2007년 7월 12일 연중 제14주간 목요일
제1독서
창세기 44,18-21.23ㄴ-29; 45,1-5
그 무렵 18 유다가 요셉에게 나아가 말하였다. “나리, 이 종이 감히 나리께 한 말씀 아뢰겠습니다. 나리께서는 파라오와 같으신 분이시니, 이 종에게 노여워하지 마십시오.
19 나리께서 이 종들에게 ‘아버지나 아우가 있느냐?’ 물으시기에, 20 저희가 나리께 대답하였습니다. ‘저희에게 늙은 아버지가 있고, 그가 늘그막에 얻은 막내가 있습니다. 그 애 형은 죽고 그의 어머니 아들로는 그 애밖에 남지 않아, 아버지가 그 애를 사랑합니다.’
21 그러자 나리께서는 ‘그 아이를 나에게 데리고 내려오너라. 내 눈으로 그를 보아야겠다.’ 하고 이 종들에게 말씀하셨습니다. 23 ‘너희 막내아우가 함께 내려오지 않으면, 너희는 다시 내 얼굴을 볼 수 없다.’ 하셨습니다.
24 그래서 저희가 나리의 종인 저희 아버지에게 올라갔을 때, 나리의 말씀을 아버지에게 전하였습니다.
25 그 뒤에 저희 아버지가 ‘다시 가서 양식을 좀 사 오너라.’ 하였지만, 26 저희는 이렇게 대답하였습니다. ‘저희는 내려갈 수 없습니다. 막내아우가 함께 가야 저희가 내려갈 수 있습니다. 막내아우가 저희와 함께 가지 않으면, 저희는 그 어른의 얼굴을 뵐 수 없습니다.’
27 그랬더니 나리의 종인 저희 아버지가 저희에게 이렇게 말하였습니다. ‘내 아내가 나에게 아들 둘을 낳아 주었다는 것을 너희도 알지 않느냐? 28 그런데 한 아이는 나를 떠났다. 나는 그 애가 찢겨 죽은 것이 틀림없다고 말하였고, 사실 나는 지금까지도 그 아이를 다시 보지 못하였다. 29 그런데 너희가 이 아이마저 나에게서 데려갔다가 무슨 변이라도 당하게 되면, 너희는 이렇게 백발이 성성한 나를, 비통해하며 저승으로 내려가게 하고야 말 것이다.’”
45,1 요셉은 자기 곁에 서 있는 모든 이들 앞에서 더 이상 자신을 억제하지 못하고, “모두들 물러가게 하여라.” 하고 외쳤다. 그래서 요셉이 형제들에게 자신을 밝힐 때, 그 곁에는 아무도 없었다. 2 요셉이 목 놓아 울자, 그 소리가 이집트 사람들에게 들리고 파라오의 궁궐에도 들렸다.
3 요셉이 형제들에게 말하였다. “내가 요셉입니다! 아버지께서는 아직 살아 계십니까?” 그러나 형제들은 요셉 앞에서 너무나 놀라, 그에게 대답할 수가 없었다. 4 그래서 요셉은 형제들에게 “나에게 가까이 오십시오.” 하고서는, 그들이 가까이 오자 다시 말하였다.
“내가 형님들의 아우 요셉입니다. 형님들이 이집트로 팔아넘긴 그 아우입니다. 5 그러나 이제는 저를 이곳으로 팔아넘겼다고 해서 괴로워하지도, 자신에게 화를 내지도 마십시오. 우리 목숨을 살리시려고 하느님께서는 나를 여러분보다 앞서 보내신 것입니다.”
복음
마태오. 10,7-15
그때에 예수님께서 사도들에게 말씀하셨다.
7 “가서 ‘하늘 나라가 가까이 왔다.’ 하고 선포하여라. 8 앓는 이들을 고쳐 주고 죽은 이들을 일으켜 주어라. 나병 환자들을 깨끗하게 해 주고 마귀들을 쫓아내어라. 너희가 거저 받았으니 거저 주어라.
9 전대에 금도 은도 구리 돈도 지니지 마라. 10 여행 보따리도 여벌 옷도 신발도 지팡이도 지니지 마라. 일꾼이 자기 먹을 것을 받는 것은 당연하다.
11 어떤 고을이나 마을에 들어가거든, 그곳에서 마땅한 사람을 찾아내어 떠날 때까지 거기에 머물러라.
12 집에 들어가면 그 집에 평화를 빈다고 인사하여라. 13 그 집이 평화를 누리기에 마땅하면 너희의 평화가 그 집에 내리고, 마땅하지 않으면 그 평화가 너희에게 돌아올 것이다.
