2021년 5월 7일 부활 제5주간 금요일
오늘의 복음 : http://info.catholic.or.kr/missa/default.asp
제1독서
<성령과 우리는 몇 가지 필수 사항 외에는 여러분에게 다른 짐을 지우지 않기로 결정하였습니다.>
사도행전. 15,22-31
그 무렵 22 사도들과 원로들은 온 교회와 더불어,
자기들 가운데에서 사람들을 뽑아
바오로와 바르나바와 함께 안티오키아에 보내기로 결정하였다.
뽑힌 사람들은
형제들 가운데 지도자인 바르사빠스라고 하는 유다와 실라스였다.
23 그들 편에 이러한 편지를 보냈다.
“여러분의 형제인 사도들과 원로들이
안티오키아와 시리아와 킬리키아에 있는 다른 민족 출신 형제들에게 인사합니다.
24 우리 가운데 몇 사람이 우리에게서 지시를 받지도 않고 여러분에게 가서,
여러 가지 말로 여러분을 놀라게 하고
정신을 어지럽게 하였다는 말을 들었습니다.
25 그래서 우리는 사람들을 뽑아 우리가 사랑하는 바르나바와 바오로와 함께
여러분에게 보내기로 뜻을 모아 결정하였습니다.
26 바르나바와 바오로는 우리 주 예수 그리스도의 이름을 위하여
목숨을 내놓은 사람들입니다.
27 우리는 또 유다와 실라스를 보냅니다.
이들이 이 글의 내용을 말로도 전할 것입니다.
28 성령과 우리는 다음의 몇 가지 필수 사항 외에는
여러분에게 다른 짐을 지우지 않기로 결정하였습니다.
29 곧 우상에게 바쳤던 제물과 피와 목 졸라 죽인 짐승의 고기와
불륜을 멀리하라는 것입니다.
여러분이 이것들만 삼가면 올바로 사는 것입니다. 안녕히 계십시오.”
30 사람들이 이렇게 그들을 떠나보내자,
그들은 안티오키아로 내려가 공동체를 모아 놓고 편지를 전하였다.
31 공동체는 편지를 읽고 그 격려 말씀에 기뻐하였다.그 무렵 22 사도들과 원로들은 온 교회와 더불어,
자기들 가운데에서 사람들을 뽑아
바오로와 바르나바와 함께 안티오키아에 보내기로 결정하였다.
뽑힌 사람들은
형제들 가운데 지도자인 바르사빠스라고 하는 유다와 실라스였다.
23 그들 편에 이러한 편지를 보냈다.
“여러분의 형제인 사도들과 원로들이
안티오키아와 시리아와 킬리키아에 있는 다른 민족 출신 형제들에게 인사합니다.
24 우리 가운데 몇 사람이 우리에게서 지시를 받지도 않고 여러분에게 가서,
여러 가지 말로 여러분을 놀라게 하고
정신을 어지럽게 하였다는 말을 들었습니다.
25 그래서 우리는 사람들을 뽑아 우리가 사랑하는 바르나바와 바오로와 함께
여러분에게 보내기로 뜻을 모아 결정하였습니다.
26 바르나바와 바오로는 우리 주 예수 그리스도의 이름을 위하여
목숨을 내놓은 사람들입니다.
27 우리는 또 유다와 실라스를 보냅니다.
이들이 이 글의 내용을 말로도 전할 것입니다.
28 성령과 우리는 다음의 몇 가지 필수 사항 외에는
여러분에게 다른 짐을 지우지 않기로 결정하였습니다.
29 곧 우상에게 바쳤던 제물과 피와 목 졸라 죽인 짐승의 고기와
불륜을 멀리하라는 것입니다.
여러분이 이것들만 삼가면 올바로 사는 것입니다. 안녕히 계십시오.”
30 사람들이 이렇게 그들을 떠나보내자,
그들은 안티오키아로 내려가 공동체를 모아 놓고 편지를 전하였다.
