March 5th, Friday, Second Week of Lent

Genesis 37: 3-4, 12-13a, 17b-28a, Psalm 105: 16-17, 18-19, 20-21, Matthew 21: 33-43, 45-46

Genesis 37 -- Here comes the man of dreams; let us kill him.
Matthew 21:33-43, 45-46 -- Here is the heir; let us kill him.

Today’s scripture passages speak of violence and vile acts – Envy, resentment, rejection, slavery, beatings, and murder – all directed at the most innocent and pure of heart.

Who can hear the words of the Joseph story in Genesis without immediately thinking of the popular musical, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. The story floods us with imagery - the youngest son being the most beloved of his father; the dream interpreter; the beautiful multi-colored coat the symbol of the father’s love enwrapping the innocence within; the brothers plotting to murder their brother; the brothers throwing Joseph into a cistern and then sitting down to a meal as if nothing happened; the sale of Joseph into slavery for twenty pieces of silver.

Then in the gospel we hear the story of the vineyard owner sending his beloved son to his tenants to recover what is owed to him. The tenants kill the son, foolishly thinking they will acquire the son’s inheritance.

Joseph the dreamer is an oddball. He’s different. He’s able to correctly interpret dreams. His purity of heart allows him to see through the clutter to a deeper and clearer understanding of that which confounds others. In the gospel the vineyard owner’s son goes off to do his father’s bidding, probably thinking, as did his father, that the tenants would respect him for his position, even while knowing that the tenants beat and murdered the prior two emissaries from his father. How naïve! How pure of heart these two sons must be! What a couple of oddballs!

Who are the dreamers in our lives? Who are the oddballs? Who are the ones who are out of synch with our vision of the world? Who do we call naïve? Who are all these odd people in our lives to whom all will be given at the end?

Hank Matecki, married to Mary Jane, father of two grown children & parish business manager.