오늘의 복음

uly 21, 2021Wednesday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Margaret K 2021. 7. 21. 06:56

2021년 7월 21일 연중 제16주간 수요일  



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

1독서

<내가 하늘에서 너희에게 양식을 비처럼 내려 주리라.>

탈출기. 16,1-5.9-15
 
1 이스라엘 자손들의 온 공동체는 엘림을 떠나,

엘림과 시나이 사이에 있는 신 광야에 이르렀다.
그들이 이집트 땅에서 나온 뒤, 둘째 달 보름이 되는 날이었다.
2 이스라엘 자손들의 온 공동체가 광야에서 모세와 아론에게 불평하였다.
3 이들에게 이스라엘 자손들이 말하였다.
“아, 우리가 고기 냄비 곁에 앉아 빵을 배불리 먹던 그때,
이집트 땅에서 주님의 손에 죽었더라면!
그런데 당신들은 이 무리를 모조리 굶겨 죽이려고,
우리를 이 광야로 끌고 왔소?”
4 주님께서 모세에게 말씀하셨다.
“이제 내가 하늘에서 너희에게 양식을 비처럼 내려 줄 터이니,
백성은 날마다 나가서 그날 먹을 만큼 모아들이게 하여라.
이렇게 하여 나는 이 백성이
나의 지시를 따르는지 따르지 않는지 시험해 보겠다.
5 엿샛날에는, 그날 거두어들인 것으로 음식을 장만해 보면,
날마다 모아들이던 것의 갑절이 될 것이다.”
9 모세가 아론에게 말하였다.
“이스라엘 자손들의 온 공동체에게,
‘주님께서 너희의 불평을 들으셨으니,
그분 앞으로 가까이 오너라.’ 하고 말하십시오.”
10 아론이 이스라엘 자손들의 온 공동체에게 말하고 있을 때,
그들이 광야 쪽을 바라보니, 주님의 영광이 구름 속에 나타났다.
11 주님께서 모세에게 이렇게 이르셨다.
12 “나는 이스라엘 자손들이 불평하는 소리를 들었다.
그들에게 이렇게 일러라.
‘너희가 저녁 어스름에는 고기를 먹고,
아침에는 양식을 배불리 먹을 것이다.
그러면 너희는 내가 주 너희 하느님임을 알게 될 것이다.’”
13 그날 저녁에 메추라기 떼가 날아와 진영을 덮었다.
그리고 아침에는 진영 둘레에 이슬이 내렸다.
14 이슬이 걷힌 뒤에 보니, 잘기가 땅에 내린 서리처럼
잔 알갱이들이 광야 위에 깔려 있는 것이었다.
15 이것을 보고 이스라엘 자손들은 그것이 무엇인지 몰라,
“이게 무엇이냐?” 하고 서로 물었다.
모세가 그들에게 말하였다.
“이것은 주님께서 너희에게 먹으라고 주신 양식이다.”


복음

<열매는 백 배가 되었다.>

마태오 13,1-9
1 그날 예수님께서는 집에서 나와 호숫가에 앉으셨다.
2 그러자 많은 군중이 모여들어, 예수님께서는 배에 올라앉으시고
군중은 물가에 그대로 서 있었다.
3 예수님께서 그들에게 많은 것을 비유로 말씀해 주셨다.
“자, 씨 뿌리는 사람이 씨를 뿌리러 나갔다.
4 그가 씨를 뿌리는데 어떤 것들은 길에 떨어져 새들이 와서 먹어 버렸다.
5 어떤 것들은 흙이 많지 않은 돌밭에 떨어졌다.
흙이 깊지 않아 싹은 곧 돋아났지만,
6 해가 솟아오르자 타고 말았다. 뿌리가 없어서 말라 버린 것이다.
7 또 어떤 것들은 가시덤불 속에 떨어졌는데,
가시덤불이 자라면서 숨을 막아 버렸다.
8 그러나 어떤 것들은 좋은 땅에 떨어져 열매를 맺었는데,
어떤 것은 백 배, 어떤 것은 예순 배, 어떤 것은 서른 배가 되었다.
9 귀 있는 사람은 들어라.”


