2022년 9월 27일 연중 제26주간 화요일
제1독서
욥기 3,1-3.11-17.20-23
1 욥이 입을 열어 제 생일을 저주하였다.
2 욥이 말하기 시작하였다.
3 “차라리 없어져 버려라, 내가 태어난 날, ‘사내아이를 배었네!’ 하고 말하던 밤!
11 어찌하여 내가 태중에서 죽지 않았던가?
어찌하여 내가 모태에서 나올 때 숨지지 않았던가?
12 어째서 무릎은 나를 받아 냈던가? 젖은 왜 있어서 내가 빨았던가?
13 나 지금 누워 쉬고 있을 터인데. 잠들어 안식을 누리고 있을 터인데.
14 임금들과 나라의 고관들, 폐허를 제집으로 지은 자들과 함께 있을 터인데.
15 또 금을 소유한 제후들, 제집을 은으로 가득 채운 자들과 함께 있을 터인데.
16 파묻힌 유산아처럼, 빛을 보지 못한 아기들처럼 나 지금 있지 않을 터인데.
17 그곳은 악인들이 소란을 멈추는 곳. 힘 다한 이들이 안식을 누리는 곳.
20 어찌하여 그분께서는 고생하는 이에게 빛을 주시고
영혼이 쓰라린 이에게 생명을 주시는가?
21 그들은 죽음을 기다리건만, 숨겨진 보물보다 더 찾아 헤매건만 오지 않는구나.
22 그들이 무덤을 얻으면 환호하고 기뻐하며 즐거워하련만.
23 어찌하여 앞길이 보이지 않는 사내에게
하느님께서 사방을 에워싸 버리시고는 생명을 주시는가?”
복음
루카 9,51-56
51 하늘에 올라가실 때가 차자,
예수님께서는 예루살렘으로 가시려고 마음을 굳히셨다.
52 그래서 당신에 앞서 심부름꾼들을 보내셨다.
그들은 예수님을 모실 준비를 하려고
길을 떠나 사마리아인들의 한 마을로 들어갔다.
53 그러나 사마리아인들은 예수님을 맞아들이지 않았다.
그분께서 예루살렘으로 가시는 길이었기 때문이다.
54 야고보와 요한 제자가 그것을 보고, “주님, 저희가 하늘에서 불을 불러 내려
저들을 불살라 버리기를 원하십니까?” 하고 물었다.
55 예수님께서는 돌아서서 그들을 꾸짖으셨다. 56 그리하여 그들은 다른 마을로 갔다.
September 27, 2022
Memorial of Saint Vincent de Paul, Priest
Reading 1
Job 3:1-3, 11-17, 20-23
Job opened his mouth and cursed his day.
Job spoke out and said:
Perish the day on which I was born,
the night when they said, "The child is a boy!"
Why did I not perish at birth,
come forth from the womb and expire?
Or why was I not buried away like an untimely birth,
like babes that have never seen the light?
Wherefore did the knees receive me?
or why did I suck at the breasts?
For then I should have lain down and been tranquil;
had I slept, I should then have been at rest
With kings and counselors of the earth
who built where now there are ruins
Or with princes who had gold
and filled their houses with silver.
There the wicked cease from troubling,
there the weary are at rest.
Why is light given to the toilers,
and life to the bitter in spirit?
They wait for death and it comes not;
they search for it rather than for hidden treasures,
Rejoice in it exultingly,
and are glad when they reach the grave:
Those whose path is hidden from them,
and whom God has hemmed in!
Responsorial Psalm
R. (3) Let my prayer come before you, Lord.
O LORD, my God, by day I cry out;
at night I clamor in your presence.
Let my prayer come before you;
incline your ear to my call for help.
R. Let my prayer come before you, Lord.
For my soul is surfeited with troubles
and my life draws near to the nether world.
I am numbered with those who go down into the pit;
I am a man without strength.
R. Let my prayer come before you, Lord.
My couch is among the dead,
like the slain who lie in the grave,
Whom you remember no longer
and who are cut off from your care.
R. Let my prayer come before you, Lord.
You have plunged me into the bottom of the pit,
into the dark abyss.
Upon me your wrath lies heavy,
and with all your billows you overwhelm me.
R. Let my prayer come before you, Lord.
Gospel
http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html
You know that feeling. Some days, you might wonder why you even got out of bed. Nothing is going right. The world seems stacked against you. Even your prayer is dry and seems to fall on deaf ears. That seems to be what Job is feeling in today’s first reading. I don’t want anyone to feel that way, but, in a way, I am glad I am not the only one. I am encouraged by what I read in today’s Gospel. Maybe what I have to do is to do what Jesus instructed the apostles to do. The apostles wanted to lash out against those who would not welcome them. Jesus rebuked them and instead, they took a different path to avoid those who would not welcome them.
Instead of being overwhelmed, maybe we need to take a different path. This is not to say we don’t face real problems. Difficult, if not impossible choices. Life events and people that wear us down. Sometimes we need professional help. We can still ask God to help. He is there. He is with us and loves us when we are overwhelmed and when we are feeling good.
Let me take a deep breath and breathe in gratitude instead of resentment. Can I try a different prayer? Can I center myself and listen for God?
