나바르 매일미사 독서/묵상

Tuesday

5th Week of Ordinary Time

(I) 1st Reading: Genesis 1:20-2:4a

The Creation Account (Continued)
-------------------------------------------------
[20] And God said, "Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and let
birds fly above the earth across the firmament of the heavens." [21] So God crea-
ted the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, with which the
waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its
kind. And God saw that it was good. [22] And God blessed them, saying, "Be
fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the
earth." [23] And there was evening and there was morning, a fifth day.

[24] And God said, "Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their
kinds: cattle and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their
kinds" And it was so. [25] And God made the beasts of the earth according
to their kinds and the cattle according to their kinds, and everything that creeps
upon the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

[26] Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let
them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and
over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps
upon the earth." [27] So God created man in his own image, in the image of God
he created him; male and female he created them. [28] And God blessed them,
and God said to them.,"Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it;
and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over
every living thing that moves upon the earth." [29] And God said, "Behold, I have
given you every plant yielding seed which is upon the face of all the earth, and
every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. [30] And to every
beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on
the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for
food." And it was so. [31] And God saw everything that he had made, and behold,
it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, a sixth day.

[2:1] Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. [2]
And on the seventh day God finished his work which he had done, and he rested
on the seventh day from all his work which he had done. [3] So God blessed the
seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all his work which
he had done in creation. [4a] These are the generations of the heavens and the
earth when they were created.

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

1:26. The sacred text emphasizes the special significance of this moment: God
seems to stop to reflect and plan every detail of his next creation--man. Ancient
Jewish interpretation (followed also by some Christian writers) saw the use of
the plural "Let us make..." as meaning that God deliberated with his heavenly
court, that is, with the angels (implying that God had created them at the very
start, when he "created the heavens and the earth"). But the use of the plural
should rather be taken as reflecting the greatness and power of God. A consi-
derable part of Christian tradition has seen the "Let us make" as reflecting the
Holy Trinity, for New Testament revelation has made the Christian reader more
aware of the unfathomable greatness of the divine mystery. ***********

1:26. 이 성스러운 본문(text)은 바로 이 순간의 특별한 중요성을 강조하고 있습니다:
하느님께서는 당신의 다음 창조인 사람에 대하여 성찰하시기(reflect) 위하여 그리고
모든 상세 항목을 계획하기 위하여 멈추신 듯 합니다. (또한 약간의 그리스도교
저술가들도 따랐던) 고대 유다교의 해석은 "Let us make..."라는 복수 인칭의
사용을 하느님께서 당신의 천상 어전(heavenly court)과 함께, 즉 천사들과 함께,
숙고하셨음(deliverate)을 뜻한다고 이해하였습니다. (이것은 하느님께서 "하늘들과
땅을 창조하셨을" 때인, 한 처음에 천사들을 창조하셨음을 뜻합니다). 그러나 이
복수 인칭의 사용은 이것보다는 오히려 하느님 권능의 위대하심을 반향하고 있는
(reflecting) 것으로 생각되어야 합니다. 그리스도교 전통의 상당한 부분은 이 "Let us
make"를 성삼위(Holy Trinity)를 반향하고 있는 것으로 이해하여 왔는데, 이는 신약
성경의 계시가 그리스도인 독자들로 하여금 하느님 신비의 깊이를 헤아릴 수 없는
위대함에 대하여 더 많이 알아차리게끔 해 왔기 때문입니다.

"Man" here has a collective meaning: every human being, by his or her very na-
ture, is in the image and likeness of God. The human being is intelligible not by
reference to other created beings in the universe but by reference to God. The
likeness between God and man is not a physical one, for God has no body; it
is a spiritual likeness, lying in the human being's capacity for interiority. The
Second Vatican Council teaches that man is not deceived when he regards him-
self as superior to bodily things and as more than just a speck of nature or a
nameless unit in the city of man. For by his power to know himself in the depths
of his being he rises above the whole universe of mere objects. When he is drawn
to think about his real self, he turns to those deep recesses of his being where
God who probes the heart (1 Kings 1.6:7; Jer 17:10) awaits him, and where he
himself decides his own destiny in the sight of God. So when he recognizes in
himself a spiritual and immortal soul, he is not being led astray by false imagi-
nings that are due to merely physical or social causes. On the contrary, he
grasps what is profoundly true in this matter" ("Gaudium Et Spes", 14).

