HOMILY FOR MONDAY OF 9TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME.
THEME: It was the stone rejected by the builders that became the keystone.
BY: REV. FR. DEOTATIOUS CHIKONTWE SMA.
*SAINT OF THE DAY*
Memorial of Saint Boniface, Bishop, and Martyr.
*READINGS OF THE DAY*
Tobit 1:3,2:1-8
Psalm 111:1-2,3-6
Mark 12:1-12
*LITURGICAL COLOUR*
RED
*INTRODUCTION*
Good morning dear brethrens, today we celebrate Monday of week 9 in Ordinary Time. And in a special way, we commemorate the Memorial of Saint Boniface, Bishop and Martyr. There is a striking contrast between the two readings of today, for they both talk about rejection.
*ABOUT OUR FIRST READING*
In todays first reading, we are presented with Tobit who is living in Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian Empire, to which he and many of his Jewish countrymen and women have been exiled. He is described as someone who ‘walked in paths of truth and in good works all the days’ of his life. He was a truly good man. He had a profound respect for others, especially for those in greatest need. At a feast to celebrate the Jewish feast of Pentecost, he sent his son, Tobias, to find some poor man among the exiles and bring him to the table. When Tobias returned to tell his father he had found a Jewish man who had just been murdered, Tobit left the feast, recovered the body, brought it to his home, prepared it for burial, dug a grave and buried him after sunset. Burying the dead was one of the corporal works of mercy most valued by the Jewish community.
RELATED: HOMILY FOR MONDAY OF 9TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
*FROM OUR GOSPEL READING*
The story that Jesus tells in this morning’s gospel reading is a story about rejection. A vineyard owner sent his servants to collect his share of the fruits of the vineyard; all of them were rejected out of hand. He then https://www.homilyhub.com/homily-for-monday-of-9th-week-in-ordinary-time-2/https://www.homilyhub.com/homily-for-monday-of-9th-week-in-ordinary-time-2/sent his son who was not only rejected but killed. At the end of the story Jesus declares that the stone rejected by the builders went on to become the keystone, the most important stone in a building. The story is, of course, a veiled reference to what had happened to the prophets before Jesus came and what would soon happen to Jesus. He would be rejected and put to death. However, God would raise him from the dead and he would become the keystone of a new spiritual building, the church.
*CONCLUSION*
The experience of rejection is a common enough human experience. People can feel themselves rejected by others, often by significant others, at various stages of their lives. Jesus who knew the pain of rejection by others identifies with us in our own moments of rejection. He also assures us that there can be life beyond rejection; the rejected stone can become the keystone. As well as experiencing rejection, we can also find ourselves rejecting others or rejecting some proposal or some possibility that is put to us. Today’s gospel reading encourages us to look again at what we reject; God may be present to us there in a way we might not suspect.
Your Word is indeed my Strength Oh Lord our God. May You All Have a Blessed New Week.
*Happy Blessed Feast Day of Saint Boniface, Bishop and Martyr*
Rev Fr Deotacious Chikontwe SMA.
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