Thursday
10th Week of Ordinary Time
(I) 1st Reading: 2 Corinthians 3:15-4:1, 3-6
Christian Ministry is Superior to that of the Old Covenant
----------------------------------------------------------
[15] Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their
minds; [16] but when a man turns to the Lord the veil is removed.
[17] Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is,
there is freedom. [18] And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the
glory of the Lord, are being changed into his likeness from one degree
of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.
St Paul's Sincere Conduct
-------------------------
[1] Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose
heart. [3] And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those
who are perishing. [4] In their case the god of this world has blinded
the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the
gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the likeness of God. [5] For what
we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as
your servants for Jesus' sake. [6] For it is the God who said, "Let
light shine out of darkness," who has shone in our hearts to give the
light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.
*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:
12-18. In these verses St Paul continues to stress that the apostolic
ministry is superior to that of Moses; he recalls the veil with which
Moses covered his face after he had been speaking to Yahweh. The
Apostle declares that this event was a symbol: the veil served Moses
not only to hide the radiance of his f or of the Holy Spirit, in the New
Testament, brings with it the freedom of the children of God obtained
by Christ, who has freed us from sin and from the Old Law (cf. Rom
8:1-17; Gal 4:21-31).
Christian freedom does not mean ignoring any bond or law; it means
accepting God's commandments not in a servile way, out of fear of
punishment, but rather as children who strive to do what pleases their
Father God. St Augustine explains this as follows: "That person lives
under the weight of the law who avoids sin out of fear of the
punishment which the law threatens, rather than because of any liking
for righteousness [...]. If you let yourselves be led by the Spirit,
you will not be under the weight of the law; of that law which is
considered to inspire fear and terror, and does not instill charity or
a taste for goodness; charity which has been poured into our hearts,
not by the letter of the law, but by the Holy Spirit, who has been
given us. That is the law of freedom, not the law of slavery, for it is
the law of charity, not that of fear" ("De Natura Et Gratia", LVII,
67).
18. The teaching expounded in the previous verses leads to this final
joyous declaration, in which St Paul sums up the Christian's spiritual
itinerary. Just as Moses' face reflected the splendor of Yahweh after
he had been speaking to him on Sinai, Christians in their lives reflect
the splendor of Christ, whom they contemplate in faith: "The Christian
who has been cleansed by the Holy Spirit in the sacrament of
regeneration", St John Chrysostom comments, "is changed, as the
Apostle puts it, into the likeness of Jesus Christ himself. Not only does
he behold the glory of the Lord but he takes on some of the features of
God's glory [...]. The soul who is regenerated by the Holy Spirit
receives and radiates the splendor of the heavenly glory that has been
given him" ("Hom. on 2 Cor.", 7).
Moreover, whereas the radiance of Moses was a passing thing, that of
Christians steadily increases the more they become identified with
Christ through docility to the influence of grace on their souls:
"Docility, because it is the Holy Spirit who, with his inspirations,
gives a supernatural tone to our thoughts, desires and actions. It is
he who leads us to receive Christ's teaching and to assimilate it in
a profound way. It is he who gives us the light by which we perceive
our personal calling and the strength to carry out all that God
expects of us. If we are docile to the Holy Spirit, the image of Christ
will be formed more and more fully in us, and we will be brought closer
every day to God the Father" (J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By", 135).
1-6. St Paul here stresses one of the main points he makes in this part
of the letter--the sincerity and genuineness of his conduct, and
therefore his rejection of anything to do with lies or underhand ways
(cf. 1:12, 17; 2:17; 3:1). Unlike the false apostles, his own aim in
preaching is to teach the truth of Jesus Christ without any dilution or
compromise (cf., for example, 1 Cor 1:18-25; Gal 2:11ff). If, in spite
of everything, there are still some who cannot see the truth of the
Gospel, the reason lies in their bad dispositions, which allow the
devil--the god of this world (cf. Jn 12:31; 14:30; Eph 2:2)--to darken
their minds. That is why they fail to recognize the divinity of Jesus
Christ, who is the perfect image of God the Father (vv. 4-6).
