June 23, 2021 Wednesday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time

2021년 6월 23일 연중 제12주간 수요일

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

제1독서 

<아브라함이 하느님을 믿으니 하느님께서 믿음을 의로움으로 인정해 주셨다(로마 4,3ㄴ). 주님께서는 그와 계약을 맺으셨다.>

창세기 15,1-12.17-18
창세기의 말씀입니다.
그 무렵 1 주님의 말씀이 환시 중에 아브람에게 내렸다.
“아브람아, 두려워하지 마라.
나는 너의 방패다. 너는 매우 큰 상을 받을 것이다.”
2 그러자 아브람이 아뢰었다.
“주 하느님, 저에게 무엇을 주시렵니까?
저는 자식 없이 살아가는 몸,
제 집안의 상속자는 다마스쿠스 사람 엘리에제르가 될 것입니다.”
3 아브람이 다시 아뢰었다. “저를 보십시오. 당신께서 자식을 주지 않으셔서,
제 집의 종이 저를 상속하게 되었습니다.”
4 그러자 주님의 말씀이 그에게 내렸다.
“그가 너를 상속하지 못할 것이다. 네 몸에서 나온 아이가 너를 상속할 것이다.”
5 그러고는 그를 밖으로 데리고 나가서 말씀하셨다.
“하늘을 쳐다보아라. 네가 셀 수 있거든 저 별들을 세어 보아라.”
그에게 또 말씀하셨다. “너의 후손이 저렇게 많아질 것이다.”
6 아브람이 주님을 믿으니, 주님께서 그 믿음을 의로움으로 인정해 주셨다.
7 주님께서 그에게 말씀하셨다. “나는 주님이다.
이 땅을 너에게 주어 차지하게 하려고, 너를 칼데아의 우르에서 이끌어 낸 이다.”
8 아브람이 “주 하느님, 제가 그것을 차지하리라는 것을
무엇으로 알 수 있겠습니까?” 하고 묻자,
9 주님께서 그에게 말씀하셨다.
“삼 년 된 암송아지 한 마리와 삼 년 된 암염소 한 마리와 삼 년 된 숫양 한 마리,
그리고 산비둘기 한 마리와 어린 집비둘기 한 마리를 나에게 가져오너라.”
10 그는 이 모든 것을 주님께 가져와서 반으로 잘라,
잘린 반쪽들을 마주 보게 차려 놓았다. 그러나 날짐승들은 자르지 않았다.
11 맹금들이 죽은 짐승들 위로 날아들자, 아브람은 그것들을 쫓아냈다.
12 해 질 무렵, 아브람 위로 깊은 잠이 쏟아지는데,
공포와 짙은 암흑이 그를 휩쌌다.
17 해가 지고 어둠이 깔리자, 연기 뿜는 화덕과 타오르는 횃불이
그 쪼개 놓은 짐승들 사이로 지나갔다.
18 그날 주님께서는 아브람과 계약을 맺으시며 이렇게 말씀하셨다.
“나는 이집트 강에서 큰 강 곧 유프라테스 강까지 이르는 이 땅을
너의 후손에게 준다.”
 

 복음

<너희는 그들이 맺은 열매를 보고 그들을 알아볼 수 있다.>

마태오 7,15-20
 그때에 예수님께서 제자들에게 말씀하셨다.

15 “너희는 거짓 예언자들을 조심하여라.
그들은 양의 옷차림을 하고 너희에게 오지만 속은 게걸 든 이리들이다.
16 너희는 그들이 맺은 열매를 보고 그들을 알아볼 수 있다.
가시나무에서 어떻게 포도를 거두어들이고,
엉겅퀴에서 어떻게 무화과를 거두어들이겠느냐?
17 이와 같이 좋은 나무는 모두 좋은 열매를 맺고 나쁜 나무는 나쁜 열매를 맺는다.
18 좋은 나무가 나쁜 열매를 맺을 수 없고 나쁜 나무가 좋은 열매를 맺을 수 없다.
19 좋은 열매를 맺지 않는 나무는 모두 잘려 불에 던져진다.
20 그러므로 너희는 그들이 맺은 열매를 보고 그들을 알아볼 수 있다.”

