2022년 1월 5일 주님 공현 대축일 전 목요일
제1독서
요한1서 3,11-21
사랑하는 여러분, 11 여러분이 처음부터 들은 말씀은 이것입니다.
곧 우리가 서로 사랑해야 한다는 것입니다.
12 악마에게 속한 사람으로서 자기 동생을 죽인 카인처럼 되어서는 안 됩니다.
그가 무슨 까닭으로 동생을 죽였습니까?
자기가 한 일은 악하고 동생이 한 일은 의로웠기 때문입니다.
13 그리고 형제 여러분, 세상이 여러분을 미워하여도 놀라지 마십시오.
14 우리는 형제들을 사랑하기 때문에
우리가 이미 죽음에서 생명으로 건너갔다는 것을 압니다.
사랑하지 않는 자는 죽음 안에 그대로 머물러 있습니다.
15 자기 형제를 미워하는 자는 모두 살인자입니다.
그리고 여러분도 알다시피,
살인자는 아무도 자기 안에 영원한 생명을 지니고 있지 않습니다.
16 그분께서 우리를 위하여 당신 목숨을 내놓으신 그 사실로
우리는 사랑을 알게 되었습니다.
그러므로 우리도 형제들을 위하여 목숨을 내놓아야 합니다.
17 누구든지 세상 재물을 가지고 있으면서도
자기 형제가 궁핍한 것을 보고 그에게 마음을 닫아 버리면,
하느님 사랑이 어떻게 그 사람 안에 머무를 수 있겠습니까?
18 자녀 여러분, 말과 혀로 사랑하지 말고
행동으로 진리 안에서 사랑합시다.
19 이로써 우리가 진리에 속해 있음을 알게 되고,
또 그분 앞에서 마음을 편히 가질 수 있을 것입니다.
20 마음이 우리를 단죄하더라도 그렇습니다.
하느님께서는 우리의 마음보다 크시고 또 모든 것을 아시기 때문입니다.
21 사랑하는 여러분, 마음이 우리를 단죄하지 않으면
우리는 하느님 앞에서 확신을 가지게 됩니다.
복음
요한 1,43-51
그 무렵 43 예수님께서는 갈릴래아에 가기로 작정하셨다.
그때에 필립보를 만나시자 그에게 “나를 따라라.” 하고 이르셨다.
44 필립보는 안드레아와 베드로의 고향인 벳사이다 출신이었다.
45 이 필립보가 나타나엘을 만나 말하였다.
“우리는 모세가 율법에 기록하고 예언자들도 기록한 분을 만났소.
나자렛 출신으로 요셉의 아들 예수라는 분이시오.”
46 나타나엘은 필립보에게,
“나자렛에서 무슨 좋은 것이 나올 수 있겠소?” 하였다.
그러자 필립보가 나타나엘에게 “와서 보시오.” 하고 말하였다.
47 예수님께서는 나타나엘이 당신 쪽으로 오는 것을 보시고
그에 대하여 말씀하셨다.
“보라, 저 사람이야말로 참으로 이스라엘 사람이다. 저 사람은 거짓이 없다.”
48 나타나엘이 예수님께 “저를 어떻게 아십니까?” 하고 물으니,
예수님께서 그에게 “필립보가 너를 부르기 전에,
네가 무화과나무 아래에 있는 것을 내가 보았다.” 하고 대답하셨다.
49 그러자 나타나엘이 예수님께 말하였다.
“스승님, 스승님은 하느님의 아드님이십니다. 이스라엘의 임금님이십니다.”
50 예수님께서 나타나엘에게 이르셨다.
“네가 무화과나무 아래에 있는 것을 보았다고 해서 나를 믿느냐?
앞으로 그보다 더 큰 일을 보게 될 것이다.”
51 이어서 그에게 또 말씀하셨다.
“내가 진실로 진실로 너희에게 말한다. 너희는 하늘이 열리고
하느님의 천사들이 사람의 아들 위에서 오르내리는 것을 보게 될 것이다.”
January 5, 2022
Memorial of Saint John Neumann, bishop
Daily Mass : http://www.catholictv.com/shows/daily-mass
: https://www.youtube.com/c/DailyTVMass
Reading 1
1 Jn 3:11-21
Beloved:
This is the message you have heard from the beginning:
we should love one another,
unlike Cain who belonged to the Evil One
and slaughtered his brother.
Why did he slaughter him?
Because his own works were evil,
and those of his brother righteous.