31 공동체는 편지를 읽고 그 격려 말씀에 기뻐하였다.
복음
<내가 너희에게 명령하는 것은 이것이다. 서로 사랑하여라.>
요한. 15,12-17
그때에 예수님께서 제자들에게 말씀하셨다.
12 “이것이 나의 계명이다.
내가 너희를 사랑한 것처럼 너희도 서로 사랑하여라.
13 친구들을 위하여 목숨을 내놓는 것보다 더 큰 사랑은 없다.
14 내가 너희에게 명령하는 것을 실천하면 너희는 나의 친구가 된다.
15 나는 너희를 더 이상 종이라고 부르지 않는다.
종은 주인이 하는 일을 모르기 때문이다.
나는 너희를 친구라고 불렀다.
내가 내 아버지에게서 들은 것을 너희에게 모두 알려 주었기 때문이다.
16 너희가 나를 뽑은 것이 아니라 내가 너희를 뽑아 세웠다.
너희가 가서 열매를 맺어
너희의 그 열매가 언제나 남아 있게 하려는 것이다.
그리하여 너희가 내 이름으로 아버지께 청하는 것을
그분께서 너희에게 주시게 하려는 것이다.
17 내가 너희에게 명령하는 것은 이것이다. 서로 사랑하여라.”
May 7, 2021
Friday of Fifth Week of Easter
Daily Mass : http://www.catholictv.com/shows/daily-mass
Reading 1
Acts 15:22-31
decided to choose representatives
and to send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas.
The ones chosen were Judas, who was called Barsabbas,
and Silas, leaders among the brothers.
This is the letter delivered by them:
“The Apostles and the presbyters, your brothers,
to the brothers in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia
of Gentile origin: greetings.
Since we have heard that some of our number
who went out without any mandate from us
have upset you with their teachings
and disturbed your peace of mind,
we have with one accord decided to choose representatives
and to send them to you along with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,
who have dedicated their lives to the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
So we are sending Judas and Silas
who will also convey this same message by word of mouth:
‘It is the decision of the Holy Spirit and of us
not to place on you any burden beyond these necessities,
namely, to abstain from meat sacrificed to idols,
from blood, from meats of strangled animals,
and from unlawful marriage.
If you keep free of these,
you will be doing what is right. Farewell.’“
And so they were sent on their journey.
Upon their arrival in Antioch
they called the assembly together and delivered the letter.
When the people read it, they were delighted with the exhortation.
Responsorial Psalm
PS 57:8-9, 10 and 12
or:
R. Alleluia.
My heart is steadfast, O God; my heart is steadfast;
I will sing and chant praise.
Awake, O my soul; awake, lyre and harp!
I will wake the dawn.
R. I will give you thanks among the peoples, O Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
I will give thanks to you among the peoples, O LORD,
I will chant your praise among the nations.
For your mercy towers to the heavens,
and your faithfulness to the skies.
Be exalted above the heavens, O God;
above all the earth be your glory!
R. I will give you thanks among the peoples, O Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Alleluia Jn 15:15b
I call you my friends, says the Lord,
for I have made known to you all that the Father has told me.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Jn 15:12-17
Jesus said to his disciples:“This is my commandment: love one another as I love you.
No one has greater love than this,
to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
You are my friends if you do what I command you.
I no longer call you slaves,
because a slave does not know what his master is doing.
I have called you friends,
because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father.
It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you
and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain,
so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you.
This I command you: love one another.”
http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html
As a newly minted driver at the age of 16, I found every excuse possible to get behind the wheel of a car. It was an experience of newfound freedom! I offered to go get groceries for my mom, deliver prescriptions for my dad’s pharmacy, even watch my sister and brother without being asked--all tasks that, up until I had my driver’s license, I did a bit more begrudgingly (and hardly ever volunteered!). Hence, one day I was babysitting my kid brother and took him on a drive with me. It was a beautiful, warm summer day. We had the windows of the car rolled down and the music turned up. We were both wearing baseball caps and sunglasses. Freedom! At one point I thoughtlessly turned my hat around so the bill was facing backward. Within seconds, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a five year old-sized baseball cap turn around. Even at 16, I had the sobering thought, “Oh boy, this kid is watching and mimicking my every move!”
