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2012년 7월 16일 연중 제15주간 월요일
제1독서
이사야서. 1,10-17
10 소돔의 지도자들아, 주님의 말씀을 들어라. 고모라의 백성들아, 우리 하느님의 가르침에 귀를 기울여라. 11 무엇하러 나에게 이 많은 제물을 바치느냐? ─ 주님께서 말씀하신다. ─
나는 이제 숫양의 번제물과 살진 짐승의 굳기름에는 물렸다. 황소와 어린 양과 숫염소의 피도 나는 싫다. 12 너희가 나의 얼굴을 보러 올 때 내 뜰을 짓밟으라고 누가 너희에게 시키더냐?
13 더 이상 헛된 제물을 가져오지 마라. 분향 연기도 나에게는 역겹다. 초하룻날과 안식일과 축제 소집, 불의에 찬 축제 모임을 나는 견딜 수가 없다. 14 나의 영은 너희의 초하룻날 행사들과 너희의 축제들을 싫어한다. 그것들은 나에게 짐이 되어, 짊어지기에 나는 지쳤다.
15 너희가 팔을 벌려 기도할지라도, 나는 너희 앞에서 내 눈을 가려 버리리라. 너희가 기도를 아무리 많이 한다 할지라도, 나는 들어 주지 않으리라.
너희의 손은 피로 가득하다. 16 너희 자신을 씻어 깨끗이 하여라. 내 눈앞에서 너희의 악한 행실들을 치워 버려라. 악행을 멈추고, 17 선행을 배워라. 공정을 추구하고, 억압받는 이를 보살펴라. 고아의 권리를 되찾아 주고, 과부를 두둔해 주어라.
복음
마태오 10,34ㅡ11,1
그때에 예수님께서 사도들에게 말씀하셨다.
34 “내가 세상에 평화를 주러 왔다고 생각하지 마라. 평화가 아니라 칼을 주러 왔다. 35 나는 아들이 아버지와, 딸이 어머니와, 며느리가 시어머니와 갈라서게 하려고 왔다. 36 집안 식구가 바로 원수가 된다.
37 아버지나 어머니를 나보다 더 사랑하는 사람은 나에게 합당하지 않다. 아들이나 딸을 나보다 더 사랑하는 사람도 나에게 합당하지 않다. 38 또 제 십자가를 지고 나를 따르지 않는 사람도 나에게 합당하지 않다. 39 제 목숨을 얻으려는 사람은 목숨을 잃고, 나 때문에 제 목숨을 잃는 사람은 목숨을 얻을 것이다.
40 너희를 받아들이는 이는 나를 받아들이는 사람이고, 나를 받아들이는 이는 나를 보내신 분을 받아들이는 사람이다. 41 예언자를 예언자라서 받아들이는 이는 예언자가 받는 상을 받을 것이고, 의인을 의인이라서 받아들이는 이는 의인이 받는 상을 받을 것이다.
42 내가 진실로 너희에게 말한다. 이 작은 이들 가운데 한 사람에게 그가 제자라서 시원한 물 한 잔이라도 마시게 하는 이는 자기가 받을 상을 결코 잃지 않을 것이다.”
11,1 예수님께서 열두 제자에게 다 지시하시고 나서, 유다인들의 여러 고을에서 가르치시고 복음을 선포하시려고 그곳에서 떠나가셨다.
http://www.usccb.org/calendar/index.cfm?showLit=1&action=month
July 16, 2012
Monday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Reading 1
Hear the word of the LORD,
princes of Sodom!
Listen to the instruction of our God,
people of Gomorrah!
What care I for the number of your sacrifices?
says the LORD.
I have had enough of whole-burnt rams
and fat of fatlings;
In the blood of calves, lambs and goats
I find no pleasure.
When you come in to visit me,
who asks these things of you?
Trample my courts no more!
Bring no more worthless offerings;
your incense is loathsome to me.
