June, 2021Memorial of Saint Irenaeus, Bishop and Martyr

2021년 6월 28일 연중 제13주간 월요일 

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제1독서

<진정 의인을 죄인과 함께 쓸어버리시렵니까?>

창세기 18,16-33

사람들은 마므레의 참나무들 곁을 16 떠나 소돔이 내려다보이는 곳에 이르렀다.
아브라함은 그들을 배웅하려고 함께 걸어갔다. 17 그때에 주님께서 말씀하셨다.
“내가 앞으로 하려는 일을 어찌 아브라함에게 숨기랴?
18 아브라함은 반드시 크고 강한 민족이 되고,
세상 모든 민족들이 그를 통하여 복을 받을 것이다.
19 내가 그를 선택한 것은, 그가 자기 자식들과 뒤에 올 자기 집안에 명령을 내려
그들이 정의와 공정을 실천하여 주님의 길을 지키게 하고,
그렇게 하여 이 주님이 아브라함에게 한 약속을 그대로 이루려고 한 것이다.”
20 이어 주님께서 말씀하셨다.
“소돔과 고모라에 대한 원성이 너무나 크고, 그들의 죄악이 너무나 무겁구나.
21 이제 내가 내려가서, 저들 모두가 저지른 짓이 나에게 들려온
그 원성과 같은 것인지 아닌지를 알아보아야겠다.”
22 그 사람들은 거기에서 몸을 돌려 소돔으로 갔다.
그러나 아브라함은 주님 앞에 그대로 서 있었다.
23 아브라함이 다가서서 말씀드렸다. “진정 의인을 죄인과 함께 쓸어버리시렵니까?
24 혹시 그 성읍 안에 의인이 쉰 명 있다면, 그래도 쓸어버리시렵니까?
그 안에 있는 의인 쉰 명 때문에라도 그곳을 용서하지 않으시렵니까?
25 의인을 죄인과 함께 죽이시어 의인이나 죄인이나 똑같이 되게 하시는 것,
그런 일은 당신께 어울리지 않습니다. 그런 일은 당신께 어울리지 않습니다.
온 세상의 심판자께서는 공정을 실천하셔야 하지 않겠습니까?”
26 그러자 주님께서 대답하셨다.
“소돔 성읍 안에서 내가 의인 쉰 명을 찾을 수만 있다면,
그들을 보아서 그곳 전체를 용서해 주겠다.”
27 아브라함이 다시 말씀드렸다.
“저는 비록 먼지와 재에 지나지 않는 몸이지만, 주님께 감히 아룁니다.
28 혹시 의인 쉰 명에서 다섯이 모자란다면,
그 다섯 명 때문에 온 성읍을 파멸시키시렵니까?”
그러자 그분께서 대답하셨다.
“내가 그곳에서 마흔다섯 명을 찾을 수만 있다면 파멸시키지 않겠다.”
29 아브라함이 또다시 그분께 아뢰었다.
“혹시 그곳에서 마흔 명을 찾을 수 있다면 …… ?” 그러자 그분께서 대답하셨다.
“그 마흔 명을 보아서 내가 그 일을 실행하지 않겠다.”
30 그가 말씀드렸다. “제가 아뢴다고 주님께서는 노여워하지 마십시오.
혹시 그곳에서 서른 명을 찾을 수 있다면 …… ?” 그러자 그분께서 대답하셨다.
“내가 그곳에서 서른 명을 찾을 수만 있다면 그 일을 실행하지 않겠다.”
31 그가 말씀드렸다. “제가 주님께 감히 아룁니다.
혹시 그곳에서 스무 명을 찾을 수 있다면 …… ?” 그러자 그분께서 대답하셨다.
“그 스무 명을 보아서 내가 파멸시키지 않겠다.”
32 그가 말씀드렸다. “제가 다시 한 번 아뢴다고 주님께서는 노여워하지 마십시오.
혹시 그곳에서 열 명을 찾을 수 있다면 …… ?” 그러자 그분께서 대답하셨다.
“그 열 명을 보아서라도 내가 파멸시키지 않겠다.”
33 주님께서는 아브라함과 말씀을 마치시고 자리를 뜨셨다.
아브라함도 자기가 사는 곳으로 돌아갔다

