May 12, 2007 Saturday of the Fifth Week of Easter

  2007년 5월 12일 부활 제5주간 토요일

 

 제1독서

  사도행전 16,1-10
그 무렵 1 바오로는 데르베를 거쳐 리스트라에 당도하였다.
그곳에 티모테오라는 제자가 있었는데, 그는 신자가 된 유다 여자와 그리스인 아버지 사이에 태어난 아들로서, 2 리스트라와 이코니온에 있는 형제들에게 좋은 평판을 받고 있었다. 3 바오로는 티모테오와 동행하기를 원하였다. 그래서 그 고장에 사는 유다인들을 생각하여 그를 데려다가 할례를 베풀었다. 그의 아버지가 그리스인이라는 것을 그들이 모두 알고 있었기 때문이다.
4 바오로 일행은 여러 고을을 두루 다니며, 예루살렘에 있는 사도들과 원로들이 정한 규정들을 신자들에게 전해 주며 지키게 하였다. 5 그리하여 그곳 교회들은 믿음이 굳건해지고 신자들의 수도 나날이 늘어 갔다.
6 성령께서 아시아에 말씀을 전하는 것을 막으셨으므로, 그들은 프리기아와 갈라티아 지방을 가로질러 갔다. 7 그리고 미시아에 이르러 비티니아로 가려고 하였지만, 예수님의 영께서 허락하지 않으셨다. 8 그리하여 미시아를 지나 트로아스로 내려갔다. 9 그런데 어느 날 밤 바오로가 환시를 보았다. 마케도니아 사람 하나가 바오로 앞에 서서, “마케도니아로 건너와 저희를 도와주십시오.” 하고 청하는 것이었다.
10 바오로가 그 환시를 보고 난 뒤, 우리는 곧 마케도니아로 떠날 방도를 찾았다. 마케도니아 사람들에게 복음을 전하도록 하느님께서 우리를 부르신 것이라고 확신하였기 때문이다.

 

복음

 요한 15,18-21
그때에 예수님께서 제자들에게 말씀하셨다.
18 “세상이 너희를 미워하거든 너희보다 먼저 나를 미워하였다는 것을 알아라. 19 너희가 세상에 속한다면 세상은 너희를 자기 사람으로 사랑할 것이다. 그러나 너희가 세상에 속하지 않을 뿐만 아니라 내가 너희를 세상에서 뽑았기 때문에, 세상이 너희를 미워하는 것이다.
20 ‘종은 주인보다 높지 않다.’고 내가 너희에게 한 말을 기억하여라. 사람들이 나를 박해하였으면 너희도 박해할 것이고, 내 말을 지켰으면 너희 말도 지킬 것이다. 21 그러나 그들은 내 이름 때문에 너희에게 그 모든 일을 저지를 것이다. 그들이 나를 보내신 분을 알지 못하기 때문이다.”

 

 

 

 May 12, 2007

 Saturday of the Fifth Week of Easter

 Reading 1
Acts 16:1-10

Paul reached also Derbe and Lystra
where there was a disciple named Timothy,
the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer,
but his father was a Greek.
The brothers in Lystra and Iconium spoke highly of him,
and Paul wanted him to come along with him.
On account of the Jews of that region, Paul had him circumcised,
for they all knew that his father was a Greek.
As they traveled from city to city,
they handed on to the people for observance the decisions
reached by the Apostles and presbyters in Jerusalem.
Day after day the churches grew stronger in faith
and increased in number.

They traveled through the Phrygian and Galatian territory
because they had been prevented by the Holy Spirit
from preaching the message in the province of Asia.
When they came to Mysia, they tried to go on into Bithynia,
but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them,
so they crossed through Mysia and came down to Troas.
During the night Paul had a vision.
A Macedonian stood before him and implored him with these words,
“Come over to Macedonia and help us.”
When he had seen the vision,
we sought passage to Macedonia at once,
concluding that God had called us to proclaim the Good News to them.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 100:1b-2, 3, 5

R. (2a) Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;
serve the LORD with gladness;
come before him with joyful song.
R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Know that the LORD is God;
he made us, his we are;
his people, the flock he tends.
R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The LORD is good:
his kindness endures forever,
and his faithfulness, to all generations.
R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
or:
R. Alleluia.

