2022년 9월 4일 연중 제23주일
오늘의 복음 : http://info.catholic.or.kr/missa/default.asp
제1독서
지혜서9,13-18
13 어떠한 인간이 하느님의 뜻을 알 수 있겠습니까?
누가 주님께서 바라시는 것을 헤아릴 수 있겠습니까?
14 죽어야 할 인간의 생각은 보잘것없고, 저희의 속마음은 변덕스럽습니다.
15 썩어 없어질 육신이 영혼을 무겁게 하고
흙으로 된 이 천막이 시름겨운 정신을 짓누릅니다.
16 저희는 세상 것도 거의 짐작하지 못하고
손에 닿는 것조차 거의 찾아내지 못하는데
하늘의 것을 밝혀낸 자 어디 있겠습니까?
17 당신께서 지혜를 주지 않으시고
그 높은 곳에서 당신의 거룩한 영을 보내지 않으시면
누가 당신의 뜻을 깨달을 수 있겠습니까?
18 그러나 그렇게 해 주셨기에 세상 사람들의 길이 올바르게 되고
사람들이 당신 마음에 드는 것이 무엇인지 배웠으며 지혜로 구원을 받았습니다.
제2독서
필레몬서9ㄴ-10.12-17
사랑하는 그대여, 9 나 바오로는 늙은이인 데다가
이제는 그리스도 예수님 때문에 수인까지 된 몸입니다.
10 이러한 내가 옥중에서 얻은 내 아들 오네시모스의 일로
그대에게 부탁하는 것입니다.
12 나는 내 심장과 같은 그를 그대에게 돌려보냅니다.
13 그를 내 곁에 두어,
복음 때문에 내가 감옥에 갇혀 있는 동안
그대 대신에 나를 시중들게 할 생각도 있었지만,
14 그대의 승낙 없이는 아무것도 하고 싶지 않았습니다.
그대의 선행이 강요가 아니라 자의로 이루어지게 하려는 것입니다.
15 그가 잠시 그대에게서 떨어져 있었던 것은
아마도 그를 영원히 돌려받기 위한 것이었는지도 모릅니다.
16 이제 그대는 그를 더 이상 종이 아니라 종 이상으로,
곧 사랑하는 형제로 돌려받게 되었습니다.
그가 나에게 특별히 사랑받는 형제라면,
그대에게는 인간적으로 보나 주님 안에서 보나 더욱 그렇지 않습니까?
17 그러므로 그대가 나를 동지로 여긴다면,
나를 맞아들이듯이 그를 맞아들여 주십시오.
복음
루카 14,25-33
그때에 25 많은 군중이 예수님과 함께 길을 가는데,
예수님께서 그들에게 돌아서서 이르셨다.
26 “누구든지 나에게 오면서
자기 아버지와 어머니, 아내와 자녀, 형제와 자매,
심지어 자기 목숨까지 미워하지 않으면, 내 제자가 될 수 없다.
27 누구든지 제 십자가를 짊어지고 내 뒤를 따라오지 않는 사람은
내 제자가 될 수 없다.
28 너희 가운데 누가 탑을 세우려고 하면,
공사를 마칠 만한 경비가 있는지 먼저 앉아서 계산해 보지 않느냐?
29 그러지 않으면 기초만 놓은 채 마치지 못하여,
보는 이마다 그를 비웃기 시작하며,
30 ‘저 사람은 세우는 일을 시작만 해 놓고 마치지는 못하였군.’ 할 것이다.
31 또 어떤 임금이 다른 임금과 싸우러 가려면,
이만 명을 거느리고 자기에게 오는 그를 만 명으로 맞설 수 있는지
먼저 앉아서 헤아려 보지 않겠느냐?
32 맞설 수 없겠으면, 그 임금이 아직 멀리 있을 때에
사신을 보내어 평화 협정을 청할 것이다.
33 이와 같이 너희 가운데에서 누구든지
자기 소유를 다 버리지 않는 사람은 내 제자가 될 수 없다.”
September 4, 2022
Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time
Reading 1
Who can know God's counsel,
or who can conceive what the LORD intends?
For the deliberations of mortals are timid,
and unsure are our plans.
For the corruptible body burdens the soul
and the earthen shelter weighs down the mind that has many concerns.
And scarce do we guess the things on earth,
and what is within our grasp we find with difficulty;
but when things are in heaven, who can search them out?
Or who ever knew your counsel, except you had given wisdom
and sent your holy spirit from on high?
And thus were the paths of those on earth made straight.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (1) In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.