New moon and sabbath, calling of assemblies,
octaves with wickedness: these I cannot bear.
Your new moons and festivals I detest;
they weigh me down, I tire of the load.
When you spread out your hands,
I close my eyes to you;
Though you pray the more,
I will not listen.
Your hands are full of blood!
Wash yourselves clean!
Put away your misdeeds from before my eyes;
cease doing evil; learn to do good.
Make justice your aim: redress the wronged,
hear the orphan's plea, defend the widow.
R. (23b) To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
"Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you,
for your burnt offerings are before me always.
I take from your house no bullock,
no goats out of your fold."
R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
"Why do you recite my statutes,
and profess my covenant with your mouth,
Though you hate discipline
and cast my words behind you?"
R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
"When you do these things, shall I be deaf to it?
Or do you think you that I am like yourself?
I will correct you by drawing them up before your eyes.
He that offers praise as a sacrifice glorifies me;
and to him that goes the right way I will show the salvation of God."
R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
Jesus said to his Apostles:
"Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth.
I have come to bring not peace but the sword.
For I have come to set
a man against his father,
a daughter against her mother,
and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
and one's enemies will be those of his household.
"Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me,
and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me;
and whoever does not take up his cross
and follow after me is not worthy of me.
Whoever finds his life will lose it,
and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
"Whoever receives you receives me,
and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.
Whoever receives a prophet because he is a prophet
will receive a prophet's reward,
and whoever receives a righteous man
because he is righteous
will receive a righteous man's reward.
And whoever gives only a cup of cold water
to one of these little ones to drink
because he is a disciple–
amen, I say to you, he will surely not lose his reward."
When Jesus finished giving these commands to his Twelve disciples,
he went away from that place to teach and to preach in their towns.
priceless lunatic
Those who lose their life for my
sake will gain it." Matthew 10:39
The film Mass Appeal is about
Fr. Tim, pastor of St. Francis.
His life is good, his manner tact-
ful, and his sermons cushioned
so as not to disturb his parish-
ioners. Then the roof falls in. A
seminarian named Mark Dodson
is assigned to St. Francis. He is
just the opposite of Father Tim.
His blunt idealism rankles
parishioners; But his honesty
and sincerity touca deep chord
in Fr. Tim, who protects him and
works hard to help him. One
day, Mark asks why he's doing
this for him. Father Tim replies:
"Because you're a lunatic. And
the Church needs lunatics--and
you are one of those priceless
lunatics that come along every
so often and makes the Church
alive."
How do I interpret Fr. Tim's point?
When the world is at its worst,
we need the Church at its best.
http://www.franciscanretreats.net/
General Douglas Macarthur is quoted as having once said: It’s the age old struggle – the roar of the crowd on one side and the voice of the conscience on the other. This quote is brought to life in the Gospel chosen to be read today.
It is indeed possible, and probably happens more than I am aware of, where a parent or some other influential person or persons whom I love dearly will tell me or ask me to do something that I know is wrong. I hope this doesn’t happen too often because it puts us in a rather difficult position when it does. And if this does happen to us, we must follow our conscience and not the other person or group of persons. I read an episode of this happening not too long ago in the scriptures. I believe it was King Saul who commanded his son Jonathon to act against David because Saul was jealous of the popularity of David. Jonathan loved David and refused to do the wishes of his father. Situations like this do happen to us all occasionally, and when they do the rule is to let our conscience be our guide.
http://www.evangeli.net/gospel/gospel.html
Whoever does not take up his cross and come after me is not worthy of me
Today, Jesus offers us an explosive mixture of recommendations; it is like one those fashionable banquets where the dishes are just tiny little tasty “snacks”. This is a hard to swallow sound and profound advice addressed to his disciples in their mid missionary preparation and formation process (Mt 11:1). We have to fragment the text in separate blocks to better taste them.
