August 3, 2021Tuesday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time

2021년 8월 3일 연중 제18주간 화요일 

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

제1독서

<모세는 다른 예언자와 다르다. 너희는 어찌하여 두려움도 없이 그를 비방하느냐?>

민수기. 12,1-13
 그 무렵 1 모세가 에티오피아 여자를 아내로 맞아들였는데,

미르얌과 아론은 모세가 아내로 맞아들인 그 에티오피아 여자 때문에
모세를 비방하였다.
2 그들은 이렇게 말하였다. “주님께서 모세를 통해서만 말씀하셨느냐?
우리를 통해서도 말씀하시지 않았느냐?”
주님께서 이 말을 들으셨다.
3 그런데 모세라는 사람은 매우 겸손하였다.
땅 위에 사는 어떤 사람보다도 겸손하였다.
4 주님께서 갑자기 모세와 아론과 미르얌에게 말씀하셨다.
“너희 셋은 만남의 천막으로 나오너라.” 그들 셋이 나오자,
5 주님께서 구름 기둥 속에 내려오시어 천막 어귀에 서시고,
아론과 미르얌을 부르셨다.
그 둘이 나와 서자 6 말씀하셨다.
“너희는 내 말을 들어라.
너희 가운데에 예언자가 있으면
나 주님이 환시 속에서 나 자신을 그에게 알리고
꿈속에서 그에게 말할 것이다.
7 나의 종 모세는 다르다. 그는 나의 온 집안을 충실히 맡고 있는 사람이다.
8 나는 입과 입을 마주하여 그와 말하고, 환시나 수수께끼로 말하지 않는다.
그는 주님의 모습까지 볼 수 있다.
그런데 너희는 어찌하여 두려움도 없이 나의 종 모세를 비방하느냐?”
9 주님께서는 그들에게 진노하시며 떠나가셨다.
10 구름이 천막 위에서 물러가자,
미르얌이 악성 피부병에 걸려 눈처럼 하얗게 되어 있는 것이 아닌가?
아론이 몸을 돌려 미르얌을 보자, 과연 그 여자는 악성 피부병에 걸려 있었다.
11 아론이 모세에게 말하였다.
“아, 나의 주인님,
우리가 어리석게 행동하여 저지른 죄의 값을 우리에게 지우지 마십시오.
12 미르얌을, 살이 반은 뭉그러진 채 모태에서 죽어 나온 아이처럼
저렇게 놓아두지 말아 주십시오.”
13 그러자 모세가 주님께
“하느님, 제발 미르얌을 고쳐 주십시오.” 하고 부르짖었다.

복음

<저더러 물 위로 걸어오라고 명령하십시오.>
마태오. 14,22-36
 군중이 배불리 먹은 다음, 22 예수님께서는 곧 제자들을 재촉하시어

배를 타고 건너편으로 먼저 가게 하시고,
그동안에 당신께서는 군중을 돌려보내셨다.
23 군중을 돌려보내신 뒤, 예수님께서는 따로 기도하시려고 산에 오르셨다.
그리고 저녁때가 되었는데도 혼자 거기에 계셨다.
24 배는 이미 뭍에서 여러 스타디온 떨어져 있었는데,
마침 맞바람이 불어 파도에 시달리고 있었다.
25 예수님께서는 새벽에 호수 위를 걸으시어 그들 쪽으로 가셨다.
26 제자들은 예수님께서 호수 위를 걸으시는 것을 보고
겁에 질려 “유령이다!” 하며 두려워 소리를 질러 댔다.
27 예수님께서는 곧 그들에게 말씀하셨다.
“용기를 내어라. 나다. 두려워하지 마라.”
28 그러자 베드로가 말하였다.
“주님, 주님이시거든 저더러 물 위를 걸어오라고 명령하십시오.”
29 예수님께서 “오너라.” 하시자,
베드로가 배에서 내려 물 위를 걸어 예수님께 갔다.
30 그러나 거센 바람을 보고서는 그만 두려워졌다.
그래서물에빠져들기시작하자, “주님, 저를구해주십시오.” 하고소리를질렀다.
31 예수님께서 곧 손을 내밀어 그를 붙잡으시고,
“이 믿음이 약한 자야, 왜 의심하였느냐?” 하고 말씀하셨다.
32 그러고 나서 그들이 배에 오르자 바람이 그쳤다.
33 그러자 배 안에 있던 사람들이 그분께 엎드려 절하며,
“스승님은 참으로 하느님의 아드님이십니다.” 하고 말하였다.
34 그들은 호수를 건너 겐네사렛 땅에 이르렀다.
35 그러자 그곳 사람들이 그분을 알아보고
그 주변 모든 지방으로 사람들을 보내어, 병든 이들을 모두 그분께 데려왔다.
36 그리고 그 옷자락 술에 그들이 손이라도 대게 해 주십사고 청하였다.
과연 그것에 손을 댄 사람마다 구원을 받았다.

