October 6, 2021Wednesday of the Twenty-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

2021년 10월 6일  연중 제27주간 수요일 

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

제1독서

<네가 이 아주까리를 그토록 동정하는구나! 이 커다란 성읍 니네베를 내가 어찌 동정하지 않을 수 있겠느냐?>

 요나 예언서. 4,1-11
 1 요나는 매우 언짢아서 화가 났다. 2 그래서 그는 주님께 기도하였다.

“아, 주님! 제가 고향에 있을 때에
이미 일이 이렇게 되리라고 말씀드리지 않았습니까?
그래서 저는 서둘러 타르시스로 달아났습니다.
저는 당신께서 자비하시고 너그러우신 하느님이시며,
분노에 더디시고 자애가 크시며,
벌하시다가도 쉬이 마음을 돌리시는 분이시라는 것을 알고 있었습니다.
3 이제 주님, 제발 저의 목숨을 거두어 주십시오.
이렇게 사느니 죽는 것이 낫겠습니다.”
4 주님께서 “네가 화를 내는 것이 옳으냐?” 하고 말씀하셨다.
5 요나는 그 성읍에서 나와 성읍 동쪽에 가서 자리를 잡았다.
거기에 초막을 짓고 그 그늘 아래 앉아,
성읍에 무슨 일이 일어나는지 보려고 하였다.
6 주 하느님께서는 아주까리 하나를 마련하시어 요나 위로 자라오르게 하셨다.
그러자 아주까리가 요나 머리 위로 그늘을 드리워
그를 고통스러운 더위에서 구해 주었다.
요나는 그 아주까리 덕분에 기분이 아주 좋았다.
7 그런데 이튿날 동이 틀 무렵,
하느님께서 벌레 하나를 마련하시어 아주까리를 쏠게 하시니,
아주까리가 시들어 버렸다.
8 해가 떠오르자 하느님께서 뜨거운 동풍을 보내셨다.
거기에다 해가 요나의 머리 위로 내리쬐니,
요나는 기절할 지경이 되어 죽기를 자청하면서 말하였다.
“이렇게 사느니 죽는 것이 낫겠습니다.”
9 그러자 하느님께서 요나에게 물으셨다.
“아주까리 때문에 네가 화를 내는 것이 옳으냐?”
그가 “옳다 뿐입니까? 화가 나서 죽을 지경입니다.” 하고 대답하니,
10 주님께서 이렇게 말씀하셨다.
“너는 네가 수고하지도 않고 키우지도 않았으며,
하룻밤 사이에 자랐다가 하룻밤 사이에 죽어 버린
이 아주까리를 그토록 동정하는구나!
11 그런데 하물며 오른쪽과 왼쪽을 가릴 줄도 모르는 사람이 십이만 명이나 있고,
또 수많은 짐승이 있는 이 커다란 성읍 니네베를
내가 어찌 동정하지 않을 수 있겠느냐?”

 

복음

<주님, 저희에게도 기도하는 것을 가르쳐 주십시오.>

 루카. 11,1-4
1 예수님께서 어떤 곳에서 기도하고 계셨다.

그분께서 기도를 마치시자 제자들 가운데 어떤 사람이,
“주님, 요한이 자기 제자들에게 가르쳐 준 것처럼,
저희에게도 기도하는 것을 가르쳐 주십시오.” 하고 말하였다.
2 예수님께서 그들에게 이르셨다.
“너희는 기도할 때 이렇게 하여라.
‘아버지
아버지의 이름을 거룩히 드러내시며
아버지의 나라가 오게 하소서.
3 날마다 저희에게 일용할 양식을 주시고
4 저희에게 잘못한 모든 이를 저희도 용서하오니
저희의 죄를 용서하시고
저희를 유혹에 빠지지 않게 하소서.’”

October 6, 2021

Wednesday of the Twenty-Seventh Sunday 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 

Jon 4:1-11

Jonah was greatly displeased
and became angry that God did not carry out the evil
he threatened against Nineveh.
He prayed, "I beseech you, LORD,
is not this what I said while I was still in my own country?
This is why I fled at first to Tarshish.
I knew that you are a gracious and merciful God,
slow to anger, rich in clemency, loathe to punish.
And now, LORD, please take my life from me;
for it is better for me to die than to live."
But the LORD asked, "Have you reason to be angry?"

Jonah then left the city for a place to the east of it,
where he built himself a hut and waited under it in the shade,
to see what would happen to the city.
And when the LORD God provided a gourd plant
that grew up over Jonah's head,
giving shade that relieved him of any discomfort,
Jonah was very happy over the plant.
But the next morning at dawn
God sent a worm that attacked the plant,
so that it withered.
And when the sun arose, God sent a burning east wind;
and the sun beat upon Jonah's head till he became faint.
Then Jonah asked for death, saying,
"I would be better off dead than alive."

