March 8, 2023 Wednesday of the Second Week of Lent

2023년 3월8일 사순 제2주간 수요일

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

<어서 그를 치자.>

예레미야서. 18,18-20

유다 사람들과 예루살렘 주민들이 18 이렇게 말하였습니다.

“자, 예레미야를 없앨 음모를 꾸미자.

그자가 없어도 언제든지 사제에게서 가르침을, 현인에게서 조언을,

예언자에게서 말씀을 얻을 수 있다.

어서 혀로 그를 치고, 그가 하는 말은 무엇이든 무시해 버리자.”

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19 주님, 제 말씀을 귀담아들어 주시고 제 원수들의 말을 들어 보소서.

20 선을 악으로 갚아도 됩니까?

그런데 그들은 제 목숨을 노리며 구덩이를 파 놓았습니다.

제가 당신 앞에 서서 그들을 위해 복을 빌어 주고

당신의 분노를 그들에게서 돌리려 했던 일을 기억하소서.

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복음

<그들은 사람의 아들에게 사형을 선고할 것이다.>

마태오. 20,17-28

예수님께서 예루살렘으로 올라가실 때,

열두 제자를 따로 데리고 길을 가시면서 그들에게 이르셨다.

18 “보다시피 우리는 예루살렘으로 올라가고 있다.

거기에서 사람의 아들은 수석 사제들과 율법 학자들에게 넘겨질 것이다.

그러면 그들은 사람의 아들에게 사형을 선고하고,

19 그를 다른 민족 사람들에게 넘겨 조롱하고 채찍질하고 나서

십자가에 못 박게 할 것이다.

그러나 사람의 아들은 사흗날에 되살아날 것이다.”

20 그때에 제베대오의 두 아들의 어머니가 그 아들들과 함께

예수님께 다가와 엎드려 절하고 무엇인가 청하였다.

21 예수님께서 그 부인에게 “무엇을 원하느냐?” 하고 물으시자,

그 부인이

“스승님의 나라에서 저의 이 두 아들이 하나는 스승님의 오른쪽에,

하나는 왼쪽에 앉을 것이라고 말씀해 주십시오.” 하고 말하였다.

22 예수님께서 “너희는 너희가 무엇을 청하는지 알지도 못한다.

내가 마시려는 잔을 너희가 마실 수 있느냐?” 하고 물으셨다.

그들이 “할 수 있습니다.” 하고 대답하자,

23 예수님께서 그들에게 말씀하셨다.

“너희는 내 잔을 마실 것이다.

그러나 내 오른쪽과 왼쪽에 앉는 것은 내가 허락할 일이 아니라,

내 아버지께서 정하신 이들에게 돌아가는 것이다.”

24 다른 열 제자가 이 말을 듣고 그 두 형제를 불쾌하게 여겼다.

25 예수님께서는 그들을 가까이 불러 이르셨다.

“너희도 알다시피 다른 민족들의 통치자들은 백성 위에 군림하고,

고관들은 백성에게 세도를 부린다.

26 그러나 너희는 그래서는 안 된다.

너희 가운데에서 높은 사람이 되려는 이는

너희를 섬기는 사람이 되어야 한다.

27 또한 너희 가운데에서 첫째가 되려는 이는 너희의 종이 되어야 한다.

28 사람의 아들도 섬김을 받으러 온 것이 아니라 섬기러 왔고,

또 많은 이들의 몸값으로 자기 목숨을 바치러 왔다.”

March 8, 2023

Wednesday of the Second Week of Lent

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Daily Readings — Audio

Daily Reflections — Video

Daily Mass : http://www.catholictv.com/shows/daily-mass

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

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

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Reading 1

Jer 18:18-20

The people of Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem said,

"Come, let us contrive a plot against Jeremiah.

It will not mean the loss of instruction from the priests,

nor of counsel from the wise, nor of messages from the prophets.

And so, let us destroy him by his own tongue;

let us carefully note his every word."

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Heed me, O LORD,

and listen to what my adversaries say.

Must good be repaid with evil

that they should dig a pit to take my life?

Remember that I stood before you

to speak in their behalf,

to turn away your wrath from them.

 

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 31:5-6, 14, 15-16

R. (17b) Save me, O Lord, in your kindness.

You will free me from the snare they set for me,

for you are my refuge.

Into your hands I commend my spirit;

you will redeem me, O LORD, O faithful God.

R. Save me, O Lord, in your kindness.

I hear the whispers of the crowd, that frighten me from every side,

as they consult together against me, plotting to take my life.

R. Save me, O Lord, in your kindness.

But my trust is in you, O LORD;

I say, "You are my God."

In your hands is my destiny; rescue me

from the clutches of my enemies and my persecutors.

R. Save me, O Lord, in your kindness.

 

Gospel

Mt 20:17-28

As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem,

he took the Twelve disciples aside by themselves,

and said to them on the way,

"Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem,

and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests

and the scribes,

and they will condemn him to death,

and hand him over to the Gentiles

to be mocked and scourged and crucified,

and he will be raised on the third day."

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Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee approached Jesus with her sons

and did him homage, wishing to ask him for something.

He said to her, "What do you wish?"

She answered him,

"Command that these two sons of mine sit,

one at your right and the other at your left, in your kingdom."

Jesus said in reply,

"You do not know what you are asking.

Can you drink the chalice that I am going to drink?"

They said to him, "We can."

He replied,

"My chalice you will indeed drink,

but to sit at my right and at my left,

this is not mine to give

but is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father."

When the ten heard this,

they became indignant at the two brothers.

