20th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C (다해 연중 제20주일)


1st Reading: Jeremiah 38: 4-6, 8-10

Jeremiah’s and the cistern of Malchiah
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[1] Now Shephatiah the son of Mattan, Gedaliah the son of Pashhur, Jucal the 
son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur the son of Malchiah heard the words that 
Jeremiah was saying to all the people. [2] “Thus says the Lord, He who stays in
this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence; but he who goes 
out to the Chaldeans shall live; he shall have his life as a prize of war, and live.

[4] Then the princes said to the king, “Let this man be put to death, for he is weak-
ening the hands of the soldiers who are left in this city, and the hands of all the
people, by speaking such words to them. For this man is not seeking the welfare
of this people, but their harm.” [5] King Zedekiah said, “Behold, he is in your 
hands; for the king can do nothing against you.” So they took Jeremiah and cast
him into the cistern of Malchiah, the king’s son, which was in the court of the 
guard, letting Jeremiah down by ropes. And there was no water in the cistern,
but only mire, and Jeremiah sank in the mire.

[8] Ebed-melech went from the king’s house and said to the king, [9] “My Lord the
king, these men have done evil in all that they did to Jeremiah the prophet by 
casting him into the cistern; and he will die there of hunger, for there is no bread
left in the city.” [10] Then the king commanded Ebed-melech, the Ethiopian, 
”Take three men with you from here, and lift Jeremiah the prophet out of the cis-
tern before he dies.”

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Commentary:

38:1-28. Like the previous chapter, this one also contains an account concerning
Jeremiah’s arrest (vv. 1-13) and a conversation that he had with the king (vv. 14-
28). Jeremiah keeps on urging submission to Babylon and personal conversion;
the princes, or nobles, will hear none of this. Wary, perhaps, about putting an 
envoy of God to death, they put him into a big water-tank, from which he is res-
cued by a court official, a foreigner. Having escaped in this way, the prophet 
manages to stay in the hall of the court guard without anyone observing him, it
seems (v. 13). One ecclesiastical writer, Olympiodorus, interpreted Jeremiah’s
imprisonment as a prefigurement of Jesus’ passion and death. Commenting on
v. 6, he said: “The prophet becomes a figure of the mystery of Christ, who was
handed over by Pilate to the Jews, descended into hell, and was raised from the
dead. Jeremiah climbs out of the cistern he was cast into; Scripture often refers
to hell as a cistern” (Fragmenta in Jeremiam, 38, 6).

In his conversation with the king, Jeremiah re-affirms his message (vv. 17-18);
Zedekiah is afraid of what will happen if he surrenders (v. 19), but the prophet
tells him he should trust in the Lord. If he fails to do so, his humiliation will be
great; even the women will despise him (v. 22). Zedekiah will be stuck in the
mire (v. 22) – and will suffer more than Jeremiah has suffered (v. 6).

Without saying why, the king asks the prophet not to reveal his prophecy (vv. 24-
26); and so Jeremiah keeps quiet about it when the princes interrogate him
about his interview with the king (v. 27). The prophet’s response does not mean
that he is deceiving them (they had no right to be party to Jeremiah’s conversa-
tion with the king) or that he fears them; we know that his courage was never in
question.

These verses show how very different in attitude Zedekiah and Jeremiah were.
Zedekiah used all his ingenuity and political skill to save himself and Judah from
their enemies; but he lost both life and land. Jeremiah, however, preached the
word of God without diluting it in any way – even though people clamoured for his
death (v. 4); and when the Babylonians won the day, he was released from prison
and survived (v. 28). It is very much what Jesus taught: “Whoever would save 
his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it” (Mt 16:25).

Most of this passage forms a reading in the Divine Office for the 23rd Sunday in
Ordinary Time, and the response to that reading is a call to serve the Lord, no
matter what trials that involves. It links some words from Judith 8:23 (Vg) with
others from St Paul to do with predicaments he encountered that were similar to
the prophet’s: “as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: through
great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments
(2 Cor 6:4-5a).


2nd Reading: Hebrews 12:1-4

The Example of Christ
---------------------
[1] Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of
witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so
closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before
us, [2] looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who
for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the
shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

[3] Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against
himself, so that you may not grow weary or faint-hearted. [4] In your
struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of
shedding your blood.

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Commentary:

1-3. After recalling the exemplary faith and fidelity of the righteous
of the Old Testament, a moral lesson is now drawn: Christians should
be no less faithful--particularly since they have as a model not only
patriarchs, kings and prophets but also Christ Jesus himself, "the
pioneer and perfecter of our faith", in other words, he is the perfect
example of obedience, of faithfulness to his mission, of union with the
Father, and of endurance in suffering.

