July 5, 2007 Thursday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time

  2007년 7월 5일 연중 제13주간 목요일

 

 제1독서

창세기 22,1-19
그 무렵 1 하느님께서 아브라함을 시험해 보시려고 “아브라함아!” 하고 부르시자, 그가 “예, 여기 있습니다.” 하고 대답하였다. 2 그분께서 말씀하셨다. “너의 아들, 네가 사랑하는 외아들 이사악을 데리고 모리야 땅으로 가거라. 그곳, 내가 너에게 일러 주는 산에서 그를 나에게 번제물로 바쳐라.”
3 아브라함은 아침 일찍 일어나 나귀에 안장을 얹고 두 하인과 아들 이사악을 데리고서는, 번제물을 사를 장작을 팬 뒤 하느님께서 자기에게 말씀하신 곳으로 길을 떠났다.
4 사흘째 되는 날에 아브라함이 눈을 들자, 멀리 있는 그곳을 볼 수 있었다. 5 아브라함이 하인들에게 말하였다. “너희는 나귀와 함께 여기에 머물러 있어라. 나와 이 아이는 저리로 가서 경배하고 너희에게 돌아오겠다.” 6 그러고 나서 아브라함은 번제물을 사를 장작을 가져다 아들 이사악에게 지우고, 자기는 손에 불과 칼을 들었다.
그렇게 둘은 함께 걸어갔다. 7 이사악이 아버지 아브라함에게 “아버지!” 하고 부르자, 그가 “얘야, 왜 그러느냐?” 하고 대답하였다. 이사악이 “불과 장작은 여기 있는데, 번제물로 바칠 양은 어디 있습니까?” 하고 묻자, 8 아브라함이 “얘야, 번제물로 바칠 양은 하느님께서 손수 마련하실 거란다.” 하고 대답하였다.
둘은 계속 함께 걸어갔다. 9 그들이 하느님께서 아브라함에게 말씀하신 곳에 다다르자, 아브라함은 그곳에 제단을 쌓고 장작을 얹어 놓았다. 그러고 나서 아들 이사악을 묶어 제단 장작 위에 올려놓았다.
10 아브라함이 손을 뻗쳐 칼을 잡고 자기 아들을 죽이려 하였다. 11 그때, 주님의 천사가 하늘에서 “아브라함아, 아브라함아!” 하고 그를 불렀다. 그가 “예, 여기 있습니다.” 하고 대답하자 12 천사가 말하였다. “그 아이에게 손대지 마라. 그에게 아무 해도 입히지 마라. 네가 너의 아들, 너의 외아들까지 나를 위하여 아끼지 않았으니, 네가 하느님을 경외하는 줄을 이제 내가 알았다.”
13 아브라함이 눈을 들어 보니, 덤불에 뿔이 걸린 숫양 한 마리가 있었다. 아브라함은 가서 그 숫양을 끌어와 아들 대신 번제물로 바쳤다. 14 아브라함은 그곳의 이름을 ‘야훼 이레’라 하였다. 그래서 오늘도 사람들은 ‘주님의 산에서 마련된다.’고들 한다.
15 주님의 천사가 하늘에서 두 번째로 아브라함을 불러 16 말하였다. “나는 나 자신을 걸고 맹세한다. 주님의 말씀이다. 네가 이 일을 하였으니, 곧 너의 아들, 너의 외아들까지 아끼지 않았으니, 17 나는 너에게 한껏 복을 내리고, 네 후손이 하늘의 별처럼, 바닷가의 모래처럼 한껏 번성하게 해 주겠다.
너의 후손은 원수들의 성문을 차지할 것이다. 18 네가 나에게 순종하였으니, 세상의 모든 민족들이 너의 후손을 통하여 복을 받을 것이다.”
19 아브라함은 하인들에게 돌아왔다. 그들은 함께 브에르 세바를 향하여 길을 떠났다. 그리하여 아브라함은 브에르 세바에서 살았다.

