that became the keystone.
This was the Lord’s doing
and it is wonderful to see?
My wife and I have tulips and daffodils blooming in our little apartment garden plot. They are the result of plantings we did last year and in prior years. My wife, Anna, is the chief gardener. I am a “laborer in the fields.”
Our lives much like a garden are a product of our present and past efforts and the preparation we have done. Our Lent is our preparation time.
Both the stories in Genesis and Matthew speak of rejection, jealousy and hate to the point of killing someone. Joseph was saved from starvation and death in the well by his brother Reuben, who convinced his other brothers from killing Joseph by selling him for 20 pieces of silver to the Midianite merchants. Reuben was an ancestor of Jesus, as the story unfolds. Reuben’s efforts eventually saved Joseph and Israel’s family, including his murderous brothers.
‘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 realized he was speaking about them but thought they would have liked to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowds, who looked on him as a prophet.
In the midst of all these rejections about and hate, Jesus is focused on the fruit we here on Earth in the year 2024 produce. We see His Fruit in the Kingdom of God on Earth. His fruit is when we do good deeds for Him and help others to do good by feeding the hungry, visiting the sick or visiting those in prison. Diane, my neighbor suggested something else. There are other ways to produce fruit but the thing that we have to do first is to abandon ourselves and become our brother’s keeper. Therefore, the reason why we have Lent.
When I was getting my accounting degree, I went to Sunday Mass at the Neuman Center. There was a young girl from the dorms next door who had lost her little kitten. I walked up to the little furry ball and handed to her. I gave pleasantries and she said that she was blind and a student. I turned around and went running into church. Luckily another student, who was latter for Mass than I was, noticed her and walked her to her dorm room. I was so focused on Mass that I didn’t realize that she was also disoriented and didn’t know where she was. The story ended well for her and her kitten but also taught me a valuable lesson about others. When I give of myself, I can’t do it halfway. God wants all of us to produce fruit and wants that fruit to be ripe and beneficial to others.
The scribes and pharacees were focused on what was the law, and they wanted to looked good and holy to others. Jesus knew their hearts and He knows ours.
When you get the chance read the following scripture today about aliens. (Romans 12:9-13, Exodus 22:20, Deuteronomy 10:19, Hebrews 13:2) It is unfortunate that because of wars in the Ukraine, Holy Land, Gaza and the mid East . We need to pray for the human crisis in our world today and not reject them like the chief priests.
God Love You Always
Bob Burford
PS: Please Pray for Cancer victims and their caregivers. Pray for the conversion of Russia and the salvation of the Ukrainian and Russian people and their soldiers. Pray for the Holy Land. Pray for peace!
