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2012년 7월 6일 연중 제13주간 금요일
제1독서
아모스 예언서. 8,4-6.9-12
4 빈곤한 이를 짓밟고, 이 땅의 가난한 이를 망하게 하는 자들아, 이 말을 들어라! 5 너희는 말한다. “언제면 초하룻날이 지나서 곡식을 내다 팔지? 언제면 안식일이 지나서 밀을 내놓지? 에파는 작게, 세켈은 크게 하고, 가짜 저울로 속이자. 6 힘없는 자를 돈으로 사들이고, 빈곤한 자를 신 한 켤레 값으로 사들이자. 지스러기 밀도 내다 팔자.”
9 주 하느님의 말씀이다. 그날에 나는 한낮에 해가 지게 하고, 대낮에 땅이 캄캄하게 하리라.
10 너희의 축제를 슬픔으로, 너희의 모든 노래를 애가로 바꾸리라. 나는 모든 사람이 허리에 자루옷을 두르고, 머리는 모두 대머리가 되어, 외아들을 잃은 것처럼 통곡하게 하고, 그 끝을 비통한 날로 만들리라.
11 보라, 그날이 온다. 주 하느님의 말씀이다. 내가 이 땅에 굶주림을 보내리라. 양식이 없어 굶주리는 것이 아니고, 물이 없어 목마른 것이 아니라, 주님의 말씀을 듣지 못하여 굶주리는 것이다.
12 그들이 주님의 말씀을 찾아, 이 바다에서 저 바다로 헤매고, 북쪽에서 동쪽으로 떠돌아다녀도 찾아내지 못하리라.
복음
마태오 9,9-13
그때에 9 예수님께서 길을 가시다가, 마태오라는 사람이 세관에 앉아 있는 것을 보시고 말씀하셨다. “나를 따라라.” 그러자 마태오는 일어나 그분을 따랐다.
10 예수님께서 집에서 식탁에 앉게 되셨는데, 마침 많은 세리와 죄인도 와서 예수님과 그분의 제자들과 자리를 함께하였다.
11 그것을 본 바리사이들이 그분의 제자들에게 말하였다. “당신네 스승은 어째서 세리와 죄인들과 함께 음식을 먹는 것이오?”
12 예수님께서 이 말을 들으시고 그들에게 말씀하셨다. “튼튼한 이들에게는 의사가 필요하지 않으나, 병든 이들에게는 필요하다. 13 너희는 가서, ‘내가 바라는 것은 희생 제물이 아니라 자비다.’ 하신 말씀이 무슨 뜻인지 배워라. 사실 나는 의인이 아니라 죄인을 부르러 왔다.”
http://www.usccb.org/calendar/index.cfm?showLit=1&action=month
http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings-audio.cfm
July 6, 2012
Friday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Reading 1
Hear this, you who trample upon the needy
and destroy the poor of the land!
"When will the new moon be over," you ask,
"that we may sell our grain,
and the sabbath, that we may display the wheat?
We will diminish the containers for measuring,
add to the weights,
and fix our scales for cheating!
We will buy the lowly man for silver,
and the poor man for a pair of sandals;
even the refuse of the wheat we will sell!"
On that day, says the Lord GOD,
I will make the sun set at midday
and cover the earth with darkness in broad daylight.
I will turn your feasts into mourning
and all your songs into lamentations.
I will cover the loins of all with sackcloth
and make every head bald.
I will make them mourn as for an only son,
and bring their day to a bitter end.
Yes, days are coming, says the Lord GOD,
when I will send famine upon the land:
Not a famine of bread, or thirst for water,
but for hearing the word of the LORD.
Then shall they wander from sea to sea
and rove from the north to the east
In search of the word of the LORD,
but they shall not find it.
R. (Matthew 4:4) One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.
Blessed are they who observe his decrees,
who seek him with all their heart.
R. One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.
With all my heart I seek you;
let me not stray from your commands.
R. One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.
My soul is consumed with longing
for your ordinances at all times.
R. One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.
The way of truth I have chosen;
I have set your ordinances before me.
R. One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.
Behold, I long for your precepts;
in your justice give me life.
R. One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.
I gasp with open mouth
in my yearning for your commands.
R. One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.
As Jesus passed by,
he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the customs post.
