The Only Question that Matters

Readings for  June 23, 2013

 Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time

It-12-il Ħadd matul is-Sena

Messalin C pp322

Reading 1   -   Zacchariah 12:10-11; 13:1

Thus says the LORD: I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and petition; and they shall look on him whom they have pierced,  and they shall mourn for him as one mourns for an only son, and they shall grieve over him as one grieves over a firstborn. On that day the mourning in Jerusalem shall be as great as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the plain of Megiddo. On that day there shall be open to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, a fountain to purify from sin and uncleanness.  This is the Word of The Lord.

L-Ewwel Qari - mill-Profeta Żakkarija 12, 10-11; 13,3

Dan jgħid il-Mulej:  "Fuq id-dar ta' David u fuq dawk li għammru f'Ġerusalemm insawwab spirtu ta' ħidma u talb.   U huma jħarsu lejn dak li jkun nifdu,  u jibkuh bħal wieħed li jibki lil ibnu l-waħdieni, u  jokorbu għalih bħal min jikrob għal ibnu l-kbir. Dakinhar il-biki ta' Ġerusalemm ikun kbir daqs il-biki ta' Ħadad-rimmon fil-wita ta' Megiddo.  Dakinhar jiġri li tinfetah għajn għad-dar ta' David u għan-nies ta' Ġerusalemm,biex jindafu mill-ħtijiet u mit-tinġis.  Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

Responsorial Psalm - PSALM 63:2, 3-4, 5-6, 8-9

R. (2b) My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.
O God, you are my God whom I seek;
for you my flesh pines and my soul thirsts
like the earth, parched, lifeless and without water.                      R/

Thus have I gazed toward you in the sanctuary
to see your power and your glory,
For your kindness is a greater good than life;
my lips shall glorify you.                                                                     R/

                    
Thus will I bless you while I live;
lifting up my hands, I will call upon your name.
As with the riches of a banquet shall my soul be satisfied,
and with exultant lips my mouth shall praise you.                         R/

You are my help,
and in the shadow of your wings I shout for joy.
My soul clings fast to you;
your right hand upholds me.                                                             R/.

Salm Responsorjali - Salm 62

                        R/   Ruħi bil-għatx għalik, Mulej, Alla tiegħi.

Alla, Alla tiegħi int;

lilek ħerqan infittex.

Ruħi bil-għatx għalik,

għalik imxennaq jiena,

bħal art niexfa, maħruqa,bla ilma.                                     R/

Għalhekk ġejt narak fit-tempju mqaddes tiegħek,

biex nigħaxxaq bis-setgħa u l-glorja tiegħek.

Għax it-tjieba tiegħek aħjar mill-ħajja,

xufftejja jxandru t-tifħir tiegħek.                                       R/

Għalhekk inbierkek tul ħajti kollha;

ngħolli idejja u nsejjaħ ismek.

Bħal b'ikel mill-aħjar li jsemmen nimtela,

u jgħannilek fommi b'xuftejn ferrieħa.                            R/

Għax int kont għajnuna għalija,

għad-dell ta' ġwenħajk ngħanni bil-ferħ.

Miegħek tingħaqad ruħi,

int tweżinni bil-leminija tiegħek.                                      R/

Reading 2 -  Galatians 3:26-29

Brothers and sisters:  Through faith you are all children of God in Christ Jesus. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free person, there is not male and female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendant, heirs according to the promise. This is the Word of the Lord.

It-Tieni  Lezzjoni  - Galatin 3, 26-29

Ħuti, intom ulied Alla lkoll kemm intom, permezz tal-fidi fi Kristu Ġesu'.   Intom,li intom mgħammda fi Kristu, il-bistu 'l Kristu.  Issa ma hemmx iżjed Lhudi u anqas Grieg, ma hemm ilsir u Anqas ħieles, ma hemmx raġel u anqas mara, għax intom  ilkoll ħaġa waħda fi Kristu Ġesu'. Imma jekk intom ta' Kristu,intom ukoll nisel Abraham,  werrieta skont il-wegħda.

 Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

Gospel - Luke 9:18-24

Once when Jesus was praying in solitude, and the disciples were with him, he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” They said in reply, “John the Baptist; others, Elijah; still others, ‘One of the ancient prophets has arisen.’” Then he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter said in reply, “The Christ of God.” He rebuked them and directed them not to tell this to anyone. He said, “The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised.” Then he said to all, “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.”  This is the Word of the Lord

 L-Evanġelju -  skont San Luqa 9, 18-24

                                                                 

Darba, waqt li Ġesu' kien qiegħed jitlob waħdu, kien hemm miegħu d-dixxipli tiegħu, u hu staqsiehom: "Min jgħidu n-nies li jien?" Huma weġbuh u qalulu:  "Ġwanni l-Battita, oħrajn, Elija, u oħrajn, li qam wieħed mill-profeti tal-imgħoddi." Qalilhom:  "Imma intom min tgħidu li jien?   Qabeż Pietru u qallu: "Inti l-Messija ta' Alla." Imbagħad ikkmandhom u qalilhom ħafna biex ma jgħidu lil  ħadd b'dan. U qalilhom: "Jeħtieġ li Bin il-bniedem ibati ħafna, jiċħduh ix-xjuħ u qassisin il-kbar u l-kittieba, joqtluh, u fit-tielet jum iqum."  Darba qal lil kulħadd:  "Jekk xi ħadd irid jiġi warajja,  għandu jiċħad lilu nnifsu, jerfa' salibu kuljum, u jimxi warajja. għax min irid isalva ħajtu, jitilfa; imma min jitlef ħajtu  għall-imħabba tiegħi, isalvaha."          Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

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COMMENTARY

The Only Question that Matters —

A Biblical Reflection 
by  Fr. Thomas Rosica CSB,  CEO Salt + Light Catholic Television Network.