“Love one another as I love you,” Jesus says to his friends in today’s Gospel from John. Jesus is not just asking those closest to him to love in some generic, one-size-fits-all, Hallmark card-kind-of-way. Jesus is asking them to love in the way he has loved. Jesus is asking his disciples, and us, to imitate him. The only way we can do that, like my brother did with me, is to keep our eyes on Jesus.
When we watch Jesus love, what do we see? I see love that is regenerative as he brings sight back to the blind, movement back to the paralyzed, and life back to the dead. I see love that is radical as he breaks bread with those deemed “sinners,” meets with the woman at the well in the middle of the day, and invites a child into the midst of adults as a model for how to enter the Kingdom of God. I see love that is restorative as he makes a way for those cast out to come back into right relationship with the community. This is not a warm and fuzzy kind of love. This is regenerative, restorative, radical love. It’s gritty. That’s the kind of love Jesus is asking us to imitate.
The philosopher, artist, and poet Kahlil Gibran who was born into a Maronite Catholic family in Lebanon described God’s kind of love this way in The Prophet:
“When love beckons to you, follow him,
Though his ways are hard and steep…
Like sheaves of corn he gathers you unto himself.
He threshes you to make you naked.
He sifts you to free you from husks.
He grinds you to whiteness.
He kneads you until you are pliant;
And then he assigns you to his sacred fire
That you may become sacred bread for God’s sacred feast.”
Each time we celebrate the Mass, we hear the words of consecration, “Do this in memory of me.” We live out the Last Supper again and again so that we can make real and present our friend Jesus. He gave us this model. As we imitate this sacred meal (keeping in mind that the Johannine community chose to highlight the foot washing wherein Jesus also uttered the words “as I have done for you, you should also do”), we are re-member-ing, making the body and action of Jesus live again. Our imitation of the love Jesus showed for his friends just before his crucifixion is a reminder to us of how to love as Jesus loved.
The theologian Sandra Schneiders writes this about Jesus modeling love at the foot washing in her work Written that You May Believe: Encountering Jesus in the Fourth Gospel:
Jesus acted to abolish the inequality between them, deliberately reversing their
social positions and roles. To wash another’s feet was something that even
slaves could not be required to do, but which disciples might do out of reverence
for their master. But any act of service is permissible and freeing among friends.
By washing his disciples’ feet Jesus overcame by love the inequality that existed
by nature between himself and those whom he had chosen as friends. He
established an intimacy with them that superseded his superiority...at least one
meaning of the foot washing for contemporary disciples…[is] as a participation in
Jesus’ work of transforming the sinful structures of domination operative in
human society according to the model of friendship expressing itself in joyful
mutual service unto death.
As we continue cruising through the Easter season with wind in our hair and music in our ears, let us keep our eyes on Jesus as he navigates us through life. May our response to his command to “love one another” find ways to be regenerative, restorative, and radical through the act of friendship.
http://www.presentationministries.com/obob/obob.asp
VOLUNTARY SLAVERY
“I no longer speak of you as slaves.” —John 15:15
Jesus calls us, His disciples, “slaves.” Later, He may call us “friends.” To be a friend of Jesus, we must first be His slave. To know what Jesus is doing, we must first obey without knowing what He is doing (Jn 15:15). To be aware of Jesus as Love (1 Jn 4:16), we must first know Him as Lord. God’s Word commands us to “be slaves of Christ the Lord” (Col 3:24).
