First Reading

Beginning of the second letter of the apostle Saint Peter

2 Peter 1, 1-7

I, Simon Peter, servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, write to you who have obtained a faith as precious as ours, through the righteousness of Jesus Christ, our God and Savior. May grace and peace abound among you through the knowledge of Jesus Christ, our Lord.

His divine power has given us everything we need to lead a life of holiness, through the deep knowledge of the one who has called us by his own glory and power. Through these, the great and wonderful promised blessings have also been granted to us, so that through them you may escape the corruption that disordered passions cause in the world and come to share in the divine nature. For this reason, make every effort to add to your faith, good conduct; to good conduct, knowledge; to knowledge, self-control; to self-control, perseverance; to perseverance, godliness; to godliness, brotherly love, and to brotherly love, charity.

Gospel

Reading from the holy gospel according to Saint Mark

Mark 12, 1-12

At that time, Jesus began to speak in parables to the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders, and he said to them:

“A man planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a winepress, built a watchtower, leased it to some tenants, and went on a journey abroad.

At the proper time, he sent a servant to the tenants to collect his share of the fruit of the vineyard. They seized him, beat him, and sent him away empty-handed. He sent them another servant, but they struck him on the head and insulted him. He sent yet another, and they killed him. He sent many others, some of whom they beat and others they killed.

He had one left to send, his beloved son, and finally he sent him as well, thinking, ‘They will respect my son.’ But when the tenants saw him, they said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ So they seized him, killed him, and threw his body out of the vineyard.

What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others. Have you not read in the Scriptures: “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes”?

Then the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders sought to arrest Jesus, because they realized that he had told this parable against them, but they feared the crowd, so they left him and went away.