나바르 매일미사 독서/묵상

Wednesday

4th Week of Ordinary Time

(I) 1st Reading: Hebrews 12:4-7, 11-15

The Example of Christ (Continuation)
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[4] In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shed-
ding your blood.

Perseverance in Affliction
-------------------------------------
[5] And have you forgotten the exhortation which addresses you as sons?--"My
son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor lose courage when you
are punished by him. [6] For the Lord disciplines him whom he loves, and chas-
tises every son whom he receives." [7] It is for discipline that you have to endure.
God is treating you as sons; for what son is there whom his father does not dis-
cipline?

[11] For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant; later it
yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

Striving for Peace; Purity; Reverent Worship
----------------------------------------------------------------
[12] Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, [13] and
make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint
but rather be healed. [14] Strive for peace with all men, and for the holiness with-
out which no one will see the Lord. [15] See to it that no one fail to obtain the
grace of God; that no "root of bitterness" spring up and cause trouble, and by it
the many become defiled.

*********************************************************************************** Commentary:

4-13. Following Christ's example, Christians should struggle to avoid sin; they
should put up with tribulation and persecution because if such adversity arises
it means that the Lord permits it for our good. The letter's tone of encourage-
ment seems to change here to one of reproach. It is as if the writer were saying,
"Christ gave his life for your sins, contending even to the point of dying for you;
how is it that you do not put up with suffering, out of love for him? It is true that
you are being persecuted: God is disciplining you as a Father disciplines his
children. But you are children of God and therefore your attitude should be one
of abandonment to his will even when it seems hard. That is the way a Father
brings up his children."

The main point is that the only important thing is fidelity to God, and that the sin
of apostasy is the greatest of all misfortunes. "Don't forget, my son, that for you
on earth there is but one evil, which you must fear and avoid with the grace of
God: sin" (St J. Escriva, "The Way", 386).

5-11. Suffering, the sacred writer teaches, is a sign of God's paternal love for us;
it proves that we really are his children.

This teaching is supported by the quotation from Proverbs 3: 12, taken from a
long discourse in which a father exhorts his son to acquire true wisdom. In the
present passage the father is identified with God and we with the sons whom he
is addressing.

By being incorporated into Christ through Baptism a person becomes a child of
God: this is the very basis of the Christian life and it should be a source of sere-
nity and peace in every difficulty we meet in the course of life. The term "disci-
pline" which appears so much in this passage does not convey the full richness
of the original Greek word, "paideia", which has to do with the educational up-
bringing of child by parent, of pupil by teacher, and also the punishment meted
out in this context. Here the focus is largely on the second aspect. However, it
should be remembered that in ancient times education and instruction always
involved the idea of punishment. God, therefore, should not be seen as a cruel
or pitiless father, but as a good father who brings up his children in an affectio-
nate yet firm way. Adversity and suffering are a sign that this divine teaching me-
thod is at work: God uses them to educate us and discipline us. "You suffer in
this present life, which is a dream, a short dream. Rejoice, because your Father-
God loves you so much, and if you put no obstacles in his way, after this bad
dream he will give you a good awakening" (St J. Escriva, "The Way", 692). If we
were illegitimate children he would not bother to educate us; but because we are
true sons he disciplines us, to make us worthy of bearing his name. "Everything
that comes to us from God," an ancient ecclesiastical writer reminds us, "and
that we initially see as beneficial or disadvantageous, is sent to us by a father
who is full of tenderness and by the wisest of physicians, with our good in mind"
(Cassian, "Collationes", VII, 28).

When the soul has this kind of attitude, that is, when the trials the Lords sends
are willingly accepted, "with peaceful fruit of righteousness" and it yields fruit of
holiness which fills it with peace: "Jesus prays in the garden: "Pater mi" (Mt
26:39), "Abba, Pater!" (Mk 14:36). God is my Father, even though he may send
me suffering. He loves me tenderly, even while wounding me. Jesus suffers, to
fulfill the Will of the Father.... And I, who also wish to fulfill the most holy Will of
God, following in the footsteps of the Master, can I complain if I too meet suffe-
ring as my traveling companion?

