나바르 매일미사 독서/묵상

Saturday

11th Week of Ordinary Time

(I) 1st Reading: 2 Corinthians 12:1-10

Visions and Revelations
-----------------------------------
[1] I (Paul) must boast; there is nothing to be gained by it, but I will go on to
visions and revelations of the Lord. [2] I know a man in Christ who fourteen years
ago was caught up to the third heaven -- whether in the body or out of the body I
do not know, God knows. [3] And I know that this man was caught up into Para-
dise--whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows--[4] and
he heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter. [5] On behalf of
this man I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, except of my weak-
nesses. [6] Though if I wish to boast, I shall not be a fool, for I shall be speaking
the truth. But I refrain from it, so that no one may think more of me than he sees
in me or hears from me. [7] And to keep me from being too elated by the abun-
dance of revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan,
to harass me, to keep me from being too elated. [8] Three times I besought the
Lord about this, that it should leave me; [9] but he said to me, "My grace is suf-
ficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." I will all the more
gladly boast of my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
[10] For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hard-
ships, persecutions, and calamities; for when I am weak, then I am strong.

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

1-10. He continues his apologia by referring to visions and revelations he has re-
ceived from the Lord. From other letters and from the Acts of the Apostles we
know that there were many of these in the course of his life (cf. Acts 9:1-8; 16:9;
18:9f; 22:17-21; 27:23f; 1 Cor 15:8; Gal 1:12); but he refers to only one of them.

The Apostle couches this account in the third person--"a man in Christ"--possibly
because he feels embarrassed (vv. 1, 5) to have to reveal these graces God has
given him. Therefore, after describing these visions briefly (vv. 1-6), he speaks
about the weakness the Lord has allowed him to have, to prevent him from taking
pride in thesewonderful experiences (vv. 7-10).

"Fourteen years ago": that is, in the period 43-44, possibly during his stay in Tar-
sus (cf. Acts 9:30), Antioch (Acts 11:25ff; 13:1-3) or Jerusalem (Acts 11:30).

2-4. Although he is able to quote the precise time of the vision, he cannot explain
how it happened. It may have been an instance of supernatural contemplation in
which his physical senses played no part, which would explain why he does not
know whether he was in the body or not. St Thomas Aquinas, with St Augustine,
is of the view that St Paul was given a vision of the essence of God, as Moses
had been (cf. Ex 33:11; Deut 34:10): "The Apostle's very words indicate this. For
he says that 'he heard words that cannot be told, which man may not utter', and
such would be words pertaining to the vision of the blessed, which transcends the
state of the wayfarer" ("Summa Theologiae", II-II, q. 175, a. 3). To help us under-
stand the difficulty St Paul had in explaining himself, we might study what St
Catherine of Siena said when God revealed to her some of the mysteries of divine
providence: "O eternal Father, fire and depths of love, eternal mercy! O hope! O
refuge of sinners, eternal and infinite good! [...] What need have you of your crea-
tures? [...] What more can I say? Shall I act like a baby and say, Ah, ah, ah, for
that is all I can say: language cannot express the affection of a soul that infinitely
desires you? I seem to be saying what Paul said: 'Words cannot describe, not
ear hear, nor eyes see ...what I have seen.' What did you see then? I have seen
the mystery of God. But, what is this that I am saying? Not, to be sure, that I
have seen them with these lower senses; however, I tell you, my soul, that you
have tasted and have seen the very depths of supreme, eternal Providence"
("Dialogue", 10). **********

