December 21

1st Reading: Song of Songs 2:8-14

Second Canto: Spring
--------------------------------
[8] The voice of my beloved! Behold, he comes, leaping upon the mountains,
bounding over the hills. [9] My beloved is like a gazelle, or a young stag.
Behold, there he stands behind our wall, gazing in at the windows, looking
through the lattice. [10] My beloved speaks and says to me: “Arise, my love,
my fair one, and come away; [11] for lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and
gone. [12] The flowers appear on the earth, the time of singing has come, and
the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land. [13] The fig tree puts forth its figs,
and the vines are in blossom; they give forth fragrance. Arise, my love, my fair
one, and come away. [14] 0 my dove, in the clefts of the rock, in the covert of
the cliff, let me see your face, let me hear your voice, for your voice is sweet,
and your face is comely

*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:

2:8-3:5. The second poem implies that heartfelt acceptance of love (a point
reached at the end of the first poem) continues day (2:8-17) and night (3:1-5).
Activity begins again: the previous poem ended in sleep, and this one begins
with waking.

It treats of moments of love (day and night), with scenarios (countryside and city)
and with the movements that make it up (presence and absence of the loved one).
The day-time is described in terms of the joy of the two lovers: it parallels nature
waking up in springtime (2:8-17); night-time features the absence of the lover and
the anguished search that the beloved makes until she finds him (3:1-4). Like the
previous poem, it ends (3:5 cf. 2:7) with the beloved asleep and the lover keeping
vigil; but whereas in the previous poem (cf. 2:7) it seemed to be the lover who was
speaking, here it seems to be the beloved; “stir not up nor awaken love”: the RSV
and Navarre Spanish] follow the Hebrew; the Latin versions read “the beloved”
(fem.) instead of “love”.

The motifs used in the description (springtime, the voice, the face of the beloved,
etc.) are very similar to those found in oriental love songs of the fourteenth or
thirteenth century BC. Still, one can see allusions here to the image of Israel
and God joined in a spousal covenant. The little refrain of v.16 (“My beloved is
mine and I am his, he pastures his flock among the lilies”) is reminiscent of the
phrase “So shall you be my people, and I will be your God” (Jer 11:4; cf. Jet 7:23;
31:33; Ezek 36:28; Hos 2:25; etc.). Similarly, the fact that the voices of spousal
love and the images of nature in springtime blend as they do here brings to mind
passages in which the prophets used similar imagery to describe Israel’s anxious
waiting for God to manifest himself as her lover and protector: “I will greatly rejoice
in the Lord,my soul shall exult in my God; for he has clothed me with the garments
of salvation, he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom
decks himself with a garland, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. For
as the earth brings forth its shoots, and as a garden causes what is sown in it
to spring up, so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth
before all the nations” (Is 61:10-11; cf. 62:4-5; Hos 2:16-23:, etc.).

2:8-17. This canto celebrates, in the open countryside, a rebirth of nature and
of love. Just as the fruitfulness of spring overcomes the infertility of winter, love
triumphs over the selfishness that imprisons us within ourselves. That was how
the Fathers interpreted spring as described here: “During the winter of idolatry,
the restless nature of man, because of his worship of idols, became as stolid
as them [...]. It is logical that that should happen. Those who contemplate God
come to possess features of the divine nature, while those who give themselves
over to the worship of vain idols are transformed into what they adore: they are
turned into the stone of idols” (St Gregory of Nyssa, "In Canticum Canticorum
Commentarius", 5).

The poem begins with the voice of the beloved, waiting for the lover: she recog-
nizes him in the distance, by his voice (v. 8) and when he is near by his face
(cf. v. 9). In keeping with this, the lover will later sing of the face and voice of the
beloved (v. 14). The body of the poem (vv. 10-14) is the lover’s invitation to come
away and celebrate their love in communion with nature. Hence, too, the joint
plea of v. 15: anything that might disturb that triumphal celebration must be shed.
The last words spoken here by the beloved, in which she claims the lover for her-
self exclusively (v. 16), while at the same time offering him his freedom (v. 17),
will appear later in the Song as a refrain (6:3; 7:10) and as the conclusion at the
very end (8:14).

An allegorical reading of this poem as a celebration of the spousal covenant
between God and Israel in the time of the restoration is relatively easy to make.
Israel is depicted in many prophetical texts (Is 5:1-7; Hos 10:1; etc.; cf. Mt
21:33-44) as a vineyard. Also, that literature used the images of devastation and
of the Garden of Eden to describe, respectively, the unfaithfulness and fidelity of
Israel (cf. Jer 12:7-13; Hos 2:14, etc.).

Extending that allegorical reading, ascetical literature saw the vineyard as
representing the soul, and the foxes as the difficulties it still encounters in its
efforts to love God unfailingly: “The soul desires that nothing should diminish the
delights of love it feels within, a love which is the flower of the soul’s vineyard--not
the envious and evil demons, nor the body’s wild desires, nor the vagaries of the
imagination, nor the attractions of created things; it calls upon the angels, asking
them to root out all these things or prevent their growth, so that they cannot hinder
the flowering of interior love; for the sweet taste and delight of that love is the joyful
sharing of the virtues and graces that pass between the soul and the Son of God”
(St John of the Cross, "Spiritual Canticle", Song, 16, 3).

