2007년 6월 7일 연중 제9주간 목요일
제1독서 토빗기 6,10-11; 7,1.9-17; 8,4-9ㄱ
10 토비야가 메디아에 들어서서 이미 엑바타나에 가까이 이르렀을 때, 11 라파엘이 “토비야 형제!” 하고 청년을 부르자 그가 “왜 그러시오?” 하고 대답하였다.
라파엘이 말하였다. “우리는 오늘 밤을 라구엘의 집에서 묵어야 하는데, 그 사람은 그대의 친족이오. 그리고 그에게는 사라라는 딸이 있소.”
7,1 엑바타나에 들어서자 토비야가 라파엘에게, “아자르야 형제, 나를 곧장 우리 친족 라구엘에게 데려다 주시오.” 하고 말하였다. 그래서 그는 토비야를 라구엘의 집으로 데려갔다. 그들은 마당 문 곁에 앉아 있는 라구엘을 보고 먼저 인사하였다.
라구엘은 “형제들, 기쁨이 충만하기를 비오! 건강히들 잘 오셨소.” 하고 답례한 다음, 그들을 집 안으로 데리고 들어갔다. 9 라구엘은 양 떼 가운데에서 숫양 한 마리를 잡고, 그들을 따뜻이 맞아들였다. 그들이 몸과 손을 씻고 저녁을 먹으러 식탁에 앉았을 때에 토비야가 라파엘에게, “아자르야 형제, 내 친족 누이 사라를 나에게 주라고 라구엘에게 말씀드리시오.” 하고 말하였다.
10 라구엘이 우연히 이 말을 듣고 청년에게 말하였다. “오늘 밤은 먹고 마시며 즐겁게 지내라. 형제야, 내 딸 사라를 아내로 맞아들일 자격이 있는 사람은 너밖에 없다. 나도 사라를 너 말고 다른 남자에게 줄 권리가 없다. 네가 나에게 가장 가까운 친척이기 때문이다. 그러나 얘야, 너에게 사실을 알려 주어야겠다. 11 나는 벌써 사라를 우리 동포 일곱 남자에게 차례로 주었지만, 사라가 있는 방에 들어가는 그 밤으로 다 죽어 버렸다. 그러니 얘야, 지금은 그냥 먹고 마셔라. 주님께서 너희를 돌보아 주실 것이다.”
그러나 토비야는 말하였다. “제 일을 결정지어 주시기 전에는 먹지도 않고 마시지도 않겠습니다.” 그러자 라구엘이 말하였다.
“그렇게 하마. 모세의 책에 있는 규정에 따라 사라는 네 사람이다. 하늘에서도 사라는 네 사람이라고 이미 판결이 내려졌다. 너의 이 친족 누이를 아내로 맞이하여라. 이제부터 너는 사라의 오라비고 사라는 너의 누이다. 오늘부터 사라는 영원히 네 사람이다. 그리고 얘야, 오늘 밤에 하늘의 주님께서 너희를 잘 보살피시고, 너희에게 자비와 평화를 베풀어 주시기를 빈다.” 12 그러고 나서 라구엘은 자기 딸 사라를 불렀다.
사라가 오자 라구엘은 그 손을 잡고 토비야에게 넘겨주며 말하였다. “율법에 따라 사라를 아내로 맞이하여라. 모세의 책에 쓰인 규정에 따라 사라는 네 아내다. 그러니 네가 맡아서 네 아버지께 잘 데려가거라. 하늘의 하느님께서 너희에게 번영과 평화를 베풀어 주시기를 빈다.”
13 라구엘은 다시 사라의 어머니를 불러서 쓸 것을 가져오라고 하였다. 그리고 모세 율법의 규정에 따라 사라를 토비야에게 아내로 준다는 혼인 계약서를 썼다. 14 그러고 나서 그들은 먹고 마시기 시작하였다.
15 라구엘은 자기 아내 아드나를 불러, “여보, 다른 방을 준비해서 사라를 그리로 데려가시오.” 하고 말하였다. 16 아드나는 가서 라구엘이 말한 대로 그 방에 잠자리를 차려 놓은 다음, 사라를 그리로 데려갔다. 그리고 사라 때문에 울다가 눈물을 닦고 그에게 말하였다.
17 “얘야, 용기를 내어라. 하늘의 주님께서 너의 그 슬픔 대신에 이제는 기쁨을 주실 것이다. 얘야, 용기를 내어라.” 그러고 나서 아드나는 방을 나갔다.
