Saturday

3rd Week of Ordinary Time

(I) 1st Reading: Hebrews 11:1-2, 8-19

The Good Example of the Patriarchs
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[1] Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not
seen. [2] For by it the men of old received divine approval.

[8] By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place which he
was to receive as an inheritance and he went out, not knowing where he was to
go. [9] By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living
in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. [10] For he
looked forward to the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is
God. [11] By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was
past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised. [12] Theref-
ore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many
as the stars of heaven and as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.

[13] These all died in faith, not having received what was promised, but having
seen it and greeted it from afar, and having acknowledged that they were stran-
gers and exiles on the earth. [14] For people who speak thus make it clear that
they are seeking a homeland. [15] If they had been thinking of that land from
which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. [16] But
as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is
not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.

[17] By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had
received the promises was ready to offer up his only son, [18] of whom it was
said, "Through Isaac shall your descendants be named." [19] He considered that
God was able to raise men even from the dead; hence he did receive him back,
and this was a symbol.

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Commentary:

1. Although the text does not aim to provide a precise definition of faith, it does
in fact very clearly describe the essence of that virtue, linking it to hope in future
things and to certainty concerning supernatural truths. By means of faith, the
believer acquires certainty concerning God's promises to man, and a firm convic-
tion that he will obtain access to heaven. The Latin translates as "substantia"
the word the RSV translates as "assurance"; "substantia", which literally means
"that which underlies", here refers to the solid basis provided by hope.

This verse indicates that faith, which is a type of knowledge, is different from o-
ther types of human knowledge. Thus, man can know things by direct evidence,
by reasoned proof or by someone else's testimony. As regards knowledge based
on information provided by someone else, that is, knowledge based on faith, we
can distinguish two types--human faith, when it is another human being whose
word one relies on (as in the case of pupil/teacher, child/parent), and supernatu-
ral faith (when the testimony comes from God himself, who is Supreme Truth).
In this latter case the knowledge provided is most certain.

However, the object of supernatural faith, that is, what one believes in (God and
the unchanging decrees of his will), is not something that is self-evident to man,
nor is it something that can be attained by the use of unaided reason.That is
why it is necessary for God himself to bear witness to what he reveals. Faith,
then, is certain knowledge, but it is knowledge of things which are not self-
evident, things which one does not see but which one can hope for.

The verse also says that faith is "conviction" concerning things not seen. It is
therefore different from opinion, suspicion or doubt (none of which implies cer-
tainty). By saying that it has to do with things unseen, it is distinguishing faith
from knowledge and intuitive cognition (cf. "Summa Theologiae", II-II, q. 4,a. 1).

Summing up, we can say that "when God makes a revelation, we are obliged to
render by faith a full submission of intellect and will. The faith, however, which is
the beginning of human salvation, the Catholic Church asserts to be a superna-
tural virtue whereby, with the inspiration and help of God's grace, we believe that
what he has revealed is true--not because its intrinsic truth is seen by the natural
light of reason, but because of the authority of God who reveals it, of God who
can neither deceive nor be deceived" (Vatican I, "Dei Filius", chap. 3).

It is, therefore, a feature of faith that it makes as certain about things which are
not self-evident. That is why in order to believe one must want to believe, why
the act of believing is always free and meritorious. However, faith can, with God's
help, reach a certainty greater than any proof can provide. 'This faith", St John
of Avila comments, "is not based on reasons [...]; for when a person believes
on the basis of reasons, he is not believing in such a way that he is totally con-
vinced, without any doubt or scruple whatever. But the faith which God infuses
is grounded on divine Truth, and it causes one to believe more firmly than if one
saw it with one's own eyes, and touched it with one's hands--and to believe
more certainly than he who believes that four is greater than three, the sort of
thing that is so obvious that the mind never hesitates a moment, nor can it even
if it wants to" ("Audi, Filia", chap. 43).

The faith which God gives a person--supernatural faith--is necessarily the point
of departure for hope and charity: it is what is usually called "living faith".

When one lives with this kind of faith it is easy to see that the three "theologi-
cal" virtues (faith, hope and charity) are bound up with one another. Faith and
hope lead a person to unite himself to God as the source from which all good
things flow; charity unites us to God directly, by loving affection, because God
is the supreme Good. Faith is as it were the first step: it means accepting what
God says as true.