You turn man back to dust,
saying, "Return, O children of men."
For a thousand years in your sight
are as yesterday, now that it is past,
or as a watch of the night.
R. In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.
You make an end of them in their sleep;
the next morning they are like the changing grass,
Which at dawn springs up anew,
but by evening wilts and fades.
R. In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.
Teach us to number our days aright,
that we may gain wisdom of heart.
Return, O LORD! How long?
Have pity on your servants!
R. In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.
Fill us at daybreak with your kindness,
that we may shout for joy and gladness all our days.
And may the gracious care of the LORD our God be ours;
prosper the work of our hands for us!
Prosper the work of our hands!
R. In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.
Reading 2
I, Paul, an old man,
and now also a prisoner for Christ Jesus,
urge you on behalf of my child Onesimus,
whose father I have become in my imprisonment;
I am sending him, that is, my own heart, back to you.
I should have liked to retain him for myself,
so that he might serve me on your behalf
in my imprisonment for the gospel,
but I did not want to do anything without your consent,
so that the good you do might not be forced but voluntary.
Perhaps this is why he was away from you for a while,
that you might have him back forever,
no longer as a slave
but more than a slave, a brother,
beloved especially to me, but even more so to you,
as a man and in the Lord.
So if you regard me as a partner, welcome him as you would me.
Gospel
Great crowds were traveling with Jesus,
and he turned and addressed them,
"If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother,
wife and children, brothers and sisters,
and even his own life,
he cannot be my disciple.
Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me
cannot be my disciple.
Which of you wishing to construct a tower
does not first sit down and calculate the cost
to see if there is enough for its completion?
Otherwise, after laying the foundation
and finding himself unable to finish the work
the onlookers should laugh at him and say,
'This one began to build but did not have the resources to finish.'
Or what king marching into battle would not first sit down
and decide whether with ten thousand troops
he can successfully oppose another king
advancing upon him with twenty thousand troops?
But if not, while he is still far away,
he will send a delegation to ask for peace terms.
In the same way,
anyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions
cannot be my disciple."
http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html
The thought of hating one’s father and mother, spouse and children, brothers and sisters, and even one’s own life does indeed sound harsh. However, when viewed through the lens of the parallel in Matthew’s gospel, we see that the point being made is that true discipleship requires undivided loyalty to Jesus above any other loyalty, including to oneself. Such a commitment might at times pit us against our relatives or even our own desires and wishes.
As I reflected on the gospel, I was reminded of the radical and inclusive love that God has for us. In being detached from our relationships and possessions we can more fully experience this love and be channels of it to our family, friends, ourselves and even our enemies. Ironically then, today’s gospel is not calling us to hate (as we understand hate) our father and mother, spouse and children, brothers and sisters, and even our own life, but rather to love these with that radical and inclusive love that we have experienced as disciples. This is the true cost of discipleship, and it is not easy.
http://www.presentationministries.com/obob/obob.asp
TEAM JESUS
“None of you can be My disciple if he does not renounce all his possessions.” —Luke 14:33
Thousands of football players across the country are doing whatever the coach wants in order to make the team. They’ll drop everything and move across country, change their diet, learn challenging positions, run sprints in full uniform in burning heat, and get clobbered by powerful men. They abandon their bodies to pain and injury for the chance to make the team. “Athletes deny themselves all sorts of things” (1 Cor 9:25).
Similarly, soldiers renounce civilian life “in order to please [their] commanding officer” (2 Tm 2:4). They sleep in foxholes, exposed to bombs and bullets. They go without food and water, get cold and wet, endure loneliness, misunderstanding, and even rejection. At times, they are portrayed as brutal villains. Yet their focus is to please their captain and serve their country.
What about those who bear the name of Christian? I’ve heard Christians get upset with God because their washing machine broke down and their clothes were dirty! Dirty uniforms and renouncing possessions are part of daily life for football players and soldiers. If we Christians understood renouncing as well as athletes and soldiers, we would be pleading with God for every opportunity to get off the spiritual bench and onto the field of battle, as did young David (see 1 Sm 17:32ff).
Do you want to be a disciple of Jesus? Do you want to make His team? Are you focused on pleasing Jesus, your Captain? Then get serious and renounce your possessions (Lk 14:33).
Prayer: Jesus, take me to a new level of discipleship. I surrender all for the privilege of serving You.
