………………………
Feast of the Baptism of the Lord
Il-Magħmudija
tal-Mulej
Messalin
C 135
Reading1 - Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11
Comfort, give comfort to my people, says your God. Speak
tenderly to Jerusalem Zion ,
herald of glad tidings; cry out at the top of your voice, Jerusalem Judah
L-Ewwel Qari - Isaija 40, 1-5, 9-11
"Farrġu, farrġu l-poplu
tiegħi -igħid Alla tagħkom. Kellmu lil qalb Ġerusalemm u għidulha li ntemm
il-jasar tagħha, tħallset ħżunitha,
ħadet mingħand il-Mulej darbtejn ġħal dnubietha kollha." Leħen jgħajjat: "Ħejju t-triq
għall-Mulej fid-derżert, wittu għal Alla tagħna mogħdija fix-xagħri. Jintradam
kull wied, u jitniżżlu
l-muntanji u l-għoljiet; kull art imħabbta titwitta kull art imħarbta ssir
maqgħad. U tfiġġ il-glorja tal-Mulej, u l-bnedmin jarawha lkoll f'daqqa, għax
fomm il-Mulej tkellem." Itla' fuq il-muntanja għolja, int li ġġib il-bxara
t-tajba lil Sijon! Għolli leħnek bil-qawwa kollha, int li tagħti l-aħbar it-tajba lil Ġerusalemm; għajjat, la
tibżax. Għid lill-ibliet ta' Ġuda:"Hawn hu Alla tagħkom! Hawn hu Sidi
l-Mulej, li ġej bil-qawwa, u jaħkem bil-qawwa
ta'driegħu. Hawn hu bi ħlasu miegħu, u r-rebħa tiegħu quddiemu. Bħal ragħaj li
j irgħa l-merħla tiegħu; bi driegħu jiġmagħha, u l-ħrief fi ħdanu jerfagħhom; u n-nagħaġ ireddgħu
bil-mod imexxihom." Il-Kelma tal-Mulej
……………………..
Responsorial Psalm - Psalm
104
R. (1) O bless
the Lord, my soul.
O LORD, my God, you are great indeed!
you are clothed with majesty and glory,
robed in light as with a cloak.
You have spread out the heavens like a tent-cloth; R/
you are clothed with majesty and glory,
robed in light as with a cloak.
You have spread out the heavens like a tent-cloth; R/
You have constructed your palace upon the waters.
You make the clouds your chariot;
you travel on the wings of the wind.
You make the winds your messengers,
and flaming fire your ministers. R/
You make the clouds your chariot;
you travel on the wings of the wind.
You make the winds your messengers,
and flaming fire your ministers. R/
How manifold are your works, O LORD!
In wisdom you have wrought them all—
the earth is full of your creatures;
the sea also, great and wide,
in which are schools without number
of living things both small and great. R/
In wisdom you have wrought them all—
the earth is full of your creatures;
the sea also, great and wide,
in which are schools without number
of living things both small and great. R/
They look to you to give them food in due time.
When you give it to them, they gather it;
when you open your hand, they are filled with good things. R/
If you take away their breath, they perish and return to the dust.
When you send forth your spirit, they are created,
and you renew the face of the earth. R/
Salm Responsorjali - Salm 103 (104)
R/ Bierek ruħ tiegħi, il-Mulej.
Mulej,
Alla tiegħi, inti kbir bil-bosta!
Bis-sebħ
u l-ġmiel init mlibbes,
bid-dawl, bħal b'mantell,
inti mkebbeb.
Inti frixt is-smewwiet bħal
tinda. R./
Waqqaft fuq l-ilma
l-għamajjar għoja tiegħek.
Inti tagħmel is-sħab mirkeb
tiegħek,
fuq ġwienaħ ir-riħ tiġġerra.
l-irjieh tagħmilhom ħabbara
tiegħek,
u
l-ilsna tan-nar qaddejja tiegħek. R/
Kemm
huma huma kotran l-għemejjel tiegħek, Mulej!
Kollha bl-għerf għamilthom;
mimlija l-art bil-ħlejjaq
tiegħek.
