Saturday
32nd Week of Ordinary Time
(I) 1st Reading: Wisdom 18:14-16; 19:6-9
[14] For while gentle silence enveloped all things, and night in its swift course
was now half gone,
Passover Night
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[15] Thy all-powerful word leaped from heaven, from the royal throne, into the
midst of the land that was doomed, a stern warrior [16] carrying the sharp
sword of thy authentic command, and stood and filled all things with death,
and touched heaven while standing on the earth.
The Crossing of the Red Sea (Continuation)
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[6] For the whole creation in its nature was fashioned anew, complying with thy
commands, that thy children might be kept unharmed. [7] The cloud was seen
overshadowing the camp, and dry land emerging where water had stood before,
an unhindered way out of the Red, Sea, and a grassy plain out of the raging
waves, [8] where those protected by thy hand passed through as one nation,
after gazing on marvellous wonders. [9] For they ranged like horses, and leaped
like lambs, praising thee, 0 Lord, who didst deliver them.
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Commentary:
18:14-16. In these lovely verses, the sacred writer gives a poetic rendering of
God's doings on the night of the Passover. They constitute an epic poem em-
bedded in the (also poetic) account of the escape from Egypt. It is easy to see
that this passage evokes the episode of the destroying angel who wreaked havoc
in Jerusalem in the time of David (1 Chron 21:15-22:1). The warrior-Word, descen-
ding from heaven, carries the sword that executes the irrevocable sentence. This
impressive scene may have had some influence on the description of the defeat
of the beast" in the book of Revelation (cf. Rev 19:11-21). In another sense, as
the personified Word that links heaven and earth (cf. v. 16), the tradition of the
Church applied these verses to the incarnation of our Lord, and the liturgy uses
them as the entranceantiphon for the Mass on the fourth day of the octave of
Christmas.
19:1-9. God is rich in mercy (cf. 2 Sam 24:14; Neh 9:19; Ps 119:156; Is 54:7;
etc.) and quick to forgive those who repent; but his mercy has its limits for those
who persist in doing evil. This happens in the case of the Egyptians who, after al-
lowing the Israelites to go, revert to their wicked policy and pursue them, thereby
ensuring their own defeat (vv. 1-4). The punishment that overtook them is not the
outcome of blind fate ("anagké"); on the contrary, it is "the fate they deserved"
("axia anagké"). The miraculous nature of the events is underlined by the writer
when he says that their punishment for obstinacy in sin and God's determination
to deliver the Israelites cause God to change the course of nature by acting with
a power similar to that which he showed when creating the world (v. 6). It is like
a retelling of the first account of creation in Genesis 1 in which the dry land emer-
ges from the waters and vegetation begins to appear (vv. 7-8). The underlying
idea is that the Exodus was a kind of new creation.
(II) 1st Reading: 3 John 5-8
Praise for Gaius
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[3] For I great rejoiced when some of the brethren arrived and testified to the
truth of your life, as indeed you do follow the truth. [4] No greater joy can I have
than this, to hear that my children follow the truth.
[5] Beloved, it is a loyal thing you do when you render any service to the breth-
ren, especially to strangers, [6] who have testified to your love before the church.
You will do well to send them on their journey as befits God's service. [7] For
they have set out for his sake and have accepted nothing from the heathen. [8]
So we ought to support such men, that we may be fellow workers in the truth.
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Commentary:
With great simplicity St John says why his paternal heart feels so happy -- be-
cause Gaius, as his charity shows (vv. 5-8), is such a good-living man (vv. 3-4).
He uses a typically Semitic turn of phrase to describe Gaius' upright life: 'you
follow the truth." In the Old Testament the Patriarchs are praised for "walking
with God" (cf., e.g. Gen 5:22, 24; 6:9). This image of the wayfarer took on great
importance after the Exodus: the people of Israel by divine will made their way
as pilgrims to the Promised Land and in the course of that journey the great
event of the Covenant took place (cf. Ex 19:24). "Walking with God" means the
same as "fulfilling what the Covenant requires", that is, the commandments (cf.
2 Jn 4). With the coming of Christ, who said of himself, "I am the way, and the
truth, and the life" (Jn 14:6), it has become quite clear that walking in the truth
means being totally attached to the person of Christ: "live in him" (Col 2:6),
"walk in the light" (1 Jn 1:7), "follow the truth" (2 Jn 4), all mean the same sort
of thing--living in communion with Christ, being a genuine Christian in everything
one thinks and does.
Gaius' charity expressed itself in welcoming and helping the preachers sent by
John (in the early times of the Church itinerant missionaries helped to keep alive
the faith and promote solidarity among the scattered churches). They had set
out "for his sake", that is, Christ's (v. 7; cf. Acts 5:41; Phil 2:9-10; Jas 2:7). By
helping (even materially), Christians become "fellow workers in the truth" (v. 8)
and merit the reward promised by our Lord: "He who receives you receives me,
and he who receives me receives him who sent me"(Mt 10: 40).
