2007년 6월 27일 연중 제12주간 수요일
제1독서
창세기 15,1-12.17-18
그 무렵 1 주님의 말씀이 환시 중에 아브람에게 내렸다. “아브람아, 두려워하지 마라. 나는 너의 방패다. 너는 매우 큰 상을 받을 것이다.”
2 그러자 아브람이 아뢰었다. “주 하느님, 저에게 무엇을 주시렵니까? 저는 자식 없이 살아가는 몸, 제 집안의 상속자는 다마스쿠스 사람 엘리에제르가 될 것입니다.” 3 아브람이 다시 아뢰었다. “저를 보십시오. 당신께서 자식을 주지 않으셔서, 제 집의 종이 저를 상속하게 되었습니다.”
4 그러자 주님의 말씀이 그에게 내렸다. “그가 너를 상속하지 못할 것이다. 네 몸에서 나온 아이가 너를 상속할 것이다.”
5 그러고는 그를 밖으로 데리고 나가서 말씀하셨다. “하늘을 쳐다보아라. 네가 셀 수 있거든 저 별들을 세어 보아라.” 그에게 또 말씀하셨다. “너의 후손이 저렇게 많아질 것이다.” 6 아브람이 주님을 믿으니, 주님께서 그 믿음을 의로움으로 인정해 주셨다. 7 주님께서 그에게 말씀하셨다.
“나는 주님이다. 이 땅을 너에게 주어 차지하게 하려고, 너를 칼데아의 우르에서 이끌어 낸 이다.”
8 아브람이 “주 하느님, 제가 그것을 차지하리라는 것을 무엇으로 알 수 있겠습니까?” 하고 묻자, 9 주님께서 그에게 말씀하셨다. “삼 년 된 암송아지 한 마리와 삼 년 된 암염소 한 마리와 삼 년 된 숫양 한 마리, 그리고 산비둘기 한 마리와 어린 집비둘기 한 마리를 나에게 가져오너라.”
10 그는 이 모든 것을 주님께 가져와서 반으로 잘라, 잘린 반쪽들을 마주 보게 차려 놓았다. 그러나 날짐승들은 자르지 않았다. 11 맹금들이 죽은 짐승들 위로 날아들자, 아브람은 그것들을 쫓아냈다.
12 해 질 무렵, 아브람 위로 깊은 잠이 쏟아지는데, 공포와 짙은 암흑이 그를 휩쌌다. 17 해가 지고 어둠이 깔리자, 연기 뿜는 화덕과 타오르는 횃불이 그 쪼개 놓은 짐승들 사이로 지나갔다.
18 그날 주님께서는 아브람과 계약을 맺으시며 이렇게 말씀하셨다. “나는 이집트 강에서 큰 강 곧 유프라테스 강까지 이르는 이 땅을 너의 후손에게 준다.”
복음
마태오 7,15-20
그때에 예수님께서 제자들에게 말씀하셨다.
15“너희는 거짓 예언자들을 조심하여라. 그들은 양의 옷차림을 하고 너희에게 오지만 속은 게걸 든 이리들이다. 16 너희는 그들이 맺은 열매를 보고 그들을 알아볼 수 있다. 가시나무에서 어떻게 포도를 거두어들이고, 엉겅퀴에서 어떻게 무화과를 거두어들이겠느냐?
17 이와 같이 좋은 나무는 모두 좋은 열매를 맺고 나쁜 나무는 나쁜 열매를 맺는다. 18 좋은 나무가 나쁜 열매를 맺을 수 없고 나쁜 나무가 좋은 열매를 맺을 수 없다.
19 좋은 열매를 맺지 않는 나무는 모두 잘려 불에 던져진다. 20 그러므로 너희는 그들이 맺은 열매를 보고 그들을 알아볼 수 있다.”
June 27, 2007
Wednesday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time
Reading 1
Gn 15:1-12, 17-18
The word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision:
“Fear not, Abram!
I am your shield;
I will make your reward very great.”
But Abram said,
“O Lord GOD, what good will your gifts be,
if I keep on being childless
and have as my heir the steward of my house, Eliezer?”
Abram continued,
“See, you have given me no offspring,
and so one of my servants will be my heir.”
