June 26, 2021 Saturday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time

2021년 6월 26일 연중 제12주간 토요일 

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

제1독서 

<너무 어려워 주님이 못 할 일이라도 있다는 말이냐? 내가 너에게 돌아올 터인데, 그때에는 사라에게 아들이 있을 것이다.>

창세기. 18, 1-15
그 무렵 1 주님께서는 마므레의 참나무들 곁에서 아브라함에게 나타나셨다.
아브라함은 한창 더운 대낮에 천막 어귀에 앉아 있었다.
2 그가 눈을 들어 보니 자기 앞에 세 사람이 서 있었다.
그는 그들을 보자 천막 어귀에서 달려 나가 그들을 맞으면서
땅에 엎드려 3 말하였다.
“나리, 제가 나리 눈에 든다면, 부디 이 종을 그냥 지나치지 마십시오.
4 물을 조금 가져오게 하시어 발을 씻으시고, 이 나무 아래에서 쉬십시오.
5 제가 빵도 조금 가져오겠습니다.
이렇게 이 종의 곁을 지나게 되셨으니, 원기를 돋우신 다음에 길을 떠나십시오.”
그들이 “말씀하신 대로 그렇게 해 주십시오.” 하고 대답하였다.
6 아브라함은 급히 천막으로 들어가 사라에게 말하였다.
“빨리 고운 밀가루 세 스아를 가져다 반죽하여 빵을 구우시오.”
7 그러고서 아브라함이 소 떼가 있는 데로 달려가
살이 부드럽고 좋은 송아지 한 마리를 끌어다가 하인에게 주니,
그가 그것을 서둘러 잡아 요리하였다.
8 아브라함은 엉긴 젖과 우유와 요리한 송아지 고기를 가져다
그들 앞에 차려 놓았다.
그들이 먹는 동안 그는 나무 아래에 서서 그들을 시중들었다.
9 그들이 아브라함에게 “댁의 부인 사라는 어디에 있습니까?” 하고 물으니,
그가 “천막에 있습니다.” 하고 대답하였다.
10 그러자 그분께서 말씀하셨다.
“내년 이때에 내가 반드시 너에게 돌아올 터인데,
그때에는 너의 아내 사라에게 아들이 있을 것이다.”
사라는 아브라함의 등 뒤 천막 어귀에서 이 말을 듣고 있었다.
11 아브라함과 사라는 이미 나이 많은 노인들로서,
사라는 여인들에게 있는 일조차 그쳐 있었다.
12 그래서 사라는 속으로 웃으면서 말하였다.
‘이렇게 늙어 버린 나에게 무슨 육정이 일어나랴?
내 주인도 이미 늙은 몸인데.’
13 그러자 주님께서 아브라함에게 말씀하셨다. “어찌하여 사라는 웃으면서,
‘내가 이미 늙었는데, 정말로 아이를 낳을 수 있으랴?’ 하느냐?
14 너무 어려워 주님이 못 할 일이라도 있다는 말이냐?
내가 내년 이맘때에 너에게 돌아올 터인데,
그때에는 사라에게 아들이 있을 것이다.”
15 사라가 두려운 나머지 “저는 웃지 않았습니다.” 하면서 부인하자,
그분께서 말씀하셨다. “아니다. 너는 웃었다.”

 

