2022년 8월 18일 연중 제20주간 목요일
오늘의 복음 : http://info.catholic.or.kr/missa/default.asp
제1독서
에제키엘 예언서 36,23-28
주님께서 이렇게 말씀하신다.
23 “나는 민족들 사이에서 더럽혀진,
곧 너희가 그들 사이에서 더럽힌 내 큰 이름의 거룩함을 드러내겠다.
그들이 보는 앞에서 너희에게 나의 거룩함을 드러내면,
그제야 그들은 내가 주님임을 알게 될 것이다. 주 하느님의 말이다.
24 나는 너희를 민족들에게서 데려오고 모든 나라에서 모아다가,
너희 땅으로 데리고 들어가겠다.
25 그리고 너희에게 정결한 물을 뿌려, 너희를 정결하게 하겠다.
너희의 모든 부정과 모든 우상에게서 너희를 정결하게 하겠다.
26 너희에게 새 마음을 주고 너희 안에 새 영을 넣어 주겠다.
너희 몸에서 돌로 된 마음을 치우고, 살로 된 마음을 넣어 주겠다.
27 나는 또 너희 안에 내 영을 넣어 주어,
너희가 나의 규정들을 따르고 나의 법규들을 준수하여 지키게 하겠다.
28 그리하여 너희는 내가 너희 조상들에게 준 땅에서 살게 될 것이다.
너희는 나의 백성이 되고 나는 너희의 하느님이 될 것이다.”
복음
마태오 22,1-14
그때에 예수님께서는 여러 가지 비유로
수석 사제들과 백성의 원로들에게 1 말씀하셨다.
2 “하늘 나라는 자기 아들의 혼인 잔치를 베푼 어떤 임금에게 비길 수 있다.
3 그는 종들을 보내어 혼인 잔치에 초대받은 이들을 불러오게 하였다.
그러나 그들은 오려고 하지 않았다.
4 그래서 다시 다른 종들을 보내며 이렇게 일렀다.
‘초대받은 이들에게, ′내가 잔칫상을 이미 차렸소.
황소와 살진 짐승을 잡고 모든 준비를 마쳤으니,
어서 혼인 잔치에 오시오.′하고 말하여라.’
5 그러나 그들은 아랑곳하지 않고,
어떤 자는 밭으로 가고 어떤 자는 장사하러 갔다.
6 그리고 나머지 사람들은 종들을 붙잡아 때리고 죽였다.
7 임금은 진노하였다. 그래서 군대를 보내어
그 살인자들을 없애고 그들의 고을을 불살라 버렸다.
8 그러고 나서 종들에게 말하였다.
‘혼인 잔치는 준비되었는데 초대받은 자들은 마땅하지 않구나.
9 그러니 고을 어귀로 가서 아무나 만나는 대로 잔치에 불러오너라.’
10 그래서 그 종들은 거리에 나가
악한 사람 선한 사람 할 것 없이 만나는 대로 데려왔다.
잔칫방은 손님들로 가득 찼다.
11 임금이 손님들을 둘러보려고 들어왔다가,
혼인 예복을 입지 않은 사람 하나를 보고,
12 ‘친구여, 그대는 혼인 예복도 갖추지 않고 어떻게 여기 들어왔나?’ 하고 물으니,
그는 아무 말도 하지 못하였다.
13 그러자 임금이 하인들에게 말하였다.
‘이자의 손과 발을 묶어서 바깥 어둠 속으로 내던져 버려라.
거기에서 울며 이를 갈 것이다.’
14 사실 부르심을 받은 이들은 많지만 선택된 이들은 적다.”
August 18 2022
Thursday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time
Reading 1
Thus says the LORD:
I will prove the holiness of my great name,
profaned among the nations,
in whose midst you have profaned it.
Thus the nations shall know that I am the LORD, says the Lord GOD,
when in their sight I prove my holiness through you.
For I will take you away from among the nations,
gather you from all the foreign lands,
and bring you back to your own land.
I will sprinkle clean water upon you
to cleanse you from all your impurities,
and from all your idols I will cleanse you.
I will give you a new heart and place a new spirit within you,
taking from your bodies your stony hearts
and giving you natural hearts.
I will put my spirit within you and make you live by my statutes,
careful to observe my decrees.
You shall live in the land I gave your ancestors;
you shall be my people, and I will be your God.
Responsorial Psalm
Ps. 51:12-13, 14-15, 18-19
R. (Ezekiel 36:25) I will pour clean water on you and wash away all your sins.
A clean heart create for me, O God,
and a steadfast spirit renew within me.
Cast me not out from your presence,
and your Holy Spirit take not from me.