Christ is depicted as the strong, generous athlete who runs a good race
(cf. 1 Cor 9:24; 1 Tim 6:12; 2 Tim 2:6), who starts and finishes well,
who does not flag and who wins the race. A Christian should live in the
same way (cf. Gal 2:2; Phil 2:16; 5:7). It is as if we were listening
again to what St Paul says in Philippians 2:5-9: "Have this mind among
yourselves, which was in Christ Jesus." Christ's example helps us to
overcome contempt and it reminds us that we should not be surprised
to meet up with humiliation and hostility rather than success and
rejoicing (cf. Mt 10:24; Lk 6:40). "Cross, toil, anguish: such will be
your lot as long as you live. That was the way Christ went, and the
disciple is not above his Master" ([St] J. Escriva, "The Way", 699).

1. This verse contains three remarkable expressions which stress the
need to be faithful in spite of difficulties. The first is the "cloud
of witnesses", a reference to the multitude of holy people in the
course of the history of Israel who stayed faithful to God (cf. 11:2,
4, 5, 39); they are a cloud, a huge number filling the sky. In
classical literature one often finds an army advancing in battle array
being compared with a storm forming in the sky. Also, the image of the
cloud suggests that these witnesses are high up, near the sun, a sign
of their spiritual stature.

They are "witnesses", that is, active spectators of the combat in which
Christians are involved. This evokes the idea of spectators at the Games
who follow the events from the stands, applauding, shouting and
gesticulating.

"Sin which clings so closely": one interpretation of the original is
"sin which watches us closely, like an enemy, to see where he can
attack us". It is the same kind of idea as occurs in 1 Pet 5:8, where
it says that the devil prowls around like a roaring lion seeking whom
he may devour, and as in Gen 4:7 where God describes sin as couching
at the door (like a hungry wild animal ready to pounce). The verb used to
describe sin indicates it is something which surrounds one on all sides
(cf. RSV) and can easily get a foothold and is persistent. "We may have
here an allusion to occasions of sin, to the fact that sin is present
all around us, that is, in the world, in the flesh, in our neighbor and
in the devil" (St Thomas, "Commentary on Heb.", ad loc.). Sin is also a
"weight" which hinders our movements and reduces our agility; there may
also be a reference here to being overweight. The athlete needs to shed
any surplus weight and keep to a strict training schedule involving
many small renunciations (cf. 1 Cor 9:25). His only hope of success in
the Games depends on this.

Finally, Christians are invited to "run with perseverance". Theirs is
not a short race but a long test which calls for endurance and an
ability to cope with pain and fatigue. "Just as in a race and in combat
we need to shed everything that cramps our movements, the same
happens in the struggle of tribulation. 'I have fought the good fight, I have
finished the race,' St Paul says (2 Tim 4:7). So, he who wants to run
well towards God in the midst of tribulation should shed all useless
weight. The Apostle describes this encumbrance as 'weight, and sin
which clings so closely'. This weight is the sins we have committed,
which pull the soul downwards and incline it to sin again" ("Commentary
on Heb, ad loc.").

Essentially, the verse emphasizes the need for detachment if one is
to win in the struggle of life: "Anything that does not lead to God is a
hindrance. Root it out and throw it far from you" (St J. Escriva, "The
Way", 189).

2. The Christian should fix his gaze on Jesus, in the same way as a
runner, once the race has begun, lets nothing distract him from his
determination to reach his goal.

"If you want to be saved," St Thomas writes, "look at the face of your
Christ. He is the pioneer of our faith, in two senses. He teaches it
through his preaching and he also impresses it on our heart. In two
senses also is he the perfecter of our faith: he consigns faith by his
miracles and it is he who gives faith its reward" ("Commentary on Heb,
ad loc.").

Christ is the "pioneer" of our faith in the sense that he has marked
out the path Christians should take. He is the captain and guide of
all the faithful, the champion who takes the lead and opens the way,
setting the pace. The reference evokes what Hebrews 6:20 says about
Jesus being our "forerunner".

Christ is the "pioneer" of our faith, the cause of our faith; it is he
that we first believe in and, as author of grace, it is he who infuses
this virtue into our souls. The title of "pioneer", initiator, may also
indicate that Christ is for the Christian--and for the
universe--beginning and end, alpha and omega (cf. Rev 1:17; 2:8;
22:13). In the same line, Jesus is also the "perfecter" of our faith,
for it is he who will lead us to perfection in faith and will transform
it into the perfection of glory. He will crown his work in us (cf. St
Augustine, "Letter 194", 5), for if we believe it is because he has
moved us to faith, and if we are glorified it will be because he has
helped us to stay true to the end.