8,4 부모가 방에서 나가 문을 닫자 토비야는 침상에서 일어나 사라에게 말하였다. “여보, 일어나구려. 우리 주님께 기도하며 우리에게 자비와 구원을 베풀어 주십사고 간청합시다.” 5 사라가 일어나자 그들은 기도하며 자기들에게 구원이 이루어지기를 간청하였다.
토비야는 이렇게 기도하기 시작하였다. “저희 조상들의 하느님, 찬미받으소서. 당신의 이름은 대대로 영원히 찬미받으소서. 하늘과 당신의 모든 조물이 당신을 영원히 찬미하게 하소서. 6 당신께서는 아담을 만드시고, 그의 협력자며 협조자로 아내 하와도 만들어 주셨습니다. 그 둘에게서 인류가 나왔습니다. 당신께서는 ‘사람이 혼자 있는 것이 좋지 않으니, 그와 닮은 협력자를 우리가 만들어 주자.’ 하셨습니다.
7 이제 저는 욕정이 아니라 진실한 마음으로 저의 이 친족 누이를 아내로 맞아들입니다. 저와 이 여자가 자비를 얻어 함께 해로하도록 허락해 주십시오.”
8 그들은 “아멘, 아멘.” 하고 함께 말하였다. 9 그러고 나서 그날 밤 잠을 잤다.
복음 마르코 12,28ㄱㄷ-34
그때에 28 율법 학자 한 사람이 예수님께 다가와, “모든 계명 가운데에서 첫째가는 계명은 무엇입니까?” 하고 물었다.
29 예수님께서 대답하셨다. “첫째는 이것이다. ‘이스라엘아, 들어라. 주 우리 하느님은 한 분이신 주님이시다. 30 그러므로 너는 마음을 다하고 목숨을 다하고 정신을 다하고 힘을 다하여 주 너의 하느님을 사랑해야 한다.’ 31 둘째는 이것이다. ‘네 이웃을 너 자신처럼 사랑해야 한다.’ 이보다 더 큰 계명은 없다.”
32 그러자 율법 학자가 예수님께 말하였다. “훌륭하십니다, 스승님. ‘그분은 한 분뿐이시고 그 밖에 다른 이가 없다.’ 하시니, 과연 옳은 말씀이십니다. 33 또 ‘마음을 다하고 생각을 다하고 힘을 다하여 그분을 사랑하는 것’과 ‘이웃을 자기 자신처럼 사랑하는 것’이 모든 번제물과 희생 제물보다 낫습니다.”
34 예수님께서는 그가 슬기롭게 대답하는 것을 보시고 그에게, “너는 하느님의 나라에서 멀리 있지 않다.” 하고 이르셨다. 그 뒤에는 어느 누구도 감히 그분께 묻지 못하였다.
June 7, 2007
Thursday of the Ninth Week in Ordinary Time
Reading 1
Tb 6:10-11; 7:1bcde, 9-17; 8:4-9a
When the angel Raphael and Tobiah had entered Media
and were getting close to Ecbatana,
Raphael said to the boy,
“Tobiah, my brother!”
He replied: “Here I am!”
He said: “Tonight we must stay with Raguel, who is a relative of yours.
He has a daughter named Sarah.”
So he brought him to the house of Raguel,
whom they found seated by his courtyard gate.
They greeted him first.
He said to them, “Greetings to you too, brothers!
Good health to you, and welcome!”
And he brought them into his home.
Raguel slaughtered a ram from the flock
and gave them a cordial reception.
When they had bathed and reclined to eat, Tobiah said to Raphael,
“Brother Azariah, ask Raguel to let me marry
my kinswoman Sarah.”
Raguel overheard the words; so he said to the boy:
“Eat and drink and be merry tonight,
for no man is more entitled
to marry my daughter Sarah than you, brother.
Besides, not even I have the right to give her to anyone but you,
because you are my closest relative.
But I will explain the situation to you very frankly.
I have given her in marriage to seven men,
all of whom were kinsmen of ours,
and all died on the very night they approached her.
But now, son, eat and drink.
I am sure the Lord will look after you both.”
Tobiah answered,
“I will eat or drink nothing until you set aside what belongs to me.”
Raguel said to him: “I will do it.
She is yours according to the decree of the Book of Moses.
Your marriage to her has been decided in heaven!
Take your kinswoman;
from now on you are her love, and she is your beloved.
