2012년 7월 25일 수요일 성 야고보 사도 축일
제1독서
코린토 2서. 4,7-15
형제 여러분, 7 우리는 보물을 질그릇 속에 지니고 있습니다. 그 엄청난 힘은 하느님의 것으로, 우리에게서 나오는 힘이 아님을 보여 주시려는 것입니다.
8 우리는 온갖 환난을 겪어도 억눌리지 않고, 난관에 부딪혀도 절망하지 않으며, 9 박해를 받아도 버림받지 않고, 맞아 쓰러져도 멸망하지 않습니다. 10 우리는 언제나 예수님의 죽음을 몸에 짊어지고 다닙니다. 우리 몸에서 예수님의 생명도 드러나게 하려는 것입니다.
11 우리는 살아 있으면서도 늘 예수님 때문에 죽음에 넘겨집니다. 우리의 죽을 육신에서 예수님의 생명도 드러나게 하려는 것입니다. 12 그리하여 우리에게서는 죽음이 약동하고 여러분에게서는 생명이 약동합니다.
13 “나는 믿었다. 그러므로 말하였다.”고 성경에 기록되어 있습니다. 이와 똑같은 믿음의 영을 우리도 지니고 있으므로 “우리는 믿습니다. 그러므로 말합니다.” 14 주 예수님을 일으키신 분께서 우리도 예수님과 함께 일으키시어 여러분과 더불어 당신 앞에 세워 주시리라는 것을 알고 있기 때문입니다.
15 이 모든 것은 다 여러분을 위한 것입니다. 그리하여 은총이 점점 더 많은 사람에게 퍼져 나가 하느님의 영광을 위하여 감사하는 마음이 넘치게 하려는 것입니다.
복음
마태오 20,20-28
20 그때에 제베대오의 두 아들의 어머니가 그 아들들과 함께 예수님께 다가와 엎드려 절하고 무엇인가 청하였다.
21 예수님께서 그 부인에게 “무엇을 원하느냐?” 하고 물으시자, 그 부인이 “스승님의 나라에서 저의 이 두 아들이 하나는 스승님의 오른쪽에, 하나는 왼쪽에 앉을 것이라고 말씀해 주십시오.” 하고 말하였다.
22 예수님께서 “너희는 너희가 무엇을 청하는지 알지도 못한다. 내가 마시려는 잔을 너희가 마실 수 있느냐?” 하고 물으셨다.
그들이 “할 수 있습니다.” 하고 대답하자, 23 예수님께서 그들에게 말씀하셨다. “너희는 내 잔을 마실 것이다. 그러나 내 오른쪽과 왼쪽에 앉는 것은 내가 허락할 일이 아니라, 내 아버지께서 정하신 이들에게 돌아가는 것이다.”
24 다른 열 제자가 이 말을 듣고 그 두 형제를 불쾌하게 여겼다. 25 예수님께서는 그들을 가까이 불러 이르셨다. “너희도 알다시피 다른 민족들의 통치자들은 백성 위에 군림하고, 고관들은 백성에게 세도를 부린다.
26 그러나 너희는 그래서는 안 된다. 너희 가운데에서 높은 사람이 되려는 이는 너희를 섬기는 사람이 되어야 한다. 27 또한 너희 가운데에서 첫째가 되려는 이는 너희의 종이 되어야 한다. 28 사람의 아들도 섬김을 받으러 온 것이 아니라 섬기러 왔고, 또 많은 이들의 몸값으로 자기 목숨을 바치러 왔다.”
http://www.usccb.org/calendar/index.cfm?showLit=1&action=month
http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings-audio.cfm
July 25, 2012
Feast of Saint James, apostle
Reading 1
2 Cor 4:7-15
Brothers and sisters:
We hold this treasure in earthen vessels,
that the surpassing power may be of God and not from us.
We are afflicted in every way, but not constrained;
perplexed, but not driven to despair;
persecuted, but not abandoned;
struck down, but not destroyed;
always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus,
so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our body.
For we who live are constantly being given up to death
for the sake of Jesus,
so that the life of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh.
So death is at work in us, but life in you.
Since, then, we have the same spirit of faith,
according to what is written, I believed, therefore I spoke,
we too believe and therefore speak,
knowing that the one who raised the Lord Jesus
will raise us also with Jesus
and place us with you in his presence.
