2022년 9월 23일 연중 제25주간 금요일
오늘의 복음 : http://info.catholic.or.kr/missa/default.asp
제1독서
코헬렛.3,1-11
1 하늘 아래 모든 것에는 시기가 있고 모든 일에는 때가 있다.
2 태어날 때가 있고 죽을 때가 있으며
심을 때가 있고 심긴 것을 뽑을 때가 있다.
3 죽일 때가 있고 고칠 때가 있으며 부술 때가 있고 지을 때가 있다.
4 울 때가 있고 웃을 때가 있으며 슬퍼할 때가 있고 기뻐 뛸 때가 있다.
5 돌을 던질 때가 있고 돌을 모을 때가 있으며
껴안을 때가 있고 떨어질 때가 있다.
6 찾을 때가 있고 잃을 때가 있으며 간직할 때가 있고 던져 버릴 때가 있다.
7 찢을 때가 있고 꿰맬 때가 있으며 침묵할 때가 있고 말할 때가 있다.
8 사랑할 때가 있고 미워할 때가 있으며 전쟁의 때가 있고 평화의 때가 있다.
9 그러니 일하는 사람에게 그 애쓴 보람이 무엇이겠는가?
10 나는 인간의 아들들이 고생하도록 하느님께서 마련하신 일을 보았다.
11 그분께서는 모든 것을 제때에 아름답도록 만드셨다.
또한 그들 마음속에 시간 의식도 심어 주셨다.
그러나 하느님께서 시작에서 종말까지 하시는 일을 인간은 깨닫지 못한다.
복음
루카 9,18-22
18 예수님께서 혼자 기도하실 때에 제자들도 함께 있었는데,
그분께서 “군중이 나를 누구라고 하느냐?” 하고 물으셨다.
19 제자들이 대답하였다. “세례자 요한이라고 합니다.
그러나 어떤 이들은 엘리야라 하고,
또 어떤 이들은 옛 예언자 한 분이 다시 살아나셨다고 합니다.”
20 예수님께서 다시, “그러면 너희는 나를 누구라고 하느냐?” 하시자,
베드로가 “하느님의 그리스도이십니다.” 하고 대답하였다.
21 그러자 예수님께서는 제자들에게,
그것을 아무에게도 말하지 말라고 엄중하게 분부하셨다.
22 예수님께서는 이어서 “사람의 아들은 반드시 많은 고난을 겪고
원로들과 수석 사제들과 율법 학자들에게 배척을 받아
죽임을 당하였다가 사흘 만에 되살아나야 한다.” 하고 이르셨다.
September 23, 2022
Memorial of Saint Pius of Pietrelcina, Pries
Reading 1
There is an appointed time for everything,
and a time for every thing under the heavens.
A time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to uproot the plant.
A time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to tear down, and a time to build.
A time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance.
A time to scatter stones, and a time to gather them;
a time to embrace, and a time to be far from embraces.
A time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away.
A time to rend, and a time to sew;
a time to be silent, and a time to speak.
A time to love, and a time to hate;
a time of war, and a time of peace.
What advantage has the worker from his toil?
I have considered the task that God has appointed
for the sons of men to be busied about.
He has made everything appropriate to its time,
and has put the timeless into their hearts,
without man's ever discovering,
from beginning to end, the work which God has done.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (1) Blessed be the Lord, my Rock!
Blessed be the LORD, my rock,
my mercy and my fortress,
my stronghold, my deliverer,
My shield, in whom I trust.
R. Blessed be the Lord, my Rock!
LORD, what is man, that you notice him;
the son of man, that you take thought of him?
Man is like a breath;
his days, like a passing shadow.
R. Blessed be the Lord, my Rock!
Gospel
Once when Jesus was praying in solitude,
and the disciples were with him,
he asked them, "Who do the crowds say that I am?"
They said in reply, "John the Baptist; others, Elijah;
still others, 'One of the ancient prophets has arisen.'"
Then he said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"
Peter said in reply, "The Christ of God."
He rebuked them and directed them not to tell this to anyone.
He said, "The Son of Man must suffer greatly
and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,
and be killed and on the third day be raised."
http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html
Before I get into the reflection, I want to be sensitive to those who, having read Ecclesiastes, now have the song “Turn! Turn! Turn!” stuck in their heads. I’ve put a link to it at the end of the reflection.
Our first reading covers a lot of ground, from birth to death and quite a lot in between. The literary cadence of the verses may cause you to consider each line as a pairing of opposites, but life is not as orderly as these distinct categories suggest. My time to be silent is another person’s time to speak. And I may be covering several categories all at once, perhaps embracing as an act of healing while I mourn with others. I may fluctuate between two “opposites,” such as at a funeral where a funny memory of the departed causes people to laugh and cry almost simultaneously.