Gospel
Jn 15:18-21

Jesus said to his disciples:
“If the world hates you, realize that it hated me first.
If you belonged to the world, the world would love its own;
but because you do not belong to the world,
and I have chosen you out of the world,
the world hates you.
Remember the word I spoke to you,
‘No slave is greater than his master.’
If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.
If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.
And they will do all these things to you on account of my name,
because they do not know the one who sent me.”

 

 

 Commentary

 

Paul hears of a disciple called Timothy and brings him along on his journey. They share the letter from the apostles in Jerusalem (though he has Timothy circumcised because of the people in the region). They are able to get into some places while they are stopped from entering in others. In a dream they are called to Macedonia and so they go there. This passage reveals the shifting and shuffling of the church and individuals as very human and in a world that is filled with rejections, failures, and changes yet they still try to preach the gospel. It is the same with us.

Jesus reminds us that we are in the world, but the world often hates us, rejects us and makes life hard for us, as it did for Jesus. But we belong first to God and we have been chosen by our master Jesus. What he experienced, we should not be surprised that we know too. But are we being harried and hated because of the name of Jesus? 

 

 

 John’s gospel for today seems rather depressing, certainly not very inviting. We are being told that the world will hate us and that we will be persecuted because God has chosen us. It reminds me of our kids chiding each other with, “Doesn’t that make you feel special?” when one was asked to do something that no one really wanted to do. I am sitting here sort of like the kids and wondering, do I really want to be the special one to be chosen by God especially if hatred and persecution are the result?!

I feel guilty for not wanting to be special enough to be chosen by God, for not wanting to experience hatred and persecution in his name. But then I think of the good company that I am in, the disciples did not go looking to demonstrate how special they were; they quickly dispersed from the garden of Gethsemane when the crowd came for Jesus. Peter denied his special calling three times. And even Jesus asked his Father to let him avoid the persecution he was about to face. I do not think there is an expectation from Jesus for the disciples or for us to look forward to hatred and persecution in his name He is warning the disciples things are going to get really tough for them. I think he is telling all of us that it will not always be easy to follow in his steps.

Personally, I have never had a threat of physical persecution on a personal level. So where is it so difficult for me to be special? It is in following God’s lead in my every day life. It is in truly listening to his call because I am afraid of what he may ask of me.

In earlier passages of the gospel, Jesus has already told his disciples (and you and me) that His love is ours forever. So yes, it is SPECIAL to be chosen by God because his Son has promised us that as long as we are true to him, he will be with us even, or especially, when it is the most difficult. If I am afraid of what he might ask of me it is hard to be open to his presence, but it is precisely then when his presence is the most meaningful.

The psalm reminds us of how SPECIAL we really are: “Know that the LORD is God; he made us, his we are; his people, the flock he tends.” There is really nothing more SPECIAL than to be chosen by God, to know that he is always with me.

 

 by
Susan Tinley
School of Nursing

 

 

 Aggression is part of life, whether we like it or not.  We tend to justify it if we are handing it out, and we don’t like it when we are on the receiving end. 

            Not all aggression is bad.  If we were to lose the aggressive instinct completely our lives would probably sag dreadfully.  Aquinas said that the virtue of hope is based on the natural passion of aggression.  When we read this today we tend to imagine that he reduced hope to aggression  -  because we are so given to reductionist thinking.  But when he said hope was based on the aggressive instinct he meant just that.  Aggression does not explain hope, any more than the foundation explains a building.  Hope, we might say, redeems the aggressive instinct. 

            The trouble is that we build crazy things on that foundation.  Or we build nothing at all, but leave it in its raw state.  Someone wrote of Wyndham Lewis that he loved to disembowel his enemies, who were numerous, for the simple reason that he wanted them to be numerous.  Some people draw all their power from aggression.  We even expect the saints to be fighting something or other.  “The very saints interest us most when we think of them as engaged in a conflict with the devil,” wrote Robert Lynd.

