May 15, 2020 Friday of Fifth Week of Easter
2020년 5월 15일 부활 제5주간 금요일
오늘의 복음 : http://info.catholic.or.kr/missa/default.asp
제1독서
사도행전. 15,22-31
그 무렵 22 사도들과 원로들은 온 교회와 더불어,
자기들 가운데에서 사람들을 뽑아
바오로와 바르나바와 함께 안티오키아에 보내기로 결정하였다.
뽑힌 사람들은
형제들 가운데 지도자인 바르사빠스라고 하는 유다와 실라스였다.
23 그들 편에 이러한 편지를 보냈다.
“여러분의 형제인 사도들과 원로들이
안티오키아와 시리아와 킬리키아에 있는 다른 민족 출신 형제들에게 인사합니다.
24 우리 가운데 몇 사람이 우리에게서 지시를 받지도 않고 여러분에게 가서,
여러 가지 말로 여러분을 놀라게 하고
정신을 어지럽게 하였다는 말을 들었습니다.
25 그래서 우리는 사람들을 뽑아 우리가 사랑하는 바르나바와 바오로와 함께
여러분에게 보내기로 뜻을 모아 결정하였습니다.
26 바르나바와 바오로는 우리 주 예수 그리스도의 이름을 위하여
목숨을 내놓은 사람들입니다.
27 우리는 또 유다와 실라스를 보냅니다.
이들이 이 글의 내용을 말로도 전할 것입니다.
28 성령과 우리는 다음의 몇 가지 필수 사항 외에는
여러분에게 다른 짐을 지우지 않기로 결정하였습니다.
29 곧 우상에게 바쳤던 제물과 피와 목 졸라 죽인 짐승의 고기와
불륜을 멀리하라는 것입니다.
여러분이 이것들만 삼가면 올바로 사는 것입니다. 안녕히 계십시오.”
30 사람들이 이렇게 그들을 떠나보내자,
그들은 안티오키아로 내려가 공동체를 모아 놓고 편지를 전하였다.
31 공동체는 편지를 읽고 그 격려 말씀에 기뻐하였다.그 무렵 22 사도들과 원로들은 온 교회와 더불어,
자기들 가운데에서 사람들을 뽑아
바오로와 바르나바와 함께 안티오키아에 보내기로 결정하였다.
뽑힌 사람들은
형제들 가운데 지도자인 바르사빠스라고 하는 유다와 실라스였다.
23 그들 편에 이러한 편지를 보냈다.
“여러분의 형제인 사도들과 원로들이
안티오키아와 시리아와 킬리키아에 있는 다른 민족 출신 형제들에게 인사합니다.
24 우리 가운데 몇 사람이 우리에게서 지시를 받지도 않고 여러분에게 가서,
여러 가지 말로 여러분을 놀라게 하고
정신을 어지럽게 하였다는 말을 들었습니다.
25 그래서 우리는 사람들을 뽑아 우리가 사랑하는 바르나바와 바오로와 함께
여러분에게 보내기로 뜻을 모아 결정하였습니다.
26 바르나바와 바오로는 우리 주 예수 그리스도의 이름을 위하여
목숨을 내놓은 사람들입니다.
27 우리는 또 유다와 실라스를 보냅니다.
이들이 이 글의 내용을 말로도 전할 것입니다.
28 성령과 우리는 다음의 몇 가지 필수 사항 외에는
여러분에게 다른 짐을 지우지 않기로 결정하였습니다.
29 곧 우상에게 바쳤던 제물과 피와 목 졸라 죽인 짐승의 고기와
불륜을 멀리하라는 것입니다.
여러분이 이것들만 삼가면 올바로 사는 것입니다. 안녕히 계십시오.”
30 사람들이 이렇게 그들을 떠나보내자,
그들은 안티오키아로 내려가 공동체를 모아 놓고 편지를 전하였다.