June 23, 2021 

Wednesday of the Twelfth 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
Gn 15:1-12, 17-18
The word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision:
“Fear not, Abram!
I am your shield;
I will make your reward very great.”
But Abram said,
“O Lord GOD, what good will your gifts be,
if I keep on being childless
and have as my heir the steward of my house, Eliezer?”
Abram continued,
“See, you have given me no offspring,
and so one of my servants will be my heir.”
Then the word of the LORD came to him:
“No, that one shall not be your heir;
your own issue shall be your heir.”
He took him outside and said:
“Look up at the sky and count the stars, if you can.
Just so,” he added, “shall your descendants be.”
Abram put his faith in the LORD,
who credited it to him as an act of righteousness.
He then said to him,
“I am the LORD who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans
to give you this land as a possession.”
“O Lord GOD,” he asked,
“how am I to know that I shall possess it?”
He answered him,
“Bring me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old she-goat,
a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.”
Abram brought him all these, split them in two,
and placed each half opposite the other;
but the birds he did not cut up.
Birds of prey swooped down on the carcasses,
but Abram stayed with them.
As the sun was about to set, a trance fell upon Abram,
and a deep, terrifying darkness enveloped him.
When the sun had set and it was dark,
there appeared a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch,
which passed between those pieces.
It was on that occasion that the LORD made a covenant with Abram,
saying: “To your descendants I give this land,
from the Wadi of Egypt to the Great River the Euphrates.”

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 105:1-2, 3-4, 6-7, 8-9
R. (8a) The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Give thanks to the LORD, invoke his name;
make known among the nations his deeds.
Sing to him, sing his praise,
proclaim all his wondrous deeds.
R. The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Glory in his holy name;
rejoice, O hearts that seek the LORD!
Look to the LORD in his strength;
seek to serve him constantly.
R. The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
or:
R. Alleluia.
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.
or:
R. Alleluia.
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.
or:
R. Alleluia. 

Gospel
Mt 7:15-20
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing,
but underneath are ravenous wolves.
By their fruits you will know them.
Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?
Just so, every good tree bears good fruit,
and a rotten tree bears bad fruit.
A good tree cannot bear bad fruit,
nor can a rotten tree bear good fruit.
Every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down
and thrown into the fire.
So by their fruits you will know them.”  

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

 When I was in my teen years, my grandfather taught me to help him cut trees on his small acreage in South Omaha.  I enjoyed learning how to safely use a double-bit axe and a crosscut two-man saw, to keep the tools sharp and clean.  I wouldn’t say it was a zen-like experience, but I admit I became immersed in the task at hand.  I still have those tools and prefer them to power tools.

When my wife and I bought our first house over forty years ago, one of our initial landscaping activities was to plant a tree with our young daughter.  She seemed interested, but then she was a year old and lots of things interested her for a few minutes.  I remember thinking at the time that this tree and our daughter would be the same age as long as both lived.  Our daughter is doing well, and I sometimes will drive by our old house and see “our” tree still thriving in the front yard.

Thirty-seven years ago, we built our current house on an acreage that was all pasture – not a tree in sight.  So, we set about planting and nurturing trees – spruce, pine, fir, oak, maple, locust, ash, and fruit trees.  My skills, nurtured by my grandfather decades before, have come in handy as we try to manage our little corner of creation.  We have spent time and physical effort in helping our trees grow, and even welcome the annual task of gathering up their leaves and needles.

But I have noticed in recent years that I don’t like to cut trees.  I feel sad when I need to remove a tree or even severely prune one due to storm damage.  I feel a partnership with the trees and the creative forces that help both of us thrive – food, and water, and sunlight. 

So, today’s reading from Matthew is challenging for me emotionally – it is troubling to cut down trees just because they don’t bear fruit or bear bad fruit.  Surely, they still possess beauty.  Little boys and girls can climb on them, and birds can nest in them.  They can provide shade and comfort from the hot summer sun.  Their leaves and needles can be mulch or compost.  Aren’t those also fruits that bear valuing?  And even if we do need to cut them, won’t their wood be useful for warmth in our homes or to cook hotdogs in our fire pits or to ponder deep realities as we cuddle by a warm backyard campfire in cool evenings and eat smores?

If I feel this emotional tug about my trees, and my attempts to find other fruits that they can provide, how must our Creator feel about us and our good fruits and bad fruits?  How difficult would it be for our Loving Parent to throw our tree into the fire?  Isn’t the covenant with Abram really a statement that our Lord will be there for us, across countless generations and innumerable descendants, a constant source of love and support (forever as the psalmist writes) as we live our lives? 

When I think about bad fruits and fire and destruction, I am reminded of the famous Ravensbruck prayer (https://jesuitprayer.org/bold-in-forgiveness/) and its call for forgiveness for the cruelties of the concentration camp staff.  If these people who suffered so much could find fruit in the cruelties of their tormenters, won’t our all-loving God find some fruit in our actions and lives as well, even if our fellow humans might find fault with our actions?  

We have such a powerful example of bearing good fruit in the life of Jesus and the holy women and men who have put His teachings into action.  We have the examples of other holy men and women who are of different faith traditions (or even no professed faith tradition) who live powerful lives bearing good fruit. 