복음

<나를 따라라.>

마태오 8,18-22

그때에 18 예수님께서는 둘러선 군중을 보시고

제자들에게 호수 건너편으로 가라고 명령하셨다.
19 그때에 한 율법 학자가 다가와 예수님께,
“스승님, 어디로 가시든지 저는 스승님을 따르겠습니다.” 하고 말하였다.
20 그러자 예수님께서 그에게 말씀하셨다.
“여우들도 굴이 있고 하늘의 새들도 보금자리가 있지만,
사람의 아들은 머리를 기댈 곳조차 없다.”
21 그분의 제자들 가운데 어떤 이가,
“주님, 먼저 집에 가서 아버지의 장사를 지내게 허락해 주십시오.” 하고 말하였다.
22 예수님께서는 그에게 말씀하셨다. “너는 나를 따라라.
죽은 이들의 장사는 죽은 이들이 지내도록 내버려 두어라.”

 June, 2021

Memorial of Saint Irenaeus, Bishop and Martyr

Daily Readings — Audio

Daily Reflections — Video

http://www.usccb.org/bible/ 

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

 Reading 1
Gn 18:16-33
Abraham and the men who had visited him by the Terebinth of Mamre
set out from there and looked down toward Sodom;
Abraham was walking with them, to see them on their way.
The LORD reflected: “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do,
now that he is to become a great and populous nation,
and all the nations of the earth are to find blessing in him?
Indeed, I have singled him out
that he may direct his children and his household after him
to keep the way of the LORD
by doing what is right and just,
so that the LORD may carry into effect for Abraham
the promises he made about him.”
Then the LORD said:
“The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great,
and their sin so grave,
that I must go down and see whether or not their actions
fully correspond to the cry against them that comes to me.
I mean to find out.”

While the two men walked on farther toward Sodom,
the LORD remained standing before Abraham.
Then Abraham drew nearer to him and said:
“Will you sweep away the innocent with the guilty?
Suppose there were fifty innocent people in the city;
would you wipe out the place, rather than spare it
for the sake of the fifty innocent people within it?
Far be it from you to do such a thing,
to make the innocent die with the guilty,
so that the innocent and the guilty would be treated alike!
Should not the judge of all the world act with justice?”
The LORD replied,
“If I find fifty innocent people in the city of Sodom,
I will spare the whole place for their sake.”
Abraham spoke up again:
“See how I am presuming to speak to my Lord,
though I am but dust and ashes!
What if there are five less than fifty innocent people?
Will you destroy the whole city because of those five?”
He answered, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.”
But Abraham persisted, saying, “What if only forty are found there?”
He replied, “I will forbear doing it for the sake of forty.”
Then Abraham said, “Let not my Lord grow impatient if I go on.
What if only thirty are found there?”
He replied, “I will forbear doing it if I can find but thirty there.”
Still Abraham went on,
“Since I have thus dared to speak to my Lord,
what if there are no more than twenty?”
He answered, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the twenty.”
But he still persisted:
“Please, let not my Lord grow angry if I speak up this last time.
What if there are at least ten there?”
He replied, “For the sake of those ten, I will not destroy it.”

The LORD departed as soon as he had finished speaking with Abraham,
and Abraham returned home.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 103:1b-2, 3-4, 8-9, 10-11
R. (8a) The Lord is kind and merciful.
Bless the LORD, O my soul;
and all my being, bless his holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits. 
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.
He pardons all your iniquities,
he heals all your ills.
He redeems your life from destruction,
he crowns you with kindness and compassion.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.
Merciful and gracious is the LORD,
slow to anger and abounding in kindness.
He will not always chide,
nor does he keep his wrath forever.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.
Not according to our sins does he deal with us,
nor does he requite us according to our crimes.
For as the heavens are high above the earth,
so surpassing is his kindness toward those who fear him. 
R. The Lord is kind and merciful. 

