Tuesday

7th Week of Ordinary Time

(I) 1st Reading: Sirach 2:1-11

The Example of Past Generations
------------------------------------------------- 
[1] My son, if you come forward to serve the Lord, prepare yourself for temptation.
[2] Set your heart right and be steadfast, and do not be hasty in time of calamity.
[3] Cleave to him and do not depart, that you may be honored at the end of your
life. [4] Accept whatever is brought upon you, and in changes that humble you be
patient. [5] For gold is tested in fire, and acceptable men in the furnace of humi-
liation. [6] Trust in him and he will help you; make your ways straight, and hope
in him. 

[7] You who fear the Lord, wait for his mercy; and turn not aside, lest you fall. [8]
You who fear the Lord, trust in him, and your reward will not fail; [9] you who fear
the Lord, hope for good things, for everlasting joy and mercy. [10] Consider the
ancient generations and see: who ever trusted in the Lord and was put to shame?
Or who ever persevered in the fear of the Lord and was forsaken? Or who ever
called upon him and was overlooked? [11] For the Lord is compassionate and
merciful; he forgives sins and saves in time of affliction. 

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

The Navarre has no commentary for this reading. Please reflect on God's word
and invite the Holy Spirit to enter your heart with His inspiration.


(II) 1st Reading: James 4:1-10

The Source of Discord
--------------------------------
[1] What causes wars, and what causes fightings among you? Is not your pas-
sions that are at war in your members? [2] You desire and do not have; so you
kill. And you covet and cannot obtain; so you fight and wage war. You do not
have, because you do not ask. [3] You ask and do not receive because you ask
wrongly, to spend it on your passions. [4] Unfaithful creatures! Do you not know
that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to
be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. [5] Or do you suppose
it is in vain that the Scripture says, "He yearns jealously over the spirit which
He has made to dwell in us"? [6] But He gives more grace; therefore it says,
"God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble." [7] Submit yourselves
therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. [8] Draw near to
God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify
your hearts, you men of double mind. [9] Be wretched and mourn and weep.
Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to dejection. [10] Humble
yourselves before the Lord and He will exalt you.

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

1. "Wars" and "fighting" are an exaggerated reference to the contention and
discord found among those Christians. "Passions", as elsewhere in the New
Testament, means concupiscence, hedonism, pleasure-seeking (cf. verse 3;
Luke 8:14; Titus 3:3; 2 Peter 2:13).

St. James points out that if one fails to fight as one should against one's evil
inclinations, one's inner disharmony overflows in the form of quarreling and figh-
ting. The New Testament often refers to the good kind of fight, which confers
inner freedom and is a prerequisite for salvation (cf., e.g., Matthew 11:12;
Romans 7:14-25; 1 Peter 2:11).

"How can you be at peace if you allow passions you do not even attempt to
control to drag you away from the 'pull' of grace?

"Heaven pulls you upwards; you drag yourselves downwards. And don't seek
excuses--that is what you are doing. If you go on like that, you will tear yourself
apart" (St. J. Escriva, "Furrow", 851).

2-3. St. James is describing the sad state to which free-wheeling hedonism
(specifically, greed for earthly things) leads.

"You do not receive, because you ask wrongly": "He asks wrongly who shows
no regard for the Lord's commandments and yet seeks Heavenly gifts. He also
asks wrongly who, having lost his taste for Heavenly things, seeks only earthly
things--not for sustaining his human weakness but to enable him to indulge
himself" (St. Bede, "Super Iac. Expositio, ad loc.").

4-6. The sacred writer warns that inordinate love of the world, which stems from
ambition, is incompatible with the love of God. "World" here has the meaning
of "enemy of God", opposed to Christ and His followers (cf. note on 1:26-27).
The teaching contained in these verses echoes that of our Lord: "No one can
serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will
be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and
mammon" (Matthew 6:24).

