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2010년 8월 8일 연중 제19주일
제1독서
지혜서 18,6-9
6 해방의 날 밤이 저희 조상들에게는 벌써 예고되었으니, 그들이 어떠한 맹세들을 믿어야 하는지 확실히 알고, 용기를 가지게 하시려는 것이었습니다. 7 그리하여 당신의 백성은 의인들의 구원과 원수들의 파멸을 기대하였습니다. 8 과연 당신께서는 저희의 적들을 처벌하신 그 방법으로, 저희를 당신께 부르시고 영광스럽게 해 주셨습니다.
9 선인들의 거룩한 자녀들은 몰래 희생 제물을 바치고, 한마음으로 하느님의 법에 동의하였습니다. 그 법은 거룩한 이들이 모든 것을 다 같이, 성공도 위험도 함께 나눈다는 것입니다. 그리고 그때에 벌써 조상들의 찬미가들을 불렀습니다.
제2독서
히브리서 11,1-2.8-19<또는 11,1-2.8-12>
형제 여러분, 1 믿음은 우리가 바라는 것들의 보증이며, 보이지 않는 실체들의 확증입니다. 2 사실 옛사람들은 믿음으로 인정을 받았습니다.
8 믿음으로써, 아브라함은 장차 상속 재산으로 받을 곳을 향하여 떠나라는 부르심을 받고 그대로 순종하였습니다. 그는 어디로 가는지도 모르고 떠난 것입니다.
9 믿음으로써, 그는 같은 약속의 공동 상속자인 이사악과 야곱과 함께 천막을 치고 머무르면서, 약속받은 땅인데도 남의 땅인 것처럼 이방인으로 살았습니다. 10 하느님께서 설계자이시며 건축가로서 튼튼한 기초를 갖추어 주신 도성을 기다리고 있었기 때문입니다.
11 믿음으로써, 사라는 아이를 가지지 못하는 여인인 데다, 나이까지 지났는데도, 임신할 능력을 얻었습니다. 약속해 주신 분을 성실하신 분으로 여겼기 때문입니다. 12 그리하여 한 사람에게서, 그것도 죽은 것이나 다름없는 사람에게서, 하늘의 별처럼 수가 많고, 바닷가의 모래처럼 셀 수 없는 후손이 태어났습니다.
<13 이들은 모두 믿음 속에 죽어 갔습니다. 약속된 것을 받지는 못하였지만, 멀리서 그것을 보고 반겼습니다. 그리고 자기들은 이 세상에서 이방인이며 나그네일 따름이라고 고백하였습니다. 14 그들은 이렇게 말함으로써, 자기들이 본향을 찾고 있음을 분명히 드러냈습니다. 15 만일 그들이 떠나온 곳을 생각하고 있었다면, 돌아갈 기회가 있었을 것입니다.
16 그러나 실상 그들은 더 나은 곳, 바로 하늘 본향을 갈망하고 있었습니다. 그래서 하느님께서는 그들의 하느님이라고 불리시는 것을 부끄러워하지 않으시고, 그들에게 도성을 마련해 주셨습니다.
17 믿음으로써, 아브라함은 시험을 받을 때에 이사악을 바쳤습니다. 약속을 받은 아브라함이 외아들을 바치려고 하였습니다. 18 그 외아들을 두고 하느님께서는 일찍이, “이사악을 통하여 후손들이 너의 이름을 물려받을 것이다.” 하고 말씀하셨습니다. 19 아브라함은 하느님께서 죽은 사람까지 일으키실 수 있다고 생각하였습니다. 그리하여 이사악을 하나의 상징으로 돌려받은 것입니다.>
복음
루카 12,32-48<또는 12,35-40>
그때에 예수님께서 제자들에게 이르셨다.
<32 “너희들 작은 양 떼야, 두려워하지 마라. 너희 아버지께서는 그 나라를 너희에게 기꺼이 주기로 하셨다.
33 너희는 가진 것을 팔아 자선을 베풀어라. 너희 자신을 위하여 해지지 않는 돈주머니와 축나지 않는 보물을 하늘에 마련하여라. 거기에는 도둑이 다가가지도 못하고, 좀이 쏠지도 못한다. 34 사실 너희의 보물이 있는 곳에 너희의 마음도 있다.>
35 너희는 허리에 띠를 매고 등불을 켜 놓고 있어라. 36 혼인 잔치에서 돌아오는 주인이 도착하여 문을 두드리면 곧바로 열어 주려고 기다리는 사람처럼 되어라.
