May 23, 2007 Wednesday of the Seventh Week of Easter

  2007년 5월 23일 부활 제7주간 수요일

 

 제1독서

 사도행전 20,28-38
그 무렵 바오로가 에페소 교회의 원로들에게 말하였다. 28 “여러분 자신과 모든 양 떼를 잘 보살피십시오. 성령께서 여러분을 양 떼의 감독으로 세우시어, 하느님의 교회 곧 하느님께서 당신 아드님의 피로 얻으신 교회를 돌보게 하셨습니다. 29 내가 떠난 뒤에 사나운 이리들이 여러분 가운데로 들어가 양 떼를 해칠 것임을 나는 압니다. 30 바로 여러분 가운데에서도 진리를 왜곡하는 말을 하며 자기를 따르라고 제자들을 꾀어내는 사람들이 생겨날 것입니다.
31 그러니 내가 삼 년 동안 밤낮 쉬지 않고 여러분 한 사람 한 사람을 눈물로 타이른 것을 명심하며 늘 깨어 있으십시오. 32 이제 나는 하느님과 그분 은총의 말씀에 여러분을 맡깁니다. 그 말씀은 여러분을 굳건히 세울 수 있고, 또 거룩하게 된 모든 이와 함께 상속 재산을 차지하도록 여러분에게 그것을 나누어 줄 수 있습니다.
33 나는 누구의 은이나 금이나 옷을 탐낸 일이 없습니다. 34 나와 내 일행에게 필요한 것을 이 두 손으로 장만하였다는 사실을 여러분 자신이 잘 알고 있습니다. 35 나는 모든 면에서 여러분에게 본을 보였습니다. 그렇게 애써 일하며 약한 이들을 거두어 주고, ‘주는 것이 받는 것보다 더 행복하다.’고 친히 이르신 주 예수님의 말씀을 명심하라는 것입니다.”36 바오로는 이렇게 말하고 나서 무릎을 꿇고 그들과 함께 기도하였다. 37 그들은 모두 흐느껴 울면서 바오로의 목을 껴안고 입을 맞추었다. 38 다시는 자기 얼굴을 볼 수 없으리라고 한 바오로의 말에 마음이 매우 아팠던 것이다. 그들은 바오로를 배 안까지 배웅하였다.

 

 복음

 요한 17,11ㄷ-19
그때에 [예수님께서 하늘을 향하여 눈을 들어 기도하셨다.]
11 “거룩하신 아버지, 아버지께서 저에게 주신 이름으로 이들을 지키시어, 이들도 우리처럼 하나가 되게 해 주십시오. 12 저는 이들과 함께 있는 동안, 아버지께서 저에게 주신 이름으로 이들을 지켰습니다. 제가 그렇게 이들을 보호하여, 성경 말씀이 이루어지려고 멸망하도록 정해진 자 말고는 아무도 멸망하지 않았습니다.
13 이제 저는 아버지께 갑니다. 제가 세상에 있으면서 이런 말씀을 드리는 이유는, 이들이 속으로 저의 기쁨을 충만히 누리게 하려는 것입니다. 14 저는 이들에게 아버지의 말씀을 주었는데, 세상은 이들을 미워하였습니다. 제가 세상에 속하지 않은 것처럼 이들도 세상에 속하지 않기 때문입니다. 15 이들을 세상에서 데려가시라고 비는 것이 아니라, 이들을 악에서 지켜 주십사고 빕니다. 16 제가 세상에 속하지 않은 것처럼 이들도 세상에 속하지 않습니다.
17 이들을 진리로 거룩하게 해 주십시오. 아버지의 말씀이 진리입니다. 18 아버지께서 저를 세상에 보내신 것처럼 저도 이들을 세상에 보냈습니다. 19 그리고 저는 이들을 위하여 저 자신을 거룩하게 합니다. 이들도 진리로 거룩해지게 하려는 것입니다.”

