32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A (가해 연중 제32주일)


1st Reading: Wisdom 6:12-16

Wisdom Leads to a Kingdom
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[12] Wisdom is radiant and unfading, and she is easily discerned by those who
love her, and is found by those who seek her. [13] She hastens to make herself
known to those who desire her. [14] He who rises early to seek her will have no
difficulty, for he will find her sitting at his gates. [15] To fix one's thought on her
is perfect understanding, and he who is vigilant on her account will soon be free
from care, [16] because she goes about seeking those worthy of her, and she
graciously appears to them in their paths, and meets them in every thought.

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Commentary:

6:12-21. This passage extols wisdom. It is not easy to work out when the sacred
writer is referring to divine Wisdom and when he means the wisdom of which man
partakes. He praises the radiance and permanence of wisdom (v. 12), personify-
ing her: "She hastens to make herself known", "goes about seeking" those who
desire her (vv. 13, 16); she is "sitting" at the gates of those who "rise early to seek
her" (v. 14); if one is "vigilant on her account", he will be free from care (v. 15);
she teaches people right living. Although it is she who takes the initiative, people
need to desire her and do what they can to make her theirs.


2nd Reading: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

The Second Coming of the Lord
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[13] But we would not have you ignorant, brethren, concerning those who are
asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. [14] For since
we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring
with him those who have fallen asleep. [15] For this we declare to you by the word
of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, shall
not precede those who have fallen asleep. [16] For the Lord himself will descend
from heaven with a cry of command, with the archangel's call, and with the sound
of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first; [17] then we who are
alive, who are left, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet
the Lord in the air; and so we shall always be with the Lord. [18] Therefore com-
fort one another with these words.

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Commentary:

13. "Those who are asleep": this expression, already to be found in some pagan
writings, was often used by the early Christians to refer to those who died in the
faith of Christ. In Christian writings it makes more sense, given Christian belief in
the resurrection of Jesus and in the resurrection of the body. It is not just a eu-
phemism: it underlines the fact that death is not the end. "Why does it say that
they are asleep", St Augustine asks, "if not because they will be raised when
their day comes?" ("Sermon 93", 6). Hence St. Escriva's advice: "When facing
death, be calm. I do not want you to have the cold stoicism of the pagan, but the
fervor of a child of God who knows that life is changed, not taken away. To die is
to live!" ("Furrow", 876).

Even though we have this hope, it is perfectly understandable for us to feel sad
when people we love die. This sadness, provided it is kept under control, is a
sign of affection and piety, but "to be excessively downcast by the death of
friends is to act like someone who does not have the spirit of Christian hope.
A person who does not believe in the resurrection and who sees death as total
annihilation has every reason to weep and lament and cry over those friends and
relations who have passed away into nothingness. But you are Christians, you
believe in the resurrection, you live and die in hope: why should you mourn the
dead excessively?" (Chrysostom, "Hom. on 1 Thess, ad loc.").

14. "It is appointed for men to die once" (Heb 9:27). However, for a person who
has faith, death does not just mean the end of his days on earth. Our Lord Jesus
Christ died and rose again, and his resurrection is a pledge of our resurrection:
death "in Christ" is the climax of a life in union with him, and it is the gateway
to heaven. And so St Paul tells Timothy, "If we have died with him, we shall also
live with him; if we endure, we shall also reign with him" (2 Tim 2:11-12).

The resurrection the Christian will experience is not only similar to our Lord's; his
resurrection is in fact the cause of ours. St Thomas Aquinas explains this as fol-
lows: "Christ is the model of our resurrection, because he took flesh and he rose
in the flesh. However, he is not only our model; he is also the efficient cause (of
our resurrection) because anything done by the human nature of Christ was done
not only by the power of his human nature but also by the power of the godhead
united to that nature. And so, just as his touch cured the leper by virtue of its
being the instrument of his godhead, so the resurrection of Christ is the cause
of our resurrection" ("Commentary on 1 Thess, ad loc."). Although this passage
of the letter does not say so explicitly, it is implied that we will rise with our bo-
dies, just as Jesus rose with his.

15-17. The religious instruction of the Thessalonians was cut short because St
Paul had to leave the city in a hurry. One of the doubts remaining in their minds
can be expressed as follows: Will the dead be under any disadvantage vis-à-vis
those who are still alive when the Parousia of the Lord happens? The Apostle
replies in two stages: first he says that we will have no advantage of any kind
over them (vv. 15-18); then he makes clear that we do not know when that even
will come about (5:1-2).

In his reply he does not explicitly speak about the general resurrection; he refers
only to those who die "in Christ". He distinguishes two groups as regards the si-
tuation people find themselves in at our Lord's second coming--1) those who are
alive: these will be "caught up", that is changed (cf. 1 Cor 15:51; 2 Cor 5:2-4) by
the power of God and will change from being corruptible and mortal to being in-
corruptible and immortal; 2) those who have already died: these will rise again.

St Paul's reply is adapted to the tenor of the question; so, when he writes "we
who are alive, who are left" he does not mean that the Parousia will happen soon
or that he will live to see the day (cf. Pontifical Biblical Commission, "Reply" con-
cerning the Parousia, 18 June 1915). He uses the first person plural because at
the time of writing both he and his readers were alive. However, his words were
misinterpreted by some of the Thessalonians, and that was the reason he wrote
the second epistle a few months later (in which he puts things more clearly:
"Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our assembling to
meet him, we beg you, brethren, not to quickly shaken in mind or excited [...],
to the effect that the day of the Lord has come" (2 Thess 2:1-2). However, even
in the first letter there are enough indications that St Paul was not saying the
Parousia was imminent, for he implies that he does not know when it will hap-
pen (cf. 5:1-2).

