Tuesday
11th Week of Ordinary Time
(I) 1st Reading: 2 Corinthians 8:1-9
The Macedonians' Good Example
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[1] We want you to know, brethren, about the grace of God which has been shown
in the churches of Macedonia, [2] for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance
of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of liberality on their
part. [3] For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their
means, of their own free will, [4] begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in
the relief of the saints--[5] and this, not as we expected, but first they gave them-
selves to the Lord and to us by the will of God. [6] Accordingly we have urged Ti-
tus that as he had already made a beginning, he should also complete among
you this gracious work.
Appeal for Generosity
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[7] Now as you excel in everything--in faith, in utterance, in knowledge, in all earn-
estness, and in your love for us see that you excel in this gracious work also.
[8] I say this not as a command, but to prove by the earnestness of others that
your love also is genuine. [9] For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that by his poverty
you might become rich.
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Commentary:
8:1-9:15. Now, taking for granted that the Corinthians trust him once more, the
Apostle begins the second part of his letter (chaps. 8-9), which has to do with the
collection for the faithful in Jerusalem, a collection which he organized not only in
Corinth but also in the other churches he had founded (cf. Rom 15:26; 1 Cor 16:1).
This was indeed one of the points about which the apostolic council at Jerusalem
(cf. Gal 2:10; Acts 15) reminded the churches to remember the poor, something
St Paul always tried to do, as we can see clearly from these pages.
In addition to alleviating the material needs of the "saints"--that is, the Christians
(cf. 1:1)--of the mother church, the Apostle sees this collection as a way of sho-
wing the fraternal unity Gentile converts have with that church (cf. 9:12-14).
He had already taken this matter up in 1 Corinthians 16:1-4; in fact, even before
that, a year earlier, the Corinthians had indicated that they wanted to help Jeru-
salem and had begun to collect funds (cf. 8:10; 9:2). He must be bringing it up
again--and at length--because the fervor of the Corinthians' first charity must have
cooled somewhat due to the crisis in the Corinthian church.
It is interesting to note how delicately the Apostle broaches this subject: in the
original text there is no mention of "money" or "alms". Instead, he uses more a
spiritual vocabulary--"grace", "willing gift", "love", "relief of the saints".
St Paul begins by citing the generosity of the Macedonians (8:1-6), and he then
goes on to appeal to the Corinthians (8:7-15). After recommending those whom
he is sending to organize the collection (8:16-24), he asks that it be done without
delay (9:1-5) and reminds them of the blessings that almsgiving brings (9:6-15).
1-15. St Paul wants to get the Corinthians to be generous. First, he points to the
example given by the Macedonians (vv. 1-6). Macedonia was one of the two pro-
vinces into which the Romans had divided Greece; Achaia, the other, had Corinth
as its capital (cf. note on 1:1-2). In Macedonia, from where the Apostle is writing,
there were Christian communities at Philippi, Thessalonica, and Beroea, which
he had founded during his second missionary journey (cf. Acts 16:17:15). He
plays on the natural rivalry between the two provinces, raising it onto a superna-
tural plane. He also mentions our Lord (v. 9), who, in his Incarnation and through-
out his life, gave us a wonderful example of
generosity and detachment.
The Apostle also appeals directly to the Corinthians, reminding them of their ear-
lier readiness to contribute and encouraging them to complete what they started
to do so eagerly.
1-6. The Macedonians, he points out, have been remarkably generous; despite
their poverty they have regarded it as a grace to be able to help their brothers in
the faith (v. 4); and not only did they help materially--and beyond their means (vv.
3, 5)--but they also contributed personnel (v. 5).
These Christians in Macedonia provide us with a fine example of magnanimity:
they could easily have felt excused from coming to the aid of their brothers, in
view of their own poverty; instead they were more than generous in almsgiving.
"Magnanimity", St. Escriva teaches, "means greatness of spirit, a largeness of
heart wherein many can find refuge. Magnanimity gives us the energy to break
out of ourselves and be prepared to undertake generous tasks which will be of
benefit to all. Small-mindedness has no home in the magnanimous heart, nor
has meanness, nor egoistic calculation, nor self-interested trickery. The magna-
nimous person devotes all his strength, unstintingly, to what is worthwhile. As
a result he is capable of giving himself. He is not content with merely giving. He
gives his very self. He thus comes to understand that the greatest expression
of magnanimity consists in giving oneself to God" ("Friends of God", 80).
1. "The grace of God which has been shown in the churches of Macedonia": it
is not possible to translate this phrase literally. St Paul seems to be saying two
things: on the one hand, he is referring to the collection, which he calls "grace",
made by the churches of Macedonia; but this generous work of charity is, at the
same time, a grace of God to the Macedonians. The Greek preposition translated
as "in" has this dual meaning.
The term "grace" appears quite often in chapters 8 and 9, with different nuances:
sometimes it refers to God's benevolence and love towards men (cf. 8:9); some-
times to the blessings the Christians enjoy (cf. 9:8, 14); and also to the works of
charity which this divine grace helps them to carry out (cf. 8:1, 4, 6, 7, 19: on
some occasions RSV has "favor").
