May 30, 2007 Wednesday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time

 2007년 5월 30일 연중 제8주간 수요일

 제1독서 집회서36,1-2.5-6.13-22
1 만물의 주 하느님, 저희에게 자비를 베푸시고, 2 모든 민족들 위에 당신에 대한 두려움을 펼치소서.
5 주님, 당신 말고는 어떤 신도 없다는 사실을, 저희가 아는 것처럼 그들도 알게 해 주소서.
6 새로운 표징을 보여 주시고 다른 기적을 일으켜 주소서. 13 야곱의 모든 지파들을 모아들이시고, 16 처음처럼 그들 각자에게 상속 재산을 나누어 주소서.
17 주님, 당신 이름을 지닌 백성을 불쌍히 여기시고, 맏아들로 대우해 주신 이스라엘을 불쌍히 여기소서. 18 당신의 성소가 있는 도성이요 당신의 안식처인 예루살렘에 자비를 보이소서. 19 당신 위업에 대한 찬미로 시온을 채우시고, 당신 영광으로 당신의 성전을 채우소서.
20 당신께서 한처음에 창조하신 이들을 증언해 주시고, 당신의 이름으로 선포된 예언들을 성취시켜 주소서. 21 당신을 기다리는 사람들에게 보답을 주시고, 당신의 예언자들이 옳다는 것을 드러내 주소서.
22 주님, 당신 백성에 대한 호의로 당신 종들의 기도를 들어 주소서. 이 세상 만민이 당신께서 영원하신 주 하느님이심을 깨닫게 하소서.

복음 마르코 10,32-45
32 제자들이 예루살렘으로 올라가는 길이었다. 예수님께서는 제자들 앞에 서서 가고 계셨다. 그들은 놀라워하고 또 뒤따르는 이들은 두려워하였다. 예수님께서 다시 열두 제자를 데리고 가시며, 당신께 닥칠 일들을 그들에게 말씀하기 시작하셨다.
33 “보다시피 우리는 예루살렘으로 올라가고 있다. 거기에서 사람의 아들은 수석 사제들과 율법 학자들에게 넘겨질 것이다. 그러면 그들은 사람의 아들에게 사형을 선고하고 그를 다른 민족 사람들에게 넘겨 34 조롱하고 침 뱉고 채찍질하고 나서 죽이게 할 것이다.
그러나 사람의 아들은 사흘 만에 다시 살아날 것이다.”
35 제베대오의 두 아들 야고보와 요한이 예수님께 다가와, “스승님, 저희가 스승님께 청하는 대로 저희에게 해 주시기를 바랍니다.” 하고 말하였다.
36 예수님께서 그들에게 “내가 너희에게 무엇을 해 주기를 바라느냐?” 하고 물으시자, 37 그들이 “스승님께서 영광을 받으실 때에 저희를 하나는 스승님 오른쪽에, 하나는 왼쪽에 앉게 해 주십시오.” 하고 대답하였다.
38 예수님께서 그들에게 “너희는 너희가 무엇을 청하는지 알지도 못한다. 내가 마시는 잔을 너희가 마실 수 있으며, 내가 받는 세례를 너희가 받을 수 있느냐?” 하고 물으셨다.
39 그들이 “할 수 있습니다.” 하고 대답하자, 예수님께서 그들에게 말씀하셨다.
“내가 마시는 잔을 너희도 마시고, 내가 받는 세례를 너희도 받을 것이다. 40 그러나 내 오른쪽이나 왼쪽에 앉는 것은 내가 허락할 일이 아니라, 정해진 이들에게 돌아가는 것이다.”
41 다른 열 제자가 이 말을 듣고 야고보와 요한을 불쾌하게 여기기 시작하였다. 42 예수님께서는 그들을 가까이 불러 이르셨다. “너희도 알다시피 다른 민족들의 통치자라는 자들은 백성 위에 군림하고, 고관들은 백성에게 세도를 부린다. 43 그러나 너희는 그래서는 안 된다. 너희 가운데에서 높은 사람이 되려는 이는 너희를 섬기는 사람이 되어야 한다. 44 또한 너희 가운데에서 첫째가 되려는 이는 모든 이의 종이 되어야 한다. 45 사실 사람의 아들은 섬김을 받으러 온 것이 아니라 섬기러 왔고, 또 많은 이들의 몸값으로 자기 목숨을 바치러 왔다.”