The idea of being anyone’s slave is disturbing to us. We want to keep our independence. However, there is no such thing as our independence. This is a self-deception. “You must realize that, when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are the slaves of the one you obey, whether yours is the slavery of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to justice” (Rm 6:16). We are automatically slaves to someone or something. The only question is: “Whose slave will we be?”
To be the slave of Jesus means to no longer have a life of our own (see Gal 2:20), but to let ourselves be consumed by the living God (see Heb 12:29). To be a slave of Jesus is a privilege and the highest honor a human being can attain. Jesus, as Master, protects, provides for, and deeply loves us, His slaves. Jesus “emptied Himself and took the form of a slave” for love of us (Phil 2:7). Will you empty yourself and be His slave for love of Him?
Prayer: Jesus, I am created to be Your slave. I will only be freed and fulfilled as Your slave. I choose You as Lord. I choose to be Your slave.
Promise: “It is the decision of the Holy Spirit, and ours too, not to lay on you any burden beyond that which is strictly necessary.” —Acts 15:28
Praise: As a husband, father and care-giver son, Alfred has grown more dependent on God. He says often: “As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord” (Jos 24:15).
http://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/readings/
What is the greatest act of love which one can give for the sake of another? Jesus defines friendship - the mutual bond of trust and affection which people choose to have for one another - as the willingness to give totally of oneself - even to the point of laying down one's life for a friend. How is such love possible or even desirable? God made us in love for love. That is our reason for being, our purpose for living, and our goal in dying.
Scripture tells us that God is love (1 John 4:8) - and everything he does flows from his immense love for us. He loved us so much - far beyond what we could ever expect or deserve - that he was willing to pay any price to redeem us from our slavery to sin and death. That is why the Father sent us his beloved Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave up his life as the atoning sacrifice for our sins. In this great exchange - the Father giving up his Son to death on the cross in order to give us abundant everlasting life and adopt us as his beloved sons and daughters in Christ (Romans 8:14-17).
God has poured his love into our hearts
It is for this reason that we can take hold of a hope that does not fade and a joy that does not diminish because God has poured his love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us (Romans 5:5). God's love is not limited or subject to changing circumstances. It is an enduring love that has power to change and transform us to be like him - merciful, gracious, kind, forgiving, and steadfast in showing love not only for our friends, but for our enemies as well. God's love is boundless because he is the source of abundant life, perfect peace, and immeasurable joy for all who open their hearts to him. That is why Jesus came to give us abundant life through the gift and working of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus gave his disciples a new commandment - a new way of loving and serving one another. Jesus' love was wholly directed toward the good of others. He loved them for their sake and for their welfare. That is why he willingly laid down his own life for us to free us from sin, death, fear, and everything that could separate us from the love of God. Our love for God and our willingness to lay down our life for others is a response to the exceeding love God has given us in Christ. Paul the Apostle states,
"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?... For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:35,38-39).
Friendship with God
Jesus calls his disciples his personal friends. Jesus not only showed his disciples that he personally cared for them and sought their welfare. He personally enjoyed their company and wanted to be with them in a close and intimate relationship. He ate with them, shared everything he had with them - even his innermost heart and thoughts. And he spent himself in doing as much good for them as he could. To know Jesus personally is to know God and the love and friendship he offers to each one of us.
One of the special marks of favor shown in the Scriptures is to be called the friend of God. Abraham is called the friend of God (Isaiah 41:8, James 2:23). God spoke with Moses as a man speaks with his friend (Exodus 33:11). Jesus, the Lord and Master, calls the disciples his friends rather than his servants.
What does it mean to be a friend of God? Friendship with God who is our everlasting Father and with his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ entails a personal, close, and loving relationship and a union of heart, mind, and spirit with the One who created us in love for love. Such a relationship with our Father, Creator, and Redeemer involves loyalty, respect, and obedience. But it is even more than these because God has chosen to love us in the same way in which the Father and the Son love and serve each other - a total giving of oneself to the other in a bond of affection, esteem, and joy in each others company.
