March 1, 2024, Friday of the 2nd Week in Lent-B

Genesis 37:3-4, 12-13, 17-28

Psalm 105

Mathew 21:33-43, 45-46

So when Joseph came up to them…they took him and threw him into the cistern… Gen. 37:23, 24

 “…the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that will produce its fruit.”  Matthew 21:43

Lord, your parable about Joseph in the cistern and the hired hands who tried to steal the vineyard shows that there is no stopping your plan to grow your Kingdom among us.  Despite setbacks and evil plots to bring down your plan of salvation you will prevail.  The envy of the chief priests and the elders led them to try to silence you and arrest you.  Joseph found himself in a dry cistern alone in the desert because of the envy and jealousy of his brothers.  Even death is powerless to prevent your Kingdom from moving toward its fulfillment.  Lord, I experience setbacks and disappointments in my walk with you.  At times my spiritual health can seem dry and lifeless.  Or a sudden tragedy can knock me off the road.  You are always encouraging me to keep moving and growing in faith.  You turn difficulties into opportunities.  You use challenges to make me stronger.  You fill up the emptiness of grief and loss.  When all seems too much for me you come through with sufficient grace to sustain me.  So I trust in you at all times to finish in me what you have started.  Amen.