Jesus starts by explaining them the effect of his teachings. Beyond the positive and evident consequences of our Lord's behavior, the Gospel evokes the hindrances and secondary effects of their preaching: «Each one will have as enemies those of one's own family» (Mt 10:36). This is the paradoxical result of living the Faith: the eventual likelihood of having to confront even our closest relatives, when we do not understand who the Lord Jesus is and we do not perceive him as the Master of Communion.
Secondly, Jesus requests us to place him at the highest level of our esteem: «Whoever loves father or mother more than me...» (Mt 10:37), «And whoever loves son or daughter more than me...» (Mt 10:37). In this way, He proposes us to let him join us as the presence of God, for «whoever welcomes me welcomes him who sent me» (Mt 10:40). Living with the Lord, when we welcome Him at home, is to enjoy the reward of the prophets and the just men, for we have welcome a prophet and a just man.
The Master's recommendation ends when He values our small gestures of help and support to those living with the Lord, his disciples, which are all the Christians. «And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones, because he is a disciple of mine...» (Mt 10:42). From this advice a responsibility is born: when we deal with our fellow men, we should be conscientious that he who lives with the Lord, whoever he may be, must be treated as we should treat him. St. John Crysostom says: «If love would be spread all over, an infinite goodness would be born out of it».
http://www.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html
Put away your misdeeds from before my eyes; cease doing evil; learn to do good.
Make justice your aim: redress the wronged,
hear the orphan's plea, defend the widow. – Is. 1
If you find your life, you will lose it,
but if you lose your life for my sake, you will find it. – Mt. 10
Isaiah makes it so abundantly clear, as Amos did several weeks ago, that great external expressions of devotion don’t impress God. It isn’t what faith is about. What matters in our relationship with God is that we act justly, that we actively seek to make things right. He gives two concrete examples that are almost icons of this kind of faith: “Hear the orphan’s plea, defend the widow.”
Similarly, Jesus explains that being a follower of his is not about finding a place of easy, comfortable tranquility – an isolated home among family and friends who love us. He warns us that to embrace the Lord and his way will inevitably place us in some conflict with people around us – even loved ones. The central message is that if we try to save ourselves – if self-protection and self-care dominate our lives – we will lose ourselves, we will become caught up in ourselves and become caricatures of ourselves. But, the mystery when we call “good news” is that the way to find ourselves, that is, to come to become fully ourselves, is to lose our life – to let go, to surrender, to place our trust in God.
We’ve heard this many times. I don’t imagine there are many of us – except for a few very free people – who can say, “That’s what I want and that is how I live.” In fact, it is one of our self-protective, survival instincts deeply imbedded within us to avoid dying, to avoid surrendering control, to avoid even taking risks. It takes grace and practice to become free from these instincts, to let go of the fear of losing ourselves, in order to get more relaxed at “letting go and letting God” show us how to live in a way that thinks of the needs of others first, that seeks the common good and justice itself, no matter the personal cost. It is only with great grace and much practice that we can learn to spontaneously live heroic lives of self-sacrifice and generosity, freely and joyfully – lives with Jesus and like Jesus.
Readings like today’s plant the seeds for great desires and deeper prayer:
Lord Jesus, as you lay out this way to greater life before me, you stir my heart to desire greater freedom and greater love. Please give me what I need to live this way, to love this way. Calm my fears, heal the deep hurts and old wounds. Grant that I might grow in your grace and have the ongoing desire to practice loving more freely today.
http://www.rc.net/wcc/readings/
"He who loves father and mother more than me is not worthy of me"
Why does Jesus describe his mission and the coming of God's kingdom in terms of conflict, division, and war? Jesus came in peace to reconcile a broken and sinful humanity with an all-merciful and loving God. Jesus also came to wage war, to overthrow the powers and principalities arrayed against God and his kingdom. What are these powers? Jesus describes Satan as the ruler of this world whom he will cast out (John 12:31). The battle Jesus had in mind was not an earthly conflict between nations, but a spiritual warfare between the forces of Satan and the armies of heaven. The scriptures make clear that there are ultimately only two powers or kingdoms – God's kingdom of light and the kingdom of darkness. John contrast these two kingdoms in the starkest of terms: We know that we are of God, and the whole world is in the power of the evil one (1 John 5:19).
