14th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A (가해 연중 제14주일)
1st Reading: Zechariah 9:9-10
The arrival of the Messiah
-------------------------------------
[9] Rejoice greatly. O daughter of Zion!
Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Lo, your king comes to you;
triumphant and victorious is he,
humble and riding on an ass,
on a colt the foal of an ass.
[10] I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim
and the war horse from Jerusalem;
and the battle how shall he cut off,
and he shall command peace to the nations;
his dominion shall be from sea to sea,
and from the River to the ends of the earth.
*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:
9:1-14:21. The prophecies concerning the new circumstances of Jerusalem
and Judah in chapters 7-8 give way now to two long oracles describing how that
definitive time will he established by the Messiah (chaps. 9-10), and how the king-
dom of God will come about (chaps. 12-14). Worked in among these themes are
short prophetical pieces which are apparently anonymous, for there is no mention
of Zechariah in them and no dates are given. The two oracles start in the same
way: “An oracle. The word of the Lord ...”(9:1; 12:1), a formula which is also used
at the start of the book of Malachi (Mal 1:1). Because this construction is found
on only these three occasions in the Old Testament, the three pieces are thought
to come from some third source and to have found their way into the biblical text
here -- two into the book of Zechariah and one into that of Malachi.
9:1-11:17. This first oracle includes two prophetical proclamations -- one about
the advent of the Messiah king (9:1-10:12), and the other about the rejection of
the good shepherd who tries to lead the people along the paths of faithfulness
and unity, (11:1-17). The first one starts with a prophetical description of the vic-
torious progress of the Lord as he makes his way down to Jerusalem from the
north (9:1-8); then the city is invited to rejoice at the arrival of its king (9:9-10);
and finally the restoration of Israel is proclaimed (9:11-17).
9:9-10. The prophet now speaks directly to Jerusalem (“daughter of Zion”) and
her citizens (“daughter of Jerusalem”) as representatives of the entire chosen
people. An invitation to rejoice and celebrate is often found in the Old Testament
in connexion with the arrival of the messianic era (cf. Is 12:6; 54:1; Zeph 3:14);
here it is issued because Jerusalem’s king is arriving. Although the text does
not say so explicitly, it is implied that he is the descendant of Dayid; there is
an echo here of 2 Samuel 7:12-16 and Isaiah 7:14. This king is distinguished
by what he is and what he does. The word “triumphant” translates the Hebrew
saddiq, which means “just”: he does the will of God perfectly; and the term “vic-
torious’ means that he enjoys divine protection and salvation. The Septuagint
and the Vulgate, however, read it as meaning that he was the saviour. He is
also “humble”, that is, he is not boastful in the presence of either God or men.
He is peaceable -- as can be seen from the fact that he rides not on a horse like
kings of the time but on an ass, like the princes of ancient times (cf. Gen 49:11;
Judg 5:10; 10:4; 12:14). He will cause the weapons of war to disappear from
Samaria and Judah (cf. Is 2:4, 7; Mic 5:9), who will form a single, united people;
and he will also establish peace among the nations (v. 10). This king has features
similar to those of the “servant of the Lord” of whom Isaiah spoke (cf. Is 53:11)
and to those of the lowly people whom God found acceptable (cf. Zeph 2:3; 3:12).
Our Lord Jesus Christ fulfilled this prophecy when he entered Jerusalem before
the Passover and was acclaimed by the crowd as the Messiah, the Son of David
(cf. Mt 21:1-5; Jn 12:14). “The ‘King of glory’ (Ps 24:7-10) enters his City ‘riding
on an ass’ (Zech 9:9). Jesus conquers the Daughter of Zion, a figure of his
Church, neither by ruse nor by violence, but by the humility that bears witness
to the truth (cf. Jn 18:37)” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 559). In an alle-
gorical reading, Clement of Alexandria takes the young ass of v. 9 to stand for
people who are not subject to evil: “It was not enough to say a ‘colt’; the sacred
writer added, ‘the foal of an ass’, to emphasize the youth of the humanity of
Christ, his eternal youth. The divine groom tends to us and trains us, the youn-
gest, smallest colts (Paedagogus, 1, 15, 1).
2nd Reading: Romans 8:9, 11-13
Life in the Spirit
----------------------
[9] But you are not in the flesh, you are in the Spirit, if the Spirit of God really
dwells in you. Any one who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong
to him.
[11] "If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who
raised Christ Jesus from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through
his Spirit who dwells in you." [12] So then, brethren, we are debtors, not to the
flesh, to live according to the flesh--[13] for if you live according to the flesh you
will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body you will live.
*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:
1-13. After original sin man is pulled in two different directions: either he seeks
God above all things and contends, with God's grace, against the inclinations
of his own concupiscence; or else he lets himself be overwhelmed by the disor-
dered passions of the flesh. The former lifestyle is "life in the Spirit", the latter,
life "according to the flesh". "There are only two possible ways of living on this
earth: either we live a supernatural life, or we live an animal life" ([St] J. Escriva,
"Friends of God", 200).
Sanctifying grace is the source of life "according to the Spirit". It is not a matter
of simply being in the state of grace or of performing a number of regular pious
practices. Life according to the Spirit--spiritual or supernatural life--means a
living-according-to-God which influences everything a Christian does: he is cons-
tantly trying to bring his thoughts, yearnings, desires and actions into line with
what God is asking of him; in everything he does he tries to follow the inspira-
tions of the Holy Spirit.