Everything indeed is for you,
so that the grace bestowed in abundance on more and more people
may cause the thanksgiving to overflow for the glory of God.
Responsorial Psalm
126:1bc-2ab, 2cd-3, 4-5, 6
R. (5) Those who sow in tears shall reap rejoicing.
When the LORD brought back the captives of Zion,
we were like men dreaming.
Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
and our tongue with rejoicing.
R. Those who sow in tears shall reap rejoicing.
Then they said among the nations,
“The LORD has done great things for them.”
The LORD has done great things for us;
we are glad indeed.
R. Those who sow in tears shall reap rejoicing.
Restore our fortunes, O LORD,
like the torrents in the southern desert.
Those that sow in tears
shall reap rejoicing.
R. Those who sow in tears shall reap rejoicing.
Although they go forth weeping,
carrying the seed to be sown,
They shall come back rejoicing,
carrying their sheaves.
R. Those who sow in tears shall reap rejoicing.
Gospel
Mt 20:20-28
The mother of the sons of Zebedee approached Jesus with her sons
and did him homage, wishing to ask him for something.
He said to her,
“What do you wish?”
She answered him,
“Command that these two sons of mine sit,
one at your right and the other at your left, in your Kingdom.”
Jesus said in reply,
“You do not know what you are asking.
Can you drink the chalice that I am going to drink?”
They said to him, “We can.”
He replied,
“My chalice you will indeed drink,
but to sit at my right and at my left, this is not mine to give
but is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.”
When the ten heard this,
they became indignant at the two brothers.
But Jesus summoned them and said,
“You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them,
and the great ones make their authority over them felt.
But it shall not be so among you.
Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant;
whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave.
Just so, the Son of Man did not come to be served
but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
http://www.staygreat.com/
I'd give it to the poor
The Son of Man came not to be
served but to serve. Matthew 20:28
In the Great Depression era of the
1930's government agents used to
travel through the Tennessee
mountain area, making on-the-spot
appraisals of the needs of the poor.
They would empowered to give
them on-the-spot money to buy
food or badly needed repairs. One
agent found a woman in a cabin
with a dirt floor and several broken
windows. He said to her, “If I gave
you a government check for $200,
how would you use the money?’’
She thought a moment and said,
“I reckon I’d give it to the poor."
To what extent is my focus like
that of the old woman's: on the
needs of others, rather than on my
own needs. In other words is it on
being served or on serving?
People who live solely for them-
selves are eventually corrupted
by their own company. Anon
http://www.franciscanretreats.net/
The mother of the sons of Zebedee approached Jesus with her sons
and did him homage, wishing to ask him for something.
He said to her,
“What do you wish?”
She answered him,
“Command that these two sons of mine sit,
one at your right and the other at your left, in your Kingdom.”
Jesus said in reply,
“You do not know what you are asking.
Can you drink the chalice that I am going to drink?”
They said to him, “We can.”
He replied,
“My chalice you will indeed drink,
but to sit at my right and at my left, this is not mine to give
but is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.”
When the ten heard this,
they became indignant at the two brothers.
But Jesus summoned them and said,
“You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them,
and the great ones make their authority over them felt.
But it shall not be so among you.
Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant;
whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave.
Just so, the Son of Man did not come to be served
but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
http://www.evangeli.net/gospel/gospel.html
«You do not know what you are asking (…) .That will be for those for whom the Father has prepared it»
Today, in the fragment of St. Matthew's Gospel we can find many teachings. I will however limit myself to underline just one, which refers to God's total control of events throughout time: whether of all men together (mankind), or of each and every human group (in our case, for instance, the family group of the Zebedees), or of any individual person. This is why Jesus clearly tells them:«You do not know what you are asking» (Mt 20:22).
To sit at Jesus Christ's right is for those his Father has prepared it: «To sit at my right or at my left is not for me to grant. That will be for those for whom the Father has prepared it» (Mt 20:23). Just like that, in a clear-cut way. There is an English saying that goes «Man proposes and God disposes». And it is so, precisely because God is God. Or we could also say it the other way round: if it was not so, God would not be God.