"It will be a sure sign of my sonship, because God is treating me as he treated
his own divine Son. Then I, as he did, will be able to groan and weep alone in my
Gethsemani; but, as I lie prostrate on the ground, acknowledging my nothingness,
there will rise up to the Lord a cry from the depths of my soul: "Pater mi, Abba,
Pater,... fiat!" (St J. Escriva, "The Way of the Cross", I, 1).

12-13. This exhortation follows logically from the previous one. It seems to evoke
the world of athletic competition referred to at the beginning of the chapter. Verse
12 is like a shout of encouragement to a runner who is beginning to flag in the
middle of a race.

The author uses a quotation from Isaiah (Is 35:3) in which drooping hands and
weak knees indicate moral decline (cf. 2 Sam 2:7; 4:1; Jer 47:3). He then goes
on to use words from Proverbs 4:26 to encourage right living: "make straight
steps with your feet": if the Christian perseveres in his efforts even if he is some-
what "lame", that is, even if he is someone whose faith is weak and is in danger
of apostasy, he will be able to return to fitness in spite of everything.

However, this exhortation can be taken as addressed not only to those who need
to mend their ways but also to Christians in general, who should be exemplary
and never in any way be a stumbling-block to their weaker brethren.

14. These words echo what our Lord says in the Sermon on the Mount: "Bles-
sed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God". Jesus promises
those who promote peace that they will be sons of God and therefore share in
God's inner life, which makes man holy. The Apostles and disciples of the Lord
often repeat this teaching (cf. Jas 3:18; Rom 12:18; 1 Pet 3:11). Being at peace
with God, which comes from docility to his plans (v. 11), necessarily leads one
to foster and maintain peace with others. Peace with God and with one's neigh-
bor is inseparable from the search for holiness. Christ brings about the fulfillment
of the ancient promises which foretold a flowering of peace and righteousness in
the messianic times (cf. Ps 72:3; 85:1 1-12; Is 9:7; etc.).

"Holiness": it is not just a matter of avoiding sin. one needs to cultivate virtue and
to desire to attain holiness with the help of grace. Holiness or Christian perfection
is the common goal of all Christ's disciples. Salvation and holiness are really one
and the same thing, for only saints can obtain entry into the presence of God:
only those who are holy can see the Holy One.

"You must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect" (Mt 5:48). These words
of our Lord are always echoing through the Church; today more than ever. "Today,
once again, I set myself this goal and I also remind you and all mankind: this is
God's will for us, that we be saints.

"In order to bring peace, genuine peace, to souls; in order to transform the earth
and to seek God our Lord in the world and through the things of the world perso-
nal sanctity is indispensable" (St J. Escriva, "Friends of God", 294).

15. Theodoret comments on this passage as follows: "Do not be concerned
only about yourselves; rather let each of you look after the other; strengthen the
waverer and assist him who needs your helping hand" ("Interpretatio Ep. ad Hae-
breos, ad loc."). A Christian needs to be concerned not only about his own soul,
his own salvation; on his conscience should also lie the salvation of his brothers
and sisters in the faith. He should be like a gardener who cares for his plants
and makes sure no weeds or diseases spread through his garden. In the Old
Testament, the man who denies his faith is described as a root bearing poiso-
nous and bitter fruit (cf. Deut 29:18). Anyone who is indifferent to a brother's
infidelity endangers those around him, for bad example can spread like an epi-
demic. This passage is reminiscent of St Paul's reproach to the Corinthians:
"Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?" (1 Cor 5:6).

Hence the need to be ever vigilant to ensure that no one through his own fault
loses the gifts God has given him; "the true apostle is on the lookout for occa-
sions of announcing Christ by word, either to unbelievers to draw them towards
the faith, or to the faithful to instruct them, strengthen them, incite them to a
more fervent life; 'for Christ's love urges us on' (2 Cor 5:14), and in the hearts of
all should the Apostle's words find echo: 'Woe to me if I do not preach the Gos-
pel' (1 Cor 9:16)" (Vatican II, "Apostolicam Actuositatem", 6).

(II) 1st Reading: 2 Samuel 24:2, 9-17

The Census
------------------
[2] So the king (David) said to Joab and the commanders of the army, who were
with him, "Go through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan to Beer-sheba, and num-
ber the people, that I may know the number of the people." [9] And Joab gave the
sum of the numbering of the people to the king: in Israel there were eight hundred
thousand valiant men who drew the sword, and the men of Judah were five hun-
dred thousand.

