오늘의 복음

December 9, 2022Friday of the Second Week of Advent

Margaret K 2022. 12. 9. 05:54

2022 년 12월 9일 대림 제2주간 금요일

오늘의 복음 : http://info.catholic.or.kr/missa/default.asp

제1독서

<아, 네가 내 계명들에 주의를 기울였다면.>

이사야서. 48,17-19

17 이스라엘의 거룩하신 분

너의 구원자이신 주님께서 이렇게 말씀하신다.

“나는 주 너의 하느님

너에게 유익하도록 너를 가르치고

네가 가야 할 길로 너를 인도하는 이다.

18 아, 네가 내 계명들에 주의를 기울였다면

너의 평화가 강물처럼, 너의 의로움이 바다 물결처럼 넘실거렸을 것을.

19 네 후손들이 모래처럼, 네 몸의 소생들이 모래알처럼 많았을 것을.

그들의 이름이 내 앞에서 끊어지지도 없어지지도 않았을 것을.”

복음

<그들은 요한의 말도 사람의 아들의 말도 듣지 않는다.>

마태오. 11,16-19

그때에 예수님께서 군중에게 말씀하셨다.

16 “이 세대를 무엇에 비기랴?

장터에 앉아 서로 부르며 이렇게 말하는 아이들과 같다.

17 ‘우리가 피리를 불어 주어도 너희는 춤추지 않고

우리가 곡을 하여도 너희는 가슴을 치지 않았다.’

18 사실 요한이 와서 먹지도 않고 마시지도 않자,

‘저자는 마귀가 들렸다.’ 하고 말한다.

19 그런데 사람의 아들이 와서 먹고 마시자,

‘보라, 저자는 먹보요 술꾼이며 세리와 죄인들의 친구다.’ 하고 말한다.

그러나 지혜가 옳다는 것은 그 지혜가 이룬 일로 드러났다.”

December 9, 2022

Friday of the Second Week of Advent

Daily Readings — Audio

Daily Reflections — Video

http://www.usccb.org/bible/

Daily Mass : https://www.youtube.com/c/EWTNcatholictv

: https://www.youtube.com/c/DailyTVMass

Reading 1

Is 48:17-19

Thus says the LORD, your redeemer,

the Holy One of Israel:

I, the LORD, your God,

teach you what is for your good,

and lead you on the way you should go.

If you would hearken to my commandments,

your prosperity would be like a river,

and your vindication like the waves of the sea;

Your descendants would be like the sand,

and those born of your stock like its grains,

Their name never cut off

or blotted out from my presence.

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 1:1-2, 3, 4 and 6

R. (see John 8:12) Those who follow you, Lord, will have the light of life.

Blessed the man who follows not

the counsel of the wicked

Nor walks in the way of sinners,

nor sits in the company of the insolent,

But delights in the law of the LORD

and meditates on his law day and night.

R. Those who follow you, Lord, will have the light of life.

He is like a tree

planted near running water,

That yields its fruit in due season,

and whose leaves never fade.

Whatever he does, prospers.

R. Those who follow you, Lord, will have the light of life.

Not so the wicked, not so;

they are like chaff which the wind drives away.

For the LORD watches over the way of the just,

but the way of the wicked vanishes.

R. Those who follow you, Lord, will have the light of life.

Gospel

Mt 11:16-19

Jesus said to the crowds:

“To what shall I compare this generation?

It is like children who sit in marketplaces and call to one another,

‘We played the flute for you, but you did not dance,

we sang a dirge but you did not mourn.’

For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they said,

‘He is possessed by a demon.’

The Son of Man came eating and drinking and they said,

‘Look, he is a glutton and a drunkard,

a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’

But wisdom is vindicated by her works.”

http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html

I gave a test recently, and some of the students did not perform very well. I know they won’t be happy with their test grades, and I feel bad about the situation. I think they should have read the text, they should have paid attention to the lecture, they should have looked at the syllabus. But they didn’t, and their test scores reflect that. If only they’d read the text more carefully, they could have answered that question. If they’d listened and taken notes on the class discussion they would have understood the concept. I try to teach what they will need. I show them where to find the information. I want them to understand the readings. I want them to learn the information. I want them to get good grades. But I can’t make them. I can’t cram the information into their heads. They make their own choices about whether to come to class, how much to study, whether to do their homework. If only they would listen to me, they would have success in this class.

The readings for today put me in the mind of my students who didn’t study enough. Yahweh says he wants to teach us for our own good. He wants to lead us in the right way. He says to the people, “If only you had listened to my commandments! Your prosperity would have been like a river and your saving justice like the waves of the sea. Your descendants would have been numbered like the sand, your offspring as many as its grains.” God teaches us the right way, gives us the commandments as the path to follow. Wants us to prosper, wants us to learn. If we follow the right path, our success will be assured. If we follow God we will be like the tall healthy tree, but if we don’t we will be like the chaff. In the Gospel Jesus reiterates that the foundation is given us, but we have to accept it. We are given the joyful music, but we have to dance. We are given the syllabus, and we have to do our homework. We have to follow the commandments. But he can’t physically make us. If only we follow the commandments we will have the spiritual life we should, and we will have our reward in heaven.

http://www.presentationministries.com/obob/obob.asp

THE STAR OF OBEDIENCE

“If you would hearken to My commandments, your prosperity would be like a river, and your vindication like the waves of the sea.” —Isaiah 48:18

Christmas, like life, is a matter of obedience. If we obey the Lord’s commands, we will become prosperous, vindicated, blessed, and assured this Christmas (Is 48:18-19). However, we are often like rebellious, disobedient children who want to give orders rather than take them (Mt 11:16-17). We must repent of this self-willed, disobedient attitude or we will deprive ourselves of Christmas and even of Christ.