 

 May 30, 2007

Wednesday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time

Reading 1
Sir 36:1, 4-5a, 10-17

Come to our aid, O God of the universe,
look upon us, show us the light of your mercies,
and put all the nations in dread of you!
Thus they will know, as we know,
that there is no God but you, O Lord.

Give new signs and work new wonders.

Gather all the tribes of Jacob,
that they may inherit the land as of old,
Show mercy to the people called by your name;
Israel, whom you named your firstborn.
Take pity on your holy city,
Jerusalem, your dwelling place.
Fill Zion with your majesty,
your temple with your glory.

Give evidence of your deeds of old;
fulfill the prophecies spoken in your name,
Reward those who have hoped in you,
and let your prophets be proved true.
Hear the prayer of your servants,
for you are ever gracious to your people;
and lead us in the way of justice.
Thus it will be known to the very ends of the earth
that you are the eternal God.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 79:8, 9, 11 and 13

R. (Sirach 36:1b) Show us, O Lord, the light of your kindness.
Remember not against us the iniquities of the past;
may your compassion quickly come to us,
for we are brought very low.
R. Show us, O Lord, the light of your kindness.
Help us, O God our savior,
because of the glory of your name;
Deliver us and pardon our sins
for your name’s sake.
R. Show us, O Lord, the light of your kindness.
Let the prisoners’ sighing come before you;
with your great power free those doomed to death.
Then we, your people and the sheep of your pasture,
will give thanks to you forever;
through all generations we will declare your praise.
R. Show us, O Lord, the light of your kindness.

Gospel
Mk 10:32-45

The disciples were on the way, going up to Jerusalem,
and Jesus went ahead of them.
They were amazed, and those who followed were afraid.
Taking the Twelve aside again, he began to tell them
what was going to happen to him.
“Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man
will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes,
and they will condemn him to death
and hand him over to the Gentiles who will mock him,
spit upon him, scourge him, and put him to death,
but after three days he will rise.”
Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee,
came to Jesus and said to him,
‘Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.”
He replied, ‘What do you wish me to do for you?”
They answered him,
“Grant that in your glory
we may sit one at your right and the other at your left.”
Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking.
Can you drink the chalice that I drink
or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?”
They said to him, ‘We can.”
Jesus said to them, “The chalice that I drink, you will drink,
and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized;
but to sit at my right or at my left is not mine to give
but is for those for whom it has been prepared.”
When the ten heard this, they became indignant at James and John.
Jesus summoned them and said to them,
“You know that those who are recognized as rulers over the Gentiles

lord it over them,
and their great ones make their authority over them felt.
But it shall not be so among you.
Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant;
whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all.
For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve
and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

This is a prayer to God of the universe, to put dread into the nations, so that they will know God as the Jews do, and that there is no God but God. It is a prayer for a nation, a people-a prayer of the Jews. Parts of it are still very apropos, and others, in light of Jesus, in need of altering.

Jesus' prayer, life, and teachings are based not on power and might but on obedience, submission to the will of God, living with no violence, and forgiveness which takes us on the way of the cross. Jesus leads us to the cross and knows our fear, yet invites us to walk with him and share in his sufferings and dying, so to share in his glory and rising. Two of the disciples want power/prestige/position, and they ask for it, causing indignation in the group. But Jesus reminds them that in his community, power is found in serving the needs of all, being the least and giving your life as ransom for many-with Jesus. We are back in Ordinary Time-time to practice all we have leaned in these last full months

Over the years of muddling through life, I’ve learned that when we the faithful servants of God call on God to reveal the power of God’s promises in new ways, it is really up to us to look for those signs and wonders in new ways. But most of the time, we stumble around until we are hit over the head with them. I’ve also learned that the reward we need to seek for our faithfulness to God is not so much deliverance from our enemies, but deliverance from the way we make enemies of other people.