July 21, 2021

Wednesday of the Sixteenth 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

Ex 16:1-5, 9-15
The children of Israel set out from Elim, 
and came into the desert of Sin,
which is between Elim and Sinai,
on the fifteenth day of the second month
after their departure from the land of Egypt.
Here in the desert the whole assembly of the children of Israel
grumbled against Moses and Aaron.
The children of Israel said to them,
“Would that we had died at the LORD’s hand in the land of Egypt,
as we sat by our fleshpots and ate our fill of bread!
But you had to lead us into this desert
to make the whole community die of famine!”

Then the LORD said to Moses,
“I will now rain down bread from heaven for you.
Each day the people are to go out and gather their daily portion;
thus will I test them,
to see whether they follow my instructions or not.
On the sixth day, however, when they prepare what they bring in,
let it be twice as much as they gather on the other days.”

Then Moses said to Aaron, “Tell the whole congregation 
of the children of Israel:
Present yourselves before the LORD,
for he has heard your grumbling.”
When Aaron announced this to the whole assembly of the children of Israel,
they turned toward the desert, and lo,
the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud!
The LORD spoke to Moses and said,
“I have heard the grumbling of the children of Israel.
Tell them: In the evening twilight you shall eat flesh,
and in the morning you shall have your fill of bread,
so that you may know that I, the LORD, am your God.”

In the evening quail came up and covered the camp.
In the morning a dew lay all about the camp,
and when the dew evaporated, there on the surface of the desert
were fine flakes like hoarfrost on the ground.
On seeing it, the children of Israel asked one another, “What is this?”
for they did not know what it was.
But Moses told them,
“This is the bread which the LORD has given you to eat.”


Responsorial Psalm

78:18-19, 23-24, 25-26, 27-28

R. (24b) The Lord gave them bread from heaven.
They tempted God in their hearts
by demanding the food they craved.
Yes, they spoke against God, saying,
“Can God spread a table in the desert?”
R. The Lord gave them bread from heaven.
Yet he commanded the skies above
and the doors of heaven he opened;
He rained manna upon them for food
and gave them heavenly bread. 
R. The Lord gave them bread from heaven.
Man ate the bread of angels,
food he sent them in abundance.
He stirred up the east wind in the heavens,
and by his power brought on the south wind.
R. The Lord gave them bread from heaven.
And he rained meat upon them like dust,
and, like the sand of the sea, winged fowl,
Which fell in the midst of their camp
round about their tents. 
R. The Lord gave them bread from heaven.


Gospel

Mt 13:1-9

On that day, Jesus went out of the house and sat down by the sea.
Such large crowds gathered around him
that he got into a boat and sat down,
and the whole crowd stood along the shore.
And he spoke to them at length in parables, saying:
“A sower went out to sow.
And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path,
and birds came and ate it up.
Some fell on rocky ground, where it had little soil.
It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep,
and when the sun rose it was scorched,
and it withered for lack of roots.
Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it.
But some seed fell on rich soil, and produced fruit,
a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.
Whoever has ears ought to hear.”

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

 Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear.  

At a moment when so many disparate voices call for my attention — from members of Congress, from church leaders, and from the many voices carried by systems of electronic media — the final words of today’s gospel segment leap off the page: “Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear.” This is the place in the story of Jesus where each gospel writer focuses on Jesus as communicator. And they do it in terms of the question of why he speaks to the crowds in parables. What’s more, it is precisely this parable, the Parable of the Sower, that prompts the question.

Matthew’s treatment of this issue is especially interesting as it sits at the center of a carefully balanced design in his gospel. Scholars have long noted that most of Jesus’ sayings in Matthew are “packaged” in five discourses, and chapter 13 is placed as a kind of keystone, focusing on the centerpiece of Jesus’ teaching, the kingdom of God. So, if hearing Jesus with understanding is important for me (and the church has ordained me to hear and preach what Jesus was sent to announce by the God he called Father), I need to listen up, especially right here in Matthew’s gospel. Given that we have begun to understand that all of us, ordained or not, are called to this ministry, we need to listen to Matthew’s presentation if we are to hear his voice above the sound of all those other voices clamoring for our attention right now. Let’s do it.