August 3, 2021

Tuesday of the Eighteenth 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

Nm 12:1-13
Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses on the pretext
of the marriage he had contracted with a Cushite woman.
They complained, “Is it through Moses alone that the LORD speaks?
Does he not speak through us also?”
And the LORD heard this.
Now, Moses himself was by far the meekest man on the face of the earth.
So at once the LORD said to Moses and Aaron and Miriam,
“Come out, you three, to the meeting tent.”
And the three of them went.
Then the LORD came down in the column of cloud,
and standing at the entrance of the tent,
called Aaron and Miriam.
When both came forward, he said,
“Now listen to the words of the LORD:

Should there be a prophet among you,
in visions will I reveal myself to him,
in dreams will I speak to him;
not so with my servant Moses!
Throughout my house he bears my trust:
face to face I speak to him;
plainly and not in riddles.
The presence of the LORD he beholds.

Why, then, did you not fear to speak against my servant Moses?”

So angry was the LORD against them that when he departed,
and the cloud withdrew from the tent,
there was Miriam, a snow-white leper!
When Aaron turned and saw her a leper, he said to Moses,
“Ah, my lord! Please do not charge us with the sin
that we have foolishly committed!
Let her not thus be like the stillborn babe
that comes forth from its mother’s womb
with its flesh half consumed.”
Then Moses cried to the LORD, “Please, not this! Pray, heal her!”

 

Responsorial Psalm

51:3-4, 5-6ab, 6cd-7, 12-13

R. (see 3a) Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness;
in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense.
Thoroughly wash me from my guilt
and of my sin cleanse me.
R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
For I acknowledge my offense;
and my sin is before me always:
“Against you only have I sinned;
and done what is evil in your sight.”
R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
That you may be justified in your sentence,
vindicated when you condemn.
Indeed, in guilt was I born,
and in sin my mother conceived me.
R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
A clean heart create for me, O God,
and a steadfast spirit renew within me.
Cast me not off from your presence,
and your Holy Spirit take not from me.
R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.

 

Gospel

Mt 14:22-36

Jesus made the disciples get into a boat
and precede him to the other side of the sea,
while he dismissed the crowds.
After doing so, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray.
When it was evening he was there alone.
Meanwhile the boat, already a few miles offshore,
was being tossed about by the waves, for the wind was against it.
During the fourth watch of the night,
he came toward them, walking on the sea.
When the disciples saw him walking on the sea they were terrified.
“It is a ghost,” they said, and they cried out in fear.
At once Jesus spoke to them, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.”
Peter said to him in reply,
“Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.”
He said, “Come.”
Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus.
But when he saw how strong the wind was he became frightened;
and, beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!”
Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught him,
and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”
After they got into the boat, the wind died down.
Those who were in the boat did him homage, saying,
“Truly, you are the Son of God.”

After making the crossing, they came to land at Gennesaret.
When the men of that place recognized him,
they sent word to all the surrounding country.
People brought to him all those who were sick
and begged him that they might touch only the tassel on his cloak,
and as many as touched it were healed.

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

 Disclosure:  I wrote the reflection for August 3, 2020.  Although the first reading and psalm response were different than those for today, the Gospel is the same.  I have updated my prior writing to consider what has changed in the last year.

• • • • • • • • • 

Today’s gospel presents two situations involving faith – Peter’s momentary loss of faith, and the sick people in the crowd who believed the mere touching of the cloak of Jesus would cure them.  The gospel excerpt challenges me to reflect on the meaning of faith.

