Tuesday

13th Week of Ordinary Time

(I) 1st Reading: Genesis 19:15-29

The Flight of Lot and His Family
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[15] When morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, "Arise, take your wife
and your two daughters who are here, lest you be consumed in the punishment 
of the city." [16] But he lingered; so the men seized him and his wife and his two
daughters by the hand, the Lord being merciful to him, and they brought him forth
and set him outside the city. [17] And when they had brought them forth, they
said, "Flee for your life; do not look back or stop anywhere in the valley; flee to
the hills, lest you be consumed." [18] And Lot said to them, "Oh, no, my lords;
[19] behold, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have shown me
great kindness in saving my life; but I cannot flee to the hills, lest the disaster
overtake me, and I die. [20] Behold, yonder city is near enough to flee to, and it
is a little one. Let me escape there--is it not a little one?--and my life will be
saved!" [21] He said to him, "Behold, I grant you this favor also, that I will not
overthrow the city of which you have spoken. [22] Make haste, escape there; for
I can do nothing till you arrive there." Therefore the name of the city was called
Zoar.

The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah
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[23] The sun had risen on the earth when Lot came to Zoar. 

[24] Then the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the 
Lord out of heaven; [25] and he overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all
the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. [26] But Lot's wife be-
hind him looked back, and she became a pillar of salt. [27] And Abraham went
early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the Lord; [28] and
he looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and toward all the land of the val-
ley, and beheld, and lo, the smoke of the land went up like the smoke of a fur-
nace.

[29] So it was that, when God destroyed the cities of the valley, God remem-
bered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when he over-
threw the cities in which Lot dwelt. 

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Commentary:

19:24 The ruins of Sodom and Gomorrah probably lie under the waters of the
Dead Sea, to the south. The biblical account interprets the disappearance of
these cities as being the result of some terrible cataclysm, which God sent as
a punishinent for the sins of their inhabitants.

Throughout the Bible one meets many references to the dramatic destruction of
these two cities and the land round about (now desolate) as an instance of the
rigor of divine punishment (cf. Deut 29:22; Is 13-19; Jer 49:18; etc.) from which
Israel is preserved in spite of its sins, thanks to the faithfulness of a small remnant
(cf. Is 1:9) and from which righteous men are also preserved (cf. Wis 10:6-7). Our
Lord Jesus Christ compares the punishment inflicted on Sodom and Gomorrah to
that which will come on the day of Judgment and which will be even greater (cf.
Mt 10:15; 11:23-24), and he invites us to bear that cataclysm in mind, so as al-
ways to be on the watch (cf. Lk 17:28-30).

As happened at the time of the flood from which Noah was saved (cf. Gen 6:8-12),
God "by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes condemned them to
extinction and made of them an example to those who were to be ungodly; and if
he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the licentiousness of the wicked
(for by what that righteous man saw and heard as he lived among them, he was
vexed in his righteous soul day after day with their lawless deeds), then the Lord
knows how to rescue the godly from trial, and to keep the unrighteous under pu-
nishment until the day of judgment, and especially those who indulge in the lust
of defiling passion and despise authority" (2 Pet 2:6-10).

19:26. The story of Lot's wife is a warning not to turn back once one has set out
on one's way. Our Lord reminds us about it, applying it to the fact that we cannot
foresee the day of Judgment (cf. Lk 17:32). Christian tradition has applied it to
the need to persevere in one's good resolutions, Here is what one ancient writer
says: "Lot's wife, who was turned into a pillar of salt, is an example to the simple,
that they should not look back with sick curiosity when they are advancing to a
holy resolution" (Quodvultdeus, "De Promissionibus", 1). And, applying the same
mage to the Christian vocation, St. Josemarfa Escrivá exhorts: "You have seen
very clearly that you are a child of God. Even if you were never again to see it--it
won't happen!--you should continue along your way forever, out of a sense of faith-
fulness, without ever looking back" ("The Forge", 420). 


(II) 1st Reading: Amos 3:1-8, 4:11-12

Election and punishment of Israel
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[1] Hear this word that the Lord has spoken against you, O people of Israel,
against the whole family which I brought up out of the land of Egypt:
[2] ”You only have I known
of all the families of the earth;
therefore I will punish you
for all your iniquities.

The prophet, a messenger of the Lord
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[3] Do two walk together,
unless they have made an appointment?
[4] Does a lion roar in the forest,
when he has no prey?
Does a young lion cry out from his den,
if he has taken nothing?
[5] Does a bird fall in a snare on the earth,
when there is no trap for it?
Does a snare spring up from the ground.
when it has taken nothing?
[6] Is a trumpet blown in a city,
and the people are not afraid?
Does evil befall a city,
unless the Lord has done it’?
[7] Surely the Lord God does nothing,
without revealing his secret
to his servants the prophets.
[8] The lion has roared;
who will not fear?
The Lord God has spoken;
who can but prophesy?”

The Lord’s warnings have gone unheeded 
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[11] I overthrew some of you,
as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah,
and you were as a brand plucked out of the burning:
yet you did not return to me,” says the Lord.

[12] Therefore thus I will do to you, O Israel;
because I will do this to you,
prepare to meet your God, O Israel!”

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Commentary:

3:1-6:14. The second (and longest) part of the book contains denunciations of
Israel and predictions about how her sins will be punished. It consists of three
oracles, each beginning with “Hear this word . . .“ (3:1; 4:1; 5:1), and three others
containing the words “O you . . . “ or “Woe to you” (5:7, 18; 6:1). In terms of con-
tent, all these oracles are a development of the oracle against Israel that closed
the previous section (2:6-16).