[10] But David's heart smote him after he had numbered the people. And David
said to the LORD, "I have sinned greatly in what I have done. But now, O LORD,
I pray thee, take away the iniquity of thy servant; for I have done very foolishly."

Pestilence. God's Forgiveness
--------------------------------------------
[11] And when David arose in the morning, the word of the LORD came to the
prophet Gad, David's seer, saying, [12] "Go and say to David, 'Thus says the
LORD, Three things I offer you; choose one of them, that I may do it to you.
[13] So Gad came to David and told him, and said to him, "Shall three years of
famine come to you in your land? Or will you flee three months before your foes
while they pursue you? Or shall there be three days' pestilence in your land?
Now consider, and decide what answer I shall return to him who sent me." [14]
Then David said to Gad, "I am in great distress; let us fall into the hand of the
LORD, for his mercy is great; but let me not fall into the hand of man."

[15] So the LORD sent a pestilence upon Israel from the morning until the ap-
pointed time; and there died of the people from Dan to Beer-sheba seventy thou-
sand men. [16] And when the angel stretched forth his hand toward Jerusalem
to destroy it, the LORD repented of the evil, and said to the angel who was wor-
king destruction among the people, "It is enough; now stay your hand." And the
angel of the LORD was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. [17] Then
David spoke to the LORD when he saw the angel who was smiting the people,
and said, "Lo, I have sinned, and I have done wickedly; but these sheep, what
have they done? Let thy hand, I pray thee, be against me and against my fa-
ther's house."

*********************************************************************************** Commentary:

24:1-25. The account of the census contains some elements similar to those
in the account of the deaths of the house of Saul (cf. 21:1-14): there were three
years of famine; the earlier tragedy was caused by a sin of Saul, and we have a
sin of David; previously the Lord was appeased once David piously buried Saul
and his family, that is, when a page in the history of Israel was closed (cf. 21:
14); now a similar effect is attributed to the sacrifices offered by David on the
new altar of Jerusalem, that is, when a new and promising stage begins for the
chosen people (v. 25). **********
**********

24,1-25. 이 인구 조사 이야기는 사울(Saul) 집안의 죽음들(21,1-14 참조)에 대한
이야기에 있는 다음과 같은 요소들에 유사한 어떤 요소들을 포함하고 있습니다:
기근(famine)의 삼 년이 있었고, 그리고 더 초기의 비극은 사울의 한 개의 죄에
의하여 야기되었으며, 그리고 우리는 다윗(David)의 죄 한 개를 가지는데, 이전에
다윗이 경건하게(piously) 사울과 그 가족을 묻자마자, 즉, 이스라엘의 역사에 있어
한 페이지가 마감되었을 때에, 주님께서 평화의 상태가 되시며(is appeased)(21,14
참조), 그리고 이제 한 개의 유사한 결과가 예루살렘의 새로운 제단 (a new altar)
위에 다윗(David)에 의하여 봉헌된 희생 제물들의 덕분으로 돌려집니다, 즉, 한 개의
새로운 그리고 전망이 밝은 단계가 이 선택된 백성을 위하여 시작할 때에
주님께서 평화의 상태가 되십니다(제25절).

The account starts in a surprising way because it anticipates the outcome, that
is, divine anger and punishment, and it also gives the circumstances of the trans-
gression, by pointing out that it was the Lord who incited David to commit it (v.
1). In the mentality of that time all human events were attributed to God, even
natural disasters, and temptation to sin; such anthropomorphisms serve to show
the gravity of the transgression. The census was so enormous a sin that the idea
behind it is imputed to a supernatural being (1 Chronicles 21:1 calls him "Satan")
and its consequences are such that only God can prevent or alleviate them.

