April 7, 2022 Thursday of the Fifth Week of Lent

 2022년 4월 7일 사순 제5주간 목요일 

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

창세기. 17,3-9
그 무렵 3 아브람이 얼굴을 땅에 대고 엎드리자, 하느님께서 그에게 이르셨다.
4 “나를 보아라. 너와 맺는 내 계약은 이것이다.
너는 많은 민족들의 아버지가 될 것이다.
5 너는 더 이상 아브람이라 불리지 않을 것이다. 이제 너의 이름은 아브라함이다.
내가 너를 많은 민족들의 아버지로 만들었기 때문이다.
6 나는 네가 매우 많은 자손을 낳아, 여러 민족이 되게 하겠다.
너에게서 임금들도 나올 것이다.
7 나는 나와 너 사이에, 그리고 네 뒤에 오는 후손들 사이에
대대로 내 계약을 영원한 계약으로 세워,
너와 네 뒤에 오는 후손들에게 하느님이 되어 주겠다.
8 나는 네가 나그네살이하는 이 땅,
곧 가나안 땅 전체를 너와 네 뒤에 오는 후손들에게 영원한 소유로 주고,
그들에게 하느님이 되어 주겠다.”
9 하느님께서 다시 아브라함에게 말씀하셨다.
“너는 내 계약을 지켜야 한다.
너와 네 뒤에 오는 후손들이 대대로 지켜야 한다.” 

복음

 요한. 8,51-59
그때에 예수님께서 유다인들에게 말씀하셨다.
51 “내가 진실로 진실로 너희에게 말한다.
내 말을 지키는 이는 영원히 죽음을 보지 않을 것이다.”
52 유다인들이 예수님께 말하였다.
“이제 우리는 당신이 마귀 들렸다는 것을 알았소.
아브라함도 죽고 예언자들도 그러하였는데,
당신은 ‘내 말을 지키는 이는
영원히 죽음을 맛보지 않을 것이다.’ 하고 말하고 있소.
53 우리 조상 아브라함도 죽었는데 당신이 그분보다 훌륭하다는 말이오?
예언자들도 죽었소. 그런데 당신은 누구로 자처하는 것이오?”
54 예수님께서 대답하셨다.
“내가 나 자신을 영광스럽게 한다면 나의 영광은 아무것도 아니다.
나를 영광스럽게 하시는 분은 내 아버지시다.
너희가 ‘그분은 우리의 하느님이시다.’ 하고 말하는 바로 그분이시다.
55 너희는 그분을 알지 못하지만 나는 그분을 안다.
내가 그분을 알지 못한다고 말하면
나도 너희와 같은 거짓말쟁이가 될 것이다.
그러나 나는 그분을 알고 또 그분의 말씀을 지킨다.
56 너희 조상 아브라함은 나의 날을 보리라고 즐거워하였다.
그리고 그것을 보고 기뻐하였다.”
57 유다인들이 예수님께 말하였다.
“당신은 아직 쉰 살도 되지 않았는데 아브라함을 보았다는 말이오?”
58 예수님께서 그들에게 이르셨다.
“내가 진실로 진실로 너희에게 말한다.
나는 아브라함이 태어나기 전부터 있었다.”
59 그러자 그들은 돌을 들어 예수님께 던지려고 하였다.
그러나 예수님께서는 몸을 숨겨 성전 밖으로 나가셨다. 

April 7, 2022

Thursday of the Fifth Week of Lent  

Daily Readings — Audio

Daily Reflections — Video

http://www.usccb.org/bible/ 

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

Reading 1

Gn 17:3-9

When Abram prostrated himself, God spoke to him:
"My covenant with you is this:
you are to become the father of a host of nations.
No longer shall you be called Abram;
your name shall be Abraham,
for I am making you the father of a host of nations.
I will render you exceedingly fertile;
I will make nations of you;
kings shall stem from you.
I will maintain my covenant with you
and your descendants after you
throughout the ages as an everlasting pact,
to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.
I will give to you
and to your descendants after you
the land in which you are now staying,
the whole land of Canaan, as a permanent possession;
and I will be their God."
God also said to Abraham:
"On your part, you and your descendants after you
must keep my covenant throughout the ages." 