R. I will pour clean water on you and wash away all your sins.
Give me back the joy of your salvation,
and a willing spirit sustain in me.
I will teach transgressors your ways,
and sinners shall return to you.
R. I will pour clean water on you and wash away all your sins.
For you are not pleased with sacrifices;
should I offer a burnt offering, you would not accept it.
My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit;
a heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.
R. I will pour clean water on you and wash away all your sins.
Jesus again in reply spoke to the chief priests and the elders of the people in parables saying,
“The Kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king
who gave a wedding feast for his son.
He dispatched his servants to summon the invited guests to the feast,
but they refused to come.
A second time he sent other servants, saying,
‘Tell those invited: “Behold, I have prepared my banquet,
my calves and fattened cattle are killed,
and everything is ready; come to the feast.”’
Some ignored the invitation and went away,
one to his farm, another to his business.
The rest laid hold of his servants,
mistreated them, and killed them.
The king was enraged and sent his troops,
destroyed those murderers, and burned their city.
Then the king said to his servants, ‘The feast is ready,
but those who were invited were not worthy to come.
Go out, therefore, into the main roads
and invite to the feast whomever you find.’
The servants went out into the streets
and gathered all they found, bad and good alike,
and the hall was filled with guests.
But when the king came in to meet the guests
he saw a man there not dressed in a wedding garment.
He said to him, ‘My friend, how is it
that you came in here without a wedding garment?’
But he was reduced to silence.
Then the king said to his attendants, ‘Bind his hands and feet,
and cast him into the darkness outside,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.’
Many are invited, but few are chosen.”
http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html
August marks the back to school season. Retailers have been promoting their school supplies since just after the July 4th holiday. Back to school can mean so many different things for so many different ages. Young children are wondering what it will be like to be in school all day and recent high school graduates may be preparing to live away from home for the first time. Parents might be starting school themselves while helping their children manage their excitement and nerves.
School has always been a good experience for me so it is no surprise that I work at a school. However, whenever stress manifests in one of my dreams, the setting is undoubtedly school. I forgot to go to class. I didn’t get my work done. As I am preparing for my graduation celebration, I am told that I am not close to earning a degree.
These images from my dreams came to mind as I pray with the parable of the king’s wedding feast in today’s gospel from Matthew. In the telling of this parable to the elders and chief priests, Jesus likens the kingdom of heaven to a wedding feast. Invited guests do not come and when urged a second time to attend, act poorly by turning back to their own interests or attacking those who were delivering the invitation. The king opens the feast to anyone who his servants can find… “good and bad” alike. And yet when one of these spontaneous guests is not in wedding garments, they are cast out. This could be new material for my stress dreams.
Rather than focusing on worrying if I have the metaphorical right garments to enter the kingdom of heaven, I choose to ask God for insights. I immediately hear Psalm 95: If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts. The encouraging words from today’s first reading from Ezekiel: I will give you a new heart and place a new spirit within you, taking from your bodies your stony hearts and giving you natural hearts invite me to desire a “natural” heart to welcome God’s voice.
The invitation to hear God’s voice puts my overloaded back to school list of tasks in perspective. I am reminded of why I am called to teach and pray for the grace for my teaching to serve the kingdom of God. This fall when I encounter a nervous student, I pray that I hear the voice of God in that nervousness and show the compassion the student needs. I pray for those who want nothing more than to go to school, but yet are not allowed. When I wonder if a lesson I prepared is clever enough, I ask God to remind me to keep my ego in check so I can truly serve. And I pray as we enter this season of back to school, we all learn to always hear God’s voice.
If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
http://www.presentationministries.com/obob/obob.asp
COME TO GOD’S LOVE FEAST
“The reign of God may be likened to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son.” —Matthew 22:2
The kingdom of heaven is a love feast. This morning, I went to the ultimate wedding feast, the Holy Mass. Then I went to breakfast with my son and his fiancée. To dine with an engaged couple who are newly in love was a reminder of the heavenly wedding feast. My morning was a microcosm of the kingdom of God: being surrounded by love and joy forever.
Throughout the Old and New Testaments, the most common comparison of the relationship of God and His people is a wedding (Hos 2:21ff; Mt 22:2; Rv 21:2). Jesus’ first sign of His glory took place at a wedding (Jn 2:5-11). In the Old Testament, we often hear “You shall be My people, and I will be your God” (see e.g. Ez 36:28). The marriage covenant between husband and wife is a reflection of the covenant between God and His people. God waits for us as a groom waits for his bride. Mysteriously, it’s as if our love was necessary for God’s happiness. There is plentiful suffering in this worldly valley of tears. How good it is to have tangible reminders of the fresh, all-consuming love of God (Heb 12:29). Love is the greatest gift of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 13:13). May the love of God sweep us off our feet and into the center of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Who is Love (1 Jn 4:8, 16).