            The point, I suppose, is that they don’t take the battle to the devil; the devil takes it to them.  “Our struggle” wrote St Paul, “is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12).  When people try to do something really good, all the forces of aggression seem to line up against them.  “I have defeated the devil!” boasted a young monk to a 4th-century Desert Father.  “That’s because your front gate is wide open,” said the Abba, “and the devil is able to go in and out at will.  But close your gate and you will find all the forces of the enemy drawn up before them!” 

            “You do not belong to the world,” said Jesus.  In John's gospel “the world” is not this blue planet but all the forces in the world opposed to the kingdom of God.  Christian may not be asking for trouble, but they will certainly get it if they have more in common with Jesus than we find comfortable. 

 

 

"You are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world" 

 What does Jesus mean when he says "you are not of this world"?  The "world" in scripture refers to that society of people who are hostile towards God and opposed to his will.  The "world" rejected Jesus and his disciples can expect the same treatment. Jesus leaves no middle ground for his followers. We are either for him or against him, for his kingdom of light or for the kingdom of darkness. The prophet Isaiah warned that humans separated from God by sin and spiritual darkness would end up calling evil good and good evil (Isaiah 5:20).  How can we rightly distinguish good from evil? The love of God draws us to all that is lovely, true and good.  If we truly love God then we will submit to his truth and will for our lives.  A friend of God cannot expect to be a friend of the world. Jesus' demand is unequivocal and without compromise. Do not love the world or the things in the world. If any one loves the world, love for the Father is not in him (1 John 2:15). We must make a choice either for or against God. Do you seek to please God in all your thoughts, actions, and relationships? Let the Holy Spirit inflame your heart with the love of God.

"Lord, may the fire of your love inflame my heart with zeal for your kingdom. And may there be no rivals to keep my from loving your first and foremost above all else."

Psalm 100:1-5

1 Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the lands!
2 Serve the LORD with gladness! Come into his presence with singing!
3 Know that the LORD is God! It is he that made us, and we are his;  we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise!  Give thanks to him, bless his name!
5 For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures for ever, and his faithfulness to all generations.

 

 THE MISSING PIECE

'Come over to Macedonia and help us.' Acts 16:9

Today begins the 'we' section of the Acts of the Apostles. When Paul and his companions were prevented from going to Asia and Bithynia, Luke, the author of Acts, uses the pronoun 'they' (Acts 16:6, 7). Then 'they came down to Troas' (Acts 16:8). The missionaries were encountering closed doors and were seemingly wandering about aimlessly.

At Troas, 'Paul had a vision' (Acts 16:9). There the team found the open door, leading to Macedonia. In Troas, they suddenly received vision, discernment, and direction (Acts 16:10). What made the difference?

In Troas, Luke joined the missionary team. Notice that the pronoun 'we' is used beginning in Acts 16:10 and continuing throughout a good portion of the rest of Acts. Before Luke arrived, the mission was floundering. After Luke arrived, the door was opened to bring the gospel to Europe for the first time.

Luke is never mentioned in Acts as performing any noteworthy service. He is simply 'with' Paul (see 2 Tm 4:11). Luke quietly used his spiritual and natural gifts, and that led to an open door. Luke was chosen by God to play this role (see Jn 15:19).

How about you? Are you a Luke? Is there a ministry, community, or vocation for which you are the missing piece? Pentecost is rapidly approaching. Pray diligently for docility to the Holy Spirit and discernment in all the areas of your life. May 'the Spirit of Jesus' (Acts 16:7) fix you 'like a peg in a sure spot' (Is 22:23).

Praise: Sts. Nereus & Achilleus, upon converting to Christianity, left the army, got rid of their weapons, and were martyred shortly thereafter.
Prayer: Father, thank You for preparing a life of good deeds for me in advance (Eph 2:10). May I joyfully complete all of them.
Promise: 'I chose you out of the world.' Jn 15:19

 

 

«All this they will do to you for the sake of my name because they do not know the one who sent me»

Today, the Gospel opposes the world to Christ's followers. The world represents whatever sinful there may be in our existence. Consequently, one of the main characteristics of Christ's followers is fighting all evil and sin to be found in the world and inside every man. This is why, Jesus is the light of men, the light that illuminates the world's darkness. Karol Wojtyla exhorts us «so that this light makes us strong and capable to accept and love the entire Truth of Christ, and love it even more when opposed by our world».