I did a Google search of “faith means” and in less than a second received 2,310,000,000 results.  This in itself is an act of faith – how far can I trust Google, how reliable are the results it cites, how reputable are the people quoted in the results, etc.  “Faith” has so many meanings; some examples:

• The assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen – Hebrews, 11:1
• Complete trust or confidence in someone or something; strong belief in God or in the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual apprehension rather than proof – Oxford dictionary
• “When you come to the end of all the light you know, and it’s time to step into the darkness of the unknown, faith is knowing that one of two things shall happen:  Either you will be given something solid to stand on or you will be taught to fly.” – Edward Teller (nuclear physicist)

As you can appreciate, faith comes to mean so many things to so many people.  Peter believed Jesus was the Messiah, but at times Peter was distracted from his belief by some realities of life – the storm, for example, distracts him from continuing his walk on water, and the pending crucifixion of Jesus leads to his denial in the courtyard of the temple.  The crowd believed touching the cloak of Jesus would cure them, but they abandoned Jesus (as did the apostles) when Jesus was tried and convicted and put to death.

Faith to me means a belief firmly held and upon which we feel compelled to act in a manner that is consistent with the belief.  As Christians we believe in the salvific power of the resurrection, the admonitions from Jesus about how to live our lives, the exponential power of love of others versus love of self.  We strive to help rather than hurt, to heal rather than injure, to share rather than hoard.  We believe that by following these examples we will create the Kingdom of God on earth, and result in a better tomorrow, even if we are not alive to enjoy the results ourselves.

I plant fruit and shade trees every spring on our acreage.  I know it probably will take 7 – 10 years for them to bear fruit or provide decent shade, and probably 15 or more years to reach maturity.  I believe – I have faith – that unless something interferes with their growth and maturation, they will be stately trees at some point in the future.  I may not be here to see that day, but I have faith that it will happen.  I also have faith that even if I do not see the mature tree, someone (my children or grandchildren) will appreciate the gifts provided by the trees.

Much has happened in the last twelve months since I first wrote this reflection.  The world-wide pandemic, the election in the US and resulting challenges to its results, racial unrest, the emerging evidence that climate change is actually affecting our daily lives sooner than anticipated.  There are challenges to many of our faithfully held beliefs – science, political leadership, the basic decency of our brothers and sisters across all walks of life, the ability of nature to nurture us with its bounties and beauties.  It seems as though we can’t make it through a week without some emerging issue that causes us to stop and evaluate who we are and in what we have faith.

But there also are other events that reinforce our faith – bonding by disparate communities, responses to natural disasters, sharing of food and shelter and medical supplies with those who are needier than us.  We can find good stories and good people who can reinforce our faith in a variety of situations.

My faith might be shaken if a doe does come by and takes a bite out of one of my new trees.  But I still believe in the process of growth, and I can replant.  Peter was shaken by the storm and his betrayal, but he still believed, and eventually believed so strongly that he was willing to die for love of the Lord.  Crowds abandon true leaders, but they return time and again as they reflect on the power of the message from those who instill faith.  We see destructive droughts and wildfires and floods, but we also see people taking steps to respond to good thinking on how our actions can be modified to reduce our harmful impacts on our precious gift of creation.

I think when we see good people respond in good ways to the challenges we all face to our faith in all its dimensions, we are seeing the power of the Spirit working through them to remind us that our Loving Parent will give us the strength we need to sustain ourselves, our sisters and brothers, our societies, and our world.  This is ultimately the message of Jesus – we should love each other as our God loves us.  If we can, then our faith will grow, not diminish, and our actions will be a loving expression of gratitude to the Parent who made us all.

And so, my prayer today is for the grace to be aware of how my faith is being challenged in so many ways, to feel the power of the Spirit in strengthening that faith, and to be grateful for how faith in all its manifestations shapes my life. 

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

 

REPAIR SHOP

“Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses.” —Numbers 12:1

Moses prayed for Miriam after she accused him, and she was healed (Nm 12:13ff). Jesus prayed for and suffered for His accusers. Those who repented and received Him were given eternal life. He “bore wrongs patiently” and achieved the greatest work of mercy ever, dying for His enemies (see Rm 5:8-10).

