Saturday

5th Week of Lent

1st Reading: Ezekiel 37:21-28

The Reunification of the Two Kingdoms (Continuation)
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[21] Then say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will take the people
of Israel from the nations among which they have gone, and will gather them from
all sides, and bring them to their own land; [22] and I will make them one nation
in the land, upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king over them all;
and they shall be no longer two nations, and no longer divided into two kingdoms.
[23] They shall not defile themselves any more with their idols and their detestable
things, or with any of their transgressions; but I will save them from all the back-
slidings in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them; and they shall be my
people, and I will be their God.

[24] "My servant David shall be king over them; and they shall all have one shep-
herd. They shall follow my ordinances and be careful to observe my statutes.
They shall dwell in the land where your fathers dwelt that I gave to my servant
Jacob; they and their children and their children’s children shall dwell there for-
ever; and David my servant shall be their prince for ever. [26] I will make a cove-
nant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them, and I will
bless them and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for
evermore. [27] My dwelling place shall be with them; and I will be their God, and
they shall be my people. [28] Then the nations will know that I the LORD will
sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary is in the midst of them for ever more."

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Commentary:

37:15-27. Unity will be the most obvious effect of the people’s purification. By the
symbolic action of the two sticks, Ezekiel shows that it is God himself who will
bring about the unification of the tribes that made up the Southern kingdom (Ju-
dah) with those of the North (Joseph-Ephraim); it will be a union so strong that it
will never again be broken (as it was broken after the death of Solomon: cf. 1
Kings 12:20-33). This unity is also a symbol of the oneness that Jesus wants
the new people of God to have (cf. Jn 17:21) and which is essential for the suc-
cess of his plans for mankind’s salvation, "All men are called to be part of this
catholic unity of the people of God which in promoting universal peace presages
it. And there belong to or are related to it in various ways, the Catholic faithful,
all who believe in Christ, and indeed the whole of mankind, for all men are called
by the grace of God to salvation" (Vatican II, "Lumen Gentium", 13).

37:26. A "covenant of peace". The concluding words of the oracle (vv. 24-28) are
essianic ones, as can be seen from the reference to David, king and shepherd (v.
24), and from the emphasis put on the fact that the nation will abide in the land
"for ever" (v. 25) with the sanctuary in its midst (vv. 27, 28). Peace (cf. 34:25) is
the greatest of the messianic gifts (cf. Is 9:5); it implies safety from external
enemies but, above all, peace with God and neighbor. Jesus called peacemakers
blessed, happy (cf. Mt 5:9). "[T]he peace of Christ radiates from God the Father.
For by the cross the incarnate Son, the prince of peace reconciled all men with
God. By thus restoring all men to the unity of one people and one body, he slew
hatred in his own flesh; and, after being lifted on high by his resurrection, he
poured forth the spirit of love into the hearts of men" ("Gaudium Et Spes", 78).


Gospel Reading: John 11:45-56

The Sanhedrin Decides on the Death of Jesus
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[45] Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary (Magdalene) and had
seen what He (Jesus) did, believed in Him; [46] but some of them went to the
Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. [47] So the chief priests and the
Pharisees gathered the council, and said, "What are we to do? For this Man per-
forms many signs. [48] If we let Him go on thus, every one will believe in Him,
and the Romans will come and destroy both our holy place and our nation." [49]
But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, "You
know nothing at all; [50] you do not understand that it is expedient for you that
one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation should not perish."
[51] He did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year he pro-
phesied that Jesus should die for the nation, [52] and not for the nation only, but
to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad. [53] So from
that day on they took counsel on how to put Him to death.

[54] Jesus therefore no longer went about openly among the Jews, but went from
there to the country near the wilderness, to a town called Ephraim; and there He
stayed with the disciples.

[55] Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and many went up from the
country to Jerusalem before the Passover, to purify themselves. [56] They were
looking for Jesus and saying to one another as they stood in the temple, "What
do you think? That He will not come to the feast?" 

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Commentary:

45-48. Once again, as Simeon had predicted, Jesus is a sign of contradiction (cf.
Luke 2:34; John 7:12, 31, 40; 9:16; etc.): presented with the miracle of the raising
of Lazarus some people believe in Jesus (verse 45), and some denounce Him to
His enemies (cf. verses 46-47)--confirming what is said in the parable of the rich
man: "neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead" (Luke
16:31).