복음

<많은 사람이 동쪽과 서쪽에서 모여 와 아브라함과 이사악과 야곱과 함께 잔칫상에 자리 잡을 것이다.>

마태오. 8,5-17
 5 예수님께서 카파르나움에 들어가셨을 때에

한 백인대장이 다가와 도움을 청하였다.
6 그가 이렇게 말하였다.
“주님, 제 종이 중풍으로 집에 드러누워 있는데 몹시 괴로워하고 있습니다.”
7 예수님께서 “내가 가서 그를 고쳐 주마.” 하시자,
8 백인대장이 대답하였다.
“주님, 저는 주님을 제 지붕 아래로 모실 자격이 없습니다.
그저 한 말씀만 해 주십시오. 그러면 제 종이 나을 것입니다.
9 사실 저는 상관 밑에 있는 사람입니다만 제 밑으로도 군사들이 있어서,
이 사람에게 가라 하면 가고 저 사람에게 오라 하면 옵니다.
또 제 노예더러 이것을 하라 하면 합니다.”
10 이 말을 들으시고 예수님께서는 감탄하시며
당신을 따르는 이들에게 이르셨다.
“내가 진실로 너희에게 말한다.
나는 이스라엘의 그 누구에게서도 이런 믿음을 본 일이 없다.
11 내가 너희에게 말한다. 많은 사람이 동쪽과 서쪽에서 모여 와,
하늘 나라에서 아브라함과 이사악과 야곱과 함께
잔칫상에 자리 잡을 것이다.
12 그러나 하느님 나라의 상속자들은 바깥 어둠 속으로 쫓겨나,
거기에서 울며 이를 갈 것이다.”
13 그리고 예수님께서는 백인대장에게 말씀하셨다.
“가거라. 네가 믿은 대로 될 것이다.”바로 그 시간에 종이 나았다.
14 예수님께서 베드로의 집으로 가셨을 때,
그의 장모가 열병으로 드러누워 있는 것을 보셨다.
15 예수님께서 당신 손을 그 부인의 손에 대시니 열이 가셨다.
그래서 부인은 일어나 그분의 시중을 들었다.
16 저녁이 되자 사람들이 마귀 들린 이들을 예수님께 많이 데리고 왔다.
예수님께서는 말씀으로 악령들을 쫓아내시고,
앓는 사람들을 모두 고쳐 주셨다.
17 이사야 예언자를 통하여 “그는 우리의 병고를 떠맡고
우리의 질병을 짊어졌다.” 하신 말씀이 이루어지려고 그리된 것이다.

 

June 26, 2021

Saturday 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 18:1-15
The LORD appeared to Abraham by the Terebinth of Mamre,
as Abraham sat in the entrance of his tent,
while the day was growing hot.
Looking up, he saw three men standing nearby.
When he saw them, he ran from the entrance of the tent to greet them;
and bowing to the ground, he said:
“Sir, if I may ask you this favor,
please do not go on past your servant.
Let some water be brought, that you may bathe your feet,
and then rest yourselves under the tree.
Now that you have come this close to your servant,
let me bring you a little food, that you may refresh yourselves;
and afterward you may go on your way.”
The men replied, “Very well, do as you have said.”

Abraham hastened into the tent and told Sarah,
“Quick, three measures of fine flour! 
Knead it and make rolls.”
He ran to the herd, picked out a tender, choice steer,
and gave it to a servant, who quickly prepared it.
Then Abraham got some curds and milk,
as well as the steer that had been prepared,
and set these before them;
and he waited on them under the tree while they ate.

They asked him, “Where is your wife Sarah?” 
He replied, “There in the tent.” 
One of them said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year,
and Sarah will then have a son.”
Sarah was listening at the entrance of the tent, just behind him.
Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years,
and Sarah had stopped having her womanly periods.
So Sarah laughed to herself and said,
“Now that I am so withered and my husband is so old,
am I still to have sexual pleasure?”
But the LORD said to Abraham: “Why did Sarah laugh and say,
‘Shall I really bear a child, old as I am?’
Is anything too marvelous for the LORD to do?
At the appointed time, about this time next year, I will return to you,
and Sarah will have a son.”
Because she was afraid, Sarah dissembled, saying, “I didn’t laugh.”
But he replied, “Yes you did.”

Responsorial Psalm

Luke 1:46-47, 48-49, 50 and 53, 54-5

R. (see 54b) The Lord has remembered his mercy.
“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.”
R. The Lord has remembered his mercy.
“For he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed:
the Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.”
R. The Lord has remembered his mercy.
“He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.”
R. The Lord has remembered his mercy.
“He has come to the help of his servant Israel
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
The promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children for ever.”
R. The Lord has remembered his mercy.