On that day, Jesus went out of the house and sat down by the sea. Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat down, and the whole crowd stood along the shore. For Matthew, every word counts. Jesus is not simply stepping out to catch a breath of fresh air. “The house” in this gospel is the place where Jesus typically explains things to his inner group of disciples (see verse 36; the reference is no doubt Peter’s place in Capernaum). Matthew notes that Jesus’ first act is to sit down by the sea. Hardly matter for Sacred Scripture, we might think. But then the phrase is repeated:

Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat down, and the whole crowd stood along the shore. Ah! Now I recall that, in Jesus’ day the expected posture of a teacher or rabbi addressing his followers is sitting down. (See Matthew’s setting for the Sermon on the Mount at 5:1; there, similarly, Jesus responds to gathering crowds by withdrawing to sit down and teach his disciples.) And here in chapter 13, what a huge group has come to hear Jesus teach! So big that he has to find a boat and (presumably a decent distance from the shore) to gain a proper perch for his voice to be heard and still maintain the proper posture expected of a teacher — seated.

And he spoke to them at length in parables (yes, Matthew 13 is indeed lengthy). All of the above is quite enough for me to trust Matthew as a guide to understand how I am to “have ears” that hear the voice of Jesus today in the midst of all those other voices clamoring for my attention and response. So allow me to touch lightly other prompts in this chapter of Matthew that help me spell out what that means for me as would-be disciple.

Knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven has been granted to you. This gospel has already taught me to include myself, and all of us who identify as Christian, among those addressed by Jesus, whom we now know as risen Christ and Lord. That means I am graced as an “insider,” i.e. saved from being included in Jesus’ application of the quotation of Isaiah 6:9-10 to the “outsiders” who did not get his meaning. Implication: I have at least begun to be healed from deafness, blindness, and fatness of heart so that I can begin to understand with my inner self (heart) Jesus’ secrets about access to the kingdom he teaches about and embodies.

What blocks me from fully accepting Jesus’ teaching regarding the kingdom life? That is spelled out in the explanation of the parable of the sower that comes next. That allegorical explanation, backed with the authority of the risen Jesus, urges me both to be good, receptive soil and also to be fertile, self-giving seed. I have come to call that use of two different images at once “double-talk,” which I use here in a positive sense. Both sets of imagery (people pictured as both seeds and soil) work together to describe a way of living that resists everything that the figure of “the evil one” (the Satan) stands for — by hearing deeply with the heart, sinking deep roots, resisting the lure of whatever constitutes the “riches” of my life (privilege, advantage, power, security.

This is enough, Lord Jesus. It is time to stop and pray about where this pondering about a single parable has taken me, simply by listening to it within its context of Matthew’s discourse package within his distinctive gospel. Thanks, first of all, for the leisure and schooling that has helped me hear afresh the familiar sower parable in the garden of parables of a single chapter, and within a vast forest of all the parables in this gospel. Those numerous crowds waiting for the teacher to speak — now I understand them as pointing to all those fellow human beings hungering for the good news that Jesus means for them to know and act upon — if I and my fellow Christians would only learn to share better what we have come to know through the gifts of tradition, community, narrative and practices that are traceable to you. Where we encounter others as insiders meeting outsiders, move us to the kind of dialogue that our leader Francis calls for and demonstrates, a dialogue that listens for signs of our common origin as fellow creatures, responsible for one another in our common home, and destined for the common destiny of the life with you that we believe is part of that New Creation that we label with that pale word eternal.  I think I am beginning to understand why you are sitting there as you teach us. Thy kingdom come. Meanwhile, give this day our daily bread. Forgive us as we forgive.

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

 

GOD IS LIKE THE RAIN

“A farmer went out sowing.” —Matthew 13:4

It seems that God isn’t very efficient. He sows manna and quail like “rain” (Ex 16:4; Ps 78:27). It lands everywhere, all over the camp, all over the desert ground, available to both the humble and those who grumble (Ex 16:13). The Lord even sends real rain to nourish the ground everywhere, on the land of the just and the unjust (Mt 5:45).  He sows the Word like “the rain” (Is 55:10-11). It lands everywhere, even on the footpath and the rocks and among thorns where it seemingly can’t grow (Mt 13:4-7).

Praise God that He sends His Word everywhere — to the illiterate, marginalized, grumblers, criminals, sinners, to those who hate Him and those who hunger for His Word. “Learn a lesson from the way” God sows His Word and His grace (Mt 6:28). Have the attitude of God’s agents, His rain clouds. They drop rain everywhere they are. Likewise, sow God’s Word everywhere. Don’t worry about wasting your effort, conserving your strength, or being efficient with your evangelization. Keep it simple. Think God’s rain, think God’s reign, and just get the Word out.

Prayer:  Father, who am I to decide who is unable to receive Your Word and Your blessings? May I sow bountifully so You may reap bountifully (2 Cor 9:6).

