March 10, 2021 Wednesday of the Third Week of Lent
2021년 3월 10일 사순 제3주간 수요일
오늘의 복음 : http://info.catholic.or.kr/missa/default.asp
<너희는 규정과 법규들을 잘 지키고 실천하여라.>
제1독서
신명기. 4,1.5-9
모세가 백성에게 말하였다.
1 “이스라엘아, 이제 내가 너희에게 실천하라고 가르쳐 주는
규정과 법규들을 잘 들어라.
그래야 너희가 살 수 있고, 주 너희 조상들의 하느님께서
너희에게 주시는 땅에 들어가 그곳을 차지할 것이다.
5 보아라, 너희가 들어가 차지하게 될 땅에서 그대로 실천하도록,
나는 주 나의 하느님께서
나에게 명령하신 대로 규정과 법규들을 너희에게 가르쳐 주었다.
6 너희는 그것들을 잘 지키고 실천하여라.
그리하면 민족들이 너희의 지혜와 슬기를 보게 될 것이다.
그들은 이 모든 규정을 듣고,
‘이 위대한 민족은 정말 지혜롭고 슬기로운 백성이구나.’ 하고 말할 것이다.
7 우리가 부를 때마다 가까이 계셔 주시는,
주 우리 하느님 같은 신을 모신 위대한 민족이 또 어디에 있느냐?
8 또한 내가 오늘 너희 앞에 내놓는 이 모든 율법처럼
올바른 규정과 법규들을 가진 위대한 민족이 또 어디에 있느냐?
9 너희는 오로지 조심하고 단단히 정신을 차려,
너희가 두 눈으로 본 것들을 잊지 않도록 하여라.
그것들이 평생 너희 마음에서 떠나지 않게 하여라.
또한 자자손손에게 그것들을 알려 주어라.”
복음
<스스로 계명을 지키고 또 그렇게 가르치는 이는 큰사람이라고 불릴 것이다.>
마태오. 5,17-19
그때에 예수님께서 제자들에게 말씀하셨다.
17 “내가 율법이나 예언서들을 폐지하러 온 줄로 생각하지 마라.
폐지하러 온 것이 아니라 오히려 완성하러 왔다.
18 내가 진실로 너희에게 말한다. 하늘과 땅이 없어지기 전에는,
모든 것이 이루어질 때까지 율법에서 한 자 한 획도 없어지지 않을 것이다.
19 그러므로 이 계명들 가운데에서 가장 작은 것 하나라도 어기고
또 사람들을 그렇게 가르치는 자는
하늘 나라에서 가장 작은 자라고 불릴 것이다.
그러나 스스로 지키고 또 그렇게 가르치는 이는
하늘 나라에서 큰사람이라고 불릴 것이다.”
March 10, 2021
Wednesday of the Third Week of Lent
Daily Mass : http://www.catholictv.com/shows/daily-mass
Reading 1
Dt 4:1, 5-9
"Now, Israel, hear the statutes and decrees
which I am teaching you to observe,
that you may live, and may enter in and take possession of the land
which the LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you.
Therefore, I teach you the statutes and decrees
as the LORD, my God, has commanded me,
that you may observe them in the land you are entering to occupy.
Observe them carefully,
for thus will you give evidence
of your wisdom and intelligence to the nations,
who will hear of all these statutes and say,
'This great nation is truly a wise and intelligent people.'
For what great nation is there
that has gods so close to it as the LORD, our God, is to us
whenever we call upon him?
Or what great nation has statutes and decrees
that are as just as this whole law
which I am setting before you today?
"However, take care and be earnestly on your guard
not to forget the things which your own eyes have seen,
nor let them slip from your memory as long as you live,
but teach them to your children and to your children's children."
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 147:12-13, 15-16, 19-20
Glorify the LORD, O Jerusalem;
praise your God, O Zion.
For he has strengthened the bars of your gates;
he has blessed your children within you.
R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
He sends forth his command to the earth;
swiftly runs his word!
He spreads snow like wool;
frost he strews like ashes.
R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
He has proclaimed his word to Jacob,
his statutes and his ordinances to Israel.
He has not done thus for any other nation;
his ordinances he has not made known to them.
R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
Gospel
Mt 5:17-19
"Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets.
I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.
Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away,
not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter
will pass from the law,
until all things have taken place.
Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments
and teaches others to do so
will be called least in the Kingdom of heaven.
But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments
will be called greatest in the Kingdom of heaven."
http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html
he season of Lent points us to a time of repentance, fasting and preparation. It is a season of obedience where we are forced into self-examination and reflection.
Today’s readings provide incredible insight into what that commitment really looks like for us in our lives today.
In our first reading from Deuteronomy, we find Moses giving detailed advice in regard to God’s statutes and decrees. “Observe them carefully, for thus will you give evidence of your wisdom and intelligence to the nations…….. “, for in so doing they would be pointing the people of those nations to the Lord, our God. Moses further refined the focus of this directive by reminding them to “take care and be earnestly on your guard not to forget the things which your own eyes have seen, nor let them slip from your memory as long as you live, but teach them to your children and to your children’s children.”
As with everything else we find in God’s Word, that advice was much more than just some commands for the people of Israel as they journeyed through the desert on their way to the promised land. God was speaking directly to us. During our self-reflection of Lent, we need to ask ourselves if we are truly following this advice, or rather this directive from God. Are we carefully, regularly studying God’s Word and teaching it faithfully to our children? Are we living our lives so that we might be an unmistakable evidence pointing to our almighty God?