The Apostle's approach to preaching as here described reminds us of the
need to speak out clearly, very conscious that we have been entrusted
by God with a treasure which we must respect and venerate and pass on
in all its fullness. "Every evangelizer", Pope Paul VI teaches, " is
expected to have a reverence for truth, especially since the truth that
he studies and communicates is none other than revealed truth and
hence, more than any other, a sharing in the first truth which is God
himself. The preacher of the Gospel will therefore be a person who even
at the price of personal renunciation and suffering always seeks the
truth that he must transmit to others. He never betrays or hides truth
out of a desire to please men or in order to astonish or to shock, nor
for the sake of originality or from a desire to make an impression. He
does not refuse truth. He does not obscure revealed truth by being too
idle to search for it, or for the sake of his own comfort, or out of
fear. He does not neglect to study it. He serves it generously, without
making it serve him" ("Evangelii Nuntiandi", 78).
1. "By the mercy of God": as the RSV note points out, this in Greek
reads "as we have received mercy", or "by the mercy which has been
done unto us", which goes back to a Jewish turn of phrase designed to
avoid entioning the name of God. St Paul also speaks in the plural, out
of modesty.
4. "To keep them from seeing the light of the Gospel": this is what the
Greek text means. The New Vulgate translation is somewhat different,
but it can be interpreted as meaning the same.
Jesus Christ, perfect God and perfect man, is the perfect likeness of
God (cf. Col 1:15; Heb 1:3). "For something to be a perfect image of
something else," St Thomas explains, "three things are needed, and all
three are to be found perfectly in Christ. The first of these is
likeness; the second is the origin; and the third, complete equality.
For if there were any dissimilarity between the image and him whose
image it is, or if the image did not have its origin in the other, or
if there were not perfect equality, given that both have the same
nature, there would be no perfect image [...]. Since all three are to
be found in Christ--he is the likeness of the Father, he proceeds from
the Father, and he is equal to the Father--he is called the image of
God in the fullest and most perfect sense" ("Commentary on 2 Cor, ad
loc."). Moreover, as perfect man he is the visible likeness of the
invisible God: "No one has ever seen God; the only Son, who is in the
bosom of the Father, he has made him known" (Jn 1:18).
5. St Paul often calls Jesus "Lord" (cf., e.g., Rom 10:9; 1 Cor 5:6;
12:3; Phil 2:11). This is a clear assertion of Christ's divinity, for "Lord"
is the word the Greeks normally use when translating "Yahweh" (cf.
note on 1 Cor 8:4-6).
This faith in Christ's divinity is so basic to Christianity that St Paul can
sum up the essence of his preaching in these words: we preach Christ
as Lord.
6. Contrary to what happens in the case of those who resist belief
(v. 4), God has enlightened the hearts of Christians with the light of
faith. St Paul recalls the moment when God created light (cf. Gen 1:3),
as if to refer to the new creation resulting from the infusion of the
light of faith (cf. 2 Cor 5:17), which only happens with God's
intervention: for "no one can 'assent to the Gospel preaching as he
must in order to be saved without the enlightenment and inspiration of
the Holy Spirit, who gives all men their joy in assenting to and
believing the truth' (Second Council of Orange). Hence, faith itself
[...] is essentially a gift of God; and the act of faith is a work
pertaining to salvation. By this act man offers to God himself a free
obedience inasmuch as he concurs and cooperates with God's grace,
when he could resist it" (Vatican I, "Dei Filius", chap. 3).
Commenting on this passage of the epistle, St Thomas Aquinas gives
a beautiful description of the way faith works in the soul of St Paul,
and in that of every Christian: "Previously, that is, before being
converted to Christ, we were dark, like you and like those in whom the
brightness of Christ's glory does not shine. Now, however, after Christ
calling us through his grace, the darkness has been taken away from us,
and the power of the glory of the clear light of Christ is shining in
us. It shines so powerfully in us that not only are we given light to
let us see: we also have light for giving to others" ("Commentary on 2
Cor, ad loc."). A Christian should not hide the light of his faith but
should use it to enlighten those around him.