We then unite ourselves to him through hope, insofar as we rely on God's help
to attain beatitude. The goal of this process is charity, the fullness of which is
eternal possession of God, the Supreme Good. "Let us grow in hope, thereby
strengthening our faith which is truly 'the assurance of things hoped for, the con-
viction of things not seen' (Heb 11:1).

Let us grow in this virtue, let us beg our Lord to increase his charity in us; after
all, one can only really trust what one loves with all one's might. And it is certain-
ly worthwhile to love our Lord" (St J. Escriva, "Friends of God", 220).

If hope in general is the conviction of being able to obtain something worthwhile in
the future, something difficult to obtain, theological hope is the conviction of being
able, with the help of God, to attain heaven. And faith is precisely what provides
certain knowledge of those two truths--that heaven is our goal and that God wants
to help us to get there (cf. "Summa Theologiae", II-II, q. l7, a 5 and 7). Therefore,
nothing should dishearten us on this road to our ultimate goal because we put our
trust in "three truths: God is all-powerful, God has a boundless love for me, God is
faithful to his promises. And it is he, the God of mercies, who enkindles this trust
within me, so that I never feel lonely or useless or abandoned but, rather, involved
in a plan of salvation which will one day reach its goal in Paradise" (John Paul I,
"Address", 20 September 1978).

8. Abraham, "our father in faith", is the greatest example, in the Old Testament,
of faith in God (cf. Gen 12:1-4; Rom 4:1ff; Gal 3:6-9; Heb 6:13ff). It is not surpri-
sing that the author pauses to dwell on the faithful life of the father of the chosen
people. Putting all his trust in the divine word, Abraham gave up all the security
and comfort of his native land in Ur of the Chaldeans, to set out for a distant and
unknown place, the land of Canaan, which God had promised to give his descen-
dants. "Neither the love for his homeland nor the pleasure of his neighbors' com-
pany nor the comforts of his father's home were able to weaken his resolve. He
set out courageously and ardently to where God willed to lead him. What self-
abasement and abandonment! One cannot love God perfectly unless one re-
nounces all attachment to perishable things" (St Francis de Sales, "Treatise on
the Love of God", book 10). Abraham symbolizes the need for detachment if one
is to obtain redemption and to be a good servant of God and of others.

"Never forget that Christ cannot be reached without sacrifice. You have to get rid
of everything that gets in the way [...]. You have to do the same in this battle for
the glory of God, in this struggle of love and peace by which we are trying to
spread Christ's kingdom. In order to serve the Church, the Pope and all souls,
you must be ready to give up everything superfluous" (St J. Escriva, "Friends of
God", 196).

9-10. Abraham, and his son Isaac and grandson Jacob like him, far from settling
down comfortably in a permanent place, lived a nomadic existence a stranger in
a foreign land (cf. Gen 23:4). By faith the patriarch "looked forward to the city
which has foundations", the city God would build. Instead of the provisionality of
tents and the weak foundations of cities built by men, a heavenly city was being
established, eternal and permanent, built by God on solid foundations, which
Abraham hoped one day to possess. The promised land was a symbol of the
definitive fatherland to which God called the father of Israel. There was even a
late Jewish tradition which spoke of Abraham being given a vision of the heaven-
ly Jerusalem after he ratified his covenant with God.

Christians live in the world by the will of God, and they love the world, but at the
same time they realize they should not settle down in it as if it were the final goal
of their lives. "They are residents at home in their own country but their behavior
is more like that of people who are passing through [...]. For them any foreign
country is a homeland, and any homeland a foreign country" ("Letter to Diogne-
tus", V, 5).

11-12. Sarah, like Abraham, was very elderly when God announced that she was
going to have a child. At first she was puzzled and even sarcastically skeptical
(cf. Gen 18:9f), but soon her attitude changed into a faith which God rewarded by
her conceiving Isaac. The faith of Sarah and her husband can be said to exceed
that of the earlier patriarchs because what God promised could come true only
by means of a miracle, since Abraham, like his wife, was old and incapable of
begetting children. That is why it says that from one man "and him as good as
dead" innumerable descendants were born. God is generous in rewarding man's
faith. "'Si habueritis fidem, sicut granum sinapis"! --If your faith were the size of
a mustard seed!...'

"What promises are contained in this exclamation of the Master!" (St J. Escriva,
"The Way", 585).

