나바르 매일미사 독서/묵상

Monday

25th Week of Ordinary Time

(I) 1st Reading: Ezra 1:1-6

The exiles return from Babylon
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[1] In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth
of Jeremiah might be accomplished, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of
Persia so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it
in writing:

[2] Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: The Lord, the God of Heaven, has given me
all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at
Jerusalem, which is in Judah. [3] Whoever is among you of all his people, may
his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and re-
build the house of the Lord, the God of Israel – he is the God who is in Jerusalem;
[4] and let each survivor, in whatever place he sojourns, be assisted by the men
of his place with silver and gold, with goods and with beasts, besides freewill
offerings for the house of God which is in Jerusalem.”

[5] Then rose up the heads of the fathers’ houses of Judah and Benjamin, and the
priests and the Levites, every one whose spirit God had stirred to go up to rebuild
the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem; [6] and all who were about them
aided them with vessels of silver, with gold, with goods, with beasts, and with
costly wares, besides all that was freely offered.

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Commentary:

1:1-6:22. The second book of Chronicles closed with an account of the fall of the
fall of Jerusalem as a consequence of the city’s repeated unfaithfulness to God
(cf. 2 Chron 36:17-21), and with the news of Cyrus’ calling, in God’s name, for the
rebuilding of the temple and the return of the exiles (cf. 2 Chron 36:22-23). The
book of Ezra starts by covering the same ground (1:1-4) and then goes on to de-
scribe how Cyrus’ decree was implemented. It deals with the preparation for the
return to Jerusalem (1:5-11), and who these repatriates were (2:1-70); how the
first thing they did at Jerusalem was to build an altar and start offering sacrifices
9(3:1-6), and about how, when they began to rebuild the temple, they met with
opposition from the people in the land (4:1-5), who petitioned the Persian king,
with the result that the rebuilding had to cease (4:6-24). But, encouraged by the
prophets Haggai and Zechariah, those who had returned set about their task
again (5:1-2) and kept at it, in the hope that the ban on building would be lifted
(5:3-5). The authorities then sent a new letter to King Darius (5:6-17), who de-
creed that the Jews be allowed to build the temple in peace, as Cyrus had already
instructed (6:1-12). This meant that they were able to finish the building and
dedicate it to the Lord (6:13-18), and then celebrate joyfully their first Passover in
their homeland (6:19-22).

The first part of the book shows how devout and tenacious these repatriates
were – fully committed to the worship of the Lord and the reconstruction of his
temple. But it also reveals the animosity shown towards them by those living in
the country. Only God’s will, expressed in decrees of the Persian kings, made it
possible for this enterprise to succeed. The chosen people were springing up
again in the promised land.

In Christian tradition, in the light of Jesus Christ’s message, these pages are read
as having a spiritual meaning to do with the advancement of the Church: just as
the people of God in the Old Testament, was able to reconstitute itself after the
bitter experience of the exile, and survived despite difficulties of all sorts, so too
the new people of God manages to survive over the course of the centuries even
though it encounters all kinds of obstacles. “If you do not trust words, believe in
deeds. How many tyrants have tried to oppress the Church? How much boiling
oil! How many pyres and sharp teeth and raised swords . . . ! And they have not
triumphed! Where are they now, those who waged ware against her? And where
is the Church? She shines brighter than the sun. The power of her enemies is
spent, but the strength of the Church is endless. Even when there were very few
Christians, the Church was not overcome; now that her faith and piety have
spread throughout the world, do you think you can defeat her? ‘Heaven will pass
away but my words shall never fail’; it is clear: God loves the Church more than
heaven itself. He did not take for himself a heavenly body but an ecclesial one.
Heaven exists for the Church, not the Church for the sake of heaven” (St John
Chrysostom, Sermo antequam iret in exilium, 2).

1:1-4 Cyrus was king of Persia from 559 to 529 BC. History portrays him as a
ruler tolerant of the traditional customs of his subject peoples and respectful of
their religious practices. When he entered Babylon in triumph in 539 BC, he
established the cult of Marduk there, and when he heard about the position of the
deportees from Jerusalem he facilitated their return to their country to rebuild the
temple of their God.

