April 2, 2020 Thursday of the Fifth Week of Lent

2020년 4월 2일 사순 제5주간 목요일 

오늘의 복음 : http://info.catholic.or.kr/missa/default.asp 

창세기. 17,3-9
그 무렵 3 아브람이 얼굴을 땅에 대고 엎드리자, 하느님께서 그에게 이르셨다.
4 “나를 보아라. 너와 맺는 내 계약은 이것이다.
너는 많은 민족들의 아버지가 될 것이다.
5 너는 더 이상 아브람이라 불리지 않을 것이다. 이제 너의 이름은 아브라함이다.
내가 너를 많은 민족들의 아버지로 만들었기 때문이다.
6 나는 네가 매우 많은 자손을 낳아, 여러 민족이 되게 하겠다.
너에게서 임금들도 나올 것이다.
7 나는 나와 너 사이에, 그리고 네 뒤에 오는 후손들 사이에
대대로 내 계약을 영원한 계약으로 세워,
너와 네 뒤에 오는 후손들에게 하느님이 되어 주겠다.
8 나는 네가 나그네살이하는 이 땅,
곧 가나안 땅 전체를 너와 네 뒤에 오는 후손들에게 영원한 소유로 주고,
그들에게 하느님이 되어 주겠다.”
9 하느님께서 다시 아브라함에게 말씀하셨다.
“너는 내 계약을 지켜야 한다.
너와 네 뒤에 오는 후손들이 대대로 지켜야 한다.”

복음

 요한. 8,51-59
그때에 예수님께서 유다인들에게 말씀하셨다.
51 “내가 진실로 진실로 너희에게 말한다.
내 말을 지키는 이는 영원히 죽음을 보지 않을 것이다.”
52 유다인들이 예수님께 말하였다.
“이제 우리는 당신이 마귀 들렸다는 것을 알았소.
아브라함도 죽고 예언자들도 그러하였는데,
당신은 ‘내 말을 지키는 이는
영원히 죽음을 맛보지 않을 것이다.’ 하고 말하고 있소.
53 우리 조상 아브라함도 죽었는데 당신이 그분보다 훌륭하다는 말이오?
예언자들도 죽었소. 그런데 당신은 누구로 자처하는 것이오?”
54 예수님께서 대답하셨다.
“내가 나 자신을 영광스럽게 한다면 나의 영광은 아무것도 아니다.
나를 영광스럽게 하시는 분은 내 아버지시다.
너희가 ‘그분은 우리의 하느님이시다.’ 하고 말하는 바로 그분이시다.
55 너희는 그분을 알지 못하지만 나는 그분을 안다.
내가 그분을 알지 못한다고 말하면
나도 너희와 같은 거짓말쟁이가 될 것이다.
그러나 나는 그분을 알고 또 그분의 말씀을 지킨다.
56 너희 조상 아브라함은 나의 날을 보리라고 즐거워하였다.
그리고 그것을 보고 기뻐하였다.”
57 유다인들이 예수님께 말하였다.
“당신은 아직 쉰 살도 되지 않았는데 아브라함을 보았다는 말이오?”
58 예수님께서 그들에게 이르셨다.
“내가 진실로 진실로 너희에게 말한다.
나는 아브라함이 태어나기 전부터 있었다.”
59 그러자 그들은 돌을 들어 예수님께 던지려고 하였다.
그러나 예수님께서는 몸을 숨겨 성전 밖으로 나가셨다.

April 2, 2020

Thursday of the Fifth Week of Lent  

Daily Readings — Audio

Daily Reflections — Video

http://www.usccb.org/bible/ 

Daily Mass : http://www.catholictv.com/shows/daily-mass 

Reading 1

Gn 17:3-9

When Abram prostrated himself, God spoke to him:
"My covenant with you is this:
you are to become the father of a host of nations.
No longer shall you be called Abram;
your name shall be Abraham,
for I am making you the father of a host of nations.
I will render you exceedingly fertile;
I will make nations of you;
kings shall stem from you.
I will maintain my covenant with you
and your descendants after you
throughout the ages as an everlasting pact,
to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.
I will give to you
and to your descendants after you
the land in which you are now staying,
the whole land of Canaan, as a permanent possession;
and I will be their God."
God also said to Abraham:
on your part, you and your descendants after you
must keep my covenant throughout the ages." 