14 누구든지 너희를 받아들이지 않고 너희 말도 듣지 않거든, 그 집이나 그 고을을 떠날 때에 너희 발의 먼지를 털어 버려라. 15 내가 진실로 너희에게 말한다. 심판 날에는 소돔과 고모라 땅이 그 고을보다 견디기 쉬울 것이다.”
July 12, 2007
Thursday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Reading 1
Gn 44:18-21, 23b-29; 45:1-5
Judah approached Joseph and said: “I beg you, my lord,
let your servant speak earnestly to my lord,
and do not become angry with your servant,
for you are the equal of Pharaoh.
My lord asked your servants, ‘Have you a father, or another brother?’
So we said to my lord, ‘We have an aged father,
and a young brother, the child of his old age.
This one’s full brother is dead,
and since he is the only one by that mother who is left,
his father dotes on him.’
Then you told your servants,
‘Bring him down to me that my eyes may look on him.
Unless your youngest brother comes back with you,
you shall not come into my presence again.’
When we returned to your servant our father,
we reported to him the words of my lord.
“Later, our father told us to come back and buy some food for the family.
So we reminded him, ‘We cannot go down there;
only if our youngest brother is with us can we go,
for we may not see the man if our youngest brother is not with us.’
Then your servant our father said to us,
‘As you know, my wife bore me two sons.
One of them, however, disappeared, and I had to conclude
that he must have been torn to pieces by wild beasts;
I have not seen him since.
If you now take this one away from me, too,
and some disaster befalls him,
you will send my white head down to the nether world in grief.’“
Joseph could no longer control himself
in the presence of all his attendants,
so he cried out, “Have everyone withdraw from me!”
Thus no one else was about when he made himself known to his brothers.
But his sobs were so loud that the Egyptians heard him,
and so the news reached Pharaoh’s palace.
“I am Joseph,” he said to his brothers.
“Is my father still in good health?”
But his brothers could give him no answer,
so dumbfounded were they at him.
“Come closer to me,” he told his brothers.
When they had done so, he said:
“I am your brother Joseph, whom you once sold into Egypt.
But now do not be distressed,
and do not reproach yourselves for having sold me here.
It was really for the sake of saving lives
that God sent me here ahead of you.”
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 105:16-17, 18-19, 20-21
R. (5a) Remember the marvels the Lord has done.
or:
R. Alleluia.
When the LORD called down a famine on the land
and ruined the crop that sustained them,
He sent a man before them,
Joseph, sold as a slave.
R. Remember the marvels the Lord has done.
or:
R. Alleluia.
They had weighed him down with fetters,
and he was bound with chains,
Till his prediction came to pass
and the word of the LORD proved him true.
R. Remember the marvels the Lord has done.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The king sent and released him,
the ruler of the peoples set him free.
He made him lord of his house
and ruler of all his possessions.
R. Remember the marvels the Lord has done.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Gospel
Mt 10:7-15
Jesus said to his Apostles:
“As you go, make this proclamation:
‘The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.’
Cure the sick, raise the dead,
cleanse the lepers, drive out demons.
Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give.
Do not take gold or silver or copper for your belts;
no sack for the journey, or a second tunic,
or sandals, or walking stick.
The laborer deserves his keep.
Whatever town or village you enter, look for a worthy person in it,
and stay there until you leave.
As you enter a house, wish it peace.
If the house is worthy,
let your peace come upon it;
if not, let your peace return to you.
Whoever will not receive you or listen to your words(
go outside that house or town and shake the dust from your feet.
Amen, I say to you, it will be more tolerable
for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment
than for that town.”
Jesus sent out these Twelve after instructing them thus,
“Do not go into pagan territory or enter a Samaritan town.
Go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
As you go, make this proclamation: ‘The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.’“
Commentary
It is Judah who approaches Joseph to beg on behalf of his aged father. He has returned without the youngest because Isaac his father couldn't bear to part with him after losing Joseph, his only other child by Rachel, his first beloved. Joseph listens and cannot bear it anymore. He cries out and reveals himself to his brothers. He forgives them and tells them that God has worked through what they have done by bringing him to this place where he could help them and their people. Joseph's young dreams have become reality in Egypt through history. Even in sin/violence and injustice, Joseph has learned faithfulness and forgiveness. He sums up his life and what they did, saying, "It was really for the sake of saving lives that God sent me here ahead of you." Do we believe that God works through all of history, the events of our lives and the world to save lives-if only we persevere in the fact of all that happens, remain faithful, and forgive everyone all that they have done to us? Truly, this is a glimpse of the reign of God to come but extended now to the whole world, not just to those we are bound to by blood/family.