이 이야기는 한 개의 놀라운 방식으로 시작하는데 왜냐하면 이 이야기는 결과를, 즉
하느님의 진노와 벌을 예상하고, 그리고 이 이야기는, 다윗으로 하여금 침범을
범하도록 부추겼던(incited) 분이 바로 주님이셨음을 지적함으로써(제1절), 침범
(transgression)의 정황(情況, circumstances)들을 또한 제공하기 때문입니다.
바로 그 시대의 심리/사고 방식(mentality)에 있어 인간의 사건(human
events)들 모두는, 심지어 자연 재해(natural disasters)들, 그리고 죄들을
향하여 유혹받음(temptation)까지도, 하느님의 탓으로 돌려졌으며, 그리하여
그러한 의인관(擬人觀, anthropomorphisms)들은 이 침범의 무거움(gravity)을
보여주는 역할을 합니다. 이 인구 조사는 대단히 커다란 한 개의 죄였기에(*)
이 죄의 뒤에 있는 관념(idea)은 한 명의 초자연적 있음(a supernatural being)
[1역대 21,1은 그를 "사탄(Satan)" 이라고 부름]에게 전가되었으며(is imputed
to) 그리하여 그 결과들은 오로지 하느님만이 그들을 방지하시거나(prevent)
혹은 완하하실(alleviate) 수 있는 바로 그러한 것들입니다.

-----
(*) 번역자 주: "이방인들에 대한 솔로몬의 인구 조사"(1역대 22,2를 상기시키는
2역대 2,16)와는 달리, "하느님의 백성에 대한 다윗의 인구 조사"가 윤리적으로
(morally) 대단히 커다란 죄(sin)인 이유는,

(i) 하느님께서는, "질투(嫉妬)하는 하느님(an envious God)"이 아니라,
"시기(猜忌)하는 하느님(a jealous God)"이시기(탈출 20,5) 때문
[이 심각한 우리말 번역 오류에 대한 글들은 다음에 있다: http://ch.catholic.or.kr
/pundang/4/soh/envy_vs_jealousy_concept_error.htm <----- 필독 권고],

(ii) [기원전 6세기경에 신명기의 저자에 의하여 기록된] 신명기 17,14-20, 그리고

(iii) 바로 아래의 해설에 주어진 "하느님의 백성에 대한 인구 조사"와 등가/동치인
의미(meaning)에

있다는 생각이다.
-----

To know the number of members that make up the people (v. 2) was equivalent
to lording it over them and taking advantage of them, sometimes by way of taxes,
sometimes by conscripting them into the army or making them slaves to do hard
labor for the king. The people of Israel belong only to the Lord, and are subject
only to him. When the Law permitted a census, each of those counted had to
pay a ransom similar to what was paid when a first-born was redeemed (cf. the
note on Ex 30:11-16), indicating that in some way they were passing from the
Lord's domain into that of the king.

하느님의 백성을 형성하는 구성원들의 숫자를 아는 것(제2절)은, 때로는 세금
(taxes)들로서, 때로는 그들을 군대로 징집함 혹은 임금을 위하여 고된 노동을
하도록 그들을 노예로 삼음으로써(1사무엘 8,11-17 참조), 그들 위에서 이
백성을 지배함 및 그들을 이용함(이것을 금하는 신명기 17,20 참조)과 등가/동치
(equivalent)였습니다. 이스라엘의 백성은 오로지 주님께만 속하며, 그리하여
오로지 그분께만 종속됩니다(subject to). 율법(the Law)이 [하느님의 백성에
대한] 인구 조사를 허락할 때에, 헤아려지는 자들 각자는, 한 명의 맏배(a first-born)가
대속될(was redeemed) 때에 지불되었던 바에 유사하게, 한 명의 몸값(a ransom)을
반드시 지불하여야만 하였는데(탈출 30,11-16 참조), 이 지불은 어떤 방식으로
그들이 주님의 영역(domain)으로부터 임금의 영역 안쪽으로 넘어가고 있음(were
passing)을 나타내었습니다.

-----
번역자 주: 2사무엘서 24,10에 대한 위의 해설을 마지막 읽을꺼리로 제시하는 글
[제목: 다윗의 인구조사의 인과(因果)들에 대하여 - 2사무엘 24,1-25; 1역대 21,1-30]은
다음에 있으며, 또한 대단히 유익하다는 생각에, 필독을 권고한다:
http://ch.catholic.or.kr/pundang/4/soh/1504.htm <----- 필독 권고
-----

Gospel Reading: Mark 6:1-6

No Prophet Is Honored In His Own Country
--------------------------------------------------------------
[1] He (Jesus) went away from there and came to His own country; and His dis-
ciples followed Him. [2] And on the Sabbath He began to teach in the syna-
gogue; and many who heard Him were astonished saying, "Where did this man
get all this? What is the wisdom given to Him? What mighty works are wrought
by His hands! [3] Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James
and Joses and Judah and Simon, and are not His sisters here with us?" And
they took offense at Him. [4] And Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without
honor, except in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house."
[5] And He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands upon
a few sick people and healed them. [6] And He marvelled because of their un-
belief.