Gospel
Mt 8:18-22
When Jesus saw a crowd around him,
he gave orders to cross to the other shore.
A scribe approached and said to him,
“Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”
Jesus answered him, “Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests,
but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head.”
Another of his disciples said to him,
“Lord, let me go first and bury my father.”
But Jesus answered him, “Follow me,
and let the dead bury their dead.” 

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

 Talking with God. Our readings today invite us to be aware of the intimate relationship God desires to have with each of us.

Abraham is aware of the visitors he and Sarah had were, in fact, expressions of God’s word and presence to him and Sarah. Upon departure of these mysterious strangers, Abraham goes on to carry on a conversation with God discovering God’s on-going fidelity and mercy. Contemplating the situations in Sodom, he asks God over and over again even to the point of possible impatience. Will God destroy the good with the sinful? NO! The Lord is kind and merciful. (Ps 103)

In today’s Gospel, Jesus is in conversation with a young man desiring to be in closer relationship with Him. Can this man do what is asked of him to follow Jesus? Does Jesus’ responses seem unreasonable or is He laying it on the line?

I picture both men struggling with God, IN PRAYER AND DISCERNMENT, with a desire for an intimate relationship with God and with their desire to know God more deeply. Who is God? Who is Jesus? What is going on in my heart? Can I do what God, or Jesus might be asking of me? To find the answers, keep praying! Talk to God. Talk to Jesus. Ask the questions. Implore the Spirit for insight and wisdom.

Our prayer, our conversations with God can be revealed through our conversations with friends, companions, strangers, spouses, and creation. We can learn from St. Irenaeus, whose feast is today, that all creation is an expression of God’s Glory. May our eyes be open and let us be alert to those moments the Spirit breaks into our lives with an invitation to talk with God. God wants to talk!

Once while I was wondering what I was to do next in ministry, I clearly heard the words, “Let the dead bury the dead…I desire LIFE!” Choose life! Lean into what is light and blessings. Blessings for me, light, life, and blessings for others.  It is to be God’s glory, mercy, kindness, loving compassionate presence in following Jesus. It is for us to be “fully alive” as St. Irenaeus exults.

In both situations of our Scripture today and through the life of St. Irenaeus, what God desires is LIFE.  God desires an intimate relationship and not without some costs. At times living the Gospel is not easy. A Gospel life presents challenges. We have choices.

So, let’s talk with God. Pray! Listen!  We will hear God’s voice. It will be a revelation of life in abundance as it was for Abraham and Sarah. Life in abundance that is more than the stars in the sky. Life in abundance confirming that God is kind and merciful! Life in abundance in Jesus!

Let us pray this prayer attributed to St. Irenaeus that is an expression of God, our Creator’s intimate, loving touch! It is an invitation to keep our hearts soft, open to listen and to keep the conversation going!

It is not thou that shapest God
it is God that shapest thee.
If thou art the work of God
await the hand of the artist
who does all things in due season.
Offer Him thy heart,
soft and tractable,
and keep the form
in which the artist has fashioned thee.
Let thy clay be moist,
lest thou grow hard
and lose the imprint of his fingers.

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

 

“WITH GOD THERE IS NO FAVORITISM” (RM 2:11)

“Will You sweep away the innocent with the guilty?” —Genesis 18:23

The Lord is extremely merciful to the guilty (Ps 103:10). He is rich in mercy and slow to anger (Eph 2:4; Ps 103:8). God showers the warming sun and healing rain on the innocent and the guilty alike (Mt 5:45). To those caught red-handed in their guilt, the Lord says: “Nor do I condemn you. You may go. But from now on, avoid this sin” (Jn 8:11).

Jesus, the truly innocent One, Who is without sin and carries no personal guilt, comes as the spotless Lamb of God, freely sacrificed to atone for the guilty (Heb 4:15). He took on Himself the sins of the world, your sins and mine, atoning for the sins of the guilty with His own innocent blood. The Innocent dies, not with the guilty, but instead of the guilty.

Why would He do this for us? God is passionately in love with us. He would endure anything, even death on a cross (see Phil 2:8), so we could spend eternity with Him. In response to such love, let us surrender our lives to the Lord, take up our cross, and follow in His footsteps (Lk 9:23).

