나바르 매일미사 독서/묵상

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. 원 그리스어는 다양한 해석들에 개방되어 있으며 그리고 여기에 제시된 인용문은
성경에서 발견되지 않을 것입니다. 축어적으로(word for word) 번역되었을 때에 이
인용문은 다음을 의미합니다: "시기의 정도에 이르기까지(jealously) 그(he)는 우리
안에 거주하는 영(the spirit)을 사랑합니다(Jealously he loves the spirit which dwells
in us)." 하느님 혹은 영(the spirit) 중에서, 누구가 "사랑하는(loves)" 자인지 분명하지
않고, 그리고 "영(the spirit)"은 영혼(the soul) 혹은 성령(the Holy Spirit) 둘 중의
하나를 의미할 수도 있으며, 그리고 더구나, 시기(the jealousy)는 선한 그 무엇
(something good) 혹은 [질투(envy)처럼] 나쁜 그 무엇(something bad) 둘
중의 하나일 수도 있습니다. 이 인용은 아마도 "우리 안에 거주하시는 거룩한
영께서 시기의 정도에 이르기까지(jealously) 우리를 사랑하십니다(The Spirit
who dwells in us jealously loves us)" 로 번역될 수 있을 것인데, [이것이 바로
(교황청 홈페이지 제공의) 새 대중 라틴말 성경(the New Vulgate)이
이 인용문을 번역한 방식(how)입니다].

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).

비록 바로 이 문장이 성경에 글자 그대로 나타나지 않음에도 불구하고,
성 야고보(St. James)는 성경에서, 성경이 하느님을, 당신의 사랑(love)이
전심전력으로(wholeheartedly) 되돌아 오게 되어야 한다고 기대하는, 한 분의,
시기하시는, 사랑하시는 분(a jealous lover)으로서 묘사할(depicts) 때에
(예를 들어, 탈출 20,5; 34,14; 즈카르야 1,14; 8,2를 참조하라), 자주 등장하는
한 개념(an idea)에서처럼의 정도로 어떤 구체적인 구절에 대하여 언급하고 있지
않을 수도 있는데, 그러한 언급은 언어에 있어서의 바로 이러한 매우 인간적인
종류는 사람에 대한 하느님의 거대한 사랑(immense love)에 대한 한 개의 가장
감동적인 환기(moving evocation)입니다. 성 알퐁소(St. Alphonsus)는 다음과
같이 가르칩니다: "그분께서 무한한 사랑으로써 우리를 사랑하시기에, 그분께서는
우리의 사랑 모두를 욕망하시며(desires), 그리고 바로 이 욕망이 그분 자신을
위하여 전적으로 원하시는 심장(hearts)들에 있어 다른 이들이 한 몫(a share)을
가지는 것을 보실 때에 그분께서 시기하시는(jealous) 이유입니다. 성 예로니모
(St. Jerome, 1696-1787년)는, 예수님께서 당신 자신 바깥에 있는 어떤 것도
우리가 사랑하는 것을 원하지 않으신다는 의미로, '예수님께서는 시기하십니다
(Jesus is jealous)' (Epistle 22)라고 말하였습니다. 그리고 만약에 그분께서 어떤
피조물이 당신의 심장(heart)의 한 부분을 가지는 것을 보시면, 그분께서는, 사도
야고보(the Apostle James)가 썼듯이(야고보 4,5), 어떤 의미에 있어, 그것에
대하여 질투하시는데(envious), 왜냐하면 그분께서는 우리의 사랑(love)에 대한
어떠한 경쟁자(rival)도 참지 못하시고, 그리고 그분께서는 우리의 사랑 모두를
가지는 것을 원하시기 때문입니다"(*) [성 알퐁소(St. Alphonsus, 1696-1787년),
"The Love of Jesus Christ", Chapter 11].

-----
(*) 번역자 주:
(1) 비록 대중 라틴말 성경의 야고보서 4,5에서, "질투(envy)"라는 단어로 번역되는,
라틴어 단어가 사용되고 있으나, 그러나 그럼에도 불구하고 바로 여기에서 이
단어가 의미하고 있는 바는, 전후 문맥 안에서, 시기(jealousy)라는 용어의 정의
(definition)를 만족하는, "선한 시기(good jealousy)"임에 주목하라.

(2) 대중 라틴말 성경의 야고보서 4,5에서, 통상적으로 "질투(envy)"라는 단어와
등가인 라틴어 단어로 번역 되는, 그리스어 단어는, 야고보서 4,5의 인용문의 전후
문맥 안에서, 예를 들어, 주어(subject)가 누구인가에 따라, 반드시 선한(good)
의미를 가져야만 하는 경우에는 "시기(jealousy)"로 번역이 되었고, 그러나 이와는
달리, 나쁜(bad) 의미까지 가능할 경우에는 또한 "질투(envy)"로도 번역되었다.
이에 대하여서는 다음의 주소를 클릭한 후에, 야고보서 4,5 중의 인용문의 주어가
누구인지를 주목하면서, 영어로 번역된 여러 인용문들을 서로 정밀하게 비교/
검토하도록 하라:
http://www.biblehub.com/james/4-5.htm

(3) 다른 한편으로, "질투하는 자들(the envious)"은 오로지 "삼각관계에서 발생하는
경쟁(rivalry)에 이어지는 시기하는 자들(the jealous)" 중에서만 있을 수 있고,
그리고 그 역은 일반적으로 성립하지 않는다. 따라서, 어떤 동일한 문장에 있어,
"질투(envy"로 번역된 단어를 "시기(jealousy)"로 교체하는 것은 논리적으로
문제가 없으나, 그러나 , 위의 해설 중에서도 언급되고 있듯이, "시기(jealousy)"
중에는 "선한 시기(good jealousy)"와 "나쁜 시기(bad jealousy)"가 있기 때문에,
"일반적인 시기(jealousy)"를 "나쁜 시기(bad jealousy)"에 포함되는 "질투(envy)"로
항상/무조건적으로 교체할 수 없음에 반드시 주목하라.

그러므로, 예를 들어, 위의 번역문에서 "질투하시는데(envious)" 를 "시기하시는데
(jealous)"로 교체하더라도 논리적으로 아무런 문제가 없다, 즉 모순이 발생하지
않는다. 그리고 이 지적은, 이렇게 교체하더라도, 바로 이 마지막 문장이 의미하는
바가 제5절에 대한 이 문장의 앞부분의 해설들과, 결코 모순되지 않는, 대동소이한
것으로부터도 확인됨에 주목하라.

(4) 야고보서 4,5에 대하여 더 자세하게 고찰하는 다음의 주소에 있는 글을 또한
꼭 읽도록 하라:
http://ch.catholic.or.kr/pundang/4/soh/1525.htm <----- 필독 권고
-----

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.
　

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