Thursday
6th Week of Ordinary Time
(I) 1st Reading: Genesis 9:1-13
God’s Covenant with Noah
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[1] And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them, "Be fruitful and multi-
ply, and fill the earth. [2] The fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every
beast of the earth, and upon every bird of the air, upon everything that creeps on
the ground and all the fish of the sea; into your hand they are delivered. [3] Every
moving thing that lives shall he food for you; and as I gave you the green plants,
I give you everything. [4] Only you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its
blood. [5] For your lifeblood I will surely require a reckoning; of every beast I will
require it and of man; of every man's brother I will require the life of man. [6] Who-
ever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for God made man
in his own image. [7] And you, be fruitful and multiply, bring forth abundantly on
the earth and multiply in it."
[8] Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, [9] "Behold, establish my
covenant with you and your descendants after you, [10] and with every living
creature that is with you, the birds, the cattle, and every beast of the earth with
you, as many as came out of the ark. [11] l establish my covenant with you, that
never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again shall
there be a flood to destroy the earth. [12] And God said, "This is the sign of the
covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with
you, for all future generations: [13] l set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a
sign of the covenant between me and the earth.
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Commentary:
9:1-7. The sacred text now describes the new order of things that emerged after
the flood. Noah and his sons receive from God, in the first place, the same bles-
sings as Adam and Eve were given after they were created -- fruitfulness and do-
minion over the earth; and then God makes another disposition, to the effect that
the beasts will serve them as food, for, according to the biblical narrative prior to
the falI, in paradise (cf. 1:29), they only had plants available to them; now, in the
new situation of mankind, after the first sin, the original harmony of the world has
been shattered and violence has come on the scene. Finally, God makes two pro-
hibitions -- eating meat with blood in it, and murder. The first of these reflects the
culture of a period when blood was regarded as the source of life; therefore, even
in the case of animals, that life was to be respected in some way, by avoiding the
eating of flesh which had blood in it, thereby acknowledging that life comes from
God. The second prohibition refers to human life, which is always sacred because
every human being (we are reminded) is God's image and likeness. As in the
case of Cain and Abel, God is never indifferent to the taking of human life, no
matter who the victim is.
9:8-17. To show that he was pleased by Noah's sacrifice, God promised that he
would never again flood the earth (cf. 8:20-22); now he renews that promise in the
context of a covenant that covers all creation and which is ratified by a sign – the
rainbow.
This marks the start of a series of covenants which God will freely establish with
men. The first covenant (with Noah) takes in all creation, now purified and re-
newed by the flood. Later there will be the covenant with Abraham, which will
affect only himself and his descendants (cf. chap. 17). Finally, under Moses, he
will establish the covenant of Sinai (cf. Ex 19), also confined to the people of Is-
rael. But because man proved unable to keep these successive covenants, God
promised, through the prophets, to establish a new covenant in the messianic age:
"I will put my law within them and I will write it upon their hearts; and I will be their
God, and they shall be my people" (Jer 31:33). This promise found its fulfilment in
Christ, as he himself said when he instituted the eucharistic sacri- fice of his body
and blood: "This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood"
(Lk 22:20).
The Fathers and ecclesiastical writers saw this rainbow as the first proclamation
of this new covenant. Rupert of Deutz, for example, writes: "In it God established
a covenant with men through his son Jesus Christ; by the death (of Christ) on the
cross God reconciled us to himself, cleansing us of our sins in his blood, and he
gave us through (Christ) the Holy Spirit of his love, instituting the baptism of water
and the Holy Spirit by which we are reborn. Therefore, that rainbow which appears
in the clouds is a sign of the Son of God. [. . .] It is the sign that God will never
again destroy all flesh by the waters of the flood; the Son of God himself, who was
taken out of sight by a cloud, and who is lifted up beyond the clouds, above all the
heavens, is forever a sign which reminds God the Father he is an eternal memorial
of our peace: now that he in his flesh has destroyed the old enmity, friendship be-
tween God and men is secure: men are no longer servants but friends and children
of God" ("Commentarium in Genesim, 4, 36").