Despite our human errors, or rather, because of them, God rescues us from ourselves and rewards us with new signs and wonders of God’s leadership if we are open to them. God is so compassionate and kind, forgiving the sins of our loss of hope. It is this light of God’s mercy that we must accept and praise. Jesus teaches us that the best way we can live in the light and life of God’s kindness toward us is to not ask for recognition and glory for our faith, but to demonstrate it by assuming a humble position in our relationships with others, even those who are our enemies.

Most of the time, we are not very good at that. But to live in faith means to keep trying. And if we look for evidence that God is with us in this struggle, the Bible is full of stories of flawed human beings who let God lead them in the way of justice and hope. Over the years, I’ve learned that is still true, even for me. I pray today and always that all of us as God’s people will look for new signs and new wonders of God’s mercies and that will allow ourselves to be led to see them.
by
Barbara Dilly
Department of Sociology and Anthropology

"Are you able to drink the cup that I drink?"

Was Jesus a pessimist or a stark realist? on three different occasions the Gospels record that Jesus predicted he would endure great suffering through betrayal, rejection, and the punishment of a cruel death. The Jews resorted to stoning and the Romans to crucifixion– the most painful and humiliating death they could devise for criminals they wanted to eliminate.  No wonder the apostles were greatly distressed at such a prediction! If Jesus their Master were put to death, then they would likely receive the same treatment by their enemies. Jesus called himself the “Son of Man” because this was a common Jewish title for the Messiah.  Why must the Messiah be rejected and killed?  Did not God promise that his Anointed one would deliver his people from their oppression and establish a kingdom of peace and justice? The prophet Isaiah had foretold that it was God’s will that the “Suffering Servant” make atonement for sins through his suffering and death (Isaiah 53:5-12). Jesus paid the price for our redemption with his blood. Slavery to sin is to want the wrong things and to  be in bondage to destructive desires. The ransom Jesus paid sets us free from the worst tyranny possible-- the tyranny of sin and the fear of death. Jesus’ victory did not end with death but triumphed over the tomb.  Jesus defeated the powers of death through his resurrection. Do you want the greatest freedom possible, the freedom to live as God truly meant us to live as his sons and daughters?

Jesus did the unthinkable! He wedded authority with selfless service and with loving sacrifice. Authority without sacrificial love is brutish and self-serving. Jesus also 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 must be ready to lay down his or her life in martyrdom and be ready to lay it down each and every day in the little and big sacrifices required. 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 as Jesus did for our sake. Are you willing to lay down your life and to serve others as Jesus did?

“Lord Jesus, your death brought life and freedom. Make me a servant of your love, that I may seek to serve rather than be served.”

Psalm 147:12-15,19-20

12 Praise the LORD, O Jerusalem! Praise your God, O Zion!
13 For he strengthens the bars of your gates; he blesses your sons within you.
14 He makes peace in your borders; he fills you with the finest of the wheat.
15 He sends forth his command to the earth; his word runs swiftly.
19 He declares his word to Jacob, his statutes and ordinances to Israel.
20 He has not dealt thus with any other nation; they do not know his ordinances.  Praise the LORD!

There is a cross in circulation which I've seen described as a “Paschal Cross”.  It was inspired by a series of Georgian enamels and Armenian miniatures of the 10th and 11th centuries.  It is a ‘teaching’ cross: the gospel (and other) scenes in the five panels are selected to show the Christian meaning of suffering.

            one of the panels shows Jesus going up to Jerusalem (today’s reading).  He is going deliberately towards his Passion and death: “They were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them; they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid”.  It is easy to visualise that procession: Jesus striding ahead, followed by a bewildered and frightened group of people.  They were all aware to some degree that he was walking deliberately into trouble; some were more aware than others, “Thomas - known as the Twin - said to the other disciples, ‘Let us go too, and die with him’” (John 11:16).   

            What is unusual about that procession is that it is going in the wrong direction.  Normal prudence tells us to avoid suffering and death  -  to go in the other direction.  But this scene is teaching that in the life of a disciple it is sometimes necessary to go towards suffering, and it may even be necessary to go towards death. 