Jesus' discourse on friendship and brotherly love echoes the words of Proverbs: A friend loves at all times; and a brother is born for adversity (Proverbs 17:17). The distinctive feature of Jesus' relationship with his disciples was his personal, loyal, and sacrificial love for each one of them. He loved his own to the end (John 13:1). His love was unconditional and wholly directed to the good of others. His love was costly and sacrificial. He gave the best he had and all that he had. He gave his very own life for those he loved in order to secure for them an everlasting life of union and love with the Father in heaven.
Love to the death
The Lord Jesus gives his followers a new commandment - a new way of love that goes beyond giving only what is required or what we think others might deserve. What is the essence of Jesus' new commandment of love? It is a love to the death - a purifying love that overcomes selfishness, fear, and pride. It is a total giving of oneself for the sake of others - a selfless and self-giving love that is oriented towards putting the welfare of others ahead of myself.
Jesus says that there is no greater proof in love than the sacrifice of one's life for the sake of another. Jesus proved his love by giving his life for us on the cross of Calvary. Through the shedding of his blood for our sake, our sins are not only washed clean, but new life is poured out for us through the gift of the Holy Spirit. We prove our love for God and for one another when we embrace the way of the cross. What is the cross in my life? When my will crosses with God's will, then God's will must be done. Do you know the peace and joy of a life fully surrendered to God and consumed with his love?
Love that produces abundant fruit and joy
The Lord Jesus tells us that he is our personal friend and he loves us wholeheartedly and unconditionally. He wants us to love one another just as he has loved us, wholeheartedly, without reserve, and full of mercy, kindness, and forgiveness. His love fills our hearts and transforms our minds and frees us to give ourselves in loving service to others. If we open our hearts to his love and obey his command to love our neighbor, then we will know his love more fully and we will bear much fruit - especially the fruit of peace, joy, patience, kindness, and goodness - the kind of fruit that lasts for eternity. Do you wish to be fruitful and to abound in the love of God? Trust and obey him and he will fill you with his overflowing love.
Teach us, good Lord, to serve you as you deserve, to give and not to count the cost, to fight and not to heed the wounds, to toil and not to seek for rest, to labor and not to ask for any reward, save that of knowing that we do your will; through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Prayer of Ignatius Loyola)
Psalm 57:7-11
7 My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast! I will sing and make melody!
8 Awake, my soul! Awake, O harp and lyre! I will awake the dawn!
9 I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to you among the nations.
10 For your steadfast love is great to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds.
11 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens! Let your glory be over all the earth!
Daily Quote from the Early Church Fathers: Love encompasses the other commandments, by Ephrem the Syrian (306-373 AD)
"This is my commandment." Have you then only one precept? This is sufficient, even if it is unique and so great. Nevertheless he also said, "Do not kill" (Matthew 19:18) because the one who loves does not kill. He said, "Do not steal," because the one who loves does even more-he gives. He said, "Do not lie," for the one who loves speaks the truth, against falsehood. "I give you a new commandment" (John 13:14). If you have not understood what "This is my commandment" means, let the apostle be summoned as interpreter and say, "The goal of his commandment is love" (1 Timothy 1:5). What is its binding force? It is that of which [the Lord] spoke, "Whatever you want others to do to you, you should do also" (Matthew 7:12)."Love one another" in accordance with this measure, "as I have loved you." That is not possible, for you are our Lord who loves your servants. But we who are equals, how can we love one another as you have loved us? Nevertheless, he has said it... His love is that he has called us his friends. If we were to give our life for you, would our love be equal to yours?... How then can what he said be explained, "As I have loved you"? "Let us die for each other," he said. As for us, we do not even want to live for one another! "If I, who am your Lord and God, die for you, how much more should you die for one another." (excerpt from COMMENTARY ON TATIAN'S DIATESSARON 19.13)
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