First Friday of the Month; Friday of the Second Week of Lent

Readings of the day: RB 25 Punishment for More Serious FaultsMass: Gn 37:3-4, 12-13a, 17b-28; Resp Ps 105; Mt 21:33-43, 45-46


My favorite Bible story as a child was of Joseph and his colorful coat. As I recall, my mom had given me a book about it: Joseph and the Coat of Many Colors. I don’t remember exactly what attracted me to the story except that I loved Joseph’s colorful coat. There must have been something to it as today I like rich colors—specifically deep red, purple, blue. I imagine Joseph’s coat to made of similar hues. What was your favorite childhood Bible story?
What stands out today are the similarities between the Joseph story in the Book of Genesis, and the Gospel parable. In the former, Israel sends Joseph to his brothers tending the flocks. When his brothers notice Joseph from a distance, they plot to kill him. In the latter, the landowner sends his son to the tenants, thinking they would respect his son. Yet when the tenants see the son, they seize him, throw him out of the vineyard, and kill him. 
As things turned out, beloved Joseph is loving, forgiving, and merciful as he saves his brothers during the famine. The Father’s beloved Son saves us through his passion, death, and resurrection. Do we resent and reject the presence of the Son in our midst, or are we a people that produces fruit?
God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son;so that everyone who believes in him might have eternal life.(Verse before the Gospel, Mass)