What does Satan seek? To be the ruler of his destiny and master of his universe. He will not rest until everthing and everyone has come under his power and authority. That is why Satan is opposed to God and to everyone who swears allegiance to God's authority and rule in their lives. The evil one has but one aim – the complete domination of our heart, mind, and will to his kingdom. And he will use any means possible to draw us from good to evil, from truth to deception, from light to darkness, and from life to death. There are no neutral parties in this spiritual battle. We are either for or against the kingdom of God. The choices we make and the actions we take reveal whose kingdom we choose to follow. Jesus came to overthrow Satan's power and to set us free from everything that would keep us from the love of God and his wise rule in our lives – freedom from slavery to sin and our unruly desires, freedom from fear, greed, and selfishness.
When Jesus spoke about division he likely had in mind the prophecy of Micah: a man's enemies are the men of his own household (Micah 7:6). The love of God compels us to choose who will be first in our lives. To place any relationship or anything else above God is a form of idolatry. Jesus challenges his disciples to examine who they love first and foremost. A true disciple loves God above all else and is willing to forsake all for Jesus Christ. Jesus insists that his disciples give him the loyalty which is only due to God, a loyalty which is higher than spouse or kin. It is possible that family and friends can become our enemies, if the thought of them keeps us from doing what we know God wants us to do.
True love for God compels us to express charity towards our neighbor who is created in the image and likeness of God. Jesus declared that any kindness shown and any help given to the people of Christ will not lose its reward. Jesus never refused to give to anyone in need who asked for his help. As his disciples we are called to be kind and generous as he is. Jesus sets before his disciples the one goal in life that is worth any sacrifice and that goal is the will of God which leads to everlasting life, peace, and joy with God. Does the love of Jesus Christ compel you to put God first in all you do (2 Corinthians 5:14)?
"Lord, no eye has seen, no ear has heard, no heart has conceived the things you have prepared for those who love you. Set us ablaze with the fire of the Holy Spirit, that we may love you in and above all things and so receive the rewards you have promised us through Christ our Lord." (from A Christian's Prayer Book)
Psalm 50:8-9,16-17,21,23
8 I do not reprove you for your sacrifices; your burnt offerings are continually before me.
9 I will accept no bull from your house, nor he-goat from your folds.
16 But to the wicked God says: "What right have you to recite my statutes, or take my covenant on your lips?
17 For you hate discipline, and you cast my words behind you.
21 These things you have done and I have been silent; you thought that I was one like yourself. But now I rebuke you, and lay the charge before you.
23 He who brings thanksgiving as his sacrifice honors me; to him who orders his way aright I will show the salvation of God!"
http://www.daily-meditations.org/index2.html
Jesus my Lord, you speak to me Gospel words that "your yoke is easy and your burden is light." Yet, these seem like harsh words: "Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth." And more, "one's enemies will be those of his household." How is this yoke easy and turbulent at once? How is a burden sweet and yet producing animosities among family members?
The burden is sweet because it is created in divine love and emanates divine love. Love the Lord more than anyone else. Jesus shows us how to love others. The decisions about faith are the same among all the members of the family of the "body." Will each one love the Lord above all others and love neighbor as oneself? Or will the hallmark resistance be to the Will of the Lord?
When I do not give up on my love for the Lord despite the opposition or indifference from within my family, I do bear a cross and Jesus says, "Whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me." I cannot bear a cross of bitterness and say, "This is from the Lord." No, I carry it with joy because it is of the Lord; it is sweet to be, in some small way, a sign of Him. I persevere in love for others because I am renewed in the love of the Lord.
O Lord, by our sharing in the mystery of this Eucharist,
let Your saving Love grow within us.