(II) 1st Reading: James 2:1-9
Respect for the Poor
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[1] My brethren, show no partiality as you hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the Lord of glory. [2] For if a man with gold rings and in fine clothing comes into
your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, [3] and you
pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, "Have a seat here,
please," while you say to the poor man, "Stand there," or, "Sit at my feet," [4]
have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil
thoughts? [5] Listen, my beloved brethren. Has not God chosen those who are
poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the Kingdom which He has pro-
mised to those who love Him? [6] But you have dishonored the poor man. Is it
not the rich who oppress you, is it not they who drag you into court? [7] Is it not
they who blaspheme that honorable name by which you are called?
[8] If you really fulfill the royal law, according to the Scripture, "You shall love your
neighbor as yourself," you do well. [9] But if you show partiality, you commit sin,
and are convicted by the law as transgressors.
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Commentary:
1-13. Apparently some of the Christians to whom this letter was addressed were
guilty of discriminating against people on the grounds of social standing--a clear
instance of inconsistency between faith and actions, a key theme which James
has already touched on (cf. 1:19-27) and will develop later (cf. 2:14-26). He may
well be taking an example from something that actually happened (verses 1-4)
to make the very vigorous point that discrimination is opposed to the Gospel
(verses 5-7) as indeed to the Law (verses 8-11); and he makes it plain that this
type of behavior will be severely punished by God when He comes to judge
(verses 12-13).
1-4. God "is not partial and takes no bribe" (Deuteronomy 10:17). Discrimination
among people is often condemned in the Old Testament--in the Law as well as
in the Prophets and the Wisdom books (cf., e.g. Leviticus 19:15; Isaiah 5:23; Mi-
cah 3:9-11; Psalm 82:2-4). In the Gospel even our Lord's enemies admit that He
is impartial and does not make unfair distinctions (cf. Matthew 22:16).
In line with this teaching, the Church takes issue with every form of discrimina-
tion. "All men are endowed with a rational soul and are created in God's image;
they have the same nature and origin and, being redeemed by Christ, they enjoy
the same divine calling and destiny; there is here a basic equality between men
and it must be given ever greater recognition. Undoubtedly not all men are alike
as regards physical capacity and intellectual and moral powers. But forms of so-
cial or cultural discrimination in basic personal rights on the grounds of sex, race,
color, social conditions, language or religion, must be curbed and eradicated as
incompatible with God's design" ("Gaudium Et Spes", 29).
1. "The faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory": literally "the faith of our
Lord Jesus Christ of glory." This phrase can be interpreted in slightly different
ways depending on how one understands "of glory". The most likely interpreta-
tion is that this is an instance of a Semitic genitive used in place of the adjective
"glorious" or "glorified"; in which case St. James is referring to Jesus Christ who,
after His ascension and resurrection, enjoys, also in His capacity as man, the
highest honor and glory.
The RSV takes up the idea found in 1 Corinthians 2:8 where St. Paul calls Christ
"the Lord of glory": since in the Old Testament "glory" was the splendor of the
majesty of Yahweh (cf. Exodus 24:16), by applying this divine attribute to Christ
His divinity is being explicitly asserted. If this is the correct translation, it may be
a form of words taken from early Christian liturgy.
Some translate it in another way which puts even greater stress on Christ's divi-
nity: "The faith of the glory (that is, the divinity) of our Lord Jesus Christ."
All these translations are compatible with one another and complementary to
one another.
5-7. Many of the people to whom the letter was written must have been quite
poor (cf. note on 1:2-4; 1 Corinthians 1:26-29). St. James reminds them that
God wants to make them rich in faith and heirs of the Kingdom of Heaven. Je-
sus in fact had given as a sign of His messiahship the fact that the Gospel is
proclaimed to the poor (cf. Matthew 11:5; Luke 7:22) and He also taught that
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven" (Matthew 5:
3). "Christ was sent by the Father 'to preach good news to the poor...to heal the
contrite of heart' (Luke 4:18), 'to seek and to save the lost' (Luke 19:10). Similar-
ly, the Church encompasses with her love all those who are afflicted by human
misery and she recognizes in those who are poor and who suffer, the image of
her poor and suffering Founder. She does all in her power to relieve their need
and in them she strives to serve Christ" (Vatican II, "Lumen Gentium", 8).
Of the rich on the other hand, the Apostle speaks with unusual harshness. As
elsewhere in Sacred Scripture, those who deserve such severe condemnation are
people who are bent on building up their possession as if ownership were the on-
ly purpose in life, not minding what means they used, and oppressing and ill-trea-
ting the poor (cf. note on Luke 6:24).
