Saturday
24th Week of Ordinary Time
(I) 1st Reading: 1 Timothy 6:13-16
An Appeal to Defend the Faith (Continuation)
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[13] In the presence of God who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus who
in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, [14] I charge
you to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the ap-
pearing of our Lord Jesus Christ; [15] and this will be made manifest at the pro-
per time by the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords,
[16] who alone has immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no
man has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.
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Commentary:
13-14. "Keep the commandments": the Greek may be referring to one specific
commandment (as the RSV reflects); but it can also mean law as a whole and,
more likely, the truths of Revelation, that is, the deposit of the faith professed
at Baptism.
St Paul very formally calls in, as witnesses to this instruction, God the Father
and Christ Jesus, "who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good
confession". Jesus' "testimony" includes his entire passion and the declaration
he made to the Roman procurator about messianic kingship and his true identi-
ty (cf. Jn 18:36-37).
"Until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ": when referring to the second co-
ming of Christ the New Testament often uses the term "parousia" (cf. 1 Cor 15:
23; 2 Pet 3:4) or "revealing" (cf., e.g., 1 Cor 1:7); the Pastoral Epistles prefer
"appearing", epiphany, manifestation (cf. 2 Tim 4:1, 8; Tit 2:13), which better re-
flect the coming of Christ in glory as Savior (cf. 2 Tim 1:10). There is, of course,
a wonderful continuity between the redemptive work of Christ, the action of the
Church in conserving Revelation and passing it on, and the final coming of Christ
at the end of time.
15-16. This doxology or hymn of praise, one of the richest and most beautiful in
the New Testament, may have been taken from the Church's liturgy (which may
also be the case with the other hymns in this letter: cf. 1:17 and 3:15 -16). It
was possibly a reply to pagan hymns honoring rulers and emperors as gods.
However, it is more likely that this particular hymn was inspired by the Old Tes-
tament, which speaks of God in similar language. Whatever its origin, the impor-
tant thing about the hymn is that it expresses faith in God who merits all praise.
At a time known only to him (cf. Mt 24:36), God the Father will bring about the
glorious manifestation of Jesus Christ. The text refers to four attributes which
show the power and sublimity of God: he is the "only Sovereign", from whom
all lawful rulers on earth receive their authority (cf. Jn 19:11). He is the "King
of kings and Lord of lords" (literally, "the King of those who reign and the Lord
of those who wield lordship"); this is not, then, a merely honorific title: he does
actually exercise sovereignty over those who claim to possess it (cf. Rev 17:14;
19:16). He is "immortal", for immortality is proper to God, who is Life (cf. Jn 1:
4); angels and souls are immortal only by virtue of the nature given them by
God. Finally, he is "light" and brightness: these are attributed to God (cf. Ps
104:2) to show his sublimity: God transcends all created things and cannot be
fully comprehended by man. St Thomas explains that an object can be invisible
on two counts either because it lacks brightness, as occurs with things which
are dark and opaque, or because it is too bright, as occurs in the case of the
sun, which is so bright that the human eye cannot look at it; God is so far be-
yond the capacity of the human mind that man cannot entirely take him in even
though what we can learn about him by the right use of reason and through re-
velation is true and accurate (cf. "Commentary on 1 Tim, ad loc."). The conclu-
sion of the hymn, which is liturgical and pedagogical in style, is similar to that
found in 1:17: there it says "honor and glory", here "heaven and eternal domi-
nion", putting more stress on God's sovereignty.
This and the other hymns which appear in the letter show that the first Chris-
tians were fully aware that man's true purpose in life is to give glory to God.
"We do not live for the world, or for our own honor, but for the honor of God, for
the glory of God, for the service of God. That is what should motivate us!" (St.
J. Escriva, "The Forge", 851).
(II) 1st Reading: 1 Corinthians 15:35-37, 42-49
The Manner of the Resurrection of the Dead
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[35] But some one will ask, "How are the dead raised? With what kind of body
do they come?" [36] You foolish man! What you sow does not come to life un-
less it dies. [37] And what you sow is not the body which is to be, but a bare
kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain.
[42] So it is with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perish- able,
what is raised is imperishable. [43] It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It
is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. [44] It is sown a physical body, it is
raised a spiritual body. If there is a physical body, there is also a spiritual body.
[45] Thus it is written, "The first man Adam became a living being"; the last Adam
became a life-giving spirit. [46] But it is not the spiritual which is first but the phy-
sical, and then the spiritual. [47] The first man was from the earth, a man of dust;
the second man is from heaven. [48] As was the man of dust, so are those who
are of the dust; and as is the man of heaven, so are those who are of heaven.
[49] Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the
image of the man of heaven. [50] I tell you this, brethren: flesh and blood cannot
inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.
