Wednesday
22nd Week of Ordinary Time
(I) 1st Reading: Colossians 1:1-8
Greeting
-------------
[1] Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
[2] To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ at Colossae: Grace to you and
peace from God our Father.
Thanksgiving for the Colossians' Response to the Gospel
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[3] We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for
you, because we have read of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love which you
have for all the saints, [5] because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this
you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel [6] which has come to
you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and growing--so among your-
selves, from the day you heard and understood the grace of God in truth, [7] as
you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister
of Christ on our behalf [8] and has made known to us your love in the Spirit.
*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:
1-2. The city of Colossae, as has already been mentioned in the Introduction,
lay in the valley of the Lycus river, in Phrygia, a region in the west central part
of Anatolia (modern Turkey).
Timothy--whose mother was Jewish and whose father was Greek--was already a
Christian when St Paul met him in Lystra (cf. Acts 16: 1-2). He readily agreed to
go with Paul and Tom that point onwards he was one of the Apostle's most faith-
ful co-workers. Sometimes we see him accompanying Paul (cf. Acts 20:4), and
at other times Paul is sending him off on a special mission (cf. Acts 19:22).
When St Paul is writing to the Colossians from his Roman prison, Timothy is by
his side and joins him in sending greetings.
Later on, the Apostle will entrust Timothy with the overseeing of the church of
Ephesus, and in that capacity he will send him two letters, which form part of
the canon of the New Testament.
On the greeting "grace and peace", see the note on Eph 1:2.
3-16. Epaphras, who was probably born in Colossae, must have come to know
St Paul during his stay in Ephesus and been convened after receiving instruction
from the Apostle. After being baptized he preached the Gospel to his fellow citi-
zens. The combination of grace and his own effort make his preaching very effec-
tive. However, due to certain false apostles of a Judaizing tendency, errors of a
pre-Gnostic and syncretist type began to gain ground among the Colossians, to
the detriment of their faith (cf. p. 152 above).
St Paul writes the epistle after receiving a report from Epaphras on the Church in
Colossae (v. 9). Although the news Epaphras brought was on the whole good (vv.
3-5), the Apostle feels that the false doctrines being spread among the Colos-
sians are a danger to their faith: the faith that they hold, which they learned from
Epaphras, a loyal minister of Jesus Christ, is the true one.
3-5. St Paul expresses his gratitude to God for all the graces and benefits he
has given the Colossians and for the way they have responded to them. He picks
out the three theological virtues--faith, charity, and hope and emphasizes the im-
portance of hope as a support for faith and fraternal love. In this regard, St Escri-
va says in a homily, "I have seen many souls with such hope in God that they
are aflame with love, with a fire that makes the heart beat strong and keeps it
safe from discouragement and dejection, even though along the way they may
suffer and at times suffer greatly" ("Friends of God", 205).
7. "On our behalf" (cf. RSV note): many important manuscripts read this as "on
your behalf", but "on our behalf" parallels the "for us" of the New Vulgate, mea-
ning that Epaphras is a minister of Christ who faithfully substitutes for Paul in his
apostolic work among the Colossians.
8. "Your love in the Spirit": this may refer either to the theological virtue of charity
or to the love which the faithful, under the influence of the Holy Spirit, have for the
Apostle.
(II) 1st Reading: 1 Corinthians 3:1-9
The Corinthians Are Still Unspiritual
---------------------------------------------------
[1] But I, brethren, could not address you as spiritual men, but as men of the
flesh, as babes in Christ. [2] I fed you with milk, not solid food; for you were not
ready for it; and even yet you are not ready, [3] for you are still of the flesh. For
while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh, and beha-
ving like ordinary men?
Apostolic Ministry
--------------------------
[4] For when one says, "I belong to Paul," and another, "I belong to Apollos,"
are you not merely men?
[5] What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed,
as the Lord assigned to each. [6] I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the
growth. [7] So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only
God who gives the growth. [8] He who plants and he who waters are equal, and
each shall receive his wages according to his labor. [9] For we are God's fellow
workers; you are God's field, God's building.
*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:
1-3. The Christians of Corinth have themselves to blame for their inability to
grasp everything they have been taught. The counterposing of spirit and flesh
does not mean that there are two kinds of people in the Church; it is, rather, a
fatherly reproach on the Apostle's part: through Baptism they are called to a full
(intellectual and practical) grasp of spiritual truths; but because they are letting
themselves be led by human principles they are still in a state of lethargy. As St
John Chrysostom comments, the reason is that "unclean living makes it difficult
for a person to know the truth. Just as a man who is blinded by error cannot for
long keep to the right road, so too is it very difficult for someone who is leading a
bad life to accept the demands our sublime mysteries make on us. To embrace
truth one needs to be detached from all one's passions [...]. This freedom of soul
must be total, if one is to attain truth" ("Hom. on 1 Cor", 8, "ad loc.").
