August 12, 201 Thursday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time

 2021년 8월 12일 연중 제19주간 목요일 

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

제1독서

<주님의 계약 궤가 너희 앞에 서서 요르단을 건널 것이다.>

여호수아기. 3,7-10ㄴ.11.13-17
그 무렵 7 주님께서 여호수아에게 말씀하셨다.
“오늘 내가 온 이스라엘이 보는 앞에서 너를 높여 주기 시작하겠다.
그러면 내가 모세와 함께 있어 준 것처럼
너와도 함께 있어 준다는 것을 그들이 알게 될 것이다.
8 너는 계약 궤를 멘 사제들에게, ‘요르단 강 물가에 다다르거든
그 요르단 강에 들어가 서 있어라.’ 하고 명령하여라.”
9 여호수아가 이스라엘 자손들에게 말하였다.
“이리 가까이 와서 주 너희 하느님의 말씀을 들어라.”
10 여호수아가 말을 계속하였다. “이제 일어날 이 일로써,
살아 계신 하느님께서 너희 가운데에 계시면서,
가나안족을 너희 앞에서 반드시 쫓아내시리라는 것을 알게 될 것이다.
11 자, 온 땅의 주인이신 분의 계약 궤가 너희 앞에 서서 요르단을 건널 것이다.
13 온 땅의 주인이신 주님의 궤를 멘 사제들의 발바닥이 요르단 강 물에 닿으면,
위에서 내려오던 요르단 강 물이 끊어져 둑처럼 멈추어 설 것이다.”
14 백성이 요르단을 건너려고 자기들의 천막에서 떠날 때에,
계약 궤를 멘 사제들이 백성 앞에 섰다.
15 드디어 궤를 멘 이들이 요르단에 다다랐다.
수확기 내내 강 언덕까지 물이 차 있었는데,
궤를 멘 사제들이 요르단 강 물가에 발을 담그자,
16 위에서 내려오던 물이 멈추어 섰다.
아주 멀리 차르탄 곁에 있는 성읍 아담에 둑이 생겨,
아라바 바다, 곧 ‘소금 바다’로 내려가던 물이 완전히 끊어진 것이다.
그래서 백성은 예리코 맞은쪽으로 건너갔다.
17 주님의 계약 궤를 멘 사제들이
요르단 강 한복판 마른땅에 움직이지 않고 서 있는 동안,
온 이스라엘이 마른땅을 밟고 건너서, 마침내 온 겨레가 다 건너간 것이다.

 

복음

<내가 너에게 말한다. 일곱 번이 아니라 일흔일곱 번까지라도 용서해야 한다.>

마태오. 18,21ㅡ19,1
21 그때에 베드로가 예수님께 다가와,
“주님, 제 형제가 저에게 죄를 지으면 몇 번이나 용서해 주어야 합니까?
일곱 번까지 해야 합니까?” 하고 물었다.
22 예수님께서 그에게 대답하셨다.
“내가 너에게 말한다.
일곱 번이 아니라 일흔일곱 번까지라도 용서해야 한다.
23 그러므로 하늘 나라는 자기 종들과 셈을 하려는 어떤 임금에게 비길 수 있다.
24 임금이 셈을 하기 시작하자 만 탈렌트를 빚진 사람 하나가 끌려왔다.
25 그런데 그가 빚을 갚을 길이 없으므로,
주인은 그 종에게 자신과 아내와 자식과
그 밖에 가진 것을 다 팔아서 갚으라고 명령하였다.
26 그러자 그 종이 엎드려 절하며,
‘제발 참아 주십시오. 제가 다 갚겠습니다.’ 하고 말하였다.
27 그 종의 주인은 가엾은 마음이 들어, 그를 놓아주고 부채도 탕감해 주었다.
28 그런데 그 종이 나가서 자기에게 백 데나리온을 빚진 동료 하나를 만났다.
그러자 그를 붙들어 멱살을 잡고 ‘빚진 것을 갚아라.’ 하고 말하였다.
29 그의 동료는 엎드려서, ‘제발 참아 주게. 내가 갚겠네.’ 하고 청하였다.
30 그러나 그는 들어주려고 하지 않았다.
그리고 가서 그 동료가 빚진 것을 다 갚을 때까지 감옥에 가두었다.
31 동료들이 그렇게 벌어진 일을 보고 너무 안타까운 나머지,
주인에게 가서 그 일을 죄다 일렀다.
32 그러자 주인이 그 종을 불러들여 말하였다.
‘이 악한 종아, 네가 청하기에 나는 너에게 빚을 다 탕감해 주었다.
33 내가 너에게 자비를 베푼 것처럼
너도 네 동료에게 자비를 베풀었어야 하지 않느냐?’
34 그러고 나서 화가 난 주인은 그를 고문 형리에게 넘겨 빚진 것을 다 갚게 하였다.
35 너희가 저마다 자기 형제를 마음으로부터 용서하지 않으면,
하늘의 내 아버지께서도 너희에게 그와 같이 하실 것이다.”
19,1 예수님께서는 이 말씀들을 마치시고 갈릴래아를 떠나,
요르단 건너편 유다 지방으로 가셨다.