2. St Paul stresses the paradox of the Christian life--joy in tribulation, wealth in
poverty (cf. 7:4). This point would possibly have been useful for the Corinthians,
among whom the pride of some had given rise to considerable dissension (cf. 1
Cor 1:10-4:21; 6:1-11; 8:8-13). The afflictions to which he refers may have gone
back to the very earliest days of these communities (cf. Acts 16:20ff; 17:5ff). He
also refers to them in 1 Thess 1:6; 2:14ff.
5. The wonderful generosity of those early Christians of Macedonia--of Philippi,
Thessalonica and Beroea--is borne out by the fact that they gave not only material
aid but their very selves, for, comments St Thomas Aquinas, "that is the order that
should obtain in giving--that ne first be acceptable to God, for if one is not pleasing
to God, neither will one's gifts be acceptable" ("Commentary on 2 Cor, ad loc.").
In referring to the generous dedication of these Christians, St Paul may have in
mind of some his most loyal co-workers, who came from these communities--for
example, Lydia and Epaphroditus, from Philippi (cf. Acts 16:11ff; Phil 2:25ff); So-
pater, from Beroea; Aristarchus and Secundus, from Thessalonica (cf. Acts 20:
3-5).
7-15. The Apostle now appeals directly to the generosity of the Corinthians and
reminds them of our Lord's example (v. 9). They are already noted for other cha-
risms--"in faith, in utterance, in knowledge" (cf. 1 Cor 1:5; 12:8f); now they should
be seen to be outstanding in charity. He tells them this is not a command but
rather advice (vv. 8, 10) and then encourages them to complete the collection they
have begun; it is not designed to impoverish them but to have them help those in
need.
7. "In your love for us": the New Vulgate, which relies on the best Greek manu-
scripts, translates this as "in the love that we have given you". St Paul is refer-
ring to Christian charity towards others, in which he formed them during the
years when he preached to them. The variant, found in RSV and other versions,
is not in our opinion as suitable to the context.
8. "By the earnestness of others": this must be a reference to the generosity of
the Macedonians, whose example he has just proposed to them.
9. Jesus Christ is the example of detachment and generosity. Our Lord, because
he is God, was in need of nothing; but by becoming man he voluntarily despoiled
himself of the splendor of his divinity (cf. Phil 2:6f) and lived on earth as a poor
man--from his birth in poverty in Bethlehem to his death on the cross; sometimes
he did not even have the bare necessities of life (cf. Lk 9:58).
"If you do not believe that poverty is enriching," St John Chrysostom comments,
"picture your Lord and you will doubt me no longer. For had he not become poor,
you could not have become rich. By a miracle which men cannot understand, po-
verty has produced these riches--the knowledge of God and godliness, liberation
from sin, justification, sanctification, the countless good things which he has be-
stowed on us and will bestow on us in the future. All those things have accrued
to us through his poverty -- through his taking our flesh and becoming man and
suffering what he suffered. And yet, unlike us, he did not deserve punishment
and suffering" ("Hom. on 2 Cor.", 17)
(II) 1st Reading: 1 Kings 21:17-29
Naboth's Vineyard, a further intervention by Elijah (Continuation)
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[17] Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, [18] "Arise, go
down to meet Ahab king of Israel, who is in Samaria; behold, he is in the vineyard
of Naboth, where he has gone to take possession. [19] And you shall say to him,
'Thus says the Lord, "Have you killed, and also taken possession?"' And you shall
say to him, 'Thus says the Lord: "In the place where dogs licked up the blood of
Naboth shall dogs lick your own blood."'"
[20] Ahab said to Elijah, "Have you found me, O my enemy?" He answered, "I
have found you, because you have sold yourself to do what is evil in the sight of
the Lord. [21] Behold, I will bring evil upon you; I will utterly sweep you away, and
will cut off from Ahab every male, bond or free, in Israel; [22] and I will make your
house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha
the son of Ahijah, for the anger to which you have provoked me, and because you
have made Israel to sin. [23] And of Jezebel the Lord also said, 'The dogs shall
eat Jezebel within the bounds of Jezreel.' [24] Any on belonging to Ahab who dies
in the city the dogs shall eat; and any one of his who dies in the open country the
birds of the air shall eat."
[25] (There was none who sold himself to do what was evil in the sight of the Lord
like Ahab, whom Jezebel his wife incited. [26] He did very abominably in going af-
ter idols, as the Amorites had done, whom the Lord cast out before the people of
Israel.)
[27] And when Ahab heard those words, he rent his clothes, and put sackcloth
upon his flesh, and fasted and lay in sackcloth, and went about dejectedly. [28]
And the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, [29] "Have you seen
how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has humbled himself be-
fore me, I will not bring the evil in his days; but in his son's days I will bring the
evil upon his house."