2-4. 비록 그가 이 환시의 정확한 시기를 인용할 수는 있으나, 그는 이 환시가 어떻게
일어났는지 설명하지 못합니다. 이 환시는, 그 안에서 그의 신체의 감각들이 아무런
역할도 하지 못하였던, 초자연적 관상(supernatural contemplation)의 한 사례(an
instance)였을 수도 있는데, 이 사례는 왜 그가 [자신의] 몸 안에 있었는지 혹은
그렇지 않았는지에 대하여 그가 알지 못함을 설명할 것입니다. 성 토마스 아퀴나스
(St. Thomas Aquinas)는, 성 아우구스티노(St. Augustine)와 함께, 모세(Moses)에게
이미 그러하였듯이 (탈출 33,11; 신명 34,10), 성 바오로(St. Paul)에게 하느님의 본질
(the essence of God)에 대한 어떤 환시가 주어졌다는 다음과 같은 견해를 가집니다:
"이 사도의 바로 이 표현이 이것을 나타냅니다. 이는 '그가, 사람이 입 밖에 내지 못할,
말해질 수 없는 말(words)들을 들었다'고 그가 말하고, 그리고 그러한 말들은, 맨발의
여행자(the wayfarer)의 지위를 초월하는, 복받은 자(the blessed)들의 환시에 속하는
말들일 것이기 때문입니다." ["신학 대전(Summa Theologiae)", II-II, q. 175, a. 3].
성 바오로가 자기 자신을 설명함에 있어 가졌던 이 어려움을 우리가 이해하는 것을
돕기 위하여, 우리는 시에나의 성녀 카타리나(St. Catherine of Siena)가, 하느님께서
그녀에게 하느님의 섭리(divine providence)의 신비들 중의 일부를 드러내셨을 때에,
다음과 같이 말하였던 바를 학습할 수도 있을 것습니다: "사랑의 불이며 깊은 곳(the
depths), 영원한 자비, 오 영원한 성부이시어! 오 희망이시어! 오 죄인들의 피난처이시어!
영원하고 무한한 선(good)이시어! [...] 당신의 피조물들로부터 당신께서는 무엇을
필요로 하시는지요? [...] 무엇을 더 제가 말할 수 있겠는지요? 제가 마치 한 명의
아기처럼 행동하고 그리고, 당신을 무한히 욕망하는(desires) 한 영혼(a soul)의 정의
(情意, affection)(*)를 언어가 표현할 수 없다는 것이 이 제가 말할 수 있는 모두이기
때문에, 아, 아, 아, 라고 말할까요? 제가 바오로(Paul)가 말하였던 바를 말하고 있는 것
같습니다: '제가 이미 보았던 바를, 말들이 묘사할 수 없고, 귀가 들을 수 없으며,
또한 눈들이 볼 수 없습니다.' 그런 다음에 그대는 무엇을 보았는지? 저는 하느님의
신비(the mystery of God)를 이미 보았습니다. 그러나, 제가 말하고 있는 바로 이것이
무엇입니까? 확실하게, 이들 저급의 감각들로 그들을 제가 이미 보았던 것은 아니나,
그렇지만, 나의 영혼인 그대에게, 그대가 지고의, 영원한 섭리(Providence)의 바로
그 깊은 곳(depths)을 이미 맛보았고 그리고 이미 보았음을 제가 그대에게 말합니다"
["대화(Dialogue)", 10].

-----
(*) 번역자 주: 다음의 주소들에 접속하면, 관상 기도(contemplative prayer)의 정의
(definition)를 올바르게 이해하는 데에 필수적인 용어인 "정의"(情意, affection)이라는
용어의 정의(definition) 등을 학습할 수 있다:
http://ch.catholic.or.kr/pundang/4/soh/1288.htm <----- 필독 권고
http://ch.catholic.or.kr/pundang/4/soh/1412.htm <----- 필독 권고
-----

"The third heaven": according to some commentators, this simply refers to the
situation in which the blessed dwell, that is, the most sublime level of divine con-
templation. Others see in it an echo of Jewish traditions which spoke of a first
heaven (the atmosphere of the earth), a second (the heaven of the stars) and a
third (the dwelling-place of God). In any event, "Paradise" (v. 4) would have the
same meaning.

"세번 째 하늘":(*) 일부 주석자들에 따르면, 이 하늘은 그 안에 복받은 자(the blessed)들이
거주하는 상태(the situation), 즉, 하느님에 대한 관상(divine contemplation)에 있어서의
가장 탁월한 수준에 대한 언급입니다. 다른 이들은, 그 안에서 한 개의 첫 번째 하늘(이
땅의 대기), 한 개의 두 번째 하늘 (별들로 이루어진 하늘) 그리고 한 개의 세 번째 하늘
(하느님의 거처)에 대하여 말하는, 유다인들의 전통들에 대한 어떤 반향(an echo)를
봅니다.(**) 여하튼, "낙원(Paradise)" (제4절)이 동일한 의미를 가질 것입니다.