~ Rev. Stephen H. Gratto
http://www.contemplative.com/weekday_readings.htm
"You are not worthy of me." My prayer must look into the face of Christ and be able to understand those words of Christ. You are not worthy of me. Jesus. If I do not set You as the absolute of my life then I am not worthy of you. The sword that cuts to the marrow of the bone is this absolute demand of Jesus upon my whole person and upon all the minutes and spaces of my life. There is no peace without the sword of divine love cutting deep within me. Each day it is relentless. Each day the cross. Each day the following after. Yet there is no other way. Jesus would be less than he is, if it were not this absolute surrender that God demands as creator and as the only source of all my being. God would not love me if He were not the end for which I was created. Holy Mary, pray for me that I become worthy of the promises of Christ.
http://goodnews.ie/calendar.php
St John Chrysostom wrote: “This more than anything is peace: when the disease is removed. This is peace: when the cancer is cut away.” Today’s gospel reading is one of those ‘terrible’ passages of the New Testament. Why is the Prince of Peace telling us that he has not come to bring peace but the sword? Clearly, there are wrong kinds of peace - or rather situations that look peaceful on the outside but are full of injustice within. An appearance of peace is not peace; it may be exactly the opposite. The Prince of Peace has not come to bless violence and oppression that have been so successful that the powerless have no resistance left. There are people who crush life all around them and call it restoring peace. Look at armies and at business companies, certainly, but don't forget to look at your own family too. Why are your wife and children so quiet? Are they sinking into despair? Or have you a way of making your husband feel so bad that everything he might do or say is condemned even before he says or does it?
A word about the even more terrible statement: “The one who prefers father or mother to me is not worthy of me.” The word ‘prefer’ comes from Latin praeferre, ‘to place before’. We should not place other people before Christ. It would not be fair to them, it would be too much for them, and they couldn’t bear it.
http://www.presentationministries.com/
"YOU HATE DISCIPLINE" (Part 3) | ||
"You hate discipline." 뾒salm 50:17 | ||
Discipline is not popular. Nevertheless, discipline is essential for a disciple of Christ. "You have forgotten the encouraging words addressed to you as sons: 'My sons, do not disdain the discipline of the Lord nor lose heart when He reproves you; For whom the Lord loves, He disciplines; He scourges every son He receives.' Endure your trials as the discipline of God, who deals with you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline?" (Heb 12:5-7) Our parents "disciplined us as seemed right to them, to prepare us for the short span of mortal life; but God does so for our true profit, that we may share His holiness. At the time it is administered, all discipline seems a cause for grief and not for joy, but later it brings forth the fruit of peace and justice to those who are trained in its school" (Heb 12:10-11). The reproof of discipline is a way to life, not drudgery (Prv 6:23), while a lack of discipline is a way to death (Prv 5:23). "You yourselves...must now understand the discipline of the Lord" (Dt 11:2). "Discipline yourself in all your conduct" (Tb 4:14). "The first step toward discipline is a very earnest desire for" it (Wis 6:17). Appreciate and embrace discipline (Prv 1:2; Sir 6:18). Whoever "would find God must accept discipline" (Sir 32:14). | ||
Prayer: Father, Son, and Spirit, may I earnestly desire the discipline of daily giving You my best. Pour out Your love in my weak heart so I will return to my early love of You (Rm 5:5; Rv 2:4). | ||
Promise: "He who brings himself to nought for Me discovers who he is." 뾏t 10:39 | ||
Praise: Lacking discipline, Mark asked for and received from the Lord the gift of fasting to help break the ties that bound him. |
http://www.judeop.org/daily_bread.htm
Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. Jesus makes no bones about it. He calls us to make tough choices, to choose him over all else, even what we hold most dear, even beloved family members! Yet the reward for commitment to Jesus is great: fullness of life. Some have been martyred for their faith, trading earthly life for eternal life. For those of us who do not face such challenges, perhaps our call is to have an expanded vision of life, a vision of our lives tied inextricably to the lives of others, especially the poor, the needy and all who live on the margins of society. For the grace to lose and find ourselves in service to others, we pray. Ecw
http://www.judeop.org/dailyhomilette2.htm
In the Middle East where Christians still live among Muslims, it is not unusual for Muslims to challenge Christians about our belief that God is both one and three. “This is contradictory,” the Muslims would say. We Christians, of course, are not without answers. Our responses generally restate the great theological declarations of the fourth century that the Father, the Son, and Spirit share the same divinity with distinct, although not individual, personhoods. In the gospel proclamation today we find Scriptural basis for our stand that Jesus is one with the Father.
