Daily Readings - Mon Jun 04 2018

¹Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ,To those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ:²May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.³His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence,⁴by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.⁵For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge,⁶and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness,⁷and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.

Mark

Chapter 12

¹And he began to speak to them in parables. "A man planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a pit for the winepress and built a tower, and leased it to tenants and went into another country.²When the season came, he sent a servant to the tenants to get from them some of the fruit of the vineyard.³And they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed.⁴Again he sent to them another servant, and they struck him on the head and treated him shamefully.⁵And he sent another, and him they killed. And so with many others: some they beat, and some they killed.⁶He had still one other, a beloved son. Finally he sent him to them, saying, 'They will respect my son.'⁷But those tenants said to one another, 'This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.'⁸And they took him and killed him and threw him out of the vineyard.⁹What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to others.¹⁰Have you not read this Scripture: "'The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone;¹¹this was the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes'?"¹²And they were seeking to arrest him but feared the people, for they perceived that he had told the parable against them. So they left him and went away.

Sermon

In today's readings, we encounter powerful messages about faith, rejection, and the cultivation of virtues. The first reading from 2 Peter encourages believers to grow in faith and virtue, emphasizing that through these, we become partakers of the divine nature. This letter, written in a time of persecution, urges believers to remain steadfast and cultivate qualities like knowledge, moderation, patience, piety, love, and charity. The Gospel from Mark presents Jesus' parable of the vineyard, where the owner's servants and son are rejected and killed by the tenants. This parable serves as a critique of religious leaders who reject God's messengers. Jesus quotes a Psalm, highlighting that the rejected stone becomes the cornerstone, a testament to God's transformative power. Both readings connect through themes of rejection and the importance of faith. While 2 Peter focuses on believers' responses to rejection through virtue, Mark's parable illustrates the consequences of rejecting God's message. In daily life, we face rejection but should respond with patience and love, cultivating virtues that reflect our faith. The moral lesson is clear: faith and virtues transform us, and rejecting God's message leads to downfall. Let us embrace our faith and virtues, trusting in God's plan.