But Jesus summoned them and said,

"You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them,

and the great ones make their authority over them felt.

But it shall not be so among you.

Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant;

whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave.

Just so, the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve

and to give his life as a ransom for many."

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

​The first scripture course I had in graduate school was on the Book of Jeremiah. I was impressed by the beauty of it but I may have imbibed a little too much of the spirit of Jeremiah. The prophet was constantly blowing things up. He preached a homily in the temple (ch. 7) and they banned him from the temple for good. He had the audacity to say that, if the people didn’t repent, God would come and destroy the place. From then on, he had to write his homilies and give them to Baruch to preach. As a young, inexperienced pastor, I too had a knack for blowing everything up. Eventually I read a book which contrasted being a prophet with being an agent of change. Both are necessary but sometimes you need to focus on changing things and not throwing bombs. However, even then, if you speak the truth, you will be resisted. Jeremiah had numerous plots against his life, one of them originating in his home town. The people who knew him best wanted to kill him.

The sentiment of the psalm is very much in the spirit of Jeremiah. He got to a point in his life where he believed that only God could be trusted, only the Lord could keep him out of the snares and traps set by his enemies. During Morning Prayer of the Liturgy of the Hours there is a scripture reading followed by a responsory. During Lent, the responsory is:

God himself will set me free, from the hunter’s snare.

- God himself will set me free, from the hunter’s snare.

From those who would trap me with lying words

- and from the hunter’s snare.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

- God himself will set me free, from the hunter’s snare.

If you have experienced a whispering campaign, those consulting together and plotting against you, then you are able to understand Jeremiah and the psalmist who could only cry out, “Save me, O Lord, in your kindness.”

In the Gospel story, James and John remind me of Jeremiah. All three of them were young when God called them. They had no clue that following God would lead to suffering and death. Jesus tried to tell them this, but they didn’t get it. How ironic is it that James and John ask for the best seats in the kingdom right after Jesus tells them what will happen to him in Jerusalem? They think that Jesus’ chalice is what the king drinks from at a banquet. The other ten apostles are indignant: they want the best seats in the kingdom. The baptism liturgy states that the newly baptized is now a prophet, a priest, and a king. Jesus shows us what it looks like to be a king. He serves, he gives his life as a ransom for the lost.

We don’t need to go around striving to blow everything up. However, if you live and speak the truth, there will be those who plot against you. Jeremiah’s own family wanted him dead. Jesus came to serve his people and was killed for it. During Lent we embrace the call to follow Jesus to the cross. We cry out, “Save me, O Lord, in your kindness” and we do so with the confidence that “God himself will set me free from the hunter’s snare.”

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

​THE SERVICE STATIONS OF THE CROSS

“Such is the case with the Son of Man Who has come, not to be served by others, but to serve, to give His own life as a ransom for the many.” —Matthew 20:28

Most people recognize they have an inner desire to serve others. Millions are serving the poor, the sick, children, the elderly, the homeless, etc. At Christmas time, many people are even more conscious of their need to serve.

However, service has a tendency to get out of hand. It feels good to serve, but it also hurts to serve. For example, Jeremiah was not only unappreciated for his service to God’s people, he was even “repaid with evil” (Jer 18:20). After Jesus challenged His apostles to become servants, He called them to become the slaves of all, even to giving their lives for others (Mt 20:27-28). Thus, service for the Lord shifts from our choice to His leading, transitioning to a godly slavery and the cross of Calvary.

Therefore, although we have an inner desire to serve, we also have a strong inner desire not to serve, to limit service, to abort service before we have to suffer and die to ourselves.

Will you drink of the cup (Mt 20:22) of crucified service, and even to serve as a slave of the Lord? Will you let God’s love crucify your flesh and selfishness? (see Gal 5:24) With Jesus, come to serve (Mt 20:28). Come to the cross.

Prayer: Father, I will serve and not count the cost.

Promise: “Anyone among you who aspires to greatness must serve the rest.” —Mt 20:26

Praise: St. John of God was a shepherd, a soldier, and a shepherd again before serving God and the poor.

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

​THE SERVICE STATIONS OF THE CROSS

“Such is the case with the Son of Man Who has come, not to be served by others, but to serve, to give His own life as a ransom for the many.” —Matthew 20:28

Most people recognize they have an inner desire to serve others. Millions are serving the poor, the sick, children, the elderly, the homeless, etc. At Christmas time, many people are even more conscious of their need to serve.

However, service has a tendency to get out of hand. It feels good to serve, but it also hurts to serve. For example, Jeremiah was not only unappreciated for his service to God’s people, he was even “repaid with evil” (Jer 18:20). After Jesus challenged His apostles to become servants, He called them to become the slaves of all, even to giving their lives for others (Mt 20:27-28). Thus, service for the Lord shifts from our choice to His leading, transitioning to a godly slavery and the cross of Calvary.

Therefore, although we have an inner desire to serve, we also have a strong inner desire not to serve, to limit service, to abort service before we have to suffer and die to ourselves.

Will you drink of the cup (Mt 20:22) of crucified service, and even to serve as a slave of the Lord? Will you let God’s love crucify your flesh and selfishness? (see Gal 5:24) With Jesus, come to serve (Mt 20:28). Come to the cross.

Prayer: Father, I will serve and not count the cost.

Promise: “Anyone among you who aspires to greatness must serve the rest.” —Mt 20:26

Praise: St. John of God was a shepherd, a soldier, and a shepherd again before serving God and the poor.

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https://www.youtube.com/user/AnthonyCompanions/videos

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More Homilies

March 16, 2022 Wednesday of the Second Week of Lent

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