Do not be amazed, then, brothers and sisters, if the world hates you.
We know that we have passed from death to life
because we love our brothers.
Whoever does not love remains in death.
Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer,
and you know that no murderer has eternal life remaining in him.
The way we came to know love
was that he laid down his life for us;
so we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.
If someone who has worldly means
sees a brother in need and refuses him compassion,
how can the love of God remain in him?
Children, let us love not in word or speech
but in deed and truth.
Now this is how we shall know that we belong to the truth
and reassure our hearts before him
in whatever our hearts condemn,
for God is greater than our hearts and knows everything.
Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us,
we have confidence in God.
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 100:1b-2, 3, 4, 5
R. (2a) Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;
serve the LORD with gladness;
come before him with joyful song.
R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
Know that the LORD is God;
he made us, his we are;
his people, the flock he tends.
R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
his courts with praise;
Give thanks to him; bless his name.
R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
The LORD is good:
the LORD, whose kindness endures forever,
and his faithfulness, to all generations.
R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
Gospel
Jn 1:43-51
Jesus decided to go to Galilee, and he found Philip.
And Jesus said to him, “Follow me.”
Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the town of Andrew and Peter.
Philip found Nathanael and told him,
“We have found the one about whom Moses wrote in the law,
and also the prophets, Jesus, son of Joseph, from Nazareth.”
But Nathanael said to him,
“Can anything good come from Nazareth?”
Philip said to him, “Come and see.”
Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him,
“Here is a true child of Israel.
There is no duplicity in him.”
Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?”
Jesus answered and said to him,
“Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree.”
Nathanael answered him,
“Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.”
Jesus answered and said to him,
“Do you believe
because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree?
You will see greater things than this.”
And he said to him, “Amen, amen, I say to you,
you will see the sky opened and the angels of God
ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”
http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html
Jesus invites Philip to “Follow me” and Philip does. Twelve other times in the gospels Jesus asks someone to follow him, and they do. Today, in reflecting on the “follow me” invitations that Jesus offered during His time on earth, I thought about the personal charisma that He must have possessed. I also thought about charisma generally and how I have encountered and observed it in my own life.
I first recall seeing a charismatic person in the 1960 U.S. Presidential race, when I saw television excerpts of then candidate and later President Kennedy. His youth, his charm, his choice of language, the manner in which he connected with people, even those he never met, was remarkable. His inauguration speech was so inspiring and uplifting to not only a 6th grader but the country at large.
A few years later I became interested in history, and documentaries, and saw excerpts of Adolf Hitler’s speeches to the German population. I did not know what he was saying (I don’t speak or understand German) but I could see the fervor of his comments and hear the thunderous applause of the audience. Clearly, he had charisma and was connecting with his people.
What strikes me today about juxtaposing Jesus’ simple “follow me” and Kennedy’s speeches and Hitler’s diatribes, besides the motives, is the fact that Jesus had a close personal interaction with the people He invited. This was by necessity – there was no mass media 2,000 years ago. Modern political leaders certainly “press the flesh” in smaller settings, but also have been able to use mass communication media to extend their reach. But when Kennedy was killed, when Hitler lost the war and committed suicide, the personal impacts they had on their populations also quickly dissipated. There still were “Kennedy democrats” and his brothers tried to emulate him and carry on his legacy. With Hitler’s defeat and death, the whole movement died, although hate groups continue to try to use his playbook of hatred and disgruntlement to gain political power even today.
When my wife and I married in 1973, one of the songs we chose for the ceremony was “Follow Me” by John Denver. The initial refrain says:
“Follow me where I go, what I do, who I know
Make it part of you to be a part of me.
Follow me up and down,
All the way and all around,
Take my hand and say you’ll follow me.”
In the final refrain the last line is changed to “Take my hand and I will follow you.”
I don’t think the gospels refer to Jesus singing, but I can imagine Jesus singing the refrain from this song to invite me to follow Him and to live my life as He teaches. The last line of the final refrain is on me – asking me to actually make the commitment. Making a commitment, and living the commitment, is difficult. Where does Jesus go, what does He do, who does He know? Isn’t He asking me to step outside my comfort zone?
How do we, who profess to be His followers, follow Him “up and down, all the way and all around?” How do we welcome immigrants and asylum seekers? Do we provide food and shelter and clothing to people who find themselves hungry or homeless or without warm winter coats? How do we comfort those of our sisters and brothers who are struggling with their gender identity? Do we seek first to understand, before we clamor to be understood, when women are confronted with difficult decisions about their bodies and pregnancies? How do we respond to our fellow citizens who break the law and need to be incarcerated? How do we lessen the persistent levels of poverty and starvation and disease in our neighborhoods and villages and cities and around the world? How do we use this beautiful gift of creation and steward it for future generations?
