2019년 11월 17일 연중 제33주일(세계 가난한 이의 날)
오늘의 복음 : http://info.catholic.or.kr/missa/default.asp
제1독서
말라키 예언서. 3,19-20ㄴ
19 보라, 화덕처럼 불붙는 날이 온다.
거만한 자들과 악을 저지르는 자들은 모두 검불이 되리니
다가오는 그날이 그들을 불살라 버리리라.
─ 만군의 주님께서 말씀하신다. ─
그날은 그들에게 뿌리도 가지도 남겨 두지 않으리라.
20 그러나 나의 이름을 경외하는 너희에게는
의로움의 태양이 날개에 치유를 싣고 떠오르리라.
제2독서
우리는 여러분과 함께 있을 때에 무질서하게 살지 않았고,
8 아무에게서도 양식을 거저 얻어먹지 않았으며,
오히려 여러분 가운데 누구에게도 폐를 끼치지 않으려고
수고와 고생을 하며 밤낮으로 일하였습니다.
9 우리에게 권리가 없어서가 아니라,
우리 스스로 여러분에게 모범을 보여
여러분이 우리를 본받게 하려는 것이었습니다.
10 사실 우리는 여러분 곁에 있을 때,
일하기 싫어하는 자는 먹지도 말라고 거듭 지시하였습니다.
11 그런데 듣자 하니, 여러분 가운데에 무질서하게 살아가면서 일은 하지 않고
남의 일에 참견만 하는 자들이 있다고 합니다.
12 그러한 사람들에게 우리는 주 예수 그리스도의 이름으로 지시하고 권고합니다.
묵묵히 일하여 자기 양식을 벌어먹도록 하십시오.
복음
루카. 21,5-19
그때에 5 몇몇 사람이 성전을 두고,
그것이 아름다운 돌과 자원 예물로 꾸며졌다고 이야기하자,
예수님께서 이르셨다. 6 “너희가 보고 있는 저것들이,
돌 하나도 다른 돌 위에 남아 있지 않고 다 허물어질 때가 올 것이다.”
7 그들이 예수님께 물었다. “스승님, 그러면 그런 일이 언제 일어나겠습니까?
또 그 일이 벌어지려고 할 때에 어떤 표징이 나타나겠습니까?”
8 예수님께서 이르셨다. “너희는 속는 일이 없도록 조심하여라.
많은 사람이 내 이름으로 와서,
‘내가 그리스도다.’, 또 ‘때가 가까웠다.’ 하고 말할 것이다.
그들 뒤를 따라가지 마라.
9 그리고 너희는 전쟁과 반란이 일어났다는 소문을 듣더라도 무서워하지 마라.
그러한 일이 반드시 먼저 벌어지겠지만 그것이 바로 끝은 아니다.”
10 이어서 그들에게 말씀하셨다.
“민족과 민족이 맞서 일어나고 나라와 나라가 맞서 일어나며,
11 큰 지진이 발생하고 곳곳에 기근과 전염병이 생길 것이다.
그리고 하늘에서는 무서운 일들과 큰 표징들이 일어날 것이다.
12 그러나 이 모든 일에 앞서, 사람들이 너희에게 손을 대어 박해할 것이다.
너희를 회당과 감옥에 넘기고,
내 이름 때문에 너희를 임금들과 총독들 앞으로 끌고 갈 것이다.
13 이러한 일이 너희에게는 증언할 기회가 될 것이다.
14 그러나 너희는 명심하여, 변론할 말을 미리부터 준비하지 마라.
15 어떠한 적대자도 맞서거나 반박할 수 없는 언변과 지혜를 내가 너희에게 주겠다.
16 부모와 형제와 친척과 친구들까지도 너희를 넘겨 더러는 죽이기까지 할 것이다.
17 그리고 너희는 내 이름 때문에 모든 사람에게 미움을 받을 것이다.
18 그러나 너희는 머리카락 하나도 잃지 않을 것이다.
19 너희는 인내로써 생명을 얻어라.”
