26th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B (나해 연중 제26주일)


1st Reading: Numbers 11:25-29

The Appointment of the Seventy Elders
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[25] Then the LORD came down in the cloud and spoke to him, and took some
of the spirit that was upon him and put it upon the seventy elders; and when the
spirit rested upon them, they prophesied. But they did so no more.

[26] Now two men remained in the camp, one named Eldad, and the other named
Medad, and the spirit rested upon them; they were among those registered, but
they had not gone out to the tent, and so they prophesied in the camp. [27] And
a young man ran and told Moses, "Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp."
[28] And Joshua the son of Nun, the minister of Moses, one of his chosen men,
said, "My lord Moses, forbid them." [29] But Moses said to him, "Are you jealous
for my sake? Would that all the Lord's people were prophets, that the Lord would
put his spirit upon them!"

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Commentary:

11:24-30. God himself is the source of the spirit and he can give it to whomever
he chooses, irrespective of human qualifications. Moses, for his part, has abso-
lutely the right attitude: he has no desire to monopolize the spirit or to be its
only channel; he seeks only the people's welfare and is delighted to see signs
of the spirit in other people; indeed, he would like all the Israelites to have it.

11,24-30. 하느님 당신 자신께서는 이 영(the spirit)의 원천(source)이시며 그리고 
당신께서는 이것을 당신께서 선택하시는 누구에게든, 인간적 자격들에 무관하게, 
제공하십니다. 모세(Moses)는, 자신의 견해에 있어(for his part), 다음과 같이 
절대적으로 올바른 태도를 가지고 있습니다: 그는 이 영을 독점하고자 하는 혹은 
그것의 유일한 통로이고자 하는 욕망을 전혀 가지고 있지 않으며, 그리고 그는 
이 백성의 안녕(welfare)을 오로지 추구하며 그리고 다른 사람들에게 이 영의 
표징들을 보는 것을 기뻐하게 되며, 정말로 그는 이스라엘의 자손들 모두가 이것을 
가지는 것을 원합니다.

Commenting on this passage, St CyriI of Jerusalem teaches: "there is a hint
here of what happened at Pentecost among us" ("Catechesis Ad Illuminandos",
16, 26). God did indeed promise the spirit to all the people (cf. Joel 3:1-2) and
the day came when that promise was fulfilled through Jesus Christ who, after
his ascension into heaven, sent the Holy Spirit to the Church (cf. Acts 1:13).
Therefore, the Church, "the holy people of God shares also in Christ's prophet
office: it spreads abroad a living witness to him especially by a life of faith and
love [...]. It is not only through the sacraments and the ministrations of the
Church that the Holy Spirit makes holy the people, leads them and enriches
them with his virtues. Allotting his gifts according as he wills (cf. 1 Cor 12:11),
he also distributes special graces among the faithful of every rank. By these
gifts he makes them fit and ready to undertake various tasks and offices for
the renewal and building up of the Church" (Vatican II, "Lumen Gentium",
12).

