Tuesday
19th Week of Ordinary Time
(I) 1st Reading: Deuteronomy 31:1-8
Joshua and His Mission
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[1] So Moses continued to speak these words to all Israel. [2] And he said to
them, "I am a hundred and twenty years old this day; I am no longer able to go
out and come in. The LORD has said to me, 'You shall not go over this Jordan.'
[3] The LORD your God himself will go over before you; he will destroy these na-
tions before you, so that you shall dispossess them; and Joshua will go over at
your head, as the LORD has spoken. [4] And the LORD will do to them as he
did to Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites, and to their land, when he des-
troyed them. [5] And the LORD will give them over to you, and you shall do to
them according to all the commandment which I have commanded you. [6] Be
strong and of good courage, do not fear or be in dread of them: for it is the Lord
your God who goes with you; he will not fail you or forsake you."
[7] Then Moses summoned Joshua, and said to him in the sight of all Israel, "Be
strong and of good courage; for you shall go with this people into the land which
the LORD has sworn to their fathers to give them; and you shall put them in pos-
session of it. [8] It is the LORD who goes before you; he will be with you, he will
not fail you or forsake you; do not fear or be dismayed."
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Commentary:
31:1-34:12. These chapters form a conclusion which seems to refer not just to
Deuteronomy but to the entire Pentateuch. The last editor of the text has availed
himself of material from earlier traditions (more from some than from others).
The predominant type of material here is what we might call "historical", including
(as is common to both Eastern and Classical history writing) a number of poetic
pieces, notably the "Song of Moses" (32:1-43) and the "Blessing of Moses" (33:
2-29). The narrative sections cover the last days of Moses, and the appointment
of Joshua and his mission (31:1-9,14-15), the ceremonial reading of the Law (31:
9-13) and the death of the great deliverer of Israel. (chap. 34).
31:1-8. Joshua will take over the leadership of Israel from Moses (cf. also vv. 14,
23) and will bring about the conquest of the promised land.
The one hundred and twenty years of Moses' life are divided into three periods of
forty years each--in Egypt (Acts 7:28), in Midian (Ex 7:7) and in the desert. It
could be that the number forty is meant to indicate a generation; but it is not
easy to say exactly what the hagiographer had in mind. Anyway, the three pha-
ses in the great lawgiver's life are fairly clear to see. In each of them Go made
manifest his power and his choice of Moses, and at every stage Moses proved
docile and effective.
(II) 1st Reading: Ezekiel 2:8-3:4
The Prophet’s mission
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[2:8] ”But you, son of man, hear what I say to you: be not rebellious like that re
bellious house; open your mouth, and eat what I give you.” [9] And when I looked,
behold, a hand was stretched out to me, and, lo, a written scroll was in it; [10]
and he spread it before me; and it had writing on the front and on the back, and
there were written on it words of lamentation and mourning and woe.
[3:1] And he said to me, “Son of man, eat what is offered to you; eat this scroll,
and go, speak to the house of Israel.” So I opened my mouth, and he gave me
the scroll to eat. [3] And he said to me. “Son of man, eat this scroll that I give
you and fill your stomach with it.” Then I ate it; and it was in my mouth as sweet
as honey.
[4] And he said to me, “Son of man, go, get you to the house of Israel, and speak
with my words to them.
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Commentary:
2:1-3:3. The vision by the river Chebar is all about the grandeur and glory of God,
who is sovereign over all things; whereas the account given of the call of Ezekiel
tells us about the prophet and about the people of Israel, for whom the message
is meant. The prophet is described as a son of man, whom the Spirit moves, a
prophet among the people; and they are a rebellious people. The account takes
the form of an address by the Lord containing a command to pass his word on to
the people (2: 1-7) and a symbolic action in which Ezekiel eats the scroll given
to him by God (2:8-3:3).
2:8-3:3. The action of eating the scroll symbolizes to the people that the prophet
is faithfully passing on the word of God, and therefore that they should not neglect
to take on board anything he says or try to tone it down. It also shows the posi-
tive attitude of the prophet himself: he eagerly “fills his stomach” with the words
of the Lord even though they are severe. Commenting on this passage, Pope St
Gregory the Great points out: “The Holy Scriptures are food and drink to nourish
us [....]. The obscure pages, which cannot he understood unless further expla-
nation be provided, are food, because everything must be explained in order to be
properly understood, just as everything must be chewed in order to be swallowed.
We do not chew what we drink: when the teaching is clear, we swallow it whole,
because we are in need of no further explanation. The prophet Ezekiel will hear
difficult and obscure words, so he is told to eat the scroll, not to drink it, as if to
say, ‘Meditate on this teaching and understand it well’’’ (Homiliae in Ezechielem
prophetam, 1,10, 3).
A “written scroII” (2:9): in ancient times books were written on rolls of parchment
or on papyrus (see also Jer 36:4).
