LET US KILL HIM

Prayer before Mass: Almighty and ever-living God, I approach the sacrament of Your only-begotten Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ. I come sick to the doctor of life, unclean to the fountain of mercy, blind to the radiance of eternal light, and poor and needy to the Lord of heaven and earth. Lord, in Your great  generosity, heal my sickness, wash away my defilement, enlighten my blindness, enrich my poverty, and clothe my nakedness. May I receive the Bread of Angels, the King of kings and Lord of lords, with humble reverence, with the purity and faith, the repentance and love, and the determined purpose that will help  to bring me to salvation. 

May I receive the sacrament of the Lord’s Body and Blood, and its reality and power. Kind God, may I receive the Body of Your only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, born from the womb of the Virgin Mary, and so be received into His mystical body and numbered among His members. Loving Father, as on my earthly pilgrimage I now receive Your beloved Son under the veil of a  sacrament, may I one day see Him face to face in glory, who lives and reigns with You forever. Amen. By Knights of the Holy Eucharist. Readings Lectures  Reflection 

First Reading      Genesis 37:3-4,12-13,17-28

Let us kill him: 

then we shall see what becomes of his dreams

Israel loved Joseph more than all his other sons, for he was the son of his old age, and he had a coat with long sleeves made for him. But his brothers, seeing how his father loved him more than all his other sons, came to hate him so much that they could not say a civil word to him.

 

His brothers went to pasture their father’s flock at Shechem. Then Israel said to Joseph, ‘Are not your brothers with the flock at Shechem? Come, I am going to send you to them.’ So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan.

They saw him in the distance, and before he reached them they made a plot among themselves to put him to death. ‘Here comes the man of dreams’ they said to one another. ‘Come on, let us kill him and throw him into some well; we can say that a wild beast devoured him. Then we shall see what becomes of his dreams.’

 

But Reuben heard, and he saved him from their violence. ‘We must not take his life’ he said. ‘Shed no blood,’ said Reuben to them ‘throw him into this well in the wilderness, but do not lay violent hands on him’ – intending to save him from them and to restore him to his father. So, when Joseph reached his brothers, they pulled off his coat, the coat with long sleeves that he was wearing, and catching hold of him they threw him into the well, an empty well with no water in it. They then sat down to eat.

 

Looking up they saw a group of Ishmaelites who were coming from Gilead, their camels laden with gum, tragacanth, balsam and resin, which they were taking down into Egypt. Then Judah said to his brothers, ‘What do we gain by killing our brother and covering up his blood? Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, but let us not do any harm to him. After all, he is our brother, and our own flesh.’ His brothers agreed.

 

Now some Midianite merchants were passing, and they drew Joseph up out of the well. They sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty silver pieces, and these men took Joseph to Egypt.

Responsorial Psalm  

Remember the wonders the Lord has done

Gospel Acclamation

Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus!

God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son:

everyone who believes in him has eternal life.

Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus!

Gospel           Matthew 21:33-43,45-46

This is the landlord's heir: come, let us kill him

Jesus said to the chief priests and the elders of the people, ‘Listen to another parable. There was a man, a landowner, who planted a vineyard; he fenced it round, dug a winepress in it and built a tower; then he leased it to tenants and went abroad. When vintage time drew near he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his produce. But the tenants seized his servants, thrashed one, killed another and stoned a third. Next he sent some more servants, this time a larger number, and they dealt with them in the same way. Finally he sent his son to them.

 

“They will respect my son” he said. But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, “This is the heir. Come on, let us kill him and take over his inheritance.” So they seized him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?’ They answered, ‘He will bring those wretches to a wretched end and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will deliver the produce to him when the season arrives.’ Jesus said to them, ‘Have

you never read in the scriptures:

 

It was the stone rejected by the builders

that became the keystone.

This was the Lord’s doing

and it is wonderful to see?

 

‘I tell you, then, that the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.’

 

When they heard his parables, the chief priests and the scribes realised he was speaking about them, but though they would have liked to arrest him they were afraid of the crowds, who looked on him as a prophet.

Heavenly Father, the innocent will always suffer in the hands of evil and wicked people. The heart of man is desperately evil. Father deliver us from destiny destroyer.  Deliver us from the evil plots of wicked men and women. We are in a world that we know evil exits, Father we are not ignorant of the danger. It is only by your protecting hands that we can overcome every danger and evil.  True Father, they may try, they will never succeed because most times, it is through their work that your glory is revealed. It is through their evil plans that your goodness manisfest and we are able to appreciate your goodness and redeeming power. 

Father, we cannot escape the work of darkness, because this is the result of the choice we made, through your gift of free will in our quest to be like god, which we are. The price of the disobedience of our first parents,  an inherited gene that compels us to act in likewise manner.  

Thank you Father for your love and compassion covers our multitude of sins. Thank you for your Son Jesus Christ, whom you sent to redeem us. For by ourselves we cannot, but through Christ and through grace we are you sons and daughters.  This is true in our acceptance of Jesus Christ. Our believe in your forgiveness through repentance and the saving grace of Christ crucifixion. His blood is our redemption. Give me the grace to love Father, as you so love the world and gave us Jesus Christ. Lord Jesus Christ thank you for loving me, I trust in you.