The conception of Isaac is also a "type" of that of Christ. "All the miraculous con-
ceptions which occurred in the Old Testament were prefigurements of the grea-
test of all miracles, the Incarnation of the Word. It was fitting that his birth from
a Virgin should be prefigured by other births so as to prepare people's minds for
faith. But there is this difference: God miraculously enabled Sarah to conceive
by means of human seed, whereas the blessed Virgin conceived without it" (St
Thomas Aquinas, "Commentary on Heb.", 11, 3).

13-16. After speaking about the faith of Abel, Noah and Abraham, the sacred
writer goes on to give a brief panoramic account of the entire history of the Pa-
triarchs and the Exodus. It does not deal with events in chronological order. By
recalling that the Patriarchs left their own country to journey abroad "seeking a
homeland", he brings in the exodus from Egypt. Between Abraham, who left Ur
to travel to the land of Canaan, and the people of Israel, who left Egypt for the
promised land, there is an obvious parallel, which is even more marked if one
bears in mind that neither Abraham nor the Israelites led by Moses were des-
tined to take possession of the land: that was reserved to their descendants.
The only thing Abraham managed to do was to purchase the cave of Machpe-
lah, near Hebron, and the land immediately around it, for which he had to pay
a very high price in silver. The cave became the burial ground of Sarah, Abra-
ham himself, Isaac, Rebecca, Jacob and Leah. But Abraham publicly admitted
he was "a stranger and a sojourner" in Canaan when he bought the cave from
the Hittites (Gen 23:4). Nor did the Hebrews of Moses' generation manage to
enter Canaan. The nearest they got to it was descriptions brought by their
spies; and Moses himself was only able to view it from a distance, from Mount
Nebo, just prior to his death (cf. Deut 32:49-52; 33:1-4). Abraham, and later
Isaac and Jacob (who led a nomadic existence in Canaan), like the Israelites
in the wilderness, prefigure Christians, who are also in search of a land of their
own, a better homeland, that is, heaven (cf. Heb 13:14). It certainly is moving to
recall the Patriarchs and the Exodus, and very helpful to the faith and hope of
Christians amid the difficulties they encounter in this world. Those men of faith
are said to have "seen" what was promised: this may be a reference to some
special grace God gave them, as was the case with Abraham (cf. Jn 8:56), or
else to the intuitive vision of supernatural things which faith provides (cf. "Com-
mentary on Heb, ad loc."). "They greeted it from afar," happy to do so. "They
greeted the promises and rejoiced," St John Chrysostom says, "for they alrea-
dy had such faith in those promises that they could make signs of greeting.
This comparison is taken from seafaring: when from afar sailors espy the city
they are making for, even before entering the port they cheer in greeting" ("Hom.
on Heb.", 23).

The Patriarchs' attitude was a true indication of their faith in a future life, for, as
St Thomas points out, by describing themselves as strangers and sojourners
(Gen 23:4; 47:9; cf. Deut 26:5) they showed they were heading towards their
homeland, the heavenly Jerusalem. They did not set their hearts on an earthly
homeland, or on their parental homestead, for if so they could in fact have cho-
sen to return to it (cf. "Commentary on Heb, ad loc."). Thus the promises made
to them found their fulfillment not in something earthly but in the eternity of hea-
ven: "Therefore God is not ashamed" to be called the God of Abraham and Isaac
and Jacob: seeing their faith and fidelity, he overlooked their sins and faults. And
he is disposed to act in the same way towards Christians.

In vv. 14 and 16, in the Greek text and the New Vulgate--and in the RSV--the
verbs are in the present tense, as distinct from the past (aorist) used generally
in this passage. This is because the whole paragraph is recalling the life of the
Patriarchs, but with the intention of stressing that their faith is an example to all
generations. What we have here is a mixture of history and sapiential writing,
using verbs which indicate that the action--or at least some of its effects--is still
going on.

17-19. It is very difficult for us to imagine what Abraham thought when God asked
him to sacrifice Isaac, the son of the promise, his only son, in the mountains of
Moriah (cf. Gen 22:2). The Old Testament shows how resolute Abraham was, his
absolute docility, his serenity even in the midst of suffering his trust in God (cf.
Gen 22:1-18). This is revealed in the touching conversation between the Patriarch
and his son, when Isaac asks him where is the lamb for the offering and Abra-
ham replies, "God will provide himself with the lamb for a burnt offering, my son".
In St Paul's epistles generally Abraham's faith is proposed as an example (cf.
Gal 3:7; Rom 4:3, 11-12; 4:17-22); but that was in the context of his faith in God's
promise that he would have a multitude of descendants. Here, however, the Patri-
arch's faith is to be seen in the way he approaches a commandment which
seems to negate that promise: how could God possibly ask him to sacrifice his
only son? The answer lies in the fact that God knew that Abraham had faith in
his ability to bring the dead back to life.