31 공동체는 편지를 읽고 그 격려 말씀에 기뻐하였다.
복음
요한. 15,12-17
그때에 예수님께서 제자들에게 말씀하셨다.
12 “이것이 나의 계명이다.
내가 너희를 사랑한 것처럼 너희도 서로 사랑하여라.
13 친구들을 위하여 목숨을 내놓는 것보다 더 큰 사랑은 없다.
14 내가 너희에게 명령하는 것을 실천하면 너희는 나의 친구가 된다.
15 나는 너희를 더 이상 종이라고 부르지 않는다.
종은 주인이 하는 일을 모르기 때문이다.
나는 너희를 친구라고 불렀다.
내가 내 아버지에게서 들은 것을 너희에게 모두 알려 주었기 때문이다.
16 너희가 나를 뽑은 것이 아니라 내가 너희를 뽑아 세웠다.
너희가 가서 열매를 맺어
너희의 그 열매가 언제나 남아 있게 하려는 것이다.
그리하여 너희가 내 이름으로 아버지께 청하는 것을
그분께서 너희에게 주시게 하려는 것이다.
17 내가 너희에게 명령하는 것은 이것이다. 서로 사랑하여라.”
May 15, 2020
Friday of Fifth Week of Easter
Daily Mass : http://www.catholictv.com/shows/daily-mass
Reading 1
Acts 15:22-31
decided to choose representatives
and to send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas.
The ones chosen were Judas, who was called Barsabbas,
and Silas, leaders among the brothers.
This is the letter delivered by them:
“The Apostles and the presbyters, your brothers,
to the brothers in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia
of Gentile origin: greetings.
Since we have heard that some of our number
who went out without any mandate from us
have upset you with their teachings
and disturbed your peace of mind,
we have with one accord decided to choose representatives
and to send them to you along with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,
who have dedicated their lives to the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
So we are sending Judas and Silas
who will also convey this same message by word of mouth:
‘It is the decision of the Holy Spirit and of us
not to place on you any burden beyond these necessities,
namely, to abstain from meat sacrificed to idols,
from blood, from meats of strangled animals,
and from unlawful marriage.
If you keep free of these,
you will be doing what is right. Farewell.’“
And so they were sent on their journey.
Upon their arrival in Antioch
they called the assembly together and delivered the letter.
When the people read it, they were delighted with the exhortation.
Responsorial Psalm
PS 57:8-9, 10 and 12
or:
R. Alleluia.
My heart is steadfast, O God; my heart is steadfast;
I will sing and chant praise.
Awake, O my soul; awake, lyre and harp!
I will wake the dawn.
R. I will give you thanks among the peoples, O Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
I will give thanks to you among the peoples, O LORD,
I will chant your praise among the nations.
For your mercy towers to the heavens,
and your faithfulness to the skies.
Be exalted above the heavens, O God;
above all the earth be your glory!
R. I will give you thanks among the peoples, O Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Alleluia Jn 15:15b
I call you my friends, says the Lord,
for I have made known to you all that the Father has told me.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Jn 15:12-17
Jesus said to his disciples:“This is my commandment: love one another as I love you.
No one has greater love than this,
to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
You are my friends if you do what I command you.
I no longer call you slaves,
because a slave does not know what his master is doing.
I have called you friends,
because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father.
It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you
and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain,
so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you.
This I command you: love one another.”
http://evangeli.net/gospel/tomorrow
«This is my commandment: love one another as I have loved you»
Fr. Carles ELÍAS i Cao
(Barcelona, Spain)
Today, our Lord exhorts us to fraternal love: «Love one another as I have loved you» (Jn 15:12), that is to say, as you have seen me loving and you will still see me love. Jesus speaks to you as a friend, for He has told you that his Father calls you, that He wants you to become an apostle, and that He expects you to bear fruit, a fruit that is manifested through love. St. John Crysostom affirms: «If love would be spread all over, an infinite goodness would be born out of it».