She is yours today and ever after.
And tonight, son, may the Lord of heaven prosper you both.
May he grant you mercy and peace.”
Then Raguel called his daughter Sarah, and she came to him.
He took her by the hand and gave her to Tobiah with the words:
“Take her according to the law.
According to the decree written in the Book of Moses
she is your wife.
Take her and bring her back safely to your father.
And may the God of heaven grant both of you peace and prosperity.”
Raguel then called Sarah’s mother and told her to bring a scroll,
so that he might draw up a marriage contract
stating that he gave Sarah to Tobiah as his wife
according to the decree of the Mosaic law.
Her mother brought the scroll,
and Raguel drew up the contract, to which they affixed their seals.
Afterward they began to eat and drink.
Later Raguel called his wife Edna and said,
“My love, prepare the other bedroom and bring the girl there.”
She went and made the bed in the room, as she was told,
and brought the girl there.
After she had cried over her, she wiped away the tears and said:
“Be brave, my daughter.
May the Lord grant you joy in place of your grief.
Courage, my daughter.”
Then she left.
When the girl’s parents left the bedroom
and closed the door behind them,
Tobiah arose from bed and said to his wife,
“My love, get up.
Let us pray and beg our Lord to have mercy on us
and to grant us deliverance.”
She got up, and they started to pray
and beg that deliverance might be theirs.
And they began to say:
“Blessed are you, O God of our fathers,
praised be your name forever and ever.
Let the heavens and all your creation
praise you forever.
You made Adam and you gave him his wife Eve
to be his help and support;
and from these two the human race descended.
You said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone;
let us make him a partner like himself.’
Now, Lord, you know that I take this wife of mine
not because of lust,
but for a noble purpose.
Call down your mercy on me and on her,
and allow us to live together to a happy old age.”
They said together, “Amen, amen,” and went to bed for the night.
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 128:1-2, 3, 4-5
R. (see 1a) Blessed are those who fear the Lord.
Blessed are you who fear the LORD,
who walk in his ways!
For you shall eat the fruit of your handiwork;
Blessed shall you be, and favored.
R. Blessed are those who fear the Lord.
Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine
in the recesses of your home;
Your children like olive plants
around your table.
R. Blessed are those who fear the Lord.
Behold, thus is the man blessed
who fears the LORD.
The LORD bless you from Zion:
may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem
all the days of your life.
R. Blessed are those who fear the Lord.
Gospel
Mk 12:28-34
One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him,
“Which is the first of all the commandments?”
Jesus replied, “The first is this:
Hear, O Israel!
The Lord our God is Lord alone!
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,
with all your soul, with all your mind,
and with all your strength.
The second is this:
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
There is no other commandment greater than these.”
The scribe said to him, “Well said, teacher.
You are right in saying,
He is one and there is no other than he.
And to love him with all your heart,
with all your understanding,
with all your strength,
and to love your neighbor as yourself
is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
And when Jesus saw that he answered with understanding,
he said to him, “You are not far from the Kingdom of God.”
And no one dared to ask him any more questions.
Commentary
Raphael travels with Tobias and they stay with Ragouel to be introduced to Sarah. She is offered in marriage but with the sobering story of what has happened already. The marriage contract is drawn up and together they pray that God might have mercy on them. The story seeks to emphasize the importance of marriage within Judaism, among one's own people, and with another who shares the same hopes for Israel's return to Jerusalem.
Jesus is asked in honesty what is the first of the commandments-which every child would know: to love God and one's neighbor with all one's heart/soul/mind and strength (resources). The law applied only to those within Judaism, not to outsiders-most of the human race. The man has the insight that God wants our obedience and devotion rather than offerings, but standing near the kingdom of God in the person of Jesus, he cannot see Jesus' own power and presence as the kingdom itself-a new relationship with God and one another.
Blessed are you O God of our fathers, praised be your name forever and ever.
My first reaction after seeing the verses for today was to marvel at the strangeness of the Tobit story. Actually, I didn’t even get to the other verses before pulling out a bible to see how the story ends (yes, they live through the night). As I read the Tobit passage again after reading the other readings, I was struck by the wisdom in Tobiah’s prayer. His prayer models important lessons from the other two readings, namely the importance of love of God and one another and the importance of reverent reliance on God alone.