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Commentary:
35-38. Now that he has shown that the dead will rise, St Paul goes on to deal
with what form this resurrection will take. He postulates certain questions (v. 35)
and replies to them using comparisons taken from the vegetable, animal and mi-
neral worlds, to help explain what this resurrec- tion involves (vv. 36-41). He goes
on to describe the qualities of the ri- sen body (vv. 42-44), referring in particular to
one of those qualities, its spiritual nature or "subtility" (vv. 44-50). He then des-
cribes the circumstances in which the general resurrection will take place (vv.
51-53), and he ends with a hymn of joy and thanksgiving for all these wonders of
God (vv. 54-58).
36-41. The Apostle uses the analogy of a seed to explain what resur- rection in-
volves: just as a seed has to corrupt in order to yield new life, the body has to die
in order to be raised up. In the process of becoming a new plant the seed takes
on a new form: the plant is something distinct from the original seed; similarly,
risen bodies will be endowed with new qualities which they did not have during
their mortal life (cf. note on vv. 42-44).
By referring to the difference in the flesh of different animals and to the way that
one star shines differently from another, St Paul is trying to explain that risen bo-
dies are also differentiated, the differences being a function of charity (cf. "St Pius
V Catechism", I, 12, 13).
42-44. These verses are the basis of tile Church's teaching about the qualities of
glorified bodies-impassibility or incorruptibility, glory or brightness, power or agi-
lity, subtility or spirituality. This is what the "St Pius V Catechism" has to say on
the subject: "The bodies of the risen saints will be distinguished by certain trans-
cendent endowments, which will ennoble them far beyond their former condition.
Among these endowments four are specially mentioned by the Fathers, which
they infer from the doctrine of St Paul and which are called 'gifts'.
"The first endowment or gift is impassibility, which shall place them beyond the
reach of suffering anything disagreeable or of being affec- ted by pain or inconve-
nience of any sort [...]. 'What is sown' says the Apostle, 'is perishable, what is
raised is imperishable' (1 Cor 15:42) [...]. The next quality is brightness, by which
the bodies of the saints shall shine like the sun [...]. This quality the Apostle
sometimes calls "glory". [...] This brightness is a sort of radiance reflected on
the body from the supreme happiness of the soul. It is a participation in that bliss
which the soul enjoys, just as the soul itself is rendered happy by a participation
in the happiness of God. Unlike the gift of impassibility, this quality is not com-
mon to all in the same degree. All the bodies of the saints will be equally impas-
sible; but the bright- ness of all will not be the same, for, according to the Apostle,
'there is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of
the stars, for star differs from star in glory' (1 Cor 15:41-42).
"To the preceding quality is united that which is called agility, by which the body
will be freed from the heaviness that now presses it down, and will take on a ca-
pability of moving with the utmost ease and swiftness, wherever the soul pleases
[...]. Hence these words of the Apostle: 'It is sown in weakness, it is raised in
glory' (I Cor 15:43). Another quality is that of subtility, which subjects the body
to the dominion of the soul, so that the body shall be subject to the soul and ever
ready to follow her desires. This quality we learn from these words of the Apostle:
'It is sown a physical body, it is raised a spiritual body" (1 Cor 15:44)" (I, 12, 13).
The bodies of the reprobate do not have these qualities proper to glorified bodies
(cf. "St Pius X Catechism", 246).
44-50. The Apostle develops what he has said about those who rise having spiri-
tual bodies--which might seem to be a self-contradictory notion. Through descent
from Adam, whose body was formed from the dust of the earth (cf. Gen 2:7), men
receive an earthly animal body which is destined to perish; Christ, the new Adam,
when he comes again will give his own a heavenly body, perfect and immortal: "It
is called a spiritual body," St Augustine says, "not because it has become a spi-
rit but because it is in such a way subject to the spirit, to fit it for its heavenly
abode, that every kind of earthly weakness and imperfection is changed into a
heavenly permanence ("De Fide Et Symbolo", chap. VI).
Even in this present life the Christian should strive to reflect this image of "the
man of heaven", by reproducing in himself the life of Christ: having died to sin
through Baptism he has already been raised with Christ to a new life (cf. Col 3:
1-4). Christ's resurrection, St Thomas Aquinas explains, "is an exemplary cause
with regard to the resurrection of souls, because even in our souls we must be
conformed with the risen Christ, the Apostle says (Rom 6:4-11): 'Christ was
raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, that we too might walk in new-
ness of life [...]. Christ being raised from the dead shall never die again [...] so
you also must consider yourselves dead to sin', so that you 'might live with him'
(1 Thess 5:10)" ("Summa Theologiae", III, q. 56, a. 2).
45. Commenting on this verse, St John of Avila explains that "God created the
first man and blew into his face, he gave him the breath of life, and he became a
living being. "Et factus est primus Adam in animam viventem, novissimus Adam
in spiritum vivificantem" (1 Cor 15:45). The second Adam was made, Jesus
Christ, and not only was he given and did he have life for himself like the first
Adam, but he had it for many others. Christ has a living spirit, a life-giving spirit
which raises up those of us who desire to live. Let us go to Christ, let us seek
Christ, who has the breath of life. No matter how evil you be, how lost, how dis-
orientated, if you go to him, if you seek him, he will make you well, he will win
you over and set you right and heal you" ("Sermon on Pentecost Sunday").