이 절에 대하여 주석하면서, 예루살렘의 성 치릴로(St. Cyril of Jerusalem, 313년경-
386년)는 다음과 같이 가르칩니다: "여기에 우리들 사이에 성령 강림일(Pentecost)에 
발생하였던 바에 대한 어떤 힌트(a hint)가 있습니다" ["Catechesis Ad Illuminandos", 
16, 26]. 하느님께서는 이 백성 모두에게 이 영을 정말로 약속하셨으며 (요엘 3,1-2 
참조) 그리고, 하늘(heaven)로 당신의 승천 후에, 교회에 성령(the Holy Spirit)을 
보내주셨던, 예수 그리스도를 통하여 바로 이 약속이 구현되었을 때에 그 날이 왔습니다 
(사도행전 1,13 참조). 그러므로 교회인, "하느님의 거룩한 백성은 그리스도의 예언직에 
다음과 같이 또한 함께 합니다: 이것은 믿음과 사랑(faith and love, 신덕과 애덕)으로 
이루어진 어떤 삶에 의하여 특히 당신에 대한 어떤 살아있는 증거(a living witness)를 
퍼뜨리며 [...]. 성령께서 이 백성을 거룩하게 하시고, 당신의 덕(virtues)들로써 그들을 
이끄시고 그리고 풍부하게 하시는 것이 오로지 교회의 성사(sacraments)들과 직무
(ministrations)들을 통하여서뿐인 것이 아닙니다. 당신께서 의도하심에 따라 당신의 
선물(gifts, 은혜)들을 할당하심으로써(allotting) (1코린토 12,11 참조), 당신께서는 
모든 계층(every rank)의 열심 신자(the faithful)들 사이에 특별한 은총들을 또한 
나누어주십니다(distributes). 바로 이러한 선물들에 의하여 당신께서는 그들이, 교회를 
새롭게 하고 그리고 시간이 감에 따라 점진적으로 키우기 위한(build up), 다양한 임무
(tasks)들과 직무(offices)들을 수행하기에 적합하게 하고 그리고 준비하게 하십니다." 
[제2차 바티칸 공의회(Vatican II), 교회에 관한 교의 헌장, "인류의 빛(Lumen 
Gentium)", 12].


2nd Reading: James 5:1-6

A Warning for the Rich
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[1] Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon
you. [2] Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. [3] Your
gold and silver have rusted, and their rust will be evidence against you and will
eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasures for the last days. [4] Behold,
the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud,
cry out and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.
[5] You have lived on the earth in luxury and in pleasure; you have fattened your
hearts in a day of slaughter. [6] You have condemned, you have killed the
righteous man; he does not resist you.

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Commentary:

1-6. With exceptional severity and energy the sacred writer again (cf. 2:5-7) criti-
cizes the sins of the well-to-do. In tones reminiscent of the Prophets (cf., e.g., Is
3:13-26; Amos 6:1ff; Mic 2:1ff), he reproves their pride, vanity and greed (vv. 2-3)
and their pleasure-seeking (v. 5), warning them that the judgment of God is near
at hand (vv. 3, 5). The opening exhortation--"weep and howl"--is a very forceful
call to repentance.

The Church has constantly taught that we have a duty to do away with unjust in-
equalities among men, which are frequently denounced in Scripture. The Second
Vatican Council made an urgent call for a more just, fraternal society, a call for
solidarity: "To fulfill the requirements of justice and equity, every effort must be
made to put an end as soon as possible to the immense economic inequalities
which exist in the world and increase from day to day, linked with individual and
social discrimination, provided, of course, that the rights of individuals and the
character of each people are not disturbed" ("Gaudium Et Spes", 66).

People who are well-to-do should use their resources in the service of others.
In this connection, the Church teaches that "they have a moral obligation not to
keep capital unproductive and in making investments to think first of the common
good. [...] The right to private property is inconceivable without responsibilities to
the common good. It is subordinated to the higher principle which states that
goods are meant for all" (SCDF, "Libertatis Conscientia", 87).

2-3. Greed, an inordinate desire for material things, is one of the seven deadly
sins. An avaricious person offends against justice and charity and becomes in-
sensitive to the needs of his neighbor, so keen is he on his self-aggrandizement.
"If you are inclined to avarice," say St Francis de Sales, "think of its folly: it
makes us slaves to that which was intended to serve us. Remember how we
must leave everything when we die; perhaps those who get our wealth then will
only squander it, and even to their ruin" ("Introduction to the Devout Life", 4, 10).

Our Lord also speaks about the moth and the rust which consume earthly trea-
sures, and tells us that the true treasure is good works and upright actions,
which will earn us an everlasting reward from God in heaven (cf. Mt 6:19-21).