*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:

1-3. Jesus is here described by His occupation and by the fact that He is the son
of Mary. Does this indicate that St. Joseph is dead already? We do not know,
but it is likely. In any event, the description is worth underlining: in the Gospels
of St. Matthew and St. Luke we are told of the virginal conception of Jesus. St.
Mark's Gospel does not deal with our Lord's infancy, but there may be an allu-
sion here to His virginal conception and birth, in His being described as "the son
of Mary."

"Joseph, caring for the Child as he had been commanded, made Jesus a crafts-
man, transmitting his own professional skill to him. So the neighbors of Naza-
reth will call Jesus both "faber" and "fabri filius": the craftsman and the son of
the craftsman" (St. J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By", 55). This message of
the Gospel reminds us that our vocation to work is not marginal to God's plans.

"The truth that by means of work man participates in the activity of God Him-
self, his Creator, was 'given particular prominence by Jesus Christ'--the Jesus
at whom many of His first listeners in Nazareth 'were astonished, saying,
"Where did this man get all this? What is the wisdom given to Him?... Is not
this the carpenter?'" (Mark 6:23). For Jesus not only proclaimed but first and
foremost fulfilled by His deeds the 'Gospel', the word of eternal Wisdom, that
had been entrusted to Him. Therefore this was also 'the gospel of work', be-
cause 'He who proclaimed it was Himself a man of work', a craftsman like
Joseph of Nazareth (cf. Matthew 13:55). And if we do not find in His words a
special command to work--but rather on one occasion a prohibition against too
much anxiety about work and life--(Matthew 6:25-34)--at the same time the elo-
quence of the life of Christ is unequivocal: He belongs to the `working world',
He has appreciation and respect for human work. It can indeed be said the 'He
looks with love upon human work' and the different forms that it takes, seeing
in each one of these forms a particular facet of man's likeness with God, the
Creator and Father" (John Paul II, "Laborem Exercens", 26).

St. Mark mentions by name a number of brothers of Jesus, and refers in general
to His sisters. But the word "brother" does not necessarily mean son of the
same parents. It can also indicate other degrees of relationship--cousins, ne-
phews, etc. Thus in Genesis 13:8 and 14:14 and 16 Lot is called the brother of
Abraham (translated as "kinsman" in RSV), whereas we know that he was Abra-
ham's nephew, the son of Abraham's brother Haran. The same is true of Laban,
who is called the brother of Jacob (Genesis 29:15) although he was his mother's
brother (Genesis 29:15); there are other instances: cf. 1 Chronicles 23:21-22, etc.
This confusion is due to the poverty of Hebrew and Aramaic language: in the ab-
sence of distinct terms, the same word, brother, is used to designate different
degrees of relationship.

From other Gospel passages we know that James and Joses, who are mentioned
here, were sons of Mary of Clophas (John 19:25). We know less about Judas and
Simon: it seems that they are the Apostles Simon the Cananaean (Matthew 10:4)
and Judas the son of James (Luke 6:16), the author of the Catholic Epistle, in
which he describes himself as "brother" of James. In any event, although James,
Simon and Judas are referred to as brothers of Jesus, it is nowhere said they were
"sons of Mary"--which would have been the natural thing if they had been our Lord's
brothers in the strict sense. Jesus always appears as an only son: to the people
of Nazareth, He is "the son of Mary" (Matthew 13:55). When He was dying Jesus
entrusted His mother to St. John (cf. John 19:26-27), which shows that Mary had
no other children. To this is added the constant belief of the Church, which regards
Mary as the ever-virgin: "a perfect virgin before, while, and forever after she gave
birth" (Paul IV, "Cum Quorumdam").

5-6. Jesus worked no miracles here: not because He was unable to do so, but as
punishment for the unbelief of the townspeople. God wants man to use the grace
offered him, so that, by cooperating with grace, he become disposed to receive
further graces. As St. Augustine neatly puts it, "He who made you without your
own self, will not justify you without yourself" ("Sermon" 169).

　

*********************************************************************************************
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.