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| “St. Justin, Martyr, Patron of the Destitute” from an antique holy card, artist and date are UNKNOWN |
Reading 1: Tobit 1:3; 2:1a-8
I, Tobit, have walked all the days of my life
on the paths of truth and righteousness.
I performed many charitable works for my kinsmen and my
people
who had been deported with me to Nineveh ,
in Assyria .
On our festival of Pentecost, the feast of Weeks,
a fine dinner was prepared for me, and I reclined to eat.
The table was set for me,
and when many different dishes were placed before me,
I said to my son Tobiah: "My son,
go out and try to find a poor man
from among our kinsmen exiled here in Nineveh .
If he is a sincere worshiper of God, bring him back with
you,
so that he can share this meal with me.
Indeed, son, I shall wait for you to come back."
Tobiah went out to look for some poor kinsman of ours.
When he returned he exclaimed, "Father!"
I said to him, "What is it, son?"
He answered, "Father, one of our people has been
murdered!
His body lies in the market place where he was just
strangled!"
I sprang to my feet, leaving the dinner untouched;
and I carried the dead man from the street
and put him in one of the rooms,
so that I might bury him after sunset.
Returning to my own quarters, I washed myself
and ate my food in sorrow.
I was reminded of the oracle
pronounced by the prophet Amos against Bethel :
"All your festivals shall be turned into mourning,
and all your songs into lamentation."
And I wept.
Then at sunset I went out, dug a grave, and buried him.
The neighbors mocked me, saying to one another:
"He is still not afraid!
Once before he was hunted down for execution
because of this very thing;
yet now that he has scarcely escaped,
here he is again burying the dead!"
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Commentary on Tb
1:3; 2:1a-8
This section of the Book of Tobit
introduces us to some of the main characters in the story and sets up the
trials of the author. In this passage we hear that the festival Pentecost (the
Hebrew festival of Weeks, not the Christian Solemnity) is taking place. The
virtues of the author in alms giving and charity are described. Tobit is held
up as a strict follower of Mosaic Law during this time when a majority of the
faithful are lapsing. The second part of the selection speaks about the murder
of one of the people and subsequent acts sets the stage for fulfillment of
earlier prophecies and further events in the story the prophet tells. The fact
that the Jews abandoned their dead shows how far the faith had degraded. In
burying his dead compatriot, Tobit attempts to capture the spirit of the law
and reverse this trend. It is dangerous
for him to do so.
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 112:1b-2, 3b-4, 5-6
R. (1b) Blessed the man who fears the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Blessed the man who fears the LORD,
who greatly delights in his commands.
His posterity shall be mighty upon the earth;
the upright generation shall be blessed.
R. Blessed the man
who fears the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
His generosity shall endure forever.
Light shines through the darkness for the upright;
he is gracious and merciful and just.
R. Blessed the man
who fears the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Well for the man who is gracious and lends,
who conducts his affairs with justice;
He shall never be moved;
the just man shall be in everlasting remembrance.
R. Blessed the man
who fears the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
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Commentary on Ps
112:1b-2, 3b-4, 5-6
In this section of Psalm 112 the
virtues of faithfully following God’s commandments are extolled. This hymn of
David exalts the person who follows the Law of God. A number of actions
associated with this faithfulness are presented including acts of generosity,
mercy charity, and honesty. That person, we are told, will be held up by God.
The virtues of faithfully following God’s commandments are extolled. The one
who follows the Lord will be upheld by God “in
everlasting remembrance.”
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Gospel: Mark 12:1-12
Jesus began to speak to the chief priests, the scribes,
and the elders in parables.
"A man planted a vineyard, put a hedge around it,
dug a wine press, and built a tower.
Then he leased it to tenant farmers and left on a journey.
At the proper time he sent a servant to the tenants
to obtain from them some of the produce of the vineyard.
But they seized him, beat him,
and sent him away empty-handed.
Again he sent them another servant.
And that one they beat over the head and treated shamefully.
He sent yet another whom they killed.
So, too, many others; some they beat, others they killed.
He had one other to send, a beloved son.
He sent him to them last of all, thinking, 'They will
respect my son.'
But those tenants said to one another, 'This is the heir.
Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.'
So they seized him and killed him,
and threw him out of the vineyard.
What then will the owner of the vineyard do?
He will come, put the tenants to death,
and give the vineyard to others.
Have you not read this Scripture passage:
The stone that the
builders rejected
has become the
cornerstone;
by the Lord has this
been done,
and it is wonderful in
our eyes?"
They were seeking to arrest him, but they feared the crowd,
for they realized that he had addressed the parable to them.
So they left him and went away.
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Commentary on Mk 12:1-12
In the first part of the Gospel
we hear the Parable of the Vineyard. Since this story is directed to the Chief
Priests and Scribes, we see that the Vineyard represents the Kingdom of God and
the tenants the Sanhedrin. They should have been working on behalf of God but
instead misused their power and disregarded the Prophets, killing some, beating
others. And when the Son of the owner comes and is killed, Jesus prophesies his
own death.
The final section of the reading
uses the image found in Psalm 118; 23-24, “the
stone rejected.” Jesus uses this scripture quote to drive home his point that
the Sanhedrin had completely missed God’s intent and that the one they
rejected, Jesus himself, the Messiah, was to be the cornerstone of the New
Jerusalem, God’s Kingdom on earth and in heaven.
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Reflection:
The Parable of the Vineyard has as much validity today as it
did in the day of Jesus, although for a different reason. In Jesus day, when he first told this story,
it was so that the Jewish leadership could understand the error of their
understanding. They had a history of not
seeing messengers from God and even attacking them because their message was
frequently calling them away from self-serving ideals to a higher level of
faith and love for God. As Jesus
predicted in his parable, they rejected the Messiah and killed him as well.
We, the Christians of this age, must hear this parable and
be warned by it. At Pentecost we were
reminded that Jesus left us the great guide and advocate, the Holy Spirit. He left it for us but how often do we ignore
that voice? How often do we believe,
like the Chief Priests must have, that the way we live Christ’s commandments to
us must be right and forget that the Lord came for all peoples of all nations?
The short answer is, it happens to us every day. We get involved in ourselves and we focus
intensely on some element of our activity and pass an opportunity to express
Christ’s love to others. Or even worse,
we encounter a person who also believes they are doing right and instead of
giving them the benefit of doubt as to their intentions, we assume they are
purposely challenging our moral or religious values.
We must, as Christians be “pro-noid” that is, instead of
believing that people are intentionally against what we do and believe that
they would help us given a chance and an explanation. Instead of thinking automatically that the
person who looks down and out is a potential threat to our safety, let us see
that person as an opportunity, as did Tobit, to express God’s love and
generosity. Instead of seeing those who
disagree with us as detractors and enemies, let us ask the Advocate to show us
how to reach them with Christ’s love, to join us in God’s work.
Yes, the Parable of the Vineyard is appropriate for us
today. Let us ask God to help us to be
open and inviting in our attitudes and to avoid being closed and resistant to
the call of the Holy Spirit. He is the
cornerstone of our faith; we need to behave that way.
Pax
[1]
ALTRE
[2]
The picture used is “St. Justin, Martyr, Patron of the Destitute” from an
antique holy card, artist and date are UNKNOWN
[3]
The readings are taken from the New American Bible with the exception of the
Psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for
English in Liturgy (ICEL). This re-publication is not authorized by USCCB and
is for private use only.