The Saints have frequently reminded us--by their lives as well as their teachings
--that inordinate love of the world is incompatible with the love of God: "Worldly
society has flowered from a selfish love which dared to despise even God,
whereas the communion of saints is rooted in a love of God that is ready to
trample on self" (St. Augustine, "The City of God", 14, 28).

"Unfaithful creatures!": the original Greek simply says, "Adulterers" (feminine)
and the New Vulgate, "Adulterers" (masculine). This echoes the symbol the
prophets often use (cf., e.g. Hosea 1:2ff; Jeremiah 3:7-10; Ezekiel 16:1ff) of the
marriage of God and His people sealed by the Covenant. St. James, therefore,
is not referring to the sin of adultery; he is berating those whose excessive love
for the things of this world makes them unfaithful to God.

5. The original Greek is open to various interpretations and the quotation as
given here is not to be found in the Bible. Translated word for word it means:
"Jealously he loves the spirit which dwells in us." It is not clear who "loves"--
God or the spirit; and "the spirit" may mean the soul or the Holy Spirit; moreover,
the jealousy can be either something good or something bad (like envy). It might
perhaps be translated as "The Spirit who dwells in us jealously loves us" (which
is how the New Vulgate translates it).

5. ¿ø ±×¸®½º¾î´Â ´Ù¾çÇÑ Çؼ®µé¿¡ °³¹æµÇ¾î ÀÖÀ¸¸ç ±×¸®°í ¿©±â¿¡ Á¦½ÃµÈ Àο빮Àº 
¼º°æ¿¡¼­ ¹ß°ßµÇÁö
¾ÊÀ» °ÍÀÔ´Ï´Ù. Ãà¾îÀûÀ¸·Î(word for word) ¹ø¿ªµÇ¾úÀ» ¶§¿¡ ÀÌ 
Àο빮Àº ´ÙÀ½À» ÀǹÌÇÕ´Ï´Ù:
"½Ã±âÀÇ Á¤µµ¿¡ À̸£±â±îÁö(jealously) ±×(he)´Â ¿ì¸® 
¾È¿¡ °ÅÁÖÇÏ´Â ¿µ(the spirit)À» »ç¶ûÇÕ´Ï´Ù(Jealously he loves the spirit which dwells 
in us)." ÇÏ´À´Ô ȤÀº ¿µ(the spirit) Áß¿¡¼­, ´©±¸°¡ "»ç¶ûÇÏ´Â(loves)" ÀÚÀÎÁö ºÐ¸íÇÏÁö 
¾Ê°í, ±×¸®°í
"¿µ(the spirit)"Àº ¿µÈ¥(the soul) ȤÀº ¼º·É(the Holy Spirit) µÑ ÁßÀÇ 
Çϳª¸¦ ÀǹÌÇÒ ¼öµµ ÀÖÀ¸¸ç, ±×¸®°í ´õ±¸³ª, ½Ã±â(the jealousy)´Â ¼±ÇÑ ±× ¹«¾ù
(something good) ȤÀº [
ÁúÅõ(envy)ó·³] ³ª»Û ±× ¹«¾ù(something bad) µÑ 
ÁßÀÇ ÇϳªÀÏ ¼öµµ ÀÖ½À´Ï´Ù
.
ÀÌ ÀοëÀº ¾Æ¸¶µµ "¿ì¸® ¾È¿¡ °ÅÁÖÇϽô °Å·èÇÑ 
¿µ²²¼­
½Ã±âÀÇ Á¤µµ¿¡ À̸£±â±îÁö(jealously) ¿ì¸®¸¦ »ç¶ûÇϽʴϴÙ(The Spirit 
who dwells in us jealously loves us)" ·Î ¹ø¿ªµÉ ¼ö ÀÖÀ» °ÍÀε¥, [ÀÌ°ÍÀÌ ¹Ù·Î 
(±³È²Ã» ȨÆäÀÌÁö Á¦°øÀÇ)
»õ ´ëÁß ¶óƾ¸» ¼º°æ(the New Vulgate)ÀÌ 
ÀÌ Àο빮À» ¹ø¿ªÇÑ ¹æ½Ä(how)ÀÔ´Ï´Ù].