First and foremost, Jesus speaks with divine authority. Who but God would dare to say that anyone who “loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me”? Even a fool would allow some slack for family before claiming personal allegiance. Jesus, however, knowing himself to be divine can demand utmost loyalty. Second, Jesus states that anyone who accepts one of his apostles, accepts him just as anyone who accepts him, accepts the Father who sent him. It is not strange to say that to accept an ambassador with credentials from an earthly leader, accepts the leader. But it is brazen to make the same equation between oneself and God without divine testimony. It may be that Jesus is simply deluded, but the gospels show him to be very much in touch with reality. We conclude then that Jesus is as he indicates, God.
Acknowledging Jesus as God implies compliance with his teaching. We take up our cross and follow him without grumbling, much less rebellion. Likewise, we assist the “little ones,” the poor, whom Mother Teresa recognized as “Jesus in disguise.”
http://www.judeop.org/dailyreflections.htm
One of the admonitions I can recall my parents giving me in my small hometown upbringing was, "Remember who you are!" It was meant to call my attention to the fact that I did not represent myself alone, but my whole family in whatever I did. This admonition could be one of several when the occasion was an important one, but it extended to everyday and everything.
Today's gospel scripture is a list of "last minute" instructions to the disciples before Jesus sets them free to preach and heal. He warns them to make the mission their top priority (even more than family) and to expect hostility and opposition (even from family). Then he points out to them that their mission is not really THEIRS but HIS. This is why he says, "Whoever receives you receives me....." The implications of this are profound. A true disciple must have an integrity of person that identifies the disciple with Jesus' mission. One does not have to be "perfect" to be a good disciple, but others should be able to recognize Jesus' preaching in our own! Those who become Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist are reminded that they are giving the body and blood of the Lord to others. The same is true for any disciple who makes the kingdom of God known to someone else. When the disciple is "received," the Lord is received! Pope St. Leo the Great put it well when he said, "Christians! Realize your dignity!"
Our baptism into Christ, which for so many of us occurred in infancy, confers a great dignity on us - not a pompous or perfectionist attitude. The world is longing for God. Can God be "received" through us? Remember who you are! AMEN
http://biblereflection.blogspot.com/
In the first reading, Isaiah tells us to stop doing evil in order to
be pleasing in the eyes of God. We can atone for our sins not by
endless prayers and sacrifices but by doing good to our neighbor, by
loving the unlovable and by accepting those who irritate and
inconvenience us.
The gospel is even more radical. It invites us to renounce our plans
and our familial ties if we want to follow Jesus. Perhaps our families
are a hindrance to our doing the will of God. Understandably they want
us to become successful, respectable, wealthy, etc. But Jesus
sometimes wants us to give up our lives for the kingdom of God. Jesus
wants us to serve others and not ourselves. So we have to turn away
from our plans and dreams and embark on a journey of faith. Blessed is
the man who obeys the call of the Lord. He will see miracles and
wonders and most important of all acquire a fulfilled spirit if he
gives up everything to follow Jesus. We know that we are on the right
path when people criticize us for following Jesus and try to turn us
away from the plan of God. We must be courageous and listen to our
hearts. Many saints, priests, nuns and laypeople have entered the plan
of God and were not disappointed. They saw the marvels of God who
worked through them and in them.
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