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 105:4-5, 6-7, 8-9

R. (8a) The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
Look to the LORD in his strength;
seek to serve him constantly.
Recall the wondrous deeds that he has wrought,
his portents, and the judgments he has uttered.
R. The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
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.
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 

Gospel

Jn 8:51-59

Jesus said to the Jews:
"Amen, amen, I say to you,
whoever keeps my word will never see death."
So the Jews said to him,
"Now we are sure that you are possessed.
Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say,
'Whoever keeps my word will never taste death.'
Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died?
Or the prophets, who died?
Who do you make yourself out to be?"
Jesus answered, "If I glorify myself, my glory is worth nothing;
but it is my Father who glorifies me,
of whom you say, 'He is our God.'
You do not know him, but I know him.
And if I should say that I do not know him,
I would be like you a liar.
But I do know him and I keep his word.
Abraham your father rejoiced to see my day;
he saw it and was glad."
So the Jews said to him,
"You are not yet fifty years old and you have seen Abraham?"
Jesus said to them, "Amen, amen, I say to you,
before Abraham came to be, I AM."
So they picked up stones to throw at him;

but Jesus hid and went out of the temple area. 

http://evangeli.net/gospel/tomorrow

 «As for Abraham, your ancestor, he looked forward to the day when I would come; and he rejoiced when he saw it»

Fr. Enric CASES i Martín
(Barcelona, Spain)

Today, Saint John places us before Jesus' revelation in the Temple. Our Savior reveals something unknown to the Jews: that Abraham looked forward and rejoiced when he saw Jesus' day. They all knew God had made a promise to Abraham, by assuring him of great promises of salvation for his seed. However, they were unaware of how far God's light could reach. Christ reveals them that Abraham did see the Messiah in the day of Yahweh, which Jesus calls my day.

In this revelation, Jesus appears as having God's eternal vision. But, above all, He appears as someone preexistent and present in Abraham's time. Later, in the heat of the discussion, when the Jews said to Jesus that He is not yet fifty years old, He tells them: «Truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am» (Jn 8:58). This is a notorious statement of his divinity, which they could perfectly understand, and which they could have also believed, had they better known the Father. The ｅxpression “I am” is part of the holy tetragram Yahweh revealed to Moses in mount Sinai.

Christianism is much more than a collection of high moral norms, as can be perfect love, or even, forgiveness. Christianism is faith in one person. Jesus Christ is True God and True Man. «Perfect God and Perfect Man», says the Athanasian Symbol. Saint Hilary of Poitiers writes in a beautiful prayer: «Give us, therefore, a way to express ourselves in an adequate and dignified manner, to enlighten our intelligence, and make also our words to express our faith, that is, that we, who, through the prophets and the Apostles, had come to know You God Father and the unique Lord Jesus Christ, may also celebrate You as our God, in which there is no unicity of person and confess your Son, in everything equal to You».

http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html

 

As I write this reflection, America is in the midst of working out a new ‘Normal” due to the worldwide pandemic of the Coronavirus.  Many people are frightened about what is happening and what it means for the future.

So, the timing of today’s readings is spot on.  At first, I had trouble connecting the two readings, but then I read an exert from Monsignor John J. Michonne’s  Forty Days Plus Threethat I found in Give Us This Day—Daily Prayer of Today’s Catholic: 

“…Jesus represented the final covenant God made with humankind….
The mark of the new covenant was Jesus Christ and his new way of living….
God designed that a divinely chosen people be distinguished from all others
by the kind of love Jesus generously displayed.”

Leaving the pandemic aside for a moment, let’s look at the state of our world…a record number of refugees; communities in peril due to climate change; an obscene number of children still dying each day from malnourishment or preventable diseases; and countless other horrors.  The human misery index is soaring and many of us are paralyzed by what Pope Francis calls the “Globalization of Indifference”.  Since we didn’t cause it and certainly cannot fix it, we either do nothing or look the other way.