Tobiah’s prayer fits lessons on prayer throughout the scriptures. It emphasizes praise and thanksgiving first and foremost. It communicates the person’s understanding of how God’s promises, instructions or past faithfulness apply to the situation—drawing attention to the person’s best understanding of God’s agenda for the decision or event. In this case, the prayer also clarifies a Godly intent for an interpersonal human relationship. The actual petition for safety is only a small part of the prayer and it comes at the end—after taking time to praise God, to talk through possible applications of instructions or wisdom already gained, and to lay out his personal commitment. The priorities of the prayer are a right relationship with God and one another with the petition for safety then clearly following from these priorities. Consider how this model fits with Jesus’ instructions to the disciples on how to pray and with scriptural accounts of Jesus’ own prayers.
The prayer also models two important loving behaviors, praise for another and caring about another’s priorities. Many of us would no doubt benefit from an effort to instill more of this into our communication with God and our communication with one another. Can we focus today on praising God and affirming one another? Can we take some time to consider what we already know about important priorities revealed by God and how those priorities could shape our decisions and actions today? Can we pay attention to the priorities of a family member or co-worker in some way today? Can we be attentive to ways that we fear people or things that keep us from loving God with our whole selves and loving our neighbors as ourselves? While I doubt that any of us will face a bridegroom devouring demon like Tobiah, practice in praiseful prayer and loving communication may help us to face our own challenges in ways that deepen our love and glorify God.
Blessed are you O God of our fathers, praised be your name forever and ever.
We thank you that you love us so much and that you care so deeply that we love you and love one another that you teach us that simple lesson over and over again. We praise you Jesus for teaching us this lesson tirelessly and so dramatically on the cross. We praise you Advocate for your presence with us and your faithfulness to prompt us to loving acts. We thank you Lord for your promises to bless those who fear you alone. Open our eyes to other fears that get in the way of loving you and loving others. Help us to marvel at blessings that come our way today and give you praise. Help us to honor and love those you put in our way today so to bring greater glory to you and to show them your love.
by
Sue Crawford
Department of Political Science and International Affairs
It was a common question to put to a rabbi. Just as there was a tendency to multiply bye-laws around the Torah (“to build a hedge around the Law,” as the Pharisees put it), there was also a tendency to look for its core.
Rabbis differed on the question which was the first of all the commandments, the core of the Law. In reply Jesus mentioned two commandments rather than one: Deuteronomy 6:4 and Leviticus 19:18. The first is the ‘Shema’, the word with which a synagogue service always began and still begins. “Hear, O Israel….” The word itself is the imperative form of the Hebrew word ‘to hear’. So the first commandment is to hear, to listen. This is perhaps the hardest thing to do; and if we could do it, the rest would be a lot easier.
The second text (“You shall love your neighbour as yourself”) is often called ‘The Golden Rule’, and we are sometimes given the impression that it is the heart of the Gospel. It is the heart of the Jewish Law, the Torah, as Jesus indicated to the scribe. But it is not the heart of the Gospel. When Jesus spoke from himself, not quoting the Torah, he said something quite different: “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you” (John 15:12). We have to recognise that there is a world of difference between the way Jesus loves you and the way a neighbour might love you.
Someone remarked that the Shema says “You shall love the Lord your God…” rather than just “Love the Lord your God.” The tense is future with an implied imperative - as in English. We probably should not make much of this grammatical point, but it suggests something that Meister Eckhart made much of. Speaking of Christ’s commandment to love, Eckhart said it is not only a commandment but a promise: it is by loving that the path to God is opened. Christ’s commandment is not a key to lock us in but a key to let us out into true freedom. He added that it is also a gift; it is by God's gift that we are enabled to love. Because love is his gift, the world of difference between our kind of loving and Christ’s kind of loving is not an unbridgeable difference. By his grace we can come some way along his path.
"Love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength"
What is the purpose of God's law or commandments? The Pharisees prided themselves in the knowledge of the law and their ritual requirements. They made it a life-time practice to study the 616 precepts of the Old Testament along with the numerous rabbinic commentaries. They tested Jesus to see if he correctly understood the law as they did. Jesus startled them with his profound simplicity and mastery of the law of God and its purpose. What does God require of us? Simply that we love as he loves! God is love and everything he does flows from his love for us. God loved us first and our love for him is a response to his exceeding grace and kindness towards us. The love of God comes first and the love of neighbor is firmly grounded in the love of God. The more we know of God's love and truth the more we love what he loves and reject what is hateful and contrary to his will. What makes our love for God and his commands grow in us? Faith in God and hope in his promises strengthens us in the love of God. They are essential for a good relationship with God, for being united with him. The more we know of God the more we love him and the more we love him the greater we believe and hope in his promises. The Lord, through the gift of the Holy Spirit, gives us a new freedom to love as he loves. Do you allow anything to keep you from the love of God and the joy of serving others with a generous heart? Paul the Apostle says: hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us (Romans 5:5). Do you know the love which conquers all?
