24th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A (가해 연중 제24주일)


1st Reading: Sirach 27:30 - 28:7

Forgiving others
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27:30 Anger and wrath, these also are abominations, 
and the sinful man will possess them.

28[1] He that takes vengeance will suffer vengeance from the Lord, 
and he will firmly establish his sins. 
[2] Forgive your neighbor the wrong he has done, 
and then your sins will be pardoned when you pray. 
[3] Does a man harbor anger against another, 
and yet seek for healing from the Lord? 
[4] Does he have no mercy toward a man like himself, 
and yet pray for his own sins? 
[5] If he himself, being flesh, maintains wrath, 
who will make expiation for his sins? 
[6] Remember the end of your life, and cease from enmity, 
remember destruction and death, and be true to the commandments. 
[7] Remember the commandments, and do not be angry with your neighbor;
remember the covenant of the Most High, and overlook ignorance.

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Commentary:

28:1-11. This passage contains three groups of sayings on one theme: seek
peace and reconciliation, not discord. The first group (vv. 1-5) has to do with for-
giveness: one needs to forgive others in order to be forgiven oneself. The second
group (vv. 6-7) gives the various reasons for not bearing grudges against one's
neighbour: we should "remember" who we are and how good God has been to us.
The third (vv. 8-11) wants against getting into arguments because they only make
matters worse.

Our Lord may well have had these or similar sayings in mind when he taught in
the Our Father, "Forgive us our debts as we also forgive our debtors" (Mt 6:12;
cf. also Mt 6:14). "Christian prayer extends to the 'forgiveness of enemies' (cf. Mt
5:43-44), transfiguring the disciple by configuring him to his Master. Forgiveness
is a high-point of Christian prayer; only hearts attuned to God's compassion can
receive the gift of prayer. Forgiveness also bears witness that, in our world, love
is stronger than sin. The martyrs of yesterday and today bear this witness to Je-
sus. Forgiveness is the fundamental condition of the reconciliation of the children
of God with their Father and of men with one another" ("Catechism of the Catho-
lic Church", 2844). And St John Chrysostom, quoting 28:2-4, writes: "Although
you may not deliberately do harm to your enemies, if you fail to show goodwill to
them and leave the wound open on their souls, you are disobeying the command-
ment laid down by Christ. How can you ask God to treat you with good grace, if
you yourself do not show mercy to those who have sinned against you?" (:De
compunctione:, 1, 5).

2nd Reading: Romans 14:7-12

Seeing Things from the Other Person's Point of View (Continuation)
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[7] None of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. [8] If we live, we
live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or
whether we die, we are the Lord's. [9] For to this end Christ died and lived again,
that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.

[10] Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise
your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of God; [11] for it is
written, "As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue
shall give praise to God." [12] So each of us shall give account of himself to God.

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Commentary:

4-12. These ideas and counsels addressed to the faithful at Rome provide the ba-
sis of the motto traditional in the Church, "Unity in essentials, freedom in doubtful
matters, and in all things clarity" (cf. John XXIII, "Ad Petri Cathedram"; Vatican II,
"Unitatis Redintegratio", 4). They mark the limits within which Christians should
exercise their freedom--at one extreme, what is laid down by lawful authority; at
the other, the need to practice charity towards all. The freedom of the "strong"
ends where the demands of charity begin: therefore, they should not scandalize
the weak; and the mistake the weak make is to regard as obligatory something
which is not, something a person can do or not as he pleases.

Love for freedom, properly understood, is never a danger to the faith: "The only
freedom that can assail the faith is a misinterpreted freedom, an aimless free-
dom, one without objective principles, one that is lawless and irresponsible. In a
word, license [...]. This is why it is inaccurate to speak of 'freedom of conscience',
thereby implying that it may be morally right for someone to reject God [...]. I de-
fend with all my strength 'freedom of consciences' (Leo XIII, Enc. "Libertas Praes-
tantissimum"), which means that no one can licitly prevent a man from worship-
ping God" (St. J. Escriva, "Friends of God", 32).

Freedom is "an exceptional sign of the image of God in man. For God willed that
man should 'be left in the hand of his own counsel' (Sir 15:14) so that he might of
his own accord seek his Creator and freely attain his full and blessed perfection
by cleaving to him. Man's dignity therefore requires him to act out of conscious
and free choice, as moved and drawn in a personal way from within, and not by
blind impulses in himself or by mere external constraint" (Vatican II, "Gaudium
Et Spes", 17). Therefore, the exercise of freedom consists in obeying a well
formed conscience and thereby, with the help of grace, attaining one's last end
and the means necessary thereto. In fact, man will be judged on his obedience
or disobedience to the law written on his heart. "Conscience is man's most se-
cret core, and his sanctuary. There he is alone with God" ("ibid.", 16f). Its dic-
tates must always be obeyed, even if they be mistaken, and others should
always respect a person's conscience, for only God can read and judge the hu-
man heart, and he forbids us to judge the inner blameworthiness of others (cf.
"ibid.", 28).

"The just man, when he finds no way to excuse the action or the intention of
someone whom he otherwise knows to be honest, not only does not judge him
but rejects the very idea of doing so and leaves judgment to God. Our Lord on
the Cross, not being able fully to excuse the sin of his crucifiers, at least les-
sened their malice saying that they did not know what they were doing. When
we cannot excuse someone of sin, let us have pity on him, and try to find
grounds for excusing him, such as ignorance or weakness" (St Francis de
Sales, "Introduction to the Devout Life", III, chap. 28).