-----
(*) 번역자 주: 다음에 있는 NAB 주석을 먼저 읽고 제2-4절에 대한 위의 해설을 읽으면
훨씬 더 잘 이해 될 것이다:
http://ch.catholic.or.kr/pundang/4/soh/1393.htm

(**) 번역자 주: 2코린토 12,4에 대한 Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary, 1859
edition의 주석을 또한 필히 읽도록 하라:
http://haydock1859.tripod.com/id190.html
-----

5-6. The Apostle is speaking metaphorically as if there were two people in him--
one, who receives supernatural gifts, which he glories in as coming from God; the
other, who experiences severe afflictions of different kinds, which he also boasts
about because they show forth God's power (cf. 12:9). "In man", St Thomas com-
ments, "two things may be considered--the gift of God, and the human condition.
If one glories in some divine gift, as coming from God, that is a good boast, be-
cause it is boasting in the Lord [...]. But if one glories in that gift as something
coming from oneself, then that is a bad kind of boast" ("Commentary on 2 Cor,
ad loc.").

5-5. 이 사도는 다음과 같이 마치 자신 안에 두 명의 사람들이 있는 것처럼 은유적으로
(metaphorically) 말하고 있습니다: 하느님으로부터 오는 것으로서 그가 자랑하는 초자연적
선물들을 받는 자. 그리고, 그들이 하느님의 힘을 명시하기 때문에(12,9 참조), 그가 또한
뽐내는, 서로 다른 종류들의 모진 고통들을 경험하는 다른 자. 성 토마스(St. Thomas)는
다음과 같이 주석합니다: "사람 안에 있는 다음의 두 개의 것들이 고찰될 수도 있습니다:
하느님의 선물, 그리고 인간의 상태(the human condition). 어떤 자가 다소의 하느님의
선물을, 하느님으로부터 오는 것으로서, 자랑하면, 그것은 선한 뽐냄인데, 왜냐하면 그가
주님 안에서 자랑하고 있기 때문입니다 [...]. 그러나 어떤 자가 바로 그 선물을 자기
자신으로부터 오는 어떤 것으로서 자랑한다면, 바로 그러한 자랑은 뽐냄의 나쁜 종류입니다"
[성 토마스 아퀴나스(St. Thomas Aquinas), Commentary on 2 Cor, ad loc."](*)

-----
(*) 번역자 주: 다음에 있는, 2코린토 12,3-6에 대한 성 토마스 아퀴나스의 주석(영문본)
제465번에, 여기서 발췌된 문장이 있다:
http://dhspriory.org/thomas/SS2Cor.htm#121
-----

7-10. Displaying admirable humility, St Paul now refers to the weakness God al-
lowed him to experience to ensure his supernatural gifts did not make him proud.
It is impossible to say what exactly the "thorn in his flesh" was. Some Fathers--
St Augustine, for example--and modern commentators think that it was some
particularly painful and humiliating physical ailment, possibly the same one as
he refers to in Galatians 4:13f, where he also speaks in general terms. Others,
like St John Chrysostom, are of the view that he is referring to the pain which
continual persecution caused him. Others--from St Gregory the Great onwards
--opt for an ascetical interpretation; they say he is referring to temptations to do
with conscience; but the supporters of the two other theses argue, for example,
that it is unlikely that St Paul would have mentioned anything of that kind, be-
cause it could have given his enemies ammunition for further attacks.