Although this sentence does not appear literally in the Bible, St. James may be
referring not so much to a specific passage as to an idea which often occurs in
the Bible when it depicts God as a jealous lover (cf., e.g., Exodus 20:5; 34:14;
Zechariah 1:14; 8:2), who expects His love to be returned wholeheartedly; this
very human kind of language is a most moving evocation of God's immense love
for man. St. Alphonsus teaches: "Since He loves us with infinite love, He de-
sires all our love; that is why He is jealous when He sees others having a share
in hearts which He wants entirely for His own. 'Jesus is jealous', St. Jerome
said (Epistle 22), in the sense that He does not want us to love anything that
is outside Himself. And if He sees that some creature has a part of your heart,
He is in a sense envious of it, as the Apostle James writes, because He
tolerates no rival for our love; He wants to have all our love" ("The Love of Jesus
Christ", Chapter 11).

ºñ·Ï ¹Ù·Î ÀÌ ¹®ÀåÀÌ ¼º°æ¿¡ ±ÛÀÚ ±×´ë·Î ³ªÅ¸³ªÁö ¾ÊÀ½¿¡µµ ºÒ±¸ÇÏ°í,
¼º ¾ß°íº¸(St. James)´Â ¼º°æ¿¡¼­, ¼º°æÀÌ ÇÏ´À´ÔÀ», ´ç½ÅÀÇ »ç¶û(love)ÀÌ 
Àü½ÉÀü·ÂÀ¸·Î(wholeheartedly) µÇµ¹¾Æ ¿À°Ô µÇ¾î¾ß ÇÑ´Ù°í ±â´ëÇÏ´Â, ÇÑ ºÐÀÇ, 
½Ã±âÇϽôÂ, »ç¶ûÇϽô ºÐ(a jealous lover)
À¸·Î¼­ ¹¦»çÇÒ(depicts) ¶§¿¡