Abraham's obedience to God in this episode is the most striking proof of his faith.
Here most of all the Patriarch "believed against hope [...]; he grew strong in his
faith as he gave glory to God" (Rom 4:18, 21). "The Patriarch hears words which
deny the promise; he hears the very author of the promise contradict himself, but
he is not dismayed; he is going to obey as if everything were completely consis-
tent. And in fact the two things were compatible: the two things God said were
contradictory as far as human logic was concerned; but faith brought them into
agreement [...].

"God tested Abraham's faith. Did he not know the strength and integrity of that
great man? Undoubtedly he did, very well. Why, then, did he put them to the
test? He did not do it to prove to himself the Patriarch's virtue; he did it to show
the world how excellent Abraham was. The Apostle, moreover, shows the He-
brews one of the causes of our temptations, so that anyone who is afflicted
should not think that God has abandoned him" ("Hom. on Heb.", 25). we know,
moreover, that precisely on account of Abraham's generosity and faith, God re-
newed his promise to him, now ratifying it with an oath (cf. Gen 22:16; Heb 6:
13-18).

19. "Hence he did receive him back, and this was a symbol": after offering Isaac,
Abraham was given him back, because God stepped in before Isaac was sacri-
ficed (Gen 22:11-12). And he received him as "a symbol" (literally, as "a para-
ble"). Tradition has always seen the sacrifice of Isaac, the only Son, as a sym-
bol of the redemptive sacrifice of Christ; and, particularly, it has seen God's
intervention on Mount Moriah as a symbol of the Resurrection. "He saw it as a
symbol," Theodoret comments, "that is, as a prefigurement of the Resurrection.
(Isaac) was brought to death by his father's will, and then brought back to life
by the voice which prevented his death. All this amounts to a prefiguring of the
passion of the Savior, and that is why the Lord told the Jews, 'Your father Abra-
ham rejoiced that he was to see my day; he saw it and was glad' (Jn 8:56)"
("Interpretatio Ep. ad Haebreos, ad loc.").

Origen, a writer of Christian antiquity, reflects this tradition very beautifully when
he says that the sacrifice of Isaac helps us to understand the mystery of Re-
demption. "Isaac carrying the wood for the burnt offering is a symbol of Christ,
who carried his (own) cross. But it is also the function of the priest to carry the
wood for the burnt offering [...]. Christ is the Word of God, but the Word made
flesh. Therefore, there is in Christ an element which comes from above and ano-
ther which comes from human nature, which he took on in the womb of the Vir-
gin. This is why Christ experiences suffering: he suffers in the flesh, and he dies,
but what suffers death is the flesh, and the ram is a figure of this, as St John
said, 'Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world' (Jn 1:29)
[...]. Christ is at one and the same time victim and high priest. Thus, according
to the spirit he offers the victim to his father, according to his flesh, he himself
is offered on the altar of the cross" ("Homilies on Genesis", 8, 6 and 9).

For all these reasons, Eucharistic Prayer I links Christ's sacrifice with those of
Abel, Isaac and Melchizedek.
　

(II) 1st Reading: Samuel 12:1-7a, 10-17

David's Repentance
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[1] And the LORD sent Nathan to David. He came to him, and said to him,
"There were two men in a certain city, the one rich and the other poor. [2] The
rich man had very many flocks and herds; [3] but the poor man had nothing but
one little ewe lamb, which he had bought. And he brought it up, and it grew up

with him and with his children; it used to eat of his morsel, and drink from his
cup, and lie in his bosom, and it was like a daughter to him. [4] Now there came
a traveller to the rich man, and he was unwilling to take one of his own flock or
herd to prepare for the wayfarer who had come to him, but he took the poor man's
lamb, and prepared it for the man who had come to him." [5] Then David's anger
was greatly kindled against the man; and he said to Nathan, "As the LORD lives,
the man who has done this deserves to die; [6] and he shall restore the lamb four-
fold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity." 

[7a] Nathan said to David, "You are the man. Thus says the LORD, the God of
Israel, [10] 'Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, because
you have despised me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your
wife.' Thus says the LORD, 'Behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your
own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes, and give them to your
neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. [12] For you
did it secretly; but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.'" [13]
David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the LORD." And Nathan said to Da-
vid, "The LORD also has put away your sin; you shall not die. [14] Nevertheless,
because by this deed you have utterly scorned the LORD, the child that is born
to you shall die." [15] Then Nathan went to his house.

