His purpose was to rescue him from their hands and return him to his father. – Genesis 37:22

       Have you ever felt as if the entire world is out to get you? Maybe there are people who are trying to bring you down. People who say nasty things about you even when you’ve done nothing wrong. People who’d destroy everything you’ve worked hard for.

         It happened to me before. I didn’t have anything against anyone, but there were people who spread bad things about me just so I could be fired from my job. I didn’t mind the rumors because they weren’t true, but I still felt awful. What kept me going during those bad days were the people who spoke on my behalf. I had great friends who fought for me when I couldn’t fight for myself.

       It’s difficult to keep moving, to keep fighting, to keep going forward when all the odds are against you. But think about this: The devil would send probably 10, 100 or 1,000 people to destroy you. But God has sent the One who fought for you, died for you, won over death for you.

       God has sent Jesus. There is nothing more to fear. Karren Renz Seña (karren.s@shepherdsvoice.com.ph)

Reflection:Do you feel as if you are pressed from all sides? Call on Jesus. He has overcome.

Lord, when the world is out to get me, remind me that Jesus has already won against all my enemies. In Him, I have overcome. Amen.

St. Patrick, bishop, patron of Ireland and Nigeria, pray for us.

This story of Joseph and his brothers sets the scene for the Israelites to come to Egypt and their deliverance under Moses a number of generations after. The story is very dramatic but believable. The story captures our human nature – favoritism, jealousy, doubt, compromise and others. It is a microcosm of our societies today.

3 Israel loved Joseph best of all his sons, for he was the child of his old age; and he had made him a long tunic. 4 When his brothers saw that their father loved him best of all his sons, they hated him so much that they would not even greet him. 12 One day, when his brothers had gone to pasture their father’s flocks at Shechem, 13 Israel said to Joseph, “Your brothers, you know, are tending our flocks at Shechem. Get ready; I will send you to them.” 17 So Joseph went after his brothers and caught up with them in Dothan. 18 They noticed him from a distance, and before he came up to them, they plotted to kill him. 19 They said to one another: “Here comes that master dreamer! 20 Come on, let us kill him and throw him into one of the cisterns here; we could say that a wild beast devoured him. We shall then see what comes of his dreams.” 21 When Reuben heard this, he tried to save him from their hands, saying: “We must not take his life. 22 Instead of shedding blood,” he continued, “just throw him into that cistern there in the desert; but don’t kill him outright.” His purpose was to rescue him from their hands and return him to his father. 23 So when Joseph came up to them, they stripped him of the long tunic he had on; 24 then they took him and threw him into the cistern, which was empty and dry. 25 They then sat down to their meal. Looking up, they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, their camels laden with gum, balm and resin to be taken down to Egypt. 26 Judah said to his brothers: “What is to be gained by killing our brother and concealing his blood? 27 Rather, let us sell him to these Ishmaelites, instead of doing away with him ourselves. After all, he is our brother, our own flesh.” His brothers agreed. 28 They sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver.

R: Remember the marvels the Lord has done.

16 When the Lord called down a famine on the land and ruined the crop that sustained them, 17 He sent a man before them, Joseph, sold as a slave. (R) 18 They had weighed him down with fetters, and he was bound with chains, 19 till his prediction came to pass and the word of the Lord proved him true. (R) 20 The king sent and released him, the ruler of the peoples set him free. 21 He made him lord of his house and ruler of all his possessions. (R)

We have received the gift of salvation by God’s grace. We are expected to give back by spreading the Gospel. Our challenge is that it is not easy to share the Gospel in a secular world that is becoming more anti-God.

God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son; so that everyone who believes in him might have eternal life.

33 Jesus said to the chief priests and the elders of the people: “Hear another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a hedge around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a tower. Then he leased it to tenants and went on a journey. 34 When vintage time drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to obtain his produce. 35 But the tenants seized the servants and one they beat, another they killed, and a third they stoned. 36 Again he sent other servants, more numerous than the first ones, but they treated them in the same way. 37 Finally, he sent his son to them, thinking, ‘They will respect my son.’ 38 But when the tenants saw the son, they said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and acquire his inheritance.’ 39 They seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. 40 What will the owner of the vineyard do to those tenants when he comes?” 41 They answered him, “He will put those wretched men to a wretched death and lease his vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the proper times.” 42 Jesus said to them, “Did you never read in the Scriptures: The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; by the Lord has this been done, and it is wonderful in our eyes? 43 Therefore, I say to you, the  Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that will produce its fruit.” 45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they knew that he was speaking about them. 46 And although they were attempting to arrest him, they feared the crowds, for they regarded him as a prophet.

think: Do you fear rejection? Jesus Himself was rejected but He persevered in fulfilling His mission. Let us be inspired by His example.

Read the Bible in one year Genesis 10-12

T O D A Y’S BLESSING LIST

thank You, Lord, for: ______________________________________________________

ENTRUSTING US WITH WHAT HE

When we hear the parable of the landowner and the tenants, we become aware that Jesus speaks about the reaction of the Chosen People towards God in their long history of a close relationship with Him. God sent one prophet after the other but were rejected. When we hear that the landowner even sent his son who was killed, there is no doubt that Jesus was speaking about Himself. But we can also discover in this negative story a different, more positive meaning.

        The landowner had purchased the land and did the work himself to set up the vineyard before he handed it over to the tenants. When he entrusted it to them, he was not simply looking for profit, but for someone to manage his vineyard. He valued it greatly, enough to risk the life of his son. This makes us aware of a profound truth: that God entrusts us with what He values.

       Jesus has established His vineyard — the Church — and put it into our hands. He entrusts us with His work, with what He values. He not only gives us a job to do but mysteriously puts the eternal salvation of other souls into our hands.

         A second message is that God is patient with our failures. The landowner did not stay around to supervise the tenants closely. He did not even lay down rules or specify methods of cultivation. The master left the tenants to do their job as they saw fit. God is not a tyrannical taskmaster. He knows that laboring in His vineyard is hard work. When, at harvest time, the master sent messenger after messenger, he did not become furious or condemn the tenants after one messenger had been abused and another mistreated. Rather, he sends them his son: he does everything possible to bear with their egotism and inspire them — and us — with his understanding and generosity. Fr. Rudy Horst, SVD

---------- REFLECTION QUESTION ----------

Are you aware that God has entrusted you with what He values so much — nature, souls, evangelization?

Lord, Your hands knew human labor, and You sanctified Your life and the life of those around You through Your labor. Help me to return all my talents to You by the work of my hands and mind. Amen.