Dan
il-baħar ta' kobor u wisa' bla tarf,
li
fih jimraħ ħut bla għadd;
bħejjem
żgħar u bhejjem kbar. R/
Minnek
jistennew il-ħlejjaq kollha
li tagħtihom ikilhom f'waqtu.
Inti tagħtihom, u huma jiġbru;
tiftaħ idejk, u jixbgħu bil-ġid. R/
Jekk
taħbi wiċċek, huma jinfixlu;
jekk teħdilhom nifishom,
imutu,
u lejn it-trab jerġgħu jmorru.
Malli tibgħat in-nies
tiegħek, jinħolqu,
u inti ġġedded il-wiċċ ta'
l-art. R/
………………..
Reading 2 - Titus
2:11-14; 3:4-7
Beloved: The grace of God has appeared, saving all and
training us to reject godless ways and worldly desires and to live temperately,
justly, and devoutly in this age, as we await the blessed hope, the appearance
of the glory of our great God and savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us
to deliver us from all lawlessness and to cleanse for himself a people as his
own, eager to do what is good. When the kindness and generous love of God our
savior appeared, not because of any righteous deeds we had done but because of his mercy, He saved us through the bath of rebirth and renewal
by the Holy Spirit, whom he richly poured out on us through Jesus Christ our
savior, so that we might be justified by his grace and become heirs in hope of
eternal life. This is the Word of The Lord.
It-Tieni Qari - Titu 2, 11-14;, 3, 4-7
Ibni, dehret
il-grazzja ta' Alla, għas-salvazzjoni lill-bniedmin kollha; hi trawwimna
nwarrbu l-ħażen u l-ġibdiet tad-dinja; biex ngħixu bir-rażna u l-ġustizzja u t-tjieba
f'dan iż-żmien, u nistennew it-tama
ħienja u d-dehra tal-glorja tal-kbir Alla u Salvatur tagħna. Hu ta lilu nnifsu
għalina biex jifdina minn minn
…………………..
Gospel - Luke 3:15-16,
21-22
The people were filled with expectation, and all were
asking in their hearts whether John might be the Christ. John answered them
all, saying, “I am baptizing you with water, but one mightier than I is coming. I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals. He will baptize you with
the Holy Spirit and fire.” After all the people had been baptized and Jesus
also had been baptized and was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit
descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You
are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased. This is the Word of The Lord.
Evanġelju - Luqa 3,
15-16, 21-22
F'dak
iż-żmien, il-poplu kien qiegħed jistenna ħerqan, u kulħadd kien jistaqsi lilu
nnifsu dwar Ġwanni, jekk kienx hu l-Messija. Għalhekk Ġwanni qabad u qal
lil kulħadd: "Jien, ngħid għalija, ngħammidkom bl-ilma, imma ġej wieħed
aqwa minni, li ma jistħoqqlix inħollu
l-fqieli tal-qorq tiegħu. Hu jgħammidkom bl-Ispirtu s-Santu u
n-nar." Ġara li, wara li tgħammed
il-poplu kollu, Ġesu' tgħammed ukoll u, waqt
li kien qiegħed jitlob, is-smewwiet infetħu, u niżel l-Ispirtu s-Santu u deher
fuqu fis-sura ta' ħammiema.U mis-sema ġie leħen jgħid: "Inti Ibni
l-għażiż; fik sibt l-għaxqa tiegħi." Il-Kelma tal-Mulej
……………………
COMMENTARY
on the Gospel reading by Larry Broding
(Catholic Liturgical resources www.word-sunday.com)
A Time For Quiet Realization
Has
something of importance ever slipped by you unnoticed?
When did you realize its importance? What did you do about it?
When did you realize its importance? What did you do about it?
I don’t
know about you. But I can only do one thing at a time. “Multi-tasking” is
difficult for me. I stand in awe of people who can do more than one thing at a
time.
When I am
pressured and try to do more than one thing at the moment, I can get confused.
