Tuesday

3rd Week of Advent

1st Reading: Zephaniah 3:1-2, 9-13

Salvation of the remnant of Israel
------------------------------------------------
Thus says the LORD:
[1] Woe to her that is rebellious and defiled,
the oppressing city!
[2] She listens to no voice,
she accepts no correction.
She does not trust in the LORD,
she does not draw near to her God. 

[9] "Yea, at that time I will change
the speech of the peoples
to a pure speech,
that all of them may call
on the name of the LORD
and serve him with one accord.
[10] From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia
my suppliants, the daughter
of my dispersed ones,
shall bring my offering.

[11] "On that day you shall not be put to shame
because of the deeds
by which you have rebelled against me;
for then I will remove from your midst
your proudly exultant ones,
and you shall no longer be haughty
in my holy mountain. 
[12] For I will leave in the midst of you
a people humble and lowly.
They shall seek refuge in the name of the Lord,
[13] those who are left in Israel;
they shall do no wrong
and utter no lies,
nor shall there be found in their mouth
a deceitful tongue.
For they shall pasture and lie down,
and none shall make them afraid.”

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

3:1-5. The oracles against the nations are followed by this one against Jeru-
salem. It is similar to Amos 1-2, and Isaiah 1:21-26, in the sense that both
diatribes are directed against community leaders – officials, judges, prophets
and priests (vv. 3-4). Where once Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, was called
an “exultant city”, a city full of pride, now Jerusalem is accused of being “rebel-
lious”, “oppressing”, and of having rejected four graces – not listening to the
voice of the Lord, not accepting conversion, not trusting in the Lord, not drawing
near to her God (v. 2). But unlike the Nineveh oracle, the one about Jerusalem
ends on a note of hope, for in spite of everything, “the Lord within her is righ-
teous” and he will put things right (v. 5).

3:9-20. The Lord is still speaking here, but there is a total change of focus–from
destruction to salvation, which is the intention behind divine punishment. The 
opening verses proclaim the purification of the nations (vv. 9-10), in a reversal of
what happened to Babel of old (Gen 11:1-9). Those scattered abroad after God
confused the language of the sons of men (Gen 11:8-9) – they are called “the
daughter of my dispersed ones” in v. 10 – will return, bringing offerings with them.
Then the text speaks of the purification of Judah (vv. 11-13), of the survival of a
“humble” remnant, who will hope in the Lord, will act rightly and will live in peace. 
As a consequence of the conversion of Judah and Israel, great will be the joy o
Zion (vv. 14-18a). The faithful remnant is called “daughter of Zion” and “daughter
of Jerusalem” (v. 14), somewhat paralleling the “daughter of my dispersed ones”
(v. 10). In v. 14 there are four calls to rejoice – “sing aloud”, “shout”, “rejoice”,
“exult”. The source of all this joy is the Lord’s presence in their midst (v. 17),
which brings with it all kinds of advantages (vv. 17-18). At the end of the pas-
sage (vv. 18-20), Zion’s joy is made complete by the return of the exiles and
Israel’s prestige among the nations.

3:11-13 The oracle becomes very tender at this point. The prophet is able to
see a “remnant” of Israel who will be saved and become the core of the great
restoration. Through the prophet, God describes this remnant as “a people 
humble and lowly”, but the catalogue of their qualities (vv. 12-13) shows that
poverty and humility here to no refer to social status but to the people’s inner
attitude towards God. In fact, these terms (“humble and lowly”), through the
Greek of the Septuagint, which translates them as praiis (meek) and tapeinos
(humble), will become part of the vocabulary of Jesus preaching: “learn from
me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart” (Mt 11:29; cf. Mt 5:3, 5; 21:5).
　

Gospel Reading: Matthew 21:28-32

The Parable of the Two Sons
------------------------------------------
(Jesus told the chief priests and the elders,) [28] "What do you think? A man had
two sons; and he went to the first and said, 'Son, go and work in the vineyard to-
day.' [29] And he answered, 'I will not'; but afterwards he repented and went. [30]
And he went to the second and said the same; and he answered, 'I go, sir,' but
did not go. [31] Which of the two did the will of his father?" They said, "The first."
Jesus said to them, "Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the harlots go
into the kingdom of God before you. [32] For John came to you in the way of righ-
teousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the harlots
believed him; and even when you saw it, you did not afterward repent and believe
him.

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

32. St. John the Baptist had shown the way to sanctification by proclaiming the
imminence of the Kingdom of God and by preaching conversion. The scribes and
Pharisees would not believe him, yet they boasted of their faithfulness to God's
teaching. They were like the son who says "I will go" and then does not go; the
tax collectors and prostitutes who repented and corrected the course of their
lives will enter the Kingdom before them: they are like the other son who says
"I will not", but then does go. Our Lord stresses that penance and conversion
can set people on the road to holiness even if they have been living apart from
God for a long time.

*********************************************************************************************
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].