We often times hear of tragedies with innocent victims suffering, and crimes with people unjustly condemned and natural disasters leaving thousands dead and homeless. The usual reaction is to question why God allows these things to happen. And the acceptable explanation is that his ways are not our ways and he knows how to bring good out of these evils.
Well in our first reading today, we have a perfect example of how this explanation rings true. Joseph was an irritant to his brothers who ended up hating him, selling him into slavery and writing him off as dead. However, in the meantime, because of the talents God had given Joseph, along with hard work and the reputation he acquired, he was able to forewarn the Pharaoh of a future drought and the starvation that would face the Egyptians.
In return the Pharaoh rewarded him with ultimate power and put him in charge of preparing for the time of the drought. He planned the building of storage facilities during the times of plenty and laid away a portion of the harvest to cover the dry years. By conservation and judicious dispensation of the grain they had, he not only saved the lives of numerous Egyptians but even many of the people from surrounding countries. Among them was the family of Jacob, Joseph’s own brothers. They didn’t recognize him after so many years nor did Joseph initially make himself known to them. But after a couple of begging trips to Egypt for supplies and fulfilling conditions that Joseph demanded of them, he was no longer able to control his emotions or withhold his forgiveness.
“Come closer to me,” he told his brothers. “I am your brother Joseph, whom you once sold into Egypt. But do not be distressed, and do not reproach yourselves for having sold me here. It was really for the sake of saving lives that God sent me here ahead of you.”
Too often we fail to recognize the good that follows tragedies and trials. Sometimes that’s because those results happen at a much later time. Or again because the connection may be so subtle that it goes undetected. one message that comes through this scripture reading reminds us that God is in control. His ultimate plan is always directed with wisdom and love toward that end which in one way or another will eventually bring about our spiritual, temporal and eternal wellbeing.
by
Howie Kalb, S.J.
Jesuit Community
"You received without paying, give without paying"
Jesus gave his disciples a two-fold commission: to speak in his name and to act with his power. The core of the gospel message is quite simple: the kingdom (or reign) of God is imminent! What is the kingdom of God? It is that society of men and women who freely submit to God and who honor him as their Lord and King. In the Lord’s prayer we pray for God to reign in our lives and in our world: May your kingdom come and your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Jesus also commissioned his disciples to carry on the works which he did — bringing the healing power of God to the weary and oppressed. The gospel has power to set people free from sin, sickness, fear, and oppression. The Lord will free us from anything that keeps us from loving him and our neighbor with joy and confidence.
Jesus said to his disciples: Freely you have received, freely give. What they have received from Jesus they must now pass on to others without expecting a favor in return, whether it be in form of a gift or payment. They must show by their attitude that their first interest is in serving God, not receiving material gain. They must serve without guile, full of charity and peace, and simplicity. They must give their full attention to the proclamation of God’s kingdom and not be diverted by other lesser things. They must travel light — only take what was essential and leave behind whatever would distract them — in order to concentrate on the task of speaking the word of the God. They must do their work, not for what they can get out of it, but for what they can give freely to others, without expecting special privileges or reward. “Poverty of spirit” frees us from greed and preoccupation with possessions and makes ample room for God’s provision. The Lord wants his disciples to be dependent on him and not on themselves.
Secondly, Jesus said: the worker deserves his sustenance. Here we see a double-truth: the worker of God must not be overly-concerned with material things, but the people of God must never fail in their duty to give the worker of God what he or she needs to sustain themselves in the Lord's service. Do you pray for the work of the gospel and do you support it with your material and financial resources? Jesus ends his instructions with a warning: If people reject God’s invitation and refuse his word, then they bring judgment and condemnation on themselves. When God gives us his word there comes with it the great responsibility to respond. Indifference will not do. We are either for or against God in how we respond to his word. God gives us his word that we may have life — abundant life — in him. He wills to work in and through each of us for his glory. God shares his word with us and he commissions us to speak it boldly and simply to others. Do you witness the truth and joy of the gospel by word and example to those around you?
“Lord, may the joy and truth of the gospel transform my life that I may witness it to those around me. Grant that I may spread your truth and your light wherever I go.”
Psalm 80:1-3,14-15
1 Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, thou who leadest Joseph like a flock! Thou who art enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth
2 before E'phraim and Benjamin and Manas'seh! Stir up thy might, and come to save us!
3 Restore us, O God; let thy face shine, that we may be saved!
14 Turn again, O God of hosts! Look down from heaven, and see; have regard for this vine,
15 the stock which thy right hand planted.