(II) 1st Reading: 1 Kings 18:41-46
The drought ends
-------------------------
[41] And Elijah said to Ahab, "Go up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of the
rushing of rain." [42] So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to
the top of Carmel; and he bowed himself down upon the earth, and put his face
between his knees. [43] And he said to his servant, "Go up now, look toward
the sea." And he went up and looked, and said, "There is nothing." And he said,
"Go again seven times." [44[ And at the seventh time he said, "Behold, a little
cloud like a man's hand is rising out of the sea." And he said, "Go up, say to
Ahab, 'Prepare your chariot and go down, lest the rain stop you.'" [45] And in a
little while the heavens grew black with clouds and wind, and there was a great
rain. And Ahab rode and went to Jezreel. [46] And the hand of the Lord was on
Elijah; and he girded up his loins and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.
*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:
18:41-46 This scene shows once again the effectiveness of Elijah's prayer (v.
42). Here his prayer is grounded on the fact that what he desires has already
been granted (he can hear the rain long before it arrives). He puts his faith in
God, and he persists in his prayer (seven times he sends his servant, such is
his confidence).
Elijah praying on top of Mount Carmel can be taken as a type and figure of our
Lord Jesus Christ: "Elijah prayed and offered sacrifice, and Christ offered him-
self as a perfect sacrifice for the whole world. Elijah prayed on Mount Carmel,
Jesus Christ on the Mount of Olives. Elijah prayed that rain might fall on the
earth; Christ that divine grace might flow into human hearts. Elijah's command
to his servant: 'Go up and look out seven times', is a foreshadowing of the se-
venfold grace of the Holy Spirit to be given to the Church. And the small cloud
rising up out of the sea that the servant saw is a symbol of the incarnate Christ
born in the sea of this world" (Sermons attributed to St Augustine, Sermons,
40, 5).
Mount Carmel has also been a focus of Christian spirituality, especially from
the time in the twelfth century when hermits began to live there, later becoming
an order dedicated to the contemplative life, under the patronage of the Virgin
Mary. The little cloud discerned by the prophet's servant has rightly been seen
as a figure of the Blessed Virgin, for just as the cloud brought abundant rain to
make the earth fruitful, so, too, the Virgin Mary, the humble handmaid of the
Lord, gave birth to Christ through whom the grace and mercy of God are poured
out abundantly on the whole world.
Gospel Reading: Matthew 5:20-26
Jesus and His Teaching, the Fulfillment of the Law (Continuation)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Jesus said to His disciples,) [20] "For I tell you, unless your righteousness
exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom
of Heaven.
[21] "You have heard that it was said to the men of old, `You shall not kill; and
whoever kills shall be liable to judgment.' [22] But I say to you that every one
who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment; whoever insults his
brother shall be liable to the council, and whoever says, `You fool!' shall be liable
to the hell of fire. [23] So if you are offering your gift at the altar, and there remem-
ber that your brother has something against you, [24] leave your gift there before
the altar and go; first to be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer
your gift. [25] Make friends quickly with your accuser, while you are going with
him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the
guard, and you be put in prison; [26] truly, I say to you, you will never get out till
you have paid the last penny.