To give love amounts to create life. Spouses know it well, for they love each other, they make a reciprocal donation and they assume the responsibility of becoming parents by accepting, at the same time, the abnegation and self-denial of their time and their own being in favour of those they must take care of, must protect, must educate and, in short, must form as persons. Missionaries know it too, when they offer their life for the Gospel, with the same Christian spirit of sacrifice and abnegation. And friars, priests and bishops also know it, and with them all of Jesus' disciples who commit themselves to our Savior.
A little before, Jesus already told you which the requirements for love and bearing fruit are: «Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit» (Jn 12:24). Jesus invites you to lose your life, to deliver it to Him without any fear, to willingly die, if need be, to be able to love your brother with Christ's love, with supernatural love. Jesus invites you to attain an operative, benefactor and concrete love; this is how apostle James understood it when he said: «Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, ‘Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed’, but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead» (2:15-17).
http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html
We are only five months into the year, but it feels like we have repeated each day twice making our days seem longer. It seems to be one of those long days today, so I took a moment to visit with Jesus. I had little energy to prop myself up and sit beside him, and even less energy to take a walk with him, so I sat at his feet. I asked Jesus, “Who am I?” and Jesus said, “I call you friend.”
How does one live as a friend of Jesus? We are asked to love as Jesus loves us. We are asked to go the extra mile for each other. We are asked to be prepared to give up the things, the privileges, the fixed schedules, and our rigid ideas so we can be spacious enough to love. We are been summoned to love and be loved; it is our vocation. To be a friend of Jesus, we must be prepared to have our hearts broken open over and over again until we bear fruit that will remain; until we know a love that is unconditional and ripples through our lives and the lives of everyone we meet. As I still sit at the feet of Jesus feeling safe, even though I am worried, tired, and acutely aware of my mortality, I asked, “Why must we endure loss of all we know or even let go?” and Jesus said, “So, that your hands and heart are free to hold on to me.”
In today's Gospel, when Jesus commands his disciples to love one another, I could almost hear the panic in his voice, as if he was deciding to frame his invitation as a command to make sure that they heard him and that they knew how much they were loved. Jesus is trying to strongly reassure them of his love and their importance. He wants to ensure that they don't gloss over the message, so he makes it imperative. Today's Gospel is an invitation to a relationship; our relationship to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit which resides in each of us. When we love each other, we are in a loving relationship with God. This message of gentle love is also evident in the first reading as the representatives take a letter to Antioch with the purpose of making peace, easing undue burdens, and making friends rather than enemies.
I felt so comfortable at the feet of Jesus as I gently leaned on him, and then I realized that so much of the day had passed and it was getting late. Even so, I had one more thing to say to Jesus: "Friends sometimes let their friends down; they could even betray, and they might disappoint. How could I be certain that our friendship will bear fruit that will remain?" and Jesus said, “because I was the one who chose you; I laid down my life for you; I love you." These words were for all of us. So many people never get to hear any of those words throughout their lives from those around them, and today Jesus says them all to us through the Gospel. He simply says, “you are my friends", "I choose you", "I love you." Is there someone in your life that would appreciate hearing those words of affirmation today? Tell them and see what fruit that message bears. Tell them, so that they are no longer afraid, no longer uncertain, no longer alone, no longer excluded, and no longer isolated. Tell them because, you, my friends, are friends of Jesus.
http://www.presentationministries.com/obob/obob.asp
the god of lifestyle
"It is the decision of the Holy Spirit, and ours too, not to lay on you any burden beyond that which is strictly necessary." —Acts 15:28
The elders of the church of Jerusalem and the Holy Spirit decided Gentile Christians did not need to be circumcised, but rather had to change their lifestyle, "namely, to abstain from meat sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals, and from illicit sexual union" (Acts 15:29). Meat sacrificed to idols was a major item in the marketplace. Therefore, to abstain from this was, in part, an economic decision. The Gentiles were also told to change their eating habits and their attitude toward sexual relations. In other words, the Gentiles were required to make lifestyle changes in the areas of money, food, and sex. This is comparable to telling a modern person, even a Christian, to stop buying certain foods, to quit eating meat or drinking caffeine, and to quit watching prime time TV with its pornographic innuendoes.