"As babes in Christ": St Paul is not referring to the spiritual childhood taught by
Jesus Christ (cf. Mt 18:1-6; 1 Pet 2:2). The Apostle uses this comparison to
show that one needs to make progress in the Christian life: a Christian has a
duty to develop the infused virtues he received in Baptism. To be more specific,
the Apostle mentions "jealousy and strife" (v. 3) as two great sins which are
paralyzing the Corinthians: they leave a Christian in a lamentable, unspiritual
state and prevent him from attaining the spiritual things to which he has been
called (cf. Heb 5:12-17).
4-17. Using the dissension at Corinth (cf. 1:11-13), which clearly shows that the
Corinthians are still acting in a very unspiritual way (v. 4), St Paul describes the
true nature of apostolic office. He especially emphasizes that God is the source
of all apostolic work: it is he "who gives the growth" (v. 7); man is God's instru-
ment -- a servant or minister (v. 5), a fellow worker (v. 9)--in this task, which can
only be carried out if Jesus Christ is its foundation (v. 11). St Paul develops
these ideas using two effective similes--a field (vv. 6-9) and a building (vv. 9-17).
5-7. Using a comparison with farm work, St Paul shows the instrumental role
men and women play in the apostolate. Only God, through his grace, can make
the seed of faith take root and bear fruit in souls: "It may be that going and wee-
ping they [God's workers] cast their seeds; it may be with anxious care they
nourished it; but to make it sprout and bring forth the cherished fruit, this is the
work of God alone and his powerful assistance. This, also, is to be considered
that men are more than instruments which God uses for the saving of souls and
that these instruments must be fit, therefore, to be handled by God" (St Pius X,
"Haerent Animo", 9).
In this sense, every effort man makes is to no avail (cf. v. 7); yet God chooses
to use man's input to produce supernatural fruit which is totally disproportionate:
"We must remember that we are only instruments," St. J. Escriva points out,
"'What is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you have believed,
as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but only God gives the
growth' (1 Cor 3:4-6). The teaching, the message which we have to communicate,
has in its own right an infinite effectiveness which comes not from us but from
Christ. It is God himself who is bent on bringing about salvation, on redeeming
the world" ("Christ Is Passing By", 159).
8. The recompense God gives someone who works in the building up of the
Church has not so much to do with his particular mission (the various jobs are
"equal"), or with the kind of harvest, as with the work itself, the effort one puts
into the God-given job. "Since Christians have different gifts (cf. Rom 12:6) they
should collaborate in the work of the Gospel, each according to his opportunity,
ability, charism and ministry (cf. 1 Cor 3:10); all who sow and reap (cf. Jn 4:37),
plant and water, should be one (cf. 1 Cor 3:8) so that 'working together for the
same end in a free and orderly manner' ("Lumen Gentium", 18) they might to-
gether devote their powers to the building up of the Church" (Vatican II, "Ad
Gentes", 28). Therefore, what really matters is that one does whatever job one
has been given with the maximum love possible, without losing heart: "[my cho-
sen ones] shall not labor in vain", the Lord assures them, through the prophet
Isaiah (65:23).
9. "God's field, God's building". The Second Vatican Council uses these images
to describe the inner nature of the Church: "The Church is a cultivated field, the
tillage of God (cf. 1 Cor 3:9). on that land the ancient olive tree grows whose holy
roots were the prophets and in which the reconciliation of Jews and Gentiles has
been brought about and will be brought about again (Rom 11:13-26). That land,
like a choice vineyard, has been planted by the heavenly cultivator (Mt 21:33-43;
cf. Is 5:1f). Yet the true vine is Christ who gives life and fruitfulness to the bran-
ches, that is, to us, who through the Church remain in Christ without whom we
can do nothing (Jn 15:1-5).