37 행복하여라, 주인이 와서 볼 때에 깨어 있는 종들! 내가 진실로 너희에게 말한다. 그 주인은 띠를 매고 그들을 식탁에 앉게 한 다음, 그들 곁으로 가서 시중을 들 것이다.
38 주인이 밤중에 오든 새벽에 오든, 종들의 그러한 모습을 보게 되면, 그 종들은 행복하다!
39 이것을 명심하여라. 도둑이 몇 시에 올지 집주인이 알면, 자기 집을 뚫고 들어오도록 내버려 두지 않을 것이다.
40 너희도 준비하고 있어라. 너희가 생각하지도 않은 때에 사람의 아들이 올 것이다.”
<41 베드로가, “주님, 이 비유를 저희에게 말씀하시는 것입니까? 아니면 다른 모든 사람에게도 말씀하시는 것입니까?” 하고 물었다. 42 그러자 주님께서 이르셨다.
“주인이 자기 집 종들을 맡겨 제때에 정해진 양식을 내주게 할 충실하고 슬기로운 집사는 어떻게 하는 사람이겠느냐?
43 행복하여라, 주인이 돌아와서 볼 때에 그렇게 일하고 있는 종! 44 내가 참으로 너희에게 말한다. 주인은 자기의 모든 재산을 그에게 맡길 것이다.
45 그러나 만일 그 종이 마음속으로, ‘주인이 늦게 오는구나.’ 하고 생각하며, 하인들과 하녀들을 때리고, 또 먹고 마시며 술에 취하기 시작하면, 46 예상하지 못한 날, 짐작하지 못한 시간에 그 종의 주인이 와서, 그를 처단하여 불충실한 자들과 같은 운명을 겪게 할 것이다.
47 주인의 뜻을 알고도 아무런 준비를 하지 않았거나, 주인의 뜻대로 하지 않은 그 종은 매를 많이 맞을 것이다. 48 그러나 주인의 뜻을 모르고서 매 맞을 짓을 한 종은 적게 맞을 것이다.
많이 주신 사람에게는 많이 요구하시고, 많이 맡기신 사람에게는 그만큼 더 청구하신다.”>
August 8, 2010
Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Reading 1
The night of the passover was known beforehand to our fathers,
that, with sure knowledge of the oaths in which they put their faith,
they might have courage.
Your people awaited the salvation of the just
and the destruction of their foes.
For when you punished our adversaries,
in this you glorified us whom you had summoned.
For in secret the holy children of the good were offering sacrifice
and putting into effect with one accord the divine institution.
R. (12b) Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.
Exult, you just, in the LORD;
praise from the upright is fitting.
Blessed the nation whose God is the LORD,
the people he has chosen for his own inheritance.
R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.
See, the eyes of the LORD are upon those who fear him,
upon those who hope for his kindness,
To deliver them from death
and preserve them in spite of famine.
R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.
Our soul waits for the LORD,
who is our help and our shield.
May your kindness, O LORD, be upon us
who have put our hope in you.
R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.
Brothers and sisters:
Faith is the realization of what is hoped for
and evidence of things not seen.
Because of it the ancients were well attested.
By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place
that he was to receive as an inheritance;
he went out, not knowing where he was to go.
By faith he sojourned in the promised land as in a foreign country,
dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs of the same promise;
for he was looking forward to the city with foundations,
whose architect and maker is God.
By faith he received power to generate,
even though he was past the normal age
?and Sarah herself was sterile?
for he thought that the one who had made the promise was
trustworthy.
So it was that there came forth from one man,
himself as good as dead,
descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky
and as countless as the sands on the seashore.
All these died in faith.
They did not receive what had been promised
but saw it and greeted it from afar
and acknowledged themselves to be strangers and aliens on earth,
for those who speak thus show that they are seeking a homeland.
If they had been thinking of the land from which they had come,
they would have had opportunity to return.
But now they desire a better homeland, a heavenly one.
Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God,
for he has prepared a city for them.
By faith Abraham, when put to the test, offered up Isaac,
and he who had received the promises was ready to offer his only son,
of whom it was said,
“Through Isaac descendants shall bear your name.”
He reasoned that God was able to raise even from the dead,
and he received Isaac back as a symbol.
or
Brothers and sisters:
Faith is the realization of what is hoped for
and evidence of things not seen.