November 13, 2022
Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time
Daily Mass : https://www.youtube.com/c/EWTNcatholictv : https://www.youtube.com/c/DailyTVMass
Reading 1
Lo, the day is coming, blazing like an oven,
when all the proud and all evildoers will be stubble,
and the day that is coming will set them on fire,
leaving them neither root nor branch,
says the LORD of hosts.
But for you who fear my name, there will arise
the sun of justice with its healing rays.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (cf. 9) The Lord comes to rule the earth with justice.
Sing praise to the LORD with the harp,
with the harp and melodious song.
With trumpets and the sound of the horn
sing joyfully before the King, the LORD.
R. The Lord comes to rule the earth with justice.
Let the sea and what fills it resound,
the world and those who dwell in it;
let the rivers clap their hands,
the mountains shout with them for joy.
R. The Lord comes to rule the earth with justice.
Before the LORD, for he comes,
for he comes to rule the earth,
He will rule the world with justice
and the peoples with equity.
R. The Lord comes to rule the earth with justice.
Reading 2
Brothers and sisters:
You know how one must imitate us.
For we did not act in a disorderly way among you,
nor did we eat food received free from anyone.
On the contrary, in toil and drudgery, night and day
we worked, so as not to burden any of you.
Not that we do not have the right.
Rather, we wanted to present ourselves as a model for you,
so that you might imitate us.
In fact, when we were with you,
we instructed you that if anyone was unwilling to work,
neither should that one eat.
We hear that some are conducting themselves among you in a
disorderly way,
by not keeping busy but minding the business of others.
Such people we instruct and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to work quietly
and to eat their own food.
Gospel
While some people were speaking about
how the temple was adorned with costly stones and votive offerings,
Jesus said, "All that you see here--
the days will come when there will not be left
a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down."
Then they asked him,
"Teacher, when will this happen?
And what sign will there be when all these things are about to happen?"
He answered,
"See that you not be deceived,
for many will come in my name, saying,
'I am he,’ and 'The time has come.’
Do not follow them!
When you hear of wars and insurrections,
do not be terrified; for such things must happen first,
but it will not immediately be the end."
Then he said to them,
"Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.
There will be powerful earthquakes, famines, and plagues
from place to place;
and awesome sights and mighty signs will come from the sky.
"Before all this happens, however,
they will seize and persecute you,
they will hand you over to the synagogues and to prisons,
and they will have you led before kings and governors
because of my name.
It will lead to your giving testimony.
Remember, you are not to prepare your defense beforehand,
for I myself shall give you a wisdom in speaking
that all your adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute.
You will even be handed over by parents, brothers, relatives, and friends,
and they will put some of you to death.
You will be hated by all because of my name,
but not a hair on your head will be destroyed.
By your perseverance you will secure your lives."
Confronting Our Pride
At times, I find myself thinking that I’m better than everyone else - that I’m not a part of the world’s problems, that I’ve got it all figured out, that I’m on the right side of history. When Scripture points toward the destruction of the proud and evildoers, I have the remarkable ability to see lots of faces, none of them my own. This disturbs me.
We march ever closer to Advent, a penitential season which reminds us that the coming of the Lord is a beacon of light for all who seek eternal life. My own tendency toward pride diminishes that light. The invitation in our reading - to fear the name of the Lord - is a call to push against pride and embrace the ever-ongoing task of making a world in which it is easier to do good. May we all confront our pride and let healing rays shine forth.
—Fr. Eric Immel, SJ, is a vocation promoter for the Midwest Jesuits. He was ordained in June 2022. Learn more about Jesuit vocations at beajesuit.org.
Prayer
Disturb us, Lord, when
We are too well pleased with ourselves,
When our dreams have come true
Because we have dreamed too little,
When we arrived safely
Because we sailed too close to the shore.
Disturb us, Lord, when
With the abundance of things we possess
We have lost our thirst
For the waters of life;
Having fallen in love with life,
We have ceased to dream of eternity
And in our efforts to build a new earth,
We have allowed our vision
Of the new Heaven to dim.
Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly,
To venture on wider seas
Where storms will show your mastery;
Where losing sight of land,
We shall find the stars.
We ask You to push back
The horizons of our hopes;
And to push into the future
In strength, courage, hope, and love.