SECRET SINS
'No one else was about when he made himself known to his brothers. But his sobs were so loud that the Egyptians heard him.' Genesis 45:1-2
Families have a way of not talking about certain things, of keeping skeletons in their closets. Joseph's brothers refused for twenty-five years to tell their father the truth about Joseph. Do you have family secrets, family lies? Are there dark shadows over your marriage and family? Are you afraid of the truth, afraid of the light? 'Everyone who practices evil hates the light; he does not come near it for fear his deeds will be exposed' (Jn 3:20).
Begin by bringing your sins into the light through Confession. Don't be afraid to let Dr. Jesus touch your wounds with His wounds and heal you (1 Pt 2:24). Finally, share these secret sins with your spouse and other family members. This may seem impossible, but after receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation a special grace will be there for you. You won't see how you could ever let anyone know your shameful secrets. However, the Lord will create the perfect opportunity. You'll be with the right person at the right time. You'll know the Lord is opening the door to the closet containing your skeletons. Here's the opportunity to be free, if you by faith just open the door the rest of the way. Go ahead, trust Jesus to heal your family and set you free (Jn 8:36).
Praise: Trusting in God's infinite love, Jane was able to confront her fears of having been raised in an alcoholic household and was healed.
Prayer: Jesus, You are the Truth that will reveal the truth and set me free (Jn 8:32).
Promise: 'Cure the sick, raise the dead, heal the leprous, expel demons. The gift you have received, give as a gift.' Mt 10:8
«Do not carry a traveler's bag, or an extra shirt...»
Today, we want to foresee even the unforeseeable. Today is the age of home servicing and deliveries. And, if today we talk so much about peace, perhaps it is because we need it so badly. Today's Gospel fully deals with these three other “todays”. Let us go step by step.
We want to foresee even the unforeseeable: soon, we shall buy insurance to foresee the possibility our insurer may fail us. Or, perhaps, to foresee our buying a pair of trousers, and the sales clerk giving us a stained or discolored pair! Today's Gospel, with its invitation to travel without any luggage («Do not carry any gold, silver or copper in your purses»), is inciting us to confidence, to availability. But, look out! this does not mean carelessness! Not even improvisation. Living this reality is only possible through a life deeply rooted in what is truly fundamental: in the person of Christ. His Holiness John Paul II says: «We must respect an essential principle of the Christian vision of our life: the supremacy of Grace. We should not forget that without Christ, ‘we can do nothing’ (cf. Jn 15:5)».
It is also true that home servicing and deliveries proliferate: no catering; now you can have your Spanish omelet homemade. This should be the icon of a society where we people have a tendency to do things our own way, to organize our own life by doing without others. Today, Jesus tells us «go»; go out. In other words, do bear in mind, those you have beside you. Let us, therefore, keep them in our mind, open to their needs.
Vacation, a peaceful countryside... are they synonymous of peace? It seems we may have some strong motives to doubt it. Maybe many holidays are nothing but the lethargy of some intimate concern or worry, that, later on, is about to arise again. We Christians do know we are the bearers of peace; even more, we know this peace soaks up all our being —also when we find nothing but an hostile surrounding around us— as far as we closely follow Jesus.
Let, therefore, the force of Christ's Today soak us up! And... «who has truly fund Christ cannot keep Him only for himself, he has to announce Him» (John Paul II).
The bible is filled with stories of reconciliations. Who can read Luke’s parable of the Prodigal Son without tears? There is also the story of the reconciliation of Peter after Jesus’ resurrection. There is the reconciliation of Jacob and Esau in Genesis 34. Today’s first reading is the reconciliation of Joseph with the brothers who had tried to kill him. Joseph holds no grudge. His brothers find it hard to believe that Joseph is alive; and it is even harder for them to believe he can forgive them. Biblical stories of reconciliation point to the infinite mercy of God who constantly reaches out to reconcile us. Does it ever occur to us that the Christian faith is the only one of the world’s great religions which emphasizes God’s forgiveness and reconciliation? God’s power is shown most perfectly in his forgiveness. And that power must also be reflected in us, in the way we treat others.
Yesterday, we had the gospel of the calling of the twelve apostles. Today, we have Jesus’ instructions to them: They are to live simply. Their mission is to heal, to cleanse, to give what they have received, to expel evil, and to proclaim the presence of the kingdom of God. Let us always be faithful to this primary imperative of ours.
It's all about preaching as you go along. The content and object of the preaching and of the apostolic power and commission is the
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