Neither Christians nor the Church can follow the passing fads or criteria of this world. Christ's criterion is the unique, definitive and unavoidable one for us to follow. It is not up to Jesus to adapt himself to the world where we live; it is up to us instead to transform our lives after Jesus. «Christ is the same one whether yesterday, today or always». This should make us wonder. When our secularized society demands from us and from the Church certain changes or licences, we are simply being asked us to move away from God. We, Christians, however, should be faithful to Christ and to his message. Saint Ireneus says: «God does not need anything; but man needs to be in permanent communion with God. And man's glory lies in persevering and always keep in God's service».

This fidelity may, quite often, mean persecution: «If they persecuted me, they will persecute you, too» (Jn 15:20). We should not be afraid of persecution; we should rather be afraid of not attempting strongly enough to always make God's will. Let's be brave and let us proclaim without any fear Christ resurrected, light and joy of all Christians! Let us leave the Holy Spirit to transform us so that we can inform the whole world about it!
 

 

 Jesus says very clearly that his followers will be treated just as he was treated.   If they treated him well,  we can expect good treatment.   But they crucified him!   Any real follower of Jesus Christ can expect to be ridiculed, condescended to, and victimized by snide remarks and cynicism.  The world cannot stand to hear the truth.   None of us enjoys this.   We rightly get upset by the distortions of Catholic belief in the media and the press.    We do not understand how vicious the world can be in attacking us.   The vilification of Pope Pius XII is a case in point.    Over and over again, the Church has proved that he did all in his power to stop the holocaust.  But the accusation that he was a tool of the Nazis sells books and plays.   Unfortunately, Catholics do sin; sad to say some heinous sins are committed by priests.    But the press seems to have a feeding frenzy whenever a Catholic is found doing evil.   Sins are committed by others with as much frequency (or more), but it’s the Catholics who are sensationalized. 
We must never become masochists.   But we should always remember today’s gospel – and the last of the Beatitudes from Matthew’s gospel:   “Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you falsely: Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great.

Also St. Nereus and St. Achilleus  These two saints were soldiers in the Pretorian Guard.    They carried out the orders of the tyrant emperor in plunder and pillage.   But suddenly, by a miracle of grace, they were converted to the faith.   They threw away their shields and swords and refused to plunder any more.  As a result, they themselves suffered martyrdom in the Second Century.  Pope Siricius erected a Church over their tomb in 390 A.D.   Pope Damasus I composed a poetic epitaph on them in the Fourth Century.

Also St. Pancras   Very little is known about this martyr other than his name.   Apparently he was martyred in 390 A.D.    Some have said that he was a boy of fourteen years of age; this may account for the popularity of his cult in the Fifth Century at Rome.

 

 

 Our love-life with God in Christ is not of "la-la" land.  It is not sentimental.  It is not a part of the conventional wisdom of our dominant culture.  This is especially true in being an orthodox Catholic.  We are orthodox if we accept the Magisterium and allow its truth to germinate within us.  Remember that Jesus said there is an absolute relationship between love and commandments.  There is no love if there is no behavior that reflects the moral code given us in the New Testament which the Magisterium holds out to us as a light in the darkness.  If we have this attitude then we can expect the hatred of the world.  The world is all those who are intentionally outside of the light of Christ and who have institutionalized its opposition to the Gospel as proclaimed in the Church.  Many dissident Catholics become part of the siege because they rally for what the world wants.  Ultimately it is because they of the world that we can easily be influenced and  not know the Father.  The world and its champions are not open to the Trinitarian communion which the Church is the sign.  "But all this they will do to you on my account, because they do not know him who sent me."

--William C. Fredrickson, Obl. OSB, D.Min.