The future is an eternal wedding feast of the Lamb of God. Will we be prepared or will we be found not suitably dressed in a garment of righteousness? (Mt 22:11ff) Devote yourself to the wedding feast of God on earth, the Mass, the meeting of heaven and earth. Go to Mass as often as possible, even daily.
Prayer: Father, may I fall in love with You all over again. Let my life reflect Your love to many thousands of people.
Promise: “I will give you a new heart and place a new spirit within you.” —Ez 36:26
Praise: Dr. Jones stays faithful to Church teaching by refusing to prescribe birth control pills.
http://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/readings/
What can a royal wedding party tell us about God's kingdom? One of the most beautiful images used in the Scriptures to depict what heaven is like is the wedding celebration and royal feast given by the King for his newly-wed son and bride. Whatever grand feast we can imagine on earth, heaven is the feast of all feasts because the Lord of heaven and earth invites us to the most important banquet of all - not simply as bystanders or guests - but as members of Christ's own body, his bride the church! The last book in the Bible ends with an invitation to the wedding feast of the Lamb - the Lord Jesus who offered his life as an atoning sacrifice for our sins and who now reigns as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. The Spirit and the Bride say, Come! (Revelations 22:17). The Lord Jesus invites us to be united with himself in his heavenly kingdom of peace and righteousness.
Whose interests come first - God or mine?
Why does Jesus' parable of the marriage feast seem to focus on an angry king who ends up punishing those who refused his invitation and who mistreated his servants? Jesus' parable contains two stories. The first has to do with the original guests invited to the marriage feast. The king had sent out invitations well in advance to his subjects, so they would have plenty of time to prepare for coming to the feast. How insulting for the invited guests to then refuse when the time for celebrating came! They made light of the King's request because they put their own interests above his. They not only insulted the King but the heir to the throne as well. The king's anger is justified because they openly refused to give the king the honor he was due. Jesus directed this warning to the Jews of his day, both to convey how much God wanted them to share in the joy of his kingdom, but also to give a warning about the consequences of refusing his Son, their Messiah and Savior.
An invitation we cannot refuse!
The second part of the story focuses on those who had no claim on the king and who would never have considered getting such an invitation. The "good and the bad" along the highways certainly referred to the Gentiles (non-Jews) and to sinners. This is certainly an invitation of grace - undeserved, unmerited favor and kindness! But this invitation also contains a warning for those who refuse it or who approach the wedding feast unworthily. God's grace is a free gift, but it is also an awesome responsibility.
Cheap grace or costly grace?
Dieterich Bonhoeffer, a Lutheran pastor and theologian in Germany who died for his faith under Hitler's Nazi rule, contrasted "cheap grace" and "costly grace".
"Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves... the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance... grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate... Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which a man must knock. Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life."
God invites each of us as his friends to his heavenly banquet that we may celebrate with him and share in his joy. Are you ready to feast at the Lord's banquet table?
Lord Jesus, may I always know the joy of living in your presence and grow in the hope of seeing you face to face in your everlasting kingdom.
Psalm 40:1,4,6-9
4 Blessed is the man who makes the LORD his trust, who does not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after false gods!
6 Sacrifice and offering you do not desire; but you have given me an open ear. Burnt offering and sin offering you have not required.
7 Then I said, "Behold, I come; in the roll of the book it is written of me;
8 I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart."
9 I have told the glad news of deliverance in the great congregation; behold, I have not restrained my lips, as you know, O LORD.
Daily Quote from the Early Church Fathers: A guest with no wedding garment, by John Chrysostom (347-407 AD)
"But since you have already come into the house of the marriage feast, our holy church, as a result of God's generosity, be careful, my friends, lest when the King enters he find fault with some aspect of your heart's clothing. We must consider what comes next with great fear in our hearts. But the king came in to look at the guests and saw there a person not clothed in a wedding garment. What do we think is meant by the wedding garment, dearly beloved? For if we say it is baptism or faith, is there anyone who has entered this marriage feast without them? A person is outside because he has not yet come to believe. What then must we understand by the wedding garment but love? That person enters the marriage feast, but without wearing a wedding garment, who is present in the holy church. He may have faith, but he does not have love. We are correct when we say that love is the wedding garment because this is what our Creator himself possessed when he came to the marriage feast to join the church to himself. Only God's love brought it about that his only begotten Son united the hearts of his chosen to himself. John says that 'God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son for us' (John 3:16)." (excerpt from FORTY GOSPEL HOMILIES 38.9)
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