2010 년 6 월 23 일 연중 제 12 주간 수요일 제 1 독서열 왕기 하권 . 22 , 8 - 13 ; 23 , 1 - 3 그 무렵 8 힐 키 야 대사제 가 사판 서기관 에게 , “ 내 가 주 님 의 성전 에서 율 법서 를 발견 하 였 소 . ” 하 고 말 하 면서 , 그 책 을 사판 에게 주 었 다 . 그것 을 읽 고 나 서 , 9 사판 서기관 은 임금 에게 나아갔 다 . 그 는 임금 에게 먼저 이렇게 보 고 하 였 다 . “ 임금 님 의 신하 들 이 주 님 의 집 에 있 는 돈 을 쏟 아 내 어 , 주 님 의 집 공사 책임자 들 손 에 넘겨 주 었 습니다 . ” 10 그러 고 나 서 사판 서기관 은 임금 에게 , “ 그런데 힐 키 야 사제 가 저 에게 책 을 한 권 주 었 습니다 . ” 하 면서 , 임금 앞 에서 소리 내 어 읽 었 다 . 11 그 율 법서 의 말씀 을 듣 고 임금 은 자기 옷 을 찢 었 다 . 12 임금 은 힐 키 야 사제 , 사판 의 아들 아 히캄 , 미 카야 의 아들 악보 르 , 사판 서기관 , 그리고 임금 의 시종 인 아사야 에게 명령 하 였 다 . 13 “ 가 서 이번 에 발견 된 이 책 의 말씀 을 두 고 , 나 와 백성 과 온 유다 를 위하 여 주 님 께 문의 하 여 주 시 오 . 우리 조상 들 이 이 책 의 말씀 을 듣 지 않 고 , 우리 에 관하 여 거기 에 쓰여 있 는 그대로 실천 하 지 않 았 기 때문 에 , 우리 를 거슬러 타오르 는 주 님 의 진노 가 크 오 . ” 23 , 1 임금 은 사람 을 보내 어 유다 와 예루살렘 의 모든 원로 를 소집 하 였 다 . 2 임금 은 모든 유다 사람 과 예루살렘 의 모든 주민 , 사제 들 과 예언자 들 , 낮 은 자 에서 높 은 자 에 이르 기 까지 모든 백성 을 데리 고 주 님 의 집 으로 올라가 , 주 님 의 집 에서 발견 된 계약 책 의 모든 말씀 을 큰 소리 로 읽 어 그 들 에게 들려 주 었 다 . 3 그런 다음 에 임금 은 기둥 곁 에 서 서 , 주 님 을 따라 걸으며 , 마음 을 다 하 고 목숨 을 다 하 여 그분 의 계명 과 법령 과 규정 을 지켜 , 그 책 에 쓰여 있 는 계약 의 말씀 을 실천 하 기 로 주 님 앞 에서 계약 을 맺 었 다 . 그러 자 온 백성 이 이 계약 에 동의 하 였 다 . 복음 마태오 7 , 15 - 20 그때 에 예수 님 께서 제자 들 에게 말씀 하 셨 다 . 15 “ 너희 는 거짓 예언자 들 을 조심 하 여라 . 그 들 은 양 의 옷차림 을 하 고 너희 에게 오 지만 , 속 은 게 걸 든 이리 들 이 다 . 16 너희 는 그 들 이 맺 은 열매 를 보 고 그 들 을 알아볼 수 있 다 . 가시나무 에서 어떻게 포도 를 거두어들이 고 , 엉겅퀴 에서 어떻게 무화과 를 거두어들이 겠 느냐 ? 17 이 와 같이 좋 은 나무 는 모두 좋 은 열매 를 맺 고 , 나쁜 나무 는 나쁜 열매 를 맺 는다 . 18 좋 은 나무 가 나쁜 열매 를 맺 을 수 없 고 , 나쁜 나무 가 좋 은 열매 를 맺 을 수 없 다 . 19 좋 은 열매 를 맺 지 않 는 나무 는 모두 잘려 불 에 던져진다 . 20 그러므로 너희 는 그 들 이 맺 은 열매 를 보 고 그 들 을 알아볼 수 있 다 . ” http : / / www . usccb . org / nab / June 23 , 2010 Wednesday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary TimeReading 12 Kgs 22 : 8 - 13 ; 23 : 1 - 3 The high priest Hilkiah informed the scribe Shaphan , “ I have found the book of the law in the temple of the LORD . ” Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan , who read it . Then the scribe Shaphan went to the king and reported , “ Your servants have smelted down the metals available in the templeand have consigned them to the master workmenin the temple of the LORD . ” The scribe Shaphan also informed the kingthat the priest Hilkiah had given him a book , and then read it aloud to the king . When the king heard the contents of the book of the law , he tore his garments and issued this command to Hilkiah the priest , Ahikam , son of Shaphan , Achbor , son of Micaiah , the scribe Shaphan , and the king ’ s servant Asaiah : “ Go , consult the LORD for me , for the people , for all Judah , about the stipulations of this book that has been found , for the anger of the LORD has been set furiously ablaze against us , because our fathers did not obey the stipulations of this book , nor fulfill our written obligations . ” The king then had all the elders of Judahand of Jerusalem summoned together before him . The king went up to the temple of the LORD with all the men of Judahand all the inhabitants of Jerusalem : priests , prophets , and all the people , small and great . He had the entire contents of the book of the covenantthat had been found in the temple of the LORD , read out to them . Standing by the column , the king made a covenant before the LORDthat they would follow himand observe his ordinances , statutes and decreeswith their whole hearts and souls , thus reviving the terms of the covenantwhich were written in this book . And all the people stood as participants in the covenant . Responsorial PsalmPs 119 : 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 40 R . ( 33 a ) Teach me the way of your decrees , O Lord . Instruct me , O LORD , in the way of your statutes , that I may exactly observe them . R . Teach me the way of your decrees , O Lord . Give me discernment , that I may observe your lawand keep it with all my heart . R . Teach me the way of your decrees , O Lord . Lead me in the path of your commands , for in it I delight . R . Teach me the way of your decrees , O Lord . Incline my heart to your decreesand not to gain . R . Teach me the way of your decrees , O Lord . Turn away my eyes from seeing what is vain : by your way give me life . R . Teach me the way of your decrees , O Lord . Behold , I long for your precepts ; in your justice give me life . R . Teach me the way of your decrees , O Lord . GospelMt 7 : 15 - 20 Jesus said to his disciples : “ Beware of false prophets , who come to you in sheep ’ s clothing , but underneath are ravenous wolves . By their fruits you will know them . Do people pick grapes from thornbushes , or figs from thistles ? Just so , every good tree bears good fruit , and a rotten tree bears bad fruit . A good tree cannot bear bad fruit , nor can a rotten tree bear good fruit . Every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut downand thrown into the fire . So by their fruits you will know them . ” http : / / www . staygreat . com / http : / / www . franciscanretreats . net / The theme of having the disciples of the Lord bear good fruit is a favorite theme in Matthew ’ s Gospel . Matthew tells us that there are some pastors and teachers who lead others astray . I hope they are only a few among the many . A minister who bears good fruit would seem to be one who makes a difference among the flock they lead . If the people have the values of Jesus as their own such as compassion , forgiveness , love , caring , kindness , serving others , then it would seem safe to say these ministers are bearing good fruit , making a difference . Let us pray daily that we may lead those we are responsible for in the right direction , toward the way , truth and life of Jesus . http : / / www . evangeli . net / gospel / gospel . html http : / / www . creighton . edu / CollaborativeMinistry / daily . html From time to time someone starts to predict that the end of the world is coming very soon . They give a specific date , usually in a matter of days , and cause much confusion in the ensuing days . A lot of people believe the prediction and get very upset . Some people even panic . But when the predicted date arrives the world keeps right on going . The person making the prediction is discredited and the whole affair disappears from the news . People have been making predictions like this throughout human history . They were present in the time that Jesus lived here on earth and they are the subject of today ' s gospel reading . Jesus calls them false prophets . We know that the world will end . God has told us that . What we don ' t know is the exact time when the world will end . But Jesus has assured us that God will send us signs when the end of the world approaches . And God will let us know that the signs come from him . He will not use false prophets as his messengers . We might think that the best thing we can do is to ignore false prophets . Most of us do that . We don ' t believe the predictions of false prophets and we refuse to get excited about them . In this gospel reading Jesus gives his disciples different advice . He doesn ' t advise ignoring false prophets . He doesn ' t advise ridicule or making fun of them . He doesn ' t advise arguing or entering a dialogue with them . No , the advice of Jesus to his disciples is to beware of false prophets . He wants his disciples to be on guard against them . Jesus knows that the false prophets are very clever . They disguise themselves and appear to be very sincere in order to influence their hearers . Many people in Israel were susceptible to such tactics and taken in by them . But Jesus has chosen his disciples to be his close followers and the future leaders of his church . He is carefully instructing them to prepare them to take on these responsibilities . He wants them to concentrate on his teaching and avoid being deceived by the false prophets . Jesus knows that if the disciples can recognize the false prophets they will be better able to beware of them . And so he tells the disciples how to recognize the false prophets in spite of their clever disguises . In order to help the disciples to recognize them , Jesus uses the analogy of a tree and its fruit . As on many other occasions , Jesus here makes an important point by speaking of something that is very familiar to those to whom he is speaking . He speaks several times in the gospels about trees and their fruit . Here he makes the point that a tree may look healthy , but if the fruit of the tree is bad , the tree is really rotten in spite of its