Then the word of the LORD came to him:
“No, that one shall not be your heir;
your own issue shall be your heir.”
He took him outside and said:
“Look up at the sky and count the stars, if you can.
Just so,” he added, “shall your descendants be.”
Abram put his faith in the LORD,
who credited it to him as an act of righteousness.
He then said to him,
“I am the LORD who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans
to give you this land as a possession.”
“O Lord GOD,” he asked,
“how am I to know that I shall possess it?”
He answered him,
“Bring me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old she-goat,
a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.”
Abram brought him all these, split them in two,
and placed each half opposite the other;
but the birds he did not cut up.
Birds of prey swooped down on the carcasses,
but Abram stayed with them.
As the sun was about to set, a trance fell upon Abram,
and a deep, terrifying darkness enveloped him.
When the sun had set and it was dark,
there appeared a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch,
which passed between those pieces.
It was on that occasion that the LORD made a covenant with Abram,
saying: “To your descendants I give this land,
from the Wadi of Egypt to the Great River the Euphrates.”
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 105:1-2, 3-4, 6-7, 8-9
R. (8a) The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Give thanks to the LORD, invoke his name;
make known among the nations his deeds.
Sing to him, sing his praise,
proclaim all his wondrous deeds.
R. The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Glory in his holy name;
rejoice, O hearts that seek the LORD!
Look to the LORD in his strength;
seek to serve him constantly.
R. The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
or:
R. Alleluia.
You descendants of Abraham, his servants,
sons of Jacob, his chosen ones!
He, the LORD, is our God;
throughout the earth his judgments prevail.
R. The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
or:
R. Alleluia.
He remembers forever his covenant
which he made binding for a thousand generations(
Which he entered into with Abraham
and by his oath to Isaac.
R. The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Gospel
Mt 7:15-20
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing,
but underneath are ravenous wolves.
By their fruits you will know them.
Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?
Just so, every good tree bears good fruit,
and a rotten tree bears bad fruit.
A good tree cannot bear bad fruit,
nor can a rotten tree bear good fruit.
Every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down
and thrown into the fire.
So by their fruits you will know them.”
Commentary
God blesses Abram but Abram is impatient for a child-he interprets God's promises of descendants in terms of a bloodline. God tells him to look at the stars for they will be those who shall come after him in faith. Abram has many questions about what he will have and he is instructed to make a covenant with Yahweh that is ancient, terrifying and primitive-this is a theophany, a revelation of God that is personal and yet bound to a people for the future. These are our roots.
Jesus tells us that we must be known by our deeds. We are no longer known by our blood ties, families, origins, nationalities, or personalities, but by what we do and say and who we align ourselves with in God's kingdom. You can tell a tree by its fruit-what have we been growing and offering to others (you can't eat your own fruit, only another's)?
When I read the first four lines of today’s Gospel about “false prophets coming in sheep’s clothes,” I immediately thought of an acquaintance who had some parallel behaviors to the warning in this Gospel. This individual forged friendships and relationships with others – only for many of us to discover he created a pattern of deception that unraveled. His deception has resulted in both financial and emotional havoc for two colleagues in particular.
Upon first reading of the Gospel, I had difficulty with the remainder of the Gospel – because I made a language parallel between “a good tree and a bad tree” with “a good person and a bad person.” I have a strong belief in separating a person from one’s behaviors, i.e., I do not see a person as good or bad. Rather, I evaluate behaviors as positive or negative. I believe we are all capable of behaviors on a positive to negative continuum.
So I struggle with the 21st century parallel language and meaning to the “good tree and the rotten tree.” one desired understanding is that the practice and re-iteration of positive behaviors results in a “good tree, i.e., a good person” – which, in turn, results in more positive behaviors by that person. If we believe (which I do) in the inherent dignity of each individual who is capable of positive behaviors and capable of change from negative behaviors, then one does not dismiss any individual as “a rotten tree.”