7-9. 칭찬할 만한 겸손(humility)을 표시하면서, 성 바오로는 하느님께서, 당신의 초자연적
선물들이 그를 자만하게 만들지 못하도록 확실하게 하시고자 그로 하여금 경험하는
것을 허락하셨던, 나약함에 대하여 이제 언급합니다. "내 몸에 가시"가 정확하게
무엇이었는지를 말하는 것은 불가능합니다. 일부 교부들은, 예를 들어, 성 아우구스티노
(St. Augustine)는, 그리고 현대 주석자들은, 그것이, 아마도, 거기에서 그가 일반적인
표현으로 그가 또한 말하고 있는, 갈라티아서 4,13 및 뒤따르는 절에서 그가 언급하고
있는 것과 동일할 수도 있는, 어떤 특히 고통스러운 그리고 굴욕적인 병(ailment)이었다고
생각합니다. 성 요한 크리소스토모(St. John Chrysostom) 같은 다른 주석자들은
계속적인 박해가 그에게 야기하였던 아픔(the pain)에 대하여 언급하고 있다는 견해를
가집니다. 성 그레고리오 대 교황 (St. Gregoy the Great) 이후 다른 주석자들은
수덕(修德)적 해석(ascetical interpretation)을 [다른 것 대신에] 선택하며, 그리고 그들은,
그가 양심(conscience)을 선용하고자(to do with),(*) 유혹(temptations)들에 대하여
언급하고 있다고 말하나, 그러나 두 개의 다른 논제(theses)들의 지지자들은, 예를 들어,
성 바오로가, 왜냐하면 그러한 언급이 그의 원수들에게 한층 더한 공격들을 위한 탄약
(ammunition)을 제공하였을 수도 있기 때문에, 바로 그러한 종류의 어떤 것을 언급하였을
것 같지는 않다고 주장합니다.

-----
(*) 번역자 주: "do with ..."를 "... 을 선용하다(make good use of)" 로 번역한 것은 다음에
있는 Merriam-Webster's Dictionary의 설명들을 따른 것이다:

출처 1: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/do
출처 2: http://www.learnersdictionary.com/search/do
-----

St Paul asked God to take this "thorn" away, but the heavenly answer he re-
ceived is very revealing: God's grace is enough to enable him to cope with this
difficulty--which serves to reveal God's power. And so it is that he boasts of and
is content with his weaknesses and the persecution he suffers: in these circum-
stances he is stronger than ever, thanks to God's supernatural help.

성 바오로는 하느님께 이 "가시(thorn)"를 제거해 주실 것을 청하였으나, 그러나 그가
받았던 하늘의 답변(the heavenly answer)은 다음과 같이 매우 뜻이 깊습니다(revealing):
하느님의 은총은 그로 하여금 바로 이러한 어려움을 대처하는 것을 허락하기에 충분하며,
그리하여 이 가시는 하느님의 힘을 드러내는 역할을 합니다. 그리하여 그 결과 그는 자신의
나약함 및 그가 고통을 겪는 박해를 자랑하고 그리고 이들에 만족하는데, 바로 이러한
여건들 안에서, 하느님의 초자연적 도움 덕택으로, 그는 여느 때보다 더 굳건합니다
(stronger).

When commenting on this passage, St Thomas explains that God sometimes
permits certain kinds of evil in order to draw out greater good: for example, in or-
der to protect people from pride--the root of all vices -- he sometimes allows his
chosen ones to be humiliated by an illness, or a defect, or even by mortal sin, in
order that "the person who is humbled in this way might recognize that he cannot
stand firm by his own efforts alone. Hence it is said in Romans 8:28, 'We know
that in everything God works for good with those who love him'--not of course that
God seeks the sin but [the sinner's] turning to him" ("Commentary on 2 Cor, ad
loc.").

바로 이 구절에 대하여 주석할 때에, 성 토마스 아퀴나스(St. Thomas)는 하느님께서는,
더 커다란 선(good)을 도출하기 위하여, 때로는 악(evil)의 특정한 종류를 허락하신다
(permits)고 설명합니다: 예를 들어, 사람들을 모든 악덕(vices)들의 뿌리인 교만
(pride)으로부터 보호하기 위하여, 당신께서는 때로는 당신의 선택된 자들이 어떤 질병
(an illness), 혹은 어떤 결함(a defect)에 의하여, 혹은 심지어 대죄(mortal sin)에 의하여
굴욕감을 느끼게 되는 것을 허락하시는데, 이것은 다음을 위하여서 입니다: "바로 이러한
방식으로 겸손하게 된 자가 자신 고유의 노력만에 의하여 확고하게 서 있을 수 없음을
알아차리도록. 따라서 로마서 8,28에서는, '하느님을 사랑하는 이들, 그분의 계획에 따라
부르심을 받은 이들에게는 모든 것이 함께 작용하여 선을 이룬다는 것을 우리는 압니다'
라고 말해지는데, 이것은 당연히 하느님께서 죄가 아니라 당신을 향한 [죄인들의] 돌아섬을
추구하시기 때문입니다" [성 토마스 아퀴나스(St. Thomas Aquinas), "Commentary on
2 Cor, ad loc."]

