16th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C (다해 연중 제16주일)


1st Reading: Genesis 18:1-10a

The Apparition of God at Mamre
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[1] And the Lord appeared to him (Abraham) by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at
the door of his tent in the heat of the day. [2] He lifted up his eyes and looked,
and behold, three men stood in front of him. When he saw them, he ran from the
tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth, [3] and said, "My lord, if
I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant. [4] Let a little water
be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree, [5] while I
fetch a morsel of bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may
pass on--since you have come to your servant." So they said, "Do as you have
said." [6] And Abraham hastened into the tent to Sarah, and said, "Make ready
quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes. [7] And Abra-
ham ran to the herd, and took a calf, tender and good and gave it to the servant,
who hastened to prepare it. [8] Then he took curds, and milk, and the calf which
he had prepared, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree
while they ate.

Isaac's Birth is Promised
------------------------------------
[9] They said to him, "Where is Sarah your wife?" And he said, "She is in the
tent." [10a] The Lord said, "I will surely return to you in the spring, and Sarah
your wife shall have a son." And Sarah was listening at the tent door behind him.

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Commentary:

18:1-19:38. These two episodes--God's appearance to Abraham at Mamre and
the destruction of Sodom--form a single account. Once again we can see the
sort of relationship that obtains between God and Abraham; this time, what is
emphasized is not just the promise of a son for Sarah, but also the patriarch's
intercession on behalf of Sodom and Gomorrah. This intercession saves Lot
and his family (cf. 19:29). Thus, Abraham is already a blessing for all the de-
scendants of Lot. This narrative is quite colorful, and includes some curious lit-
tle details -- making it one of the most popular passages in the story of the pa-
triarchs.

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번역자 주: 창세기 18,1에서 언급되고 있는 마므레의 참나무가 어디에 있는지는 
다음의 다해 그리스도왕 대축일 제1독서(2사무엘 5,1-3)의 해설에서 언급되고 있다:
http://ch.catholic.or.kr/pundang/4/navarre/c_king.htm 
-----

18:1-15. This new appearance of God to Abraham is somewhat mysterious: the
three men stand for God. When Abraham speaks to them, sometimes he addres-
ses them in the singular (as if there were one person there: cf. v. 3), and some-
times in the plural (as if there were three: cf. v. 4). That is why some Fathers in-
terpreted this appearance as an early announcement of the mystery of the Holy
Trinity; others, following Jewish tradition (cf. Heb 13:2) take these personages to
be angels. The sacred text says that one of the three men (Yahweh, apparently)
stays with Abraham (cf. v. 22), while the other two, who are referred to as angels,
go to Sodom (cf. 19:1). Although the early chapters of Genesis do not expressly
talk about the creation of angels, that creation can be read into the word "hea-
vens" in Gen 1:1: "at the beginning of time, God created out of nothing both types
of creatures, spiritual and corporeal, that is, angelic and earthly," says Lateran
Council IV ("De Fide Catolica"). In Holy Scripture angels are mentioned as being
servants and messengers of God, and, despite the way they are sometimes des-
cribed, such as in this passage, they should be understood as being purely spiri-
tual, personal and immortal creatures, endowed with intelligence and will. "Angels
have been present since creation (cf. Job 38:7, where the angels are called 'sons
of God') and throughout the history of salvation, announcing this salvation from
afar or near and serving the accomplishment of the divine plan: they closed the
earthly paradise (cf. Gen 3:24); protected Lot (cf. Gen 19); saved Hagar and her
child (cf. Gen 21:17); stayed Abraham's hand (cf. Gen 22.11); communicated
the law by their ministry (cf. Acts 7:53); led the people of God (cf. Ex 23:20-23);
announced births (cf. Judg 13) and callings (cf. Judg 6:11-24; Is 6:6); and assis-
ted the prophets (cf. 1 Kings 19:5), just to cite a few examples. Finally, the angel
Gabriel announced the birth of the Precursor and that of Jesus himself (cf. Lk 1:
11-26)" ("Catechism of the Catholic Church", 332).

