Meditation Minute

My Dearest Brothers and Sisters in Christ:

 

“The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone”

 

Gospel Reading: 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.

 

In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus is addressing a group of Jews. The purpose of this discourse is to explain the history of man’s salvation. God created the world that we live in for us. Everything he created was good, yet man found some way to corrupt the creation of God. Jesus uses the analogy of the vineyard. In this story, the master provides the workers with everything they need. He provides them good stock, protection from the outside, a place to make wine and a place to store the harvest. When it is time for the master to collect but a small share of the harvest, he sends a messenger to claim some of the harvest. How do the workers repay him? They attack the messenger. This is the same thing that man did with all the messengers that God sent to help us with our salvation. But the master does not give up. Eventually he sends his beloved son. Humanity does not change. In response to the beloved son, they kill him. When asked what should the master do, the Jews respond that the master should come and destroy the tenants. This is not the behavior of a righteous master.  Instead of killing them, the beloved son becomes the cornerstone of our faith and our salvation.

 

This same message is true today. God gives us everything we need. He provides us with many gifts and talents. How we use those gifts reflects on how we respect the master who gave them to us. The parable tells us how God deals with the sinfulness of man. God loves us and continually forgives us. His forgiveness is limitless. No matter what we do with the gifts he gives us, God will continually be there for us. He has entrusted us each with different gifts to help in the harvest. We are free to do as we will with those gifts. Not only does God trusts us to make our own decisions, he loves us so much that he will not force us to do things that is against our will. God entrusted us with the vineyard and it is our responsibility to reap the harvest. Jesus knew that he would be rejected and killed, but he also knew that his death would not be the end. Through his death would come the ultimate glory. He knew that he would be the cornerstone of our faith and our salvation. Jesus promises us a great harvest if we submit to his will. If we use the gifts he gave us to fulfill the wishes of the master, we will be rewarded abundantly in the Kingdom of heaven.

 

A Simple Prayer

 

Lord Jesus, you are the cornerstone of our faith.

Through you we find our salvation.

You provide me with many gifts and talents.

May I use these gifts for your glory and praise.

 

Yours in Christ

Michael Marcon