My tendency is to focus on the list, but it helps me instead to focus on the end of our first reading. The recognition that “He has made everything appropriate to its time, and has put the timeless into their hearts, without man’s ever discovering, from beginning to end, the work which God has done.” It causes me to wonder how often I waste time, even if I am doing something productive, because I am not doing what God has called me to do. In that light, the worrier in me is uncomfortable by the recognition of how my anxiety runs counter to trusting in God’s promises; the procrastinator in me wonders how often my “I’ll do it later” is actually telling God to wait until I am ready, while the impatient in me realizes that I too often am not willing to wait on God. The planner and worker in me too often become bossy as I demand a project I’ve identified is done in a manner I’ve deemed appropriate.
The Gospel reading also deals with timing. Peter’s time to speak, proclaiming that Jesus is “The Christ of God,” immediately followed by a time to keep silent as Jesus “directed them not to tell this to anyone.” Imagine how difficult it must have been for Peter and the others to have their excitement tempered as Jesus then explained that He must suffer and die. Imagine even further how they must have felt when Jesus immediately added that they, too, would suffer: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it.” (Luke 9:23-24)
As I thought about what to write, concepts from two different pieces I’ve recently read keep coming to mind. The first, a poem,* uses the idea of a tandem bike to talk about a relationship with God. We begin our relationship with Christ seated in back, helping us by pedaling while we maintain control of where we want to go. At some point, we reluctantly switch places, although (the poet notes): I did not trust Him, at first, in control of my life. I thought He'd wreck it[.]” However, Jesus is a better bike/life pilot, able to navigate in ways we cannot, to take us places we otherwise could not go, and to do things we otherwise could not do. All aspects of the journey became so much better once the poet learned to trust.
Joy is also essential. Bishop Desmond Tutu talks about joy, not as a feeling, but as a faithful way of approaching life in good times and bad. His bad times, of course, included a long battle against South African apartheid and a fight with cancer in his later years. Bishop Tutu was in his mid-eighties when he visited his good friend, the Dalai Lama; and that visit resulted in The Book of Joy by Bishop Tutu and the Dalai Lama (with Douglas Abrams), which includes this quote:
“Discovering more joy does not . . . save us from the inevitability of hardship and heartbreak. In fact, we may cry more easily, but we will laugh more easily, too. Perhaps we are just more alive. Yet as we discover more joy, we can face suffering in a way that ennobles rather than embitters. We have hardship without becoming hard. We have heartbreak without being broken.”
* Some links, as promised:
“Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season)” was written by Pete Seeger, and it stays fairly close to the Scripture. Only the title, sung in places, and the last line related to peace differ from Ecclesiastes. The version running through my head (and with the link) is by the Byrds.
The poem is on several websites. Not all agree on the title but “The Road of Life” is used by many. The author is unknown.
The Book of Joy, by the Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu, with Douglas Abrams.
http://www.presentationministries.com/obob/obob.asp
“LIFT HIGH THE CROSS”
The Son of Man “must first endure many sufferings, be rejected by the elders, the high priests and the scribes, and be put to death, and then be raised up on the third day.” —Luke 9:22
Early in His public ministry, Jesus told His apostles to keep it a secret that He was the Messiah (Lk 9:21). When He healed people and set them free from the devil, He told these people to keep it secret. One explanation for this may be that Jesus wanted to reveal His sufferings and death before publicizing His messianic power.
Because the crucified Jesus should be first and foremost in our hearts, Paul determined that while he was with the Corinthians, he “would speak of nothing but Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1 Cor 2:2). When he preached to the Galatians, he displayed before their eyes Jesus Christ on the cross (Gal 3:1). At Athens, when Paul neglected to begin with preaching Jesus crucified, he suffered one of his worst failures (see Acts 17:32ff).
When the cross is not first, we make up our own warped version of Christianity. We project our own preoccupations onto Christ and make Him into our own image and likeness. Unless we focus on the cross, we will use Christianity as a way of deifying and enthroning ourselves. Repent and “lift high the cross.”
Prayer: Father, may I boast of nothing but the cross of Jesus. Through it may I be crucified to the world and the world to me (Gal 6:14).