While there is pain and grief in my two above colleagues’ lives because of how they were deceived by the above individual, they live out the Christian dimension of recognizing his innate dignity. While they grieve his negative behaviors, i.e., his “bad fruits,” they, also, make a distinction between who he is and what his behaviors are. They do not dismiss him. They pray for his healing. I believe this is what I am called to do and practice.
by
Elizabeth Furlong
School of Nursing
We are now approaching the conclusion of the Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel of Matthew. Tomorrow's Gospel will bring it to a close. Our Gospel for today uses the metaphor of the false and true prophets. This metaphor was used in early Christianity to signify the direction in which one's life was going. If you were following true prophets, life would be good. If you were following false prophets, life would be problematic. one could tell which one they were following by the fruits or results of the actions.
The fruits of following the true prophet, Christ, are listed in the Scriptures as being the fruits of the Spirit. And they are, as we saw a short while ago around the feast of Pentecost: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. If my actions bring these out in people, then they are good. Sometimes I notice that my actions bring out the worst in people. They bring out just the opposite of what should be brought out by Christian behavior. When I see these opposites happening, it is obviously time for a change.
How easy it is to say, "It is time for a change." Bringing that change to be is not so easy. once again, I am reminded of that old short writing about the difficulty of changing called the Autobiography in 5 Short Chapters. You have probably heard this before but just for a refresher I submit it again:
Chapter 1. I walk down the street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I fall in. I am lost. I am helpless. It isn't my fault! It takes forever to find a way out.
Chapter 2. I walk down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I pretend I don't see it. I fall in again. I can't believe I'm in the same place, but it isn't my fault. It still takes a long time to get out.
Chapter 3. I walk down the street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I see it is there. I still fall in....it's habit. My eyes are open. I know where I am. It is my fault. I get out immediately.
Chapter 4. I walk down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I walk around it.
Chapter 5. I walk down another street.
Silly, but, oh so true! How I dilly-dally around trying to change. And most of the time, it never happens. Why is it so difficult to "walk down another street?"
Fr. Howard
SHOW TIME
' 'Look up at the sky and count the stars, if you can. Just so,' He added, 'shall your descendants be.' ' Genesis 15:5
The Lord keeps telling us wonderful things that don't seem to happen. For years He told Abraham that he would be the father of a great nation, but Abraham reached ninety-nine years of age and still hadn't had his first child. When God repeated His promise, Abraham argued with Him: 'O Lord God, what good will Your gifts be, if I keep on being childless?' (Gn 15:2) 'See, You have given me no offspring' (Gn 15:3). 'How am I to know?' (Gn 15:8)
Finally, the Lord decided to prove that His promise was true (see Jos 23:14). He told Abraham to bring a heifer, she-goat, ram, turtledove, and pigeon. He told Abraham to split the animals, except for the birds. 'As the sun was about to set, a trance fell upon Abram, and a deep, terrifying darkness enveloped him' (Gn 15:12). 'When the sun had set and it was dark, there appeared a smoking brazier and a flaming torch, which passed between those pieces. It was on that occasion that the Lord made a covenant with Abram' (Gn 15:17-18).
Are you in Abraham's sandals? Do you have trouble believing God's promises for your life? Do you argue with God when He repeats His promise, complain to God for taking His time, or think it may be 'too late' for the Lord to fulfill His promise? God is still making covenants. He may be willing to prove Himself to you one more time. Ask for a sign, a confirmation of His promise (Is 7:11). The Lord may surprise you.
Praise: St. Cyril believed the awesome truth regarding the human and divine nature of Jesus, and led others to this truth.
Prayer: Father, may the fear of the Lord be the beginning of wisdom for me (Ps 111:10).
Promise: 'Any sound tree bears good fruit, while a decayed tree bears bad fruit.' Mt 7:17
"You will know them by their fruits"
What do grapes, thorns, figs, and thistles have to teach us about the kingdom of God? The imagery used by Jesus would have been very familiar to his audience. A certain thornbush had berries which resembled grapes. And a certain thistle had a flower, which at least from a distance, resembled the fig. Isn't it the same today? What we "hear" might have a resemblance of the truth, but, in fact, when you inspect it closely, it's actually false. False prophets or teachers abound today as much as they did in biblical times.
What's the test of a true or false teacher? Jesus connects soundness with good fruit. Something is sound when it is free from defect, decay, or disease and is healthy. Good fruit is the result of sound living — living according to moral truth and upright character. The prophet Isaiah warned against the dangers of falsehood: Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness (Isaiah 5:20). The fruits of falsehood produce an easy religion which takes the iron out of religion, the cross out of Christianity, and any teaching which eliminates the hard sayings of Jesus, and which push the judgments of God into the background and makes us think lightly of sin.