The fact that God creates man in own image and likeness "means not only
rationality and freedom as constitutive properties of human nature, but also from
the very beginning, the capacity of having a "personal relationship" with God as
'I' and 'you' and therefore the capacity "of having a covenant", which will take place
in God's salvific communication with man" (John Paul II, "Dominun Et Vivificantem",
34). In the light of this communication, brought about in all its fullness by Jesus
Christ, the Fathers the Church read the words "image and likeness" as meaning,
on the one hand man's spiritual condition, and, on the other, his sharing in the di-
vine nature through sanctifying grace. Even after the fall, man is still in the "image"
of God; through sin, however, he lost his "likeness" but this was restored through
Christ's redemption.

It is part of God's design that human beings should have dominion over other crea-
ted things (represented here by the animals). This dominion makes man God's
representative (everything really belongs to God) in the created world. Therefore,
although man is going to be the lord of creation, he needs to recognize that God
alone is the Creator; man has to respect and look after creation; he is responsible
for it.

These words of Scripture show that "man is the only creature that God has loved
for itself alone, because all others were created to be at the service of man. Here
we can see, too, the basic equality of all human beings. For the Church, this
equality, which has its roots in man's very being, takes on the very special dimen-
sion of brotherhood through the Incarnation of the Son of God. [...] Therefore,
discrimination of any type [...] is absolutely unacceptable" (John Paul II, Address,
7 July 1984).

1:27. The creation of man marks the completion of God's plan, In presenting this
final act of creation, the sacred writer offers us a summary of the things that go
to make up the human being. As, well as repeating that God created man in his
image and likeness, he tells us that God created them man and woman, that is
to say, corporeal beings, endowed with sexuality, and designed to live in society.
"Being in the image of God, the human individual possesses the dignity of a per-
son, who is not just something, but someone. He is capable of self-knowledge,
of self-possession and of freely giving himself and entering into communion with
other persons. And he is called by grace to a covenant with his Creator to offer
him a response of faith and love that no other creature can give in his stead"
("Catechism of the Catholic Church", 357).

"The fact that man 'created as man and woman' is the image of God means not
only that each of them individually is like God, as a rational and free being. It also
means that man and woman, created as a 'unity of the two' in their common hu-
manity, are called to live in a communion of love, and in this way to mirror in the
world the communion of love that is in God, through which the Three Persons
love each other in the intimate mystery of the one divine life. This 'unity of the
two', which is a sign of interpersonal communion, "shows that the creation of
man" is also marked by a certain likeness to the divine communion ("communio")
This likeness is a quality of the personal being of both man and woman, and is
also a call and a task" (John Paul II, "Mulieris Dignitatem", 7).

The fact that the Bible and everyday language speak of God as masculine is a
result of cultural influences and the great care taken in the Bible to avoid any
hint of polytheism (which could arise if the godhead were described as feminine,
opening the way to generations of gods, as in other religions). God transcends
the body and sexuality; therefore, both man (masc.) and woman (fem.) equally
reflect his image and likeness. In these words of Genesis, for the very first time
in history, the fundamental equality in dignity of man and woman is proclaimed
--in marked contrast with the low esteem in which women were held in the
ancient world.

According to the traditional Jewish and Christian interpretation, this verse is allu-
ding to marriage, as if God had already created the first man and the first woman
as a married couple--forming that human community which is the basis of every
society. In the second Genesis account of the creation of man and woman (cf.
2:18-24), this will emerge even more clearly.

1:28. God has already created animals, endowing them with fruitfulness (v. 22).
He now addresses these two human beings personally: "he said to them...";
this indicates that the reproductive power of human beings (and therefore their
sexuality) are values for which they must assume responsibility before God, as
a way of co-operating in God's plans. Thus, God, "wishing to associate them in a
special way with his own creative work, blessed man and woman with the words:
'Be fruitful and multiply' (Gen 1:28). Without intending to underestimate the other
ends of marriage, it must be said that true married love and the whole structure
of family life which results from it is directed to disposing the spouses to coope-
rate valiantly with the love of the Creator and Savior, who through them will
increase and enrich his family from day to day" (Vatican II, "Gaudium Et Spes",
50).

God also commands man to make the earth serve him. Here divine Revelation is
teaching us that human work is regarded as a way by which main operates in the
plan God had when he created the world: "By the work of his hands and with the
aid of technical means man tills the earth to bring fruit and to make it a dwelling
place for all mankind; he, also consciously plays his part in the life of social
groups; in so doing he is realizing the design, which God revealed at the begin-
ning of time, to subdue the earth and perfect the work of creation, and at the
same time he is improving his own person" (Vatican II, "Gaudium Et Spes", 57).