At the first Christmas, the Lord gave His commands to Mary and Joseph through His angel (Lk 1:28; Mt 1:20) and the government (Lk 2:1). He commanded the wise men through a star and the Scriptures (Mt 2:2-6). He commanded the shepherds through a choir of angels (Lk 2:11-12). The few who obeyed were present at the first Christmas. Yet a world of innkeepers had no room in their hearts even for the Messiah (Lk 2:7).

It is the same today. The real Christmas, the personal encounter with Christ, is for those who believe in the Lord enough to obey Him. Only those who follow the star of obedience will make their way to the manger and find the Christ-Child.

Prayer: Lord, if I don’t die to self, I’ll miss out on Christmas again and I’ll never love You. I repent.

Promise: “I, the Lord, your God, teach you what is for your good, and lead you on the way you should go.” —Is 48:17

Praise: It is easy to forget St. Juan Diego was born an Aztec peasant. He later converted to Catholicism. Providentially, the Lord often chooses the lowly to spread His message.

http://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/readings/

Do you seek God's way of peace and wisdom for your life? The prophets remind us that God's kingdom is available to those who are teachable and receptive to the word of God. Through their obedience to God's word and commandments, they receive not only wisdom and peace for themselves, but they, in turn become a blessing to their children and their offspring as well. Jesus warns the generation of his day to heed God's word before it is too late. He compares proud teachers and vain scholars with stubborn playmates who refuse to follow wise counsel and instruction.

Jesus parable about a group of disappointed musicians and their stubborn friends who refuse to sing or dance at the appropriate occasion challenge us to examine whether we are selective to only hear and do what we want to hear. The young music players in Jesus' parable react with great dismay because they cannot get anyone to follow their instruction. They complain that if they play their music at weddings, no one will join in their festive song and dance; and if they play mournful tunes and songs at funerals, no one will join in at all. This parable echoes the wisdom of Ecclesiastes 3:4 - "there is a time to weep and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance." Are you in tune with the message of God's kingdom? And do you heed God's word of wisdom and truth as if your life depended on it?

Spiritual indifference and deaf ears can block God's word for us

Jesus' message of the kingdom of God is a proclamation of good news that produces great joy and hope for those who listen and obey - but it is also a warning of bad consequences and disaster for those who refuse to accept God's gracious invitation. Why did the message of John the Baptist and the message of Jesus meet with resistance and deaf ears? It was out of jealously and spiritual blindness that the scribes and Pharisees attributed John the Baptist's austerities to the devil and they attributed Jesus' table fellowship as evidence for pretending to be the Messiah. They succeeded in frustrating God's plan for their lives because they had closed their hearts to the message of John the Baptist and now they close their ears to Jesus, God's anointed Son sent to redeem us from bondage to sin and death.

What can make us spiritually dull and slow to hear God's voice? Like the generation of Jesus' time, our age is marked by indifference and contempt, especially in regards to the things of heaven. Indifference dulls our ears to God's voice and to the good news of the Gospel. Only the humble of heart can find joy and favor in God's sight. Is you life in tune with Jesus' message of hope and salvation? And do you know the joy and blessing of believing and obeying God's word?


Lord Jesus, open my ears to hear the good news of your kingdom and set my heart free to love and serve you joyfully. May nothing keep me from following you wholeheartedly.


Psalm 1:1-6

1 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers;

2 but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.

3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water, that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.

4 The wicked are not so, but are like chaff which the wind drives away.

5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;

6 for the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

Daily Quote from the Early Church Fathers: The river of forgiveness washes us clean, by Ambrose of Milan, 339-397 A.D.

"This water is good, then. I mean here the grace of the Spirit. Who will give this Fountain to my heart? Let it spring up in me, let that which gives eternal life flow on me. Let that Fountain overflow on us and not flow away. For Wisdom says, 'Drink water out of your own vessels and from the fountains of your own wells, and let [not] your waters flow abroad in your streets' (Proverbs 5:15-16). How shall I keep this water so that it does not seep out or glide away? How shall I preserve my vessel, lest any crack of sin penetrating it should let the water of eternal life exude? Teach us, Lord Jesus, teach us as you taught your apostles, saying, 'Lay not up for yourselves treasures on the earth, where rust and moth destroy and where thieves break through and steal (Matthew 6:19)...

"If you seek Jesus, forsake the broken cisterns, for Christ did not make it his custom to sit by a pool but by a well. There that Samaritan woman (John 4:6) found him, she who believed, she who wished to draw water. Although you ought to have come in early morning, nevertheless if you come later, even at the sixth hour, you will find Jesus wearied with his journey. He is weary, but it is because of you, because he has long looked for you, your unbelief has long wearied him. Yet he is not offended if you only come now. He asks to drink who is about to give. But he drinks not the water of a stream flowing by, but your salvation. He drinks your good dispositions. He drinks the cup, that is, the passion that atoned for your sins, that you, drinking of his sacred blood, might quench the thirst of this world." (excerpt from ON THE HOLY SPIRIT 1.16.182-84)