He said to him, "Follow me."
And he got up and followed him.
While he was at table in his house,
many tax collectors and sinners came
and sat with Jesus and his disciples.
The Pharisees saw this and said to his disciples,
"Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?"
He heard this and said,
"Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do.
Go and learn the meaning of the words,
I desire mercy, not sacrifice.
I did not come to call the righteous but sinners."
losers
Jesus said, "People who are well
don't need a doctor; but the sick
do. I've not come to call sinners. "
Matthew 9:12-13
Presidential aide, Charles Colson,
was imprisoned for his role in the
Watergate scandal. Speaking to
900 prisoners in Atlanta, he said:
"Jesus Christ came into this world
for the poor, the sick, the hungry,
the homeless, the imprisoned. He
is the Prophet of the loser. And all
of us here are losers. I am a loser
just like all of you. The miracle is
that God's message is specifically
for all of us who have failed."
Once out of prison, Colson set up
the Prison Fellowship Program,
that involves 1200 volunteers who
reach out to help prisoners and
their families.
How might I help Jesus reach out
to those for whom he came?
I am truly poor, not when I have
nothing, but when I do nothing.
Anonymous
http://www.franciscanretreats.net/
The call of Matthew to discipleship in today’s Gospel is positively amazing. Jesus comes along, sees Matthew the tax collector sitting at the customs post and said two words to him: “Follow me.” And Matthew immediately left everything and followed Jesus. I find this astonishing. If I were sitting in a chair on the front lawn and someone came to me and said “Follow me,” my response would undoubtedly be: “And just who are you? Why should I follow you?”
This story leads me to believe that Matthew had already heard of the wonderful things this Jesus was doing and he was just waiting for the opportunity to follow him and turn his crooked life around. And turn it around he did! Matthew became one of the Twelve, and his name is attached to the first Gospel in the Scriptures.
What have I heard of Jesus the Christ that causes me to follow him?
http://www.evangeli.net/gospel/gospel.html
Follow me
Today, the Gospel speaks to us of a vocation, that of Matthew the publican. Jesus is preparing a small group of disciples that would continue his work of Salvation. And He chooses whom He wants: whether fishermen or from humble professions. He even calls to follow him, a tax collector, a highly abhorred role by the Jews —who considered themselves as perfect Law-abiding citizens—, because they saw it as tantamount to having a sinful life, as they collected taxes in the name of the roman governor, whom they did not want to submit to.
It suffices with Jesus beckoning him to his service: «Follow me» (Mt 9:9). A single word by the Master, and Matthew leaves his profession and, happily, invites him to his home to celebrate with a joyous dinner. It was only natural that Matthew had a group of good friends, of the same “professional guild”, to join him at his table. But, according to the Pharisees, all that kind of people were confirmed sinners publicly recognized as such.
The Pharisees could not therefore silence it and they comment with some of Jesus' disciples: «Why is it that your master eats with those sinners and tax collectors?» (Mt 9:10). Jesus' answer is immediate: «Healthy people do not need a doctor, but sick people do» (Mt 9:12). The comparison is perfect: «I did not come to call the righteous but sinners» (Mt 9:13).
These words of the Gospel are topical. Jesus keeps on inviting us to follow him, each one of us according to his condition and profession. And, more often than not, to follow Jesus means to leave behind some messy passions, or some poor family relationships, or just a waste of time, to allot some moments to prayer, to the Eucharist feast or to some missionary pastoral care. In other words «no Christian ought to think of him as his own master, for he is submitted to God's service» (St. Ignatius of Antioch).
Jesus is, indeed, asking me to change my life, so I wonder: which group do I belong to, to the perfect persons or to those who sincerely accept they can dramatically improve? For I can improve, can't I?
http://www.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html
In praying with today's Gospel, I was reminded of this piece of my background.
I was raised in South Side Chicago in the '50s when the Black Ghetto was well-defined, the boundaries known by everyone and unfortunately generally accepted as "the way things are." The west boundary was just a few blocks from my house and Black people were never seen on our side unless doing obviously hired jobs for City Works, Waste Collection and the like.
My parents were significantly different from the parents of many of my friends. We were taught never to use the "N" word, though its use was very common in other households, and that Blacks (and everyone else) were just as good as we were.