But God said to Jonah,
"Have you reason to be angry over the plant?"
"I have reason to be angry," Jonah answered, 'angry enough to die."
Then the LORD said,
"You are concerned over the plant which cost you no labor
and which you did not raise;
it came up in one night and in one night it perished.
And should I not be concerned over Nineveh, the great city,
in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons
who cannot distinguish their right hand from their left,
not to mention the many cattle?"

 

Responsorial Psalm 

Ps 86:3-4, 5-6, 9-10

R. (15) Lord, you are merciful and gracious.
Have mercy on me, O Lord,
for to you I call all the day.
Gladden the soul of your servant,
for to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
R. Lord, you are merciful and gracious.
For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving,
abounding in kindness to all who call upon you.
Hearken, O LORD, to my prayer
and attend to the sound of my pleading.
R. Lord, you are merciful and gracious.
All the nations you have made shall come
and worship you, O Lord,
and glorify your name.
For you are great, and you do wondrous deeds;
you alone are God.
R. Lord, you are merciful and gracious.

 

Gospel 

Lk 11:1-4

Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he had finished,
one of his disciples said to him,
"Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples."
He said to them, "When you pray, say:

Father, hallowed be your name,
your Kingdom come.
Give us each day our daily bread
and forgive us our sins
for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us,
and do not subject us to the final test."

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

 Today’s readings highlight two wonderful, powerful tools – forgiveness and prayer – that bless and enrich our lives.  These are also tools that often are underutilized and perhaps even neglected.  The psalmist tells us that our God mercifully and graciously forgives, and Jesus teaches us to ask for that forgiveness.  He then reminds us that we are not just to receive forgiveness, but to extend it as well.

As a child in Sunday School, the Jonah story was always exciting but usually focused on the first three chapters.  Jonah eventually obeys, Nineveh was saved, story ends happily, right?  Not for Jonah.  We read that he was “greatly displeased” because God had not followed through with the threatened punishment.  In fairness, Jonah has really been put through the ringer.  The punishment he had endured was spectacular.  I imagine that he may have been a bit frightened as he walked through the streets of this large city announcing very bad news.  Then, after all the trouble he had gone through, God had not done what Jonah wanted.  Jonah’s anger made him miserable, so much so that he announced he wanted to die.  Jonah’s bitterness and frustration bring to mind a saying of Nelson Mandela’s that being resentful instead of forgiving is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die.

The Gospel reading today is quite familiar, with Luke’s take on the prayer Jesus taught.  As simple as this wonderful prayer is, it has a rich wisdom to it, especially with regards to forgiveness.  Forgiveness is good for us, both in the giving and the receiving.  Different translations of this beautiful prayer use different words for what needs forgiving.  I have heard debts, trespasses and sins used (Luke mixes sins and debts), and each can be useful as I contemplate what, who and how to forgive.  I can find it hard to forgive someone who I feel owes me something – including gratitude or support.  Likewise, forgiveness comes slowly if I think someone crossed a line or stuck their nose where (I think) it didn’t belong; if they did something, intentionally or unintentionally, that causes harm or trouble for me or those close to me.  Jonah’s situation reminds me that I can be angry at people I have never met for evil actions that may not have impacted me directly.  Part of the wisdom of the Lord’s Prayer is that it reminds us, repeatedly, to forgive so that we can benefit from the act of forgiving.  (In the Gospel of Matthew, the verses immediately following elaborate on the forgiveness message: forgive and your Heavenly Father will forgive you; don’t forgive, and you won’t be forgiven (Matthew 6:14-15).) 

To state the obvious: Prayer is important.  The disciples recognized this, which is why they asked for the tutorial.  The act of praying is more than just saying words, though.  While I was at Creighton, I had several opportunities to share a Heritage Edition of The Saint John’s Bible with visitors to the Rare Books Room.  On one such occasion, a woman from the Netherlands engaged with the beautiful artwork for a couple hours.  She was especially taken with Donald Jackson’s “Lord’s Prayer” (reproduced here, with permission).  I was privileged and blessed to be present as she prayed the words passionately and reverently.  She spoke softly, but powerfully, completely at peace as she recited each line in English and then repeated it in Dutch.  It was not the bilingual delivery, though, that made this special.  It was that she lifted up her soul (to use the words of the psalmist) and gave herself entirely to the prayer.  I can’t recall another time when listening to someone pray has caused me to feel the presence of the Holy Spirit so vividly. 

Lord’s Prayer, Donald Jackson, Copyright 2002, The Saint John’s Bible, Saint John’s University, Collegeville, Minnesota USA.
Used by permission.  All rights reserved.

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

 

“TEACH US TO PRAY” (LK 11:1)

“Father...” —Luke 11:2

In a conversation with God, Jonah “prayed” in anger: “And now, Lord, please take my life from me.’...But the Lord asked, ‘Have you reason to be angry?’ ” (Jon 4:2, 3-4). Part of Jonah’s prayer actually involved a direct back-and-forth conversation with God (Jon 4:4, 9-10). Yet an in-person conversation with God had less life-changing impact for Jonah than did spending three days in the belly of a fish (Jon 2:1ff). This demonstrates that something was lacking in Jonah’s prayer life. Cain and Solomon likewise had direct conversations with Almighty God (Gn 4:9ff; 1 Kgs 11:11). These encounters with God likewise failed to change their hearts.

