SCRIPTURE READINGS

~ Galatians 1:1-10 ~

Paul an apostle—sent neither by human commission nor from human authorities, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead— and all the brothers and sisters who are with me, To the churches of Galatia: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to set us free from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen. I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— not that there is another gospel, but there are some who are confusing you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should proclaim to you a gospel contrary to what we proclaimed to you, let that one be accursed! As we have said before, so now I repeat, if anyone proclaims to you a gospel contrary to what you received, let that one be accursed! Am I now seeking the approval of humans, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still pleasing people, I would not be a servant of Christ.

~ Holy Gospel of St. Mark 12:1-12 ~

Jesus began to speak to them in parables: "A man planted a vineyard, put a wall around it, dug a pit for the winepress, and built a watchtower. He rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another country. At harvest time, he sent a servant to the tenants to collect his share of the fruit of the vineyard. But they seized him, beat him, and sent him away empty-handed. Then he sent another servant to them; they struck this man on the head and treated him shamefully. He sent still another, whom they killed. He sent many others; some of them they beat, others they killed. He had one left to send, a son whom he loved. He sent him last of all, saying, 'They will respect my son.' But the tenants said to one another, 'This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.' So they took him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard. What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others. Haven't you read this passage of Scripture: 'The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes'?" Then the religious leaders looked for a way to arrest him because they knew he had spoken the parable against them. But they were afraid of the crowd, so they left him and went away.