They will respect my son
Published Jun 1, 2026 12:05 am
REFLECTIONS TODAY
In the Temple of Jerusalem, Jesus tells the parable of the Tenants to the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders of Israel who previously questioned his authority to do what he did in the Temple, cleansing it by overturning the tables of moneychangers and sellers of doves.
Jesus compares these leaders to the tenants who refuse to give justice to the owner of the vineyard. They do not recognize his representatives sent in two waves, one after the other. They were treated badly. Thinking that they would respect his son, he sends him for the same purpose, but they do the same to him. What has become of those leaders?
What is the meaning of their action? Without reason, they arrogate to themselves the ownership of the vineyard, denying the rightful owner of his rights.
Their punishment is not far behind. God’s righteous anger will eliminate them and the one whom they rejected will become the cornerstone of the edifice that he is building.
Never should we deny God’s rights. Later in the Gospel, as he handles the Pharisees and the Herodians, Jesus will say, “Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God” (Mk 12:17).
First Reading • 2 Pt 1:2-7
Beloved: May grace and peace be yours in abundance through knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.
His divine power has bestowed on us everything that makes for life and devotion, through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and power. Through these, he has bestowed on us the precious and very great promises, so that through them you may come to share in the divine nature, after escaping from the corruption that is in the world because of evil desire. For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, virtue with knowledge, knowledge with self-control, self-control with endurance, endurance with devotion, devotion with mutual affection, mutual affection with love.
Responsorial Psalm • Ps 91
“In you, my God, I place my trust.”
Gospel • Mk 12:1-12
Jesus began to speak to the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders in parables. “A man planted a vineyard, put a hedge around it, dug a wine press, and built a tower. Then he leased it to tenant farmers and left on a journey. At the proper time he sent a servant to the tenants to obtain from them some of the produce of the vineyard. But they seized him, beat him, and sent him away emptyhanded. Again he sent them another servant. And that one they beat over the head and treated shamefully. He sent yet another whom they killed. So, too, many others; some they beat, others they killed. He had one other to send, a beloved son. He sent him to them last of all, thinking, ‘They will respect my son.’ But those tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ So they seized him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard. What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come, put the tenants to death, and give the vineyard to others. Have you not read this Scripture passage:
The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; by the Lord has this been done, and it is wonderful in our eyes?”
They were seeking to arrest him, but they feared the crowd, for they realized that he had addressed the parable to them. So they left him and went away.
Source: “365 Days with the Lord 2026,” St. Paul’s, 7708 St. Paul Rd., SAV, Makati City (Phils.); Tel.: 632-895-9701; E-mail: [email protected]; Website: http://www.stpauls.ph.