Seeing these examples of loving lives well-lived, and knowing that God’s love is so deep, how can we consciously bear bad fruit?  How can we harm others, or be selfish, or blindly squander our beautiful world, or fail to consider what evils our actions can cause?  If we are aware, won’t our bad fruits be lessened in number and impacts?  Won’t we say thank you to our Lord for the gift of life itself by avoiding bad fruits as we live out our one precious gift?

And so, my prayer today is for the grace to be mindful that my actions are my fruits, and can be good or not, and that being aware of my love for my Nurturer will help me bear good fruit.   

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

 

COVENANT-MAKER

“He remembers forever His covenant which He made binding for a thousand generations — which He entered into with Abraham.” —Psalm 105:8-9

God took the initiative to make a covenant, a solemn promise, with Abram. This covenant included a strange ritual: God, represented by a flaming torch, passes physically between the split halves of the sacrificed animals (see Gn 15:9ff). This action is God’s way of swearing that, if He is not faithful to this covenant promise, then may He suffer the fate of the sacrificed animals and be torn in two. It is a most solemn pledge of fidelity to Abram.

Ironically, God did receive the penalty of great suffering, but not for His infidelity. He suffered rather for our infidelity, while Abram received the benefits and blessings of the covenant promise. God made Abram’s “reward very great” (Gn 15:1). He is a God of absolute faithfulness, worthy of our total trust.

God has taken the initiative to make covenants with us as well. Baptism, the Holy Eucharist, and Matrimony, are covenants with God. Let us enter into the covenant with God and remain faithful to our part of the covenant. Renew your covenant with Him.

Prayer:  Father, show me today any areas of my life where I don’t trust You. Do in me whatever You must in order to do through me whatever You will.

Promise:  “Look to the Lord in His strength; seek to serve Him constantly.” —Ps 105:4

Praise:  Paul and Clara gather their teenaged children and their friends for prayer and praise before their family’s image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

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

 What do grapes, thorns, figs, and thistles have to teach us about the kingdom of God? The imagery used by Jesus would have been very familiar to his audience. A certain thorn bush had berries which resembled grapes. And a certain thistle had a flower, which at least from a distance, resembled the fig. Isn't it the same today? What we "hear" might have a resemblance of the truth, but, in fact, when you inspect it closely, it's actually false. False prophets or teachers abound today as much as they did in biblical times.

A sound mind accepts what is truly good and right and rejects what is false and wrong
What's the test of a true or false teacher? Jesus connects soundness with good fruit. Something is sound when it is free from defect, decay, or disease and is healthy. Good fruit is the result of sound living - living according to moral truth and upright character. The prophet Isaiah warned against the dangers of falsehood:Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness (Isaiah 5:20). The fruits of falsehood produce an easy religion which takes the iron out of religion, the cross out of Christianity, and any teaching which eliminates the hard sayings of Jesus, and which push the judgments of God into the background and makes us think lightly of sin.

How do we avoid falsehood in our personal lives? By being true - true to God, his word, and his grace. And that takes character! Those who are true to God know that their strength lies not in themselves but in God who supplies what we need. The fruit of a disciple is marked by faith, hope and love, justice, prudence, fortitude and temperance. Do you seek to cultivate good fruit in your life and reject whatever produces bad fruit?

Lord Jesus, may I bear good fruit for your sake and reject whatever will produce evil fruit. Help me grow in faith, hope, love, sound judgment, justice, courage, and self control.

Psalm 119:33-37,40

33 Teach me, O LORD, the way of your statutes; and I will keep it to the end.
34 Give me understanding, that I may keep your law and observe it with my whole heart.
35 Lead me in the path of your commandments, for I delight in it.
36 Incline my heart to your testimonies, and not to gain!
37 Turn my eyes from looking at vanities; and give me life in your ways.
40 Behold, I long for your precepts; in your righteousness give me life!

Daily Quote from the Early Church Fathers: Beware of false prophets, by John Chrysostom, 547-407 A.D.

"Jesus reminded them of what happened to their ancestors who were attracted to false prophets. The same dangers are now faced as those that occurred in earlier days. He reminded them of the experience of their ancestors so that they would not despair at the multitude of troubles that would mount up on this way that is narrow and constricted. He reminded them that it is necessary to walk in a way that goes contrary to the common opinion. One must guard oneself not only against pigs and dogs but those other, more elusive creatures: the wolves. They were going to face inward anxieties as well as outward difficulties, but they are not to despair. 'Therefore do not be thrown into confusion,' Jesus says in effect, 'for nothing will happen that is new or strange. Remember that the ancient adversary is forever introducing deception as if true.'" (excerpt from THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW, HOMILY 23.6)

 

 

More Homilies

June 26, 2019 Wednesday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time