오늘의 복음

December 11, 2021 Saturday of the Second Week in Advent

Margaret K 2021. 12. 11. 05:57

2021년 12월 11일  대림 제2주간 토요일 

 

1독서 

<엘리야가 다시 오리라.>

집회서. 48,1-4.9-11
그 무렵 1 엘리야 예언자가 불처럼 일어섰는데 그의 말은 횃불처럼 타올랐다.
2 엘리야는 그들에게 굶주림을 불러들였고
자신의 열정으로 그들의 수를 감소시켰다.
3 주님의 말씀에 따라 그는 하늘을 닫아 버리고
세 번씩이나 불을 내려보냈다.
4 엘리야여, 당신은 놀라운 일들로 얼마나 큰 영광을 받았습니까?
누가 당신처럼 자랑스러울 수 있겠습니까?
9 당신은 불 소용돌이 속에서 불 마차에 태워 들어 올려졌습니다.

10 당신은 정해진 때를 대비하여
주님의 분노가 터지기 전에 그것을 진정시키고
아버지의 마음을 자식에게 되돌리며
야곱의 지파들을 재건하리라고 기록되어 있습니다.
11 당신을 본 사람들과 사랑 안에서 잠든 사람들은 행복합니다.
우리도 반드시 살아날 것입니다.

 

복음

<엘리야가 이미 왔지만 사람들은 그를 알아보지 못하였다.>

마태오. 17,10-13
 
산에서 내려올 때에 10 제자들이 예수님께,

“율법 학자들은 어찌하여 엘리야가 먼저 와야 한다고 말합니까?” 하고 물었다.
11 그러자 예수님께서 대답하셨다.
“과연 엘리야가 와서 모든 것을 바로잡을 것이다.
12 내가 너희에게 말한다.
엘리야는 이미 왔지만, 사람들은 그를 알아보지 못하고 제멋대로 다루었다.
그처럼 사람의 아들도 그들에게 고난을 받을 것이다.”
13 그제야 제자들은 그것이 세례자 요한을 두고 하신 말씀인 줄을 깨달았다.
주님의 말씀입니다.


 

December 11, 2021

 Saturday of the Second Week in Advent 


Daily Readings — Audio 

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


Reading 1
Sir 48:1-4, 9-11
In those days,
like a fire there appeared the prophet Elijah
whose words were as a flaming furnace.
Their staff of bread he shattered,
in his zeal he reduced them to straits;
By the Lord’s word he shut up the heavens
and three times brought down fire.
How awesome are you, Elijah, in your wondrous deeds!
Whose glory is equal to yours?
You were taken aloft in a whirlwind of fire,
in a chariot with fiery horses.
You were destined, it is written, in time to come
to put an end to wrath before the day of the LORD,
To turn back the hearts of fathers toward their sons,
and to re-establish the tribes of Jacob.
Blessed is he who shall have seen you 
and who falls asleep in your friendship.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 80:2ac and 3b, 15-16, 18-19
R. (4) Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.
O shepherd of Israel, hearken,
From your throne upon the cherubim, shine forth.
Rouse your power.
R. Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.
Once again, O LORD of hosts,
look down from heaven, and see;
Take care of this vine,
and protect what your right hand has planted
the son of man whom you yourself made strong.
R. Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.
May your help be with the man of your right hand,
with the son of man whom you yourself made strong.
Then we will no more withdraw from you;
give us new life, and we will call upon your name.
R. Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved. 

Gospel
Mt 17:9a, 10-13
As they were coming down from the mountain,
the disciples asked Jesus,
“Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”
He said in reply, “Elijah will indeed come and restore all things;
but I tell you that Elijah has already come,
and they did not recognize him but did to him whatever they pleased. 
So also will the Son of Man suffer at their hands.”
Then the disciples understood
that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist.
  

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

 Recently I listened to a discussion about a study in which a group of radiologists were asked to check x-ray slides of lungs for cancerous nodules.  The radiologists were not told that the slides had been altered so that each included a matchbook-sized image of a man in a gorilla suit waving his fist.  You might think the radiologists would quickly spot this strange inclusion, but 83% missed it.  According to the researcher, many missed the gorilla because of “inattentional blindness” (also called “perceptual blindness”).  The radiologists, searching for expected anomalies that would indicate cancer, were so focused on the task at hand that they failed to see the obvious, visible but unexpected distraction.

In today’s Gospel reading, we get a glimpse at the inattentional blindness of the scribes (and maybe some of the disciples).  The scribes – men who spent their lives copying, studying and commenting on what we refer to as Old Testament Scripture – knew the prophecy, “Lo, I will send you the prophet Elijah before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes.” (Malachi 4:5)  The scribes grew up listening to stories of Elijah, and they spent their adult lives writing and discussing and pontificating about him.  I would guess that many were confident they would easily recognize the prophet when he returned to prepare for the coming of the Messiah. Once they had seen Elijah, they would turn their attention to seek the Messiah, and they had a pretty good idea of what to expect there, too. 