And the LORD struck the child that Uriah's wife bore to David, and it became sick.
[16] David therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted, and went in and
lay all night upon the ground, [17] And the elders of his house stood beside him,
to raise him from the ground; but he would not, nor did he eat food with them.

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Commentary:

12:1-25. Nathan's intervention (vv. 1-15), David's repentance (vv. 16-19), and the
birth of Solomon (vv. 20-25) are the main subjects in this chapter. Nathan makes
an appeal to David with one of the most beautiful parables in the Old Testament
and gets the king to condemn his own conduct: "the man who has done this de-
serves to die" (v. 5). In reply, Nathan tells him the penalty the Lord has decreed,
which in line with the law of vengeance or retaliation has three parts to it, corres-
ponding to David's triple crime--murder, adultery and the fact that the victim was
a blameless man. On account of the murder, the sword will not depart from Da-
vid's house (V. 10): this punishment will affect his eldest sons, Amnon, Absalom
and Adonijah, who will die violent deaths. For the adultery, his wives will be vio-
lated in public (v. 11), which will happen when Absalom takes his father's harem
(cf. 16:20-23). And for the killing of an innocent man, his own recently born son
will not survive (v. 14).

David's repentance is exemplary (vv. 16-19): he weeps for his sin, and fasts and
pleads for his little son: so, in spite of his weaknesses and sins, he still trusts in
the Lord and shows himself to he "a man after (the Lord's) own heart" (1 Sam
13: 14). David is a model of penance because, by acknowledging his sin, he ob-
tained divine forgiveness. His repentance finds expression in Psalm 51, which so
beautifully and piously records the sinful king's supplication to the Lord: "Have
mercy on me, 0 God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abun-
dant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin!" (Ps 51:1-2).

The birth of a new son (vv. 20-25) brings this account to an end and makes it
clear that Solomon was born within marriage; his birth causes David great joy
and he is given a second name in a message from Nathan--"Jedidiali" (v. 25);
beloved of the Lord. This means that, from birth, Solomon is the one chosen by
God to advance his plan of salvation for Israel.

Great was David's sin, and heartfelt his contrition. But God's forgiveness is grea-
test of all. "In the course of its history, Israel was able to discover that God had
only one reason to reveal himself to theirs, a single motive for choosing them
from among all peoples as his special possession--his sheer gratuitous love. And
thanks to the prophets Israel understood that it was again out of love that God
never stopped saving them and pardoning their unfaithfulness and sins" ("Cate-
chism of the Catholic Church", 218).


Gospel Reading: Mark 4:35-41

The Calming of the Storm
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[35] On that day, when evening had come, He (Jesus) said to them, "Let us go
across to the other side." [36] And leaving the crowd, they took Him with them
just as He was, in the boat. And other boats were with Him. [37] And a great
storm of wind arose, and the waves beat into the boat so that the boat was al-
ready filling. [38] But He was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they
woke Him and said to Him, "Teacher, do You not care if we perish?" [39] And
He awoke and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace! Be still!" And
the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. [40] He said to them, "Why are
you afraid? Have you no faith?" [41] And they were filled with awe, and said to
one another, "Who then is this, that even wind and sea obey Him?"

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Commentary:

35-41. The episode of the calming of the storm, the memory of which must have
often helped the Apostles regain their serenity in the midst of struggles and diffi-
culties, also helps us never lose the supernatural way of looking at things: a
Christian's life is like a ship: "As a vessel on the sea is exposed to a thousand
dangers--pirates, quicksands, hidden rocks, tempests--so man in this life, is en-
compassed with perils, arising from the temptations of Hell, from the occasions
of sin, from the scandals or bad counsels of men, from human respect, and,
above all from the passions of corrupt nature [...]. This should not cause him to
lose confidence. Rather [...] when you find yourself assaulted by a violent pas-
sion [...] take whatever steps you can to avoid the occasions [of sin] and place
your reliance on God [...]: when the tempest is violent, the pilot never takes his
eyes from the light which guides him to port. In like manner, we should keep our
eyes always turned to God, who alone can deliver us from the many dangers to
which we are exposed" (St. Augustine, "Sermon 51; for the Fourth Sunday After
Epiphany).

　

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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].