7-9. We do not own ourselves, we are not our own masters. God, One and Three,
has created us, and Jesus Christ has freed us from sin by redeeming us with his
Blood. Therefore, he is our lord, and we his servants, committed to him body and
soul. Just as the slave is not his own master, but he himself and all he does re-
dounds to the benefit of his master, everything we are and everything we have are
geared, in the last analysis, not to our own use and benefit: we have to live and
die for the glory of God. He is lord of our life and of our death. Commenting on
these words St Gregory the Great says: "The saints, therefore, do not live and
do not die for themselves. They do not live for themselves, because in all that
they do they strive for spiritual gain: by praying, preaching and persevering in
good works, they seek the increase of the citizens of the heavenly fatherland.
Nor do they die for themselves because men see them glorifying God by their
death, hastening to reach him through death" ("In Ezechielem Homiliae", II, 10).

Gospel Reading: Matthew 18:21-35

Forgiveness of Injuries. The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant
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[21] Then Peter came up and said to Him (Jesus), "Lord, how often shall my
brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?" [22]
Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.

[23] "Therefore the Kingdom of Heaven may be compared to a king who wished
to settle accounts with his servants. [24] When he began the reckoning, one was
brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents; [25] and as he could not pay,
his lord ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and
payment to be made. [26] So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, 'Lord,
have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.' [27] And out of pity for him
the lord of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. [28] But that same
servant, as he went out, came upon one of his fellow servants who owed him a
hundred denarii; and seizing him by the throat he said, 'Pay what you owe.' [29]
So his fellow servant fell down and besought him, 'Have patience with me, and I
will pay you.' [30] He refused and went and put him in prison till he should pay
his debt.

[31] When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly dis-
tressed, and they went and reported to their lord all that had taken place. [32]
Then his lord summoned him and said to him, 'You wicked servant! I forgave you
all that debt because you besought me; [33] and should not you have had mercy
on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?' [34] And in anger his lord deli-
vered him to the jailers, till he should pay all his debt. [35] So also My Heavenly
Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your
heart."

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Commentary:

21-35. Peter's question and particularly Jesus' reply prescribe the spirit of under-
standing and mercy which should govern Christians' behavior. 

21-35. 베드로의 질문 그리고 특히 예수님의 대답은 그리스도인들의 처신을 지배하여야
하는 이해와 자비의 정신을 규정한다.

In Hebrew the figure of seventy times seven means the same as "always" (cf.
Genesis 4:24): "Therefore, our Lord did not limit forgiveness to a fixed number,
but declared that it must be continuous and forever" (Chrysostom, "Hom. on St
Matthew", 6). Here also we can see the contrast between man's ungenerous,
calculating approach to forgiveness, and God's infinite mercy. The parable also
clearly shows that we are totally in God's debt. A talent was the equivalent of
six thousand denarii, and a denarius a working man's daily wage. Ten thousand
talents, an enormous sum, gives us an idea of the immense value attaching to
the pardon we receive from God. Overall, the parable teaches that we must
always forgive our brothers, and must do so wholeheartedly.

히브리어에 있어 일흔 곱하기 일곱(seventy times seven)이라는 숫자는 다음과 같이 
'항상(always)'과 꼭 같은 의미를 가진다(창세기 4,24를 참조하라): "그러므로, 우리의 
주님께서는 용서를 어떤 고정된 숫자로 제한하셨던 것이 아니고, 그것이 계속적이어야
하며 그리고 영원하여야 한다고 선포하셨다." [크리소스토모(Chrysostom), "Hom. 
on St Matthes", 6]. 여기서 또한 우리는 용서에 있어 사람의 관대하지 않은 계산하는
접근과, 하느님의 무한한 자비 사이의 대조를 볼 수 있다. 이 비유는 또한 우리가 
전적으로  하느님께 빚을 지고 있음을 분명하게 보여준다. 1 탈란트는 육천 데나리온과 
동등하였으며,  그리고 1 데나리온은 일꾼의 하루치 품삯이었다. 엄청난 합인, 일만 
탈란트는 우리가 하느님으로부터 받는 사면(赦免, pardon)에 결부되어 있는 엄청난 
가치에 대한 생각(an idea)을 우리에게  제공한다. 전반적으로, 이 비유는 우리가 항상 
우리의 형제들을 용서하여야 하며, 그리고 진심으로 그렇게 하여야 함을 가르친다.

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번역자 주: 위에서 인용하고 있는 성 요한 크리소스토모의 해설 전문은 다음의 [61]에 
있으니 참고하라:
http://www.clerus.org/bibliaclerusonline/en/cm0.htm#ff
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"Force yourself, if necessary, always to forgive those who offend you, from the
very first moment. For the greatest injury or offense that you can suffer from 
them is nothing compared to what God has pardoned you" (St. J. Escriva, "The
Way", 452).

"만약에 필요하다면, 그대를 해치는 자들을, 첫 순간부터,  항상 용서하도록 스스로에게 
강제하도록 하라. 이는 그들로부터 그대가 겪을 수 있는 가장 커다란 피해 혹은 
공격마저도 하느님께서그대에게 이미 사면(赦免)해 주셨던(has pardoned) 바에 
비교한다면 아무 것도 아니기 때문이다." [성 호세마리아 에스크리바(St. J. Escriva), 
"The Way", 452].

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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 본문 중의 우리말 번역문에 
대한 저작권은 엮은이에게 있으며, 본문 중의 우리말 번역문들을 복사하여 가져가는 것을
허락하지 않습니다.]