looks . In the same way , people may be disguised to look and speak very well , but if their words and deeds lead people away from Jesus , they are false prophets . So , by their fruits you shall know them . As I read this gospel it seems to me that Jesus is telling us to beware of words and actions that lead us away from him . He wants us to beware of temptations that are very attractive but lead us into sin . These are the false prophets that Jesus wants us to beware of . http : / / www . rc . net / wcc / readings / " You will know them by their fruits " What do grapes , thorns , figs , and thistles have to teach us about the kingdom of God ? The imagery used by Jesus would have been very familiar to his audience . A certain thornbush had berries which resembled grapes . And a certain thistle had a flower , which at least from a distance , resembled the fig . Isn ' t it the same today ? What we " hear " might have a resemblance of the truth , but , in fact , when you inspect it closely , it ' s actually false . False prophets or teachers abound today as much as they did in biblical times . What ' s the test of a true or false teacher ? Jesus connects soundness with good fruit . Something is sound when it is free from defect , decay , or disease and is healthy . Good fruit is the result of sound living – living according to moral truth and upright character . The prophet Isaiah warned against the dangers of falsehood : Woe to those who call evil good and good evil , who put darkness for light and light for darkness ( Isaiah 5 : 20 ) . The fruits of falsehood produce an easy religion which takes the iron out of religion , the cross out of Christianity , and any teaching which eliminates the hard sayings of Jesus , and which push the judgments of God into the background and makes us think lightly of sin . How do we avoid falsehood in our personal lives ? By being true – true to God , his word , and his grace . And that takes character ! Those who are true to God know that their strength lies not in themselves but in God who supplies what we need . The fruit of a disciple is marked by faith , hope and love , justice , prudence , fortitude and temperance . Do you seek to cultivate good fruit in your life and reject whatever produces bad fruit ? " Lord Jesus , may I bear good fruit for your sake and reject whatever will produce evil fruit . Help me grow in faith , hope , love , sound judgment , justice , courage , and self control . " Psalm 119 : 33 - 37 , 40 33 Teach me , O LORD , the way of thy statutes ; and I will keep it to the end . 34 Give me understanding , that I may keep thy law and observe it with my whole heart . 35 Lead me in the path of thy commandments , for I delight in it . 36 Incline my heart to thy testimonies , and not to gain ! 37 Turn my eyes from looking at vanities ; and give me life in thy ways . 40 Behold , I long for thy precepts ; in thy righteousness give me life ! http : / / www . daily - meditations . org / index 2 . html http : / / www . contemplative . com / weekday _ readings . htm Pursuing the practice of prayer I become interested in the writings of those who profess an understanding of the spiritual life . But I must be aware . I have been misled many times . I was misled because I wanted to be led down a path that coincided with my own self pursuits . Ravenous wolves dressed in the skins of lambs are ready to devour us . It might be easy to see the direction Playboy Magazine might be leading us . But what about the spiritual writer whose writings opposed to the general thread of Scripture and is directly opposed , hostile to , and ultimately condemnatory of , the Magisterium of the Church ? They are wolves in a sheep ' s clothing leading us away from the uniqueness and absolute quality of the Catholic Magisterium through which we can pass into deeper union with God as St . John of the Cross teaches . The fruit of ecclesial obedience is a sure foundation for the mystery of Christ and of salvation in his name . Lord Jesus , may my prayer be rooted in grace which is You ! Make me move deeply into the root of Your Spirit and let the fruits be evident to Your glory . http : / / goodnews . ie / calendar . phpThe fruit is the plain truth about