 

Gospel

Mt 8:5-17

When Jesus entered Capernaum,
a centurion approached him and appealed to him, saying,
“Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, suffering dreadfully.” 
He said to him, “I will come and cure him.”
The centurion said in reply,
“Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof;
only say the word and my servant will be healed.
For I too am a man subject to authority, 
with soldiers subject to me.
And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes;
and to another, ‘Come here,’ and he comes;
and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him,
“Amen, I say to you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith.
I say to you, many will come from the east and the west,
and will recline with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
at the banquet in the Kingdom of heaven,
but the children of the Kingdom
will be driven out into the outer darkness,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.”
And Jesus said to the centurion,
“You may go; as you have believed, let it be done for you.”
And at that very hour his servant was healed.

Jesus entered the house of Peter,
and saw his mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever.
He touched her hand, the fever left her,
and she rose and waited on him.

When it was evening, they brought him many
who were possessed by demons,
and he drove out the spirits by a word and cured all the sick,
to fulfill what had been said by Isaiah the prophet:

He took away our infirmities 
and bore our diseases.

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

 I thought I would start off my reflection of today’s Gospel with a little confession. I am a life-long catholic and attended a catholic elementary school, high school, and college. But, it wasn’t until I read today’s Gospel from Matthew that I realized where the statement, “Lord I am not worthy for you to enter under my roof, but only say the Word and my soul shall be healed” comes from. I have said this at mass my whole life prior to receiving Holy Communion and I guess I just thought it was something that past church leaders developed for this point in the mass. So, today’s gospel gave me a great opportunity to think about what this may actually mean.

As the story goes, a centurion approached Jesus with an appeal. His servant was lying in his home suffering and he asked Jesus if he could help. Jesus replied that he would come and cure his servant – and this is where the story gets good. I imagine myself alongside Jesus and the centurion listening to their conversation. As soon as Jesus says he is coming to his house, the centurion seemed to go into panic mode with the sudden realization that his past events and behaviors were not worthy of hosting Jesus. It makes me wonder if we all feel this way sometimes. We know we are not perfect and behave is ways that would probably make us panic too, if we were suddenly face-to-face with Jesus. But, it seems to me that the point of the story is how the centurion responded…”I am not worthy [but I could be with your help].” The centurion didn’t put on a stoic face and try to hide his transgressions. He didn’t let his ego get the best of him and act as though he was deserving of Jesus’ presence. He threw his ego out the window and humbled himself. In his statement, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed” he realized that life is bigger than just him and his privileged position in society.

So many of the gospel stories are like this one in Matthew. They tell us to be humble ourselves and to check our ego at the door. And, in many cases, Jesus is the one showing us how it’s done. For me, this story says that God is always present in our suffering. But, the healing happens when we allow ourselves to be in a position to receive. If we protect our ego by building a castle wall around ourselves, we are always in protection mode so our ego can stay intact. But, our castle wall also prevents us from receiving. The centurion allowed his castle wall to be broken open by showing his vulnerability. This allowed him to receive and to be “healed”.

I am grateful that I had the opportunity to reflect on today’s Gospel in Matthew. It helps me to realize that God is always present and always healing – I just need to get out of my own way to let it happen.

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

 

STAYING POWER

“Sir, if I may ask You this favor, please do not go on past Your servant.” —Genesis 18:3

Like Abraham, we can have the Lord right in front of us, but if we don’t ask Him to stay, He may go right on past us. For example, when Jesus was walking on the water, He meant to pass by the apostles (Mk 6:48). But when they cried out to Him, Jesus “got into the boat with them and the wind died down” (Mk 6:51). Also, on Resurrection day, when Jesus had reached Emmaus with His two disciples, “He acted as if He were going farther. But they pressed Him: ‘Stay with us’... so He went in to stay with them” (Lk 24:28-29).

In some ways, Jesus appears to be reserved and quiet, “not crying out, not shouting, not making His voice heard in the street. A bruised reed He shall not break, and a smoldering wick He shall not quench” (Is 42:2-3). He won’t force Himself on you. He’ll let you ignore Him or even crucify Him. He often whispers (1 Kgs 19:12), and sometimes is silent (Mt 27:12, 14). If you don’t want Him around, He’ll leave, shaking the dust from His feet (Mt 10:14). Jesus respects our freedom, almost too much. He’ll let us reject Him forever. He’ll even allow us to choose to be separated from Him forever. That’s called hell.