When the letter containing these rules was read, "there was great delight at the encouragement it gave" (Acts 15:31). If a similar letter requiring lifestyle changes was read at your church, would the people be delighted or defiant? Lifestyle is the false god of the modern American church. Our comforts, pleasure, and entertainment mean more to us than loving God. That's where our time and money goes, and God gets the leftovers, if there are any. Repent!
Prayer: Risen Jesus, may I repent of living for selfish pleasure.
Promise: "This is My commandment: love one another as I have loved you." —Jn 15:12
Praise: St. Isidore was canonized in 1622. He's in good company: St. Ignatius of Loyola, St. Francis Xavier, St. Teresa of Avila, and St. Philip Neri were declared saints at the same time.
http://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/readings/
"I have called you friends"
What is the greatest act of love which one can give for the sake of another? Jesus defines friendship - the mutual bond of trust and affection which people choose to have for one another - as the willingness to give totally of oneself - even to the point of laying down one's life for a friend. How is such love possible or even desirable? God made us in love for love. That is our reason for being, our purpose for living, and our goal in dying.
Scripture tells us that God is love (1 John 4:8) - and everything he does flows from his immense love for us. He loved us so much - far beyond what we could ever expect or deserve - that he was willing to pay any price to redeem us from our slavery to sin and death. That is why the Father sent us his beloved Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave up his life as the atoning sacrifice for our sins. In this great exchange - the Father giving up his Son to death on the cross in order to give us abundant everlasting life and adopt us as his beloved sons and daughters in Christ (Romans 8:14-17).
God has poured his love into our hearts
It is for this reason that we can take hold of a hope that does not fade and a joy that does not diminish because God has poured his love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us (Romans 5:5). God's love is not limited or subject to changing circumstances. It is an enduring love that has power to change and transform us to be like him - merciful, gracious, kind, forgiving, and steadfast in showing love not only for our friends, but for our enemies as well. God's love is boundless because he is the source of abundant life, perfect peace, and immeasurable joy for all who open their hearts to him. That is why Jesus came to give us abundant life through the gift and working of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus gave his disciples a new commandment - a new way of loving and serving one another. Jesus' love was wholly directed toward the good of others. He loved them for their sake and for their welfare. That is why he willingly laid down his own life for us to free us from sin, death, fear, and everything that could separate us from the love of God. Our love for God and our willingness to lay down our life for others is a response to the exceeding love God has given us in Christ. Paul the Apostle states,
"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?... For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:35,38-39).
Friendship with God
Jesus calls his disciples his personal friends. Jesus not only showed his disciples that he personally cared for them and sought their welfare. He personally enjoyed their company and wanted to be with them in a close and intimate relationship. He ate with them, shared everything he had with them - even his innermost heart and thoughts. And he spent himself in doing as much good for them as he could. To know Jesus personally is to know God and the love and friendship he offers to each one of us.
One of the special marks of favor shown in the Scriptures is to be called the friend of God. Abraham is called the friend of God (Isaiah 41:8, James 2:23). God spoke with Moses as a man speaks with his friend (Exodus 33:11). Jesus, the Lord and Master, calls the disciples his friends rather than his servants.
What does it mean to be a friend of God? Friendship with God who is our everlasting Father and with his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ entails a personal, close, and loving relationship and a union of heart, mind, and spirit with the one who created us in love for love. Such a relationship with our Father, Creator, and Redeemer involves loyalty, respect, and obedience. But it is even more than these because God has chosen to love us in the same way in which the Father and the Son love and serve each other - a total giving of oneself to the other in a bond of affection, esteem, and joy in each others company.
