Friday

2nd Week of Lent

1st Reading: Genesis 37:3-4, 12-13a, 17b-28

Joseph and His Brothers
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[3] Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his children, because he was
the son of his old age; and he made him a long robe with sleeves. [4] But when
his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated
him, and could not speak peaceably to him.

Joseph is Sold to Egyptians as a Slave
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[12] Now his brothers went to pasture their father's flock near Shechem. [13]
And Israel said to Joseph, "Are not your brothers pasturing the flock at She-
chem? Come, I will send you to them." [17] So Joseph went after his brothers,
and found them at Dothan. [18] They saw him afar off, and before he came near
to them they conspired against him to kill him. [19] They said to one another,
"Here comes this dreamer. [20] Come now, let us kill him and throw him into
one of the pits; then we shall say that a wild beast has devoured him, and we
shall see what will become of his dreams." [21] But when Reuben heard it, he
delivered him out of their hands, saying, "Let us not take his life." [22] And Reu-
ben said to them, "Shed no blood; cast him into this pit here in the wilderness,
but lay no hand upon him"--that he might rescue him out of their hand, to restore
him to his father. [23] So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him
of his robe, the long robe with sleeves that he wore; [24] and they took him and
cast him into a pit. The pit was empty, there was no water in it.

[25] Then they sat down to eat; and looking up they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites
coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing gum, balm, and myrrh, on their
way to carry it down to Egypt. [26] Then Judah said to his brothers, "What profit
is it if we slay our brother and conceal his blood? [27] Come, let us sell him to
the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother, our own
flesh." And his brothers heeded him. [28] Then Midianite traders passed by; and
they drew Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites
for twenty shekels of silver; and they took Joseph to Egypt.

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Commentary:

37:2-50:26. From here to the end of the book of Genesis, with the exception of
chapters 38 and 49, we have the story of Joseph. This concludes the "history of
the patriarchs", leaving them not exactly in the promised land, Canaan, but in
Egypt. This sets the scene for the narrative of the great Exodus. The story of Jo-
seph is, thus, the link between patriarchal history and the departure from Egypt,
and it therefore constitutes an important stage in the development of salvation
history as recorded in the Old Testament.

In the story of Joseph we can see, on the one hand, the testimony borne by an-
cient accounts about the Israelites going down into Egypt and, on the other, the
skill of the narrator who describes the acts of a drama full of emotion, which
comes to a happy ending and from which the reader can draw one fundamental
lesson: God is guiding everything that happens (even events which seem nega-
tive) towards good, towards salvation. "Omnia in bonum" might well be the title
of the story of Joseph (cf. 50:20).

The original source of this section may have been quite different from the patri-
archal traditions we have seen so far: there is no reference to places of worship,
no explanations as to the meaning of names of places and people, no direct
divine interventions (except in the case of Jacob in 46:2-4); it assumes that Jo-
seph's mother is still living (cf. 37:10) and shows Jacob to have a number of
daughters (cf. 37:35).

From the information provided in the story of Joseph and from other biblical tra-
ditions (cf. for example, Gen 15:16; Ex 12:40-41), it is not possible to say ex-
actly when the Israelites went down into Egypt. The most likely period is when
Egypt was under the control of the Hyksos (1720-1580 BC), invaders who were
partly Semitic. The Hyksos had their capital in Avaris, in the Nile delta, and this
is where the capital is in the biblical account. The account reminds us of past
events and their significance. The whole story of Joseph, as told in the Bible, is
very instructive about how God guided the steps of Israel's ancestors, to work
wonders among them, redeeming them from slavery and making them into a
people, the chosen people of God. The literary skill with which this last part of
the story is told, not only does not take from the historical value of the account:
it helps us to grasp the true meaning of all that happened to the "fathers" of Is-
rael, and shows us how the Word of God is able to express itself in language
which it knows will hold the reader's attention.

37:3-4. The tunic with long sleeves made Joseph look like a prince, in some way
foretelling his glorious future. Although Jacob's preferential love for Joseph is due
to human causes, behind it we can see something which occurs throughout the
Bible--how some people, gratuitously, enjoy special favor, including special divine
favor and love, without this meaning that the love shown to others is diminished.
Joseph, the object of Jacob's special love, thereby becomes a figure of Jesus
Christ, the Beloved of the Father (cf. Mt 1:11). The sin of Jacob's sons, like Cain's
in some way (cf. Gen 4:5), begins with their reacting against God's preferential
love; it then turns into hatred and envy (cf. vv. 8-11) and ends up with their getting
rid of their brother (cf. v. 20).