Gospel Reading: Matthew 18:1-5, 10, 12-14
The "Little Ones" and the Kingdom. The Lost Sheep
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[1] At that time, the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Who is the greatest in
the Kingdom of Heaven?" [2] And calling to Him a child, He put him in the midst
of them, [3] and said, "Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like chil-
dren, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven. [4] Whoever humbles himself
like this child, he is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.
[5] "Whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me.
[10] "See that you do not despise one of these little ones; for I tell you that in
Heaven their angels always behold the face of My Father who is in Heaven.
The Lost Sheep
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[12] "What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has
gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go in search of
the one that went astray? [13] And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices
over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. [14] So it is not
the will of My Father who is in Heaven that one of these little ones should pe-
rish."
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Commentary:
1-35. The teachings of Jesus recorded in chapter 18 of St. Matthew are often
called the "discourse on the Church" or "ecclesiastical discourse" because they
are a series of instructions on the way in which His Church is to be administered.
The first passage (Matthew 18:1-5), addressed to leaders, that is, the future hier-
archy of the Church, warns them against natural tendencies to pride and ambi-
tion: even though they have positions of government, they must act with humility.
In verses 6-10 Jesus emphasizes the fatherly care which pastors of the Church
should have for the "little ones"--a term which covers everyone in need of special
care for whatever reason (because they are recent converts, or are not well groun-
ded in Church teaching, or are not yet adults, etc.)... God takes special care of
the weak and will punish those who harm them.
Our Lord shows similar concern for those who are experiencing spiritual difficul-
ties. Every effort, even an heroic effort, must be made to seek out the "lost sheep"
(verses 12-14). If the Church in general and each Christian in particular should be
concerned to spread the Gospel, all the more reason for them to try and see that
those who already embraced the faith do not go astray...
Thus, the whole of Chapter 18, the "discourse of the Church", is a survey of the
future history of the Church during its earthly stage, and a series of practical rules
for conduct for Christians--a kind of complement to the Sermon on the Mount,
(Chapters 5-7), which is a "magna carta" for the new Kingdom established by
Christ.
1-6. Clearly the disciples still suffer from human ambition: they want to occupy
key positions when Jesus comes to establish the Kingdom on earth (cf. Acts 1:
6). To correct their pride, our Lord shows them a child and tells them that if they
want to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, they must decide to be like children: chil-
dren are incapable of hating anyone and are totally innocent of vice, particularly
of pride, the worst vice of all. They are simple and full of trust.
Humility is one of the main pillars of the Christian life. "If you ask me", St. Au-
gustine says, "what is the essential thing in the religion and discipline of Jesus
Christ, I shall reply: first humility, second humility and third humility" ("Letter
118").
3-4. Applying these words to our Lord's virtues, Fray Luis de Granada makes the
point that humility is superior to virginity: "If you cannot imitate the virginity of the
humble, then imitate the humility of the virgin. Virginity is praiseworthy, but humi-
lity is more necessary. The former is recommended to us, the latter is an obliga-
tion for us; to the former we are invited, to the latter we are obliged [...]. And so
we see that the former is celebrated as voluntary sacrifice, the latter required as
an obligatory sacrifice. Lastly, you can be saved without virginity, but not without
humility" ("Summa De La Vida Cristiana", Book 3, Part 2, Chapter 10).
5. Receiving a child in Jesus' name is the same as receiving Jesus Himself. Be-
cause children reflect the innocence, purity, simplicity and tenderness of our
Lord, "In children and in the sick a soul in love sees Him" (St. J. Escriva, "The
Way", 419).
10. Jesus warns that giving scandal to little children is a very serious matter,
for they have angels who guard them, who will plead a case before God against
those who led them to commit sin.
In this context He speaks of children having guardian angels. However, everyone,
adult or child, has a guardian angel. "By God's providence angels have been en-
trusted with the office of guarding the human race and of accompanying every
human being so as to preserve him from any serious dangers [...]. Our Heavenly
Father has placed over each of us an angel under whose protection and vigilance
we are" ("St. Pius V Catechism", IV, 9, 4).
This means that we should have a trusting relationship with our guardian angel.
"Have confidence in your guardian Angel. Treat him as a lifelong friend--that is
what he is--and he will render you a thousand services in the ordinary affairs of
each day" (St. J. Escriva, "The Way" 562).
12-14. This parable clearly shows our Lord's loving concern for sinners. It expres-
ses in human terms the joy God feels when a wayward child comes back to Him.
Seeing so many souls living away from God, Pope John Paul II comments: "Un-
fortunately we witness the moral pollution which is devastating humanity, disre-
garding especially those very little ones about whom Jesus speaks."
"What must we do? We must imitate the Good Shepherd and give ourselves with-
out rest for the salvation of souls. Without forgetting material charity and social
justice, we must be convinced that the most sublime charity is spiritual charity,
that is, the commitment for the salvation of souls. And souls are saved with pra-
yer and sacrifice. This is the mission of the Church!" ("Homily to the Poor Clares
of Albano," 14 August 1979).
As the RSV points out, "other ancient authorities add verse 11, "For the Son of
Man came to save the lost"--apparently taken from Luke 19:10.
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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].