Prayer:  Lord, with St. Paul, I say: “I have been crucified with Christ, and the life I live now is not my own: Christ is living in me. I still live my human life, but it is a life of faith in the Son of God, Who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Gal 2:19-20).

Promise:  “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits; He pardons all your iniquities, He heals all your ills.” —Ps 103:2-3

Praise:  St. Irenaeus overcame heresy by applying to each error the truths of Scripture and the teachings of the apostles.

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

 Are you ready to follow the Lord Jesus wherever he may lead you? In love, the Lord Jesus calls each one of us personally by name and he invites us to follow him as our Lord and Teacher. What an awesome privilege and an awesome responsibility! What does it cost to be a disciple and follower of the Lord Jesus? Our whole lives, for sure! The Lord Jesus in turn promises to give us all that we need to follow him and more besides! Before we "sign-up" for something, it is quite natural and appropriate to ask what it will cost us. Jesus made sure that any "would-be" followers knew what they were getting themselves into.

The cost of discipleship
One prospective follower, a scribe who was an expert in the Torah (the law of God in the first five books of Moses in the Jewish bible), paid Jesus the highest compliment he knew. He called Jesus "teacher". Jesus advised this would-be follower: Before you follow me, think what you are about to do and count the cost. A disciple must be willing to part with anything that might stand in the way of following Jesus as Teacher and Master. Another would-be disciple responded by saying that he must first bury his father, that is go back home and take care of his father until he died. This disciple was not yet ready to count the cost of following Jesus. Jesus appealed to the man's heart to choose for God's kingdom first and to detach himself from anything that might keep him from following the Lord.

The greatest call
The Lord Jesus invites us into the most wonderful and greatest of relationships - a personal relationship of love and friendship, trust and commitment with himself, the Lord and Ruler of the heavens and the earth. How can we give the Lord our unqualified "yes" to the call he has for our lives? The Lord Jesus fills the hearts of those who accept his invitation of discipleship and friendship with the outpouring of his love into our hearts through the gift of the Holy Spirit who has been given to us (Romans 5:5). The love of God frees us from attachments to other things so we can give ourselves freely to God for his glory and for his kingdom. It was love that compelled the Lord Jesus to lay down his life for us. And he calls us in love to give our all for him.

We cannot outgive God
What can keep us from giving our all to God? Fear, self-concern, pre-occupation, and attachment to other things. Even spiritual things can get in the way of having God alone as our Treasure if we put them first. Detachment is a necessary step if we want to make the Lord our Treasure and Joy. It frees us to give ourselves without reserve to the Lord and to his service. There is nothing greater we can do with our lives than to place them at the service of the Lord and Master of the universe. We cannot match God in generosity. Jesus promises that those who are willing to part with what is most dear to them for his sake "will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life" (Matthew 19:29). Is there anything holding you back from giving your all to the Lord?

Take, O Lord, and receive my entire liberty, my memory, my understanding, and my whole will. All that I am and all that I possess you have given me. I surrender it all to you to be disposed of according to your will. Give me only your love and your grace - with these I will be rich enough and will desire nothing more. (Prayer of Ignatius Loyola, 1491-1556)

Psalm 50:1-5, 23

1 The Mighty One, God the LORD, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting.
2 Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines forth.
3 Our God comes, he does not keep silence, before him is a devouring fire, round about him a mighty tempest.
4 He calls to the heavens above and to the earth, that he may judge his people:
5 "Gather to me my faithful ones, who made a covenant with me by sacrifice!"
23 He who brings thanksgiving as his sacrifice honors me; to him who orders his way aright I will show the salvation of God!"

Daily Quote from the Early Church Fathers: Following the Lord Jesus, by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.

"'Come follow Me, says the Lord. Do you love? He has hastened on, He has flown on ahead. Look and see where. O Christian, don't you know where your Lord has gone? I ask you: Don't you wish to follow Him there? Through trials, insults,the cross, and death. Why do you hesitate? Look, the way has been shown you." (excerpt from Sermon 64,5)

 

 

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