August 10, 2020 Feast of Saint Lawrence, deacon and martyr
2020년 8월 10일 성 라우렌시오 부제 순교자 축일
오늘의 복음 : http://info.catholic.or.kr/missa/default.asp
제1독서
코린토 2서. 9,6-10
형제 여러분, 6적게 뿌리는 이는 적게 거두어들이고
많이 뿌리는 이는 많이 거두어들입니다.
7 저마다 마음에 작정한 대로 해야지,
마지못해 하거나 억지로 해서는 안 됩니다.
하느님께서는 기쁘게 주는 이를 사랑하십니다.
8 하느님께서는 여러분에게 모든 은총을 넘치게 주실 수 있습니다.
그리하여 여러분은 언제나 모든 면에서 모든 것을 넉넉히 가져
온갖 선행을 넘치도록 할 수 있게 됩니다.
9 이는 성경에 기록된 그대로입니다.
“그가 가난한 이들에게 아낌없이 내주니
그의 의로움이 영원히 존속하리라.”
10 씨 뿌리는 사람에게 씨앗과 먹을 양식을 마련해 주시는 분께서
여러분에게도 씨앗을 마련해 주실 뿐만 아니라
그것을 여러 곱절로 늘려 주시고,
또 여러분이 실천하는 의로움의 열매도 늘려 주실 것입니다.
복음
요한. 12,24-26
그때에 예수님께서 제자들에게 말씀하셨다.
24 “내가 진실로 진실로 너희에게 말한다.
밀알 하나가 땅에 떨어져 죽지 않으면 한 알 그대로 남고,
죽으면 많은 열매를 맺는다.
25 자기 목숨을 사랑하는 사람은 목숨을 잃을 것이고,
이 세상에서 자기 목숨을 미워하는 사람은
영원한 생명에 이르도록 목숨을 간직할 것이다.
26 누구든지 나를 섬기려면 나를 따라야 한다.
내가 있는 곳에 나를 섬기는 사람도 함께 있을 것이다.
누구든지 나를 섬기면 아버지께서 그를 존중해 주실 것이다.”
August 10, 2020
Feast of Saint Lawrence, deacon and martyr
Daily Mass : http://www.catholictv.com/shows/daily-mass
Reading 1
2 Cor 9:6-10
Brothers and sisters:
Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly,
and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.
Each must do as already determined, without sadness or compulsion,
for God loves a cheerful giver.
Moreover, God is able to make every grace abundant for you,
so that in all things, always having all you need,
you may have an abundance for every good work.
As it is written:
He scatters abroad, he gives to the poor;
his righteousness endures forever.
The one who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food
will supply and multiply your seed
and increase the harvest of your righteousness.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (5) Blessed the man who is gracious and lends to those in need.
Blessed the man who fears the LORD,
who greatly delights in his commands.
His posterity shall be mighty upon the earth;
the upright generation shall be blessed.
R. Blessed the man who is gracious and lends to those in need.
Well for the man who is gracious and lends,
who conducts his affairs with justice;
He shall never be moved;
the just one shall be in everlasting remembrance.
R. Blessed the man who is gracious and lends to those in need.
An evil report he shall not fear;
his heart is firm, trusting in the LORD.
His heart is steadfast; he shall not fear
till he looks down upon his foes.
R. Blessed the man who is gracious and lends to those in need.
Lavishly he gives to the poor,
his generosity shall endure forever;
his horn shall be exalted in glory.
R. Blessed the man who is gracious and lends to those in need.
Gospel
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Amen, amen, I say to you,
unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies,
it remains just a grain of wheat;
but if it dies, it produces much fruit.
Whoever loves his life loses it,
and whoever hates his life in this world
will preserve it for eternal life.
Whoever serves me must follow me,
and where I am, there also will my servant be.
The Father will honor whoever serves me.”
http://evangeli.net/gospel/tomorrow
http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html
Our readings today speak beautifully of the cycle of nature – sowing seeds, producing fruit and growing – and how they are connected to spiritual lessons of dying and of God’s love growing in us. Here in the midst of August in the United States, these references are familiar and relevant to me as I spend a good amount of time in my backyard during these beautiful, warm summer days.
We read in John’s Gospel: unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat, but if it dies, it produces much fruit.
In my backyard, there has been a bit of dying and resurrecting lately. A example, in a way, of a paschal mystery. Our giant hundred year old ash tree growing about ten feet to the west of our home, needed to be taken down last month. It was stricken with disease, preventing its ability to grow and sustain itself, and the threat of the ash borer was imminent. My family had grown to love and appreciate this tree for its beauty, shade and tall branches, for swings in its last years. We watched in awe and in sadness as the professional tree service workers navigated power lines and painstakingly removed each limb, and then the trunk, of this giant beauty. A few days later, the stump was removed, creating a large amount of mulch that we spread out to create an open canvas of a new garden area.
Everything had to be reimagined; what we knew as our backyard was no longer. The hostas that enjoyed shade were all of a sudden suffering with too much sunlight. Our home felt the warm sun beaming through our west windows. A few days after that, we planted a fast growing red oak sapling in a nearby spot. In a matter of just a few weeks, our backyard is on its way to being transformed into an area that hopefully will produce much fruit…native perennials for pollinators, an herb and veggie garden in future years and a new tree with the potential for shade, beauty and wildlife homes. That’s our hope – that the ash tree dying will open up an opportunity for new and abundant vegetation to support and sustain new life.
Isn’t that the hope of our faith, too? Jesus continually calls us to join him on a path that requires understanding and enduring death before experiencing new life in the resurrection.
A few questions that might help us unpack these themes. (I invite you to perhaps stay with one that resonates with you.)
In what ways is God sowing seeds in me these days?