[“Upon rugged mountains” (v. 17b; cf. RSV note f): the New Vulgate has “montes
Bether” and the Navarre Spanish, hills of Bether.]


Gospel Reading: Luke 1:39-45

The Visitation
--------------------
[39] In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to
a city of Judah, [40] and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted
Elizabeth. [41] And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the babe
leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit [42] and
she exclaimed with a loud cry, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed
is the fruit of your womb! [43] And why is this granted me, that the mother of
my Lord should come to me? [44] For behold, when the voice of your greeting
came to my ears, the babe in my womb leaped for joy. [45] And blessed is
she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her
from the Lord."

*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:

39-56. We contemplate this episode of our Lady's visit to her cousin St. Elizabeth
in the Second Joyful Mystery of the Rosary: "Joyfully keep Joseph and Mary
company...and you will hear the traditions of the House of David.... We walk in
haste towards the mountains, to a town of the tribe of Judah (Luke 1:39).

"We arrive. It is the house where John the Baptist is to be born. Elizabeth
gratefully hails the Mother of her Redeemer: Blessed are you among women, and
blessed is the fruit of your womb. Why should I be honored with a visit from the
mother of my Lord? (Luke 1:42-43).
"The unborn Baptist quivers...(Luke 1:41). Mary's humility pours forth in the
"Magnificat".... And you and I, who are proud--who were proud -- promise to be
humble" ([St] J. Escriva, "Holy Rosary").

39. On learning from the angel that her cousin St. Elizabeth is soon to give birth
and is in need of support, our Lady in her charity hastens to her aid. She has no
regard for the difficulties this involves. Although we do not know where exactly
Elizabeth was living (it is now thought to be Ain Karim), it certainly meant a
journey into the hillcountry which at that time would have taken four days.
>From Mary's visit to Elizabeth Christians should learn to be caring people. "If we
have this filial contact with Mary, we won't be able to think just about ourselves
and our problems. Selfish personal problems will find no place in our mind" ([St]
J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By," 145).

42. St. Bede comments that Elizabeth blesses Mary using the same words as
the archangel "to show that she should be honored by angels and by men and
why she should indeed be revered above all other women" ("In Lucae Evangelium
Expositio, in loc.").

When we say the "Hail Mary" we repeat these divine greetings, "rejoicing with
Mary at her dignity as Mother of God and praising the Lord, thanking Him for
having given us Jesus Christ through Mary" ("St. Pius X Catechism", 333).

43. Elizabeth is moved by the Holy Spirit to call Mary "the mother of my Lord",
thereby showing that Mary is the Mother of God.

44. Although he was conceived in sin--original sin--like other men, St. John the
Baptist was born sinless because he was sanctified in his mother's womb by the
presence of Jesus Christ (then in Mary's womb) and of the Blessed Virgin. On
receiving this grace of God St. John rejoices by leaping with joy in his mother's
womb--thereby fulfilling the archangel's prophecy (cf. Luke 1:15).

St. John Chrysostom comments on this scene of the Gospel: "See how new
and how wonderful this mystery is. He has not yet left the womb but he speaks
by leaping; he is not yet allowed to cry out but he makes himself heard by his
actions [...]; he has not yet seen the light but he points out the Sun; he has not
yet been born and he is keen to act as Precursor. The Lord is present, so he
cannot contain himself or wait for nature to run its course: he wants to break out
of the prison of his mother's womb and he makes sure he witnesses to the fact
that the Savior is about to come" ("Sermo Apud Metaphr., Mense Julio").

45. Joining the chorus of all future generations, Elizabeth, moved by the Holy
Spirit, declares the Lord's Mother to be blessed and praises her faith. No one
ever had faith to compare with Mary's; she is the model of the attitude a creature
should have towards its Creator -- complete submission, total attachment.
Through her faith, Mary is the instrument chosen by God to bring about the
Redemption; as Mediatrix of all graces, she is associated with the redemptive
work of her Son: "This union of the Mother with the Son in the work of salvation
is made manifest from the time of Christ's virginal conception up to His death;
first when Mary, arising in haste to go to visit Elizabeth, is greeted by her as
blessed because of her belief in the promise of salvation and the Precursor
leaps with joy in the womb of his mother [...]. The Blessed Virgin advanced
in her pilgrimage of faith and faithfully persevered in her union with her Son unto
the cross, where she stood (cf. John 19:25), in keeping with the Divine Plan,
enduring with her only-begotten Son the intensity of His suffering, associating
herself with His sacrifice in her mother's heart, and lovingly consenting to the
immolation of this Victim which was born of her" (Vatican II, "Lumen Gentium",
57f).

The new Latin text gives a literal rendering of the original Greek when it says
"quae credidit" (RSV "she who has believed") as opposed to the Vulgate "quae
credidisti" ("you who have believed") which gave more of the sense than a literal
rendering.

*********************************************************************************************
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States. We encourage readers to purchase
The Navarre Bible for personal study. See Scepter Publishers for details.

[참고: 이 파일은 저서명 "가톨릭 교회의 말씀 전례에 따른 성경공부 해설서"(엮은이: 소순태, 출판사: 가톨릭출판사)의 각주의 연장으로 마련되었습니다].