—Attributed to Sir Francis Drake, c. 1577
http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html
As young Jesuits, years ago now, at the evening meal we would listen to the daily recounting from a book entitled 'the Martyrology.' We would be eating dinner and hear accounts of heads being knocked off, bodies boiled in iron boxes, lions chewing up believers and such gruesome pictures. While eating and listening, I would wonder if I could finish the meal and even more, if I could finish my vocation as a Jesuit in such terrible situations. I always managed to finish with dessert though.
Here on my desk is a five-by-five-inch little platform with a bent miniature fence post with some straggly barbed wire hanging on it and a small figure of the Franciscan Maximillan Kolbe who replaced a condemned man who had been sentenced to death in Auschwitz and so gave his life. Albert Delp and Dietrich Bonhoeffer, two other W.W. II Christian martyrs, had also read today’s Gospel and listened to its last verse. This week we will commemorate the murdering of five El Salvadorean Jesuits, their house keeper and her daughter. They had also read these verses from today’s Gospel and these all did persevere.
In our listening to or reading these verses we might wonder if we are rather reading today’s newspaper or listening to or watching the daily news. There are wars, earthquakes, famines and dangerous uses of power. We hear Jesus speaking to His followers as He predicts how speaking and living His ways are going to be met with arrests, persecution, betrayals, even by family members. They will confront and then be seen as inconveniences and insults to the oppressors and dominators. In some way, they, as with Jesus Himself, will get what they bargained for.
I heard the whole Martyrology during my first five years as a Jesuit and each of us has listened to and perhaps prayed with these very verses from Luke’s Gospel. I then and now, and perhaps you as well, did and do wonder at what point would I excuse myself from His company with good excuses, such as “Well, I could stay alive to be available to do other good works.” Yes, a normal thought pattern. We can ponder whether the deaths of Kolbe, Delp, Bonhoeffer and the El Salvadorean companions brought about anything productive or helpful to the making of peace with Justice. Wouldn’t negotiations or denial work out better in the long run?
We are left with the final verses from both the First Reading from the Prophet Malachi and today’s Gospel and we pray, perhaps, to resist the self-condeming thoughts that we would not have the grace of perseverance and would drop out. We do, in our own small lives, live the daily martyrdom of living with our own earthquakes, wars, betrayals.
We ponder. What is worth living for and worth dying for? How precious is all that we give our every day to and for. We may not shed our blood for a cause or person, but that same blood gives us a life worth living for and that is an every-day offering. A good life is more than good when it is given to the living of others. Each day is a “thank You” for what we can share.
http://www.presentationministries.com/obob/obob.asp
DEFENSE ATTORNEY
“I bid you resolve not to worry about your defense beforehand.” —Luke 21:14
Doesn’t the Word of God say to be ever ready to give a reply to those who question you about why you live a life of faith? (1 Pt 3:15) The Holy Spirit is the Paraclete (Jn 14:26), a term which can be translated as “Attorney for the Defense.” Since the Holy Spirit is our Defense Attorney, we are actually stifling the Spirit (1 Thes 5:19) if we try to take over the Spirit’s job. Let the Spirit prepare your defense. You need only to be His witness when called upon.
The Holy Spirit will remind us of all He taught us in advance (Jn 14:26; 16:13). The Spirit will teach us “what to say and how to speak” (Jn 12:49). The Spirit will do a far better job of defending us than we can ever do. So we can instead spend our time thanking and praising Him, and listening to His words. Then we can let God do His job. Our business is simply to follow Him (Jn 21:19).
It’s the daily life of faith that prepares us. We can’t think of all the ways others will challenge us, but the Spirit knows this in advance. When we are living in the Spirit and in a life of faithful prayer with a well-formed conscience, then whatever the Spirit brings to mind is what He wants said. Even with an incomplete formation of conscience, if we are docile to the Spirit, He has the power to bring the proper words to our mind.
Offer your life to God as a living sacrifice; then the Holy Spirit will renew and transform your mind (Rm 12:1-2).
Prayer: Holy Spirit, open my ears to hear Your voice, and open my lips to speak Your words.