It is easy to get caught up in a crowd professing allegiance to a charismatic leader. It is much more difficult to order our individual lives to follow the inspiring message. And so, my prayer today is for the grace to have the strength to say to Jesus: “Take my hand and I will follow you,” in my intentions and actions and deeds.
http://www.presentationministries.com/obob/obob.asp
MIRACLE OF MIRACLES
“That we have passed from death to life we know because we love the brothers. The man who does not love is among the living dead.” —1 John 3:14
Throughout Advent, the Lord through His Word has promised us a miraculous Christmas. The blind would see, the lame walk, the deaf hear, and the dumb speak. Many of us may not have experienced such dramatic miracles this Christmas season.
Nonetheless, there’s another miracle that is even more dramatic and more important: the miracle of unconditional love, love for enemies, love for the unlovable. This is the ultimate miracle of the Christian life and of Christmas. When we are willing to lay down our lives in love (1 Jn 3:16) for prejudiced individuals, traitors, and murderers, we truly have received the miracle of Christmas, Calvary, and Christ. This proves we are sons and daughters of the heavenly Father (Mt 5:43-45) and proves we have had the real Christmas, because no one but the Father’s children can forgive and love the unlovable.
Think of your enemy or the person that has hurt you the most. Ask the Lord for His crucified love for that person to flow through you. Open your Christmas present of unconditional love.
Prayer: Jesus, may I respond to hate with love as You do.
Promise: “I solemnly assure you, you shall see the sky opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” —Jn 1:51
Praise: St. John Neumann was born in what is now the Czech Republic. No additional priests were needed in his diocese, so he emigrated to New York. Sixteen days after arriving he was ordained!
http://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/readings/
How can we know with certainty that Jesus is truly who he claims to be - the Son of God and Savior of the world? Philip was eager to tell his friend Nathaniel (who is also known as Bartholomew in Matthew 10:3 and Luke 6:14) about his decision to be a disciple of Jesus. Philip tried to convince his friend that Jesus was the Messiah, whom Moses and the prophets had foretold would come. Nathanial was very skeptical because he didn't think it was possible for the Messiah to come from Nazareth, a town in Galilee. Nathaniel not only disliked the town of Nazareth, he despised its residents as unworthy Jews. "How could anything good come from such a place?"
Nazareth was at the crossroads of the ancient world where people from different cultures and religions would pass through. Perhaps Nathaniel thought its religious teachers were not orthodox enough in their understanding and interpretation of the law of Moses. Besides, how could the Messiah come from Galilee when the prophets said he would come from Bethlehem of Judaea? Aren't we all a bit like Nathaniel? We are skeptical when someone tries to convince us of the truth until we can comprehend it for ourselves.
A skeptical but earnest search for God's truth
So what kind of proof did Philip offer to Nathanael? Rather than argue with his friend, Philip took the wiser strategy of inviting Nathanael to "come and see" for himself who this Jesus claimed to be. Clever arguments rarely win people to the Gospel - but an encounter with the person of Jesus Christ can change one's life forever. When people are receptive to the word of Christ and when they see his love in action, the Lord Jesus himself, through the power of the Holy Spirit, touches their hearts and opens their minds to recognize that he truly is the Son of God who reveals the Father's love and truth to us.
When Philip brought Nathanael to Jesus, Jesus did something which only God could do! He opened Nathanael's heart and his innermost thoughts and desires to God's revelation. Jesus called Nathanael a true "Israelite in whom there is no guile." God had chosen Jacob, who was given the name Israel, over his twin brother Essau, because Jacob was a man of faith, without guile or cunning like Essau (Genesis 25:27). Nathanael, like Jacob, hungered for God and believed in God's promises. Nathanael knew the Scriptures. He had read the law and the prophets. And like Jacob he was waiting for the fulfillment of God's promises to his people Israel. Nathanael was an earnest seeker of God. He not only sought to grow in understanding of God's word, but he sought an intimate personal relationship with God as well. That is why he was willing to meet Jesus, to see if perhaps this miracle worker from Galilee might be the long-awaited Messiah and Savior.
