and internal actions, as indicated by the list above. Peter ends with love; in the end, faith ought to be supplemented with love.
And of course, we have a great model of this in Jesus, the cornerstone, the Son sent by the Father to the vineyard. He was rejected, and now we must try to embrace him daily, open to the abundance of grace and peace provided by knowledge of him (cf. 2 Pt. 1:2). As we seek to embrace Jesus in our lives today, let us meditate on these last three verses of today’s passage: “Make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, virtue with knowledge, knowledge with self-control, self-control with endurance, endurance with devotion, devotion with mutual affection, mutual affection with love” (2 Pt. 1:5-7).
- Maria Morrow