나바르 매일미사 독서/묵상

Friday

11th Week of Ordinary Time

(I) 1st Reading: 2 Corinthians 11:18, 21-30

He (St. Paul) Apologizes for Boasting (Continuation)
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[18] Since many boast of worldly things, I too will boast. [21] To my
shame, I must say, we were too weak for that!

What He has Suffered for Christ
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But whatever any one dares to boast of--I am speaking as a fool--I also
dare to boast of that. [22] Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they
Israelites? So am I. Are they descendants of Abraham? So am I.
[23] Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one--I am talking like a
madman--with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless
beatings, and often near death. [24] Five times I have received at the
hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. [25] Three times I have
been beaten with rods; once I was stoned. Three times I have been
shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been adrift at sea; [26] on
frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger
from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in
the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brethren; [27] in toil
and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst,
often without food, in cold and exposure. [28] And, apart from other
things, there is the daily pressure upon me of my anxiety for all the
churches. [29] Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to fall, and
I am not indignant?

[30] If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.

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Commentary:

16-21. The Apostle breaks off once more to excuse his boasting. The
only reason why he is making this apologia is to defend his apostolic
authority over the Corinthians.

"The Apostle", St John Chrysostom comments, "acts like someone of
illustrious race who has chosen to dedicate himself to heading a holy
life and who feels compelled to sing the praises of his family in order
to take down certain people who are priding themselves on being
well-born. Do you think he is acting in a vain way? No, because the
only reason he boasts is to humble these vain people" ("Hom on 2 Cor.",
24).

19-20. These words are heavily ironical, caricaturing as they do the
foolishness of the Corinthians, who consider themselves to be so
sensible. St Paul upbraided them on this score previously (cf. 1 Cor
1:18-4:21). In this instance their foolishness consists in letting
themselves be taken advantage of by intruders and doing nothing about
it.

21. "To my shame, I must say": this could also be translated as "To
shame you I tell you", for the Greek does not make it clear who feels
ashamed. St Paul is still speaking sarcastically: he argues that he
showed himself too weak to the Corinthians, for he has not taken
advantage of them the way the false apostles have. That may be why, he
tells them, they consider him inferior to the latter.

23-33. St Paul begins his apologia proper, in which he points out his
merits in contrast with those of his opponents. On the score of race,
he is their equal (v. 22); on the score of being a minister of Christ,
he is much better qualified: as proof of this he offers the physical
suffering he has undergone in his apostolate (vv. 23-27, 30-33), and
the moral suffering (vv. 28f). One cannot fail to be moved by this
outline of his sufferings, an account which provides us with extremely
valuable information about his life not contained in the Acts of the
Apostles. Although this list is not exhaustive (cf. v. 28), and much
suffering still lies ahead of him, we can see that Ananias' prophecy
has already come true: "I will show him how much he must suffer for the
sake of my name" (Acts 9:16).

It is very revealing that the evidence he provides to show his
superiority as a servant of Christ is precisely his sufferings. Our
Lord had already said, "If any man would come after me, let him deny
himself and take up his cross daily and follow me" (Lk 9:23).
Suffering, the cross, is something inseparable from the Christian life,
and a sure sign that one is following in the Master's footsteps.
Monsignor Escriva comments: "When we set out seriously along the 'royal
highway', that of following Christ and behaving as children of God, we
soon realize what awaits us--the Holy Cross. We must see it as the
central point upon which to rest our hope of being united with our
Lord.

"Let me warn you that the program ahead is not an easy one. It takes an
effort to lead the kind of life our Lord wants. Listen to the account
St Paul gives of the incidents and sufferings he encountered in
carrying out the will of Jesus: 'Five times I have received at the
hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one' (2 Cor 11:24-28)"
("Friends of God", 212).