Everything Christ did in his life is a perfect example for us to follow
particularly the way he underwent his passion. "In the passion of
Christ there are three things to consider: in the first place what he
gave up, then what he suffered, and thirdly what he merited. As far
as the first is concerned, (Hebrews) speaks of his leaving 'the joy that
was set before him', that is, joy or happiness here on earth, as when
the crowd sought him out to make him king and he fled to the mountain
despising that honor [...]. Then describing the happiness of eternal
life as his reward, he 'endured the cross': that is the second thing,
namely, that he suffered the cross. 'He humbled himself and became
obedient unto death, even death on a cross' (Phil 2:8). In this the
terrible severity of his suffering is manifested, for he was nailed to
the cross by his hands and feet, and the opprobrium of this death,
for it was an ignominous death [...]. The third thing, that is, what he
merited, is being seated at the right hand of the Father. Thus, the
exaltation of Christ's human nature was the reward for his passion"
("Commentary on Heb, ad loc.").

Christ is the pioneer of our faith by his death on the Cross, and its
perfecter by his glorification. Only those who share in Christ's
sufferings will be raised up like him in glory (cf. Rom 6:8). The
Christian life begins in Christ and finds its climax in him.

To bring about our redemption any form of suffering would have sufficed;
but such was our Lord's love for us that he accepted the ignominy of
death on a cross.

"By now they have fastened Jesus to the wooden cross. The executioners
have ruthlessly carried out the sentence. Our Lord, with infinite
meekness, has let them have their way.

"It was not necessary for him to undergo so much torment. He could
have avoided those trials, those humiliations, that ill-usage, that iniquitous
judgment, and the shame of the gallows, and the nails and the lance....
But he wanted to suffer all this for you and for me. And we, are we not
going to respond?

"Very likely there will be times, when alone in front of a crucifix,
you find tears coming to your eyes. Don't try to hold them back.... But
try to ensure that those tears give rise to a resolution" ([St] J. Escriva,
"The Way of the Cross", XI, 1). .

3. "What does Christ teach you from the height of the Cross, from which
he chose not to come down, but that you should arm yourself with valor
against those who revile you, and be strong with the strength of God?"
(St Augustine, "Enarrationes in Psalmos", 70, 1). The difficulties Jesus
had to contend with were quite exceptional: Jews and Gentiles opposed
him; he suffered every kind of humiliation, to the extreme of his passion
and death; but what pained him most was the hardheartedness, spiritual
blindness and impenitence of those who had come to save. The "sinners"
who proved "hostile" to Jesus are not only Caiaphas, Herod, Pilate, etc.
but also those who continue to sin despite his redemptive sacrifice. Yet
our Lord bore all this patiently and exhibited to a supreme degree the
virtues and qualities he asks of his disciples.

In Christ, and in Christians, weakness becomes strength, humiliation
and glory. "(Jesus) dies nailed to the Cross. But if at the same time
in this weakness there is accomplished his "lifting up", confirmed by
the power of the Resurrection, then this means that the weaknesses of
all human sufferings are capable of being infused with the same power
of God manifested in Christ's Cross" (John Paul II, "Salvifici
Doloris", 23).

The sacred text seeks to inspire the faithful with hope and strength by
suggesting that they contemplate Christ's sufferings. That in fact has
led many Christians to turn over a new leaf. St Teresa of Avila
describes how it changed her: "By this time my soul was growing weary,
and, though it desired to rest, the miserable habits which now enslaved
it would not allow it to do so. It happened that, entering the oratory
one day, I saw an image which had been procured for a certain festival
that was observed in the house and had been taken there to be kept for
that purpose. It represented Christ sorely wounded; and so conducive
was it to devotion that when I looked at it I was deeply moved to see
him thus, so well did it picture what he suffered for us. So great was
my distress when I thought how ill I had repaid him for those wounds
that I felt as if my heart were breaking, and I threw myself down
beside him, shedding floods of tears and begging him to give me
strength once for all so that I might not offend him" ("Life", IX, 1).

4-13. Following Christ's example, Christians should struggle to avoid
sin; they should put up with trib lation and persecution because if
such adversity arises it means that the Lord permits it for our good.
The letter's tone of encouragement seems to change here to one of
reproach. It is as if the writer were saying, "Christ gave his life for
your sins, contending even to the point of dying for you; how is it
that you do not put up with suffering, out of love for him? It is true
that you are being persecuted: God is disciplining you as a Father
disciplines his children. But you are children of God and therefore
your attitude should be one of abandonment to his will even when it
seems hard. That is the way a Father brings up his children."