Promise: “He has made everything appropriate to its time, and has put the timeless into their hearts.” —Eccl 3:11
Praise: Francesco Forgione joined the Capuchin Franciscans and was ordained in 1910, known as Padre Pio. In 1918, he received the stigmata of Christ on his hands, feet and side. He was a sought-after Confessor, sometimes hearing confessions for 10 hours a day.
http://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/readings/
Who is Jesus for you - and what difference does he make in your life? Many in Israel recognized Jesus as a mighty man of God, even comparing him with the greatest of the prophets. Peter, always quick to respond whenever Jesus spoke, professed that Jesus was truly the "Christ of God" - "the Son of the living God" (Matthew 16:16). No mortal being could have revealed this to Peter, but only God. Through the "eyes of faith" Peter discovered who Jesus truly was. Peter recognized that Jesus was much more than a great teacher, prophet, and miracle worker. Peter was the first apostle to publicly declare that Jesus was the Anointed One, consecrated by the Father and sent into the world to redeem a fallen human race enslaved to sin and cut off from eternal life with God (Luke 9:20, Acts 2:14-36). The word for "Christ" in Greek is a translation of the Hebrew word for "Messiah" - both words literally mean the Anointed One.
Jesus begins to explain the mission he was sent to accomplish
Why did Jesus command his disciples to be silent about his identity as the anointed Son of God? They were, after all, appointed to proclaim the good news to everyone. Jesus knew that they did not yet fully understand his mission and how he would accomplish it. Cyril of Alexandria (376-444 AD), an early church father, explains the reason for this silence:
There were things yet unfulfilled which must also be included in their preaching about him. They must also proclaim the cross, the passion, and the death in the flesh. They must preach the resurrection of the dead, that great and truly glorious sign by which testimony is borne him that the Emmanuel is truly God and by nature the Son of God the Father. He utterly abolished death and wiped out destruction. He robbed hell, and overthrew the tyranny of the enemy. He took away the sin of the world, opened the gates above to the dwellers upon earth, and united earth to heaven. These things proved him to be, as I said, in truth God. He commanded them, therefore, to guard the mystery by a seasonable silence until the whole plan of the dispensation should arrive at a suitable conclusion. (Commentary on Luke, Homily 49)
God's Anointed Son must suffer and die to atone for our sins
Jesus told his disciples that it was necessary for the Messiah to suffer and die in order that God's work of redemption might be accomplished. How startled the disciples were when they heard this word. How different are God's thoughts and ways from our thoughts and ways (Isaiah 55:8). It was through humiliation, suffering, and death on the cross that Jesus broke the powers of sin and death and won for us eternal life and freedom from the slavery of sin and from the oppression of our enemy, Satan, the father of lies and the deceiver of humankind.
We, too, have a share in the mission and victory of Jesus Christ
If we want to share in the victory of the Lord Jesus, then we must also take up our cross and follow where he leads us. What is the "cross" that you and I must take up each day? When my will crosses (does not align) with God's will, then his will must be done. To know Jesus Christ is to know the power of his victory on the cross where he defeated sin and conquered death through his resurrection. The Holy Spirit gives each of us the gifts and strength we need to live as sons and daughters of God. The Holy Spirit gives us faith to know the Lord Jesus personally as our Redeemer, and the power to live the Gospel faithfully, and the courage to witness to others the joy, truth, and freedom of the Gospel. Who do you say that Jesus is?
Lord Jesus, I believe and I profess that you are the Christ, the Son of the living God. Take my life, my will, and all that I have, that I may be wholly yours now and forever.
Psalm 43:1-5
1 Vindicate me, O God, and defend my cause against an ungodly people; from deceitful and unjust men deliver me!
2 For you are the God in whom I take refuge; why have you cast me off? Why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?
3 Oh send out your light and your truth; let them lead me, let them bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling!
4 Then I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy; and I will praise you with the lyre, O God, my God.
5 Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my help and my God.
Daily Quote from the Early Church Fathers: Peter confesses that Jesus is God's Anointed Son and Savior of all, by Cyril of Alexandria (376-444 AD)
"You see the skillfulness of the question. He [Jesus] did not at once say, 'Who do you say that I am?' He refers to the rumor of those that were outside their company. Then, having rejected it and shown it unsound, he might bring them back to the true opinion. It happened that way. When the disciples had said, 'Some, John the Baptist, and others, Elijah, and others, that some prophet of those in old time has risen up,' he said to them, 'But you, who do you say that I am?' Oh! how full of meaning is that word you! He separates them from all others, that they may also avoid the opinions of others. In this way, they will not conceive an unworthy idea about him or entertain confused and wavering thoughts. Then they will not also imagine that John had risen again, or one of the prophets. 'You,' he says, 'who have been chosen,' who by my decree have been called to the apostleship, who are the witnesses of my miracles. Who do you say that I am?'"(excerpt from COMMENTARY ON LUKE, HOMILY 49)
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