August 3, 2020 Monday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time

2020년 8월 3일 연중 제18주간 월요일

 

 

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

제1독서

예레미야서 28,1-17 

1 유다 임금 치드키야의 통치 초기 제사년 다섯째 달에,
기브온 출신의 예언자이며 아쭈르의 아들인 하난야가
주님의 집에서 사제들과 온 백성이 지켜보는 가운데 나에게 말하였다.
2 “만군의 주 이스라엘의 하느님께서 이렇게 말씀하신다.
‘내가 바빌론 임금의 멍에를 부수기로 하였다.
3 두 해 안에, 바빌론 임금 네부카드네자르가
이곳에서 가져가 바빌론으로 옮겨 놓은 주님의 집 모든 기물을,
내가 이곳에 다시 돌려 놓겠다.
4 바빌론으로 끌려간 유다 임금 여호야킴의 아들 여콘야와
유다의 모든 유배자를 이 자리에 다시 데려다 놓겠다.
주님의 말씀이다. 내가 정녕 바빌론 임금의 멍에를 부수겠다.’”
5 그러자 예레미야 예언자가 사제들과,
주님의 집 안에 서 있는 온 백성이 지켜보는 가운데
하난야 예언자에게 말하였다.
6 예레미야 예언자가 말하였다.
“아무렴, 주님께서 그렇게만 해 주신다면 얼마나 좋겠소!
주님께서 당신이 예언한 말을 실현시키시어,
주님의 집 모든 기물과 모든 유배자를 바빌론에서
이곳으로 옮겨 주시기를 바라오.
7 그러나 이제 내가 당신의 귀와 온 백성의 귀에 전하는 이 말씀을 들어 보시오.
8 예로부터, 나와 당신에 앞서 활동한 예언자들은
많은 나라와 큰 왕국들에게 전쟁과 재앙과 흑사병이 닥치리라고 예언하였소.
9 평화를 예언하는 예언자는 그 예언자의 말이 이루어질 때,
비로소 그가 참으로 주님께서 보내신 예언자로 드러나는 것이오.”
10 그러자 하난야 예언자가 예레미야 예언자의 목에서 멍에를 벗겨 내어 부수었다.
11 그러고 나서 하난야는 온 백성이 지켜보는 가운데 말하였다.

“주님께서 이렇게 말씀하신다.
‘내가 두 해 안에 바빌론 임금 네부카드네자르의 멍에를
모든 민족들의 목에서 벗겨 이와 같이 부수겠다.’”
그러자 예레미야 예언자는 자기 길을 떠났다.
12 하난야 예언자가 예레미야 예언자의 목에서 멍에를 벗겨 부순 뒤에,
주님의 말씀이 예레미야에게 내렸다.
13 “가서 하난야에게 말하여라. ‘주님께서 이렇게 말씀하신다.
′너는 나무 멍에를 부수고, 오히려 그 대신에 쇠 멍에를 만들었다.′
14 참으로 만군의 주 이스라엘의 하느님께서 이렇게 말씀하신다.
′내가 이 모든 민족들의 목에 쇠 멍에를 씌우고
바빌론 임금 네부카드네자르를 섬기게 하였으니,
그들이 그를 섬길 것이다. 나는 들짐승까지도 그에게 넘겨주었다.′’”
15 예레미야 예언자가 하난야 예언자에게 말하였다.
“하난야, 잘 들으시오.
주님께서 당신을 보내지 않으셨는데도,
당신은 이 백성을 거짓에 의지하게 하였소.
16 그러므로 주님께서 이렇게 말씀하시오.
‘내가 너를 땅 위에서 치워 버리리니, 올해에 네가 죽을 것이다.
너는 주님을 거슬러 거역하는 말을 하였다.’”
17 하난야 예언자는 그해 일곱째 달에 죽었다.

 