 

 

 

 May 23, 2007

 Wednesday of the Seventh Week of Easter

 Reading 1
Acts 20:28-38

At Miletus, Paul spoke to the presbyters of the Church of Ephesus:
“Keep watch over yourselves and over the whole flock
of which the Holy Spirit has appointed you overseers,
in which you tend the Church of God
that he acquired with his own Blood.
I know that after my departure savage wolves will come among you,
and they will not spare the flock.
And from your own group, men will come forward perverting the truth
to draw the disciples away after them.
So be vigilant and remember that for three years, night and day,
I unceasingly admonished each of you with tears.
And now I commend you to God
and to that gracious word of his that can build you up
and give you the inheritance among all who are consecrated.
I have never wanted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing.
You know well that these very hands
have served my needs and my companions.
In every way I have shown you that by hard work of that sort
we must help the weak,
and keep in mind the words of the Lord Jesus who himself said,
‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

When he had finished speaking
he knelt down and prayed with them all.
They were all weeping loudly
as they threw their arms around Paul and kissed him,
for they were deeply distressed that he had said
that they would never see his face again.
Then they escorted him to the ship.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 68:29-30, 33-35a, 35bc-36ab

R. (33a) Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Show forth, O God, your power,
the power, O God, with which you took our part;
For your temple in Jerusalem
let the kings bring you gifts.
R. Sing to God, O Kingdoms of the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.
You kingdoms of the earth, sing to God,
chant praise to the Lord
who rides on the heights of the ancient heavens.
Behold, his voice resounds, the voice of power:
“Confess the power of God!”
R. Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Over Israel is his majesty;
his power is in the skies.
Awesome in his sanctuary is God, the God of Israel;
he gives power and strength to his people.
R. Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.

Gospel
Jn 17:11b-19

Lifting up his eyes to heaven, Jesus prayed, saying:
“Holy Father, keep them in your name
that you have given me,
so that they may be one just as we are one.
When I was with them I protected them in your name that you gave me,
and I guarded them, and none of them was lost
except the son of destruction,
in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled.
But now I am coming to you.
I speak this in the world
so that they may share my joy completely.
I gave them your word, and the world hated them,
because they do not belong to the world
any more than I belong to the world.
I do not ask that you take them out of the world
but that you keep them from the Evil one.
They do not belong to the world
any more than I belong to the world.
Consecrate them in the truth.
Your word is truth.
As you sent me into the world,
so I sent them into the world.
And I consecrate myself for them,
so that they also may be consecrated in truth.”

 

 

 Commentary

 

There will be and have been times when people distort the truth of the gospel. We are told to rely on the Spirit when shepherding the Church-this is Paul's warning to the Church at Ephesus when he was preparing to leave them. He reminds them of how he has been with them and that they are to serve the needs of the poor and help the weak. They pray and weep as he goes, knowing that they will not see him again.

Jesus prays for the Church, for us, that we will have the protection of the Father, We are kept safe in the name of Jesus. We have been given the Word of Jesus, the Word of Scripture and Word made flesh, and we do not belong to the world-as Jesus did not, but belong to the Father. Jesus prays for us so that we will be guarded and consecrated in truth, and sends us out into the world as the Father sent him. Jesus has ascended to the right hand of the Father and there intercedes for us for all time. We must rely on Jesus' prayer for all of us, for the Church. 

 

 

 Today’s readings contain an interesting challenges and guidance. Paul warned his presbyters to watch over themselves and the flock, to be vigilant against perversions of truth. The psalmist reminds us that God gives power and strength to all God’s people. Jesus asks the Father to keep His followers as they strive for unity with God, since they are in the world but do not belong to the world.

It is challenging for us to watch over ourselves. It is easy to observe the faults that others have, and miss the glaring problems that we have ourselves. Jesus reminded us that we should not talk about the splinter in our neighbor’s eye before we address the stick that is in our own. And watching for perversions of truth is especially difficult. What is truth? Is it universal or relative? Is it simple or complex? Can it vary based on the person and their personal call from God?

Jesus poses the great juxtaposition - we Christians are in the world but not of the world. How can this be? We exist physically today in this world but our beliefs and practices are (should be?) motivated by life after this world. We (should) watch ourselves, and tend our flocks, and serve each other not for personal gain but to grow and practice love as Jesus loved. Our short time in this world is preparation for the eternity of the next – our in the world daily activities are opportunities to learn to love as Jesus does.