Where does my faith life need nurturing?
What needs to die in me so that I may produce new fruit, and new fruit, in abundance?
Where is new growth possible in my life these days?
What do I value so much that I am willing to die for it?
We pray, on this feast of St. Lawrence (a martyr of the early Church), for strength to die for our faith (in whatever way that looks for us), and be reborn and experience new life in Christ. St. Lawrence, pray for us!
http://www.presentationministries.com/obob/obob.asp
GIVING ALL
“Unless the grain of wheat falls to the earth and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat. But if it dies, it produces much fruit.”—John 12:24
Jesus gives us His very self — everything He has. In return, we should give Jesus everything at every moment.
The world in its wisdom teaches us to save for the future. The rich man who planned to tear down his barns to build bigger ones (see Lk 12:18) seems to practice the best of worldly “wealth management,” but Jesus calls him a “fool” (see Lk 12:20). Later in the Gospel of Luke, Jesus tells of a rich man who had no regard for a poor man in his neighborhood. This rich man went down to the netherworld in eternal torment (Lk 16:23ff).
We are called to give, not to invest in our own future, but to give generously, lavishly in complete self-giving. In so doing, this becomes an act of trusting surrender to the God Who gave lavishly to us first.
God the Father gave all — His only-begotten Son. God the Son gave all — every drop of His blood poured out for our salvation, “His own Body, to be given up for you.” God the Holy Spirit gave all — every spiritual gift in the heavens (Eph 1:3). Can we receive these gifts from Him, and do any less than giving our all in return to Him?
Prayer: Father, I am not a generous giver by nature. I choose to receive Your grace fully. Make me so in love with You that I cannot help but respond by giving from the wellspring of Your love in my life.
Promise: “God loves a cheerful giver. God can multiply His favors among you so that you may always have enough of everything and even a surplus for good works.” —2 Cor 9:7-8
Praise: St. Lawrence gave all the Church’s treasury to the poor, and his life for his Lord. Pious tradition tells us he was roasted to death on a gridiron for his faith. He uttered the legendary words, “It is well done, turn me over!”
http://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/readings/
Who likes to pay taxes, especially when you think they might be unreasonable or unjust? Jesus and his disciples were confronted by tax collectors on the issue of tax evasion. When questioned about paying the temple tax, Jesus replied to his disciples: We must pay so as not to cause bad example. In fact, we must go beyond our duty in order that we may show others what they ought to do. The scriptural expression to give no offense doesn't refer to insult or annoyance - rather it means to put no stumbling block in the way of another that would cause them to trip or fall. Jesus would not allow himself anything which might possibly be a bad example to someone else. Do you evade unpleasant responsibilities or obligations?
Jesus predicts his death and triumph over the grave
On three different occasions in Matthew's Gospel, Jesus predicted he would endure great suffering through betrayal, rejection, and the punishment of a cruel death (Matthew 16:21, 17:22-23, and 20:17-19). The Jews resorted to stoning for very serious offenses and the Romans to crucifixion - the most painful and humiliating death they could devise for criminals they wanted to eliminate. No wonder the apostles were greatly distressed at such a prediction! If Jesus their Master were put to death, then they would likely receive the same treatment by their enemies. Jesus called himself the "Son of Man" because this was a Jewish title for the Messiah which the prophet Daniel explained in his vision of the One whom God would send to establish his everlasting kingdom of power and righteousness over the earth (Daniel 7:13-14).
The Suffering Servant and Lamb of God
Why must the Messiah be rejected and killed? Did not God promise that his Anointed One (Messiah in Hebrew) would deliver his people from their oppression and establish a kingdom of peace and justice? The prophet Isaiah had foretold that it was God's will that the "Suffering Servant" make atonement for sins through his suffering and death (Isaiah 53). John the Baptist described Jesus as "the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1: 29, Isaiah 53:6-7). When Jesus willing offered up his life for us on the cross he paid the price for our redemption with his blood.
Jesus offers freedom and victory over sin and death
Jesus came to rescue us from sin and its destructive forces and to restore us to fulness of life with our heavenly Father. Sin not only separates us from God - it leads us down the path to corruption and unending death. Slavery to sin is to want the wrong things and to be in bondage to hurtful desires and addictions. The ransom Jesus paid sets us free from the worst tyranny possible - the tyranny of sin, Satan, and death. Jesus' victory did not end with his sacrificial death on the cross - he triumphed over the grave when he rose again on the third day. Jesus defeated the powers of death and Satan through his cross and resurrection. The Lord Jesus offers us true freedom and peace which no one can take from us. Do you want the greatest freedom possible, the freedom to live as God truly meant us to live as his sons and daughters?
Lord Jesus, your death brought true life and freedom. May I always walk in the freedom and power of your love and truth and reject whatever is contrary to your will for my life.
Psalm 148:1-2,11-12,14
1 Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD from the heavens, praise him in the heights!
2 Praise him, all his angels, praise him, all his host!
11 Kings of the earth and all peoples, princes and all rulers of the earth!
12 Young men and maidens together, old men and children!
14 He has raised up a horn for his people, praise for all his saints, for the people of Israel who are near to him. Praise the LORD!
Daily Quote from the Early Church Fathers: Jesus speaks of his death and resurrection, by Origen of Alexandria (185-254 AD)
"I think we have an obligation to examine this, too: that Jesus was delivered into the hands of men, not by men into the hands of men but by powers to whom the Father delivered his Son on behalf of us all. In the very act of being delivered and coming under the power of those to whom he was delivered, he "destroyed him who had the power of death." For "through death he destroyed him who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and delivered all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong bondage." (excerpt from COMMENTARY ON MATTHEW 13.8)
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August 10, 2018 Feast of Saint Lawrence, deacon and martyr