Ask Jesus to stay the night with you, and even the day. Ask Him to stay forever. He says: “Here I stand, knocking at the door. If anyone hears Me calling and opens the door, I will enter his house” (Rv 3:20). Invite Him in.

Prayer:  Jesus, give me the grace to get rid of anything that prevents You from staying with me.

Promise:  “He expelled the spirits by a simple command.” —Mt 8:16

Praise:  Susan is a novice, preparing to pledge herself to Jesus, the Bridgegroom, in consecrated religious life.

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

 What kind of expectant faith and trust does the Lord Jesus want you to place in him? In Jesus' time the Jews hated the Romans because they represented everything the Jews stood against - including pagan beliefs and idol worship, immoral practices such as abortion and infanticide, and the suppression of the Israelites' claim to be a holy nation governed solely by God's law. It must have been a remarkable sight for the Jewish residents of Capernaum to see Jesus conversing with an officer of the Roman army.

The power to command with trust and respect
Why did Jesus not only warmly receive a Roman centurion but praise him as a model of faith and confidence in God? In the Roman world the position of centurion was very important. He was an officer in charge of a hundred soldiers. In a certain sense, he was the backbone of the Roman army, the cement which held the army together. Polybius, an ancient write, describes what a centurion should be: "They must not be so much venturesome seekers after danger as men who can command, steady in action, and reliable; they ought not to be over-anxious to rush into the fight, but when hard pressed, they must be ready to hold their ground, and die at their posts."

Faith in Jesus' authority over sickness and power to heal
The centurion who approached Jesus was not only courageous, but faith-filled as well. He risked the ridicule of his associates as well as mockery from the Jews by seeking help from a wandering preacher from Galilee. Nonetheless, he approached Jesus with great confidence and humility. He was an extraordinary man because he loved his slave. In the Roman world slaves were treated as property and like animals rather than people. The centurion was also an extraordinary man of faith. He believed that Jesus could heal his beloved slave. Jesus commended him for his faith and immediately granted him his request. Are you willing to suffer ridicule in the practice of your faith? And when you need help, do you approach the Lord Jesus with expectant faith?

Heavenly Father, you sent us your Son Jesus that we might be freed from the tyranny of sin and death. Increase my faith in the power of your saving word and give me freedom to love and serve others with generosity and mercy as you have loved me.

Psalm 74:1-6,20-21

1 O God, why do you cast us off for ever? Why does your anger smoke against the sheep of your pasture?
2 Remember your congregation, which you have gotten of old, which you have redeemed to be the tribe of your heritage! Remember Mount Zion, where you have dwelt.
3 Direct your steps to the perpetual ruins; the enemy has destroyed everything in the sanctuary!
4 Your foes have roared in the midst of your holy place; they set up their own signs for signs.
5 At the upper entrance they hacked the wooden trellis with axes.
6 And then all its carved wood they broke down with hatchets and hammers.
20 Have regard for your covenant; for the dark places of the land are full of the habitations of violence.
21 Let not the downtrodden be put to shame; let the poor and needy praise your name.

Daily Quote from the Early Church Fathers: Welcoming the Lord Jesus with expectant faith and humility, by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.

"When the Lord promised to go to the centurion's house to heal his servant, the centurion answered, 'Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; but only say the word, and my servant will be healed.' By viewing himself as unworthy, he showed himself worthy for Christ to come not merely into his house but also into his heart. He would not have said this with such great faith and humility if he had not already welcomed in his heart the One who came into his house. It would have been no great joy for the Lord Jesus to enter into his house and not to enter his heart. For the Master of humility both by word and example sat down also in the house of a certain proud Pharisee, Simon, and though he sat down in his house, there was no place in his heart. For in his heart the Son of Man could not lay his head" (Matthew 8:20). (excerpt from SERMON 62.1)

 

 

More Homilies

July 1, 2017 Saturday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time