 

 복음

마태오 9,1-8
그때에 1 예수님께서는 배에 오르시어 호수를 건너 당신께서 사시는 고을로 가셨다. 2 그런데 사람들이 어떤 중풍 병자를 평상에 뉘어 그분께 데려왔다. 예수님께서 그들의 믿음을 보시고 중풍 병자에게 말씀하셨다. “얘야, 용기를 내어라. 너는 죄를 용서받았다.”
3 그러자 율법 학자 몇 사람이 속으로 ‘이자가 하느님을 모독하는군.’ 하고 생각하였다.
4 예수님께서 그들의 생각을 아시고 말씀하셨다. “너희는 어찌하여 마음속에 악한 생각을 품느냐? 5 ‘너는 죄를 용서받았다.’ 하고 말하는 것과 ‘일어나 걸어가라.’ 하고 말하는 것 가운데에서 어느 쪽이 더 쉬우냐?
6 이제 사람의 아들이 땅에서 죄를 용서하는 권한을 가지고 있음을 너희가 알게 해 주겠다.” 그런 다음 중풍 병자에게 말씀하셨다. “일어나 네 평상을 가지고 집으로 돌아가거라.” 7 그러자 그는 일어나 집으로 갔다.
8 이 일을 보고 군중은 두려워하며, 사람들에게 그러한 권한을 주신 하느님을 찬양하였다.

 

 

 

 July 5, 2007

 Thursday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time

  

 Reading 1
Gn 22:1b-19

God put Abraham to the test.
He called to him, “Abraham!”
“Here I am,” he replied.
Then God said: “Take your son Isaac, your only one, whom you love,
and go to the land of Moriah.
There you shall offer him up as a burnt offering
on a height that I will point out to you.”
Early the next morning Abraham saddled his donkey,
took with him his son Isaac, and two of his servants as well,
and with the wood that he had cut for the burnt offering,
set out for the place of which God had told him.

On the third day Abraham got sight of the place from afar.
Then he said to his servants: “Both of you stay here with the donkey,
while the boy and I go on over yonder.
We will worship and then come back to you.”
Thereupon Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering
and laid it on his son Isaac’s shoulders,
while he himself carried the fire and the knife.
As the two walked on together, Isaac spoke to his father Abraham:
“Father!” he said.
“Yes, son,” he replied.
Isaac continued, “Here are the fire and the wood,
but where is the sheep for the burnt offering?”
“Son,” Abraham answered,
“God himself will provide the sheep for the burnt offering.”
Then the two continued going forward.

When they came to the place of which God had told him,
Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it.
Next he tied up his son Isaac,
and put him on top of the wood on the altar.
Then he reached out and took the knife to slaughter his son.
But the LORD’s messenger called to him from heaven,
“Abraham, Abraham!”
“Here I am,” he answered.
“Do not lay your hand on the boy,” said the messenger.
“Do not do the least thing to him.
I know now how devoted you are to God,
since you did not withhold from me your own beloved son.”
As Abraham looked about,
he spied a ram caught by its horns in the thicket.
So he went and took the ram
and offered it up as a burnt offering in place of his son.
Abraham named the site Yahweh-yireh;
hence people now say, “On the mountain the LORD will see.”
Again the LORD’s messenger called to Abraham from heaven and said:
“I swear by myself, declares the LORD,
that because you acted as you did
in not withholding from me your beloved son,
I will bless you abundantly
and make your descendants as countless
as the stars of the sky and the sands of the seashore;
your descendants shall take possession
of the gates of their enemies,
and in your descendants all the nations of the earth
shall find blessing(all this because you obeyed my command.”

Abraham then returned to his servants,
and they set out together for Beer-sheba,
where Abraham made his home.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 115:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 8-9

R. (9) I will walk in the presence of the Lord, in the land of the living.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Not to us, O LORD, not to us
but to your name give glory
because of your kindness, because of your truth.
Why should the pagans say,
“Where is their God?”
R. I will walk in the presence of the Lord, in the land of the living.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Our God is in heaven;
whatever he wills, he does.
Their idols are silver and gold,
the handiwork of men.
R. I will walk in the presence of the Lord, in the land of the living.
or:
R. Alleluia.
They have mouths but speak not;
they have eyes but see not;
They have ears but hear not;
they have noses but smell not.
R. I will walk in the presence of the Lord, in the land of the living.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Their makers shall be like them,
everyone who trusts in them.
The house of Israel trusts in the LORD;
he is their help and their shield.
R. I will walk in the presence of the Lord, in the land of the living.
or:
R. Alleluia.