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 105:4-5, 6-7, 8-9

R. (8a) The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
Look to the LORD in his strength;
seek to serve him constantly.
Recall the wondrous deeds that he has wrought,
his portents, and the judgments he has uttered.
R. The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
You descendants of Abraham, his servants,
sons of Jacob, his chosen ones!
He, the LORD, is our God;
throughout the earth his judgments prevail.
R. The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
He remembers forever his covenant
which he made binding for a thousand generations,
Which he entered into with Abraham
and by his oath to Isaac.
R. The Lord remembers his covenant for ever 

Gospel

Jn 8:51-59

Jesus said to the Jews:
"Amen, amen, I say to you,
whoever keeps my word will never see death."
So the Jews said to him,
"Now we are sure that you are possessed.
Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say,
'Whoever keeps my word will never taste death.'
Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died?
Or the prophets, who died?
Who do you make yourself out to be?"
Jesus answered, "If I glorify myself, my glory is worth nothing;
but it is my Father who glorifies me,
of whom you say, 'He is our God.'
You do not know him, but I know him.
And if I should say that I do not know him,
I would be like you a liar.
But I do know him and I keep his word.
Abraham your father rejoiced to see my day;
he saw it and was glad."
So the Jews said to him,
"You are not yet fifty years old and you have seen Abraham?"
Jesus said to them, "Amen, amen, I say to you,
before Abraham came to be, I AM."
So they picked up stones to throw at him; 

but Jesus hid and went out of the temple area. 

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

 In today’s Gospel lesson from John, Jesus is speaking with a gathering of Jews who begin to provoke and question him.  Christ tells the group that in keeping his word, they will never see death.  But all they have known, of all the prophets and spiritual leaders who had come before, is earthly death.  They could not conceive the eternal life that spans beyond our earthly life.  They could not conceive that this young man had 'seen’ the long dead Abraham, or ‘knew’ their God.  Oh! How I wonder what my reaction would have been to such a proclamation, had I heard the words directly from his mouth!  How I wonder if, prior to his death on the cross, I could have conceived a promise of eternal life, from a man who claimed to know God?  Might I have been one of the people who picked up a stone?  Might you?

Like bullies in a playground, the hurtful reaction of those gathered made Jesus HIDE and leave the Temple.  This Holy Man, who traveled far, teaching and working miracles, was so scorned and attacked that he had to run from the very people he’d hoped to touch. 

The thing is – we have it easier.  In 2022, during this blessed Lenten season, we can conceive it.  Thousands of years divided from the life of this God-Man, and through the writings, translations, doubts, and lives of hundreds of thousands of believers across multiple continents and nations, we can imagine it.  Even through our questioning, our discernment, our doubts, we can believe.  Jesus lived.  His hands and his words reached many people of his day.  But more important for us today is what came next.  Jesus died.  It is through his earthly death and resurrection that his words, so doubted by those in his presence two centuries ago, became real for all of those generations that came after.  Became real for US.  We can have faith in the promise.  We can look forward to eternal life.  We can believe.

For today, I wonder if you would join my prayer:  I ask God to strengthen my faith, to help me to believe beyond my doubts, to love beyond my fears, to trust in the promise of God’s mercy and grace.  Amen.  

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

I AM WHO AM AND WHO I AM

“Whom do You make Yourself out to be?” —John 8:53

Lent is an opportunity to discover who we are in Christ.  As a result of this Lent, we should be able to answer the question, “Who am I?” First, we must meet I AM WHO AM before we know who we are. That’s how Abraham knew he was to be the father of many nations (Gn 17:5). He first met Yahweh, the great I AM (Gn 15:7). Likewise, Moses realized his identity after meeting I AM in the burning bush (Ex 3:14).

Jesus said, “You will surely die in your sins unless you come to believe that I AM” (Jn 8:24). “When you lift up the Son of Man, you will come to realize that I AM” (Jn 8:28). “I solemnly declare it: before Abraham came to be, I AM” (Jn 8:58).

We can either bow down before the Lord in worship, forget about ourselves, and paradoxically find ourselves; or we can focus on ourselves and lose ourselves (Lk 9:24). Who we are is always found in I AM WHO AM.

Prayer:  Lord, may I fall on my knees at this moment to worship You, the great I AM.

Promise:  “I solemnly assure you, if a man is true to My word he shall never see death.” —Jn 8:51

Praise:  St. John Baptist de la Salle founded the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools. The institute focused on educating the poor and today it has a worldwide reach. In 1950, Pope Pius XII named St. John patron of schoolteachers for his efforts in upgrading school instruction.

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

 

 

  

More Homilies

April 2, 2020 Thursday of the Fifth Week of Lent