Yet Jesus tells us that Elijah had come but many of the Jewish experts had missed him.  What Jesus says here reminds the disciples what He had announced earlier (in Matthew 11:14) that John the Baptist “is the Elijah who was to come.”  The Voice in the Wilderness was not what was expected, so “the spirit and power of Elijah” actively preparing the way of the Lord (Luke 1:17) went unrecognized.  Even as the scribes focused intently on the work of transcribing and commenting on the Law and the Prophets, they failed to recognize the prophetic presence of John the Baptist fulfilling the prophecy of Elijah’s return.  They had eyes, but did not see; ears, but did not hear.  It should be no surprise, then, that these same folks also failed to recognize the One sent to save.  They expected a political and military powerhouse, so a carpenter’s kid from Nazareth – Can anything good come out of Nazareth? – hardly drew their attention.

Gracious and loving God, forgive us our blindness, and forgive us for judging the blindness of others.  Holy Spirit, frame our vision so that we are attentive to what you would have us see and hear, so that we recognize what you would have us recognize. Amen.

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

 

THE MIRACLES OF REPENTANCE

“Why do the scribes claim that Elijah must come first?” —Matthew 17:10

There are only fourteen more repenting days before Christmas. Of the many things we need to do before Christmas, repenting should be first on the list. However, repentance is difficult, even humanly impossible. Sin blinds us to sin (see 1 Jn 2:11). It hardens and paralyzes us, thus cutting us off from repentance. Therefore, we must turn to the Lord and ask Him to do the miracle of repentance in our lives so that we will not be trapped in our sins.

When we pray for the grace of repentance, the Holy Spirit will come to convict us of our sins (Jn 16:8). He may do this by bringing into our lives people like Elijah and John the Baptizer. The Spirit will give the prophets and prophetesses in our lives piercing, burning words for us (see Heb 4:12; Sir 48:1; Mt 10:19-20). These words will hurt, because the truth hurts. Then, as Ahab, Jezebel, Herod, and Herodias did, we will be tempted to do away with these prophets so as to rid ourselves of their prophecies. If we do this, however, we will deprive ourselves of repentance, Christmas, Christ, and life. We will live and die in our sins (Jn 8:21, 24).

Accept the miracles of repentance, prophecy, and Christmas. Go to Confession today!

Prayer:  Father, send anyone You choose to tell me what I need to hear. Lead me to repentance.

Promise:  “You are destined, it is written, in time to come to put an end to wrath before the day of the Lord, to turn back the hearts of fathers toward their sons, and to re-establish the tribes of Jacob. Blessed is he who shall have seen you before he dies, O Elijah.” —Sir 48:10-12

Praise:  “You are destined, it is written, in time to come to put an end to wrath before the day of the Lord, to turn back the hearts of fathers toward their sons, and to re-establish the tribes of Jacob. Blessed is he who shall have seen you before he dies, O Elijah.” —Sir 48:10-12

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

  God gives signs to show what he is about to do. John the Baptist is one such sign, who pointed to Jesus and prepared the way for his coming. John fulfilled the essential task of all the prophets: to be fingers pointing to Jesus Christ. John is the last and greatest prophet of the old kingdom, the old covenant. The Jews expected that when the Messiah would come, Elijah would appear to announce his presence. John fills the role of Elijah and prepares the way for the coming of Jesus Christ by preaching a baptism of repentance and renewal.


As watchful servants, we, too must prepare for the Lord's coming again by turning away from sin and from everything that would keep us from pursuing his will. Are you eager to do God's will and are you prepared to meet the Lord Jesus when he returns in glory?

Lord Jesus, stir my zeal for your righteousness and for your kingdom. Free me from complacency and from compromising with the ways of sin and worldliness that I may be wholeheartedly devoted to you and to your kingdom.

Psalm 80:2-3, 15-19

2 Stir up your might, and come to save us!
3 Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved!
15 the stock which your right hand planted.
16 They have burned it with fire, they have cut it down; may they perish at the rebuke of your countenance!
17 But let your hand be upon the man of your right hand, the son of man whom you have made strong for yourself!
18 Then we will never turn back from you; give us life, and we will call on your name!
19 Restore us, O LORD God of hosts! let your face shine, that we may be saved!

Daily Quote from the Early Church Fathers: John fulfills Elijah's prophetic ministry, by John Chrysostom, 547-407 A.D.

"They did not know this from the Scriptures, but the scribes used to tell them, and this saying was reported among the ignorant crowd, as also about Christ. Therefore the Samaritan woman also said, 'The Messiah is coming; when he comes, he will show us all things' (John 4:25). And they themselves asked John, 'Are you Elijah or the prophet?' (John 1:21). For this opinion was strong, as I said, both the one about Christ and the one about Elijah, but they did not interpret it as it should have been. For the Scriptures speak of two comings of Christ, both this one that has taken place and the future one. Paul spoke of these when he said, 'For the grace of God has appeared for the salvation of men, training us to renounce irreligion and worldly passions, and to live sober, upright and godly lives in this world' (Titus 2:11-12).
"Behold the first advent, and listen to how he declares the coming advent: 'Awaiting our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ' (Titus 2:13). The prophets also mention both advents; of the one that is second they say that Elijah will be the forerunner; John was forerunner of the first, John whom Christ also called by the name Elijah, not because he was Elijah but because he was fulfilling Elijah's ministry. For just as Elijah will be the forerunner of the second advent, so John was of the first. But the scribes, confusing these things and perverting the people, mentioned that coming alone, the second one, to the people, and said, 'If this is the Christ, Elijah ought to have come first.' That is why the disciples also say, 'Then why do the scribes say that first Elijah must come?'" (excerpt from THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW, HOMILY 57.1)

 

 

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