>From this divine disposition we see the importance a person's work has in his
or her personal life: "Your human vocation is a part--and an important part--of
your divine vocation. That reason why you must strive for holiness, giving a par-
ticular character to your human personality, a style to your life; contributing at
the same time to the sanctification of others, your fellow men; sanctifying your
work and your environment: the profession or job that fills day, your home and
family and the country where you were born and which you love [...]. Work, all
work, bears witness to the dignity of man, to his dominion over creation. It is an
opportunity to develop one's personality. It is a bond of union with others, the
way to support one's family, a means of aiding the improvement of the society
in which we live and in the progress of all mankind" ("Christ Is Passing By",
46-47).

Man is charged by God with mastery over the earth; but he may not do whatever
he likes with it or act despotically: he should respect the universe as being the
work of the Creator. In this regard, Wisdom 9:3 says: "0 God, [...] who hast
formed man, to have dominion over the creatures thou hast made, and rule the
world in holiness and righteousness, and pronounce judgment in uprightness of
soul." "This holds good also for out daily work. When men and women provide for
themselves and their families in such a way as to be of service to the community
as well, they can rightly look upon their work as a prolongation of the work of the
creator, a service to their fellow men, and their personal contribution to the fulfill-
ment in history of the divine plan" (Vatican II, "Gaudium Et Spes", 34).

1:31. These words bring to an end this first description of the work of Creation. It
is as if God, after making man, stood back to see what he had done and was very
pleased with the result. Whereas the wording previously used was "And God saw
that it was good," now we are told that it was "very good". In this way, the good-
ness of the created world is being stressed, indicating that "this natural goodness
of theirs receives an added dignity from their relation with the human person, for
whose use they have been created" (Vatican II, "Apostolicam Actuositatem", 7).
>From this it follows that the human person and his/her dignity must be valued
above all other created things, and all human endeavor should be geared to foster
and defend these values.

2:1-3. From this point onwards, God will almost never intervene in creation directly.
Now it is up to man to act in the created world through the work he does.

God's "resting" sets an example for man. By resting, we are acknowledging that
creation in the last analysis depends on and belongs to God, and that God is
watching over it. Here rest is an example set by the Creator; we shall later find it
as one of the Ten Commandments (cf. Ex 20:8-18; Deut 5:42-14). "The institution
of the Lord's Day helps everyone enjoy adequate rest and leisure to cultivate their
familial, cultural, social and religious lives" ("Catechism of the Catholic Church",
2184; cf. also John Paul II, Apostolic Letter, "Dies Domini", 31 May 1998).

Apropos of the sabbath, unlike the other days there is no mention of there being
evening and morning. It is as if that rhythm of time were being broken by the sab-
bath -- prefiguring the situation in which man, once he has accomplished his
mission of mastering the earth, will enjoy an unending rest, at an eternal feast in
God's presence (cf. Heb 4:1-10). In the language of the Bible "feast" or "festival"
means three things--a) obligatory rest from everyday work; b) recognition of God
as Lord of creation, and joyful contemplation of the created world; c) a foretaste
of the enduring rest and joy that will be man's after he leaves this world.

(II) 1st Reading: 1 Kings 8:22-23, 27-30

Solomon's Dedication Prayer (Continuation)
---------------------------------------------------------------
[22] Then Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all the
assembly of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven; [23] and said, "O
LORD, God of Israel, there is no God like thee, in heaven above or on earth be-
neath, keeping covenant and showing steadfast love to thy servants who walk
before thee with all their heart.

[27] "But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest
heaven cannot contain thee; how much less this house which I have built! [28]
Yet have regard to the prayer of thy servant and to his supplication, O LORD my
God, hearkening to the cry and to the prayer which thy servant prays before thee
this day; [29] that thy eyes may be open night and day toward this house, the
place of which thou hast said, 'My name shall be there,' that thou mayest hear-
ken to the prayer which thy servant offers toward this place. [30] And hearken
thou to the supplication of thy servant and of thy people Israel, when they pray
toward this place; yea, hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place; and when thou
hearest, forgive."