 

 August 12, 201  

Thursday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Daily Readings — Audio
Thursday, August 13, 2015 Daily Mass Reading

Reading 1

Jos 3:7-10a, 11, 13-17
The LORD said to Joshua,
“Today I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel,
that they may know I am with you, as I was with Moses.
Now command the priests carrying the ark of the covenant
to come to a halt in the Jordan
when you reach the edge of the waters.”

So Joshua said to the children of Israel,
“Come here and listen to the words of the LORD, your God.
This is how you will know that there is a living God in your midst,
who at your approach will dispossess the Canaanites.
The ark of the covenant of the LORD of the whole earth
will precede you into the Jordan.
When the soles of the feet of the priests carrying the ark of the LORD,
the Lord of the whole earth,
touch the water of the Jordan, it will cease to flow;
for the water flowing down from upstream will halt in a solid bank.”

The people struck their tents to cross the Jordan,
with the priests carrying the ark of the covenant ahead of them.
No sooner had these priestly bearers of the ark
waded into the waters at the edge of the Jordan,
which overflows all its banks
during the entire season of the harvest,
than the waters flowing from upstream halted,
backing up in a solid mass for a very great distance indeed,
from Adam, a city in the direction of Zarethan;
while those flowing downstream toward the Salt Sea of the Arabah
disappeared entirely.
Thus the people crossed over opposite Jericho.
While all Israel crossed over on dry ground,
the priests carrying the ark of the covenant of the LORD
remained motionless on dry ground in the bed of the Jordan
until the whole nation had completed the passage.

 

Responsorial Psalm

114:1-2, 3-4, 5-6

R. Alleluia!
When Israel came forth from Egypt,
the house of Jacob from a people of alien tongue,
Judah became his sanctuary,
Israel his domain.
R. Alleluia!
The sea beheld and fled;
Jordan turned back.
The mountains skipped like rams,
the hills like the lambs of the flock.
R. Alleluia!
Why is it, O sea, that you flee?
O Jordan, that you turn back?
You mountains, that you skip like rams?
You hills, like the lambs of the flock?
R. Alleluia!

 

Gospel

Mt 18:21–19:1

Peter approached Jesus and asked him,
“Lord, if my brother sins against me,
how often must I forgive him?
As many as seven times?”
Jesus answered, “I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times.
That is why the Kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king
who decided to settle accounts with his servants.
When he began the accounting,
a debtor was brought before him who owed him a huge amount.
Since he had no way of paying it back,
his master ordered him to be sold,
along with his wife, his children, and all his property,
in payment of the debt.
At that, the servant fell down, did him homage, and said,
‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back in full.’
Moved with compassion the master of that servant
let him go and forgave him the loan.
When that servant had left, he found one of his fellow servants
who owed him a much smaller amount.
He seized him and started to choke him, demanding,
‘Pay back what you owe.’
Falling to his knees, his fellow servant begged him,
‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’
But he refused.
Instead, he had the fellow servant put in prison
until he paid back the debt.
Now when his fellow servants saw what had happened,
they were deeply disturbed,
and went to their master and reported the whole affair.
His master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant!
I forgave you your entire debt because you begged me to.
Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant,
as I had pity on you?’
Then in anger his master handed him over to the torturers
until he should pay back the whole debt.
So will my heavenly Father do to you,
unless each of you forgives his brother from his heart.”

When Jesus finished these words, he left Galilee
and went to the district of Judea across the Jordan.

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

 Forgiveness.  Lovely to pray about, difficult to do.  As I read today’s Gospel from Matthew, I was transported to a painful memory of my journey to forgiveness. Several years ago, a colleague and I enjoyed both a friendship and productive working relationship.  My friend abruptly ended our friendship and has maintained only the minimum of communication with me since. Forgiveness was not my first response as I was busy feeling confused and hurt and frustrated by the abrupt end of the friendship and of our collaboration.