In the general context of Genesis, this episode points up the new situation crea-
ted by the Covenant. God speaks to Abraham directly, as he spoke to Adam be-
fore he committed sin. Abraham, for his part, receives God through his hospita-
lity, and God again promises that Sarah will have a son (now specifying when the
child will be born). "Because Abraham believed in God and walked in his presence
and in covenant with him (cf. Gen 15:6; 17:1-2), the patriarch is ready to welcome
a mysterious Guest into his tent. Abraham's remarkable hospitality at Mamre fore-
shadows the annunciation of the true Son of the promise (cf. Gen 18:1-15; Lk 1:
26-38). After that, once God has confided his plan, Abraham's heart is attuned to
his Lord's compassion for men and he dares to intercede for them with bold confi-
dence (cf. Gen 18:16-33)" (ibid., 2571).

18:6. The measure mentioned here, a "seah" (pl. "seim") is a measure of dry
grain (cf. 1 Sam 25:18; 2 Kings 7:1, 16, 18) which was probably a third of an
ephah, that is, about seven liters or two gallons.

18:10. "In the spring"; this could also be translated as "next year". Literally, "the
time of life", which some interpret as "the time of a woman's pregnancy", that is,
nine months.


2nd Reading: Colossians 1:24-28

Paul's response to his calling
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[24] Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I complete what
is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, [25]
of which I became a minister according to the divine office which was given to me
for you, to make the word of God fully known, [26] the mystery hidden for ages
and generations but now made manifest to his saints. [27] To them God chose
to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this
mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. [28] Him we proclaim, war-
ning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every
man mature in Christ.

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Commentary: 

[번역자 주: 오늘의 제2독서는 다음의 주소에 있는 홀수해 연중 제23주간 월요일 
제1독서(콜로새 1,24-2,3)에 포함되며, 우리말 번역문도 또한 다음의 주소에 있다:
http://ch.catholic.or.kr/pundang/4/navarre/ot_23_mon.htm ]

24. Jesus Christ our Lord perfectly accomplished the work the Father gave him
to do (cf. Jn 17:4); as he said himself when he was about to die, "It is finished”,
it is accomplished (Jn 19:30).

From that point onwards objective redemption is an accomplished fact. All men 
have been saved by the redemptive death of Christ. However, St Paul says that
he completes in his flesh "what is lacking in Christ's afflictions"; what does he
mean by this? The most common explanation of this statement is summarized
by St Alphonsus as follows: "Can it be that Christ's passion alone was insuffi-
cient to save us? It left nothing more to be done, it was entirely sufficient to save
all men. However, for the merits of the Passion to be applied to us, according to
St. Thomas (Summa theologiae, III, q. 49, a. 3), we need to cooperate (subjec-
tive redemption) by patiently bearing the trials God sends us, so as to become
like our head, Christ" (St Alphonsus, Thoughts on the Passion, 10).

St Paul is applying this truth to himself. Jesus Christ worked and strove in all
kinds of ways to communicate his message of salvation, and then he accomp-
lished the redemption by dying on the Cross. The Apostle is mindful of the Mas-
ter's teaching and so he follows in his footsteps (cf. 1 Pet 2:21), takes up his
cross 9cf. Mt 10:38) and continues the task of bringing Christ's teaching to all 
men.

Faith in the fact that we are sharing in the sufferings of Christ, John Paul II says,
gives a person "the certainty that in the spiritual dimension of the work of Redemp-
tion he is serving, like Christ, the salvation of his brothers and sisters. Therefore
he is carrying out an irreplaceable service. In the Body of Christ, which is cease-
lessly born of the Cross of the Redeemer, it is precisely suffering permeated by 
the spirit of Christ's sacrifice that is the irreplaceable mediator and author of the
good things which are indispensable for the world's salvation. It is suffering, more
than anything else, which clears the way for the grace which transforms human
souls. Suffering, more than anything else, makes present in the history of
humanity the force of the Redemption" (Salvifici doloris, 27).