Gospel
Mt 9:1-8

After entering a boat, Jesus made the crossing, and came into his own town.
And there people brought to him a paralytic lying on a stretcher.
When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic,
“Courage, child, your sins are forgiven.”
At that, some of the scribes said to themselves,
“This man is blaspheming.”
Jesus knew what they were thinking, and said,
:Why do you harbor evil thoughts?
Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’
or to say, ‘Rise and walk’?
But that you may know that the Son of Man
has authority on earth to forgive sins”–
he then said to the paralytic,
“Rise, pick up your stretcher, and go home.”
He rose and went home.
When the crowds saw this they were struck with awe
and glorified God who had given such authority to men.

 

 

 Commentary

 

 God tests Abraham. He has promised him land and a nation peopled with his descendants. And God now asks for Isaac, Abraham's beloved child. Abraham obeys and takes Isaac to be sacrificed. God stays his hand-teaching Abraham and all nations that God does not want our children in sacrifice (or anyone's child) and that if we trust the Lord then, in the Lord's ways and time, his promises will be fulfilled. Abraham believed. Do we? And what do we refuse to give over to God in our life?

Some friends of a paralyzed man bring him to Jesus, and Jesus forgives the man because of their faith. But others are furious at Jesus for forgiving the man-accepting him as he is. At the time of Jesus it was commonly thought that you suffered illness or paralysis because of sins that you or your family had committed. Jesus heals the man, pushing those who were heartless to the man's condition (and so many others) to examine themselves on whether healing or forgiveness is harder. What do you think?

 

 

 Trust and belief go hand-in-hand. But which comes first? They are ancillary to each other. If you trust someone or something, do you also believe or do you gradually grow in faith/belief? Or if you believe in someone or some cause, do you automatically place your trust there? I do not know; we all develop this synergistic combination differently.

Today’s readings speak of both belief and trust. We know Abraham believed in the God of the covenant because he was preparing to offer God sacrifice. Abraham apparently also trusted God because he was prepared to make “the blind leap of faith” and sacrifice his only son Isaac. Is my/your faith that strong that we would trust God when he asked us for a similar but simpler personal sacrifice?

In the gospel, Matthew describes people bringing a paralytic to Jesus to be healed and he notes that “When Jesus saw their faith….” Jesus cured him. These people believed and trusted in Jesus because of what they saw him do or what they heard he had done. Either from first hand experience or hear-say, they came, they believed, and they trusted in Jesus. The passage ends: “…they were struck with awe and glorified God who had given such authority to men.”

I suspect most of you reading this reflection believe in God. But do you trust God? In your personal life or in your life in the Church, do you unconditionally trust God with those things, events and persons who are dear to you? This is a tough question and one worthy of reflection. Has your experience of God been such that you find God trustworthy? Is God someone in whom we can place our trust and rest assured that that trust will not be betrayed? It has been noted, “You will be hurt occasionally if you trust too much. This may be true, but you will live in torment if you do not trust enough.”

This is a great observation for your reflection. Trusting is part of our higher nature. Doubting is a lower instinct, but one common in most of us. Doubting is easy to do, trust is more difficult—but so much more rewarding. Just ask Thomas, the “doubting” disciple, after meeting the risen Jesus.

It is in the soft whisperings from the heart that the thread of trust is found. Trust that voice and weave that thread of trust richly into the patterns of your life. Today’s psalm ends: “The house of Israel trusts in the Lord; he is their help and their shield.”

Abraham trusted God and was rewarded with a vast and blessed posterity. The paralytic trusted in Jesus and was healed. Israel trusted in the Lord and was protected. Just so what will your trust in the Lord Jesus, the creator God and the Spirit of God, yield for you? As mentioned above, doubting is easy to do, trust is more difficult—but so much more rewarding.