"Fellow workers in the truth": the Second Vatican Council applies these words
to lay people when explaining how their apostolate and the ministry proper to
pastors complement each other. And it goes on: "Lay people have countless
opportunities for exercising the apostolate of evangelization and sanctification.
The very witness of a Christian life, and good works done in a supernatural spirit,
are effective in drawing men to the faith and to God; and that is what the Lord
has said: 'Let your light shine so brightly before men, that they may see your
good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.' (Mt 5:16).
"This witness of life, however, is not the sole element in the apostolate; the true
apostle is on the lookout for opportunities to announce Christ by word, either to
unbelievers to draw them towards the faith, or to the faithful to instruct them,
strengthen them and incite them to a more fervent life" ("Apostolicam Actuosi-
tatem", 6).
Gospel Reading: Luke 18:1-8
Persevering Prayer. Parable of the Unjust Judge
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[1] And He (Jesus) told them a parable, to the effect that they ought always to
pray and not lose heart. [2] He said, "In a certain city there was a judge who
neither feared God nor regarded man; [3] and there was a widow in that city who
kept coming to him saying, Vindicate me against my adversary.' [4] For a while
he refused; butafterward he said to himself, 'Though I neither fear God nor regard
man, [5] yet because this widow bothers me, I will vindicate her, or she will wear
me out by her continual coming.' [6] And the Lord said,"hear what the unrigh-
teous judge says. [7] And will not God vindicate His elect, who cry to Him day
and night? Will He delay long over them? [8] I tell you, He will vindicate them
speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?"
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Commentary:
1-8. The parable of the unjust judge is a very eloquent lesson about the effec-
tiveness of persevering, confident prayer. It also forms a conclusion to Jesus'
teaching about watchfulness, contained in the previous verses (17:23-26). Com-
paring God with a person like this makes the point even clearer: if even an unjust
judge ends up giving justice to the man who keeps on pleading his case, how
much more will God, who is infinitely just, and who is our Father, listen to the
persevering prayer of His children. God, in other words, gives justice to His elect
if they persist in seeking His help.
1. "They ought always to pray and not lose heart." Why must we pray?
"1. We must pray first and foremost because we are believers.
"Prayer is in fact the recognition of our limitation and our dependence: we
come from God, we belong to God and we return to God! We cannot,
therefore, but abandon ourselves to Him, our Creator and Lord, with full and
complete confidence [...].
"Prayer, therefore, is first of all an act of intelligence, a feeling of humility and
gratitude, an attitude of trust and abandonment to Him who gave us life out of
love.
"Prayer is a mysterious but real dialogue with God, a dialogue of confidence
and love.
"2. We, however, are Christians, and therefore we must pray as Christians.
"For the Christian, in fact, prayer acquires a particular characteristic, which
completely changes its innermost nature and innermost value. The Christian
is a disciple of Jesus; he is one who really believes that Jesus is the Word
Incarnate, the Son of God who came among us on this earth.
"As a man, the life of Jesus was a continual prayer, a continual act of worship
and love of the Father and since the maximum expression of prayer is sacri-
fice, the summit of Jesus' prayer is the Sacrifice of the Cross, anticipated by
the Eucharist at the Last Supper and handed down by means of the Holy
Mass throughout the centuries.
"Therefore, the Christian knows that his prayer is that of Jesus; every prayer
of his starts from Jesus; it is He who prays in us, with us, for us. All those
who believe in God, pray; but the Christian prays in Jesus Christ: Christ is
our prayer!
"3. Finally, we must pray because we are frail and guilty.
"It must be humbly and realistically recognized that we are poor creatures,
confused in ideas, tempted by evil, frail and weak, in continual need of inner
strength and consolation. Prayer gives the strength for great ideas, to main-
tain faith, charity, purity and generosity. Prayer gives the courage to emerge
from indifference and guilt, if unfortunately one has yielded to temptation and
weakness. Prayer gives light to see and consider the events of one's own life
and of history in the salvific perspective of God and eternity. Therefore, do not
stop praying! Let not a day pass without your having prayed a little! Prayer is
a duty, but it is also a great joy, because it is a dialogue with God through
Jesus Christ! Every Sunday, Holy Mass: if it is possible for you, sometimes
during the week. Every day, morning and evening prayers, and at the most
suitable moments!" (John Paul II, "Audience with Young People", 14 March
1979).
8. Jesus combines His teaching about perseverance in prayer with a serious
warning about the need to remain firm in the faith: faith and prayer go hand in
hand. St. Augustine comments, "In order to pray, let us believe; and for our
faith not to weaken, let us pray. Faith causes prayer to grow, and when prayer
grows our faith is strengthened" ("Sermon", 115).
Our Lord has promised His Church that it will remain true to its mission until the
end of time (cf. Matthew 28:20); the Church, therefore, cannot go off the path of
the true faith. But not everyone will remain faithful: some will turn their backs
on the faith of their own accord. This is the mystery which St. Paul describes
as the rebellion" (2 Thessalonians 2:3) and which Jesus Christ announces on
other occasions (cf. Matthew 24:12-13). In this way our Lord warns us, to help
us stay watchful and persevere in the faith and in prayer even though people
around us fall away.
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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].