the tree , and everyone can not only see it but test it and taste it for themselves . Likewise human action . Everything becomes visible sooner or later . I feel that the word ‘ depth ’ can hold us too much in thrall . When we talk too much about depth we give ourselves the impression that it ’ s a whole inner separate world , sufficient unto itself ( see June 20 th , above ) . Wittgenstein , one of the most influential philosophers of the 20 th century , said once , “ The depth is on the surface ! ” He , of all people , could not be accused of superficiality . There is a very radical truth here : the depth and the surface are one , the inside and the outside are one . The hidden inner part flows towards the outside , as with a tree . Since the beginning of our race , human beings have been sitting under trees , looking up at them , climbing into them and hiding , playing around them as children , eating their fruit , resting in their shade , relying on them to be there . If you have never sat under a tree in a forest at night , you are missing something great . Trees are our great teachers – strong and silent , dependable , able to endure great storms that would blow us away . Christians down the ages have seen deep significance in trees . In the late mediaeval period it was common to hear of the ‘ Axle - Tree ’. The stars and planets were thought of as whirling around the Axle - Tree of heaven , the pivot of the universe . This image was applied to the cross of Christ : the tree on which he died was seen as the axle of all that exists . Something for your imagination : follow Jesus in his lifelong relationship with trees – from the first time he climbed a tree … to the last . http : / / www . presentationministries . com / FRUIT INSPECTION " Any sound tree bears good fruit , while a decayed tree bears bad fruit . " 뾏 atthew 7 : 17 This week , we conclude three weeks of reading and praying the Sermon on the Mount . The world , even much of the Christian world , explicitly denies Jesus ' commands in the Sermon on the Mount . For example , our society believes in a pleasure - seeking lifestyle , not in voluntary poverty ( Mt 5 : 3 ) . We aren ' t nearly as concerned as Jesus was about looking lustfully at someone ( Mt 5 : 28 ) . How could we stockpile nuclear weapons if we were concerned with loving our enemies ? ( Mt 5 : 44 ) Most people don ' t believe in the Sermon on the Mount . Who ' s right � Jesus or our society ? Jesus said : " You will know them by their deeds " ( Mt 7 : 16 ) . " You can tell a tree by its fruit " ( Mt 7 : 20 ) . The fruit of not living God ' s way is broken lives , broken marriages , and broken hearts , a world overshadowed by the mushroom cloud of nuclear war , a lifestyle that enslaves , and sexual bondage rather than true love . By its fruits , we know our society is wrong , and Jesus ' words in the Sermon on the Mount were right all along . Take Jesus at His word . Live the Sermon on the Mount . Prayer : Father , may I take the Sermon on the Mount as literally as Jesus did . Promise : " The king made a covenant before the Lord that they would follow Him and observe His ordinances , statutes and decrees with their whole hearts and souls , thus reviving the terms of the covenant which were written in this book . " � 2 Kgs 23 : 3 Praise : Robert shared a Scripture passage and discovered it was just what his hearer needed to hear . http : / / www . judeop . org / daily _ bread . htm By their fruits you will know them . St . Francis advised us to preach always and only if necessary use words . The sermons of our lives speak louder than anything we can say , whether in the classroom or from the pulpit or in the lectures we give our children . Example is the hardest sermon to prepare , for when we preach it , the eyes upon us are the eyes of those we love , who are looking for inspiration or a model or a better way . It ’ s an enormous responsibility , and it confounds me that Jesus would place his message in the hands of such inept and inconsistent people as … well … me . For the grace to live our lives consistent with our faith , we pray . Pbshttp : / / www . judeop . org / dailyreflections . htmhttp : / / biblereflection . blogspot . com /