 

 by
John Schlegel, S.J.
President

 

 

 The first reading is the story of the sacrifice of Isaac by Abraham.   The fathers of the Church (and our liturgy) use this story over and over again to show the greatness of the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.    There is a great irony:   The son of Abraham was spared; the Son of God was not.   The story has great problems for us, but we must remember that the theology of the times was very primitive.   God was not so mean as to demand human sacrifice; the pagan neighbors of the Hebrews did practice human sacrifice, but this was always an abomination to the Jews.    The point is not of God demanding human sacrifice, but rather God’s request for complete and total faith that he will bring good out of evil if only we trust him completely.    There is still a mystery of how the Father would permit the death of his only Son.   This will forever be a mystery.    But here, as in the Old Testament story, the Lord asks for our complete and total faith in his lovingkindness.
The gospel is the story of the healing of a paralyzed man.   As we have remarked so often, the healing is a sign of the forgiveness of sins.    To “walk in God’s ways” was a metaphor for being a good and virtuous person.   If a person is paralyzed, he cannot walk; in sign, then, he is a sinner.  Jesus tells the paralyzed man that his sins are forgiven; in other words, he can now walk God’s paths.  The paralyzed man did not come for forgiveness, but for physical healing.   For Jesus the spiritual healing is as easy as the physical healing.    Note the conclusion: “They glorified God who has given such authority to men.”   Plural.   Not only is the power to forgive given to Jesus, but to those whom Jesus sends, i.e. the apostles and their successors.

Also St. Anthony Mary Zaccaria (1502-1539)
   He founded the “Barnabites,” one of the many Orders in the Sixteenth Century which tried to end the abuses in the Church.   The purpose was to “regenerate and revive the love of divine worship and a properly Christian way of life...”   He died prematurely at Cremona, Italy, the town where he was born.

 

 

 "Why do you think evil in your hearts?"

What cripples the mind and heart and stiffles the healing power of love?  Sin and unforgiveness for certain!  Sin cripples us more than any physical ailment can.  Sin is the work of the kingdom of darkness and it holds us in eternal bondage. There is only one solution and that is the healing, cleansing power of Jesus' forgiveness. Jesus’ treatment of sinners upset the religious teachers of the day.  When a cripple was brought to Jesus because of the faith of his friends, Jesus did the unthinkable.  He first forgave the man his sins.  The scribes regarded this as blasphemy because they understood that only God had authority to forgive sins and to unbind a man or woman from their burden of guilt.  Jesus claimed an authority which only God could rightfully give.  Jesus not only proved that his authority came from God, he showed the great power of God's redeeming love and mercy by healing the cripple of his physical ailment. This man had been crippled not only physically, but spiritually as well. Jesus freed him from his burden of guilt and restored his body as well. The Lord is every ready to bring us healing of mind, body, and soul.  His grace brings us freedom from the power of sin and from bondage to harmful desires and addictions.  Do you allow anything to keep you from Jesus' healing power?

"Lord Jesus, through your merciful love and forgiveness you bring healing and restoration to body, soul, and mind. May your healing power and love touch every area of my life -- my innermost thoughts, feelings, attitudes, and memories. Pardon my offences and transform me in the power of your Holy Spirit that I may walk confidently in your truth and righteousness."

Psalm 19:7-10

7 The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul;  the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple;
8 the precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart;  the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes;
9 the fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever;  the ordinances of the LORD are true, and righteous altogether.
10 More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold;  sweeter also than honey  and drippings of the honeycomb.

 

 

 One of the struggles in my prayer is that I want to cling to my sins.  Not that I would want to repeat them.  But rather that the sorrow over them and the regret cling to me.  It is a form of self-reliance.  I cannot get over the fact that I could sin or that I could fail in important matters.  To be in grace is to be in seminal innocence restored.  God in his forgiveness does not remember my particular sins anymore.  The words of Jesus have a creative power to them.  If the sea and the wind obey his word, and if the paralytic takes up his mat and walks, the state of our troubled souls obey him equally.  “Have courage.  Son, daughter, your sins are forgiven.”  My life of prayer is sustained by the sacramental absolution of the Church in Reconciliation-Penance.  The Church is in constant praise that such power remains with men so ordained.  The faith of the Church carries me on my mat into the presence of the forgiving Lord.  The faith and hope of my prayer open the flood gates of forgiving mercy.  My prayer is to rest in the total and absolute forgiveness of Christ.  All that the Lord does is total and absolute.  Rest in that.