Before this fact, unquestionably overpowering any human determining factor, at the beginning, men are left with nothing else but acceptance and worship (because God has revealed himself to us as the Absolute); while marching on, with confidence and love (because God has revealed himself to us as a Father, too); and at the end..., that grand and definite end: to sit at Jesus' side (whether at his right or at his left, it does not matter at all).
On our side, the enigma of divine election and predestination can only be solved with confidence. A milligram of confidence placed in God's heart is worth more than all the weight of the world put on our poor little scale pan. In fact, «St. James did not live long: this is because from the very beginning he was already burning with a great vehemence: he scorned all human things and climbed to such ineffable ceilings that he died immediately» (St. John Chrysostom).
http://www.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html
St. James is one of the apostles about whom we know very little. And since we know so little about him, I find it difficult to distinguish him from the other apostle called James. We do know that this James was the son of Zebedee and the brother of John the evangelist. James and John were favored by Jesus to be present at some of the most memorable events of his public life here on earth. They were present at the Transfiguration and at the agony in the garden. St. Luke in the Acts tells us that James died when he was beheaded at Jerusalem by order of King Herod Agrippa. He was the first of the apostles to die.
In today's gospel reading we have the only certain appearance of the mother of James and John. Interestingly enough, St. Matthew does not even tell us her name. (Some say that she is the Salome mentioned in St. Mark's gospel.) Even in this one brief appearance this nameless woman has always caught my attention when I read this gospel passage. I think there is something very human and very attractive about her. Jesus makes it clear that her request is an improper one, and that he cannot consider granting it. And yet I say to myself "what mother does not want the best for her sons?"
This mother may make a very bold request, but she makes it in a most proper manner. She does not make the request behind the backs of her sons, but rather in their presence and presumably with their consent. Before making her request she does homage to Jesus, showing that she respects him as a great teacher and a good leader for her sons. She has the deference to wait until Jesus asks what her wish is before stating it. Then she simply departs the scene and the gospel story. This one brief scene is all that we know of her. The remaining dialogue in this scene is between Jesus and the brothers. Of their mother we hear no more. Although her life continues she vanishes from the gospel story as quickly and completely as she came into it. Her brief appearance in the life of Jesus is similar to that of a number of others. People such as Simon of Cyrene, Veronica, Zaccheus, and the Samaritan woman at the well. We are left with a charming picture of a woman whose name we do not know and who only wanted what was best for her two sons.
There has been much speculation about the mother of James and John. One tradition says that she was the sister of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Even if that were not true, it is very possible that she was privileged to know and spend time with Mary when John took her into his home. I like to think that this mother lived to see her son James enter into the heavenly kingdom. I am sure that it was a great joy for her even if James did not have a place at the right hand of Jesus.
http://www.rc.net/wcc/readings/
"Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink?"
Who doesn't want to be first, to be esteemed and honored by others? We seem to have an unquenchable thirst for recognition and fame, power and authority to rule our own lives as we please as well as the lives of others. Should we be surprised to see the disciples of Jesus thirsting for power, position, and authority? James and John, the sons of Zebedee, urged their mother to strike a deal with Jesus, their Master and Messiah. They wanted the distinction of being first and most important in position, next to Jesus, of course!
When Jesus called the twelve apostles to be his inner circle of disciples who would teach and exercise spiritual authority on his behalf, he did the unthinkable! Jesus taught contrary to the world's understanding of power, authority, and position, by reversing the order of master and servant, lord and subject, first and last! Jesus wedded authority with love, position with sacrifice, and service with humility. Authority without love is brutish and self-serving. Position without respect and concern for the subordinate is demeaning and rude. And service without generosity and sacrifice is cheap and unkind.
Those who wish to serve with Christ and to exercise authority in God's kingdom must be prepared to sacrifice – not just some of their time, money, and resources – but their whole lives and all that they possess! Jesus used stark language to explain what kind of sacrifice he had in mind. His disciples must drink his cup if they expect to reign with him in his kingdom. The cup he had in mind was a bitter one involving crucifixion. What kind of cup does the Lord have in mind for us? For some disciples such a cup entails physical suffering and the painful struggle of martyrdom. But for many, it entails the long routine of the Christian life, with all its daily sacrifices, disappointments, set-backs, struggles, and temptations.