Promise: “By patient endurance you will save your lives.” —Lk 21:19
Praise: “The night shall be no more. They will need no light from lamps or the sun, for the Lord God shall give them light, and they shall reign forever” (Rv 22:5). Praise the risen Jesus!
http://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/readings/
How would you respond if someone prophesied that your home, land, or place of worship would be destroyed? Jesus foretold many signs that would shake peoples and nations. The signs which God uses are meant to point us to a higher spiritual truth and reality of his kingdom which does not perish or fade away, but endures for all eternity. God works through many events and signs to purify and renew us in hope and to help us set our hearts more firmly on him and him alone.
First signs of the end times
To the great consternation of the Jews, Jesus prophesied the destruction of their great temple at Jerusalem. The Jewish people took great pride in their temple, a marvel of the ancient world. The foretelling of this destruction was a dire warning of spiritual judgment in itself. They asked Jesus for a sign that would indicate when this disastrous event would occur. Jesus admonished them to not look for signs that would indicate the exact timing of impending destruction, but rather to pray for God's intervention of grace and mercy.
Jesus said there would be many signs of impending conflicts and disasters - such as wars, famines, diseases, tidal waves, and earthquakes - which would precede the struggles of the last days when God's anointed King would return to usher in the full reign of God over the earth. In that day when the Lord returns there will be a final judgement of the living and the dead when the secrets of every heart will be brought to light (Luke 12:2-3; Romans 2:16).
Jesus foretells the destruction of the Temple at Jerusalem
Jesus' prophecy of the destruction of the temple at Jerusalem was a two-edged sword, because it pointed not only to God's judgment, but also to his saving action and mercy. Jesus foretold the destruction of Jerusalem and the dire consequences for all who would reject him and his saving message. While the destruction of Jerusalem's temple was determined (it was razed by the Romans in 70 A.D.), there remained for its inhabitants a narrow open door leading to deliverance. Jesus said: "I am the door; whoever enters by me will be saved" (John 10:9). Jesus willingly set his face toward Jerusalem, knowing that he would meet betrayal, rejection, and death on a cross. His death on the cross, however, brought about true freedom, peace, and victory over the powers of sin, evil, and death - not only for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, but for all - both Jew and Gentile alike - who would accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Do you know the peace and security of a life submitted to the lordship of Jesus Christ?
We need to recognize the signs of God's judgment, mercy, and grace to save us
Sometimes we don't recognize the moral crisis and spiritual conflict of the age in which we live, until something "shakes us up" to the reality of this present condition. God reminds us that a future judgment and outcome awaits every individual who has lived on this earth. The reward for doing what is right and pleasing to God and the penalty for sinful rebellion and rejection of God are not always experienced in this present life - but they are sure to come in the day of final judgment.
The Lord Jesus tells us that there will be trials, suffering, and persecution in this present age until he comes again at the end of the world. God intends our anticipation of his final judgment to be a powerful deterrent to unfaithfulness and wrongdoing. God extends grace and mercy to all who will heed his call and his warning. Do not pass up, even for one day, God's invitation of grace and mercy to seek first his kingdom of righteousness and peace. This day may be your only chance before that final day comes.
Satan destroys and kills - God restores and gives life
The real enemy of the Gospel - the good news of Jesus Christ - is Satan (also called Lucifer), the powerful leader of the fallen angels who rebelled against God and who were cast out of heaven. Satan opposes God and all who follow his rule of peace and righteousness (moral goodness) on the earth. Jesus calls Satan a "murderer" who turns brother against brother and the "father of lies" who twists the truth and speaks falsehood (John 8:44). Satan not only opposes God's rule, he seeks to destroy all who would obey God. Satan will use any means possible to turn people away from God. He tempts people through envy, deception, hatred, and fear to provoke hostility towards those who follow the Lord Jesus Christ.
What is Jesus' response to hostility and persecution? Love, forbearance, and forgiveness. Only love - the love which is rooted in God's great compassion and faithfulness - can overcome prejudice, hatred, and envy. God's love purifies our heart and mind of all that would divide and tear people apart. Knowing God as our compassionate Father and loving God's word of truth and righteousness (moral goodness) is essential for overcoming evil. Jesus tells us that we do not need to fear those who would oppose us or treat us harshly for following the Lord Jesus. He promises to give us supernatural strength, wisdom, and courage as we take a stand for our faith and witness to the truth and love of Christ.