To describe the signs which will mark the Lord's coming, St Paul uses imagery
typical of apocalyptic writing--the voice of the archangel, the sound of the trum-
pet, the clouds of heaven. These signs are to be found in the Old Testament
theophanies or great manifestations of Yahweh (cf. Ex 19:16); on the day of the
Parousia, too, they will reveal God's absolute dominion over the forces of nature,
as also his sublimity and majesty.

When the Lord Jesus comes in all his glory, those who had died in the Lord
(who already were enjoying the vision of God in heaven) and those who have
been changed will go to meet the Lord "in the air", for both will now have glori-
fied bodies (cf. 1 Cor 15:43) endowed with the gift of "agility", "by which the
body will be freed from the heaviness that now presses it down, and will take
on a capability of moving with the utmost ease and swiftness, wherever the
soul pleases" ("St. Pius V Catechism", I, 12, 13).

주님이신 예수님께서 모든, 당신의, 영광(glory) 안에서 [다시] 오실 때에, 주님 
안에서 이미 죽은 자들(즉, [개별 심판에 의하여] 하늘(heaven, 천당))에서 
하느님을 직관하는  기쁨을 이미 누리고 있는 자들 혹은 연옥(purgatory)의 
마지막 정화 과정에 있는 자들)인 자신들의 영혼들이 이미 변화된 자들은 [부활 
직후에] "공중에서" 주님을 만나기 위하여 나아갈 것인데, 이는 이들 둘 다가 
장차 바로 그 때에, "바로 그것에 의하여 몸(body)이 지금 자신을 아래로 누르는 
무게(heaviness)로부터 자유롭게 되어, 그리하여, 영혼이 바라는 어디로든지,  
최상의 편안함 및 신속함과 함께 움직이는 능력을 장차 가지게 될(take on)" 
["성 비오 5세 교리서 (St. Pius V Catechism)", I, 12, 13], "민첩함(agility)"이라는 
선물이 수여된 영광을 받은 몸(glorified bodies)들을 가질 것이기 때문입니다
(1코린토 15,43을 참조하라). 

After the general judgment, which will take place that day, the righteous will be
"always with the Lord." That is in fact the reward of the blessed--to enjoy forever,
in body and soul, the sight of God, thereby attaining a happiness which more
than makes up for whatever they have had to do to obtain it, for "the sufferings
of this present life are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed
to us" (Rom 8:18). "If at any time you feel uneasy at the thought of our sister
death because you see yourself to be such a poor creature, take heart. Think
of this: Heaven awaits us; what will it be like when all the infinite beauty and
greatness and happiness and Love of God are poured into the poor clay vessel
that the human being is, to satisfy it eternally with the freshness of an ever-new
joy?" (St. J. Escriva, "Furrow", 891).
　

Gospel Reading: Matthew 25:1-13

The Parable of the Wise and Foolish Maidens
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(Jesus said to His disciples,) [1] "Then the Kingdom of Heaven shall be compared
to ten maidens who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. [2] Five of
them were foolish, and five were wise. [3] For when the foolish took their lamps,
they took no oil with them; [4] but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. [5]
As the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. [6] But at midnight
there was a cry, 'Behold the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.' [7] Then all
those maidens rose and trimmed their lamps. [8] And the foolish said to the wise,
'Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.' [9] But the wise replied,
'Perhaps there will not be enough for us and for you; go rather to the dealers and
buy for yourselves.' [10] And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and
those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast; and the door was
shut. [11] Afterwards the other maidens came also, saying, 'Lord, lord, open to
us.' [12] But he replied, 'Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.' [13] Watch there-
fore, for you know neither the day nor the hour."

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Commentary:

1-46. The whole of chapter 25 is a practical application of the teaching contained
in chapter 24. With these parables of the wise and foolish virgins and of the ta-
lents, and His teaching on the Last Judgment, our Lord is again emphasizing the
need for vigilance (cf. note on Matthew 24:42). In this sense, chapter 25 makes
chapter 24 more intelligible.

1-13. The main lesson of this parable has to do with the need to be on the alert:
in practice, this means having the light of faith, which is kept alive with the oil of
charity. Jewish weddings were held in the house of the bride's father. The virgins
are young unmarried girls, bridesmaids who are in the bride's house waiting for
the bridegroom to arrive. The parable centers on the attitude one should adopt
up to the time when the bridegroom comes. In other words, it is not enough to
know that one is "inside" the Kingdom, the Church: one has to be on the watch
and be preparing for Christ's coming by doing good works.

This vigilance should be continuous and unflagging, because the devil is forever
after us, prowling around "like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour" (1 Peter
5:8). "Watch with the heart, watch with faith, watch with love, watch with charity,
watch with good works [...]; make ready the lamps, make sure they do not go
out [...], renew them with the inner oil of an upright conscience; then shall the
Bridegroom enfold you in the embrace of His love and bring you into His banquet
room, where your lamp can never be extinguished" (St. Augustine, Sermon", 93).

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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.]