Promise:  “He commanded the skies above and the doors of heaven He opened; He rained manna upon them for food and gave them heavenly bread.” —Ps 78:23-24

Praise:  St. Lawrence of Brindisi mastered seven languages and used this talent to read and preach the Scriptures to many.


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

 Are you hungry for God's word? Matthew tells us that Jesus taught many things to those who came to listen and learn. Jesus' teaching method was a very simple one. He used parables - short stories and images taken from everyday life to convey hidden truths about the kingdom of God. Like a skillful artist, Jesus painted evocative pictures with short and simple words. A good image can speak more loudly and clearly than many words. Jesus used the ordinary everyday images of life and nature to point to another order of reality - hidden, yet visible to those who had "eyes to see" and "ears to hear". Jesus communicated with pictures and stories, vivid illustrations which captured the imaginations of his audience more powerfully than an abstract presentation could. His parables are like buried treasure waiting to be discovered (Matthew 13:44).


Sowing seeds that take root and grow
What does the parable about seeds and roots say to us about the kingdom of God? Any farmer will attest to the importance of good soil for supplying nutrients for growth. And how does a plant get the necessary food and water it needs except by its roots? The Scriptures frequently use the image of fruit-bearing plants or trees to convey the principle of spiritual life and death. Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit (Jeremiah 17:7-8; see also Psalm 1:3).

The shut mind and prejudiced hearer
Jesus' parable of the sower is aimed at the hearers of his word. There are different ways of accepting God's word and they produce different kinds of fruit accordingly. There is the prejudiced hearer who has a shut mind. Such a person is unteachable and blind to what he or she doesn't want to hear. Then there is the shallow hearer. He or she fails to think things out or think them through; they lack depth. They may initially respond with an emotional reaction; but when it wears off their mind wanders to something else.

Too busy and preoccupied to listen
Another type of hearer is the person who has many interests or cares, but who lacks the ability to hear or comprehend what is truly important. Such a person is for ever too busy to pray or too preoccupied to study and meditate on God's word. He or she may work so hard that they are too tired to even think of anything else but their work. Then there is the one whose mind is open. Such a person is at all times willing to listen and to learn. He or she is never too proud or too busy to learn. They listen in order to understand. God gives grace to those who hunger for his word that they may understand his will and have the strength to live according to it. Do you hunger for God's word?

Lord Jesus, faith in your word is the way to wisdom, and to ponder your divine plan is to grow in the truth. Open my eyes to your deeds, and my ears to the sound of your call, that I may understand your will for my life and live according to it.

Psalm 71:1-6,15,17

1 In you, O LORD, do I take refuge; let me never be put to shame!
2 In your righteousness deliver me and rescue me; incline your ear to me, and save me!
3 Be to me a rock of refuge, a strong fortress, to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress.
4 Rescue me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked, from the grasp of the unjust and cruel man.
5 For you, O Lord, are my hope, my trust, O LORD, from my youth.
6 Upon you I have leaned from my birth; you are he who took me from my mother's womb. My praise is continually of you.
15 My mouth will tell of your righteous acts, of your deeds of salvation all the day, for their number is past my knowledge.
17 O God, from my youth you have taught me, and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds.

Daily Quote from the Early Church Fathers: Shallow and rootless minds, by Cyril of Alexandria (375-444 AD)

"Let us look, as from a broader perspective, at what it means to be on the road. In a way, every road is hardened and foolish on account of the fact that it lies beneath everyone's feet. No kind of seed finds there enough depth of soil for a covering. Instead, it lies on the surface and is ready to be snatched up by the birds that come by. Therefore those who have in themselves a mind hardened and, as it were, packed tight do not receive the divine seed but become a well-trodden way for the unclean spirits. These are what is here meant by 'the birds of the heaven.' But 'heaven' we understand to mean this air, in which the spirits of wickedness move about, by whom, again, the good seed is snatched up and destroyed. Then what are those upon the rock? They are those people who do not take much care of the faith they have in themselves. They have not set their minds to understand the touchstone of the mystery [of communion with Christ]. The reverence these people have toward God is shallow and rootless. It is in times of ease and fair weather that they practice Christianity, when it involves none of the painful trials of winter. They will not preserve their faith in this way, if in times of tumultuous persecution their soul is not prepared for the struggle." (Excerpt from FRAGMENT 168)

 

 

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July 24, 2019 Wednesday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time