Saturday

1st Week of Ordinary Time

(I) 1st Reading: Hebrews 4:12-16

Through Faith We Can Attain God's "Rest" (Continuation)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[12] For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword,
piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning
the thoughts and intentions of the heart. [13] And before him no creature is hid-
den, but all are open and laid bare to the eyes of him with whom we have to do.

Our Confidence is Based on Christ's Priesthood
---------------------------------------------------------------------
[14] Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the hea-
vens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. [15] For we have
not a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one
who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sinning. [16] Let
us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive
mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

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

12-13. The "word of God", which the text speaks about, probably refers to Reve-
lation taken as a whole, particularly Sacred Scripture; but it may also refer to
the "Logos" or Word, the second person of the Holy Trinity. The "word" of God is
presented as an expression of God's power: it is that active word (Genesis 1:3ff;
Psalm 33:9) which creates everything out of nothing. In the Wisdom books we
find this word personified (Sirach 42:15; 43:26; Wisdom 9:1; 18:15; Psalm 148:
1-5). But this living and active word of God is also to be seen in the New Testa-
ment (Galatians 3:8, 22) and in its full and perfect form in Christ himself (John
1:1; Revelation 9:13).

God's word is also very much at work in Revelation: "In the sacred books the
Father who is in heaven comes lovingly to meet his children, and talks to them.
And such is the force and power of the Word of God that it serves the Church
as her support and vigor, and the children of the Church as strength for their
faith, food for the soul, and a pure and lasting fount of spiritual life" (Vatican II,
"Dei Verbum", 21).

God's word is consoling and life-giving, but it also inspires fear in those who try
to ignore it. "The word of his truth is hotter and brighter than the sun, and pier-
ces the very depths of hearts and minds" (St Justin, "Dialogue with Trypho", 121,
2). The depths of a person's heart, his deepest thoughts, attitudes and intentions,
lie open to God's all-seeing eye. "What a person does or thinks is expressed in
his actions, but one can never be sure of what motivates his actions. That, how-
ever, is never hidden from God" (St Thomas, "Commentary on Heb." 4, 2).

The last judgment, which is a hidden backdrop to these words of the sacred text,
calls us to present conversion. "The Apostle of God wrote this not only for his
readers but also for us. It behooves us therefore always to keep that divine judg-
ment before our minds, and to be full of fear and trembling and to keep God's
commandments faithfully and be ever hopeful of that rest promised us which we
shall attain in Christ" (Theodoret of Cyrus, "Interpretatio Ep. ad Haebreos, ad
loc.").

14-16. The text now reverts to its main theme (cf. 2:17), that is, the priesthood
of Christ. It highlights the dignity of the new high priest, who has passed through
the heavens; and His mercy, too, for He sympathizes with our weaknesses. We
have, therefore, every reason to approach Him with confidence. "The believers
were at that time in a storm of temptation; that is why the Apostle is consoling
them, saying that our High Priest not only knows, as God, the weaknesses of
our nature: as man, He has also experienced the sufferings that affect us, al-
though He was free from sin. Since He knows our weaknesses so well, He can
give us the help we need, and when He comes to judge us, He will take that
weakness into account in His sentence" ("Interpretatio Ep. Ad Haebreos, ad loc.").

We should respond to the Lord's goodness by staying true to our profession of
faith. The confession or profession of faith referred to here is not simply an exter-
nal declaration: external confession is necessary but there must also be commit-
ment and a spirit of fidelity. A Christian needs to live up to all the demands of his
calling; he should be single-minded and free from doubts.

15. "If we should some time find ourselves sorely tempted by our enemies, it will
greatly help us to remember that we have on our side a high priest who is most
compassionate, for He chose to experience all kinds of temptation" ("St. Pius V
Catechism", IV, 15, 14). In order to understand and help a sinner to get over his
falls and cope with temptation, one does not oneself need to have experience of
being tempted; in fact, only one who does not sin knows the full force of tempta-
tion, because the sinner gives in prior to resisting to the end. Christ never yiel-
ded to temptation. He therefore experienced much more than we do (because
we are often defeated by temptation) the full rigor and violence of those tempta-
tions which He chose to undergo as man at particular points in His life. Our
Lord, then, allowed Himself to be tempted, in order to set us an example and
prevent us from ever losing confidence in our ability to resist temptation with the
help of grace (cf. notes on Matthew 4:1-11 and paragraph).