How do we avoid falsehood? By being true — true to God, his word, and his grace. And that takes character! Those who are true to God know that their strength lies not in themselves but in God who supplies what we need. The fruit of a disciple is marked by faith, hope and love, justice, prudence, fortitude and temperance. Do you cultivate good fruit in your life and reject whatever produces bad fruit?
"Lord, may I bear good fruit for your sake. Help me to reject whatever will produce evil fruit. And help me grow in faith, hope, love, sound judgment, justice, courage, and self control."
Psalm 119:33-37,40
33 Teach me, O LORD, the way of thy statutes; and I will keep it to the end.
34 Give me understanding, that I may keep thy law and observe it with my whole heart.
35 Lead me in the path of thy commandments, for I delight in it.
36 Incline my heart to thy testimonies, and not to gain!
37 Turn my eyes from looking at vanities; and give me life in thy ways.
40 Behold, I long for thy precepts; in thy righteousness give me life!
Today’s first reading describes the first historical biblical covenant. The Hebrews borrowed the covenant concept from their Hittite (pagan) neighbors. They did so because the covenant described their relationship with God. A covenant is an agreement between unequal parties, freely entered into, binding perpetually, and sealed in blood. The parties to the covenant would reach an agreement. Then animals would be sliced in two and laid on the ground. The parties to the covenant would walk between the halves of animals as a sign that “If I don’t keep my word, may I be sliced in two, just as these animals.” In today’s reading, God (in the form of a fireball) passes through the halves of the animals. He will be faithful to his promise. Later in history the blood becomes sacrificial blood instead of threat-blood. See Exodus 24:8. And ultimately the covenant blood will be the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
The gospel warns us to beware of those who appear to be good, but really are evil: wolves in sheep’s clothing. We shall recognize the truth by deeds, and not by words. History is filled with deceivers, charlatans, and “medicine men.” Even in the holy Church of God, there have been those who deceived many by smooth talk, by wonderful personalities, and by attractive techniques. We must be careful. Always pray that we may follow truth and righteousness, and that we may never be swayed by an attractive message of falsehood.
«You will know them by their fruit»
Today, a new evangelic contrast opens up before our eyes, the one between the good tree and the bad one. The avowals of Jesus are so simple they look almost simplistic. But we can affirm that they are certainly not! They are not simplistic, as real life is not simplistic either.
This one teaches us good trees can degenerate and end up by bearing bad fruits while, on the other hand, there may be rotten trees ending up by bearing good fruits. So what does that actually mean? Perhaps, that «every good tree bears good fruit» (Mt 7:17)? No, it means that the good one is good as long as he does not stop doing good. That he does good and he does not get tired of it. He does good and he does not give up before the temptation to do evil. He does good and perseveres in heroism. He does good, and if by any chance, he yields to the weariness of doing it, falls before the temptation of doing evil, or gets scared before the non-negotiable postulate, he sincerely and truly admits it, heartily repents and... restarts all over again.
Ah! And he also does it, amongst other reasons, because he is conscious that if the tree does not bear a good fruit, it will be cut down and thrown into the fire (the fear of God keeps the true vine of the vineyard!). And because, by being aware of the goodness of others through their good deeds, he knows, not only through personal experience, but through social experiences too, that he can be recognized as good not because of his good words but through his good deeds only.
It is not enough to say: «Lord, Lord!». As St. James reminds us, faith is shown through our works!: «Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works» (Jm 2:18).
In this life of prayer I become interested in the writings of those who profess their understanding of the spiritual life. But I must be aware. I have been misled many times. I was misled because I wanted to be led down a path that coincided with my own self pursuits. Ravenous wolves dressed in the skins of lambs are ready to devour us. It might be easy to see the direction Playboy Magazine might be leading us. But what about the spiritual writer who produces content that is opposed to the general thread of Scripture and is directly opposed, hostile to, and ultimately condemnatory of, the Magisterium of the Church? They are wolves in a sheep's clothing leading us away from the uniqueness and absolute quality of the Catholic Magisterium through which we can pass into deeper union with God as
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