복음

마태오 14,22-36
 군중이 배불리 먹은 다음, 22 예수님께서는 곧 제자들을 재촉하시어

배를 타고 건너편으로 먼저 가게 하시고,
그동안에 당신께서는 군중을 돌려보내셨다.
23 군중을 돌려보내신 뒤, 예수님께서는 따로 기도하시려고 산에 오르셨다.
그리고 저녁때가 되었는데도 혼자 거기에 계셨다.
24 배는 이미 뭍에서 여러 스타디온 떨어져 있었는데,
마침 맞바람이 불어 파도에 시달리고 있었다.
25 예수님께서는 새벽에 호수 위를 걸으시어 그들 쪽으로 가셨다.
26 제자들은 예수님께서 호수 위를 걸으시는 것을 보고
겁에 질려 “유령이다!” 하며 두려워 소리를 질러 댔다.
27 예수님께서는 곧 그들에게 말씀하셨다.
“용기를 내어라. 나다. 두려워하지 마라.”
28 그러자 베드로가 말하였다.
“주님, 주님이시거든 저더러 물 위를 걸어오라고 명령하십시오.”
29 예수님께서 “오너라.” 하시자,
베드로가 배에서 내려 물 위를 걸어 예수님께 갔다.
30 그러나 거센 바람을 보고서는 그만 두려워졌다.
그래서물에빠져들기시작하자, “주님, 저를구해주십시오.” 하고소리를질렀다.
31 예수님께서 곧 손을 내밀어 그를 붙잡으시고,
“이 믿음이 약한 자야, 왜 의심하였느냐?” 하고 말씀하셨다.
32 그러고 나서 그들이 배에 오르자 바람이 그쳤다.
33 그러자 배 안에 있던 사람들이 그분께 엎드려 절하며,
“스승님은 참으로 하느님의 아드님이십니다.” 하고 말하였다.
34 그들은 호수를 건너 겐네사렛 땅에 이르렀다.
35 그러자 그곳 사람들이 그분을 알아보고
그 주변 모든 지방으로 사람들을 보내어, 병든 이들을 모두 그분께 데려왔다.
36 그리고 그 옷자락 술에 그들이 손이라도 대게 해 주십사고 청하였다.
과연 그것에 손을 댄 사람마다 구원을 받았다.

 August 3, 2020
Monday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time

 

Daily Readings — Audio

Daily Reflections — Video

http://www.usccb.org/bible/ 

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

 

Reading 1

Jer 28:1-17

In the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah,
in the fifth month of the fourth year,
the prophet Hananiah, son of Azzur, from Gibeon,
said to me in the house of the LORD
in the presence of the priests and all the people:
“Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel:
‘I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.
Within two years I will restore to this place
all the vessels of the temple of the LORD which Nebuchadnezzar,
king of Babylon, took away from this place to Babylon.
And I will bring back to this place Jeconiah,
son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah,
and all the exiles of Judah who went to Babylon,’ says the LORD,
‘for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.’”

The prophet Jeremiah answered the prophet Hananiah
in the presence of the priests and all the people assembled
in the house of the LORD, and said:
Amen! thus may the LORD do!
May he fulfill the things you have prophesied
by bringing the vessels of the house of the LORD
and all the exiles back from Babylon to this place!
But now, listen to what I am about to state in your hearing
and the hearing of all the people.
From of old, the prophets who were before you and me prophesied
war, woe, and pestilence against many lands and mighty kingdoms.
But the prophet who prophesies peace
is recognized as truly sent by the LORD
only when his prophetic prediction is fulfilled.

Thereupon the prophet Hananiah took the yoke
from the neck of the prophet Jeremiah and broke it,
and said in the presence of all the people:
“Thus says the LORD:  ‘Even so, within two years
I will break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon,
from off the neck of all the nations.’”
At that, the prophet Jeremiah went away.

Some time after the prophet Hananiah had broken the yoke
from off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah,
The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah:
Go tell Hananiah this: 
Thus says the LORD:
By breaking a wooden yoke, you forge an iron yoke!
For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel:
A yoke of iron I will place on the necks
of all these nations serving Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon,
and they shall serve him; even the beasts of the field I give him.

To the prophet Hananiah the prophet Jeremiah said:
Hear this, Hananiah!
The LORD has not sent you,
and you have raised false confidence in this people.
For this, says the LORD, I will dispatch you from the face of the earth;
this very year you shall die,
because you have preached rebellion against the LORD.
That same year, in the seventh month, Hananiah the prophet died.

 

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 119:29, 43, 79, 80, 95, 102

R. (68b) Lord, teach me your statutes.
Remove from me the way of falsehood,
and favor me with your law.
R. Lord, teach me your statutes.
Take not the word of truth from my mouth,
for in your ordinances is my hope.
R. Lord, teach me your statutes.
Let those turn to me who fear you
and acknowledge your decrees.
R. Lord, teach me your statutes.
Let my heart be perfect in your statutes,
that I be not put to shame.
R. Lord, teach me your statutes.
Sinners wait to destroy me,
but I pay heed to your decrees.
R. Lord, teach me your statutes.
From your ordinances I turn not away,
for you have instructed me.
R. Lord, teach me your statutes.

 

Gospel mt 14:22-36

Jesus made the disciples get into a boat
and precede him to the other side of the sea,
while he dismissed the crowds.
After doing so, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray.
When it was evening he was there alone.
Meanwhile the boat, already a few miles offshore,
was being tossed about by the waves, for the wind was against it.
During the fourth watch of the night,
he came toward them, walking on the sea.
When the disciples saw him walking on the sea they were terrified.
“It is a ghost,” they said, and they cried out in fear.
At once Jesus spoke to them, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.”
Peter said to him in reply,
“Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.”
He said, “Come.”
Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus.
But when he saw how strong the wind was he became frightened;
and, beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!”
Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught him,
and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”
After they got into the boat, the wind died down.
Those who were in the boat did him homage, saying,
“Truly, you are the Son of God.”