God's word brings blessing and refreshment for those who receive it
What is the significance of Jesus' revelation of seeing Nathanael "under the fig tree"? For the people of Israel, the fig tree was a symbol of God's peace and blessing (1 Kings 4:24b-25, Micah 4:4). It provided shade from the midday sun and a cool refreshing place to retreat, pray, and reflect on God's word. Rabbis often gathered their disciples under the shade of the fig tree to teach them the wisdom and revelation of God's word in the Scriptures. The rabbis had an expression for comparing the fig tree to being nourished with God's word in Scripture, "He who tends the fig tree will eat its fruit."
Jesus offers the greatest gift possible - peace and friendship with God
It is very likely that Nathanael had been thinking about God's word while sitting "under his fig tree" and reflecting on God's promise to send a Messiah King who would free his people from sin and oppression and usher in God's kingdom of righteousness and peace for the whole world. Perhaps Nathanael dozed off for a midday nap and dreamt of God's kingdom like Jacob had dreamt when God gave him a vision of a great ladder which united earth with heaven (see Genesis 28:12-17). Through the gift of revelation Nathanael recognized that Jesus was truly the Messiah, the everlasting "Son of God and King of Israel" (John 1:49). The Lord Jesus offered Nathanael the greatest gift of all - the gift of friendship with God and the offer of free access to God's throne in heaven.
Jesus promises that we will dwell with the living God
What does Jesus mean when he says "you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man"? One of the most remarkable revelations recorded in the Bible is the dream of Jacob (Genesis 28:12-17). God had opened a door for Jacob that brought him and his people into a new relationship with the living God. In Jacob's dream God revealed his angelic host and showed him the very throne of heaven and promised Jacob that he and his descendants would dwell with the living God.
Jesus, the Son of God, unites earth and heaven in himself
Jesus' response to Nathanael's new faith in accepting Jesus as the Messiah is the promise that Jesus himself will open the way for free access to the very throne of God in heaven. Jesus is the fulfillment of God's promise to Jacob and his descendants - he is the way to the Father in heaven and the true "ladder (or stairway) which unites earth with heaven." In Jesus' incarnation, the divine Son of God taking on human flesh for our sake, we see the union of heaven and earth - God making his dwelling with us and bringing us into the heavenly reality of his kingdom through his Son, Jesus Christ.
Jesus gives us free access to God's presence
Jesus' death on the cross, where he defeated sin and won new life for us through his resurrection, opens the way for each of us to come into a new relationship with God as his adopted sons and daughters. The Lord Jesus opens the way for each one of us to "ascend to heaven" and to bring "heaven to earth" in the daily circumstances of our lives. God's kingdom is present in those who seek him and who strive to do his will. Through the gift of faith God opens a door for each one of us to the heavenly reality of his kingdom. Do you see with the "eyes of faith" what the Lord Jesus has done for us?
Heavenly Father, through your Son Jesus Christ, you have opened the way to heaven for each one of us. As you personally revealed yourself to your beloved patriarchs and apostles, so reveal yourself to me that I may recognize your presence with me and know the power of your kingdom at work in my life. May I always find joy and peace in your presence and never lose sight of your everlasting kingdom.
Psalm 100:1-5
1 Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the lands!
2 Serve the LORD with gladness! Come into his presence with singing!
3 Know that the LORD is God! It is he that made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him, bless his name!
5 For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures for ever, and his faithfulness to all generations.
Daily Quote from the Early Church Fathers: The Lord of Angels, by John Chrysostom (347-407 AD)
"Do you see how he [Jesus] leads him [Nathanael] up little by little from the earth and causes him no longer to imagine him as merely a man? For one to whom angels minister and on whom angels ascend and descend, how could he be a man? This is why he said, 'You shall see greater things than these.' And to prove this, he introduces the ministry of angels. What he means is something like this: Does this, O Nathanael, seem to you a great matter, and have you for this confessed me to be King of Israel? What then will you say when you see 'angels ascending and descending on me'? He persuades him by these words to receive him as Lord also of the angels. For on him as on the king's own son, the royal ministers ascended and descended, once at the season of the crucifixion, again at the time of the resurrection and the ascension, and before this also, when they 'came and ministered to him' (Matthew 4:11). They also ascended and descended when they proclaimed the good news of his birth and cried, 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace' (Luke 2:14), when they came to Mary and also when they came to Joseph... Our Lord made the present a proof of the future. After the powers he had already shown, Nathanael would readily believe that much more would follow." (excerpt from the Homilies On the Gospel of John 21.1)
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