The Gospel is good news for the whole world because it is God's eternal word of truth, love, pardon, and salvation (being set free from sin and evil) through his Son, Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus has won the victory for us through his atoning death on the cross for our sins and his rising from the grave - his resurrection power that brings abundant life and restoration for us. That is why the Gospel has power to set people free from sin, fear and death, and bring peace, pardon, and new life.
Endurance never gives up hope in God
Jesus tells his disciples that if they endure to the end they will gain their lives - they will inherit abundant life and lasting happiness with God. Endurance is an essential strength which God gives to those who put their trust in him. Endurance is the patience which never gives up hope, never yields to despair or hatred. Patience is long-suffering because it looks beyond the present difficulties and trials and sees the reward which comes to those who persevere with hope and trust in God. That is why godly endurance is more than human effort. It is first and foremost a supernatural gift of the Holy Spirit which enables us to bear up under any trial or temptation.
Endurance is linked with godly hope - the supernatural assurance that we will see God face to face and inherit all the promises he has made. Jesus is our supreme model and pioneer who endured the cross for our sake (Hebrews 12:2). "God shows his love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). Jesus willingly shed his blood for us - to win for us pardon and peace with God. Our joy and privilege is to take up our cross each day to follow the Lord Jesus.
True martyrs live and die as witnesses of Christ and the Gospel of peace
The word "martyr" in the New Testament Greek means "witness". The Book of Revelation says that "Jesus was the faithful witness ...who freed us from our sins by his blood" (Revelation 1:5). Tertullian, a second century lawyer who converted when he saw Christians singing as they went out to die by the hands of their persecutors, exclaimed: "The blood of the martyrs is seed." Their blood is the seed of new Christians, the seed of the church.
The third century bishop, Cyprian said: "When persecution comes, God's soldiers are put to the test, and heaven is open to martyrs. We have not enlisted in an army to think of peace and to decline battle, for we see that the Lord has taken first place in the conflict." True martyrs live and die as witnesses of the Gospel. They overcome their enemies through persevering hope and courage, undying love and forbearance, kindness, goodness, and compassion.
God may call some of us to be martyrs who shed their blood for bearing witness to Jesus Christ. But for most of us, our call is to be 'dry' martyrs who bear testimony to the joy and power of the Gospel in the midst of daily challenges, contradictions, temptations and adversities which come our way as we follow the Lord Jesus.
We do not need to fear our adversaries
What will attract others to the truth and power of the Gospel? When they see Christians loving their enemies, being joyful in suffering, patient in adversity, pardoning injuries, and showing comfort and compassion to the hopeless and the helpless. Jesus tells us that we do not need to fear our adversaries. God will give us sufficient grace, strength, and wisdom to face any trial and to answer any challenge to our faith. Are you ready to lay down your life for Christ and to bear witness to the joy and freedom of the Gospel?
Lord Jesus Christ, by your atoning death on the cross you have redeemed the world. Fill me with joyful hope, courage, and boldness to witness the truth of your love for sinners and your victory over the powers of sin, Satan, and death.
Psalm 98:5-9
5 Sing praises to the LORD with the lyre, with the lyre and the sound of melody!
6 With trumpets and the sound of the horn make a joyful noise before the King, the LORD!
7 Let the sea roar, and all that fills it; the world and those who dwell in it!
8 Let the floods clap their hands; let the hills sing for joy together
9 before the LORD, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with equity.
Daily Quote from the Early Church Fathers: First signs of the end times, by Maximus of Turin (died between 408-423 AD)
"Perhaps you are anxious, brothers and sisters, at the fact that we hear constantly of the tumult of wars and the onsets of battles. Perhaps your love is still more anxious since these are taking place in our times. The reason is the closer we are to the destruction of the world, the closer we are to the kingdom of the Savior. The Lord himself says, 'In the last days nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. When you see wars, earthquakes and famines, know that the kingdom of God is at hand.'This nearness of wars shows us that Christ is near." (excerpt from SERMON 85.1)
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More Homilies
November 17, 2019 Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time