Behavior of this type is so serious that it amounts to "blaspheming that hono-
rable name by which you are called" (verse 7)--blasphemy by scandalous action
rather than by words. This "name" can mean both the name "Jesus" -- called
down on them at Baptism--and that of "Christian", a name already being given to
those first followers of the Master (cf. Acts 11:26).
What St. James says here can in no sense be used to justify the "class struggle"
which some materialistic doctrines propose. The Magisterium of the Church has
often pointed out that the application of Christian principles should make for har-
mony and concord between the various groups in society (cf. Leo XIII, "Rerum
Novarum", 14). James' words certainly do urge everyone to make a real effort to
promote the human dignity of all: "The evil inequities and oppression of every kind
which afflict millions of men and women today openly contradict Christ's Gospel
and cannot leave the conscience of any Christian indifferent" (SCDF, "Libertatis
Conscientia", 57).
8-11. The Apostle extends his argument against discrimination, recalling what is
said in the Old Testament (with which his original readers would have been fami-
liar, since many of them were Jewish converts to Christianity). As we have
pointed out previously (cf. note on 2:1-4) all unjust discrimination is condemned
in the Old Testament
8. "The royal law" is spelled out in the Book of Leviticus (19:18). St. James calls
it this perhaps because, in addition to commanding love of God above all things,
it is the basis and root of all the other commandments (cf. Matthew 22:34-40).
Jesus corrected narrow interpretations of that law of charity (cf. Matthew 5:43-48;
Luke 10:25-37) and formulated the "new commandment" at the Last Supper:
"that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love another"
(John 13:34). In proposing this new standard ("as I have loved you") our Lord
gives new content and meaning to the precept of brotherly love. This command-
ment is the law of the new people of God, the Church (cf. "Lumen Gentium", 9).
Gospel Reading: Mark 8:27-33
Peter's Profession of Faith
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[27] And Jesus went on with His disciples, to the villages of Caesarea Philippi;
and on the way He asked His disciples, "Who do men say that I am?" [28]
And they told Him, "John the Baptist; and others say, Elijah; and others one
of the prophets." [29] And He asked them, "But who do you say I am?" Peter
answered Him, "You are the Christ." [30] And He charged them to tell no one
about Him.
Jesus Foretells His Passion and Resurrection. Christian Renunciation
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[31] And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things,
and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed,
and after three days rise again. [32] And He said this plainly. And Peter took
Him, and began to rebuke Him. [33] But turning and seeing His disciples, He
rebuked Peter, and said, "Get behind Me, Satan! For you are not on the side
of God, but of men."
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Commentary:
29. Peter's profession of faith is reported here in a shorter form than in Matthew
16:18-19. Peter seems to go no further than say that Jesus is the Christ, the
Messiah. Eusebius of Caesarea, in the fourth century, explains the Evangelist's
reserve by the fact that he was the interpreter of St. Peter, who omitted from his
preaching anything which might appear to be self-praise. The Holy Spirit, when
inspiring St. Mark, wanted the Gospel to reflect the preaching of the prince of the
Apostles, leaving it to other evangelists to fill out certain important details to do
with the episode of the confession of Peter.
The sketchiness of the narrative still show Peter's role quite clearly: he is the first
to come forward affirming the messiahship of Jesus. Our Lord's question, "But
who do you say that I am?", shows what Jesus is asking the Apostles for--not an
opinion, more or less favorable, but firm faith. It is St. Peter who expresses this
faith (cf. note on Matthew 16:13-20).
31-33. This is the first occasion when Jesus tells His disciples about the suf-
ferings and death He must undergo. He does it twice more, later on (cf. Mark
9:31 and 10:32). The Apostles are surprised, because they cannot and do not
want to understand why the Master should have to suffer and die, much less that
He should be so treated "by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes."
But Peter, with his usual spontaneity, immediately begins to protest. And Jesus
replies to him using the same words as He addressed the devil when he tempted
Him (cf. Matthew 4:10); He wants to affirm, once again, that His mission is spiri-
tual, not earthly, and that therefore it cannot be understood by using mere human
criteria: it is governed by God's designs, which were that Jesus should redeem
us through His passion and death. So too, for a Christian, suffering, united with
Christ, is also a means of salvation.
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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].