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

8:14-61. This long prayer of Solomon, the centerpiece of the Dedication of the
temple, has three parts to it: the first is a blessing (an act of thanksgiving to
God) for having fulfilled his promise (vv. 15-21); the second is a supplication for
the successors of David, for all the people, and even for foreigners resident in
the country (vv. 22-53); and the third, a blessing of Israel (v. 55), with a further
supplication on its behalf (vv. 56-61): "The Temple of Jerusalem, the house of
prayer that David wanted to build, will be the work of his son, Solomon. The
prayer at the dedication of the Temple relies on God's promise and covenant,
on the active presence of his name among his People, recalling his mighty
deeds at the Exodus. The king lifts his hands toward heaven and begs the
Lord, on his own behalf, on behalf of the entire people and of the generations
yet to come, for the forgiveness of their sins and for their daily needs, so that
the nations may know that He is the only God and that the heart of his people
may belong wholly and entirely to him" ("Catechism of the Catholic Church",
2580).

8:22-53 The prayer properly speaking begins by proclaiming the greatness of
the God of Israel and his fidelity in keeping his promises. But the speaker, So-
lomon, immediately finds himself confronted by the mysteriousness of God:
God transcends all things (he is the creator of heaven and earth) yet he conde-
scends to dwelt in this temple. How is that possible? God is really in heaven
(Solomon goes on to assert) but he is also at the same time, in some way, in
the temple, where he has wanted "his name" to be (v. 29), that is, he himself in
person.Therefore (the prayer goes on to say), God hearkens from heaven when
man prays to him in that temple.

The temple is depicted as a place more of prayer than of offerings, and the at-
titude of a person when he goes to the temple and when he prays should be
one of true and profound conversion--acknowledgment that his sin is the cause
of his misfortune. Thus, Solomon's prayer is in line with the teaching and spirit
of the book of Deuteronomy. Its teaching includes the conviction that, through
prayer, man is delivered from evil, because God always forgives him. This as-
pect of prayer is worth emphasizing because, as John Paul II has written, "'Con-
version' and 'contrition' are often considered under the aspect of the undeniable
demands which they involve and under the aspect of the mortification which they
impose for the purpose of bringing about a radical change of life. But we do well
to recall and emphasize the fact that 'contrition' and 'conversion' are even more
a drawing near to the holiness of God, a rediscovery of one's true identity which
has been upset and disturbed by sin,a liberation in the very depth of the self and
thus a regaining of lost joy, the joy of being saved (cf. Ps 51:12), which the ma-
jority of people in our time are no longer capable of experiencing" ("Reconciilia-
tio El Paenitentia", 31, 3).

Gospel Reading: Mark 7:1-13

The Tradition of the Elders
--------------------------------------
[1] Now when the Pharisees gathered together to Him (Jesus), with some of the
scribes, who had come from Jerusalem, [2] they saw that some of His disciples
ate with hands defiled, that is, unwashed. [3] (For the Pharisees, and all the
Jews, do not eat unless they wash their hands, observing the tradition of the el-
ders; [4] and when they come from the market place, they do not eat unless
they purify themselves; and there are many other traditions which they observe,
the washing of cups and pots and vessels of bronze.) [5] And the Pharisees
and the scribes asked Him, "Why do Your disciples not live according to the
tradition of the elders, but eat with hands defiled?" [6] And He said to them,
"Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, `This people honors
Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me; [7] in vain do they worship Me,
teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.' [8] You leave the commandment of
God, and hold fast the tradition of men.

[9] And He said to them, "You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment
of God, in order to keep your tradition! [10] For Moses said, "Honor your father
and your mother'; and `He who speaks evil of father or mother, let him surely die';
[11] but you say, `If a man tells his father or his mother, What you would have
gained from me is Corban' (that is, given to God)--[12] then you no longer permit
him to do anything for his father or mother, [13] thus making void the word of
God through your tradition which you hand on. And many such things you do."

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

1-2. Hands were washed not for reasons of hygiene or good manners but be-
cause the custom had religious significance: it was a rite of purification. In Exo-
dus 30:17ff the Law of God laid down how priests should wash before offering
sacrifice. Jewish tradition had extended this to all Jews before every meal, in
an effort to give meals a religious significance, which was reflected in the bles-
sings which marked the start of meals. Ritual purification was a symbol of the
moral purity a person should have when approaching God (Psalm 24:3ff; 51:4
and 9); but the Pharisees had focused on the mere external rite. Therefore
Jesus restores the genuine meaning of these precepts of the Law, whose pur-
pose is to teach the right way to render homage to God (cf. John 4:24).

3-5. We can see clearly from this text that very many of those to whom St.
Mark's Gospel was first addressed were Christians who had been pagans and
were unfamiliar with Jewish customs. The Evangelist explains these customs
in some detail, to help them realize the significance of the events and teachings
reported in the Gospel story.