(¿¹¸¦ µé¾î, Å»Ãâ 20,5; 34,14; ÁîÄ«¸£¾ß 1,14; 8,2¸¦ ÂüÁ¶Ç϶ó), ÀÚÁÖ µîÀåÇϴ 
ÇÑ °³³ä(an idea)¿¡¼­Ã³·³ÀÇ Á¤µµ·Î ¾î¶² ±¸Ã¼ÀûÀÎ ±¸Àý¿¡ ´ëÇÏ¿© ¾ð±ÞÇÏ°í ÀÖÁö 
¾ÊÀ» ¼öµµ Àִµ¥, ±×·¯ÇÑ ¾ð±ÞÀº ¾ð¾î¿¡ À־ÀÇ ¹Ù·Î ÀÌ·¯ÇÑ ¸Å¿ì Àΰ£ÀûÀΠ
Á¾·ù´Â »ç¶÷¿¡ ´ëÇÑ ÇÏ´À´ÔÀÇ °Å´ëÇÑ »ç¶û(immense love)¿¡ ´ëÇÑ ÇÑ °³ÀÇ °¡Àå 
°¨µ¿ÀûÀΠȯ±â(moving evocation)ÀÔ´Ï´Ù.
¼º ¾ËÆþ¼Ò(St. Alphonsus)´Â ´ÙÀ½°ú 
°°ÀÌ °¡¸£Ä¨´Ï´Ù:
"±×ºÐ²²¼­ ¹«ÇÑÇÑ »ç¶ûÀ¸·Î½á ¿ì¸®¸¦ »ç¶ûÇϽñ⿡, ±×ºÐ²²¼­´Â 
¿ì¸®ÀÇ »ç¶û ¸ðµÎ¸¦ ¿å¸ÁÇϽøç(desires), ±×¸®°í ¹Ù·Î ÀÌ ¿å¸ÁÀÌ ±×ºÐ ÀÚ½ÅÀ» 
À§ÇÏ¿© ÀüÀûÀ¸·Î ¿øÇϽô ½ÉÀå(hearts)µé¿¡ ÀÖ¾î ´Ù¸¥ À̵éÀÌ ÇÑ ¸ò(a share)À» 
°¡Áö´Â °ÍÀ» º¸½Ç ¶§¿¡ ±×ºÐ²²¼­ ½Ã±âÇϽôÂ(jealous) ÀÌÀ¯ÀÔ´Ï´Ù. ¼º ¿¹·Î´Ï¸ð
(St. Jerome, 1696-1787³â)
´Â, ¿¹¼ö´Ô²²¼­ ´ç½Å ÀڽŠ¹Ù±ù¿¡ ÀÖ´Â ¾î¶² °Íµµ 
¿ì¸®°¡ »ç¶ûÇÏ´Â °ÍÀ» ¿øÇÏÁö ¾ÊÀ¸½Å´Ù´Â Àǹ̷Î, '¿¹¼ö´Ô²²¼­´Â ½Ã±âÇϽʴϴÙ
(Jesus is jealous)' (Epistle 22)¶ó°í ¸»ÇÏ¿´½À´Ï´Ù. ±×¸®°í ¸¸¾à¿¡ ±×ºÐ²²¼­ ¾î¶² 
ÇÇÁ¶¹°ÀÌ ´ç½ÅÀÇ ½ÉÀå(heart)ÀÇ ÇÑ ºÎºÐÀ» °¡Áö´Â °ÍÀ» º¸½Ã¸é, ±×ºÐ²²¼­´Â, »çµµ 
¾ß°íº¸(the Apostle James)
°¡ ½èµíÀÌ(¾ß°íº¸ 4,5)¾î¶² Àǹ̿¡ ÀÖ¾î, ±×°Í¿¡ 
´ëÇÏ¿© ÁúÅõÇϽôµ¥(envious), ¿Ö³ÄÇÏ¸é ±×ºÐ²²¼­´Â ¿ì¸®ÀÇ »ç¶û(love)¿¡ ´ëÇÑ 
¾î¶°ÇÑ °æÀïÀÚ(rival)µµ ÂüÁö ¸øÇϽðí, ±×¸®°í ±×ºÐ²²¼­´Â ¿ì¸®ÀÇ »ç¶û ¸ðµÎ¸¦ 
°¡Áö´Â °ÍÀ» ¿øÇϽñ⠶§¹®ÀÔ´Ï´Ù"(*) [¼º ¾ËÆþ¼Ò(St. Alphonsus, 1696-1787³â), 
"The Love of Jesus Christ", Chapter 11].

-----
(*) ¹ø¿ªÀÚ ÁÖ: 
(1) ºñ·Ï ´ëÁß ¶óƾ¸» ¼º°æÀÇ ¾ß°íº¸¼­ 4,5¿¡¼­, "ÁúÅõ(envy)"¶ó´Â ´Ü¾î·Î ¹ø¿ªµÇ´Â, 
¶óƾ¾î ´Ü¾î°¡ »ç¿ëµÇ°í ÀÖÀ¸³ª, ±×·¯³ª ±×·³¿¡µµ ºÒ±¸ÇÏ°í ¹Ù·Î ¿©±â¿¡¼­ ÀÌ 
´Ü¾î°¡ ÀǹÌÇÏ°í ÀÖ´Â ¹Ù´Â, ÀüÈÄ ¹®¸Æ ¾È¿¡¼­, ½Ã±â(jealousy)¶ó´Â ¿ë¾îÀÇ Á¤ÀÇ
(definition)
¸¦ ¸¸Á·ÇÏ´Â, "¼±ÇÑ ½Ã±â(good jealousy)"ÀÓ¿¡ ÁÖ¸ñÇ϶ó.