This belief and what was expected of us was illustrated by the story I often heard about the time my father got the best, literally and figuratively, of his uncle, the Monsignor, most often a smooth and convincing speaker. They were discussing something which prompted the Monsignor to use the "N" word referring to an individual and then to generalize the comment about all Blacks. "You'll want to be careful with that," my father said. "Now why would that be?" asked the Monsignor derisively." You may find yourself sitting next to one of them when and if you get to heaven." Nothing further was heard from the red-faced Monsignor.
When my group of close friends were planning our Graduation party, the girl who had volunteered to be host was told that if we invited the sole Black member of our high school class, there would be "no party at this house". We moved the party to my house having experienced up close and very personal how deeply our environment was permeated by racism.
In today's Gospel passage, Jesus is challenged because of His inclusion of all sorts of people at His table. His reply confronted the righteous, among whom the Pharisees no doubt counted themselves, with their need for some serious attitude adjustment. If they wanted to take a seat at Jesus' table, they should be ready to sit next to all kinds of folks. They could exclude themselves; He would exclude no one. (I think of my friend's family who missed one darn good party!)
Who are the people that we exclude from our tables? Those with whom we disagree politically? Or about how to practice our faith with authenticity? Or the worth of Tradition vs. Innovation? Or?
Time for some serious reflection. Care to join me? There's an open seat next to me.
http://www.rc.net/wcc/readings/
"I desire mercy, and not sacrifice"
What is God's call on your life? Jesus chose Matthew to be his follower and friend, not because Matthew was religious or learned, popular or saintly. Matthew appeared to be none of those. He chose to live a life of wealth and ease. His profession was probably the most corrupted and despised by everyone because tax collectors made themselves wealthy by over-charging and threatening people if they did not hand over their money to them. What did Jesus see in Matthew that others did not see? When the prophet Samuel came to the house of Jesse to anoint the future heir to the throne of Israel, he bypassed all the first seven sons and chose the last! "God looks at the heart and not at the appearance of a man" he declared. David's heart was like a compass looking for true north – it pointed to God. Matthew's heart must have yearned for God, even though he dare not show his face in a synagogue – the Jewish house of prayer and the study of Torah – God's law. When Jesus saw Matthew sitting at his tax office – no doubt counting his day's profit – Jesus spoke only two words – "follow me". Those two words changed Matthew from a self-serving profiteer to a God-serving apostle who would bring the treasures of God's kingdom to the poor and needy.
John Chrysostom, the great 5th century church father, describes Matthew's calling: "Why did Jesus not call Matthew at the same time as he called Peter and John and the rest? He came to each one at a particular time when he knew that they would respond to him. He came at a different time to call Matthew when he was assured that Matthew would surrender to his call. Similarly, he called Paul at a different time when he was vulnerable, after the resurrection, something like a hunter going after his quarry. for he who is acquainted with our inmost hearts and knows the secrets of our minds knows when each one of us is ready to respond fully. Therefore he did not call them all together at the beginning, when Matthew was still in a hardened condition. Rather, only after countless miracles, after his fame spread abroad, did he call Matthew. He knew Matthew had been softened for full responsiveness."
When the Pharisees challenged Jesus' unorthodox behavior in eating with public sinners, Jesus’ defense was quite simple. A doctor doesn’t need to visit healthy people; instead he goes to those who are sick. Jesus likewise sought out those in the greatest need. A true physician seeks healing of the whole person – body, mind, and spirit. Jesus came as the divine physician and good shepherd to care for his people and to restore them to wholeness of life. The orthodox were so preoccupied with their own practice of religion that they neglected to help the very people who needed spiritual care. Their religion was selfish because they didn’t want to have anything to do with people not like themselves. Jesus stated his mission in unequivocal terms: I came not to call the righteous, but to call sinners. Ironically the orthodox were as needy as those they despised. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).
On more than one occasion Jesus quoted the saying from the prophet Hosea: For I desire mercy and not sacrifice (Hosea 6:6). Do you thank the Lord for the great mercy he has shown to you? And do you show mercy to your neighbor as well?