This part begins with a new interpretation of the meaning of God’s choice of Israel.
The oracles are about that election. The Israelites think that their pilgrimages to
the popular shrines of Bethel and Gilgal (where they make voluntary offerings and
give tithes, 4:4-5, and assemble for festivals, 5:21-25) mean that they have ful-
filled their religious duties and are in a good standing before God. They are living
in prosperous times: what better proof that God is pleased with them. Material
prosperity was more marked in Israel than in Judah, but, still, life was reasonably
good under Uzziah. However, this material well-being went hand in hand with
social injustice -- oppression of the poor and needy, and a contradiction between
formal religious acts and personal morality.

This is the context in which Amos preaches and utters his prophetic denounce-
ments: quite a lot of people are getting richer, but the ranks of the poor are being
swelled all the time; the rich and powerful are exploiting the poor, and are refusing
them justice; attendance at religious ceremonies in Bethel and Gilgal (schismatic
sanctuaries, for the temple of Jerusalem was the only proper place of worship) did
not affect people’s hearts; it did not provoke them to resolve to amend their lives;
they were deceiving themselves, trusting in God without having grounds for doing
so, and believed (wrongly) that they were absolved from their sins.

3:1-8. God’s choice of Israel is very vividly described here. Amos does not use the
term “covenant” or “steadfast love” to describe God’s attitude towards Israel (those
are terms often found in other prophetical texts); but he does make it clear that the
Lord’s commitment to his people is a single-minded one: “You only have I known
of all the families of the earth” (v. 2). This election means that Israel has special
duties towards God -- and that God takes special care of Israel (cf. v. 3). And so
St Jerome comments on the verse as follows: “You only I have known of all the
people of the earth; therefore I will visit your iniquities upon you (cf. Amos 3:2):
‘For the Lord disciplines him whom he loves, and chastises every son whom he
receives’ (Heb 12:6). God says that I will visit, not ‘I will punish’, for the coming of
the Lord is both punishment and cure; and, he says, I will visit all of their iniquities:
all shall be chastised and none shall remain uncured” (Commentarii in Amos, 3,
1-2).

A little further on, this teaching is rounded off with a sapiential consideration (vv.
3-8). The Lord addresses Israel by means of his prophets. All events have a
cause that one cannot perceive, but they do point to their cause: when two peo-
ple go walking together it is a sign that they have previously arranged to do so
(v. 3); the roar of the lion shows that he has caught his prey or is about to do so
(v. 4), etc. So, the conclusion to be drawn is clear (cf. v. 8): if Amos is prophe-
sying, he is doing so because the Lord has spoken and man must take heed.
In a way, this verse is a kind of parallel to what Amos says to the priest of Bethel
(cf. 7:14-15): it is the Lord who has sent him to prophesy; God is the one who
has taken the initiative: “The literal meaning of these words is as follows: If all
the animals of the earth are terrified and tremble at the sound of the lion’s roar,
how can we not prophesy when the Lord bids us speak and tell the people of the
torments that await them?” (St Jerome, Commentarii in Amos, 3, 3-8).

4:6-12. This oracle has a regular rhythm to it -- each of the Lord’s actions ends
with the sort of refrain you find in a poem: “... yet you did not return to me, says
the Lord” (vv. 6, 8, 9, 10, 11). The actions taken by the Lord (withdrawing food,
drought, blight, destruction of cities) are reminiscent of the plagues of Egypt; but,
most of all, they demonstrate the Lord’s sovereignty over nature. This is the same
message as is contained in the doxologies: God, the Lord of Israel, is the only
one who has power over all creation: no Baal, no Canaanite god, has any such
power. The point is also made that the punishment sent by God is aimed at
bringing about the people’s conversion. When they saw all these awful things
happen, the Israelites should have had a change of heart. But they did not:
Israel’s sin is that of pride and self-sufficiency; therefore, it is time to get ready
for judgment and punishment (v. 12; cf. 3:1).


Gospel Reading: Matthew 8:23-27

The Calming of the Storm
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[23] And when He (Jesus) got into the boat, His disciples followed Him. [24]
And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being
swamped by the waves; but He was asleep. [25] And they went and woke Him,
saying, "Save us, Lord; we are perishing." [26] And He said to them, "Why are
you afraid, O men of little faith?" Then He rose and rebuked the winds and the
sea; and there was a great calm. [27] And the men marvelled, saying, "What
sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey Him?"

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Commentary:

23-27. This remarkable miracle left a deep impression on Jesus' disciples, as
can be seen from the fact that the first three evangelists all report it. Christian
Tradition has applied this miracle in various ways to the life of the Church and
the experience of the individual soul. From earliest times Christian art and lite-
rature have seen the boat as representing the Church, which also has to make
its way around hazards which threaten to capsize it. Indeed, very early on,
Christians were persecuted in various ways by Jews of their time, and were
misunderstood by the public opinion of a pagan society--which also began to
persecute them. Jesus' sleeping through the storm has been applied to the fact
that sometimes God seems not to come to the Church's rescue during persecu-
tion. Following the example of the Apostles in the boat, Christians should seek
Jesus' help, borrowing their words, "Save us, Lord; we are perishing". Then,
when it seems we can bear it no longer, Jesus shows His power: "He rose and
rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm"--but first rebuking
us for being men of little faith. Quite often Gospel accounts are meant to serve
as examples to us: they epitomize the future history of the Church and of the
individual Christian soul.
　

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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].