"Often, too, the Church is called the building of God (1 Cor 3:9). The Lord com-
pared himself to the stone which the builders rejected, but which was made into
the cornerstone (Mt 21:42; cf. Acts 4:11; 1 Pet 2:7; Ps 117:22). on this founda-
tion the Church is built by the Apostles (cf. 1 Cor 3:11) and from it the Church
receives solidity and unity. This edifice has many names to describe it--the
house of God in which his family dwells; the household of God in the Spirit (Eph
2:19:22); the dwelling-place of God among men (Rev 21:3); and, especially, the
holy temple. This temple, symbolized in places of worship built out of stone, is
praised by the Fathers and, not without reason, is compared in the liturgy to the
Holy City, the New Jerusalem. As living stones we here on earth are built into it
(1 Pet 2:5). It is this holy city that is seen by John as it comes down out of hea-
ven from God when the world is made anew, prepared like a bride adorned for her
husband (Rev 21:1f)" ("Lumen Gentium", 6).
The Lord wants Christians to be living stones in this building and has associated
them in the redemptive task of saving all mankind, so that in the course of their
own redemption they might also be co-redeemers with him, completing "what is
lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church" (Col
1:24): "Jesus has wanted every person to cooperate freely in the work of redemp-
tion [...]. The work of salvation is still going on, and each one of us has a part in
it [...]. It is worth while putting our lives on the line, giving ourselves completely,
so as to answer to the love and the confidence that God has placed in us. It is
worth while, above all, to decide to take our Christian faith seriously" (St. J. Es-
criva, "Christ Is Passing By", 129).
Gospel Reading: Luke 4:38-44
The Cure of Peter's Mother-In-Law
-------------------------------------------------
[38] And He (Jesus) arose and left the synagogue, and entered Simon's house.
Now Simon's mother-in-law was ill with a high fever, and they besought Him for
her. [39] And He stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her; and
immediately she rose and served them.
Other Cures
------------------
[40] Now when the sun was setting, all those who had any that were sick with
various diseases brought them to Him; and He laid His hands on every one of
them and healed them. [41] And demons also came out of many, crying, "You
are the Son of God!" But He rebuked them, and would not allow them to speak,
because they knew that He was the Christ.
Jesus Preaches in Other Cities in Judea
----------------------------------------------------------
[42] And when it was day He departed and went into a lonely place. And the
people sought Him and came to Him, and would have kept Him from leaving
them; [43] but He said to them, "I must preach the Good News of the Kingdom
of God to the other cities also; for I was sent for this purpose." [44] And He was
preaching in the synagogues of Judea.
*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:
38-39. In the public life of Jesus we find many touching episodes (cf. for example
Luke 19:1; John 2:1) which show the high regard He had for everyday family life.
Here we can clearly see the effectiveness of prayer on behalf of other people:
"No sooner did they pray to the Savior", St. Jerome says, "than He immediately
healed the sick; from this we learn that He also listens to the prayers of the faith-
ful for help against sinful passions" ("Expositio In Evangelium Sec. Lucam, in
loc.").
St. John Chrysostom refers to this total, instantaneous cure: "Since this was a
curable type of illness He displayed His power through the way He brought hea-
ling, doing what medicine could not do. Even after being cured of fever, patients
need time to recover their former strength, but here the cure was instantaneous"
("Hom. on St. Matthew", 27).
The Fathers saw in this lady's fever a symbol of concupiscence: "Peter's
mother-in-law's fever represents our flesh affected by various illnesses and con-
cupiscences; our fever is passion, our fever is lust, our fever is anger -- vices
which, although they affect the body, perturb the soul, the mind and the fee-
lings" (St. Ambrose, "Expositio Evangelii Sec. Lucam, in loc.").
On the practical consequences of this St. Cyril says: "Let us receive Jesus
Christ, because when He visits us and we take Him into our minds and hearts,
even our worst passions are extinguished and we are kept safe to serve Him,
that is, to do what pleases Him" ("Hom. 28 In Mattheum").
43. Our Lord again stresses one of the reasons why He has come into the
world. St. Thomas, when discussing the purpose of the Eucharist, says that
Christ "came into the world, first, to make the truth known, as He Himself says:
'for this I was born, and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the
truth' (John 18:37). Hence it was not fitting that He should hide Himself by leading
a solitary life, but rather that He should appear openly and preach in public. For
this reason He tells those who wanted to detain Him, 'I must preach the Good
News of the Kingdom of God to the other cities also; for I was sent for this pur-
pose.' Secondly, He came in order to free men from sin; as the Apostle says,
'Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners' (1 Timothy 1:15). This is why
Chrysostom says, 'Although Christ might, while staying in the same place, have
drawn all men to Himself to hear His preaching, He did not do so--in order to give
us the example to go out and seek the lost sheep, as the shepherd does, or as
the doctor does, who visits the sick person.' Thirdly, He came so that 'we might
obtain access to God' (Romans 5:2)" ("Summa Theologiae", III, q. 40, a. 1, c.).
*********************************************************************************************
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].