Saturday after Ash Wednesday

1st Reading: Isaiah 58:9b-14

Misguided Fasting Denounced (Continuation)
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(Thus says the LORD God), [9b] "If you take away from the midst of you the
yoke, the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, if you pour yourself
out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise
in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday. [11] And the LORD will guide
you continually, and satisfy your desire with good things, and make your bones
strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose
waters fall not.[12] And your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the
foundations of many generations; you shall be called the repairer of the breach,
the restorer of streets to dwell in.

[13] "If you turn back your foot from the sabbath, from doing your pleasure on my
holy day, and call the sabbath a delight and the holy day of the LORD honorable;
if you honor it, not going your own ways, or seeking your own pleasure, or talking
idly; [14] then you shall take delight in the LORD, and I will make you ride upon
the heights of the earth; I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, for
the mouth of the LORD has spoken."

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Commentary:

58:1-14. This new denunciation, very much in the style of this part of the book,
criticizes fasting done in the wrong spirit; it is uncompromising (vv. 1-7) but it
ends with words of encouragement. The Lord cannot go along with the hypocrisy
of a purely external religion--with people going, through the motions of religious
observance while being unjust in their dealings with others and ignoring those in
need. Those who act in this way cannot know much about God this is why the
prophet feels compelled to speak out and use every opportunity to correct them.

"They seek me daily” (v. 2), that is, they we keen to hear the oracles spoken by
the prophets, to learn what God is saying, but they do out act on them-- which
shows that they do not really know what religion is all about. Conversion to God
is not a matter of engaging in many external acts of worship and fasting, while
being unjust, exploiting workers and neglecting the poor. It is not surprising that
God ignores fasts if those who perform them commit sins against justice and
charity (vv. 3-6). In this poem different people’s voices are heard at different points:
first God tells the prophet to keep on condemning hypocrisy (vv. 1-2); then men
speak, complaining that God ignores their fasting (v. 3) and at the end God
teaches and reproaches: he will have nothing to do with the hypocrisy of those
who perform fasts but behave wickedly (vv. 4-7); whereas he will certainly listen
to prayers if they are accompanied by acts of justice and charity (vv. 8-14).

The works of mercy recommended in this oracle are echoed in Jesus’ discourse
on the Last Judgment in Matthew 25:23-45. Christian spirituality has, always
stressed that love of neighbor and works of mercy are clear proof of a person’s
love of God and are a touchstone of true religion, for "...works of mercy are proof
of a truly holy life" (Rabanus Maurus, recorded by St Thomas Aquinas in the
"Catena Aurea"). And St Leo the Great taught: "Let each of the faithful examine
his own conscience, seeking out his deepest desires; if he finds the fruits of love
within his soul, he will know that God is with him, and he should strive even har-
derto be worthy of so great a guest, being ever more generous in his works of
mercy" ("Sermones", 48, 3). 


Gospel Reading: Luke 5:27-32

The Calling of Matthew
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[27] After this He (Jesus) went out, and saw a tax collector, named Levi, sitting
at the tax office; and He said to him, "Follow Me." [28] And Levi left everything,
and rose and followed Him.

[29] And Levi made Him a great feast in His house; and there was a large com-
pany of tax collectors and others sitting at table with them. [30] And the Phari-
sees and their scribes murmured against His disciples saying, "Why do you
eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?" [31] And Jesus answered them,
"Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; [32]
I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."

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Commentary:

27-29. Levi, better known as Matthew, responds generously and promptly to the
call from Jesus. To celebrate and to show how appreciative he is for his vocation
he gives a banquet. This passage of the Gospel shows us that a vocation is
something we should be very grateful for and happy about. If we see it only in
terms of renunciation and giving things up, and not as a gift from God and some-
thing which will enhance us and redound to others' benefit, we can easily become
depressed, like the rich young man who, not wanting to give up his possession,
went away sad (Luke 18:18). Matthew believes in quite the opposite way, as did
the Magi who "when they saw the star rejoiced exceedingly with great joy" (Mat-
thew 2:10) and who gave much more importance to adoring the new-born God
than to all the inconveniences involved in travelling to see Him. See also the
notes on Matthew 9:9; 9:10-11; 9:12, 9:13; and Mark 2:14; 2:17.

32. Since this is how Jesus operates, the only way we can be saved is by
admitting before God, in all simplicity, that we are sinners."Jesus has no time for
calculations, for astuteness, for the cruelty of cold hearts, for attractive but empty
beauty. What He likes is the cheerfulness of a young heart, a simple step, a
natural voice, clean eyes, attention to His affectionate word of advice. That is
how He reigns in the soul" (St. J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By", 181).
　

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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].