Promise: “Anyone who does not take up his cross and follow Me cannot be My disciple.” —Lk 14:27
Praise: Praise Jesus, Who was obedient unto death and was raised up on the third day (see Acts 10:40).
http://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/readings/
What is God's intention for the commandment, keep holy the Sabbath (Exodus 20:8; Deuteronomy 5:12)? The scribes and Pharisees wanted to catch Jesus in the act of breaking the Sabbath ritual so they might accuse him of breaking God's law. In a few penetrating words Luke records that Jesus knew their thoughts. They were filled with fury and contempt for Jesus because they had put their own thoughts of right and wrong above God. They were ensnared in their own legalism because they did not understand or see the purpose of God. Jesus shows them their fallacy by pointing to God's intention for the Sabbath: to do good and to save life rather than to do evil or to destroy life.
Christ's healing power raises hands and hearts towards heaven
What is the significance of Jesus' healing the man with the withered hand? Ambrose (337-397 AD), the 4th century bishop of Milan who was instrumental in bringing Augustine of Hippo to the Christian faith, comments on this miracle:
"Then you heard the words of the Lord, saying, 'Stretch forth your hand.' That is the common and universal remedy. You who think that you have a healthy hand beware lest it is withered by greed or by sacrilege. Hold it out often. Hold it out to the poor person who begs you. Hold it out to help your neighbor, to give protection to a widow, to snatch from harm one whom you see subjected to unjust insult. Hold it out to God for your sins. The hand is stretched forth; then it is healed. Jeroboam's hand withered when he sacrificed to idols; then it stretched out when he entreated God (1 Kings 13:4-6)."
Receive God's gift of sabbath rest and restoration
Why do Christians celebrate Sunday as the Lord's Day? Most importantly we celebrate it to commemorate God's work of redemption in Jesus Christ and the new work of creation accomplished through Christ's death and resurrection (2 Corinthians 5:17). God's action is a model for us. If God "rested and was refreshed" on the seventh day, we, too, ought to "rest" and let others, especially the poor, "be refreshed" as well (see Exodus 31:17; 23:12). Taking "our sabbath rest" is a way of expressing honor to God for all that he has done for us. Such "rest" however does not exempt us from our love for our neighbor. If we truly love the Lord above all else, then the love of God will overflow to love of neighbor as well. Saint Augustine of Hippo (354-430 AD) said: "The charity of truth seeks holy leisure; the necessity of charity accepts just work."
How can we make Sunday a day holy to the Lord? First, by refraining from unnecessary work and from activities that hinder the worship we owe to God. We can also perform works of mercy, such as humble service of the sick, the infirm, and the neglected. And we ought to seek appropriate relaxation of mind and body as well. The joy of the Lord's Day is a great gift to refresh and strengthen us in our love of God and of neighbor (Nehemiah 8:10). Do you know the joy of the Lord and do you find rest and refreshment in celebrating the Lord's Day?
Lord Jesus, in your victory over sin and death on the cross and in your resurrection you give us the assurance of sharing in the eternal rest of heaven. Transform my heart with your love that I may freely serve my neighbor for his good and find joy and refreshment in the celebration of Sunday as the Lord's Day.
Psalm 62:6-9
6 He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken.
7 On God rests my deliverance and my honor; my mighty rock, my refuge is God.
8 Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us. [Selah]
9 Men of low estate are but a breath, men of high estate are a delusion; in the balances they go up; they are together lighter than a breath.
Daily Quote from the Early Church Fathers: Jesus heals to teach the Pharisees mercy, by Cyril of Alexandria (376-444 AD)
"The miracle sometimes converts to faith those who had disbelieved the word, but the Pharisees watched him to see if he would heal on the sabbath. The nature of an envious person is such that he makes the praises of others food for his own disease and is wickedly maddened by their reputation. Once more he spoke to this; 'he reveals deep and mysterious things; he knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him' (Daniel 2:22). And why did he do this? Perhaps it might be to move the cruel and unpitying Pharisee to compassion. The man's malady [his withered hand] perhaps might shame them and persuade them to dispel the flames of their envy.
"This question is most wise indeed and a most suitable statement to meet their folly. If it is lawful to do good on the sabbath and nothing prevents the sick being pitied by God, cease picking up opportunities for fault-finding against Christ and bringing down on your own head the sentence which the Father has decreed against those who dishonor the Son. You have heard the Father where he says of the Son by the voice of David, 'I will crush his foes before him and strike down those who hate him' (Psalm 89:23). But if it is not lawful to do good on the sabbath and the law forbids the saving of life, you have made yourself an accuser of the law." (quote from COMMENTARY ON LUKE, HOMILY 23).
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