Daily Reflection – May 30, 2016

Monday 30 May 2016

First Reading: 
2 Peter 1:2-7
Responsorial Psalm:
In you, my God, I place my trust
Psalm 90(91):1-2, 14-16
Gospel Reading: Mark 12:1-12

Today’s Note: Monday of the Ninth Week in Ordinary Time

Gospel Reading:

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.

Reflection:

The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. (Mark 12:10)

Do you think there is a purpose in the rejection and failure we experience? Some of history’s most notable people would say yes. Abraham Lincoln lost eight elections before becoming President. He later said, “Success is going from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm.” Steve Jobs was fired from his own company yet came back to develop the iPhone and iPad. He believed that getting fired was “the best thing that could have ever happened to me… It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life.”

Certainly this principle applies in Jesus’ case. As we see in the parable of the landowner, he was the “stone that the builders rejected” (Mark 12:10). He experienced the ultimate rejection of being crucified. But it was through the cross that Jesus was raised to sit at his Father’s right hand.

We have all been rejected at one time or another. We have all been let down by someone, perhaps someone very important to us. The wounds that these times of rejection leave can stay with us for a long time. But if we stay close to Jesus, we’ll find him bringing good out of them.

The first step to healing these wounds is forgiveness. Rather than trying to do this on your own, fix your eyes on Jesus. Think about how he forgave the people who crucified him, and ask him to help you forgive the people who have hurt you. Ask for the grace to see them through his eyes so that you can slowly let go of your resentment. Try to give your pain to the Lord, and ask him to make your heart lighter.

Don’t stop at forgiveness. Ask Jesus to fill the wounded places in your heart with his love. Imagine him sitting next to you, his arm around your shoulder, speaking words of encouragement to you. Rest in his presence, and let him minister to you. Keep this up over time, and you’ll find that whatever has hurt you is bringing you closer to the Lord. He surely can work all things for your good (Romans 8:28)!

“Lord, thank you for your promise to heal my wounds. Give me confidence that you have a perfect, loving plan for my life.”