A disciple of Jesus must be ready to lay down his or her life – each and every day in the little and big sacrifices required – and even to the point of shedding one's blood if necessary for the sake of Christ and his gospel. What makes such sacrifice a joy rather than a burden? It is love – the kind of "love which God has poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us" (Romans 5:5). An early church father summed up Jesus' teaching with the expression: "to serve is to reign with Christ." We share in God's reign by laying down our lives in humble service and love for one another, just as Jesus did for our sake. Are you ready to lay down your life and to serve others as Jesus has taught and modeled for us?
"Lord Jesus, make me a servant of love for your kingdom, that I may seek to serve rather than be served. Inflame my heart with love that I may give generously and serve joyfully for your sake."
Psalm 31:5-6, 14-16
5 Into thy hand I commit my spirit; thou hast redeemed me, O LORD, faithful God.
6 Thou hatest those who pay regard to vain idols; but I trust in the LORD.
14 But I trust in thee, O LORD, I say, ‘Thou are my God.'
15 My times are in thy hand; deliver me from the hand of my enemies and persecutors!
16 Let thy face shine on thy servant; save me in thy steadfast love!
http://www.daily-meditations.org/index2.html
Today's First Reading speaks so well of the mystery of human suffering. That is, that by God's grace, we carry in our own bodies the sufferings of Christ. It is a difficult concept, especially in the face of the apparent senselessness of catastrophic illness or injury.
What can we say to those who are suffering?
Holy Scripture tells us that in response to human suffering, Christ sighed, groaned and wept. Therefore in imitation of Christ let us be present to others who are suffering, not by trying to construct for them the whole of salvation history in the Word becoming Flesh, but by what is most effective, by having the living Christ animate our flesh that we might be Christ for others.
Bishop Fulton Sheen in one of his presentations encouraged the audience to remember that no one remained dead in Christ's presence, not the daughter of Jairus, not the widow of Naim's son, not Lazarus.
So, too, will it be for others who, by God's grace and their cooperation with His grace, recognize their suffering as a means of salvation for themselves and others.
"Those who sow in tears shall reap rejoicing." (Psalm 126:5)
::: Donna Raye Nelson, OCDS
http://www.contemplative.com/weekday_readings.htm
Matthew 13.31-35
My prayer is work within the Kingdom. God works. Like the man and the woman in the parable, I work. I plant the seed. I leaven the dough. The seed becomes a great bush, a tree for the dwelling of birds. The little bit of leaven raises the whole lump of dough. In the parable, these natural processes give us some insight into the nature of the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom is God’s working that involves a cooperation on our part. The more I step aside and surrender, and be receptive, the more is the work of the Kingdom accomplished. Basically it is better to see that I grow imperceptibly under the influence of prayer—God’s working in me so that the work of transformation goes on beyond my own efforts. Many birds live in the branches. Many mouths are fed from the bread of life in the Kingdom.
http://goodnews.ie/calendar.php
James, the brother of John, is an apostle we know very little about. It is clear that he had a leading position among the twelve; in every list of the apostles he is in the first three; and he was the first apostle to be martyred. Yet, with one exception, he is never mentioned apart from his brother John. The one exception is when his martyrdom is recounted in Acts 12:2. “Now about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hand to persecute certain members of the Church, and he killed James, the brother of John, with the sword.”
James and John were fishermen, sons of Zebedee. They seem to have been typical impulsive and quick-tempered Galileans, for they were nicknamed ‘Boanerges’, “sons of thunder” (Mk 3:17). It was this explosive temper that made them want to blot out the Samaritan village that had refused hospitality to Jesus and his company (Lk 9:51-56). They were ambitious men who wanted an assurance that they would have big jobs in the Kingdom (Mk 10:35-45). Matthew’s gospel blames their mother for this request (today’s gospel reading). There must have been a feeling of shame that two great apostles could have been so self-regarding, and the blame was shifted to their mother!
That is all that is known of James the Apostle. There is a legend that he went to Spain and preached the Gospel there; he is the patron saint of that country. It has been suggested that the name of the shrine of Compostella may be a corruption of Giacomo Postolo (James the Apostle). To this day there is an image of the Virgin Mary in Saragossa, before which a hundred lamps are kept forever burning, for it is said that Mary appeared to James there to strengthen him and encourage him in his work.
http://www.presentationministries.com/