And the psalmist comforts us when we realize how daunting this task is – God gives us power and strength to do these things. We are not alone. We have the power of God, the love of Jesus, the example of those who preceded us and accompany us at this time in the world. We have the capacity to learn and change. And so we are vigilant by being aware and continuing to learn from our failings as we pursue the truth as God reveals it to us.

My prayer today is for the strength of awareness, that I can be vigilant in watching over myself and learning from my many failings.

 

 by
Tom Purcell
Accounting Department

 

 

 The theme of conflict between the Christian disciple and the world is very clear in this passage.  Raymond Brown remarked that a passage such as this has “a message for an era that becomes naively optimistic about changing the world or even about affirming its values without change.”  The ‘world’ in this case is not, of course, the natural world of mountains, rivers, trees… but all the worldly forces that are antagonistic to the Kingdom of God (and even to the natural world).   

            “If people only knew with what lack of wisdom the world is governed!” someone said long ago.  Today most people do know.  When greed masquerades as ideology, there are people who are willing and able to point it out.  When crowds of people protest at stolen elections the world sees it (or some version of it) on TV.  Today it is harder to hide than it has ever been.  This is true at the individual level too.  Anyone who has ever had a moment’s clear insight into their own dark side knows that we cannot afford to be naive about the struggle to live a Christian life. 

            The ‘world’ isn’t only out there; it is within us.  We have within us all the powers of resistance to the Gospel.  Unless I have had a clear insight into the snake-pit at the bottom of my soul, and look into that pit where fear and aggression are the same; unless I have observed how I hiss and spit when I am really cornered; and unless I see how I cover it all over with a veneer of politeness, I will not be fit to combat the evil around me.  We also know about projection today: I am capable of fighting evil out there because I don’t have the courage or honesty to look at the evil within me.  And I make the world look really bad so that my ego will look correspondingly good. 

            This is not to privatise evil.  Don’t worry: there are millions of other egos out there!

            “They do not belong to the world,” Jesus said.  This ego-world is not our true nature, it is not our true identity.  It is a divisive spirit, and  the source of all divisiveness.  The ego exists always in opposition.  Since it is false, it cannot establish itself except in opposition to something else.  But Jesus prayed to the Father for us: “that they may be one as we are one.”

 

 

 "That they also may be consecrated in truth"

Do you know what your aim or mission in life is?  Jesus' aim and mission was to glorify his heavenly Father.  All he said and did gave glory to his Father.  on the eve of his sacrifice and in the presence of his disciples, Jesus made his high priestly prayer: "Holy Father, keep them in your name that they may be one as we are one".  Jesus prayed for the unity of his disciples.  Jesus' prayer for his people is that we be united with God the Father in his Son and through his Holy Spirit and be joined together, in unity with all who are members of  Christ's body.  Jesus saw glory in the cross rather than shame. Obedience to his Father's will was his glory.  Jesus kept his Father's word even when tempted to forgo the cross.  His strength was not in himself but in his Father who kept him. We, too, must take up our cross and follow the Lord Jesus whever he may call us. He will give us the strength and power of the Holy Spirit to live as his disciples.  John Henry Newman wrote: "God has created me, to do him some definite service; he has committed some work to me which he has not committed to another.  I have my mission-- I may never know it in this life, but I shall be told it in the next.  I am a link in a chain, a bond of connection between persons.  He has not created me for nothing.  Therefore, I will trust him.  Whatever, wherever I am.  I cannot be thrown away."  Do you trust in God and in his call for your life?

Jesus prayed that his disciples would be sanctified and consecrated in God's truth and holiness.  The scriptural word for consecration comes from the same Hebrew word which means holy or set apart for God.  This word also means to be equiped with the qualities of mind and heart and character for such a task or service.  Just as Jesus was called by the Father to serve in holiness and truth, so we, too, are called and equipped for the task of serving God in the world as his ambassadors.  God's truth frees us from ignorance and the deception of sin.  It reveals to us God's goodness, love, and wisdom.  And it gives us a thirst for God's holiness.  The Holy Spirit is the source and giver of all holiness.  As we allow the Holy Spirit to work in our lives, he transforms us by his purifying fire and changes us in the likeness of Christ. Is your life consecrated toGod?