Jesus' discourse on friendship and brotherly love echoes the words of Proverbs: A friend loves at all times; and a brother is born for adversity (Proverbs 17:17). The distinctive feature of Jesus' relationship with his disciples was his personal, loyal, and sacrificial love for each one of them. He loved his own to the end (John 13:1). His love was unconditional and wholly directed to the good of others. His love was costly and sacrificial. He gave the best he had and all that he had. He gave his very own life for those he loved in order to secure for them an everlasting life of union and love with the Father in heaven.
Love to the death
The Lord Jesus gives his followers a new commandment - a new way of love that goes beyond giving only what is required or what we think others might deserve. What is the essence of Jesus' new commandment of love? It is a love to the death - a purifying love that overcomes selfishness, fear, and pride. It is a total giving of oneself for the sake of others - a selfless and self-giving love that is oriented towards putting the welfare of others ahead of myself.
Jesus says that there is no greater proof in love than the sacrifice of one's life for the sake of another. Jesus proved his love by giving his life for us on the cross of Calvary. Through the shedding of his blood for our sake, our sins are not only washed clean, but new life is poured out for us through the gift of the Holy Spirit. We prove our love for God and for one another when we embrace the way of the cross. What is the cross in my life? When my will crosses with God's will, then God's will must be done. Do you know the peace and joy of a life fully surrendered to God and consumed with his love?
Love that produces abundant fruit and joy
The Lord Jesus tells us that he is our personal friend and he loves us wholeheartedly and unconditionally. He wants us to love one another just as he has loved us, wholeheartedly, without reserve, and full of mercy, kindness, and forgiveness. His love fills our hearts and transforms our minds and frees us to give ourselves in loving service to others. If we open our hearts to his love and obey his command to love our neighbor, then we will know his love more fully and we will bear much fruit - especially the fruit of peace, joy, patience, kindness, and goodness - the kind of fruit that lasts for eternity. Do you wish to be fruitful and to abound in the love of God? Trust and obey him and he will fill you with his overflowing love.
"Teach us, good Lord, to serve you as you deserve, to give and not to count the cost, to fight and not to heed the wounds, to toil and not to seek for rest, to labor and not to ask for any reward, save that of knowing that we do your will; through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Prayer of Ignatius Loyola)
Psalm 57:7-11
7 My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast! I will sing and make melody!
8 Awake, my soul! Awake, O harp and lyre! I will awake the dawn!
9 I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to you among the nations.
10 For your steadfast love is great to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds.
11 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens! Let your glory be over all the earth!
Daily Quote from the early church fathers: Love encompasses the other commandments, by Ephrem the Syrian (306-373 AD)
"This is my commandment." Have you then only one precept? This is sufficient, even if it is unique and so great. Nevertheless he also said, "Do not kill" (Matthew 19:18) because the one who loves does not kill. He said, "Do not steal," because the one who loves does even more—he gives. He said, "Do not lie," for the one who loves speaks the truth, against falsehood. "I give you a new commandment" (John 13:14). If you have not understood what "This is my commandment" means, let the apostle be summoned as interpreter and say, "The goal of his commandment is love" (1 Timothy 1:5). What is its binding force? It is that of which [the Lord] spoke, "Whatever you want others to do to you, you should do also" (Matthew 7:12)."Love one another" in accordance with this measure, "as I have loved you." That is not possible, for you are our Lord who loves your servants. But we who are equals, how can we love one another as you have loved us? Nevertheless, he has said it... His love is that he has called us his friends. If we were to give our life for you, would our love be equal to yours?... How then can what he said be explained, "As I have loved you"? "Let us die for each other," he said. As for us, we do not even want to live for one another! "If I, who am your Lord and God, die for you, how much more should you die for one another." (excerpt from COMMENTARY on TATIAN'S DIATESSARON 19.13)
More Homilies