Similarly, Sacred Scripture needs to be preached and taught in a way which
puts it within reach of its hearers. This is why Vatican II teaches that "it is for
the bishops suitable to instruct the faithful [...] by giving them translations of the
sacred texts which are equipped with necessary and really adequate explana-
tions. Thus the children of the Church can familiarize themselves safely and
profitably with the Sacred Scriptures, and become steeped in their spirit" ("Dei
Verbum", 25).

11-13. For an explanation of this text cf. note on Mt. 15:5-6. Jesus Christ, who
is the authentic interpreter of the Law, because as God He is its author, explains
the scope of the fourth commandment and points out the mistakes made by the
Jewish casuistry. There were many other occasions when He corrected mistaken
interpretations offered by the Jewish teachers: for example, when He recalls that
phrase of the Old Testament, "Go and learn what this means, I desire mercy,
and not sacrifice" (Hosea 6:6, 1 Samuel 15:22; Sirach 35:4) in Matthew 9:13.

[The note on Matthew 15:5-6 states:

[마태오 복음서 15,5-6에 대한 주석은 다음과 같이 서술합니다:

5-6. Over the years teachers of the Law (scribes) and priests of the temple had
distorted the true meaning of the fourth commandment. In Jesus' time, they were
saying that people who contributed to the temple in cash or in kind were absolved
from supporting their parents: it would be sacrilegious for parents to lay claim to
this "corban" (offerings for the altar). People educated in this kind of thinking felt
that they were keeping the fourth commandment--in fact, fulfilling it in the best
way possible--and they were praised for their piety by the religious leaders of the
nation. But what in fact it meant was that, under the cloak of piety, they were lea-
ving elderly parents to fend for themselves. Jesus, who is Messiah and God, is
the one who can correctly interpret the Law. Here He explains the proper scope
of the fourth commandment, exposing the error of Jewish practice at the time.

5-6. 시대들에 걸쳐 율법의 선생들 (율법학자들)과 성전의 사제들은 [십계명들 중의]
넷째 계명의 참된 의미를 이미 왜곡해 왔습니다. 예수님의 시기에, 현금으로 혹은
물품으로(in kind) 성전에 기부한 사람들은 자신들의 부모들을 지원하는 것으로부터
사면된다고 그들은 말해 왔습니다: 부모들이 (제대를 위한 봉헌물들인) 바로 이 "코르반
(corban)"에 대하여 권리를 주장하는 것은 성물을 훔치는(sacrilegious) 행위일 것입니다.
사고에 있어서의 바로 이러한 종류로 교육을 받은 사람들은 그들이 넷째 계명을 지키고
있다고 -- 사실은, 이 계명을 가능한 최상의 방식으로 구현하고(fulfilling) 있다고 --
느꼈으며 그리고 그들은 자신들의 당연한 의무들에 대한 충실(piety)(*)에 대하여
이 나라의 종교 지도자들에 의하여 칭찬을 받았습니다. 그러나 사실은 그것은, 당연한
의무들에 대한 충실(piety)이라는 외투(外套, cloak) 아래에서, 그들 자신들을 위하여
부양하는(fend) 연로한 부모들을 떠나고 있음을 의미하였습니다. 메시아이시고 하느님이신
예수님께서는, 율법을 올바르게 해석하실(intepret) 수 있는 분이십니다. 이 구절에서
당신께서는, 그 시기에 유다인들의 관습의 오류를 노출시킴으로써, 넷째 계명의 고유한
범위를 설명하십니다.

-----
(*) 번역자 주: 대단히 중요한 윤리덕인 "당연한 의무들에 대한 충실(piety)"에 대한
글들은 다음에 있으니 필독하라:
http://ch.catholic.or.kr/pundang/4/soh/1444.htm
http://ch.catholic.or.kr/pundang/4/soh/piety_concept_error.htm
-----

For Christians, therefore, the fourth commandment includes affectionate help of
parents if they are old or needy, even if one has other family, social or religious
obligations to attend to. Children should check regularly on whether they are
looking after their parents properly.]

그러므로, 그리스도인들의 경우에, 심지어 당사자가 돌보아야 하는 다른 가족을, 사회적
혹은 종교적 의무들을 가지고 있다고 하더라도, [십계명들 중의] 넷째 계명은 부모들에
대한, 만약에 그들이 연로하거나 혹은 가난하다면(needy), 애정어린 도움을 포함합니다.
자녀들은 자신들이 자신들의 부모들을 적절하게(properly) 돌보고 있는지에 대하여
마땅히 규칙적으로 확인하여야 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.