But the sacred book, which looks beneath the surface of events, points out that
Cyrus’ decisions in favour of the Jews derived not just from the king’s good dis-
position but from God himself. The Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus (v. 1) and
the heads of the houses of Judah and Benjamin (1:5) so as to bring about in this
new stage of salvation history the rebuilding of the temple and to re-establish the
people in Jerusalem. God uses a pagan king to achieve his saving purpose for
the chosen people. That is what Isaiah 45:1 means when it calls Cyrus “the
Lord’s anointed”, even though the king does not realize he is forwarding the
Lord’s plans: “though you do not know me” (Is 45:4). Moreover, the “seventy
years” of exile prophesied by Jeremiah (cf. 2 Chron 336:21) are shortened by
Cyrus’ decree which causes the return from exile to happen in 538 BC. It all goes
to show that God is above kings and nations and that he is merciful to his people.

Unlike other passages which report Cyrus’ decree (cf. 2 Chron 36:22-23; Ezra
6:3-12), here we are told that the king acknowledges that “the Lord, the God of
heaven” (v. 2) – apparently the title given to the supreme Persian deity Ahura-
Mazda – is one and the same as “Lord, the God of Israel who is in Jerusalem”
(v. 3). This is a profession of faith in the one true God, the God who revealed
himself to the Jewish people, but whose power extends over all the nations.

1:5-7. Although the decree of Cyrus was addressed to all those belonging to the
people of God (1:3) living in the Persian empire, already seen as “the remnant”,
the “survivors” of what was ancient Israel (1:4), now only the “heads of the houses
of Judah and Benjamin” are mentioned (v. 5) – these being the two tribes that had
made up the kingdom of the South, the kingdom of Judah. Those deported after
the fall of the Northern kingdom (cf. 2 Kings 17:6) have disappeared from the
writer’s horizon in the same way as the author of 1 and 2 Chronicles put that
kingdom out of his mind. The reconstruction of the people in this new stage of its
existence that begins now is based solely on what had been the kingdom of
Judah, including the priests and Levites who had been attached to the temple of
Jerusalem: as this writer sees things, only the men of Judah were the true people
of Israel and of these, in a special way, those Jews who gave up their position in
Babylon and embarked on the adventure of returning to Jerusalem.

(II) 1st Reading: Proverbs 3:27-34

The way of the wise
-----------------------------
[27] Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due,
when it is in your power to do it.
[28] Do not say to your neighbour, “Go, and come again,
tomorrow I will give it” – when you have it with you.
[29] Do not plan evil against your neighbour
who dwells trustingly beside you.
[30] Do not contend with a man for no reason,
when he has done you no harm.
[31] Do not envy a man of violence
and do not choose any of his ways;
[32] for the perverse man is an abomination to the Lord.
but the upright are in his confidence.
[33] The Lord’s curse is on the house of the wicked,
but he blesses the abode of the righteous.
[34] Toward the scorners he is scornful,
but to the humble he shows favour.

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Commentary:

3:21-35. In the fourth lesson, the teacher gives his disciple some practical rules
of behaviour that he needs to follow if he is to be a wise man. People who take
these rules to heart can rest at ease, for the Lord is protective of those who keep
to wisdom’s path (vv. 25-26).

One of the most valuable services that wisdom provides is to teach a person how
to maintain good relationships with others. That goal is achieved when one sin-
cerely seeks the good of others and is not slow to lend help when asked (vv. 27-
31); one needs to have a right intention and be straightforward. Only a person
like that can be on close terms with the Lord (v. 32). “The intimate conversation
of God consists in the revelation of his secrets to the souls of men, and in eluci-
dating them by his presence. It is said that he holds his intimate conversations
with the simple because, by the light of his presence, he reveals the divine mys-
teries to the souls of those who are not steeped in shadow by their duplicity” (St
Gregory the Great, Regula pastoralis, 3, 11).

“To the humble he shows favour” (v. 34). The New Testament twice refers to this
in the context of how to make the best use of the Lord’s gifts. In the First Letter
of St Peter, after addressing elders and younger people about the need for har-
mony between them, he says: “Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility to-
wards one another, for ‘God opposes the proud, but gives to the humble’.

“Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that in due time he
may exalt you. Cast all your anxieties on him, for he cares about you (1 Pet 5:
5-7). And the Letter of St James, after recalling those same words, says. “Sub-
mit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw
near to God and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and
purify your hearts, you men of double mind. Be wretched and mourn and weep.
Let your laughter he turned to mourning and your joy to dejection. Humble your-
selves before the Lord and he will exalt you” (Jas 4:7-10).