"We love you, O our God; and we desire to love you more and more. Grant to us that we may love you as much as we desire, and as much as we ought. O dearest friend, who has so loved and saved us, the thought of whom is so sweet and always growing sweeter, come with Christ and dwell in our hearts; that you keep a watch over our lips, our steps, our deeds, and we shall not need to be anxious either for our souls or our bodies. Give us love, sweetest of all gifts, which knows no enemy. Give us in our hearts pure love, born of your love to us, that we may love others as you love us. O most loving Father of Jesus Christ, from whom flows all love, let our hearts, frozen in sin, cold to you and cold to others, be warmed by this divine fire. So help and bless us in your Son." (Prayer of Anselm, 12th cen.)
Psalm 25:4-4-5,8-10,14
4 Make me to know thy ways, O LORD; teach me thy paths.
5 Lead me in thy truth, and teach me, for thou art the God of my salvation; for thee I wait all the day long.
8 Good and upright is the LORD; therefore he instructs sinners in the way.
9 He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way.
10 All the paths of the LORD are steadfast love and faithfulness, for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.
14 The friendship of the LORD is for those who fear him, and he makes known to them his covenant.
«There is no commandment greater than these two»
Today, in Mark's Gospel, we see how one of the scribes asks Jesus: «Which commandment is the first of all?» (Mk 12:28). The question is somewhat cunning. In the first place, because he is trying to establish some sort of ranking amongst the different commandments; and, secondly, because his question is centered in the Law. Though this is logical, bearing in mind the question comes from a master of the Law.
Lord's answer takes to pieces the spirituality of that «master of the Law» And the attitude of the disciple of Jesus with respect to God can be summed up in a double point: «You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart» (Mk 12:30) and «You shall love your neighbor as yourself» (Mk 12:31). The religious behavior is defined in his relationship with God and with his neighbor; and the human behavior, in his relationship with the others and with God. St. Augustine says the same with other words: «Love God, and do whatever you please». Love God and love the others, and all the rest will just be a consequence of this plenitude of love.
The teacher of the Law understands it perfectly well. And he adds that to love God with all the heart, and his neighbors as himself, «is more important than any burnt offering and sacrifice» (Mk 12:33). God is awaiting our reply, our total deliverance, «with all our heart, with all our understanding and with all our strength» (Mk 12:30), for God means Truth, Goodness, and generous dedication to others. «Offerings and sacrifices» have a meaning only insofar they will be the true ｅxpression of this double love. And to think that, at times, we use the “little commandments” and «the offerings and sacrifices» as stumbling-block to criticize or wound others!
Jesus approves the reply of the master of the Law with «You are not far from the kingdom of God» (Mk 12:34). For Jesus, whoever loves his neighbor over everything else is not far from God.
The first reading is, again, very long. It is a continuation of yesterday’s stories. Tobiah travels to Ecbatana and asks for Sarah in marriage. Raguel agrees, but warns Tobiah that she has buried seven husbands. Tobiah marries her nevertheless. Sarah and Tobiah spend their wedding night in prayer. Their prayer is heard, and Tobiah survives his wedding night. A fanciful story to teach the power of prayer even in the most adverse of circumstances.
The gospel is Jesus’ answer to the scribes question about the greatest commandment. Pharisees distinguished 613 commandments in the Torah. To be saved, a person must keep them. But the rabbis argued over which commandment was the source of all the others. Jesus answers by quoting Deuteronomy 6:5 (love God above all) and Leviticus 19:18 (love neighbor as self.) The two commandments complement each other; they are different sides of the same coin. A person cannot love neighbor fully without loving God; a person cannot truly love God unless it shows itself in love of neighbor.
The posture in which I should receive these words of Jesus is to be prostrate on the ground with my hands outstretched in the deepest surrender of gratitude. Let me open the ears of my heart so that the Holy Spirit can enter and implant the reality of these words of Jesus. God repeats again His commandment on Sinai to Moses. Hear, Oh
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