"Lord Jesus, our Savior, let us now come to you: Our hearts are cold; Lord, warm them with your selfless love. Our hearts are sinful; cleanse them with your precious blood. Our hearts are weak; strengthen them with your joyous Spirit. Our hearts are empty; fill them with your divine presence. Lord Jesus, our hearts are yours; possess them always and only for yourself.” (Prayer of Augustine, 354-430)
Psalm 119:2,10,20,30,40,131
2 Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart,
10 With my whole heart I seek thee; let me not wander from thy commandments!
20 My soul is consumed with longing for thy ordinances at all times.
30 I have chosen the way of faithfulness, I set thy ordinances before me.
40 Behold, I long for thy precepts; in thy righteousness give me life!
131 With open mouth I pant, because I long for thy commandments.
http://www.daily-meditations.org/index2.html
I desire mercy, not sacrifice. (Matthew 9:13)
Amos begins by speaking of the corruption in states neighboring Judah, but he saves his most severe criticism for his own nation. The foreign lands had not been given the light of God that Israel had received; therefore, the guilt of God's people was far more serious than that of those who did not have His law.
Israel's poor were most abused by being charged excessively for inferior food and merchandise. Because of this heartless greed, Amos predicted God would bring a great darkness on His nation, causing it to seek Him but still left blind to His moral teachings, a greater suffering for the want of God's word. God's discipline is hurtful but always directed at bringing about a greater good. Amos also prophesied his nation's recovery and its restoration to God's care, but he still was driven from the shrine and had a terrible sentence pronounced against him.
Christ is God's answer to humanity's moral starvation, the healer of those who are sick at heart. Jesus' approach to sinners was unlike that of the Pharisees' who hated and ostracized them. He did not wish to condemn them but to forgive and guide them to living in decency and gaining eternal salvation. Christ defended His method by telling the Pharisees that the healthy (the righteous) had no need of a doctor. Christ's latter statement had perhaps an additional implication, for He also dined often with the Pharisees. His saying that He "desired mercy, not sacrifice" applied especially to them, who made empty, sacrificial offerings for their own sins instead of truly reconciling themselves with their Creator by admitting their wrong and sincerely apologizing to extend God's loving mercy to the injured person.
O Blessed Redeemer,
You have come to show us through the cost You paid on the cross that forgiveness and merciful love are our only means of raising a fallen world.
Amen.
~ Marie Bocko,
OCDS
http://www.contemplative.com/weekday_readings.htm
Prayer is my contact with Jesus, the physician of my soul. He is the one who heals the distorted, wounded, diseased condition of my person. He is the one who summons from the depths of my being the goodness, the truth, the beauty, the resiliency of nature created in his image and likeness. The empowering of new life flows from the gift of grace. Grace means the power of Christ's resurrection made present by the Holy Spirit given by the Father. Jesus calls me to prayer like he called Matthew to follow him. Immediately I will respond to every invitation to pray. I will enter prayer with my being open to all that God will do for me. God thirsts to fill me with his knowledge and love. He is intent on filling me with the bliss and blessedness of union. I come to the banquet after I have come to be healed.
http://goodnews.ie/calendar.php
St Augustine thinks Matthew wasn’t called at the same time as the others because he had some financial matters to finish off. But a 6th-century writer took it that Matthew left his affairs in disorder, a thing that greatly impressed him. It must be particularly difficult for someone who deals with figures to leave them unbalanced. Do we have to balance our books before we set out on the Gospel path?
Matthew wrote his gospel to convince Jews that Jesus was the fulfilment of their prophecies. Sixteen times in his gospel he uses the phrase “so that what had been spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled.” He sees Jesus through the lens of the Old Testament: in him are fulfilled all the hopes of the Jewish people. In view of this conviction, his tax-gathering papers must have seemed very unimportant. Financial matters are so precise, so tangible and near…. His must have been a powerful conversion, because he had been in the service of Mammon, God's greatest rival. “You cannot serve God and Mammon,” he quotes Jesus as saying (Mt 6:24).