The Responsorial Psalm reminds us of all that the Lord has done and continues to do in our world. As we continually count our many continual blessings, we are reminded again of our obligation to let our lives continually point to God.
In John’s verse before the Gospel, we are taken back to how important are God’s Words. They are indeed the secret to Spirit and life – everlasting life. That message is not for just a portion of the Bible – such as the New Testament – but rather it is for the entire Word of God. That seems to reinforce the fact that Moses’ directives to live our lives to point to God was just as much for us as it was for the Israelites. And to further emphasize the importance of all of God’s Word, in today’s Gospel, Jesus reminds us that “not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law until all things have taken place……”
So, as we ponder the incredible gift of salvation during this season of Lent, we need to consider our own individual commitment to knowing God’s Word and to living our lives to point others to Christ. Is that commitment truly what we live for and are we earnestly on our guard to remain focused upon using our lives to point to Jesus?
Dear Heavenly Father, I look to you to help me in my weakness. Help me to remain committed to delving into your Holy Word each and every day. Help me to stay focused upon cleansing my life and using it to point others to you. Forgive me when I have so often neglected this reason for my existence.
In the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ.
http://www.presentationministries.com/obob/obob.asp
KISS
“Of this much I assure you: until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter of the law, not the smallest part of a letter, shall be done away with until it all comes true.” —Matthew 5:18
In the beginning of creation was the Word. In the beginning of the new creation of this Lenten-Easter time is also the Word. When God’s Word begins to come alive in our lives, we know that the risen life of Easter is not far behind. When our hearts begin to burn as Jesus explains to us the Scriptures, we know that soon we will recognize Him risen from the dead (Lk 24:31-32).
During this first half of Lent, the Lord is giving us a grace to cherish His Word, even “the smallest part of a letter” (Mt 5:18). We will delight “in the law of the Lord,” and meditate “on His law day and night” (Ps 1:2). We will value His Word more than the finest food (Ps 119:103) or “thousands of gold and silver pieces” (Ps 119:72). We will devour God’s Word; it will become the joy and happiness of our hearts (Jer 15:16). By God’s grace, we will devote ourselves to the apostles’ instruction in the Word (Acts 2:42), and carefully observe the statutes and decrees of the Lord (Dt 4:5-6).
At Mass, the priest customarily kisses the Bible after the reading of the Gospel. Ask the Lord for the spontaneous desire to kiss His Word, not out of custom but out of love.
Prayer: Jesus, may I have the desire to kiss the Bible because I’m in love with You.
Promise: “Take care and be earnestly on your guard not to forget the things which your own eyes have seen, nor let them slip from your memory as long as you live, but teach them to your children and to your children’s children.” —Dt 4:9
Praise: As father of the family, Walter leads his wife and children in reading Scripture and prayer.
http://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/readings/
Do you view God's law negatively or positively? Jesus' attitude towards the law of God can be summed up in the great prayer of Psalm 119: "Oh, how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day." For the people of Israel the "law" could refer to the ten commandments or to the five Books of Moses, called the Pentateuch, which explain the commandments and ordinances of God for his people. The "law" also referred to the whole teaching or way of life which God gave to his people. The Jews in Jesus' time also used it as a description of the oral or scribal law. Needless to say, the scribes added many more things to the law than God intended. That is why Jesus often condemned the scribal law. It placed burdens on people which God had not intended. Jesus, however, made it very clear that the essence of God's law - his commandments and way of life, must be fulfilled.
Jesus taught reverence for God's law - reverence for God himself, for the Lord's Day, reverence or respect for parents, respect for life, for property, for another person's good name, respect for oneself and for one's neighbor lest wrong or hurtful desires master us. Reverence and respect for God's commandments teach us the way of love - love of God and love of neighbor.
The transforming work of the Holy Spirit
What is impossible to men and women is possible to God and those who put their faith and trust in God. Through the gift of the Holy Spirit the Lord transforms us and makes us like himself. We are a new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17) because "God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us" (Romans 5:5). God gives us the grace to love as he loves, to forgive as he forgives, to think as he thinks, and to act as he acts.
The Lord loves justice and goodness and he hates every form of wickedness and sin. He wants to set us free from our unruly desires and sinful habits, so that we can choose to live each day in the peace, joy, and righteousness of his Holy Spirit (Romans 14: 17). To renounce sin is to turn away from what is harmful and destructive for our minds and hearts, and our very lives. As his followers we must love and respect his commandments and hate every form of sin. Do you love and revere the commands of the Lord?
Lord Jesus, grant this day, to direct and sanctify, to rule and govern our hearts and bodies, so that all our thoughts, words and deeds may be according to your Father's law and thus may we be saved and protected through your mighty help.
Psalm 147:12-13,15-16,19-20
12 Praise the LORD, O Jerusalem! Praise your God, O Zion!
13 For he strengthens the bars of your gates; he blesses your sons within you.
15 He sends forth his command to the earth; his word runs swiftly.
16 He gives snow like wool; he scatters hoarfrost like ashes.
19 He declares his word to Jacob, his statutes and ordinances to Israel.
20 He has not dealt thus with any other nation; they do not know his ordinances. Praise the LORD!
Daily Quote from the Early Church Fathers: Making daily progress towards God, by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.
"As Christians, our task is to make daily progress toward God. Our pilgrimage on earth is a school in which God is the only teacher, and it demands good students, not ones who play truant. In this school we learn something every day. We learn something from the commandments, something from examples, and something from Sacraments. These things are remedies for our wounds and materials for our studies." (excerpt from Sermon 16A,1)
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