Miracles and Signs

Readings for June 9, 2013

 Tenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C

L-Għaxar Ħadd matul is-Sena C

Messalin C 310

Reading 11- 1 Kings17:17-24

Elijah went to Zarephath of Sidon to the house of a widow.  The son of the mistress of the house fell sick, and his sickness grew more severe until he stopped breathing. So she said to Elijah, “Why have you done this to me, O man of God? Have you come to me to call attention to my guilt and to kill my son?” Elijah said to her, “Give me your son.” Taking him from her lap, he carried the son to the upper room where he was staying, and put him on his bed. Elijah called out to the LORD: “O LORD, my God, will you afflict even the widow with whom I am staying by killing her son?” Then he stretched himself out upon the child three times and called out to the LORD: “O LORD, my God, let the life breath return to the body of this child.” The LORD heard the prayer of Elijah; the life breath returned to the child’s body and he revived. Taking the  child, Elijah brought him down into the house from the upper room and gave him to his mother. Elijah said to her, “See! Your son is alive.” The woman replied to Elijah,  “Now indeed I know that you are a man of God. The word of the LORD comes truly from your mouth.” This is the Word of the Lord.

L-Ewwel Lezzjoni -  mill-Ewwel Ktieb tas-Slaten 17, 17-24

F'dak iż-żmien, marad it-tifel ta' dik il-mara li kienet sidt id-dar, l-armla ta' Sarefta ta' Sidon.   U ġara li l-marda tqawwiet tant li ma kienx baqagħlu iżjed nifs.   U hi qalet lill-Elija:  "X'hemm bejni u bejnek, bniedem ta' Alla?    Jaqaw ġejt hawn biex  tfakkarni fi ħżuniti u toqtolli 'l ibni?"       U hu wieġeb:  "Agħtini lil ibnek."  U ħadu minn ħoġorha, u tellgħu fl-għorfa fejn kien jgħammar hu, u meddu fuq il-mitraħ tiegħu.    U sejjaħ lill-Mulej u qal:  "Mulej, Alla tiegħi, fuq din l-armla wkoll, li qiegħed magħha, ridt iġġib il-ħsara u toqtlilha lil binha?"    U  mtedd tliet darbied fuq it-tifel, u sejjaħ lill-Mulej u qal:  "Mulej, Alla tiegħi, ħalli ruħ it-tifel tarġa' lura fih!" U l-Mulej sama' leħen Elija, u ruħ it-tifel reġgħet lura fih, u ħa l-ħajja.   U Elija qabad it-tifel u niżżlu d-dar mill-għorfa, u tah lil ommu; u Elija qalilha:  "Ara, ibnek, ħaj." U l-mara qalet lil Elija:  "Issa naf li int bniedem ta' Alla, u l-kelma tal-Mulej fuq fommok hi s-sewwa."   Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

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Responsorial Psalm  -   PSALM 30:2, 4, 5-6, 11, 12, 13

R. (2a) I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.

I will extol you, O LORD, for you drew me clear
and did not let my enemies rejoice over me.
O LORD, you brought me up from the nether world;
you preserved me from among those going down into the pit.                 R/

Sing praise to the LORD, you his faithful ones,
and give thanks to his holy name.
For his anger lasts but a moment;
a lifetime, his good will.
At nightfall, weeping enters in,
but with the dawn, rejoicing.                                                                            R/

Hear, O LORD, and have pity on me;
O LORD, be my helper.
You changed my mourning into dancing;
O LORD, my God, forever will I give you thanks.                                           R/

Salm Responsorjali  - Salm 29 (30)

                        R/                  Ngħollik, Mulej, għax erfajtni.

Ngħollik, Mulej, għax erfajtni,

u ma ferraħtx l-għedewwa tiegħi bija.

Mulej, tellajtli mill-mewt 'il ruħi,

Ħlistni minn fost dawk li jinżlu fil-ħofra.          R/

Għannu lill-Mulej, ħbieb tiegħu,

faħħru l-isem imqaddes tiegħu.

Għax ftit iddum is-saħna tiegħu,

iżda għomor sħiħ l-imħabba tiegħu.

Filgħaxija jidħol il-biki,

filgħodu jidwi l-għajjat ta' ferħ.                          R/

                                               

Ismagħni, Mulej, u ħenn għalija;

kun, Mulej, l-għajnuna tiegħi!

Int bdilt fi żfin l-għali tiegħi,

Mulej, Alla tiegħi, infaħħrek għal dejjem!        R/

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Reading 2 - GALATIANS 1:11-19

I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel preached by me is not of human origin. For I did not receive it from a human being, nor was I taught it, but it came through a revelation of Jesus Christ. For you heard of my former way of life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it, and progressed in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries among my race, since I was even more a zealot for my ancestral traditions. But when God, who from my mother’s womb had set me apart and called me through his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me, so that I might proclaim him to the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult flesh and blood, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me;  rather, I went into Arabia and then returned to Damascus. Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to confer with Cephas and remained with him for fifteen days. But I did not see any other of the apostles, only James the brother of the Lord. This is the Word of the Lord.