            It was the most inappropriate of all times for James and John to begin jockeying for good positions in his kingdom.  It casts an unflattering light on these two apostles.  They, with Peter, were the innermost circle, yet they seem at this point to have understood nothing at all; they seem like characters in the wrong play.  But think: if they had shown themselves perfect on every occasion we might feel very discouraged about ourselves.  Their deficiencies allow us to believe that there is hope for us all.

GLORY TO HIS RIGHT AND LEFT

'...one at Your right and the other at Your left, when You come into Your glory.' Mark 10:37

James and John asked Jesus if they could be intimate sharers in His glory. They wanted to sit at Jesus' right and left when He mounted His throne as He came into His glorious reign. James and John didn't understand that Jesus' kingly throne was His cross. When Jesus came into His glory on the cross of crucifixion, His inaugural banner read: 'Jesus the Nazorean the King of the Jews' (Jn 19:19). Who received the honor of being at Jesus' right and left when He entered into His kingly glory? Two crucified criminals were His courtiers, 'one at His right and one at His left' (Mk 15:27).

Like the two crucified next to Jesus, we also are sinners. Yet Jesus likewise invites us to be intimate sharers of His kingly glory. He calls us to pick up our cross each day, die to ourselves (Lk 9:23), and be crucified to the world (Gal 6:14). We are crucified with Christ, and the life we live is not our own; King Jesus is living in us and sharing His glory with us (Gal 2:19-20). His glory so consumes us that we know nothing but King Jesus crucified (1 Cor 2:2, RNAB).

The daily cross is excruciating, but always remember what Jesus promised the one who was crucified next to Him: 'When you share My crucified glory for love of Me, this day you will be with Me in paradise' (see Lk 23:43).

Praise: Bearing graciously the daily cross of a chronic illness, Fred was a true inspiration to his family, who alone knew how great his sufferings could be.
Prayer: King Jesus, as I share Your crucifixion each day, I pray: 'remember me when You enter upon Your reign' (Lk 23:42).
Promise: 'The Son of Man has not come to be served but to serve to give His life in ransom for the many.' Mk 10:45

 

«Think of the Son of Man who has not come to be served but to serve and to give his life to redeem many»

Today, the Lord teaches us which our attitude before the Cross must be. The ardent love of Jesus for His Father's Will, to carry out the salvation of Mankind, of each man, of each woman, urges Him to quickly move towards Jerusalem, where «the Son of Man will be given over (…) they will condemn him to death (…) they will scourge him and finally kill him» (Mk 10:33-34). Though, at times, we may not understand it or may be afraid of pain and suffering or of every day's contradictions, let us try to lovingly join God's salvific Will with the offering of our daily Cross.

Assiduous prayer and the Sacraments, especially the personal Confession of our sins and the Eucharist, will increase our love for God and our love for others, in such a way that we shall be able to affirm that «We can!» (Mk 10:39), in spite of our misery, fears and sins. Yes, we shall be able to take up our daily Cross and follow Him (cf. Lk 9:23) for love, with a smile; that cross that is evidenced by our ordinary everyday life: tiredness in our job, family difficulties, social relations, etc.

Only if we embrace our cross every day, denying us to serve others, shall we be able to identify ourselves with the Christ, who «came to serve and to give his life to redeem many» (Mk 10:45). John Paul II explained «the servitude of Jesus attains its culmination with his death in the Cross, that is by the total gift of himself». Let us, therefore, imitate Jesus Christ, by constantly transforming our love for Him in servicing actions for other people: wealthy or poor, educated or uneducated, young or old, without distinction. Servicing actions to get them closer to God and free them from sin.
 

Somewhere in the direction of my prayer is the request of James and John.  "We want you to do whatever we ask of you."  I have an agenda that is special to my own image of myself.  I relish a sense of glory that is based on my own conceit.  I would sit at the right hand of my glorious self-image.  It is a grace to see this ego-centered quality to my prayer.  At least I will acknowledge it as a basis for mercy.  Let the Spirit pray in me and create a thirst for the chalice from which Jesus drinks and to be baptized in the baptism of Christ's cross.  My prayer must be the gift of myself with Christ on the cross.  My service must be the outgrowth of my prayer.  This self-absorption that infiltrates every aspect of my life enslaves me.  I am a slave.  For that reason Christ ransoms me.