37:12-36. This episode deals with the horrible crime of disposing of their brother
and the providential events which take Joseph to Egypt. We can see that the nar-
rative is drawing on two sources: one emphasizes the intervention of Judah (v.
26), the other that of Reuben. The true key to what is happening will emerge at
the end of the story: "You meant evil against me," Joseph tells his brothers, "but
God meant it for good" (50:20). In the light of the whole narrative we can see the
way God's plan is being put into operation: "Joseph," comments St Gregory the
Great, "was sold by his brothers because they did not want to do him honor; but
that is exactly what they do, by the very fact of selling him. [...] So too, when
one wants to avoid the divine will, that is when it is fulfilled" ("Moralia", 6, 18,20).
　

Gospel Reading: Matthew 21:33-43; 45-46

The Parable of the Wicked Tenants
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(Jesus told the chief priests and the elders,) [33] "Hear another parable. There
was a householder who planted a vineyard, and set a hedge around it, dug a wine
press in it, and built a tower, and let it out to tenants, and went into another coun-
try. [34] When the season of fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants,
to get his fruit; [35] and the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another,
and stoned another. [36] Again he sent other servants, more than the first; and
they did the same to them. [37] Afterward he sent his son to them, saying, 'They
will respect my son.' [38] But when the tenants saw the son, they said to them-
selves, `This is the heir; come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.' [39] And
they took him and cast him out of the vineyard, and killed him. [40] When there-
fore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?" [41] They
said to Him, "He will put those wretches to a miserable death, and let out the vine-
yard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons."

[42] Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the scriptures: `The very stone
which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner; this was the Lord's
doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes'! [43] Therefore I tell you, the Kingdom of
God will be taken away from you and given to a nation producing the fruits of it."

[45] When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard His parables, they perceived
that He was speaking about them. [46] But when they tried to arrest Him, they
feared the multitudes, because they held Him to be a prophet.

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Commentary:

33-46. This very important parable completes the previous one. The parable of
the two sons simply identifies the indocility of Israel; that of the wicked tenants
focuses on the punishment to come.

Our Lord compares Israel to a choice vineyard, specially fenced, with a watch-
tower, where a keeper is on the look-out to protect it from thieves and foxes.
God has spared no effort to cultivate and embellish His vineyard. The vineyard is
in the charge of tenant farmers; the householder is God, and the vineyard, Israel
(Isaiah 5:3-5: Jeremiah 2:21; Joel 1:7).

The tenants to whom God has given the care of His people are the priests,
scribes and elders. The owner's absence makes it clear that God really did en-
trust Israel to its leaders; hence their responsibility and the account He demands
of them.

The owner used to send his servants from time to time to collect the fruit; this
was the mission of the prophets. The second despatch of servants to claim what
is owing to the owner--who meet the same fate as the first--refers to the way
God's prophets were ill-treated by the kings and priests of Israel (Matthew 23:37;
Acts 7:42; Hebrews 11:36-38). Finally he sent his son to them, thinking that they
would have more respect for him; here we can see the difference between Jesus
and the prophets, who were servants, not "the Son": the parable indicates singu-
lar, transcendental sonship, expressing the divinity of Jesus Christ.

The malicious purpose of the tenants in murdering the son and heir to keep the
inheritance for themselves is the madness of the leaders in expecting to become
undisputed masters of Israel by putting Christ to death (Matthew 12:14; 26:4).
Their ambition blinds them to the punishment that awaits them. Then "they cast
him out of the vineyard, and killed him": a reference to Christ's crucifixion, which
took place outside the walls of Jerusalem.

Jesus prophesies the punishment God will inflict on the evildoers: He will put
them to death and rent the vineyard to others. This is a very significant prophecy. 
St. Peter later repeats to the Sanhedrin: "This is the stone which was rejected
by you builders, but which has become the head of the corner" (Acts 4:11; 1
Peter 2:4). The stone is Jesus of Nazareth, but the architects of Israel, who build
up and rule the people, have chosen not use it in the building. Because of their
unfaithfulness the Kingdom of God will be turned over to another people, the Gen-
tiles, who WILL give God the fruit He expects His vineyard to yield (cf. Matthew
3:8-10; Galatians 6:16).

For the building to be well-built, it needs to rest on this stone. Woe to him who
trips over it! (cf. Matthew 12:30; Luke 2:34), as first Jews and later the enemies
of Christ and His Church will discover through bitter experience (cf. Isaiah 8:14-15).

Christians in all ages should see this parable as exhorting them to build faithfully
upon Christ and make sure they do not fall into the sin of this Jewish generation.
We should also be filled with hope and a sense of security; for, although the buil-
ding -- the Church -- at some times seem to be breaking up, its sound construc-
tion, with Christ as its cornerstone, is assured.
　

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Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States. We encourage readers to purchase
The Navarre Bible for personal study. See Scepter Publishers for details.

[참고: 이 파일은 저서명 "가톨릭 교회의 말씀 전례에 따른 성경공부 해설서"(엮은이: 소순태, 출판사: 가톨릭출판사)의 각주의 연장으로 마련되었습니다].