It-Tieni Lezzjoni - -Ittra lill-Galatin 1, 11-19

Dan ngħarrafkom, ħuti:  l-Evanġelju li ħabbartilkom jien mhuwiex Evanġelju tal-bnedmin.   Għaliex jiena mhux mingħand bniedem irċevejtu jew tgħallimtu, imma kien irrivelat lili minn Ġesu' Kristu. Intom smajtu bl-imġieba tiegħi mieta kont għandi fir-reliġjon Lhudija,  kif kont nipersegwieta bis-sħiħ il-Knisja ta' Alla u nfittex li nħarbatha;  u kemm kont 'il quddiem fir-reliġjon   Lhudija fost il-poplu tiegħi aktar minn sħabi kollha ta' mpari, imġennen kif  kont  għat-tradizzjonijiet ta' missirijieti. Imma meta Dak li għażilni sa minn ġuf ommi, u li sejjaħli permezz tal-grazzja tiegħu, għoġbu jirrivelali lil Ibnu biex inħabbru fost il-ġnus, minnufih, bla ma qgħadt infittex li nieħu parir mingħand bnedmin tad-demm u l-laħam, bla ma tlajt Ġerusalemm għand dawk li kienu appostli qabli, jiena mort  fl-Għarabja, u mbagħad erġajt lura lejn Damasku. Imbagħad, tliet snin wara, tlajt Ġerusalemm inżur lil Kefa, u bqajt miegħu ħmistax-il ġurnata; mill-appostli l-oħra ma rajt lil ħadd; iżda rajt lil Ġakbu, ħu l-Mulej. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

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Gospel     -  LUKE 7:11-17

Jesus journeyed to a city called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd accompanied him. As he drew near to the gate of the city, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. A large crowd from the city was with her. When the Lord saw her, he was moved with pity for her and said to her, “Do not weep.” He stepped forward and touched the coffin; at this the bearers halted, and he said, “Young man, I tell you, arise!” The dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother. Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, exclaiming, “A great prophet has arisen in our midst, ” and “God has visited his people.” This report about him spread through the whole of Judea and in all the surrounding region. This is the Word of the Lord.

Evanġelju - Qari mill-Evanġelju skont San Luqa  7, 11-17

F'dak iż-żmien, Ġesu' mar b'belt jisimha Najn, u marru miegħu d-dixxipli tiegħu u kotra kbira ta' nies. Kif wasal qrib il-bieb tal-belt, kienu qegħdin iġorru wieħed mejjet li ommu, mara armla, ma kellhiex ħliefu;  u magħha kien hemm għadd ġmielu ta' nies mill-belt. Kif raha l-Mulej tħassarha u qalilha:  "Tibkix!"   Resaq,u mess it-tebut.   Dawk li kienu qegħdin jerfgħuh waqfu. U hu qal:  "Żagħżugħ, qiegħed ngħidlek, qum!"   U l-mejjet qam bilqiegħda u beda jitkellem.  U Ġesu' taħ lil ommu.   In-nies kollha tkexkxu bil-biża', u bdew  jagħtugGlorja lil Alla u jgħidu:  "Profeta kbir  qam fostna!" u: "Alla żar il-poplu tiegħu." U dan il-kliem li qalu xtered mal-Lhudija u dawk l-inħawi kollha. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

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COMMENTARY

    A Story of Compassion

By Larry Broding: word-Sunday.com

When have you seen an act of compassion? How did that act affect you?

News on the Global War on Terrorism most times lacks one key ingredient. No, it’s not a lack of good news (although it doesn’t accent the positive). It lacks compassion. News on terrorism and counter-terrorism seems to be built on a spirit of righteousness, vengeance, and rage. Scratch below the surface and hatred rears its ugly head.

Imagine news reports of compassion from the Middle East. Sure, they make great human interest stories, but they don’t sell air time very well. Still, our primary sources on the Middle East are full of stories where compassion trumps hatred, rage, vengeance, even death. The Gospels tell us that one compassionate man can raise the dead to life and bring God to live among his people

This simple, yet poignant story is unique to Luke among the gospels. The incident echoed the ministries of the two great prophets from Galilee: Elijah and Elisha. In 1 Kings 17:17-24, Elijah raised up the son of the widow from Zarephath. In 2 Kings 4:32-37, Elisha raised the only son of the couple from Shunem. In both cases, the prophets enjoyed the hospitality of the boys’ mothers. In Luke, Jesus didn’t know the mother, much less enjoy her hospitality.

Like many of these miracles, this story looked forward to the Resurrection. The appearance of and tenderness for the widow’s dead son reflected John (John 19:25-26) more than Luke. The thrust of the story, however, revolved around the word “rise,” mentioned in the Jesus’ command (7:14) and the crowds’ reaction (7:16). The boy was raised up by the word of Jesus; the prophet rising was proclaimed by the word of the people. Notice the Good News involved both meanings of the term “rise.”

For Luke, the other reaction of the crowd in 7:16 made a greater theological statement. “God looked upon his people” meant more than the idea we might get of God looking down from heaven and smiling. When a king “looked” upon someone, the king granted favour upon the person; it implied a relationship where the king was present and acted for the person; the person had a place in the king’s court. When “God looked upon his people,“ he was present among them. For Christians, God is present to them in the risen Lord. As the “great prophet rose up” “God looked upon his people.” The Resurrection led to the divine presence among the followers of the Lord.

With this wonderful story of compassion, Luke linked the images of Elijah and Elisha to the ministry of Jesus of Nazareth to the Resurrection. The resurrection narratives of the Old Testament foreshadowed the Resurrection of Jesus. They also foreshadowed the tenderness of Jesus. Through the resurrection, God showed how he CARES for us.

How has God shown his compassion for you?

God cares for each of us. He looks upon us and blesses us with the presence of the risen Jesus. His charge to us, his challenge for us, is to carry that tenderness and compassion to others, so we can partake in the raising of others to life.

How can you show compassion to an enemy or stranger this week? 

Pray, plan, and act.