(2) ´ëÁß ¶óƾ¸» ¼º°æÀÇ ¾ß°íº¸¼­ 4,5¿¡¼­, Åë»óÀûÀ¸·Î "ÁúÅõ(envy)"¶ó´Â ´Ü¾î¿Í 
µî°¡ÀΠ¶óƾ¾î ´Ü¾î·Î ¹ø¿ª µÇ´Â, ±×¸®½º¾î ´Ü¾î´Â, ¾ß°íº¸¼­ 4,5ÀÇ Àο빮ÀÇ ÀüÈÄ 
¹®¸Æ ¾È¿¡¼­, ¿¹¸¦ µé¾î, ÁÖ¾î(subject)°¡ ´©±¸Àΰ¡¿¡ µû¶ó, ¹Ýµå½Ã ¼±ÇÑ(good) 
Àǹ̸¦ °¡Á®¾ß¸¸ Çϴ °æ¿ì¿¡´Â "½Ã±â(jealousy)"·Î ¹ø¿ªÀÌ µÇ¾ú°í, ±×·¯³ª À̿ʹ 
´Þ¸®, ³ª»Û(bad) Àṉ̀îÁö °¡´ÉÇÒ °æ¿ì¿¡´Â ¶ÇÇÑ "ÁúÅõ(envy)"·Îµµ ¹ø¿ªµÇ¾ú´Ù. 
ÀÌ¿¡ ´ëÇÏ¿©¼­´Â ´ÙÀ½ÀÇ ÁÖ¼Ò¸¦ Å¬¸¯ÇÑ ÈÄ¿¡, ¾ß°íº¸¼­ 4,5 ÁßÀÇ Àο빮ÀÇ Á־ 
´©±¸ÀÎÁö¸¦ ÁÖ¸ñÇϸ鼭, ¿µ¾î·Î ¹ø¿ªµÈ ¿©·¯ Àο빮µéÀ» ¼­·Î Á¤¹ÐÇÏ°Ô ºñ±³/
°ËÅäÇϵµ·Ï Ç϶ó:
http://www.biblehub.com/james/4-5.htm   

(3) ´Ù¸¥ ÇÑÆíÀ¸·Î, "ÁúÅõÇÏ´Â ÀÚµé(the envious)"Àº ¿À·ÎÁö "»ï°¢°ü°è¿¡¼­ ¹ß»ýÇϴ 
°æÀï(rivalry)¿¡ À̾îÁö´Â ½Ã±âÇÏ´Â ÀÚµé(the jealous)" Áß¿¡¼­¸¸ ÀÖÀ» ¼ö ÀÖ°í, 
±×¸®°í ±× ¿ªÀº ÀϹÝÀûÀ¸·Î ¼º¸³ÇÏÁö ¾Ê´Â´Ù. µû¶ó¼­, ¾î¶² µ¿ÀÏÇÑ ¹®Àå¿¡ ÀÖ¾î, 
"ÁúÅõ(envy"
·Î ¹ø¿ªµÈ ´Ü¾î¸¦ "½Ã±â(jealousy)"·Î ±³Ã¼ÇÏ´Â °ÍÀº ³í¸®ÀûÀ¸·Î 
¹®Á¦°¡ ¾øÀ¸³ª, ±×·¯³ª , À§ÀÇ Çؼ³ Áß¿¡¼­µµ ¾ð±ÞµÇ°í ÀÖµíÀÌ, "½Ã±â(jealousy)"  
Áß¿¡´Â "¼±ÇÑ ½Ã±â(good jealousy)"¿Í "³ª»Û ½Ã±â(bad jealousy)"°¡ Àֱ⠶§¹®¿¡, 
"ÀϹÝÀûÀÎ ½Ã±â(jealousy)"¸¦ "³ª»Û ½Ã±â(bad jealousy)"¿¡ Æ÷ÇԵǴ "ÁúÅõ(envy)"·Î 
Ç×»ó/¹«Á¶°ÇÀûÀ¸·Î ±³Ã¼ÇÒ ¼ö ¾øÀ½¿¡ ¹Ýµå½Ã ÁÖ¸ñÇ϶ó. 