Because of it the ancients were well attested.
By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place
that he was to receive as an inheritance;
he went out, not knowing where he was to go.
By faith he sojourned in the promised land as in a foreign country,
dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs of the same promise;
for he was looking forward to the city with foundations,
whose architect and maker is God.
By faith he received power to generate,
even though he was past the normal age
?and Sarah herself was sterile?
for he thought that the one who had made the promise was
trustworthy.
So it was that there came forth from one man,
himself as good as dead,
descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky
and as countless as the sands on the seashore.
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Do not be afraid any longer, little flock,
for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom.
Sell your belongings and give alms.
Provide money bags for yourselves that do not wear out,
an inexhaustible treasure in heaven
that no thief can reach nor moth destroy.
For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.
“Gird your loins and light your lamps
and be like servants who await their master’s return from a wedding,
ready to open immediately when he comes and knocks.
Blessed are those servants
whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival.
Amen, I say to you, he will gird himself,
have them recline at table, and proceed to wait on them.
And should he come in the second or third watch
and find them prepared in this way,
blessed are those servants.
Be sure of this:
if the master of the house had known the hour
when the thief was coming,
he would not have let his house be broken into.
You also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect,
the Son of Man will come.”
Then Peter said,
“Lord, is this parable meant for us or for everyone?”
And the Lord replied,
“Who, then, is the faithful and prudent steward
whom the master will put in charge of his servants
to distribute the food allowance at the proper time?
Blessed is that servant whom his master on arrival finds doing so.
Truly, I say to you, the master will put the servant
in charge of all his property.
But if that servant says to himself,
‘My master is delayed in coming,’
and begins to beat the menservants and the maidservants,
to eat and drink and get drunk,
then that servant’s master will come
on an unexpected day and at an unknown hour
and will punish the servant severely
and assign him a place with the unfaithful.
That servant who knew his master’s will
but did not make preparations nor act in accord with his will
shall be beaten severely;
and the servant who was ignorant of his master’s will
but acted in a way deserving of a severe beating
shall be beaten only lightly.
Much will be required of the person entrusted with much,
and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more.”
http://www.evangeli.net/gospel/gospel.html
http://www.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html
PRE-PRAYERING
There is the familiar saying, “What’s a nice guy like me doing in a place like this!” We may have all found ourselves in a similar frame of mind about being somewhere we’d rather not be.
Perhaps you have wondered the same thing while being in church and at the Eucharist. As celebrant I wonder often why all these people are here; I would love to ask each person. Their answers would be varied and some amusing. “It’s Sunday. That’s what I do on Sundays.” “She made me come.” “I need a silent place and maybe the homily will make some sense in my life.” “I like the feeling I get of being holy, and I like the music.” “I like the spirit there and all that is going on except the collection.”
As we are living along from one Eucharist to the next, we might pray with the honest question and the various answers we hear.
Whatever reasons we have for attending, celebrating, God will use those to get you right where God wants you and then sends you right where you will be a blessing.
REFLECTION
The Book of Wisdom has many differing sections all centered around God’s creation and love for the people of Israel. The Book of Genesis has two creation narratives presenting two differing theological positions current at the time. For the composer of this almost poetic book of Wisdom, the creation of Israel as the People of God was even a greater manifestation of God’s love than the creation of the universe.
What we hear today in our First Reading is a short, direct, address, prayer and reflection about just how faithful the people of Israel’s history had been. They were in slavery in Egypt, but they kept faith in the Covenanting and faithful God. They kept faithful to their religious traditions and so found courage to persevere during the many years of slavery. God eventually punished the Egyptians and in the later verses, which we do not hear today from the same chapter, the people of Israel did not take vengeance on their former slavers.
These chapters near the end of the Book of Wisdom are a great praise-poem, based in history and as well a national self-celebration of their past. It is a general truth that the victors in a war tend, as time goes on, to exaggerate their own glories as a group. This is the basic theme of today’s reading, God was very good and so were we. It is meant to be a history and a reminder of just who Israel was and desires to continue.
The Gospel follows Luke’s relating how of much more importance each person is than the lilies of the field and birds of the air who are beautiful and known by God. What we hear has to do with the implications of our being so precious and cared for. The “kingdom” is being given to us who have faith in the Giver. If we do so trust, then our “treasure” does not rely on or support the temporal kingdom here on earth.