These are uncertain times.  Many people are afraid and worried about their health, their finances, their loved ones. There is not a clear path to follow as we are in uncharted territory.  We can panic or stress out about this crisis the world is experiencing or we could look at this time in our world as an opportunity.

It is ironic that our world is being hit with COVID19 during the Lenten season. Social distancing is what we are being urged by health experts. We are being told to avoid large gathering, to work from home, and almost all businesses are closed except grocery stores.  Is this extraordinary time an invitation from God to review our response to the final covenant that Jesus represents?   Can we take this unexpected ‘time out” to reflect on how we could model Jesus’ generosity?  To love as Jesus did…to do what we can, where we can?  None of us can solve the mess we are in, but surely, we all can do something to reduce the misery we see. 

I have been heartened by the rookie NBA basketball player from New Orleans who stepped up to pay the wages of the arena workers who were thrown out of work when the NBA cancelled its season. His generosity spurned other NBA players and owners to do the same thing.  My neighborhood has a listserv where people are asking for help and neighbors are responding.

Could this be our moment?  The time to renew God’s final covenant?  Can we move away from war and violence?  Can we create societies where all people have the opportunity to thrive?   Often, I am called a dreamer, but right now we have some unexpected opportunities and I am hoping we will use this time to come together and work to create God’s kingdom in our communities and the world.  As followers of Jesus we know there is a better way.  Following Jesus’ example will take lots of prayer and courage, but isn’t that what Lent is about? 

One more thought, feel free to pass on this poem by a monk from England. It will give you and others hope and encouragement during this “Great Unknown” as we cope with COVID19.

"Lockdown" by Brother Richard Hendrick

Lockdown
Yes there is fear.
Yes there is isolation.
Yes there is panic buying.
Yes there is sickness.
Yes there is even death.

But,
They say that in Wuhan after so many years of noise
You can hear the birds again.

They say that after just a few weeks of quiet
The sky is no longer thick with fumes
But blue and grey and clear.

They say that in the streets of Assisi
People are singing to each other
across the empty squares,
keeping their windows open
so that those who are alone
may hear the sounds of family around them.

They say that a hotel in the West of Ireland
Is offering free meals and delivery to the housebound.
Today a young woman I know
is busy spreading fliers with her number
through the neighbourhood
So that the elders may have someone to call on.

Today Churches, Synagogues, Mosques and Temples
are preparing to welcome
and shelter the homeless, the sick, the weary
All over the world people are slowing down and reflecting
All over the world people are looking at their neighbours in a new way
All over the world people are waking up to a new reality
To how big we really are.

To how little control we really have.

To what really matters.

To Love.

So we pray and we remember that
Yes there is fear. But there does not have to be hate.

Yes there is isolation. But there does not have to be loneliness.

Yes there is panic buying. But there does not have to be meanness.

Yes there is sickness. But there does not have to be disease of the soul.

Yes there is even death. But there can always be a rebirth of love.

Wake to the choices you make as to how to live now.

Today, breathe.

Listen, behind the factory noises of your panic
The birds are singing again
The sky is clearing,
Spring is coming,
And we are always encompassed by Love.

Open the windows of your soul
And though you may not be able
to touch across the empty square,
Sing.

 http://www.presentationministries.com/obob/obob.asp

JESUS LOVES YOU TO DEATH

"They picked up rocks to throw at Jesus, but He hid Himself and slipped out of the temple precincts." �John 8:59

Jesus is God, "I AM" (Jn 8:58; Ex 3:14). Human beings have no power over Jesus, unless it is given them from above (Jn 19:11). on several occasions, people tried to kill Jesus, but He avoided death (see Lk 4:29-30; Jn 10:31; Jn 8:59, et. al). Next week, the Church observes the Passion and death of Our Lord Jesus Christ at the hands of men. Jesus could have called down twelve legions of angels to swiftly rescue Him from this gruesome death (see Mt 26:53), but He had freely chosen to lay down His life to save us (Jn 10:17-18). When the time came for Him to be arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus had the time and opportunity to slip away. A crowd with torches came to arrest him in the darkness of night. Jesus would have been able to see the flickering torches advance up the hill from the Kidron Valley (Jn 18:1-3). He had time to slip away once again over the top of the Mount of Olives and into the desert country. As the soldiers hiked up the hill to the garden, I picture Jesus thinking of me in danger of dying in my sins, and deciding to remain in that garden so that I could be saved instead of fleeing to save Himself. Can you picture Jesus thinking of you as the soldiers march up the hill to arrest Him? He loves each of us that much. Jesus came that all might be saved (1 Tm 2:4). Accept Him as Lord, Savior, and God.