After checking in with some trusted advisors to see what I could learn about my role in the matter, I embarked on the long journey toward forgiveness.  The story that Jesus tells in response to Peter’s question about how many times we need to forgive has great wisdom.  Jesus knows that when we are feeling pain and rejection, we can fall into the trap of vengeance and retaliation.  And I must admit that at my low points, I contemplated some less than honorable words and actions toward my former friend.

How could I forgive seventy-seven times?  I could not do so without praying for God’s grace.  Praying to ask for the ability to forgive brings me to a sense of peace as I deeply feel God’s abiding love for me.  God invites me to trust in that love just as the Israelites in our first reading showed great trust as they safely walked across the Jordan.

My journey to forgiveness has been bumpy and has taken a surprising amount of energy.  Slowly I could begin to focus on the positive memories of the friendship and work collaborations.  I began to feel grateful for the gifts this person had brought to my life.  And while I did not agree with the unilateral decision to end the friendship with no chance to dialogue, I could acknowledge that is what they thought would be best.

Today I pray with gratitude for the many lessons I have learned in this journey to forgiveness.  I pray for a spirit of curiosity so I can better understand the perspective of another.  I pray to resist the temptation to use my words to wound someone directly or indirectly.  I pray in thanksgiving for people who are in my life now and those who touched my life in the past. 

I feel forgiveness seventy seven times and counting!

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

 

A PITY PARTY

“Moved with pity, the master let the official go and wrote off the debt.” —Matthew 18:27

The Lord God is “moved with pity” when we humbly beg Him to have mercy on us (Mt 18:27). He is so moved when someone asks Him for forgiveness that He celebrates (Lk 15:23) and rejoices (Lk 15:10). Father Al Lauer, long-time author of One Bread, One Body, was fond of quoting the saying, “To err is human, to forgive is divine.” God’s nature toward pleas for forgiveness from repeat offenders is to be moved with pity, while our human nature tends toward anger and vengeance. Only by sharing in God’s divine nature (see 2 Pt 1:4) through living our Baptism can we hope to be moved with pity instead of self-righteousness when asked to forgive someone from the heart (Mt 18:35); that is, to be moved with heartfelt pity toward them.

If this isn’t enough, Jesus in today’s parable on forgiveness focuses on a repeat offender. Perhaps we might feel pity on a person who hurts us once or twice. However, only by being immersed in our baptismal graces can we ever forgive from a heart of pity someone who continually “wrongs” us (Mt 18:21). Our eternal salvation hinges on having a heart of forgiveness toward these people (Mt 18:35). We must beg Jesus to give us His forgiving, pitying, crucified heart. Jesus forgave those who kept hurting Him by praying: “Father, forgive them; they do not know what they are doing” (Lk 23:34). Right now, repeat Jesus’ prayer of forgiveness by replacing the word “them” with the names of all those who have hurt you.

Prayer:  Jesus, my heart is hurt, but Your heart was pierced for my offenses. Make my heart like Yours, especially in the area of pity.

Promise:  “Today I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know I am with you.” —Jos 3:7

Praise:  St. Jane Frances de Chantal founded eighty-six convents, and was a model for her countless sisters.

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

 Does mercy overlook justice? Justice demands that everyone be given their due. So when is it right to show mercy and pardon to those who have acted unjustly or wrongly? The prophet Amos speaks of God forgiving transgression three times, but warns that God may not revoke punishment for the fourth (see Amos 1:3-13; 2:1-6). When Peter posed the question of forgiveness, he characteristically offered an answer he thought Jesus would be pleased with. Why not forgive seven times! How unthinkable for Jesus to counter with the proposition that one must forgive seventy times that.

No limit to granting forgiveness and pardon
Jesus makes it clear that there is no limit to giving and receiving forgiveness. He drove the lesson home with a parable about two very different kinds of debts. The first man owed an enormous sum of money - millions in our currency. In Jesus' time this amount was greater than the total revenue of a province - more than it would cost to ransom a king! The man who was forgiven such an incredible debt could not, however, bring himself to forgive his neighbor a very small debt which was about one-hundred-thousandth of his own debt.The contrast could not have been greater!

Jesus paid our ransom to set us free from the debt of sin
No offense our neighbor can do to us can compare with our own personal debt to God for offending him! We have been forgiven an enormous debt we could not repay on our own. That is why the Father in heaven sent his only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, who freely and willing gave up his life for our sake to ransom us from slavery to sin, Satan, and death. Paul the Apostle states, "you were bought with a price" (1 Corinthians 7:23 ) and that price was Jesus' death on the cross. Through the shedding of his blood on the cross, Jesus not only brought forgiveness and pardon for our offenses, but release from our captivity to Satan and bondage to sin.