22. The Apostle makes it quite clear that he is the equal of his
opponents as far as background goes. The three terms used (Hebrew,
Israelite, descendant of Abraham), although in a way they all mean
the same, have different shades of meaning. "Hebrews" here designates
both origin--descendants of Eber (cf. Gen 11:14)--and race. It may be
that Paul's enemies questioned his ethnic purity on the grounds that
he had been born in Tarsus, a city in Asia Minor; however, he was "a
Hebrew born of Hebrews" (Phil 3:5) and spoke Hebrew (cf. Acts 21:40).
"Israelites"--descendants of Jacob, whose name Yahweh changed to
"Israel" (cf. Gen 32:28)--would indicate that he was a member of
the chosen people who had the true religion. Being a "descendant of
Abraham" would refer to the fact that he was an heir to the messianic
promises.

St Paul often had to make a point of stressing his Jewish origin (cf.
Acts 22:3; Rom 11:1; Gal 1:13ff; Phil 3:4ff). Probably his opponents
were forever trying to discredit his teaching--about the superiority of
the New Law over the Old, about circumcision not being necessary--by
saying he was not a Jew. He most certainly is, he says, and he often
refers to his immense love for those of his race (cf. Rom 9).

24. It is not possible to say exactly when these beatings took place;
they are not reported in the Acts of the Apostles. Possibly they
occurred in some of the synagogues where he went to preach: synagogues
in the Diaspora had authority to inflict this form of punishment.
Because Jewish law laid down a maximum of forty lashes
(cf. Deut 25:2f), usually only thirty-nine were given to avoid going
beyond the limit. It was a very severe and demeaning form of
punishment.

25. The Romans beat people with rods. Though three beatings are
mentioned here the Acts of the Apostles only tell us of one instance of
Paul's being punished in this way at Philippi (cf. Acts 16:22-24). On
the three occasions he must have been beaten unlawfully, for Roman law
prescribed that this punishment could only be imposed on Roman
citizens--St Paul was a Roman (cf. Acts 22:25-29)--when they were under
sentence of death.

The stoning took place at Lystra, and after it the Apostle was dragged
out of the city and left for dead (cf. Acts 14:19f).

The Acts of the Apostles refer to only one instance of shipwreck (cf.
Acts 27:9ff).

28-29. In addition to the physical sufferings mentioned, others still
greater weigh down on the Apostle--who was "all things to all men"
(1 Cor 9:22)--those to do with the pastoral care of people who sought
his help, and the care of the churches he had founded. The physical
evils, St John Chrysostom comments, "no matter how terrible they may
have been, passed over quite quickly and left behind them a great
consolation. But what afflicted Paul, what oppressed his heart and made
him so anxious was the pain caused him by the laxity of all the
faithful without any distinction. It was not only the behavior of
prominent members that caused him pain; he was indifferent to no one;
he ranked all Christians, irrespective of who they were, as his dearly
beloved children" ("Hom. on 2 Cor.", 25).

The Apostle, who is identified with Christ (cf. Gal 2: 19f), makes his
own the words of his Master: "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd
lays down his life for the sheep" (Jn 10:11). He stands as a model for
pastors of the Church as regards the solicitude they should have for
the souls God has entrusted to them.

30. As if by way of summing up what he has said already, St Paul points
out that he is really boasting about his "weakness", that is, about
things which worldly eyes see as weakness, failure and humiliation. He
will go on to explain that it is really in these things that God's
power and strength are most clearly to be seen (cf. 12:7:10): this
"weakness" makes fruitful the work of his chosen ones.

This is another example of the paradox of the Christian life: Christ
won victory on the cross, and his Apostles rejoice and are proud to
suffer on his account (cf. 7:4; 8:2; Acts 5:41; Gal 6:14).
　

(II) 1st Reading: 2 Kings 11:1-4, 9-18, 20

Athaliah, queen of Judah (842-836)
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[1] Now when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she
arose and destroyed all the royal family. [2] But Jehosheba, the daughter of
King Joram, sister of Ahaziah, took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him a-
way from among the king’s sons who were about to be slain, and she put him
and his nurse in a bedchamber. Thus she hid him from Athaliah, so that he
was not slain; [3] and he remained with her six years, hid in the house of the
Lord, while Athaliah reigned over the land.