Gospel Reading: Luke 8:16-18

Parable of the Sower. The Meaning of the Parables (Continuation)
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(Jesus told the crowd,) [16] "No one after lighting a lamp covers it with a vessel,
or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a stand, that those who enter may see the
light. [17] For nothing is hid that shall not be made manifest, nor anything secret
that shall not be known and come to light. [18] Take heed then how you hear; for
to him who has will more be given, and from him who has not, even what he
thinks that he has will be taken away."

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Commentary:

[There is no commentary available for Luke 8:16-18. The commentary for the
same parable found in Mark 4:21-25 states:]

[루카 복음서 8,16-18을 위하여 준비된 주석이 없습니다. 마르코 복음서 4,21-25에서
발견되는 동일한 비유를 위한 주석은 다음과 같이 자세하게 설명합니다:]

22. This parable contains a double teaching. Firstly, it says that hrist's
doctrine should not be kept hidden; rather, it must be preached throughout the
whole world. We find the same idea elsewhere in the Gospels: "What you hear
whispered, proclaim it upon the housetops" (Mt 10:27); "Go into all the world and
preach the Gospel to the whole of creation..." (Mk 16:15). The other teaching is
that the Kingdom which Christ proclaims has such ability to penetrate all hearts
that, at the end of time, when Jesus comes again, not a single human action, in
favor or against Christ, will not become public or manifest.

22. 이 비유는 다음과 같은 이중의 가르침을 포함하고 있습니다: 첫째로, 이 비유는
그리스도의 가르침이 숨겨진 채로 유지되어서는 아니 되며, 대신에 이 세상 전체에 걸쳐
설교되어져야만 함을 말합니다. 우리는 복음서들의 다른 곳에서 다음과 같은 꼭 같은
의도(idea)를 발견합니다: "너희가 귓속말로 들은 것을 지붕 위에서 선포하여라"
(마태오 복음서 10,27), "너희는 온 세상에 가서 모든 피조물에게 복음을 선포하여라"
(마르코 복음서 16,15). 다른 가르침은 그리스도께서 선포하신 하느님의 나라
(the kingdom)(*)가, 예수님께서 다시 오실 때인 시간의 끝에, 그리스도께 찬성하거나
혹은 반대하는 단 한 개의 인간의 행동도 반드시 공적으로 되고 그리고 드러나게 되는,
모든 본심(hearts)들을 뚫고 들어가는 바로 그러한 능력을 가지고 있음을 말합니다.

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(*) 번역자 주: 예수 그리스도께서 당신의 공생활 초기에 선포하신, 죽은 이들의
일부 영혼들을 위한 천국(heaven, 즉 천당, 하늘)이 아닌, 즉 지상에 이미 존재하고
있기에 예수 재림의 날까지 천국(heaven, 하늘)과 결코 동일하지 않은, "하느님 나라
[Kingdom of God, 즉 하늘 나라(Kingdom of heaven)]"에 대한 졸글들은 다음에
있으니 꼭 읽고 묵상하도록 하라:

http://ch.catholic.or.kr/pundang/4/soh/intro2KH_JohnPaul_II.htm
-----

24-25. Our Lord never gets tired of asking the Apostles, the seed which will
produce the Church, to listen carefully to the teaching he is giving: they are
receiving a treasure for which they will be held to account. "To him who has will
more be given ...": he who responds to grace will be given more grace and will yield
more and more fruit; but he who does not will become more and more impoverished
(cf. Mt 25:14- 30). Therefore, there is no limit to the development of the theological
virtues: "If you say 'Enough,' you are already dead" (St. Augustine, "Sermon" 51).
A soul who wants to make progress in the interior life will pray along these lines:
"Lord, may I have due measure in everything, except in Love" (J. Escriva, "The
Way", 427).