Life according to the flesh, on the other hand, has its source in the triple concu-
piscence which is a consequence of original sin--"all that is in the world the lust
of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life" (1 Jn 2:16). In this pre-
sent life it is not possible to kill concupiscence at its root: it is forever producing
new growths. The Christian is freed from original sin through Baptism (chap. 6);
the coming of Christ has set aside the ritualistic precepts of the Mosaic Law
(chap. 7); but his life in Jesus Christ is threatened by concupiscence even after
Baptism, which places him under the Law of the Spirit. "We need to submit to
the spirit, to wholeheartedly commit ourselves and strive to keep the flesh in its
place. By so doing our flesh will become spiritual again. Otherwise, if we give in
to the easy life, this will lower our soul to the level of the flesh and make it car-
nal again" (St John Chrysostom, "Hom. on Rom", 13).
10-11. Once he is justified the Christian lives in the grace of God and confidently
hopes in his future resurrection; Christ Himself lives in him (cf. Galatians 2:20;
1 Corinthians 15:20-23). However, he is not spared the experience of death, a
consequence of Original Sin (cf. Romans 5:12; 6:23). Along with suffering, con-
cupiscence and other limitations, death is still a factor after Baptism; it is some-
thing which motivates us to struggle and makes us to be like Christ. Almost all
commentators interpret the expression "your bodies are dead because of sin" as
referring to the fact that, due to sin, the human body is destined to die. So sure
is this prospect of death that the Apostle sees the body as "already dead".
St. John Chrysostom makes an acute observation: if Christ is living in the Chris-
tian, then the divine Spirit, the Third Person of the Trinity, is also present in him.
If this divine Spirit is absent, then indeed death reigns supreme, and with it the
wrath of God, rejection of His laws, separation from Christ, and expulsion of our
Guest. And he adds: "But when one has the Spirit within, what can be lacking?
With the Spirit one belongs to Christ, one possesses Him, one vies for honor
with the angels. With the Spirit, the flesh is crucified, one tastes the delight of
an immortal life, one has a pledge of future resurrection and advances rapidly on
the path of virtue. This is what Paul calls putting the flesh to death" ("Hom. on
Rom.", 13).
Gospel Reading: Matthew 11:25-30
Jesus Thanks His Father
------------------------------------
[25] At that time Jesus declared, "I thank Thee, Father, Lord of Heaven and earth,
that Thou hast hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed
them to babes; [26] yea, Father, for such was Thy gracious will. [27] All things
have been delivered to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the
Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and any one to whom the
Son chooses to reveal Him. [28] Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden,
and I will give you rest. [29] Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me; for I
am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. [30] For My
yoke is easy, and My burden is light."
*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:
25-26. The wise and understanding of this world, that is, those who rely on their
own judgment, cannot accept the revelation which Christ has brought us. Super-
natural outlook is always connected with humility. A humble person, who gives
himself little importance, sees; a person who is full of self-esteem fails to perceive
supernatural things.
27. Here Jesus formally reveals His divinity. Our knowledge of a person shows
our intimacy with Him, according to the principle given by St. Paul: "For what
person knows a man's thoughts except the spirit of the man which is in him?"
(1 Corinthians 2:11). The Son knows the Father by the same knowledge as that
by which the Father knows the Son. This identity of knowledge implies oneness
of nature; that is to say, Jesus is God just as the Father is God.
28-30. Our Lord calls everyone to come to Him. We all find things difficult in one
way or another. The history of souls bears out the truth of these words of Jesus.
Only the Gospel can fully satisfy the thirst for truth and justice which sincere
people feel. Only our Lord, our Master--and those to whom He passes on His
power--can soothe the sinner by telling him, "Your sins are forgiven" (Matthew
9:2). In this connection Pope Paul VI teaches: "Jesus says now and always,
`Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.' His
attitude towards us is one of invitation, knowledge and compassion; indeed, it
is one of offering, promise, friendship, goodness, remedy of our ailments; He is
our comforter; indeed, our nourishment, our bread, giving us energy and life"
("Homily on Corpus Christi", 13 June 1974).
"Come to Me": the Master is addressing the crowds who are following Him,
"harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd" (Matthew 9:36). The
Pharisees weighed them down with an endless series of petty regulations (cf.
Acts 15:10), yet they brought no peace to their souls. Jesus tells these people,
and us, about the kind of burden He imposes: "Any other burden oppresses and
crushes you, but Christ's actually takes weight off you. Any other burden weighs
down, but Christ's gives you wings. If you take a bird's wings away, you might
seem to be taking weight off it, but the more weight you take off, the more you
tie it down to the earth. There it is on the ground, and you wanted to relieve it
of a weight; give it back the weight of its wings and you will see how it flies" (St.
Augustine, "Sermon" 126).
"All you who go about tormented, afflicted and burdened with the burden of your
cares and desires, go forth from them, come to Me and I will refresh you and you
shall find for your souls the rest which your desires take from you" (St. John of
the Cross, "Ascent of Mount Carmel", Book 1, Chapter 7, 4).
*********************************************************************************************
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. 그리고 우리말 번역에 대한
저작권은 엮은이에게 있으며, 본문 중의 우리말 번역문들을 복사하여 가져가는 것을
허락하지 않습니다.]