"Lord, take my life and make it wholly pleasing to you.  Sanctify me in your truth and guide me by your Holy Spirit that I may  follow you faithfully wherever you lead."

Psalm 103:1-2,11-12,19-20

1 Bless the LORD, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless his holy name!
2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits,
11 For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
12 as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.
19 The LORD has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all.
20 Bless the LORD, O you his angels, you mighty ones who do his word, hearkening to the voice of his word!

 

 

 RIGHT GUARD

'As long as I was with them, I guarded them with Your name which You gave Me.' John 17:12

When the Holy Spirit comes, He will assign us to guard certain people (Acts 20:28). This will result in a deep and personal encounter with these persons. Paul described his guard duty in this way: 'Be on guard, therefore. Do not forget that for three years, night and day, I never ceased warning you individually even to the point of tears' (Acts 20:31).

Guarding people is an all-day job, which may last for years. It is done person-to-person and is so involving that we may break down into tears. To guard people properly, we must be sensitized by the Spirit. Satan has anesthetized many of God's people. Babies in the womb are murdered. Children are confused and perverted by the anti-Christian propaganda of TV. The heresy of secularism has infiltrated and in some places dominated the Church. Yet many Christians don't realize we are in a war against the devil, unnecessarily taking a beating.

When the Holy Spirit has brought us out of our spiritual coma, then He gives us love for those He has assigned us to guard. Otherwise we would not go through the tears and trials of guarding people who often don't want to be guarded. Jesus is praying right now: 'O Father Most Holy, protect them...I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to guard them from the evil one' (Jn 17:11, 15).

Praise: Martin faithfully prays for his sister who has left the Church.
Prayer: Father, may I work with the guardian angels in loving people enough to guard them.
Promise: 'Consecrate them by means of truth 'Your word is truth.' ' Jn 17:17

 

 

«That my joy may be complete in them»

Today, we live in a world which does not know how to be truly happy with the happiness of Jesus, a world which seeks the happiness of Jesus in all the wrong places and in the wrong ways. Seeking happiness without Jesus only leads to deeper unhappiness. Just look at the soaps on TV, there is always somebody in trouble. The soaps on TV show us the misery of a godless life.

But we want to live this day with the joy of Jesus. Jesus prayed to his Father in our Gospel today, «I leave these my words in the world that my joy may be complete in them» (Jn 17,13). Notice that Jesus wants his joy to be complete in us. He wants us to be full of his joy. This does not mean that we will not have crosses, for «the world has hated them because they are not of the world» (Jn 17,14), but Jesus expects us to live with his joy no matter what the world thinks of us. The joy of Jesus is to permeate us to our very core while the superficial rumblings of a godless world should not penetrate us.

Today then let us live with the joy of Jesus. How can we acquire more and more of this joy of Jesus? Obviously from Jesus himself. Jesus is the only one who gives us the true joy that the world is lacking as we see in the soaps on TV. Jesus said, «If you remain in me and my words in you, you may ask whatever you want and it will be given to you» (Jn 15,7). Then let us spend time each day in prayer with the words of Jesus in the Scriptures, let us eat and consume the words of Jesus in the Scriptures, let them be our food, so that we may be satiated with the joy of Jesus: «Being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon» (Benedict XVI).
 

 

 In this portion of John 17.11-19, Jesus prays for the Apostles.  The Apostles are the foundation of the Church.  The Apostolic College forms the hierarchy of Christ's Church.  What does Christ ask for them?  Most of all that they be consecrated in the truth.  And that they may be truly consecrated.  The words of Jesus consecrate them.  The words of Jesus become the consecrated Tradition that the Apostles must preach and hand on to the Church through their successors.  They cannot be of the world, but in the world.  They must be guarded against the evil one who would sift them like wheat.  Our prayer must be always at the heart of the Church.  Our prayer must be love at the center of the Church.  We must carry the fullness of the Church in our prayer.  Prayer is never in solitude.  All prayer is prayer of the Church.  Jesus consecrates himself in the oblation of the cross and in the power of his glory.  Our baptism consecrates us with Christ.  We form the priestly people.  We pray as priests.  We continue the prayer of Christ, the Head of His Body, the Church.