Joash anointed king of Judah
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[4] But in the seventh year Jehoiada sent and brought the captains of the Carites
and of the guars, and had them come to him in the house of the Lord; and had
them come to him in the house of the Lord; and he made a covenant with them
and put them under oath in the house of the Lord, and he showed them the
king’s son.

[9] The captains did according to all that Jehoiada the priest commanded, and
each brought his men who were to go off duty on the Sabbath, with those who
were to come on duty on the Sabbath, and came to Jehoiada the priest. [10]
And the priest delivered to the captains the spears and shields that had been
King David’s, which were in the house of the Lord; [11] and the guards stood,
every man with his weapons in his hand, from the south side of the house to
the north side of the house, around the altar and the house. [12] Then he
brought out the king’s son, and put the crown upon him, and gave him the testi-
mony; and they proclaimed him king, and anointed him; and they clapped their
hands, and said, “Long live the king!”

Death of Athaliah
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[13] When Athaliah heard the noise of the guard and of the people, she went into
the house of the Lord to the people; [14] and when she looked, there was the
king standing by the pillar, according to the custom, and the captains and the
trumpeters beside the king, and all the people of the land rejoicing and blowing
trumpets. And Athaliah rent her clothes, and cried, “Treason! Treason!” [15]
Then Jehoiada the priest commanded the captains who were set over the army,
“Bring her out between the ranks; and slay with the sword any one who follow
her.” For the priest said, “Let her not be slain in the house of the Lord.” [16] So
they laid hands on her; and she went through the horses’ entrance to the king’s
house, and there she was slain.

Joash takes up his throne
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[20] So all the people of the land rejoiced; and the city was quiet after Athaliah
had been slain with the sword at the king’s house.

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

11:1-12:22. Through the sons of Ahab, worship of Baal began to be practised
not only in Israel but also in Judah through King Joram’s marriage to Athaliah,
of the house of Ahab (cf. 8:25-27). This meant that Judah, too, had to undergo
the same sort of cleansing as Jehu had forced on the Northern kingdom. Chap-
ters 11 and 12, in this sense, parallel the preceding ones. But in Judah there
was to be no change of dynasty: the line of David must continue, in keeping
with the promise of 2 Samuel 7:1-17. Therefore, God steers events in another
way – through the providential rescue of a son of the king (vv. 1-3), who is anoin-
ted (v. 12) in the temple, and after the death of the idolatrous queen, through the
renewal of the Covenant (vv. 17-18) and the enthronement of David’s descendant
(vv. 19-20).

11:1-3. Athaliah acts out of greed for power: she wants no rivals for the throne.
But eliminating the house of David was at odds with God’s plan (cf. 2 Sam 7:1-
17). The temple of Jerusalem and its priesthood symbolized divine protection of
the Jehoash. According to 2 Chronicles 22:11 Jeho-shabe-ath was the wife of
the chief priest, Jehoiada, and, although the daughter of King Jehoram, she
would have been the daughter of another wife of the king; that is, she and Ataliah
would have been half-sisters. The account in the book of Chronicles (which pays
closer attention than Kings to temple affairs) has more to say about the family of
Jehoram (cf. 2 Chron 21-22).

11:4-12. It is significant that Jehoiada begins to take action in the seventh year,
for this was a jubilee year, a year of rest, redemption and deliverance (cf. Lev
25:2-7). The Carites were mercenaries who took service with whomever paid
them; they may have been the Cherethites mentioned in 1 Kings 1:38. The “tes-
timony” (v. 12), interpreted as “royal insignia” in the Septuagint, is more likely to
have been a list of royal titles belonging to the anointed, or a copy of the ten com-
mandments (described in Exodus 25:16 as “testimonies”), or, more likely still, a
document listing the king’s duties towards the Covenant established with God in
Deuteronomy 17:14-20. Anyway, the theme of the Covenant is present in the
narrative (cf. v. 17).

11:13-16. The house of the Lord is sacred, and therefore blood may not be spilt
within it. The sacred writer records this detail, possibly drawing a contrast with
what happened in the temple of Baal in Samaria where Jehu killed the priests
(cf. 10:25).