The main point is that the only important thing is fidelity to God, and
that the sin of apostasy is the greatest of all misfortunes. "Don't
forget, my son, that for you on earth there is but one evil, which you
must fear and avoid with the grace of God: sin" ([St] J. Escriva, "The
Way", 386).
　

Gospel Reading: Luke 12:49-53

Jesus the Cause of Dissension
-----------------------------
(Jesus said to His disciples,) [49] "I came to cast fire upon the
earth; and would that it were already kindled! [50] I have a baptism
to be baptized with; and how I am constrained until it is
accomplished! [51] Do you think that I have come to give peace on
earth? No, I tell you, but rather division; [52] for henceforth in one
house there will be five divided, three against two and two against
three; [53] they will be divided, father against son and son against
father, mother against daughter and daughter against her mother,
mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against
her mother-in-law."

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Commentary:

49-50. In the Bible, fire is often used to describe God's burning love
for men. This divine love finds its highest expression in the Son of
God become man: "God so loved the world that He gave His only Son"
(John 3:16). Jesus voluntarily gave up His life out of love for us,
and "greater love has no man than this, that a man lays down his life
for his friends" (John 15:13).

49-50. 성경에 있어, 불(fire)은 사람들을 위한 하느님의 불타오르는 사랑
(burning love)를 묘사하기 위하여 자주 사용됩니다. 바로 이 하느님의 사랑
(love)은 사람이 되신 하느님의 아드님(성자, the Son of God) 안에서 다음과 
같은 그 최상의 표현을 발견합니다: "하느님께서는 세상을 너무나 사랑하신 
나머지 외아들을 내 주시어, 그를 믿는 사람은 누구나 멸망하지  않고 영원한 
생명을 얻게 하셨다" (요한 복음서 3,16). 예수님께서는 우리들을 위한 사랑
(love) 때문에 당신의 목숨을 자발적으로 내어주셨으며, 그리고 "친구들을 
위하여 목숨을 내놓는 것보다 더 큰 사랑은 없다" (요한 복음서 15,13) [라고 
말씀하셨습니다].

In these words reported by St. Luke, Jesus Christ reveals His aboun-
ding desire to give His life for love of us. He calls His death a baptism,
because from it He will arise victorious never to die again. Our
Baptism is a submersion in Christ's death, in which we die to sin and
are reborn to the new life of grace: "We were buried therefore with Him
by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by
the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life" (Romans
6:4).

성 루카(St. Luke)에 의하여 기록된 이들 표현들에서, 예수 그리스도께서는 
우리들에 대한 사랑(love) 때문에(for) 당신의 목숨을 내어 주시고자 하는 
당신의 풍부한 욕망(desire)을 드러내십니다(reveals). 당신께서는 당신의 
죽음(death)을 한 개의 세례(a baptism)라고 부르시는데, 왜냐하면 
이 죽음으로부터 당신께서는 결코 다시 죽지 않는 승리한 자로서 일어날 
것이기 때문입니다. 우리들의 세례는 그리스도의 죽음 안으로의 어떤 잠김
(a submersion)인데, 그 안에서 우리는 다음과 같이 죄에 대하여서는 죽고
(die to sin)(*) 그리고 은총의 새로운 삶으로 다시 태어나게 됩니다: "과연 
우리는 그분의 죽음과 하나되는 세례를 통하여 그분과 함께 묻혔습니다. 
그리하여 그리스도께서 아버지의 영광을 통하여 죽은 이들 가운데에서 
되살아나신 것처럼, 우리도 새로운 삶을 살아가게 되었습니다" (로마 6,4).

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(*) 번역자 주: "죄에서는 죽었다(die to sin)" 의 의미는 다음의 글에 있다:
http://ch.catholic.or.kr/pundang/4/soh/915.htm 
-----

Through this new life, we Christians should become set on fire in the
same way as Jesus set His disciples on fire: "With the amazing
naturalness of the things of God, the contemplative soul is filled with
apostolic zeal. `My heart became hot within me, a fire blazed forth
from my thoughts' (Psalm 38:4). What could this fire be if not the
fire that Christ talks about: `I came to cast fire upon the earth, and
would that it were already kindled' (Luke 12:49). An apostolic fire
that acquires its strength in prayer: there is no better way than this
to carry on, throughout the whole world, the battle of peace to which
every Christian is called to fill up what is lacking in the sufferings
of Christ (cf. Colossians 1:24)" ([St] J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing
By", 120).