±×·¯¹Ç·Î, ¿¹¸¦ µé¾î, À§ÀÇ ¹ø¿ª¹®¿¡¼­ "ÁúÅõÇϽôµ¥(envious)" ¸¦ "½Ã±âÇϽôµ¥
(jealous)"
·Î ±³Ã¼ÇÏ´õ¶óµµ ³í¸®ÀûÀ¸·Î ¾Æ¹«·± ¹®Á¦°¡ ¾ø´Ù, Áï ¸ð¼øÀÌ ¹ß»ýÇÏÁö 
¾Ê´Â´Ù. ±×¸®°í ÀÌ ÁöÀûÀº, ÀÌ·¸°Ô ±³Ã¼ÇÏ´õ¶óµµ, ¹Ù·Î ÀÌ ¸¶Áö¸· ¹®ÀåÀÌ ÀǹÌÇϴ 
¹Ù°¡ Á¦5Àý¿¡ ´ëÇÑ ÀÌ ¹®ÀåÀÇ ¾ÕºÎºÐÀÇ Çؼ³µé°ú, °áÄÚ ¸ð¼øµÇÁö ¾Ê´Â, ´ëµ¿¼ÒÀÌÇÑ 
°ÍÀ¸·ÎºÎÅ͵µ È®Àεʿ¡ ÁÖ¸ñÇ϶ó. 

(4) ¾ß°íº¸¼­ 4,5¿¡ ´ëÇÏ¿© ´õ ÀÚ¼¼ÇÏ°Ô °íÂûÇÏ´Â ´ÙÀ½ÀÇ ÁÖ¼Ò¿¡ ÀÖ´Â ±ÛÀ» ¶ÇÇÑ 
²À Àеµ·Ï Ç϶ó: 
http://ch.catholic.or.kr/pundang/4/soh/1525.htm
<----- Çʵ¶ ±Ç°í
-----


6. The sacred writer foresees the possibility that some may draw back from this
"jealous" love God expects to be reciprocated: but God never expects the impos-
sible; He gives us all the grace we need to do what He asks: "All my hope is
naught," St. Augustine exclaims, "save in Your great mercy. Grant what You
command, and command what You will" ("Confessions", 10, 29).

However, only people who are humble are given this grace, and have it bear fruit.
The proud, who are full of self-love, even fail to realize that they need grace, and
so they do not ask for it, or do not ask for it properly. The second part of the
verse is a literal quotation from Proverbs 3:34 (according to the Septuagint
Greek): it is an example of the "poetic" form, with the characteristic antithetical
parallelism of Hebrew verse. St. Augustine, in his explanation of the fact that
the Bible refers in places to the sins of prominent men, urges his readers to be
humble, commenting that "there is scarcely a page in the sacred books which
does not echo the fact that 'God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble'"
("De Doctrina Christiana", 3, 23).

7-10. Some ways of countering pride are identified here: basically what is
required is a sincere and deep conversion, which must begin with the humility
of recognizing that we are sinners and in need of purification. The tone of these
verses is reminiscent of the way the Old Testament prophets upbraid the people
of Israel for the unfaithfulness to Yahweh.

To draw near to God the sinner needs purification. "Cleaning your hand" should
not be understood as referring to the physical ablutions of the Jews (cf. Exodus
30:19-21; Mark 7:1-5); but should be taken in a moral sense--purification from
sins, and upright actions (e.g., Isaiah 1:15-17; 1 Timothy 2:8). Of all the pos-
sible ways of being purified and converted (for example, the penitential rite at
Mass, a visit to a shrine, or fasting), "none is more significant," [Pope] John
Paul II reminds us, "more divinely efficacious or more lofty and at the same time
easily accessible as a rite than the Sacrament of Penance [...]. For a Christian,
"the sacrament of Penance is the ordinary way of obtaining forgiveness and the
remission of sins committed after Baptism" ("Reconciliatio Et Paenitentia", 28
and 31).