Jesus spends the remainder of our reading discussing implications of belonging to this other kingdom. Our preciousness in God’s eyes is contrasted with the preciousness of material treasures. We get our value from the Creator and not the accumulation of other creatures. Our heart’s desires will announce to which kingdom we belong. For what do we wait and with what degree of patience and watchfulness?
Jesus is an investment of God’s love in us. We are invited to make a similar investment in the holiness of humanity and the dominion of God. As usual a parable makes the tension quite clear.
There is a master who has gone away, promising to return, but the when is indefinite. The servants who remain in the house are to act justly, live soberly, aware, and above all, expect the Master’s return at any moment. This is a direct charge to the listening-disciples. The chapter from which these verses are taken opens with Jesus’ speaking to his closest followers and reminding them to avoid “the yeast of the Pharisees”. The disciples are the servants then in whom Jesus has invested the treasures of his teachings. Unlike the Pharisees they are to be faithful in tending the household and the men and maidservants of the household. The emphasis is on the living the teachings of Jesus until his return.
You might make a financial investment in some company and they might in turn think quite highly of their venture, because of your confidence. The company might conduct themselves by good management and produce a profit for you. On the other hand, it might think you have lost interest, or conduct business in such a way that you do not receive any interest for your investment.
God, in Christ, has bought into the human company. God invested totally in our human recovery. We believe in this and desire to live reverently and gratefully for this infinite affirmation of our company.
We can also live unjustly, unsoberly, unaware of our dignity and so deflate our value and the whole human operation. This is why the section before about the “lilies” is so important. Jesus calls us his flock and possessors of the whole investment portfolio. When we hear who we are through the stories, pictures and deeds of God for us, then we re-member ourselves to the company of Jesus. The real problem for us humans is having the faith that there is a kingdom to come in which we are to invest now and the payoff is in the “then” to come. There is the “here” and the “here-after”; where is our heart!
http://www.rc.net/wcc/readings/
"Blessed are they who open at once when he knocks"
What does a treasure, a thief, a wedding feast, and a homecoming have in common? Jesus loved to tell stories (in the form of parables) using common everyday images to draw some rather unusual comparisons and often quite unexpected lessons for his audience. There is an element of surprise in the story of the master returning home unexpectedly after the marriage feast. Will he catch his servant sleeping rather than keeping watchful guard over his master's estate? And how about the person who possessed great wealth, but woke up one day to discover that a thief had carried it all off. What does this say to us about the kingdom of heaven? The treasure God offers is of far greater value that any earthly treasure! But it's possible to lose this treasure if we do not guard what has been entrusted to us by God. In this parable what does the treasure of the kingdom refer to? It certainly refers to the kingdom of God in all its aspects. But in a special way, the Lord himself is the treasure we seek. If the Almighty is your gold and your precious silver, then you will delight yourself in the Almighty (Job 22:22-23). The Lord offers us a relationship with him as his sons and daughters and the promise of eternal life as well. If we make the Lord our treasure, he, in turn, will make us his honored friends at his banquet table in heaven!
This parable also contains a lesson in faithfulness and a warning against sloth. Why is faithfulness so important to God? For one, it's the foundation for any lasting and meaningful relationship. Faithfulness or fidelity allows us to persevere in living out an unswerving commitment. The Lord is committed to us in a bond of unbreakable love and fidelity. That is what covenant means ? keeping one's word, promise, and commitment no matter how tough or difficult it gets. Faithfulness is a key character trait of God and one that he expects of us. Fortunately God gives the grace and strength to be faithful. He also rewards faithfulness. The joy and privilege of being a son or daughter of God carries with it an awesome responsibility. The Lord expects us to make good use of the gifts and graces he gives to us. The more he gives, the more he requires. The temptation while the Master is away is to put off for tomorrow what we know the Master expects us to do today. How can we grow in faithfulness? God's grace shows us the way. When we are faithful in the little tasks and promises we make, we learn to be faithful in the bigger and more important responsibilities and tasks entrusted to us.Are you ready to give God an account of your stewardship?
Why is fidelity or faithfulness so difficult today? Modern society extols freedom over fidelity and doesn't want to be bound to an unknown or uncertain future. It's also inconvenient and a burden to the pursuit of one's own interests. We badly need to recover this virtue, not only for our own sake, but for the sake of the next generation as well. If we want to pass on the faith then we need to first be faithful models for our youth.