11:17-18. Following on the religious infidelity and social changes imposed by
the recent kings of Judah, the Covenant with the Lord needed to be renewed; the
people needed to commit itself to being the people of God, as it had been done
at other key points (cf. Ex 24; Jn 24). There was also need to re-establish the
relationship between king and people in line with the traditional pact described
in 2 Samuel 5:3. Idolatry must have made big inroads in Jerusalem if there was
a temple of Baal in the city (Athaliah’s doing, no doubt).

11:19-20. Following the death of Athaliah comes this little item which seems to
be from a different tradition from that in v. 16. The sacred writer does not count
Athaliah as a monarch of Judah, as one can see from the fact that the account
ends without the usual summary of her reign.

Gospel Reading: Matthew 6:19-23

Trust in God's Fatherly Providence
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(Jesus said to His disciples,) [19] "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on
earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal,
[20] but lay up for yourselves treasures in Heaven, where neither moth nor
rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. [21] For where
your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

[22] "The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is sound, your whole
body will be full of light; [23] but if your eye is not sound, your whole body
will be full of darkness."

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

19-21. The idea here is very clear: man's heart yearns for a treasure which will
give him security and happiness. However, every treasure in the form of earthly
goods--wealth, property--becomes a constant source of worry, because there
s always the risk we will lose it or because the effort to protect it is such a strain.

Against this, Jesus teaches us here that our true treasure lies in good works and
an upright life, which will be eternally rewarded by God in Heaven. That indeed is
treasure which one never loses, a treasure on which Christ's disciple should put
his heart.

Jesus closes the teaching contained in the preceding verses with a kind of refrain
(verse 21). He is not saying that people should be unconcerned about earthly
things; what He does say is that no created thing can be "the treasure", the
ultimate aim, of man. What man should do is make his way to God, sanctify
himself and give all glory to God, by making right use of the noble things of the
earth: "Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God"
(1 Corinthians 10:31; cf. Colossians 3:17).

22-23. Here is another jewel of Jesus' wisdom teaching. It begins with a sentence
which is then immediately explained. The Master uses the simile of the eye as a
lamp which provides the body with light. Christian exegesis has seen this "eye",
this "lamp", as meaning the motivation behind our behavior. St. Thomas explains
it in this way: "The eye refers to motive. When a person wants to do something,
he first forms an intention: thus, if your intention is sound--simple and clear--that
is to say, if it is directed towards God, your whole body, that is, all your actions,
will be sound, sincerely directed towards good" (St. Thomas Aquinas, "Commen-
tary on St. Matthew", 6, 22-23). **********
**********

22-23. 여기에 예수님의 지혜 가르침 중의 또 다른 보석이 있습니다. 이것은 한 개의
문장과 함께 시작하는데, 이 문장은 그러고 나서 곧 바로 설명됩니다. 스승님께서는
눈(the eye)을 몸에 빛을 제공하는 한 개의 등불(a lamp)로 비교하는 직유(直喩, simile)를
사용하십니다. 그리스도교 성경 해석Christian exegesis)은 이러한 "눈"을, 이러한 "등불"을,
우리의 행동의 뒤에 있는 동기(motivation)를 뜻하는 것으로 이해해 왔습니다. 성 토마스
(St. Thomas)는 이것을 다음과 같은 방식으로 설명합니다: "눈은 동기에 대한 언급입니다.
어떤 자가 어떠한 일을 하기를 원할 때에, 그는 우선적으로 어떤 의도(intention)를
형성합니다: 따라서, 그대의 의도가 건전(sound)하다면, 즉, 단체(單體)적이고 분명하다면
(simple and clear), 다시 말해서, 그것이 하느님을 향하게 된다면, 그대의 몸 전부는,
즉, 그대의 행동들 모두는 건전할 것이며, 선(good)을 향하여 성실하게 향하게 될 것입니다"
[성 토마스(St. Thomas Aquinas),"Commentary on St. Matthew", 6, 22-23].
　

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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.