이러한 새 삶을 통하여, 우리 그리스도인들은 예수님께서 당신의 제자들에게 
불을 지르셨듯이 동일한 방식으로 다음과 같이 불(fire)을 질러야만 합니다: 
"하느님의 사물들의 놀랄 만한 자연스러움(the amazing naturalness) 과 함께, 
관상적 영혼(the contemplative soul)은 사도적 열정(apostolic zeal)으로 
채워집니다. '내 마음이 속에서 달아오르며 탄식으로 불이 타올라'(*) (시편 39(8),4). 
다음의 불이, 그것에 관하여 그리스도께서 말씀하시는, 바로 그 불이 아니라면 
무엇일 수 있을까요: '나는 세상에 불을 지르러 왔다. 그 불이 이미 타올랐으면 
얼마나 좋으랴?' (루카 복음서 12,49). 그 굳셈을 기도 안에서 획득하는 어떤 
사도적 불(an apostolic fire)을 말하며, 그리고, 전체 세상에 걸쳐, 거기로 각 
그리스도인이 그리스도의 수난들에서 모자란 바를 채우기 위하여 (콜로새 1,24 
참조) 부름을 받는, 평화의 전쟁(the battle of peace)을 수행하는 것보다 더 나은 
방식은 없습니다." [[성] 호세마리아 에스크리바([St]  J. Escriva,  
"Christ Is Passing By", 120].

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(*) 번역자 주: 시편 39,4에서 "새 번역 성경"의 "울화가 치밀어" 라는 번역이 
여기서의 전후 문맥에 적절하지 않기에 "주석 성경"의 주석을 들여다 보았더니, 
다행히 직역 번역이 "불이 타올라" 라고 밝히고 있어 이것을 따른 것이다.
-----

51-53. God has come into the world with a message of peace (cf.
Luke 2:14) and reconciliation (cf. Romans 5:11). By resisting, through
sin, the redeeming work of Christ, we become His opponents. Injustice
and error lead to division and war. "Insofar as men are sinners, the
threat of war hangs over them and will so continue until the coming of
Christ; but insofar as they can vanquish sin by coming together in
charity, violence itself will be vanquished" (Vatican II, "Gaudium Et
Spes", 78).

51-53. 하느님께서는 평화(루카 복음서 2,14 참조) 와 화해(로마 5,11 참조)의 
메시지 한 개와 함께 세상에 이미 오셨습니다. 죄를 통하여, 그리스도의 속량하는 
위업에 저항함으로써, 우리는 당신의 원수들이 됩니다. 불의(injustice)와 오류(error)는 
분열과 전쟁으로 인도합니다. "사람들이 죄인들인 한, 전쟁의 위협은 그들 위에 미결인 
채로 남아 있으며 그리고 이 위협은 그리스도의 귀환 때까지 그들 위에 미결인 
채로 남아 있을 것인데, 그러나 그들이 애덕(charity) 안에서 화해함(coming 
together)으로써 죄를 정복하는(vanquish) 한, 폭력은 장차 정복될 것입니다" 
[제2차 바티칸 공의회 (Vatican II), 현대 사회의 교회에 관한 사목 헌장, "기쁨과 
희망(Gaudium Et Spes)",  제78항].(*)

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(*) 번역자 주:  "지상의 평화" 는 "그리스도의 평화"의 열매인데 [가톨릭 교회 
교리서 제2305항], 위의 해설의 연장으로서, 창세기 14,18; 이사야서 9,5(6); 
루카 복음서 2,14; 요한 복음서 14,27-31ㄱ; 에페소서 2,14-17 등에 근거한, 
그리고 제2차 바티칸 공의회 (Vatican II), 현대 사회의 교회에 관한 사목 헌장, 
"기쁨과 희망(Gaudium Et Spes)", 제78항을 또한 발췌 인용하고 있는, 
"복음서에서 말하는 그리스도의 평화란?" 제목의 다음의 글을 필독하도록 하라:
http://ch.catholic.or.kr/pundang/4/soh/1402.htm 
-----

During His own life on earth, Christ was a sign of contradiction (cf.
Luke 2:34). Our Lord is forewarning His disciples about the contention
and division which will accompany the spread of the Gospel (cf. Luke
6:20-23; Matthew 10:24).

땅 위에서 당신 고유의 삶 동안, 그리스도께서는 반대의 어떤 표징(a sign of 
contradiction)이셨습니다 (루카 복음서 2,34 참조). 우리의 주님께서는, 복음의 
퍼짐을 장차 동반할, 다툼(contention)과 분열(division)에 관하여 당신의 
제자들에게 미리 경고하고 계십니다 (루카 복음서 6,20-23; 마태오 복음서 
10,24 참조).

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