March 21, 2014

Reading

Genesis   37: 3-4, 12-13, 17-28

37:3 Now Israel loved Joseph above all his sons, because he had conceived him in his old age. And he made him a tunic, woven of many colors.
37:4 Then his brothers, seeing that he was loved by his father more than all his other sons, hated him, and they were not able to say anything peacefully to him.
37:12 And while his brothers were lodging at Shechem, pasturing their father’s flocks,
37:13 Israel said to him: “Your brothers are pasturing the sheep at Shechem. Come, I will send you to them.” And when he answered,
37:17 And the man said to him: “They have withdrawn from this place. But I heard them saying, ‘Let us go to Dothan.’ ” Therefore, Joseph continued on after his brothers, and he found them at Dothan.
37:18 And, when they had seen him from afar, before he approached them, they decided to kill him.
37:19 And they said one to another: “Behold, the dreamer approaches.
37:20 Come, let us kill him and cast him into the old cistern. And let us say: ‘an evil wild beast has devoured him.’ And then it will become apparent what his dreams will do for him.”
37:21 But Reuben, on hearing this, strove to free him from their hands, and he said:
37:22 “Do not take away his life, nor shed blood. But throw him into this cistern, which is in the wilderness, and so keep your hands harmless.” But he said this, wanting to rescue him from their hands, so as to return him to his father.
37:23 And so, as soon as he came to his brothers, they very quickly stripped him of his tunic, which was ankle-length and woven of many colors,
37:24 and they cast him into an old cistern, which held no water.
37:25 And sitting down to eat bread, they saw some Ishmaelites, travelers coming from Gilead, with their camels, carrying spices, and resin, and oil of myrrh into Egypt.
37:26 Therefore, Judah said to his brothers: “What will it profit us, if we kill our brother and conceal his blood?
37:27 It is better that he be sold to the Ishmaelites, and then our hands will not be defiled. For he is our brother and our flesh.” His brothers agreed to his words.
37:28 And when the Midianite merchants were passing by, they drew him from the cistern, and they sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. And these led him into Egypt.

Gospel

The Holy  Gospel According to Matthew    21: 33-43, 45-46

21:23 And when he had arrived at the temple, as he was teaching, the leaders of the priests and the elders of the people approached him, saying: “By what authority do you do these things? And who has given this authority to you?”
21:24 In response, Jesus said to them: “I also will question you with one word: if you tell me this, I also will tell you by what authority I do these things.
21:25 The baptism of John, where was it from? Was it from heaven, or from men?” But they thought within themselves, saying:
21:26 “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’ But if we say, ‘From men,’ we have the crowd to fear, for they all hold John to be a prophet.”
21:27 And so, they answered Jesus by saying, “We do not know.” So he also said to them: “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.
21:28 But how does it seem to you? A certain man had two sons. And approaching the first, he said: ‘Son, go out today to work in my vineyard.’
21:29 And responding, he said, ‘I am not willing.’ But afterwards, being moved by repentance, he went.
21:30 And approaching the other, he spoke similarly. And answering, he said, ‘I am going, lord.’ And he did not go.
21:31 Which of the two did the will of the father?” They said to him, “The first.” Jesus said to them: “Amen I say to you, that tax collectors and prostitutes shall precede you, into the kingdom of God.
21:32 For John came to you in the way of justice, and you did not believe him. But the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. Yet even after seeing this, you did not repent, so as to believe him.
21:33 Listen to another parable. There was a man, the father of a family, who planted a vineyard, and surrounded it with a hedge, and dug a press in it, and built a tower. And he loaned it out to farmers, and he set out to sojourn abroad.
21:34 Then, when the time of the fruits drew near, he sent his servants to the farmers, so that they might receive its fruits.
21:35 And the farmers apprehended his servants; they struck one, and killed another, and stoned yet another.
21:36 Again, he sent other servants, more than before; and they treated them similarly.
21:37 Then, at the very end, he sent his son to them, saying: ‘They will revere my son.’
21:38 But the farmers, seeing the son, said among themselves: ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and then we will have his inheritance.’
21:39 And apprehending him, they cast him outside the vineyard, and they killed him.
21:40 Therefore, when the lord of the vineyard arrives, what will he do to those farmers?”
21:41 They said to him, “He will bring those evil men to an evil end, and he will loan out his vineyard to other farmers, who shall repay to him the fruit in its time.”
21:42 Jesus said to them: “Have you never read in the Scriptures: ‘The stone that the builders have rejected has become the cornerstone. By the Lord has this been done, and it is wonderful in our eyes?’
21:43 Therefore, I say to you, that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you, and it shall be given to a people who shall produce its fruits.
21:45 And when the leaders of the priests, and the Pharisees had heard his parables, they knew that he was speaking about them.
21:46 And though they sought to take hold of him, they feared the crowds, because they held him to be a prophet.

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