26-27. The "mystery", now revealed, is God's eternal plan to give salvation to men,
both Jews and Gentiles, making all without distinction co-heirs of glory and mem-
bers of a single body which is the Church (cf. Eph 3:6), through faith in Jesus
Christ (cf. Rom 15:25-26).

In Christ, who has brought salvation to Gentile and Jew, the "mystery" is fully re-
vealed. His presence in Christians of Gentile origin is in fact a very clear manifes-
tation of the supernatural fruitfulness of the "mystery" and an additional ground for
Christians' hope. Thanks to this presence people who do not form part of Israel
are enabled to attain salvation. Previously subject to the power of darkness and
slaves of sin (vv. 13-14), the have now died to sin through Baptism (cf. Rom 6:2-
3) and Christ, through grace, dwells in their hearts (on the salvific "mystery", cf.
notes on Eph 1:13-14 and Eph 1:9, and "Introduction to the letters of St Paul" in
The Navarre Bible: Romans and Galatians, pp. 32-33).

In his infinite love Christ lives in us through faith and grace, through prayer and 
the sacraments. Also, "he is present when the Church prays and sings, for he
has promised 'where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the 
midst of them' (Mt 18:20)" (Vatican II, Sacrosanctum Concilium, 7).

"Christ stays in his Church, its sacraments, its liturgy, its preaching – in all that
it does. In a special way Christ stays with us in the daily offering of the Blessed
Eucharist […]. The presence of Christ in the host is the guarantee, the source 
and the culmination of his presence in the world.

"Christ is alive in Christians. Our faith teaches us that man, in the state of grace,
is divinized – filled with God. We are men and women, not angels. We are flesh
and blood, people with sentiments and passions, with sorrows and joys. And this
divinization affects everything human; it is a sort of foretaste of the final resurrec-
tion" (St. J. Escriva, Christ is passing by, 102-103).

28. "In all wisdom": St Paul is exhorting and teaching each and every one, com-
municating wisdom, the true teaching of Jesus Christ. The text clearly shows St
Paul's conviction that he is a faithful transmitter of teachings revealed by God.
Possessed of such wisdom he is confident that he can lead his disciples to 
Christian perfection.

Gospel Reading: Luke 10:38-42

Martha and Mary Welcome Our Lord
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[38] Now as they went on their way, He (Jesus) entered a village; and a woman
named Martha received Him into her house. [39] And she had a sister called
Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to His teaching. [40] But Martha
was distracted with much serving; and she went to Him and said, "Lord, do you
not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me." [41]
But the Lord answered her, "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about
many things; [42] one thing is needful. Mary has chosen the good position, which
shall not be taken away from her."

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Commentary:

38-42. Our Lord was heading for Jerusalem (Luke 9:51) and His journey took Him
through Bethany, the village where Lazarus, Martha and Mary lived -- a family for
whom He had a special affection, as we see in other passages of the Gospel (cf.
John 11:1-14; 12:1-9).

38-42. 우리의 주님께서는 예루살렘으로 향하고 계셨으며(루카 복음서 9,51) 그리고 
그분의 여행은 그분을 베타니아(Bethany) 마을을 통과하게 하였는데, 거기에는, 이 
복음서의 다른 구절들에서 우리가 보듯이(요한 복음서 11,1-14; 12,1-9 참조), 그들에 
대하여 그분께서 특별한 애정을 가지고 계셨던 한 가족인, 라자로(Lazarus), 마르타
(Martha) 그리고 마리아(Mary)가 살았습니다.

St. Augustine comments on this scene as follows: "Martha, who was arranging
and preparing the Lord's meal, was busy doing many things, whereas Mary pre-
ferred to find her meal in what the Lord was saying. In a way she deserted her
sister, who was very busy, and sat herself down at Jesus' feet and just listened
to His words. She was faithfully obeying what the Psalm said: 'Be still and know
that I am God' (Psalm 46:11). Martha was getting annoyed, Mary was feasting;
the former coping with many things, the latter concentrating on one. Both occu-
pations were good" ("Sermon", 103).