Business people tend to be hard-headed, and perhaps his conversion took a little longer. St John Chrysostom suggested that “Matthew was not called at the same time as Peter and John and the others because he was then still in a hardened state.” Whatever the case, he was called from his tax business to follow Jesus. It was a call from one way of thinking to another. It was a call from security into insecurity, from wealth to poverty, from power to powerlessness. He was called to follow Jesus, the Logos, the Wisdom of God. He was not asked to make a donation from the profits of his business, but to follow in person.
http://www.presentationministries.com/
STARVATIONS | ||
"Hear this, you who trample upon the needy and destroy the poor of the land!" 뾃mos 8:4 | ||
When we exploit the poor and put profits ahead of people, the Lord threatens to never forget a thing we have done (Am 8:7). He will turn our feasts into mourning and our songs into lamentations (Am 8:10). There will be no joy in our worship or in our lives. We will spiritually starve to death. There will be a famine, not "of bread, or thirst for water, but for hearing the word of the Lord" (Am 8:11). We will be anorexic and lose our appetite for the things of God. This astounding prophecy of Amos is being fulfilled today. The people of the developed countries have mercilessly exploited the poor. We have sought after the things of the flesh and thereby have stifled the Spirit (Gal 5:17; 1 Thes 5:19). Our worship and lives are often devoid of joy. Because of our spiritual anorexia, we spend more time with the newspaper than with the Bible and love TV more than we love God. The first world faces a worse starvation than the third world, and our spiritual starvation makes us apathetic to physical starvation. | ||
Prayer: Father, You don't want any of Your children to starve in any way. May I crucify the desires of my flesh by following Your Spirit (Gal 5:24-25; Rm 8:13). | ||
Promise: "He said to him, 'Follow Me.' Matthew got up and followed Him." 뾏t 9:9 | ||
Praise: George fasts so that his prayers may be more effective against the demons of our time. |
http://www.judeop.org/daily_bread.htm
Go and learn the meaning of the words, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ Even when we think we’ve figured out what it means to be a Christian, there’s much more to learn. Often a gulf exists between what we quietly know in our hearts and what we practice in public. We fear not looking the part. We may slide into a little hypocrisy and false piety. Worse yet, we callously scrutinize others who don’t fit the image that we — not Jesus — have decided a follower should possess. We may intellectually grasp the concept, but until we live what the Teacher both says and does, we haven’t really learned a thing. Teach us, Lord, to walk in your ways, we pray. PR
http://www.judeop.org/dailyreflections.htm
In yesterday's gospel scripture, those who objected to Jesus' claim to forgive sins were the scribes - known as experts in the Mosaic Law. Today the objectors to the behavior of Jesus' disciples (and presumably to Jesus as well) are the Pharisees - those who tried to live the Mosaic Law closely. On this occasion their objection is to the company that Jesus and the disciples kept! Tax collectors were considered unclean because they worked for the pagan Romans and handled money considered to be unclean! Those referred to as "sinners" may have been engaged in trades that were considered unclean as well as immoral behavior. There were many categories. In any case, these people who were shunned by many found themselves welcome in Jesus' presence. When Jesus hears the Pharisees questioning this, he puts his finger on the issue right away. He is being merciful to those for whom Pharisees have very little mercy.
The importance of this incident should be clear for us all. There are many causes of bias and prejudice. Occasionally our own religious blindness can cause us to be lacking in mercy. When we see that a person has not shown mercy, we are often inclined to withhold mercy ourselves. This is especially true in cases of capital punishment. But it occurs when we think someone belongs to a class of people for which we have a particular dislike. These people become the tax collectors, sinners or Samaritans in our lives. Immediately we wonder why anyone would have anything to do with such people. Perhaps we need to listen to what Jesus says to the Pharisees and learn what God truly expects of us. Religious
http://biblereflection.blogspot.com/
It is written that the hearts of people holds their real intentions
and purposes. It is the center of man's internal life, the core of his
desires and violent passion, the place of his conscience (New American
Bible concordance). Who can see through it except the word of God:
"like a double edged sword that cuts through it and exposes the depths
of our soul" (Heb 4: 12).
Jesus came to save us from our fallen nature and wants to lead us to
what God had originally intended. Yet we often question the pure
intent of God's ways which is not man's ways. Through our own
standards of what is just and righteous and our pious pretensions,
this has limited the work of God's word in our lives. We have kept it
instead of lovingly making the effort to reach out even to those whom
we consider as unclean, bringing the gospel to them so that they may
know of God's saving grace through Jesus and participating in his
mission.
Have we allowed God's word to penetrate our inner most core? Do we
realize that we too need to be healed or do we resist and become
hardened by our own pride?
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