"You have laid up treasure for the last days": a reference to the Day of Judgment,
as in v. 5: "you have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter" (cf. e.g., Is 34:6;
Jer 12:3; 25:34). It can also be translated as "you have laid up treasure in the
last days", which would be a reference to the present time, which (ever since
the coming of the Messiah) is seen as in fact the last days, the beginning of the
eschatological era. The two renderings are compatible because they both have
reference to the Judgment.

4. Cheating workers of their earnings was already condemned in the Old Testa-
ment (cf., e.g., Lev 19:13; Deut 24:14-15; Mal 3:5). It is one of the sins which
"cries out to heaven" for immediate, exemplary punishment; the same applies
to murder (cf. Gen 4:10), sodomy (Gen 18:20-21) and oppression of widows
and orphans (Ex 22:22-24).

The Church has often reminded the faithful about the duty to pay fair wages: "re-
muneration for work should guarantee man the opportunity to provide a dignified
livelihood for himself and his family on the material, social, cultural and spiritual
level to correspond to the role and the productivity of each, the relevant economic
factors in his employment, and the common good" (Vatican II, "Gaudium Et
Spes", 67).

"The Lord of hosts": a common Old Testament description of God, manifesting
his omnipotence, as Creator and Lord of the whole universe; it is used to acclaim
God in the Sanctus of the Mass: "Lord God of power and might" ("Dominus Deus
Sabaoth").

5. This description of the lifestyle of these rich people (vv. 2, 3, 5) recalls the pa-
rable of the rich man and Lazarus (cf. Lk 16: 19ff). Those who live in this way do
well to listen to the Master's warning: "Take heed to yourselves lest your hearts
be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and
that day come upon you suddenly like a snare" (Lk 21:34).

Against the hedonism condemned by the sacred writer, Christians should be
conscious of the duty to promote a just society: "Christians engaged actively in
modern economic and social progress and in the struggle for justice and charity
must be convinced that they have much to contribute to the prosperity of man-
kind and to world peace. Let them, as individuals and as group members, give a
shining example to others. Endowed with the skill and experience so absolutely
necessary for them, let them preserve a proper sense of values in their earthly
activity in loyalty to Christ and his Gospel, in order that their lives, individual as
well as social, may be inspired by the spirit of the Beatitudes, and in particular
by the spirit of poverty.

"Anyone who in obedience to Christ seeks first the kingdom of God will derive 
from it a stronger and purer love for helping all his brethren and for accompli-
shing the task of justice under the inspiration of charity" ("Gaudium Et Spes",
72).

6. "The righteous man": according to St Bede (cf. "Super Iac. Expositio, ad
loc."), this refers to our Lord, who is just "par excellence" and is described as
such in other passages of Scripture (cf., e.g., Acts 3:14; 7:52). This interpreta-
tion is quite appropriate, given the fact that in the needy we should see Jesus
Christ himself (cf. Mt 25:31-45); they often suffer at the hands of those who re-
fuse to recognize even their most elementary rights: "The bread of the needy is
the life of the poor, whoever deprives them of it is a man of blood. To take away
a neighbor's living is to murder him; to deprive an employee of his wages is to
shed blood" (Sir 34:21-22).

"Every man has the right to possess a sufficient amount of the earth's goods for
himself and his family. This has been the opinion of the Fathers and Doctors of
the Church, who taught that men are bound to come to the aid of the poor and
to do so not merely out of their superfluous goods [...] Faced with a world today
where so many people are suffering from want, the Council asks individuals and
governments to remember the saying of the Fathers: 'Feed the man dying of hun-
ger, because if you do not feed him you are killing him!' and it urges them accor-
ding to their ability to share and dispose of their goods to help others, above all
by giving them aid which will enable them to help and develop them selves'
("Gaudium Et Spes", 69).
　

Gospel Reading: Mark 9:38-43, 45, 47-48

Being the Servant of All
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[38] John said to Him (Jesus), "Teacher, we saw a man casting out demons in
Your name, and we forbade him, because he was not following us." [39] But
Jesus said, "Do not forbid him; for no one who does a mighty work in My name
will be able soon after to speak evil of Me. [40] For he that is not against us is
for us."

