Liturgy Alive, Models of Celebrations

2 Pt 1:2 –7; Ps 91:1–2, 14 –15b, 15c–16; Mk 12:1–12

Daily Gospel

First Reading: 2 Pt 1:2 –7

Beloved:

May grace and peace be yours in abundance through knowledge
of God and of Jesus our Lord.
His divine power has bestowed on us everything that makes
for life and devotion, through the knowledge of him who called
us by his own glory and power. Through these, he has bestowed
on us the precious and very great promises, so that through
them you may come to share in the divine nature, after escaping
from the corruption that is in the world because of evil desire.
For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your
faith with virtue, virtue with knowledge, knowledge with selfcontrol,
self-control with endurance, endurance with devotion,
devotion with mutual affection, mutual affection with love.

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 91:1–2, 14 –15b, 15c–16

R./ In you, my God, I place my trust.

You who dwell in the shelter of the Most High,
who abide in the shadow of the Almighty,
Say to the LORD, “My refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”
R./ In you, my God, I place my trust.

Because he clings to me, I will deliver him;
I will set him on high because he acknowledges my name.
He shall call upon me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in distress.
R./ In you, my God, I place my trust.

I will deliver him and glorify him;
with length of days I will gratify him
and will show him my salvation.
R./ In you, my God, I place my trust.

Gospel Reading Introduction
The parable of the wicked farmers or tenants who rent and cultivate the vineyard describes first of all in moving terms how God loves his chosen people (Israel, but also us) as a winegrower does his vineyard. It is a theme dear to the Scriptures. He plants and tends it with care. God's love comes first. Then he leaves his work to be continued and developed by people, entrusts it to them, and wants to see it bear fruit. He sends even his beloved Son. Israel did not yield the expected produce. Do we?

Gospel Reading: Mk 12:1–12

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.

Commentary

It is amazing that the tenants thought they could get away with the treatment of the master's servants and even his son. They were acting completely irrationally, for no probate court would ever award them their master's property.
Sin is fundamentally irrational, yet we think we can get away with it. What is to be gained by the mistreatment of others, the holding of the petty grudge, or the outright meanness that we can exhibit?

Only foolish tenants would act the way they did in the parable. Only a fool can think himself smarter than God.

General Intercessions

- For us the Church, which that it may always remain young and faithful and inspire its members and even the world with a sense of hope and deep love, we pray:

- For the whole Christian people, that we may show patience and compassion to people who go astray, to those who disappoint us, and accept them as the Lord accepts us, we pray:

- And for all in our Christian community here, that we may be grateful that the Lord has made us his vineyard and the tenants from whom he expects much, we pray:

Prayer over the Gifts

Faithful God,
we bring these gifts before you
to celebrate how you have made
with us, your chosen people,
a new and everlasting covenant
through the death and rising of your Son.
Do not allow us to become proud
of being the people you love,
but help us to be worthy of your trust
and to give you a response
of deep faith expressed in service.
Grant us this through Christ our Lord.

Prayer after Communion

Lord, mighty God,
in this Eucharist your Son has been
your encouraging Word and your food of strength
for building up your kingdom among your people.
Deepen our trust that Christ will stay with us
and that he is the foundation on which we build.
Make us inventive and creative
in sharing with all who are willing to listen
the Good News we have received
and to respond to your faithful love.
We ask this in the name of Jesus the Lord.

Blessing

We are God's vineyard, God's cherished people. We are answerable to God and sent by him to make his Good News known by our Words and deeds, with the blessing of almighty God, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.