Today also is the memorial of St. Vincent de Paul, known for his compassion, humility and generosity. The society founded in his name seeks to continue St. Vincent de Paul’s work of relationship and service to those in need. I can see some of that work in my own community with thrift stores and other services. My prayer today is to listen for God. And to ask God and St. Vincent de Paul to help me find a way to live out that work of relationship and service to those in need.
http://www.presentationministries.com/obob/obob.asp
LIGHT MY FIRE
“Lord, would You not have us call down fire from heaven to destroy them?” —Luke 9:54
Sts. James and John asked Jesus if they should pray for fire to come down from heaven to destroy an inhospitable Samaritan town. In this way, the two apostles were showing their faith in Jesus as the new Elijah (see Mal 3:23), for Elijah had repeatedly called down fire from heaven (see 2 Kgs 1:10, 12). Jesus rejected their proposal because His kingdom was a kingdom of mercy before justice (see Mt 18:23ff). He intended to convert His enemies, even the Samaritans (see Jn 4:39), rather than destroy them.
Elijah did even more than call down fire on his enemies. In the last words of the Old Testament, Malachi prophesied that God would send Elijah before “the great and terrible day,” and Elijah would “turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers” (Mal 3:23, 24). Elijah’s final ministry is one of reconciliation. Elijah’s fire was not intended to destroy our enemies but reconcile us with them by burning away unforgiveness, bitterness, hatred, resentment, and anger.
Ask God to send down fire from heaven not for destruction but for reconciliation. Pray for the fire to fall not only on your enemies but also on you.
Prayer: Lord, I call down fire on me first.
Promise: “Let my prayer come before You; incline Your ear to my call for help.” —Ps 88:3
Praise: While hearing the deathbed confession of a servant, St. Vincent’s eyes were open to the spiritual needs of the peasantry of France. He founded an order known as the Congregation of the Mission. He has become the patron saint of all charities who minister to the poor.
http://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/readings/
Are you surprised to see two of Jesus' disciples praying for the destruction of a Samaritan village? The Jews and Samaritans had been divided for centuries. Jewish pilgrims who passed through Samaritan territory were often treated badly and even assaulted. Jesus did the unthinkable for a Jew. He not only decided to travel through Samaritan territory at personal risk, but he also asked for hospitality in one of their villages!
Jesus faced rejection and abuse in order to reconcile us with God and one another
Jesus' offer of friendship was rebuffed. Is there any wonder that the disciples were indignant and felt justified in wanting to see retribution done to this village? Wouldn't you respond the same way? Jesus, however, rebukes his disciples for their lack of toleration. Jesus had "set his face toward Jerusalem" to die on a cross that Jew, Samaritan and Gentile might be reconciled with God and be united as one people in Christ.
Jesus seeks our highest good - friend and enemy alike
Tolerance is a much needed virtue today. But aren't we often tolerant for the wrong thing or for the wrong motive? Christian love seeks the highest good of both one's neighbor and one's enemy. When Abraham Lincoln was criticized for his courtesy and tolerance towards his enemies during the American Civil War, he responded: "Do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends?" How do you treat those who cross you and cause you trouble? Do you seek their good rather than their harm?
Lord Jesus, you are gracious, merciful, and kind. Set me free from my prejudice and intolerance towards those I find disagreeable, and widen my heart to love and to do good even to those who wish me harm or evil.
Psalm 87:1-7
1 On the holy mount stands the city he founded;
2 the LORD loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwelling places of Jacob.
3 Glorious things are spoken of you, O city of God. [Selah]
4 Among those who know me I mention Rahab and Babylon; behold, Philistia and Tyre, with Ethiopia -- "This one was born there," they say.
5 And of Zion it shall be said, "This one and that one were born in her"; for the Most High himself will establish her.
6 The LORD records as he registers the peoples, "This one was born there." [Selah]
7 Singers and dancers alike say, "All my springs are in you."
Daily Quote from the Early Church Fathers: Jesus gave power and authority to his apostles, by Cyril of Alexandria (376-444 AD)
"It would be false to affirm that our Savior did not know what was about to happen, because he knows all things. He knew, of course, that the Samaritans would not receive his messengers. There can be no doubt of this. Why then did he command them to go before him? It was his custom to benefit diligently the holy apostles in every possible way, and because of this, it was his practice sometimes to test them... What was the purpose of this occurrence? He was going up to Jerusalem, as the time of his passion was already drawing near. He was about to endure the scorn of the Jews. He was about to be destroyed by the scribes and Pharisees and to suffer those things that they inflicted upon him when they went to accomplish all of violence and wicked boldness. He did not want them to be offended when they saw him suffering. He also wanted them to be patient and not to complain greatly, although people would treat them rudely. He, so to speak, made the Samaritans' hatred a preparatory exercise in the matter. They had not received the messengers... For their benefit, he rebuked the disciples and gently restrained the sharpness of their wrath, not permitting them to grumble violently against those who sinned. He rather persuaded them to be patient and to cherish a mind that is unmovable by anything like this."
(excerpt from COMMENTARY ON LUKE, HOMILY 56)
More Homilies