Scandal
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[41] "For truly, I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because
you bear the name of Christ will by no means lose his reward.

[42] "Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin it would
be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were
thrown into the sea. [43] And if your hand causes you to sin cut it off; it is bet-
ter for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquen-
chable fire. [45] And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off; it is better for you
to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into hell. [47] And if your eye
causes you to sin, pluck it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God
with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell, [48] where their worm
does not die, and the fire is not quenched.

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Commentary:

38-40. Our Lord warns the Apostles, and through them all Christians, against
exclusivism in the apostolate--the notion that "good is not good unless I am the
one who does it." We must assimilate this teaching of Christ's: good is good,
even if it is not I who do it. Cf. note on Luke 9:49-50.

[The note on Luke 9:49-50 states:

49-50. Our Lord corrects the exclusivist and intolerant attitude of the Apostles.
St Paul later learned this lesson, as we can see from what he wrote during his
imprisonment in Rome: "Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but
others from good will [...]. What then? Only that in every way, whether in pre-
tense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in that I rejoice" (Philippians 1:15,
18). "Rejoice, when you see others working in good apostolic activities. And
ask God to grant them abundant grace and that they may respond to that grace.
Then, you, on your way: convince yourself that it's the only way for you" (St. J.
Escriva, "The Way", 965).]

41. The value and merit of good works lies mainly in the love of God with which
they are done: "A little act, done for love, is worth so much" (St. J. Escriva, "The
Way", 814). God regards in a special way acts of service to others, however
small: "Do you see that glass of water or that piece of bread which a holy soul
gives to a poor person for God's sake; it is a small matter, God knows, and in
human judgment hardly worthy of consideration: God, notwithstanding, recom-
penses it, and forthwith gives for it some increase of charity" (St Francis de
Sales, "Treatise on the Love of God", book 2, chap. 2).

42. "Scandal is anything said, done or omitted which leads another to commit
sin" ("St Pius X Catechism", 417). Scandal is called, and is, diabolical when the
aim of the scandal-giver is to provoke his neighbor to sin, understanding sin as
offense against God. Since sin is the greatest of all evils, it is easy to understand
why scandal is so serious and, therefore, why Christ condemns it so roundly.
Causing scandal to children is especially serious, because they are so less able
to defend themselves against evil. What Christ says applies to everyone, but es-
pecially to parents and teachers, who are responsible before God for the souls
of the young.

43. "Hell", literally "Gehenna" or "Ge-hinnom", was a little valley south of Jerusa-
lem, outside the walls and below the city. For centuries it was used as the city
dump. Usually garbage was burned to avoid it being a focus of infection. Gehen-
na was, proverbially, an unclean and unhealthy place: our Lord used this to ex-
plain in a graphic way the unquenchable fire of hell.

43-48. After teaching the obligation everyone has to avoid giving scandal to
others, Jesus now gives the basis of Christian moral teaching on the subject of
"occasions of sin"--situations liable to lead to sin. He is very explicit: a person
is obliged to avoid proximate occasions of sin, just as he is obliged to avoid sin
itself; as God already put it in the Old Testament: "Whoever lives in danger
will perish by it" (Sir 3:26-27). The eternal good of our soul is more important
than any temporal good. Therefore, anything that places us in proximate danger
of committing sin should be cut off and thrown away. By putting things in this
way our Lord makes sure we recognize the seriousness of this obligation.

The Fathers see, in these references to hands and eyes and so forth, people who
are persistent in evil and ever-ready to entice others to evil behavior and erroneous
beliefs. These are the people we should distance ourselves from, so as to enter
life, rather than accompany them to hell (St Augustine, "De Consensu Evangelis-
tarum", IV, 16; St John Chrysostom, "Hom. on St Matthew", 60).
　

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