These are the times I am vulnerable. Someone could approach me with a matter of
importance, and I would treat it as trivial. I must admit I have made too many
wrong decisions when important decisions needed to be made. Simply because I
was distracted, confused.
If you are
like me, then a time for reflection each day is a must. For, in reflection, we
can see the gravity of events around us. And take action.
Jesus was
no different. But his reflection came in times of prayer.
This gospel
can be divided into two sections: John’s rejection of the title “Messiah” and
the introduction of the real Messiah.
If we were to attempt a
literal translation of the reading it would probably go like this: As the people (in John’s audience) waited in expectation
(in response to John’s message), and as all wondered in their hearts concerning
John, if not he might be the Christ,
John answered, saying to everyone (there), “I baptize you with water, on
the one hand. But, on the other hand, (he) comes, ONE mightier than I, WHOSE
strap of (HIS) sandal I am not (worthy) enough to loosen on HIM. He will
baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”
Let me
explain further: The words “whose strap of (his) sandal I am not
(worthy) enough to loosen on him” is clumsy in English, it is elegant in
Greek. The clause begins (“whose”) and
ends (“on him” which is actual “his”) with possessive pronouns that
refer to “strap.”
“He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and
fire.” - The baptism of fire could refer to the Final Judgment or to
spiritual maturation. In the first sense, the Holy Spirit and the Final
Judgment are opposed to each other. Christ as the Great Judge would favour his
followers with the Spirit, while condemning those who rejected the Spirit. In the second sense, the Spirit was the
support for the Christian undergoing persecution (i.e., “fire”). Those who expected to grow in the Spirit would encounter
opposition, even martyrdom, as a result of their choice. Spiritual maturity had
a cost.
Luke
presented the ministry of the Baptism as a dialogue between himself and his
audience. John preached. His audience took his message to heart. At the core of
John’s message was preparation for the Christ.
As the
people’s expectations for the Messiah rose, John defined his own status. He was
the prophet, not the Messiah. He was not worthy of the Coming One. Just as Mark
wrote, Luke recorded the Holy Spirit and fire prediction of John. As the note
above stated, there has been some discussion about the relationship between the
Holy Spirit and fire. Personally, I think they are the same, God’s love and
justice.
“ It happened (that) everyone (in John’s
audience) was baptized also JESUS having been baptized and that, as HE was
praying, the heavens were opened, 22 the Holy Spirit visibly as a dove came
down on HIM, and (there) was a voice from heaven: “YOU are my SON, (my)
BELOVED, in YOU I am well pleased.”
Unlike Matthew and
Mark, Luke envisioned the revelation of the Trinity (descent of the Spirit and
the voice from heaven) while Jesus was at prayer, not as he emerged from the
water. Unlike the accounts found in
Mark and Matthew, Luke simply recorded the fact that Jesus had been baptized
(past tense). The revelation of the Trinity occurs during Jesus’ prayer, not as
he rose out of the water. [21] This reflected Luke’s emphasis not on historical
event, but upon the revelation of it importance. For Luke, it was not when an
event “happens to me”; it is the moment I “get it,” I make the connection. For
Luke, prayer was the time of revelation and insight; Luke
portrayed Jesus in prayer before the major decisions of his ministry.
For Luke,
prayer was the time for grace, God with us. This could not be underestimated.
Luke used the images of a actual dove and a actual voice to communicate the
concrete reality of God’s grace with us. The heavens were torn open, so there
was no barrier between God and his people. [21-22] Grace was now present; the
time of realization was in prayer.
When do you
realize times of grace?
How has your prayer time given you those “graced” moments?
How has your prayer time given you those “graced” moments?
Luke
recorded the message of John and the baptism of Jesus along the lines of Mark
and Matthew. But he changed one small detail. The moment of realization was in
prayer.
Prayer is a
time for gentle insight and peace. It is not earth shattering, but it can be
earth moving. God can rule with justice, insight, and liberation, but we must
take the time to realize his gifts in prayer.
We cannot
multitask prayer and expect results.
This coming
week, plan for prayer time as a time for reflection. Slow down and concentrate
on your words to God. And your presence with God. See how God will bless your
time with him.
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