March 4, 2020 Wednesday of the First Week in Lent
2020년 3월 4일 사순 제1주간 수요일
오늘의 복음 : http://info.catholic.or.kr/missa/default.asp
제1독서
요나 예언서. 3,1-10
주님의 말씀이 1 요나에게 내렸다.
2 “일어나 저 큰 성읍 니네베로 가서, 내가 너에게 이르는 말을 그 성읍에 외쳐라.”
3 요나는 주님의 말씀대로 일어나 니네베로 갔다.
니네베는 가로지르는 데에만 사흘이나 걸리는 아주 큰 성읍이었다.
4 요나는 그 성읍 안으로 걸어 들어가기 시작하였다.
하룻길을 걸은 다음 이렇게 외쳤다.
“이제 사십 일이 지나면 니네베는 무너진다!”
5 그러자 니네베 사람들이 하느님을 믿었다. 그들은 단식을 선포하고
가장 높은 사람부터 가장 낮은 사람까지 자루옷을 입었다.
6 이 소식이 니네베 임금에게 전해지자,
그도 왕좌에서 일어나 겉옷을 벗고 자루옷을 걸친 다음 잿더미 위에 앉았다.
7 그리고 그는 니네베에 이렇게 선포하였다. “임금과 대신들의 칙령에 따라
사람이든 짐승이든, 소든 양이든 아무것도 맛보지 마라.
먹지도 말고 마시지도 마라.
8 사람이든 짐승이든 모두 자루옷을 걸치고 하느님께 힘껏 부르짖어라.
저마다 제 악한 길과 제 손에 놓인 폭행에서 돌아서야 한다.
9 하느님께서 다시 마음을 돌리시고 그 타오르는 진노를 거두실지 누가 아느냐?
그러면 우리가 멸망하지 않을 수도 있다.”
10 하느님께서는 그들이 악한 길에서 돌아서는 모습을 보셨다.
그래서 하느님께서는 마음을 돌리시어
그들에게 내리겠다고 말씀하신 그 재앙을 내리지 않으셨다.
복음
루카. 11,29-32
그때에 29 군중이 점점 더 모여들자 예수님께서 말씀하기 시작하셨다.
“이 세대는 악한 세대다. 이 세대가 표징을 요구하지만
요나 예언자의 표징밖에는 어떠한 표징도 받지 못할 것이다.
30 요나가 니네베 사람들에게 표징이 된 것처럼,
사람의 아들도 이 세대 사람들에게 그러할 것이다.
31 심판 때에 남방 여왕이 이 세대 사람들과 함께 되살아나
이 세대 사람들을 단죄할 것이다.
그 여왕이 솔로몬의 지혜를 들으려고 땅끝에서 왔기 때문이다.
그러나 보라, 솔로몬보다 더 큰 이가 여기에 있다.
32 심판 때에 니네베 사람들이 이 세대와 함께 다시 살아나
이 세대를 단죄할 것이다.
그들이 요나의 설교를 듣고 회개하였기 때문이다.
그러나 보라, 요나보다 더 큰 이가 여기에 있다.”
March 4, 2020
Wednesday of the First Week in Lent
Daily Mass : http://www.catholictv.com/shows/daily-mass
Reading 1
Jon 3:1-10
"Set out for the great city of Nineveh,
and announce to it the message that I will tell you."
So Jonah made ready and went to Nineveh,
according to the LORD's bidding.
Now Nineveh was an enormously large city;
it took three days to go through it.
Jonah began his journey through the city,
and had gone but a single day's walk announcing,
"Forty days more and Nineveh shall be destroyed,"
when the people of Nineveh believed God;
they proclaimed a fast
and all of them, great and small, put on sackcloth.
When the news reached the king of Nineveh,
he rose from his throne, laid aside his robe,
covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in the ashes.
Then he had this proclaimed throughout Nineveh,
by decree of the king and his nobles:
"Neither man nor beast, neither cattle nor sheep,
shall taste anything;
they shall not eat, nor shall they drink water.
Man and beast shall be covered with sackcloth and call loudly to God;
every man shall turn from his evil way
and from the violence he has in hand.
Who knows, God may relent and forgive, and withhold his blazing wrath,
so that we shall not perish."
When God saw by their actions how they turned from their evil way,
he repented of the evil that he had threatened to do to them;
he did not carry it out.
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 51:3-4, 12-13, 18-19
Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness;
in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense.
Thoroughly wash me from my guilt
and of my sin cleanse me.
R. A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.
A clean heart create for me, O God,
and a steadfast spirit renew within me.
Cast me not out from your presence,
and your Holy Spirit take not from me.
R. A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.
For you are not pleased with sacrifices;
should I offer a burnt offering, you would not accept it.
My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit;
a heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.
R. A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.
Gospel
Lk 11:29-32
"This generation is an evil generation;
it seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it,
except the sign of Jonah.