"There is no man", St. Jerome comments, "who can resist all tests except He
who, made in our likeness, has experienced everything but sin" ("Comm. In Ioan-
nam", II, 46). Christ's inlessness, often affirmed in Sacred Scripture (Romans 8:3;
2 Corinthians 5:21; John 8:46; 1 Peter 1:19; 2:21-24), follows logically from His
being God and from His human integrity and holiness. At the same time Christ's
weakness, which He chose to experience out of love for us, is a kind of invitation
from God to pray for strength to resist sin. "Let us adore Christ who emptied
Himself to assume the condition of a slave. He was tempted in every way that
we are, but did not sin. Let us turn in prayer to Him, saying, 'You took on our
human weakness. Be the eyes of the blind, the strength of the weak, the friend
of the lonely'" ("Liturgy of the Hours", Christmas Day, Evening Prayer I).

16. The "throne" is the symbol of Christ's authority; He is King of the living and
the dead. But here it speaks of a "throne of grace": through the salvation worked
by Christ, the compassionate Priest and Intercessor, God's throne has become
a judgment seat from which mercy flows. Christ has initiated for mankind a time
of forgiveness and sanctification in which He does not yet manifest His position
as Sovereign Judge. Christ's priesthood did not cease to operate with His death;
it continues in Heaven, where He forever pleads on our behalf, and therefore we
should have confident recourse to Him.

"What security should be ours in considering the mercy of the Lord! 'He has but
to cry for redress, and I, the Ever-Merciful, will listen to him' (Exodus 22:27). It
is an invitation, a promise that He will not fail to fulfill. 'Let us then with confi-
dence draw near to the throne of grace, and we may receive mercy and find grace
to help in time of need'. The enemies of our sanctification will be rendered power-
less if the mercy of God goes before us. And if through our own fault and human
weakness we should fall, the Lord comes to our aid and raises us up" (St. J.
Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By", 7).

(II) 1st Reading:  1 Samuel 9:1-4, 17-19; 10:1

Saul Meets Samuel
-----------------------------
[1] There was a man of Benjamin whose name was Kish, the son of Abiel, son
of Zeror, son of Becorath, son of Aphiah, a Benjaminite, a man of wealth; [2]
and he had a son whose name was Saul, a handsome young man. There was
not a man among the people of Israel more handsome than he; from his shoul-
ders upward he was taller than any of the people.

[3] Now the asses of Kish, Saul's father, were lost. So Kish said to Saul, his son,
"Take one of the servants with you and arise, go and look for the asses. [4] And
they passed through the hill country of Ephraim and passed through the land of
Shalishah, but they did not find them. And they passed through the land of
Shaalim, but they were not there. Then they passed through the land of Benjamin,
but did not find them .

[17] When Samuel saw Saul, the LORD told him, “Here is the man of whom I
spoke to you! He it is who shall rule over my people.” [18] Then Saul approached
Samuel in the gate, and said, “Tell me where is the house of the seer?” [19]
Samuel answered Saul, "I am the seer; go up before me to the high place for today
you shall eat with me, and in the morning I will let you go and will tell you all that
is on your mind." 

Saul is Anointed
------------------------
[1] Then Samuel took a vial of oil and poured it on his head, and kissed him and
said, “Has not the LORD anointed you to be prince over his people Israel? And you
shall reign over the people of the LORD and you will save them from the hand of
their enemies round about. And this shall be the sign to you that the LORD has
anointed you to be prince over his heritage."

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

9:1-10:16 This section focuses on Saul, who will be the first king of Israel. The
writer makes it clear that God is the one who plans things, who selects Saul and
who sets him up over the people.

This account (which may have been made up by combining earlier, separate
traditions) forms a simple literary piece in which each episode stands on its own
and is neatly linked to the one that follows. The figure of Saul is the connecting
thread, but the Lord is the true protagonist. We can say that there are seven
scenes here, in seven settings: 1) Saul’s family is introduced; it belongs to the
tribe of Benjamin, based in the south of the country (9:1-2). 2) Saul and his servant,
in search of lost asses, go north, where the “man of God” lives (9:3-10). It is all so
unplanned that the hand of God seems to be at work. 3) Saul and the young
maidens who have come out of the city to draw water (9:11-13): the scene is evo-
cative of episodes where Jacob (Gen 24:11ff) and Moses (Ex 2:16ff) have casual
meetings which change the course of their lives. 4) Saul and Samuel meet for the
first time in the city of Ramah (9:14-27). The sacrifice (v. 13), the sacrificial meal
and the conversation between Saul and Samuel show the religious nature of the
event and the Lord’s initiative in raising Saul to the dignity of prince ("naguid") over
the people (v. 16), but not yet that of king ("melek"). 5) Saul is anointed at the
outskirts of the city (9:27-10:9): this is the central scene in the account. In a
private but solemn rite Samuel anoints Saul king and kisses him as a mark of
reverence. 6) The meeting between Saul and the prophets on the way to Gibe-ah
(10:10-12): this scene acts as a contrast with the previous one, for it cuts down to
size the figure of Saul (cf. 19:24) who so ridiculously sought to identify with these
“prophets” who used to work themselves into trances by means of music and
gestures (cf. 10:5). 7) The conversation between Saul and his uncle at Gibe-ah
(10:14-16): Saul's calling to be king is reasserted by the writer, but it must be kept
secret.