성 아우구스티노(St. Augustine)는 이 장면에 대하여 다음과 같이 주석합니다: 
"주님의 음식을 미리 정하고 그리고 준비하고 있었던 마르타는 많은 일들을 하면서 
바빴으나, 이와는 달리 마리아는 주님께서 말씀하고 계시는 바 안에서 자신의 음식을 
찾는 것을 선호하였습니다. 어떤 방식으로 그녀는, 대단히 바빴던, 자신의 언니를 
저버리고, 예수님의 발치에 앉아서 그리고 그분의 말씀에 단지 귀를 기울였습니다. 
그녀는 시편이 다음과 같이 말하는 바에 충실하게 복종하고 있었습니다: "너희는 
멈추고 내가 하느님임을 알아라" (시편 46,11ㄱ). 마르타는 괴롭게 되고 있었고, 
마리아는 마음껏 즐기고 있었는데(was feasting), 그리하여 전자는 많은 일들을 
처리하였고, 후자는 한 가지 일에 집중하였습니다. 둘 다의 종사(occupations)들은 
선하였습니다(good)" [성 아우구스티노(St. Augustine), "Sermon", 103, 3].

Martha has come to be, as it were, the symbol of the active life, and Mary that
of the contemplative life. However, for most Christians, called as they are to sanc-
tify themselves in the middle of the world, action and contemplation cannot be re-
garded as two opposite ways of practising the Christian faith: an active life forget-
ful of union with God is useless and barren; but an apparent life of prayer which
shows no concern for apostolate and the sanctification of ordinary things also
fails to please God. The key lies in being able to combine these two lives, with-
out either harming the other. Close union between action and contemplation can
be achieved in very different ways, depending on the specific vocation each per-
son is given by God.

말하자면, 마르타는 활동적 삶(the active life)의 상징(symbol)이 이미 되어버렸고, 
그리고 마리아는 관상적 삶(the contemplative life)의 상징이 이미 되어버렸습니다.(*) 
그러나, 부름을 받은(called) 대부분의 그리스도인들의 경우에 있어, 세상의 
한가운데에서 자기 자신들을 거룩하게 하여야(sanctify) 하기 때문에(as) 행동
(action)과 관상(contemplation)은 그리스도인들의 신덕(faith, 믿음)을 실천하는 
두 개의 상반되는 방식들로서 간주될 수 없으며, 그리고 하느님과의 결합에 
무관심한(forgetful of) 어떤 활동적 삶은 소용없고(useless) 그리고 열매를 
맺지 못하며(barren), 그리고, 사도의 임무(apostolate)와 일상의 일들의 
성화(sanctification)에 대하여 아무런 관심도 나타내지 않는, 어떤, 외견상의, 
기도 생활(life of prayer)도 또한 하느님을 즐겁게 하는 데에 실패합니다. 
실마리[key, 단초(端初)]는 이들 두 삶들을, 어느 하나가 다른 것을 훼손함 없이, 
결합시킬 수 있음에 있습니다. 행동과 관상의 밀접한 결합(close union)은, 
하느님에 의하여 각 인격(person)에게 주어진 구체적인 소명(specific vocation)에 따라, 
대단히 다른 방식들로 성취될 수 있습니다. 

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(*) 번역자 주: 이에 대한 더 자세한 내용은 다음의 글의 제4항부터 읽도록 하라:
http://ch.catholic.or.kr/pundang/4/soh/1410.htm 
-----

Far from being an obstacle, work should be a means and an occasion for a close
relationship with our Lord, which is the most important thing in our life.

어떤 장애물이 전혀 아닌, 일(work)은 반드시, 우리의 삶에 있어 가장 중요한 일인, 
우리의 주님과의 밀접한 관계를 위한 어떤 수단(a means)이고 그리고 어떤 기회
(an oeeasion)이어야만 합니다.

Following this teaching of the Lord, the ordinary Christian should strive to attain
an integrated life--an intense life of piety and external activity, orientated towards
God, practised out of love for Him and with an upright intention, which expresses
itself in apostolate, in everyday work, in doing the duties of one's state in life.