"Our (holy) place": this expression or similar expressions such as "the place",
"this place", was used to designate the temple, the holy place "par excellence"
and, by extension, all the Holy City of Jerusalem (cf. Maccabees 5:19; Acts 6:
14).

49-53. Caiaphas held the high priesthood from the year 18 to the year 36 A.D.
(cf. "The Dates of the Life of our Lord Jesus Christ" in "The Navarre Bible: St.
Mark", p. 49). Caiaphas was the instrument God used to prophesy the redemp-
tive death of the Savior, for it was one of the functions of the high priest to consult
God on how to lead the people (cf. Exodus 28:30; Numbers 27:21; 1 Samuel 23:
9; 30:7-8). Here Caiaphas' words have a dual meaning: one, Caiaphas' meaning,
is that he wants to put Christ to death, on the pretext that that will ensure the
political peace and survival of Israel; the other, the meaning intended by the Holy
Spirit, is the announcement of the foundation of the new Israel, the Church,
through the death of Christ on the Cross (Caiaphas is unaware of this meaning).
And so it happens that the last high priest of the Old Alliance prophesies the in-
vestiture of the High Priest of the New Alliance, which will be sealed in His own
blood.

When the Evangelist states that Christ was going to die "to gather into one the
children of God who are scattered abroad" (verse 52), he is referring to what our
Lord had said regarding the salvific effects of His death (cf. John 10:14-15). The
prophets had already announced the future assembly of Israelites faithful to God
to form the new people of Israel (cf. Isaiah 43:5; Jeremiah 23:3-5; Ezekiel 34:23;
37:21-24). These prophecies are fulfilled by the death of Christ, who, on being
raised up on the cross, draws and gathers together the true people of God, com-
posed of all believers, whether Israelites or not. The Second Vatican Council
uses this passage as a source when speaking of the universality of the Church:
"All men are called to belong to the new people of God. This people therefore,
whilst remaining one and only one, is to be spread throughout the whole world
and to all ages in order that the design of God's will may be fulfilled: He made
human nature one in the beginning and decreed that all His children who were
scattered should be finally gathered together as one (cf. John 11:52). It was for
this purpose that God sent His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things (cf.
Hebrews 1:2), that He might be teacher, king and priest of all, the head of the
new and universal people of God's sons" ("Lumen Gentium", 13).

In the fourth century, St. John Chrysostom explained the catholicity of the
Church using these words: "What is the meaning of 'to gather into one those who
are scattered abroad'? He made them one body. He who dwells in Rome knows
that the Christians of India are his members" ("Hom. on St. John", 65, 1).

54. The time for Him to die has not yet arrived; therefore Jesus acts prudently,
taking the steps anyone would take not to precipitate events.

55. Since the Passover was the most solemn Jewish feast, the people used to
arrive in Jerusalem some days in advance to prepare for it by washings, fasts and
offerings--practices established not by the Mosaic law but by popular piety; the
rites of the Passover itself, with the sacrificing of the lamb, were a rite of purifica-
tion and expiation for sins. The Passover of the Jews was a figure of the Chris-
tian Pasch or Easter, for, as St. Paul the Apostle teaches us, our paschal lamb
is Christ (cf. 1 Corinthians 5:7), who offered Himself once and for all to the eter-
nal Father on the cross to atone for our sins. Paul VI recalled this happy truth
of faith: "Gave Himself for me? But does there still exist a religion which is ex-
pressed in sacrifices? No, the sacrifices of the ancient law and pagan religions
have no longer any reason to exist; but the world always needs a sacrifice, a va-
lid, unique and perennial one, for the redemption of human sin [...]; it is the sacri-
fice of Christ on the cross, which wipes out sin from the world; a sacrifice which
the Eucharist actualizes in time and makes it possible for the men of this earth
to take part in it" (Paul VI, "Homily on Corpus Christ", 17 June 1976).

If the Jews prepared to celebrate the Passover with all these rites and ablutions,
it is obvious what steps we should take to celebrate or participate in the Mass
and to receive Christ--our Pasch--in the Eucharist. "On this earth, when we re-
ceive an important person, we bring out the best -- lights, music, formal dress.
How should we prepare to receive Christ into our soul? Have we ever thought
about how we should behave if we could only receive Him once in a lifetime?"
(St. J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By", 91).
　

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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].