Some years ago, when the news broke of sexual scandals of some Catholic priests, a certain man was publicly berating all priests, even on occasion during Holy Mass. This angered me to the point that I had to bring it to the Sacrament of Reconciliation. A holy priest I knew was hearing Confessions that day. With peaceful calmness, he quietly mentioned that it is a spiritual work of mercy to bear wrongs patiently, which in turn could be offered up as a reparation to God and for all impacted by scandal.

I considered this holy priest to be, like Moses, “by far the meekest man on the face of the earth” (Nm 12:3). When wrongly rebuked, he responded by praying for the healing of his tormentor.

Many religious sisters, brothers, and priests have dedicated their lives to making acts of reparation. Yet in America vocations, and thus repairers, are declining. Perhaps this has resulted in the increase of sin, partly due to some brokenness not being repaired. There’s a large backlog in God’s repair shop, and He’s always hiring. Who will work for Jesus by doing His repair work with patience, grace, and mercy? Be a “repairer of the breach” (Is 58:12). “Repair the house of your God over the years” (2 Chr 24:5).

Prayer:  Jesus, I will not let Your kingdom fall further into disrepair. Grace me to fix what is broken (Is 61:1-3; Lk 4:18-19).

Promise:  Jesus said: “It is I. Do not be afraid!” —Mt 14:27

Praise:  Charles prays daily for all priests, for their accusers, and for the whole Church.

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

  Does the Lord Jesus seem distant when trials or adversity come your way? It was at Jesus' initiative that the disciples sailed across the lake, only to find themselves in a life-threatening storm. Although they were experienced fishermen, they feared for their lives. While Jesus was not with them in the boat, he, nonetheless watched for them in prayer. When he perceived their trouble he came to them on the sea and startled them with his sudden appearance. Do you look for the Lord's presence when you encounter difficulty or challenges?

Fight fear with faith
This dramatic incident on the sea of Galilee revealed Peter's character more fully than others. Here we see Peter's impulsiveness - his tendency to act without thinking of what he was doing. He often failed and came to grief as a result of his impulsiveness. In contrast, Jesus always bade his disciples to see how difficult it was to follow him before they set out on the way he taught them. A great deal of failure in the Christian life is due to acting on impulse and emotional fervor without counting the cost. Peter, fortunately in the moment of his failure clutched at Jesus and held him firmly. Every time Peter fell, he rose again. His failures only made him love the Lord more deeply and trust him more intently.

The Lord keeps watch over us at all times, and especially in our moments of temptation and difficulty. Do you rely on the Lord for his strength and help? Jesus assures us that we have no need of fear if we trust in Him and in his great love for us. When calamities or trials threaten to overwhelm you, how do you respond? With faith and hope in God's love, care and presence with you?

Lord Jesus, help me to trust you always and to never doubt your presence and your power to help me. In my moments of doubt and weakness, may I cling to you as Peter did. Strengthen my faith that I may walk straight in the path you set before me, neither veering to the left nor to the right.

Psalm 85:8-13

8 Let me hear what God the LORD will speak, for he will speak peace to his people, to his saints, to those who turn to him in their hearts.
9.Surely his salvation is at hand for those who fear him, that glory may dwell in our land.
10 Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet; righteousness and peace will kiss each other.
11 Faithfulness will spring up from the ground, and righteousness will look down from the sky.
12 Yes, the LORD will give what is good, and our land will yield its increase.
13 Righteousness will go before him, and make his footsteps a way.

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

"While human praise does not tempt the Lord, people are often ruffled and nearly entranced by human praise and honors in the church. Peter was afraid on the sea, terrified by the great force of the storm. Indeed, who does not fear that voice: 'Those who say you are happy place you in error and disturb the path of your feet' (Isaiah 3:12 Vulgate translation)? And since the soul struggles against the desire for human praise, it is good for it to turn to prayer and petition amid such danger, lest one who is charmed by praise be overcome by criticism and reproach. Let Peter, about to sink in the waves, cry out and say, 'Lord, save me!' The Lord reached out his hand. He chided Peter, saying, 'O man of little faith, why did you doubt?' - that is, why did you not, gazing straight at the Lord as you approached, pride yourself only in him? Nevertheless he snatched Peter from the waves and did not allow him who was declaring his weakness and asking the Lord for help to perish." (excerpt from SERMON 75:10)

 

 

More Homilies

August 8, 2017