7. When someone resists the devil's temptations, the devil leaves him alone:
he cannot force a man to commit sin. The "Shepherd of Hermas" (a work by
an anonymous Christian writer, around the middle of the Second Century) elabo-
rates on the same idea: "Be converted, you who walk in the commandments of
the devil, commandments that are hard, bitter, cruel and foul. And do not fear
the devil either, because he has no power against you [...]. The devil cannot
lord it over those who are servants of God with their whole heart and who place
their hope in Him. The devil can wrestle with, but not overcome them. So, if
you esist him, he will flee from you in defeat and confusion" ("Eleventh Com
mandment", 4, 6 and 5,2).

9. "Be wretched": "To acknowledge one's sin--penetrating still more deeply into
the consideration of one's own personhood--"to recognize oneself as a sinner",
capable of sin and inclined to commit sin, is the essential first step in returning
to God" ("Reconciliatio Et Paenitencia", 13).

Mourning and weeping are the external expression of sincere repentance (cf.
Matthew 5:4 and note; Tobias 2:6; Amos 8:10): "You are crying? Don't be
ashamed of it. Yes, cry: men also cry like you, when they are alone and before
God. Each night, says King David, I soak my bed with tears. With those tears,
those burning manly tears, you can purify your past and supernaturalize your
present life" (St. J. Escriva, "The Way", 216).


Gospel Reading: Mark 9:30-37

Second Prophecy of the Passion
------------------------------------------------
[30] They went on from there and passed through Galilee. And He (Jesus) would
not have any one know it; [31] for He was teaching His disciples, saying to them,
"The Son of Man will be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill Him;
and when He is killed, after three days He will rise." [32] But they did not under-
stand the saying, and they were afraid to ask Him.

Being the Servant of All
----------------------------------
[33] And they came to Capernaum; and when He was in the house He asked
them, "What were you discussing on the way?" [34] But they were silent; for on
the way they had discussed with one another who was the greatest. [35] And
He sat down and called the Twelve; and He said to them, "If any one would be
first, he must be last of all and servant of all." [36] And He took a child, and
put him in the midst of them; and taking him in His arms, He said to them, [37]
"Whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me; and whoever re-
ceives Me, receives not Me but Him who sent Me".

*********************************************************************************************

Commentary:

30-32. Although moved when He sees the crowds like sheep without a shepherd
(Matthew 9:36), Jesus leaves them, to devote time to careful instruction of the
Apostles. He retires with them to out-of-the-way places, and there He explains
points of His public preaching which they had not understood (Matthew 13:36).
Here, specifically, for a second time, He announces His death and resurrection.

In His relationships with souls Jesus acts in the same way: He calls man to be
with him in the quiet of prayer and there He teaches him about His more intimate
plans and about the more demanding side of the Christian life. Later, like the
Apostles, Christians were to spread this teaching to the ends of the earth.

34-35. Jesus uses this argument going on behind his back to teach His dis-
ciples about how authority should be exercised in His Church--not by lording it
over other, but by serving them. In fulfilling His own mission to found the Church
whose head and supreme lawgiver He is, He came to serve and not to be served
(Matthew 20:28).

Anyone who does not strive to have this attitude of self-forgetful service, not only
lacks one of the main pre-requisites for proper exercise of authority but also runs
the risk of being motivated by ambition or pride. "To be in charge of an apostolic
undertaking demands readiness to suffer everything, from everybody, with infinite
charity" (St. J. Escriva, "The Way", 951).

36-37. To demonstrate to His Apostles the abnegation and humility needed in
their ministry, He takes a child into His arms and explains the meaning of this
gesture: if we receive for Christ's sake those who have little importance in the
world's eyes, it is as if we are embracing Christ Himself and the Father who sent
Him. This little child whom Jesus embraces represents every child in the world,
and everyone who is needy, helpless, poor or sick--people who are not naturally
attractive.
¡¡

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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.

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