24-25. 우리의 주님께서는, 장차 교회를 산출할 씨앗(the seed which will produce
the Churhch)인 사도(Apostles)들에게, 당신께서 주시는 가르침을 조심스럽게 들을
것을 요청하심에 있어 결코 피곤해 하지 않으십니다: 그들은 자신들에게 책임이
요구될 어떤 보물(a treasure)을 지금 받고 있는 중입니다. "정녕 가진 자는 더 받고
가진 것 없는 자는 가진 것 마저 빼앗길 것이다": 은총에 응답하는 자에게는
더 많은 은총이 주어질 것이며 그리하여 그는 더욱 더 많은 열매를 맺을 것이나
[가톨릭 교회 교리서 제2010항의 두 번째 문장], 그러나 그렇지 아니한 자는
더욱 더 가난하게 될 것입니다 (마태오 복음서 25,14-30를 참조하라). 그러므로,
[믿음(faith, 신덕), 희망(hope, 망덕), 사랑(charity, 애덕)으로 이루어진] 향주덕
(the theological virtues, 대신덕)들의 계발(development)에는 어떠한 한계(limit)도
없습니다: "만약에 그대가 '충분하다'고 말한다면, 그대는 이미 죽은 상태입니다"
[성 아우구스티노(St. Augustine, "Sermon 51"]. 내면적 삶에 있어 진전이 있기를
원하는 영혼은 이러한 방침을 따라 다음과 같이 기도할 것입니다: "주님, 거룩한 사랑
(Love)을 제외한 모든 일에 있어 제가 마땅한 척도(due measure)를 가지게 해 주시옵소서"
[(성) 호세마리아 에스크리바([St] J. Escriva), "The Way", 247].

[The commentary for still another similar parable found in Matthew 13: 12 states:]

[마태오 복음서 13,12에서 여전히 발견되는 또다른 유사한 비유에 대한 주석은
다음과 같이 자세하게 설명합니다:]

12. Jesus is addressing his disciples and explaining to them that, precisely
because they have faith in him and want to have a good grasp of his teaching,
they will be given a deeper understanding of divine truths. But those who do not
"follow him" (cf. note on Mt 4:18-22) will later lose interest in the things of God
and will grow even blinder: it is as if the little they have is being taken away from
them.

12. 예수님께서는 당신의 제자들에게 말씀 중이시며 그리고 그들에게, 그들이 당신에
대한 믿음을 가지고 있기에 그리고 당신의 가르침을 잘 붙잡기를 원하는 바로 그
이유 때문에, 그들에게 하느님의 진리들에 대한 더 깊은 이해가 주어질 것입니다.
그러나 "당신을 따르지" 않는 자들은(마태오 복음서 4,18-22에 대한 주석을 참조하라)
하느님의 사물들에 대한 흥미를 나중에 잃을 것이며 그리하여 판단의 장애(blinder)를
언젠가 자라게 할 것인데, 이것은 마치 그들이 가진 작은 것이 그들로부터 제거되는
과정에 있는 것과 마찬가지입니다.

This verse also helps us understand the meaning of the parable of the sower, a
parable which gives us a wonderful explanation of the supernatural economy of
divine grace: God gives grace, and man freely responds to that grace. The result
is that those who respond to grace generously receive additional grace and so
grow steadily in grace and holiness; whereas those who reject God's gifts become
closed up within themselves; through their selfishness and attachment to sin they
eventually lose God's grace entirely. In this verse, then, our Lord gives a clear
warning: with the full weight of His divine authority He exhorts us--without taking
away our freedom--to act responsibly: the gifts God keeps sending us should yield
fruit; we should make good use of the opportunities for Christian sanctification
which are offered us in the course of our lives.

이 절은 또한 우리가, 다음과 같은 하느님의 은총에 의한 초자연적인 구원 계획
(the supernatural economy)에 대한 경이로운 설명을 제공하는, 씨 뿌리는 자에 대한
비유의 의미를 이해하는 것을 돕습니다: 하느님께서는 은총을 제공하시며, 그리고
사람은 바로 이 은총에 자유롭게 응답합니다. 그 결과는 다음과 같습니다: 은총에
응답하는 자들은 더 많은(additional) 은총을 아낌없이 받으며 그리하여 그 결과
은총과 거룩함 안에서 지속적으로 성장하나; 그러나 이와는 달리 하느님의
선물들을 거부하는 자들은 자기 자신들 안쪽에 닫혀지게 되어, 그리하여 그들의
이기적인 상태와 죄에 대한 집착을 통하여 그들은 결국에 하느님의 은총을 전부
잃을 것입니다. 따라서 이 절에서 우리의 주님께서는 분명한 경고를 제공하십니다:
우리의 자유를 빼앗지 않으면서, 당신의 하느님 권위의 충만한 무게와 함께 당신께서는
책임있게 행동할 것을 우리에게 권고하십니다(exhorts): 하느님께서 계속하여 우리에게
보내시는 선물들은 열매를 맺어야만 하며, 그리고 우리는, 우리의 삶들의 과정에서
제공되는, 그리스도인들의 성화(Christian sanctification)를 위한 기회들을 선용(善用)
하여야(make good use of)만 합니다.
　

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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.