"Lord, you are faithful even when I fail. Help me to remain faithful to you and to not shrink back when I encounter difficulties. Make me diligent in the exercise of my responsibilities and wise and prudent in the use of my gifts, time and resources."
Psalm 33:1,12,18-22
1 Rejoice in the LORD, O you righteous! Praise befits the upright.
12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage!
18 Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love,
19 that he may deliver their soul from death, and keep them alive in famine.
20 Our soul waits for the LORD; he is our help and shield.
21 Yea, our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name.
22 Let thy steadfast love, O LORD, be upon us, even as we hope in thee.
http://www.daily-meditations.org/index2.html
http://goodnews.ie/calendar.php
“Do not be afraid, little flock….Sell your possessions, and give away money to the poor.” But if we were to do that (I say to myself) wouldn’t we have even more reason to be afraid? Our greatest fear is that we will be left with nothing.
Still, money doesn’t bring happiness, everyone agrees. But then we go straight back to pursuing it as if it did. How is that? While perhaps not expecting it to bring us happiness, we hope it will at least take away our misery. But it doesn’t. It only enables us to be miserable in comfort ? then we can really concentrate on our misery.
Be alert, be ready, be waiting: that is the advice given in today’s reading. “Be like those who are waiting for their master to return…. Be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour." A full purse, like a full stomach, makes you want to go to sleep. You become oblivious of everything except the stock market or your business ? and that is a kind of sleep. All great religious figures kept shouting, ‘Wake up!’ It is not that everyone was dozing in the sun; no they were not: they were making money.
In an organised society money is necessary to live. It is a great convenience. It is about shortcuts. Instead of being a hunter-gatherer yourself, you pay someone to do your hunting and gathering for you, while you do some other useful thing. But we also know from experience that a shortcut can be the longest distance between two points. Some shortcuts lead you into the middle of a bog. Money is seductive because it appears to be the key to everything and everywhere: it is nothing in itself (it would be useless to you on a desert island), but it carries a promise of everything. Even when it fails you, it just changes its face (it has no face of its own) and seduces you in a different way. It lives on promise; it is a promissory note. And it has this additional quality: just as it never shows you its real face (because it has none), it never shows you yours. Instead, it flashes an image before you of what you could be. It never warns you that when you are rich you will still be just a pauper with money.
There was once a wealthy man who decided to donate a large amount of money to a monastery. To his great surprise, the abbot said, “No thanks, we have enough at present.” The rich man pressed him to take it anyway, but he refused politely. Suddenly the rich man began to weep. “You have made me realise how poor I am,” he said, “I have nothing to offer you except money.”
Jesus gave many warnings about the seductions of wealth. There is nothing wrong with the material things of the world in themselves. It is our greed that makes them seductive. If my purse is always full, I will think only about getting a bigger purse. And it will fade gradually from my awareness that half the world is hungry. And I may also fail to notice that I am hungry myself, because my heart is empty. “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” If money is my treasure, there will be nothing in my heart except money.
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The Lord commands us not to live in fear (Lk 12:32), for we can be slaves our whole lives because of the fear of death (Heb 2:15). The Lord has simply commanded us to not fear anything (Mt 10:31). To escape a life of fear we usually try to avoid fearful situations, but Jesus tells us to sell what we have and give alms (Lk 12:33), actions which would place us in a position needing to trust radically in God. Although this seems to increase our fears rather than allay them, the way to overcome a life of fear is to challenge, not avoid our fears. If we try to control and avoid circumstances, we will always be fearful and victims of circumstances. However, if we sell what we have and refuse to play it safe, we will find that our heavenly Father knows how to take care of His children. We will be fearless regardless of circumstances. We will have a fearlessness based on God Himself. Even the fearsome events at the end of the world will not trouble us. We will "stand erect and hold our heads high" (Lk 21:28). We will be fearless, for the Lord is our Light and our Salvation; whom shall we fear? (Ps 27:1)
A LIFE OF FEAR OR FAITH?
"Do not live in fear, little flock." 뾎uke 12:32
Prayer: Father, "though an army encamp against me, my heart will not fear; though war be waged upon me, even then will I trust" in You (Ps 27:3).
Promise: "Faith is confident assurance concerning what we hope for, and conviction about things we do not see." 뾊eb 11:1
Praise: Praise You, Jesus, "the Resurrection and the Life" (Jn 11:25). Your death and resurrection have conquered fear and death. Alleluia!
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