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Commentary:
21:17-24. Having defended belief in the true God against idolaters, Elijah now de-
fends human rights in the name of God himself. He acts very much in the same
same style as Nathan did towards David when the latter had someone murdered
to disguise his affair with Bathsheba (cf. 2 Sam 12). Because Ahab allowed injus-
tice to be done, he is judged to have been as guilty as Jezebel. The first punish-
ment that the prophet announces is in line with the law of vengeance (v. 19; Ex
21:23-25), and we see it applied in 22:38. But then he changes his focus and an-
nounces that Ahab's whole dynasty is going to pay for his transgression (vv. 21-
22). Jezebel, being a foreigner and evil in the extreme, dies a horrible death (in
2 Kings 9:30-37).
21:25-28. Despite his reprehensible conduct (summed up here in an aside; vv.
25-26), Ahab gives evidence of his repentance and is rewarded for it: his son will
be allowed to succeed him (v. 28).
The figure of Ahab, a sad and humbled king, contrasts with that of Naboth, only
a vassal, yet a happy man. That is how St Ambrose of Milan sees them in his
book commenting on the passage – on Naboth. The same saint says elsewhere,
"Naboth was happy, even when he was [being] stoned by the rich man, for al-
though he was poor and weak in comparison to the powerful king, he was made
rich in loyal feeling and piety by not accepting the king's money in exchange for
the vineyard that belonged to his family; and because he defended the rights of
his people at the cost of his own life, his actions were irreproachable. Ahab, on
the other hand, was a sinner – even in his own estimation – because he had sen-
tenced a poor man to death in order to take control of the vineyard" (De officiis, 2,
5, 17). In Naboth, too, we can see a figure of Christ, who was crucified after false
witness was laid against him, yet he was the Son of God, the Lord of the vine-
yard, that is, Israel (cf. Mt 21:23).
Gospel Reading: Matthew 5:43-48
Jesus and His Teaching, the Fulfillment of the Law (Continuation)
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(Jesus said to His disciples,) [43] "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall
love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' [44] But I say to you, Love your ene-
mies and pray for those who persecute you. [45] So that you may be sons of
your Father who is in Heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the
good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. [46] For if you love those
who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the
same? [47] And if you salute only your brethren, what more are you doing than
others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? [48] You, therefore, must be
perfect, as your Heavenly Father is perfect."
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Commentary:
43. The first part of this verse--"You shall love your neighbor"--is to be found in
Leviticus 19:18. The second part--"hate your enemy"--is not to be found in the
Law of Moses. However, Jesus' words refer to a widespread rabbinical interpre-
tation which understood "neighbors" as meaning "Israelites". Our Lord corrects
this misinterpretation of the Law: for Him everyone is our neighbor (cf. the parable
of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:25-37).
43-47. This passage sums up the teaching which precedes it. Our Lord goes so
far as to say that a Christian has no personal enemies. His only enemy is evil
as such--sin--but not the sinner. Jesus Himself puts this into practice with those
who crucified Him, and He continues to act in the same way towards sinners
who rebel against Him and despise Him. Consequently, the saints have always
followed His example--like St. Stephen, the first martyr, who prayed for those
who were putting him to death. This is the apex of Christian perfection--to love,
and pray for, even those who persecute us and calumniate us. It is the distin-
guishing mark of the children of God.
46. "Tax collectors": the Roman empire had no officials of its own for the
collection of taxes: in each country it used local people for this purpose. These
were free to engage agents (hence we find reference to "chief tax collectors": cf.
Luke 19:2). The global amount of tax for each region was specified by the Roman
authorities; the tax collectors levied more than this amount, keeping the surplus
for themselves: this led them to act rather arbitrarily, which was why the people
hated them. In the case of the Jews, insult was added to injury by the fact that
the chosen people were being exploited by Gentiles.
48. Verse 48 is, in a sense, a summary of the teaching in this entire chapter,
including the Beatitudes. Strictly speaking, it is quite impossible for a created
being to be as perfect as God. What our Lord means here is that God's own
perfection should be the model which every faithful Christian tries to follow,
even though he realizes that there is an infinite distance between himself and
his Creator. However, this does not reduce the force of this commandment; it
sheds more light on it. It is a difficult commandment to live up to, but along with
this we must take account of the enormous help grace gives us to go so far as
to tend towards divine perfection. Certainly, perfection which we should imitate
does not refer to the power and wisdom of God, which are totally beyond our
scope; here the context seems to refer primarily to love and mercy. Along the
same lines, St. Luke quotes these words of our Lord: "Be merciful, even as your
Father is merciful" (Luke 6:36; cf. note on Luke 6:20-49).
Clearly, the "universal call to holiness" is not a recommendation but a command-
ment of Jesus Christ.
"Your duty is to sanctify yourself. Yes, even you. Who thinks that this task is
only for priests and religious? To everyone, without exception, our Lord said: 'Be
ye perfect, as My Heavenly Father is perfect'" ([Blessed] J. Escriva, "The Way",
291). This teaching is sanctioned by chapter 5 of Vatican II's Constitution "Lumen
Gentium", where it says (40): "The Lord Jesus, divine teacher and model of all
perfection, preached holiness of life (of which He is the author and maker) to each
and every one of His disciples without distinction:'You, therefore, must be perfect,
as your Heavenly Father is perfect' [...]. It is therefore quite clear that all
Christians in any state or walk of life are called to the fullness of Christian life and
to the perfection of love, and by this holiness a more human manner of life is fos-
tered also in earthly society."
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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].