7. "A messenger of Satan", an angel of Satan: this is how he describes the hu-
miliating "thorn". This suggests that the disability could have been seen as an
obstacle to his work of evangelization--which the devil, logically, would have
been keen to frustrate (cf. 2:11; 11:14f).

7. "사탄의 하수인(a messenger of Satan)", 사탄의 천사(an angel of Satan)를 말하며,
그리고 바로 이것이 그가 굴욕적인 "가시(thorn)"를 묘사하는 방법입니다. 이 표현은
이 장애가, 악마(the devil)가, 논리적으로, 좌절시키고자 열중해 왔을, 복음화라는 그의
일에 어떤 장애물로서 이해되어 왔을 수 있음을 암시합니다(2,11; 11,14 및 뒤따르는
절을 참조하라).

8-10. Christians can learn a great deal about the ascetical struggle from these
words. They remind us, on the one hand, of the need to ask the Lord to help us
when we experience difficulties, and at the same time to be full of trust and to
abandon ourselves to God, who knows what is best for us. "The Lord is good",
St Jerome teaches, "because he often does not give us what we desire, in order
to give us something we would prefer" ("Epist. ad Paulinum").

8-10. 그리스도인들은 바로 이러한 표현들로부터 수덕(修德)적 노력(the ascetical
struggles)에 관하여 상당히 많은 것을 배울 수 있습니다. 다른 한편으로, 이 표현들은,
우리가 어려움들을 경험할 때에, 우리를 도와주실 것을 주님께 청하여야 하는 필요성에
대하여, 그리고 동시에 신뢰(trust)로 가득 차서 그리하여 우리들 자신들로 하여금,
우리들을 위하여 무엇이 최선(the best)인지를 아시는 분이신, 하느님에 의하여 충만하게
영향을 받는 것을 허락하여야 하는 필요성에 대하여 우리를 상기시킵니다. 성 예로니모
(St. Jerome)는 다음과 같이 가르칩니다: "주님께서는 선한(good) 분이신데, 왜냐하면
우리가 선호하는 그 무엇을 우리에게 제공하시고자, 당신께서는 우리가 욕망하는
(desire) 바를 우리에게 자주 제공하지 않으시기 때문입니다" [성 예로니모(St. Jerome),
"Epist. ad Paulinum"].

The passage also shows us what attitude we should take to our own weakness:
"We have to glory", St Alphonsus says, "in the knowledge of our own weakness
in order to acquire the strength of Jesus Christ, which is holy humility", without
"giving in to lack of confidence, as the devil wants, and falling into more serious
sins" ("Treasury of Preaching Material", II, 6).

이 구절은 우리 고유의 나약함에 대하여 우리가 어떠한 태도를 반드시 취하여야만
하는지를 다음과 같이 우리에게 또한 보여줍니다: 성 알퐁소(St. Alphonsus)는
다음과 같이 말합니다: "악마가 원하듯이, 확신의 결여에 굴복함 그리하여 더 심각한
죄들로 떨어짐" 없이, "우리는, 거룩한 겸손인 예수 그리스도라는 굳셈을 획득하기
위하여, 우리 고유의 나약함에 대한 지식을 자랑하여야 합니다" [성 알퐁소(St.
Alphonsus), "Treasury of Preaching Material", II, 6].

At the same time this passage teaches us that awareness of our personal short-
comings should lead us to put all our trust in God: "We have to cry out cease-
lessly with a strong and humble faith, 'Lord, put not your trust in me. But I, I put
my trust in you. ' Then, as we sense in our hearts the love, the compassion, the
tenderness of Christ's gaze upon us (for he never abandons us) we shall come
to understand the full meaning of those words of St Paul, "virtus in infirmitate
perficitur" (2 Cor 12:9). If we have faith in our Lord, in spite of our failings -- or
rather, with our failings--we shall be faithful to our Father, God; his divine power
will shine forth in us, sustaining us in our weakness" (St. J. Escriva, "Friends
of God", 194).