*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:
20. "Righteousness": see the note on Matthew 5:6 (see below). This verse
clarifies the meaning of the preceding verses. The scribes and Pharisees had
distorted the spirit of the Law, putting the whole emphasis on its external, ritual
observance. For them exact and hyper-detailed but external fulfillment of the
precepts of the Law was a guarantee of a person's salvation: "If I fulfill this I am
righteous, I am holy and God is duty bound to save me." For someone with this
approach to sanctification it is really not God who saves: man saves himself
through external works of the Law. That this approach is quite mistaken is ob-
vious from what Christ says here; in effect what He is saying is: to enter the
Kingdom of God the notion of righteousness or salvation developed by the
scribes and Pharisees must be rejected. In other words, justification or sancti-
fication is a grace from God; man's role is one of cooperating with that grace by
being faithful to it. Elsewhere Jesus gives the same teaching in an even clearer
way (cf. Luke 18:9-14, the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector). It was
also the origin of one of St. Paul's great battles with the "Judaizers" (see Gala-
tians 3 and Romans 2-5).
21. Verses 21-26 gives us a concrete example of the way that Jesus Christ
brought the Law of Moses to its fulfillment, by explaining the deeper meaning
of the commandments of that Law.
22. By speaking in the first person ("but I say to you") Jesus shows that His
authority is above that of Moses and the prophets; that is to say, He has divine
authority. No mere man could claim such authority.
"Insults": practically all translations of this passage transcribe the original Ara-
maic word, "raca" (cf. RSV note below). It is not an easy word to translate. It
means "foolish, stupid, crazy". The Jews used it to indicate utter contempt;
often, instead of verbal abuse they would show their feelings by spitting on the
ground.
"Fool" translates an ever stronger term of abuse than "raca"--implying that a per-
son has lost all moral and religious sense, to the point of apostasy.
In this passage our Lord points to three faults which we commit against charity,
moving from internal irritation to showing total contempt. St. Augustine comments
that three degrees of faults and punishments are to be noted. The first is the fault
of feeling angry; to this corresponds the punishment of "judgment". The second
is that of passing an insulting remark, which merits the punishment of "the coun-
cil". The third arises when anger quite blinds us: this is punished by "the hell of
fire" (cf. "De Serm. Dom. in Monte", II, 9).
"The hell of fire": literally, "Gehenna of fire", meaning, in the Jewish language of
the time, eternal punishment.
This shows the gravity of external sins against charity--gossip, backbiting, ca-
lumny, etc. However, we should remember that these sins stem from the heart;
our Lord focuses our attention, first, on internal sins--resentment, hatred, etc.--
to make us realize that that is where the root lies and that it is important to nip
anger in the bud.
23-24. Here our Lord deals with certain Jewish practices of His time, and in doing
so gives us perennial moral teaching of the highest order. Christians, of course,
do not follow these Jewish ritual practices; to keep our Lord's commandment we
have ways and means given us by Christ Himself. Specifically, in the New and
definitive Covenant founded by Christ, being reconciled involves going to the
Sacrament of Penance. In this Sacrament the faithful "obtain pardon from God's
mercy for the offense committed against Him, and are, at the same time, recon-
ciled with the Church which they have wounded by their sins"("Lumen Gentium",
11).
In the New Testament, the greatest of all offerings is the Eucharist. Although one
has a duty to go to Mass on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation, an essential
condition before receiving Holy Communion is that one be in the state of grace.
It is not our Lord's intention here to give love of neighbor priority over love of God.
There is an order of charity: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,
with all your soul and with all your strength. This is the great and first command-
ment" (Matthew 22:37-38). Love of one's neighbor, which is the second com-
mandment in order of importance (cf. Matthew 22:39), derives its meaning from
the first. Brotherhood without parenthood is inconceivable. An offense against
charity is, above all, an offense against God.
[The note on Matthew 5:6 states:
6. The notion of righteousness (or justice) in Holy Scripture is an essentially re-
ligious one (cf. notes on Matthew 1:19 and 3:15; Romans 1:17; 1:18-32; 3:21-22
and 24). A righteous person is one who sincerely strives to do the Will of God,
which is discovered in the commandments, in one's duties of state in life and
through one's life of prayer. Thus, righteousness, in the language of the Bible,
is the same as what nowadays is usually called "holiness" (1 John 2:29; 3:7-10;
Revelations 22:11; Genesis 15:6; Deuteronomy 9:4).]
*********************************************************************************************
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].