 

 

http://evangeli.net/gospel/tomorrow

 

 

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

 

I planted three hardy pecan trees this spring in my yard.

Today’s gospel presents two situations involving faith – Peter’s momentary loss of faith, and the sick people in the crowd who believed the mere touching of the cloak of Jesus would cure them.  The gospel excerpt challenges me to reflect on the meaning of faith.

I did a Google search of “faith means” and in less than a second received 819,000,000 results.  This in itself is an act of faith – how far can I trust Google, how reliable are the results it cites, how reputable are the people quoted in the results, etc.  “Faith” has so many meanings; some examples:

• The assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen – Hebrews, 11:1
• Complete trust or confidence in someone or something; strong belief in God or in the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual apprehension rather than proof – Oxford dictionary
• Others – knowledge, reason, belief, trust, a gift from God
• “When you come to the end of all the light you know, and it’s time to step into the darkness of the unknown, faith is knowing that one of two things shall happen:  Either you will be given something solid to stand on or you will be taught to fly.” – Edward Teller (nuclear physicist)

As you can appreciate, faith comes to mean so many things to so many people.  Peter believed Jesus was the Messiah, but at times Peter was distracted from his belief by some realities of life – the storm, for example, distracts him from continuing his walk on water, and the pending crucifixion of Jesus leads to his denial in the courtyard of the temple.  The crowd believed touching the cloak of Jesus would cure them, but they abandoned Jesus (as did the apostles) when Jesus was tried and convicted and put to death.

Faith to me means a belief firmly held and upon which we feel compelled to act in a manner that is consistent with the belief.  As Christians we believe in the salvific power of the resurrection, the admonitions from Jesus about how to live our lives, the exponential power of love of others versus love of self.  We strive to help rather than hurt, to heal rather than injure, to share rather than hoard.  We believe that by following these examples we will create the Kingdom of God on earth, and result in a better tomorrow, even if we are not alive to enjoy the results ourselves.

I planted three hardy pecan trees this spring in my yard.  They were small, bare-root trees, three years old.  After planting in the yard, they are about 2 – 3 feet tall.  It will take 7 – 10 years for them to be productive, and probably 15 or more years to reach maturity.  I believe – I have faith – that unless something (DEER!) or someone interferes with their growth and maturation, they will be stately trees at some point in the future.  I may not be here to see that day, but I have faith that it will happen.  I also have faith that even if I do not see the mature tree, someone will who appreciates the gift of the trees and can benefit from the fruits of the tree.

I supervised my students this past spring – both in person and remotely – in preparing tax returns for low income people.  I believe – I have faith – that both the students and our clients benefitted today from these transactions.  I have faith that in the future both the students and the clients, upon reflection, will be better people because of these services. 

My faith might be shaken if a doe does come by and takes a bite out of the tree.  But I still believe in the process of growth, and I can replant.  My faith might be shaken if a client is not appreciative and takes our services for granted.  But then another client goes out of her way to express gratitude to the community or someone within the university.  Peter was shaken by the storm and his betrayal, but he still believed, and eventually believed so strongly that he was willing to die for love of the Lord.  Crowds abandon true leaders, but they return time and again as they reflect on the power of the message from those who instill faith.

And so, my prayer today is for the grace to be ever mindful of and grateful for how faith in all its manifestations shapes my life. 

 

 

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

GO THE DISTANCE

“Jesus at once stretched out His hand and caught him.” —Matthew 14:31

When my children were just learning to swim, I would have them hold onto the side of the pool. Then I would back up a few steps and hold my arms out toward them, calling them to swim to me. We would repeat this many times, and I would sometimes step a few inches farther back to get them to swim longer and build their confidence. But sometimes they would panic and begin to sink. It was easy to stretch out my hands and catch them each time. I would constantly reassure them, “Don’t worry! Daddy’s right here. I won’t let you sink.”
When Peter “began to sink” (Mt 14:30), either Jesus stretched His arm a miraculous length to catch him, or Peter was closer to Jesus than he realized. Whatever the case, Peter was like my children. They trusted me, and Peter trusted Jesus, but they both had to grow in trust. Thus, Jesus commented to Peter:   “How little faith you have!...Why did you falter?” (Mt 14:31)
If a parent can test and “stretch” their children to help them grow stronger, how much more will the Lord, “the Tester of our hearts” (1 Thes 2:4), stretch us! Yet He is always near us (Ps 145:18), within arm’s length. His arm is never too short to save us (Is 50:2). As we follow Him daily, let us keep in mind that sometimes the Lord steps a few inches farther back so we can grow in strength and faith. He wants us to go the distance, not to sink in fear. Therefore, walk on water (Mt 14:29), witness in power, and bear much fruit (Jn 15:8). “Do not be afraid!” (Mt 14:27)

Prayer:  Jesus, in You I have strength for everything (Phil 4:13).