Gospel Reading: Mark 2:13-17

The Calling of Matthew
---------------------------------
[13] He (Jesus) went out again beside the sea; and all the crowd gathered about
Him, and He taught them. [14] And as He passed on, He saw Levi the son of
Alphaeus sitting at the tax office, and He said to him, "Follow Me." And he rose
and followed Him.

[15] And as he sat at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners were
sitting with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many who followed Him. [16]
And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that He was eating with sinners
and tax collectors, said to His disciples, "Why does He eat with tax collectors
and sinners?" [17] And when Jesus heard it, He said to them, "Those who are
well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I came not to call the
righteous, but sinners."

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

14. St. Mark and St. Luke (5:27-32) both call him "Levi"; the First Gospel, on
the other hand, calls him "Matthew" (Matthew 9:9-13); but they are all referring
to the same person. All three accounts describe the same event. Later on, St
Mark and St Luke, when giving the list of Apostles (Mark 3:13-19; Luke 6:12-
16), include Matthew, not Levi. The Fathers identify Matthew with Levi. Besides
it was quite common for Jews to have two names: Jacob-Israel, Simon-Peter,
Saul-Paul, Joseph-Caiaphas, John-Mark... Frequently, the name and surname
were connected with some significant change in the life and mission of the per-
son concerned. Did Jesus' saving intervention in this Apostle's life lead to a

Levi-Matthew, as a publican or tax collector (Matthew 9:9-13), was sitting at the
`tax office', a special place where one went to pay tribute. Publicans were tax
collectors appointed by the Romans. It was, therefore, an occupation hated and
despised by the people; but it was also a much-coveted position because it was
an easy way to become prosperous. Matthew leaves everything behind when
Jesus calls him. He immediately responds to his vocation, because Jesus gives
him the grace to accept his calling.

Jesus is the basis of our confidence in being able to change, provided we co-
operate with His grace, no matter how unworthy our previous conduct may have
been. And He is also the source of the confidence we need in order to be apos-
tolic--helping others to be converted and seek holiness of life. Because He is
the Son of God He is able to raise up children of God even from stones (cf.
Matthew 3:9). Cf. note on Matthew 9:9.

17. The scribes and Pharisees reproach the disciples, and Jesus replies with
a popular proverb: `Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those
who are sick.' He is the doctor of souls, come to cure sinners of their spiritual
ailments.

Our Lord calls everyone, His redemptive mission extends to everyone; He af-
firms this on other occasions, using parables such as that of the marriage feast
(Matthew 22:1-14; Luke 14:16-24). How, then, can we explain the restriction
He seems to place here by saying that He has not come to call the righteous?
It is not really a restriction. Jesus uses the opportunity to reproach the scribes
and Pharisees for their pride: they consider themselves just, and their reliance
on their apparent virtue prevents them from hearing the call to conversion; they
think they can be saved by their own efforts (cf. John 9:41). This explains the
proverb Jesus quotes; certainly His preaching makes it quite clear that `no one
is good but God alone' (Mark 10:18) and that everyone must have recourse to
the mercy and forgiveness of God in order to be saved. In other words, man-
kind is not divided intotwo--the just and the unjust. We are all sinners, as St.
Paul confirms: `all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God' (Romans 3:23). 
Precisely because of this, Christ came to call all of us; He justifies those who
respond to His call.

Our Lord's words should also move us to pray humbly and confidently for peo-
ple who seem to want to continue living in sin. As St. Teresa beseeched God:
"Ah, how hard a thing am I asking of Thee, my true God! I ask Thee to love one
who loves Thee not, to open to one who has not called upon Thee, to give health
to one who prefers to be sick and who even goes about in search of sickness.
Thou sayest, my Lord, that Thou comest to seek sinners; these, Lord, are the
true sinners. Look not upon our blindness, my God, but upon all the blood that
was shed for us by Thy Son. Let Thy mercy shine out amid such tremendous
wickedness. Behold, Lord, we are the works of Thy hands" ("Exclamations of
the Soul to God", n. 8).

The Fathers of the Church see this calling by Jesus as an invitation to repen-
tance and penance. St. John Chrysostom ("Hom. on St. Matthew", 30:3), for
example, explains the phrase by putting these words in Jesus' mouth: "I am
not come that they should continue sinners but that they should change and
become better."

　

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