The second half of Luke’s Gospel is one great pilgrimage to Jerusalem, the city of destiny.  For Luke the Christian journey is a joyous way illuminated by the graciousness of the Savior of the world.  Along that way, Jesus asks a very important question of his disciples.  “Who do you say that I am?” is the same question asked of every disciple in every age. From this moment onward in today’s Gospel, Jesus is on his way to the cross.  Everything he says and does is another step toward Golgotha–where he will demonstrate perfect obedience, perfect love and total self-giving. 

The disciples list a whole series of labels that people have applied to Jesus.  And these names reveal all the different expectations held about him. Some thought of him as an Elijah, working toward a real confrontation with the powers that be.  Some saw him as one of the ancient prophets.  When Jesus asks his disciples of their perception of him, he asks what people are saying about him. How do they see his work?  Who is he in their minds?  Probably taken aback by the question, the disciples dredge their memories for overheard remarks, snatches of shared conversation, opinions circulating in the fishing towns of the lake area.  Jesus himself is aware of some of this.  The replies of the disciples are varied, as are those of each of us today when Jesus, through someone else’s lips, asks us the same question, and with increasing frequency and intensity.   To proclaim Jesus as the Messiah was a loaded and dangerous statement.  It was all that Jesus’ enemies needed to use against him, and already there were many who were ready to enlist under the banner of a royal pretender. But, far more than this, such a role was not Jesus’ destiny.  He would not and could not be that kind of militaristic or political Messiah.

Identifying Jesus Today

The struggle to identify Jesus and his role as Messiah continues today.  Some say the individual Christian and the whole church should be Elijah figures, confronting systems, institutions, national policies.  That was the way Elijah saw his task.  We only need to read the First Book of Kings [Chapters 17 to 21] to confirm this fact.  Some say, like Jeremiah, that the domain of Christ, through his church, is the personal and private side of life.  Significantly Jesus probes beyond both and asks, “You, who do you say I am.”

In Peter’s answer, “You are Messiah,” blurted out with his typical impetuosity, we are given a concept that involves both of the above ideas and goes beyond them.  The Messiah came into society, and into individual lives, in a total way, reconciling the distinction between public and private. The quality of our response to this question is the best gauge of the quality of our discipleship. 

If you have ever tried to piece together an ancient mosaic, you would know of the painstaking work involved in such an endeavor.  During my biblical studies in the Holy Land, I participated in several archeological expeditions involving the discovery of ancient mosaics. Every little fragment matters in putting the whole picture together.  In a similar way, when we attempt to answer Jesus’ question in today’s Gospel, “But who do you say that I am?” [Luke 9:20], we are being invited to piece together a magnificent mosaic.

One of the most powerful and memorable reflections on Jesus’ identity took place on the night of August 19, 2000 during the evening prayer vigil at Tor Vergata on Rome’s outskirts during World Youth Day of the Great Jubilee. I shall never forget that hot night, when silence came over the crowd of over one million young people as Pope John Paul II asked them the only question that matters:  “Who do you say that I am? The elderly Pope addressed his young friends with those words that rang out over the seeming apocalyptic scene before him:

What is the meaning of this dialogue? Why does Jesus want to know what people think about him? Why does he want to know what his disciples think about him?  Jesus wants his disciples to become aware of what is hidden in their own minds and hearts and to give voice to their conviction. At the same time, however, he knows that the judgment they will express will not be theirs alone, because it will reveal what God has poured into their hearts by the grace of faith. This is what faith is all about! It is the response of the rational and free human person to the word of the living God. The questions that Jesus asks, the answers given by the Apostles, and finally by Simon Peter, are a kind of examination on the maturity of the faith of those who are closest to Christ.

…It is Jesus in fact that you seek when you dream of happiness; he is waiting for you when nothing else you find satisfies you; he is the beauty to which you are so attracted; it is he who provokes you with that thirst for fullness that will not let you settle for compromise; it is he who urges you to shed the masks of a false life; it is he who reads in your hearts your most genuine choices, the choices that others try to stifle. It is Jesus who stirs in you the desire to do something great with your lives, the will to follow an ideal, the refusal to allow yourselves to be grounded down by mediocrity, the courage to commit yourselves humbly and patiently to improving yourselves and society, making the world more human and more fraternal.

He concluded his memorable address with these words::   Dear friends, at the dawn of the Third Millennium I see in you the “morning watchmen” (cf. Is 21:11-12). In the course of the century now past young people like you were summoned to huge gatherings to learn the ways of hatred; they were sent to fight against one another. The various godless messianic systems that tried to take the place of Christian hope have shown themselves to be truly horrendous. Today you have come together to declare that in the new century you will not let yourselves be made into tools of violence and destruction; you will defend peace, paying the price in your person if need be. You will not resign yourselves to a world where other human beings die of hunger, remain illiterate and have no work. You will defend life at every moment of its development; you will strive with all your strength to make this earth ever more livable for all people.

Who therefore is this Jesus for us?  This is indeed the only question that really matters.