Promise:  “The prophet who prophesies peace is recognized as truly sent by the Lord only when his prophetic prediction is fulfilled.” —Jer 28:9

Praise:  Louise has promoted daily Communion for more than three decades.

 

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

 

What can truly satisfy our deepest hunger and longing? Wherever Jesus went multitudes of people gathered to meet him - people from every part of society - rich and poor, professionals and laborers, even social outcasts and pagans. What drew them to Jesus? Were they simply curious or looking for a healing? Many were drawn to Jesus because they were hungry for God. Jesus' message of God's kingdom and the signs and wonders he performed stirred fresh hope and expectation that God was acting in a new and powerful way to set people free from sin and oppression and to bring them the blessings of his kingdom.

God never rests in caring for our needs
Jesus never disappointed those who earnestly sought him out. We see a marvelous example of this when Jesus and his twelve disciples got into the boat to seek out a lonely place for some rest along the lake of Galilee, only to discover a crowd of a few thousand people had already gathered in anticipation of their arrival! Did Jesus' disciples resent this intrusion on their plan to rest awhile? Jesus certainly didn't - he welcomed them with open-arms. His compassion showed the depths of God's love and care for his people. Jesus spoke the word of God to strengthen them in faith and he healed many who were sick.

God multiplies the little we have to bring great blessing to others
As evening approached the disciples wanted Jesus to send the people away. Jesus, instead, commanded his disciples to feed the whole crowd. Why did Jesus expect his disciples to do what seemed impossible - to feed such a large and hungry crowd when there was no adequate provision in sight? Jesus very likely wanted to test their faith and to give them a sign of God's divine intervention and favor for his people. Jesus took the little they had - five loaves and two fish - and giving thanks to his heavenly Father, distributed to all until they were satisfied of their hunger. Twelves baskets full of fish and loaves that were leftover show the overflowing generosity of God's gifts to us - gifts that bring blessing, healing, strength, and refreshment.

Bread from heaven to sustain us on our journey
Jesus' feeding of the five thousand is the only miracle recorded in all four Gospel accounts (Luke 9:10-17, Mark 6:34-44, John 6:51-58, Matthew 14:13-21). What is the significance of this miracle? The miraculous feeding of such a great multitude recalled the miraculous provision of manna in the wilderness under Moses' leadership and intercession for his people (Exodus 16). The daily provision of food for the people of Israel during their forty years of journeying in the barren wilderness foreshadowed the true heavenly bread which Jesus would pass on to his disciples at his last supper meal on the eve of his sacrifice on the cross.

Jesus makes a claim which only God can make: He is the true bread of heaven that can satisfy the deepest hunger we experience (John 6:32-35). The miracle of the multiplication of the loaves, when Jesus said the blessing, broke and distributed the loaves through his disciples to feed the multitude, is a sign that prefigures the superabundance of the unique bread of the Eucharist, or Lord's Supper which sustains us on our journey to the kingdom of heaven.

God multiplies the little we have so we can bring his blessing to others
The feeding of the five thousand shows the remarkable generosity of God and his great kindness towards us. When God gives, he gives abundantly. He gives more than we need for ourselves that we may have something to share with others, especially those who lack what they need. God takes the little we have and multiplies it for the good of others. Do you trust in God's provision for you and do you share freely with others, especially those who lack?

Lord Jesus Christ, you satisfy the deepest longings of our hearts and you feed us with the finest of wheat (Psalm 81:16). Fill me with gratitude for your blessings and give me a generous heart that I may freely share with others what you have given to me.

Psalm 145:8-9,15-18

8 The LORD is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
9 The LORD is good to all, and his compassion is over all that he has made.
15 The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season.
16 You open your hand, you satisfy the desire of every living thing.
17 The LORD is just in all his ways, and kind in all his doings.
18 The LORD is near to all who call upon him, to all who call upon him in truth.

Daily Quote from the Early Church Fathers: The Lord fills all things with blessing from above, by Cyril of Alexandria (376-444 AD)

"So that by every means the Lord might be known to be God by nature, he multiplies what is little, and he looks up to heaven as though asking for the blessing from above. Now he does this out of the divine economy, for our sakes. For he himself is the one who fills all things, the true blessing from above and from the Father. But, so that we might learn that when we are in charge of the table and are preparing to break the loaves, we ought to bring them to God with hands upraised and bring down upon them the blessing from above, he became for us the beginning and pattern and way." (excerpt from FRAGMENT 177)

  

 

More Homilies

August 4, 2014