Set free from futile thinking and sinful living
The Lord Jesus sets us free from a futile mind and way of living in sin and spiritual darkness. "You were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your fathers ...with the precious blood of Christ" (1 Peter 1:18). Christ "gave himself to redeem us from all iniquity" (Titus 2:14). Iniquity describes the futile ways of wrong thinking, sinful attitudes and wrong behavior, and disregarding or treating God's commandments lightly. We have been forgiven an enormous debt which we could never possibly repay. We owe God a debt of gratitude for the mercy and grace he has given us in his Son, Jesus Christ.

Forgiving others is a sacred duty
If God has shown mercy to us in granting us pardon for our sins, then we, in turn, must show mercy and forgiveness towards every person who has offended us. The willingness to forgive those who offend us is a sacred duty. If we expect God to pardon us and show us his mercy when we sin and disobey his commandments, then we must be willing to let go of any resentment, grievance, or ill-will we feel towards our neighbor. Jesus teaches us to pray daily for the grace and strength to forgive others in the same measure in which God has forgiven us (Matthew 6:12,14-15). If we do not show mercy and forgiveness to our fellow human beings, how can we expect God to forgive us in turn? The Apostle James says that "judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy" (James 2:13).

Mercy seasons justice and perfects it
Mercy is the flip-side of God's justice. Without mercy justice is cold, calculating, and even cruel. Mercyseasons justice assalt seasons meat and gives it flavor. Mercy follows justice and perfects it. Justice demands that the wrong be addressed. To show mercy without addressing the wrong and to pardon the unrepentant is not true mercy but license. C.S. Lewis, a 20th century Christian author wrote: "Mercy will flower only when it grows in the crannies of the rock of Justice: transplanted to the marshlands of mere Humanitarianism, it becomes a man-eating weed, all the more dangerous because it is still called by the same name as the mountain variety." If we want mercy shown to us we must be ready to forgive others from the heart as God has forgiven us. Do you hold any grudge or resentment towards anyone? Ask the Lord to purify your heart that you may show mercy and loving-kindness to all - and especially to those who cause you grief and ill-will. 

Lord Jesus, you have been kind and forgiving towards me. May I be merciful as you are merciful. Free me from all bitterness and resentment that I may truly forgive from the heart those who have caused me injury or grief.

Psalm 78:6-7,55-62

7 So that they should set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments;
56 Yet they tested and rebelled against the Most High God, and did not observe his testimonies,
57 but turned away and acted treacherously like their fathers; they twisted like a deceitful bow.
58 For they provoked him to anger with their high places; they moved him to jealousy with their graven images.
59 When God heard, he was full of wrath, and he utterly rejected Israel.
60 He forsook his dwelling at Shiloh, the tent where he dwelt among men,
61 and delivered his power to captivity, his glory to the hand of the foe.
62 He gave his people over to the sword, and vented his wrath on his heritage. 

Daily Quote from the Early Church Fathers: How often shall I forgive? by Hilary of Poitiers (315-367 AD)

"When Peter asked him whether he should forgive his brother sinning against him up to seven times, the Lord replied, 'Not up to seven times but up to seventy times seven times'" In every way he teaches us to be like him in humility and goodness. In weakening and breaking the impulses of our rampant passions he strengthens us by the example of his leniency, by granting us in faith pardon of all our sins. For the vices of our nature did not merit pardon. Therefore all pardon comes from him. In fact, he pardons even those sins that remain in one after confession. The penalty to be paid through Cain was established at sevenfold, but that sin was against a man, against his brother Abel, to the point of murder (Genesis 4:8). But in Lamech the penalty was established at seventy times seven times (Genesis 4:24), and, as we believe, the penalty was established on those responsible for the Lord's Passion. But the Lord through the confession of believers grants pardon for this crime. By the gift of baptism he grants the grace of salvation to his revilers and persecutors. How much more is it necessary, he shows, that pardon be returned by us without measure or number. And we should not think how many times we forgive, but we should cease to be angry with those who sin against us, as often as the occasion for anger exists. Pardon's frequency shows us that in our case there is never a time for anger, since God pardons us for all sins in their entirety by his gift rather than by our merit. Nor should we be excused from the requirement of giving pardon that number of times [i.e., seventy times seven], since through the grace of the gospel God has granted us pardon without measure." (excerpt from ON MATTHEW 18.10)

 

 

More Homilies

 August 13, 2015 Thursday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time