Just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites,
so will the Son of Man be to this generation.
At the judgment
the queen of the south will rise with the men of this generation
and she will condemn them,
because she came from the ends of the earth
to hear the wisdom of Solomon,
and there is something greater than Solomon here.
At the judgment the men of Nineveh will arise with this generation
and condemn it,
because at the preaching of Jonah they repented,
and there is something greater than Jonah here.
http://evangeli.net/gospel/tomorrow
«As Jonah became a sign for the people of Nineveh, so will the Son of Man be a sign for this generation»
Fr. Roger J. LANDRY
(Hyannis, Massachusetts, United States)
Today Jesus describes that the sign he will give to “evil people” is himself as the “sign of Jonah”: «As Jonah became a sign for the people of Nineveh, so will the Son of Man be a sign for this generation» (Lk 11:30). Just as Jonah allowed himself tossed overboard the boat to still the raging tempest and save the sailers' lives, so Jesus allowed himself to be tossed overboard to calm the storms of sin that threatens our lives. Just as Jonah spent three days in the belly of the whale before being spit out on dry land, so Jesus would spend three days in the belly of the earth before walking out of the empty tomb (cf. Mt 12:40).
The sign that Jesus would give to the “evil people” of every generation is the sign of his death and resurrection. His death, freely accepted, is the sign of God's incredible love for us: Jesus gave his life to save our own. His resurrection from the dead is the sign of his divine power. This is the most powerful and moving sign ever given.
But Jesus is the sign of Jonah in yet another sense. Jonah was an icon and agent of conversion. At his preaching, «Forty more days and Nineveh will be destroyed» (Jon 3:4), the pagan Ninevites converted, as everyone from the king to children to animals covered themselves in sackcloth and ashes. During these forty days of Lent, we have someone “far greater than Jonah” (cf. Lk 11:32) preaching conversion to us —Jesus himself— and our conversion should be just as thorough.
«For Jonah was a servant», St. John Chrysostom writes in the person of Christ, «but I am the Master; and he came forth from the whale, but I rose from death; and he proclaimed destruction, but I come preaching the Good News of the kingdom».
A week ago, on Ash Wednesday, we covered ourselves in ashes and heard individually the words of Jesus' first homily, «Repent and believe in the Gospel» (cf. Mk 1:15). The question for us is: Have we responded yet with deep conversion like the Ninevites and embraced that Gospel?
http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html
When I see any reference to Jonah, I think of the story of the little girl who in Sunday school was mesmerized with the account of Jonah being swallowed by a whale and spending three days and nights in the whale’s belly. The next day in science class, she very excitedly recounts the story to her science teacher. The teacher, who happened to be an atheist, tells her that her story was scientifically inaccurate as it was not possible for a whale to swallow a human because its throat was very small. The girl however did not relent and steadfastly reiterated that the Bible did say that the whale swallowed Jonah. The irritated teacher once again claims the impossibility of that happening. The little girl does not give up and tells the teacher that when she dies and goes to heaven she will ask Jonah. The teacher sarcastically replied “What if Jonah isn’t in heaven?” Without blinking an eyelid, the girl replies, “If that is the case, then you ask him.”
At first glance, today’s gospel reading might seem to suggest that Jesus is against asking for signs. But most of us seek signs. I sought a sign when I felt called to joining the priesthood. In fact, the first time when I was thinking of the priesthood, I did not join as I did not receive any sign. It was many years later, after I finished college, and had worked for a few years, that the call came again. And, a sign. So, it couldn’t be that Jesus was opposed to seeking signs or affirmations. Why then does Jesus accuse the people around him of being an evil generation that is looking for a sign? If we read the verses before today’s reading, we will see that the people are accusing Jesus of performing his miracles and healings through the power of Beelzebul, the prince of devils. Their interior disposition, as in the case of the teacher in our story, was one of distrust and disbelief. It is this disposition that Jesus is criticizing, saying that the only sign that would be given them would be the sign of Jonah, referring to his own death and resurrection.
As I reflected on the reading, the word that came to mind was “receptivity.” As believers of Jesus, we already acknowledge the sign of God’s love for us through the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus. But how receptive are we to the manifestation of that love in our daily lives? What is our interior disposition even in the midst of turmoil and strife? Are we able to recognize God working through us, and through others, performing little miracles in our own world?