주님에 의한 바로 이러한 가르침을 뒤따라, 일상의 그리스도인들은, 다음과 같은, 
한 개의  통합된 삶(an integrated life)을 달성하기 위하여 반드시 노력하여야만 
합니다: 사도의 임무로, 매일의 일로, 삶에 있어 자신의 신분(state)에 기인하는 
임무들을 행함으로 [그러한 삶] 그 자체를 나타내는, 하느님을 향하여 방향 지어진, 
당신에 대한 사랑(love) [즉, 애덕(charity, caritas)](*) 때문에 그리고 올바른 의향
(upright intention)과 함께 실천하게 되는(practised), 경의/존중과 함께 당연한 
의무들에 대한 충실(piety)(*)과 외면적 활동(external activity)으로 이루어진 어떤 
맹렬한 삶(an intense life).

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(*) 번역자 주: "애덕(charity, caritas)은 모든 선(good)의 뿌리이다" 라는 성 아우구스티노
(St. Augustine)의 가르침은 다음의 글에 있다:
http://ch.catholic.or.kr/pundang/4/soh/1437.htm 

(**) 번역자 주: "piety/pietas"를 그 자구적 어의(語義)/의미(literal sense)에 따라, 
"공경/받듦" 혹은 "효경/효심" 등으로 번역하지 않고, "경의/존중과 함께 당연한 의무들에 
대한 충실"로 번역한 근거/이유는 다음의 글들에 있다:
http://ch.catholic.or.kr/pundang/4/soh/piety_concept_error.htm 
-----

"You must understand now more clearly that God is calling you to serve Him in
and from the ordinary, material and secular activities of human life. He waits for
us every day, in the laboratory, in the operating room, in the army barracks, in
the university chair, in the factory, in the workshop, in the fields, in the home and
in all the immense panorama of work. Understand this well: there is something
holy, something divine, hidden in the most ordinary situations, and it is up to
each of you to discover it [...]. There is no other way. Either we learn to find our
Lord in ordinary, everyday life, or else we shall never find Him. That is why I can
tell you that our age needs to give back to matter and to the most trivial occur-
rences and situations their noble and original meaning. It needs to restore them
to the service of the Kingdom of God, to spiritualize them, turning them into a
means and an occasion for a continuous meeting with Jesus Christ" (St. J. Es-
criva, "Conversations", 114).

"하느님께서, 인간의 삶에 있어서의 일상의, 물질적이고 세속적인 활동들에서 그리고 
이들로부터, 당신을 섬기도록 그대를 부르고 계심을 그대가 이제 더 분명하게 
이해하여야 합니다. 그분께서는, 실험실(laboratory)에서, 수술실(operation room)에서,  
군대의 막사(army barracks)들에서, 대학교 의자에서, 공장에서, 작업장에서, 들판에서, 
가정에서 그리고 일(work)로 이루어진 거대한 파노라마(immense panorama of work)에서, 
날마다 우리를 기다리고 계십니다. 다음과 같이 이것을 잘 이해하도록 하십시오: 
대부분의 일상적 상황들에는 감추어진, 하느님의 그 무엇인, 거룩한 그 무엇이 있으며, 
그리고 그것을 발견하는 것은 그대에게 달려 있습니다 [...]. 다른 방식이 전혀 없습니다. 
우리가 일상의, 날마다의 삶 안에서 우리의 주님을 발견하는 것을 배우거나, 혹은 그렇지 
않으면 우리는 그분들 결코 발견하지 못할 것 둘 중의 하나입니다. 바로 이것이 제가 왜 
그대에게 우리의 시대는 물질에 그리고 가장 사소한 사건들과 상황들에 그들의 고귀한 
그리고 애초의 의미를 되돌려주어야 할 필요가 있다고 말할 수 있는 이유입니다. 그들을 
예수 그리스도와의 어떤 계속하는 만남을 위한 어떤 수단과 어떤 기회로 바꿈으로써, 
하느님의 나라(the Kingdom of God)에 대한 봉사로 그들을 회복시킬 필요가, 그들에게 
영성을 부여할(spiritualize) 필요가, 있습니다. [성 호세마리아 에스크리바(St. J. Escriva), 
"Conversations", 114].
　

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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.]