Friday of the Second Week
In today’s first reading, Joseph (“the most beloved son of Israel,” the young shepherd with his coat of many colors), is sold into slavery by his jealous older brothers. They resented him—not only as a favored son of their father—but also as a “master dreamer,” a young interpreter of prophetic dreams who did not conform to the expectations of his siblings. “We shall then see what comes of his dreams,” they said after placing young Joseph into an empty, dry cistern before they decide his fate. But Joseph rises to great heights after being sold into slavery in Egypt; he emerges as a consummate leader, a wise visionary and skilled advisor to Pharaoh, as well as the timely interpreter of his dreams. The seven years of famine in Egypt (a famine that extended to all of the known world), is mitigated by Joseph’s visionary gift through God’s grace: “Remember the marvels the Lord has done,” we are told in the Responsorial Psalm. In the Gospel reading, Jesus’ parable of the landowner and his vineyard presents the paradox that “the stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone . . . and it is wonderful in our eyes.” Once again, Jesus’ teachings fulfill the Old Testament promise: the rejected stone becomes the foundational cornerstone; in the Book of Genesis, the 12 tribes of Israel are redeemed by the “cornerstone” brother sold into slavery—the visionary Joseph, who restores and strengthens his family through the power of God’s wonderful grace.
Prayer
Gracious God: Help us to recognize the young master dreamers in our lives as the pivotal cornerstones they may be in our unseeing eyes. They are the messengers of God’s deep and abiding grace.
Joan Wry, ’79, P’10, Professor of English
Psalm 105:16-21
Gospel: Matthew 21:33-43, 45-46
Daily Scripture readings can be found online at the USCCB website
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