Gospel Reading: Luke 8:4-15
Parable of the Sower. The Meaning of the Parables
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[4] And when a great crowd came together and people from town after town
came to Him (Jesus), He said in a parable: [5] "A sower went out to sow his
seed; and as he sowed, some fell along the path, and was trodden under foot,
and the birds of the air devoured it. [6] And some fell on the rock; and as it grew
up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. [7] And some fell among
thorns; and the thorns grew with it and choked it. [8] And some feel into good
soil and grew, and yielded a hundredfold." As He said this, He called out, "He
who has ears to hear, let him hear."
[9] And when His disciples asked Him what this parable meant, [10] He said,
"To you it has been given to know the secrets of the Kingdom of God; but for
others they are in parables, so that seeing they may not see, and hearing they
may not understand. [11] Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.
[12] The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes
and takes away the word from their hearts, that they may not believe and be
saved. [13] And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word,
receive it with joy; but these have no root, they believe for a while and in time of
temptation fall away. [14] And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those
who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches
and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. [15] And as for that in the
good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and
good heart, and bring forth fruit with patience."
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Commentary:
4-8. Our Lord explains this parable in verses 11-15. The seed is Jesus Himself
and His preaching; and the different kinds of ground it falls on reflect people's
different attitudes to Jesus and His teaching. Our Lord sows the life of grace in
souls through the preaching of the Church and through an endless flow of actual
graces.
10-12. Jesus uses parables to teach people the mysteries of the supernatural
life and thereby lead them to salvation. However, He foresaw that, due to the bad
dispositions of some of His listeners, these parables would lead them to harden
their hearts and to reject grace. For a fuller explanation of the purpose of para-
bles see the notes on Matthew 13:10-13 and Mark 4:11-12.
12. Some people are so immersed in a life of sin that they are the patch on
which falls the seed "which suffers from two kinds of hazard: it is trodden on by
wayfarers and snatched by birds. The path, therefore, is the heart, which is trod-
den on by the frequent traffic of evil thoughts, and cannot take in the seed and
let it germinate because it is so dried up" (St. Bede, "In Lucae Evangelium Ex-
positio, in loc."). Souls hardened by sin can become good soil and bear fruit
through sincere repentance and penance. We should note the effort the devil
makes to prevent souls from being converted.
13. "Many people are pleased by what they hear, and they resolve to do good;
but as soon as they experience difficulties they give up the good words they
started. Stony ground has not enough soil, which is why the shoots fail to pro-
duce fruit. There are many who, when they hear greed criticized, do conceive a
loathing for it and extol the scorning of it; but as soon as the soul sees some-
thing else that it desires, it forgets what it previously promised. There are also
others who when they hear talk against impurity not only desire not to be
stained by the filth of the flesh but are even ashamed of the stains that they
already bear; but as soon as bodily beauty presents itself to their eyes, their
heart is so drawn by desires that it is as if they had done or decided to do no-
thing against these desires, and they act in a manner deserving condemnation
and in a way which they themselves previously condemned when they reflec-
ted on their behavior. Very often we feel compunction for our faults and yet we
go back and commit them even after bemoaning them" (St. Gregory the Great,
"In Evangelia Homiliae", 15).
14. This is the case of people who after receiving the divine seed, the Christian
calling, and having stayed on the right path for some time, begin to give up the
struggle. These souls run the risk of developing a istaste for the things of God
and of taking the easy, and wrong, way of seeking compensations suggested
to them by their disordered ambition for power and their desire for material
wealth and a comfortable life involving no suffering.
A person in this situation begins to be lukewarm and tries to serve two masters:
"It is wrong to have two candles lighted--one to St. Michael and another to the
devil. We must snuff out the devil's candle; we must spend our lives completely
in the service of the Lord. If our desire for holiness is sincere, if we are docile
enough to place ourselves in God's hands, everything will go well. For He is
always ready to give us His grace" (St. J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By", 59).
15. Jesus tells us that the good soil has three features--listening to God's de-
mands with the good disposition of a generous heart; striving to ensure that one
does not water down these demands as time goes by; and, finally, beginning
and beginning again and not being disheartened if the fruit is slow to appear.
"You cannot 'rise'. It's not surprising: that fall!
"Persevere and you will 'rise'. Remember what a spiritual writer has said: your
poor soul is like a bird whose wings are caked with mud.
"Suns of heaven are needed and personal efforts, small and constant, to shake
off those inclinations, those vain fancies, that depression: that mud clinging to
your wings.
"And you will see yourself free. If you persevere, you will 'rise'" (St. J. Escriva,
"The Way", 991).
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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].