동시에 바로 이 구절은 우리의 인격적(personal) 부족함에 대한 알아차림이 우리가
우리의 신뢰 모두를 하느님께 두도록 반드시 인도하여야 함을 우리에게 가르칩니다:
"우리는 어떤 강한 그리고 겸손한 신덕(faith, 믿음)과 함께 끊임없이 '주님, 당신의
신뢰를 저에게 두지 마십시오. 그러나 저는, 저는 당신께 저의 신뢰를 두겠습니다'
라고 크게 외쳐야 합니다. 그러고 나서, (우리를 결코 포기하지 않으시기에) 우리에
대한 그리스도의 응시(Christ's gaze)로 이루어진 사랑(love), 연민(compassion), 친절
(tenderness)을 우리의 심장(hearts, 본심)들로 우리가 감지하듯이, 우리는 성 바오로의
"나약함 안에서 덕을 수행한다(virtue in infirmitate perficitur")" (2코린토 12,9)
라는 표현의 충만한(full) 의미를 반드시 이해하게 되어야만 합니다. 우리가 우리의
실패들에도 불구하고, 혹은 더 정확하게 말하면(rather), 우리의 실패들과 함께, 우리의
주님에 대한 믿음(faith)을 가진다면, 우리는 하느님이신 우리의 성부(the Father)께
충실하도록(faithful) 되어 있으며(shall), 그리하여 당신의, 하느님의(divine), 힘은,
우리의 나약함으로 우리를 가라앉지 않게 하면서(sustaining), 우리들 안에서 밖으로
(forth) 빛을 낼 것입니다" [성 호세 마리아 에스크리바(St. J. Escriva),
"Friends of God", 194].
　

(II) 1st Reading: 2 Chronicles 24:17-25

Joash’s infidelity
------------------------
[17] Now after the death of Jehoiada the princes of Judah came and did obei-
sance to the king; then the king hearkened to them. [18] And they forsook the
house of the Lord, the God of their fathers, and served the Asherim and the idols.
And wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem for this their guilt. [19] Yet he sent
prophets among them to bring them back to the Lord; these testified against
them, but they would not give heed.

[20] Then the Spirit of God took possession of Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the
priest; and he stood above the people, and said to the, “Thus says God, ‘Why
do you transgress the commandments of the Lord, so that you cannot prosper?
Because you have forsaken the Lord, he has forsaken you.’” [21] But they con-
spired against him, and by command of the king they stoned him with stones in
the court of the house of the Lord. [22] Thus Joash the king did not remember
the kindness which Jehoiada, Zechariah’s father, had sown him, but killed his
son. And when he was dying, the said, “May the Lord see and avenge!”

[23] At the end of the year the army of the Syrians came up against Joash. They
came to Judah and Jerusalem, and destroyed all the princes of the people from
among the people, and sent all their spoil to the king of Damascus. [24] Though
the army of the Syrians had come with few men, the Lord delivered into their
hand a very great army, because they had forsaken the Lord, the God of their
fathers. Thus they executed judgment on Joash.

[25] When they had departed from him, leaving him severely wounded, his ser-
vants conspired against him because of the blood of the son of Jehoiada the
priest, and slew him on his bed. So he died; and they buried him in the city of
David, but they did not bury him in the tombs of the kings.

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

24:1-27. The account of the reign of Joash is written with a clearly pedagogical
purpose; we divide it into two stages, to help show the religious message it
contains.

The first stage (vv. 1-16) is all about the collection of monies to pay for the resto-
ration of the temple (it follows the parallel passage of 2 Kings 12:1-17). During
these years the real protagonist is Jehoiada the priest, who implemented the
king’s initiatives to do with rebuilding the temple and returning it to its original
splendour (v. 13). When Jehoiada died, he was buried in the city of David, that
is to say, he was accorded royal honours.

The second stage was marked by disloyalty to the Lord and by idolatry. The
military defeats and conspiracies were forms of punishment for the king’s trans-
gresssions (vv. 17-26). Joash’s worst crime was the shameful execution of the
son of Jehoiada, the prophet Zechariah (not the same person as the last of the
minor prophets), who had dared to denounce the king’s crimes. For this sin
the king himself will lose his life at the hands of conspirators (v. 25). Once
again we can see that God does not leave crimes unavenged.