I would like to end this reflection with an excerpt from a composition by Fr. Roy Pereira, S.J., from the Mumbai Province in India, who is with us at Creighton University this semester, as the Waite Chair:
Hope, Faith and Love’s what keeps life moving on
Hope, Faith and Love that’s what’s life all about
Hope, Faith and Love my friend will see us through
Hope, Faith and Love my friend, In a God who loves
During this season of Lent, I pray that our interior disposition of ‘Hope, Faith, and Love in a God who loves’ grows.
http://www.presentationministries.com/obob/obob.asp
GREAT EXPECTATIONS | ||
| "When God saw by their actions how they turned from their evil way, He repented of the evil that He had threatened to do to them; He did not carry it out." �Jonah 3:10 | ||
The Lord promised us on the first day of Lent that "now is the acceptable time! Now is the day of salvation!" (2 Cor 6:2) The Lord wants us to have the greatest expectations for Lent. He uses the joys and tragedies of life to sensitize us to His amazing plans for this Lent. He wants us to expect nothing less than the glories of Easter, that is, risen life forever with Jesus on earth and in heaven. The Lord graces us this Lent to expect "immeasurably more than we ask or imagine" (Eph 3:20). Today's first Mass reading raises our expectations for Lent. one-hundred and twenty-thousand citizens of the extremely violent city of Nineveh converted in one day at the prophetic word of Jonah (see Jon 4:11). The Lord once again did the impossible, since "for God all things are possible" (Mt 19:26). This Lent, don't think the Lord won't convert terrorists, several leaders of Planned Parenthood, whole cities, entire countries (e.g. the USA), major media controllers, lukewarm Christians, your family, and your enemies. Don't ever tell the Lord He cannot do something. Look at history. When God Himself becomes a man, dies on a cross, and rises from the dead, what great miracles of conversion should we expect from such a God! | ||
| Prayer: Father, get me out of the rut of weakened faith. Beginning this Lent, may I "ride on the heights" (Is 58:14) of faith. | ||
| Promise: "At the judgment, the citizens of Nineveh will rise along with the present generation, and they will condemn it. For at the preaching of Jonah they reformed, but you have a greater than Jonah here." —Lk 11:32 | ||
| Praise: St. Casimir was son of the King of Poland. Many royal luxuries were available to him, but he chose simplicity and piety. He lived an austere life until he died at age twenty-three. He is the patron saint of both Poland and Lithuania. |
http://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/readings/
The sign of Jonah for an evil generation
Do you pay careful attention to warning signs? Many fatalities could be avoided if people paid attention to such signs. When the religious leaders demanded a sign from Jesus, he gave them a serious warning to avert spiritual disaster. It was characteristic of the Jews that they demanded "signs" from God's messengers to authenticate their claims.
God warns us for our good - do you listen?
When the religious leaders pressed Jesus to give proof for his claims he says in so many words that he is God's sign and that they need no further evidence from heaven than his own person. The Ninevites recognized God's warning when Jonah spoke to them, and they repented. And the Queen of Sheba recognized God's wisdom in Solomon. Jonah was God's sign and his message was the message of a merciful God for the people of Nineveh.
Unfortunately the religious leaders were not content to accept the signs right before their eyes. They had rejected the message of John the Baptist and now they reject Jesus as God's Anointed one (Messiah) and they fail to heed his message. Simeon had prophesied at Jesus' birth that he was destined for the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed so that inner thoughts of many will be revealed (Luke 2:34-35). Jesus confirmed his message with many miracles in preparation for the greatest sign of all - his resurrection on the third day.
Let God's word of truth set you free from sin and ignorance
The Lord Jesus came to set us free from slavery to sin and hurtful desires. Through the gift of the Holy Spirit he pours his love into our hearts that we may understand his will for our lives and walk in his way of holiness. God searches our hearts, not to condemn us, but to show us where we need his saving grace and help. He calls us to seek him with true repentance, humility, and the honesty to see our sins for what they really are - a rejection of his love and will for our lives. God will transform us if we listen to his word and allow his Holy Spirit to work in our lives. Ask the Lord to renew your mind and to increase your thirst for his wisdom and truth.
James says that the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, without uncertainty or insincerity (James 3:17). A double-minded person cannot receive this kind of wisdom. The single of mind desire one thing alone - God's pleasure. God wants us to delight in him and to know the freedom of his truth and love. Do you thirst for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14)?
"Lord Jesus, change my heart and fill me with your wisdom that I my love your ways. Give me strength and courage to resist temptation and stubborn wilfulness that I may truly desire to do what is pleasing to you."
Psalm 51:3-4, 12-13, 18-19
3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.
4 Against you, you only, have I sinned, and done that which is evil in your sight, so that you are justified in your sentence and blameless in your judgment.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.
13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you.
18 Do good to Zion in your good pleasure; rebuild the walls of Jerusalem,
19 then will you delight in right sacrifices, in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings; then bulls will be offered on your altar.
A Daily Quote for Lent: Don't put off conversion - tomorrow may never come, by Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.
"God is not now so long-suffering in putting up with you that He will fail to be just in punishing. Do not say then: 'Tomorrow I shall be converted, tomorrow I shall please God, and all that I shall have done today and yesterday will be forgiven me.' What you say is true: God has promised forgiveness if you turn back to Him. But what He has not promised is that you will have tomorrow in which to achieve your conversion." (excerpt from Commentary on Psalm 144,11)
More Homilies
February 21, 2018 Wednesday of the First Week in Lent