Prayer: Father, this Lent give me an ever deeper appreciation of how deeply Jesus loves me.

Promise: "I solemnly assure you, if a man is true to My word he shall never see death." —Jn 8:51

Praise: After a pilgrimage to Rome and Assisi, St. Francis began to live as a hermit in a cave near Paola in Italy. This was the founding of the Hermits of St. Francis of Assisi. He died after Palm Sunday at ninety-one.

 http://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/readings/

 "Before Abraham was, I am"

Do you listen to Jesus' words as if your life depended on it? Jesus made a claim which only God can make - "if any one keeps my word, he will never see death." St. Augustine of Hippo (354-430 AD), explains this verse from John 8:51:

"It means nothing less than he saw another death from which he came to free us - the second death, eternal death, the death of hell, the death of the damned, which is shared with the devil and his angels! This is the real death; the other kind of death is only a passage" (Tractates on the Gospel of John 43.10-11).

Through Christ God offers us an unbreakable covenant of love
When God established a relationship with Abraham, he offered him an unbreakable "everlasting covenant" (Genesis 17:7). Jesus came to fulfill that covenant so that we could know the living God and be united with him both now and for all eternity. God made us to know him and to be united with him and he gives us the gift of faith and understanding so that we may grow in the knowledge of what he has accomplished for us through his Son, Jesus Christ.

Jesus challenged the people of Israel to accept his word as the very revelation of God himself. His claim challenged the very foundation of their belief and understanding of God. Jesus made a series of claims which are the very foundation of his life and mission. What are these claims? First, Jesus claims unique knowledge of God as the only begotten Son of the Father in heaven. Since he claims to be in direct personal communion with his Father in heaven, he knows everything about the Father. Jesus claims that the only way to full knowledge of the mind and heart of God is through himself. Jesus also claims unique obedience to God the Father. He thinks, lives and acts in the knowledge of his Father's word. To look at his life is to "see how God wishes me to live." In Jesus alone we see what God wants us to know and what he wants us to be.

Jesus, the Word of God, was one with the Father before time existed
When the Jewish authorities asked Jesus who do you claim to be? he answered, "before Abraham was, I am." Jesus claims to be timeless and there is only one in the universe who is timeless, namely God. Scripture tells us that "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever" (Hebrews 13:8). Jesus was not just a man who came, lived, died, and then rose again. He is the immortal timeless one, who always was and always will be. In Jesus we see the eternal God in visible flesh. He is God who became a man for our sake and for our salvation. His death and resurrection make it possible for us to share in his immortality. Do you believe the words of Jesus and obey them with all your heart, mind, and strength?

"Lord Jesus, let your word be on my lips and in my heart that I may walk in the freedom of your everlasting love, truth and goodness."

Psalm 105:4-9

4 Seek the LORD and his strength, seek his presence continually!
5 Remember the wonderful works that he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he uttered,
6 O offspring of Abraham his servant, sons of Jacob, his chosen ones!
7 He is the LORD our God; his judgments are in all the earth.
8 He is mindful of his covenant for ever, of the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations,
9 the covenant which he made with Abraham, his sworn promise to Isaac

A Daily Quote for Lent: Christ died that you might live, by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.

"For you Christ allowed Himself to be crucified, to teach you humility. He was alive, and you were dead. He died that you might live. God vanquished death so that death might not overcome human beings." (excerpt from Sermon on John 2,4;14,13)

  

More Homilies

March 22, 2018 Thursday of the Fifth Week of Lent