My new grandson, Frederick, is two months old. He has just learned how to focus his eyes on his parents. He spends time in their arms and gazes into their eyes. He is learning his parents’ voices and facial expressions. Frederick’s daily life is absorbed in his relationships with his mom and dad.

Although Frederick cannot talk yet, his relationship with his parents is a beautiful example of the kind of “prayer” Jesus is teaching to His disciples. As children of God, we address God as Jesus taught us, saying “Father,” an intimate word which could be translated as “Abba” or “Daddy” (see Rm 8:15; Gal 4:6). In prayer, we learn who our Father is, trust Him as would an infant, and fall deeply in love with Him. Dare to pray, “Father...”

Prayer:  “Father, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come” (Lk 11:2).

Promise:  “You are great and You do wondrous deeds.” —Ps 86:10

Praise:  St. Bruno was a great teacher of theology. One of his students, Urban, later became a pope.

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

 Do you pray with joy and confidence? The Jews were noted for their devotion to prayer. Formal prayer was prescribed for three set times a day. And the rabbis had a prayer for every occasion. It was also a custom for rabbis to teach their disciples a simple prayer they might use on a regular basis. Jesus' disciples ask him for such a prayer. When Jesus taught his disciples to pray he gave them the disciple's prayer, what we call the Our Father or Lord's Prayer. (See longer version in Matthew 6:9-13).

God treats us as his own sons and daughters
What does Jesus' prayer tell us about God and about ourselves? First, it tells us that God is both Father in being the Creator and Author of all that he has made, the first origin of everything and transcendent authority, and he is eternally Father by his relationship to his only Son who, reciprocally is Son only in relation to his Father (Matthew 11:27). All fatherhood and motherhood is derived from him (Ephesians 3:14-15). In Jesus Christ we are reborn and become the adopted children of God (John 1:12-13; 3:3).

We can approach God confidently as a Father who loves us
Jesus teaches us to address God as "our Father" and to confidently ask him for the things we need to live as his sons and daughters. We can approach God our Father with confidence and boldness because Jesus Christ has opened the way to heaven for us through his death and resurrection. When we ask God for help, he fortunately does not give us what we deserve. Instead, he responds with grace and mercy. He is kind and forgiving towards us and he expects us to treat our neighbor the same.

We can pray with expectant faith and trust in the Father's goodness
We can pray with expectant faith because our heavenly Father truly loves each one of us and and he treats us as his beloved children. He delights to give us what is good. His love and grace transforms us and makes us like himself. Through his grace and power we can love and serve one another as Jesus taught - with grace, mercy, and loving-kindness.

Do you treat others as they deserve, or do you treat them as the Lord Jesus would with grace and mercy? Jesus' prayer includes an injunction (charge) that we must ask God to forgive us in proportion as we forgive those who have wronged us (Matthew 6:14-15). God's grace frees us from every form of anger, resentment, envy, and hatred. Are you ready to forgive others as the Lord Jesus forgives you?

Father in heaven, you have given me a mind to know you, a will to serve you, and a heart to love you. Give me today the grace and strength to embrace your holy will and fill my heart with your love that all my intentions and actions may be pleasing to you. Help me to be kind and forgiving towards my neighbor as you have been towards me.

Psalm 86:3-6,9-10

3 be gracious to me, O Lord, for to you do I cry all the day.
4 Gladden the soul of your servant, for to you, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.
5 For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call on you.
6 Give ear, O LORD, to my prayer; hearken to my cry of supplication.
9 All the nations you have made shall come and bow down before you, O Lord, and shall glorify your name.
10 For you are great and do wondrous things, you alone are God.

Daily Quote from the Early Church Fathers: The privilege and responsibility of calling God Father, by Cyril of Alexandria (376-444 AD)

"For the Savior said, 'When you pray, say, 'Our Father.' And another of the holy Evangelists adds, 'who art in heaven' (Matthew 6:9)... He gives his own glory to us. He raises slaves to the dignity of freedom. He crowns the human condition with such honor as surpasses the power of nature. He brings to pass what was spoken of old by the voice of the psalmist: 'I said, you are gods, and all of you children of the Most High' (Psalm 82:6). He rescues us from the measure of slavery, giving us by his grace what we did not possess by nature, and permits us to call God 'Father,' as being admitted to the rank of sons. We received this, together with all our other privileges, from him. One of these privileges is the dignity of freedom, a gift peculiarly befitting those who have been called to be sons. He commands us, therefore, to take boldness and say in our prayers, 'Our Father.'"(excerpt from COMMENTARY ON LUKE, HOMILY 71)

 

 

More Homilies

October 9, 2019 Wednesday of the Twenty-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time