This Zechariah is probably the prophet Jesus referred to as a prime example of
an innocent victim sacrificed by his own people: “that upon you may come all the
righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of the innocent Abel to the blood of
Zechariah the son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and
the altar” (Mt 23:35). The fact that Jesus calls him “son of Barachiah” instead of
“son of Jehoiada” could be because different genealogies were being used, or else
there may have been some error in the transmission of the text. Anyway, given
that the book of Chronicles is the last book in the Hebrew Bible, Jesus is saying
that all innocent victims, from the first (Abel) to the last (Zechariah), are figures of
the Christian martyrs and share in the redemption Christ effected by his death on
the cross: “Moreover, my brothers, you must not think that all those good men
who suffered persecution at the hands of the wicked – including those who were
sent to announce the coming of the Lord – were not members of Christ’s body.
Any man who belongs to the city of which Christ is the king must be a servant of
Christ. That city runs from the blood of the innocent Abel to the blood of Zecha-
riah. And on from there, from the blood of John [the Baptist], through that of the
apostles and martyrs and all those who were faithful to Christ: these people to-
gether make up the city of which we speak” (St Augustine, Enarrationes in
Psalmos, 61, 3).

Gospel Reading: Matthew 6:24-34

Trust in God's Fatherly Providence (Continuation)
-------------------------------------------------
(Jesus said to His disciples,) [24] "No one can serve two masters; for
either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted
to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.

[25] "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you
shall eat or what you shall drink, nor about your body, what you shall
put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?
[26] Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather
into barns, and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of
more value than they? [27] And which of you by being anxious can add
one cubit to his span of life? [28] And why are you anxious about
clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they
neither toil nor spin; [29] yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his
glory was not arrayed like one of these. [30] But if God so clothes the
grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into
the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O men of little faith?
[31] Therefore do not be anxious, saying, `What shall we eat?' or `What
shall we drink?' or `What shall we wear?' [32] For the Gentiles seek
all these things; and your Heavenly Father knows that you need them
all. [33] But seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness, and all
these things shall be yours as well.

[34] "Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be
anxious for itself. Let the day's own trouble be sufficient for the
day."

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

24. Man's ultimate goal is God; to attain this goal he should commit
himself entirely. But in fact some people do not have God as their
ultimate goal, and instead choose wealth of some kind--in which case
wealth becomes their god. Man cannot have two absolute and contrary
goals.

25-32. In this beautiful passage Jesus shows us the value of the
ordinary things of life, and teaches us to put our trust in God's
fatherly providence. Using simple examples and comparisons taken from
everyday life, He teaches us to abandon ourselves into the arms of
God.

27. The word "span" could be translated as "stature", but "span" is
closer to the original (cf. Luke 12:25). A "cubit" is a measure of
length which can metaphorically refer to time.

33. Here again the righteousness of the Kingdom means the life of grace
in man--which involves a whole series of spiritual and moral values and
can be summed up in the notion of "holiness". The search for holiness
should be our primary purpose in life. Jesus is again insisting on the
primacy of spiritual demands. Commenting on this passage, Pope Paul VI
says: "Why poverty? It is to give God, the Kingdom of God, the first
place in the scale of values which are the object of human
aspirations. Jesus says: `Seek first His Kingdom and His
righteousness'. And He says this with regard to all the other temporal
goods, even necessary and legitimate ones, with which human desires are
usually concerned. Christ's poverty makes possible that detachment
from earthly things which allows us to place the relationship with God
at the peak of human aspirations" ("General Audience", 5 January
1977).

34. Our Lord exhorts us to go about our daily tasks serenely and not to
worry uselessly about what happened yesterday or what may happen
tomorrow. This is wisdom based on God's fatherly providence and on our
own everyday experience: "He who observes the wind will not sow; and he
who regards the clouds will not reap" (Eccles 11:4).

What is important, what is within our reach, is to live in God's
presence and make good use of the present moment: "Do your duty `now',
without looking back on `yesterday', which has already passed, or
worrying over `tomorrow', which may never come for you" ([St] J. Escriva,
"The Way", 253).
　

*********************************************************************************************
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.