17th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Is-17-il
Ħadd matul is-Sena Messalin
C pp348
Reading 1 Genesis 18:20-32
In those days, the LORD
said: “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah Sodom Sodom
L-Ewwel
Lezzjoni Ġenesi 18, 20 – 32
F'dak iż-żmien, il-Mulej qal: "L-għajta ta'
Sodoma u Gomorra hi tassew qawwija, u
t-toqol ta' dnubhom hu kbir. U issa se
ninżel u nara minn
…………………..
Responsorial Psalm
- Psalm 138:1-2, 2-3, 6-7, 7-8
R. (3a) Lord, on the day I called for
help, you answered me.
I will give thanks to you, O LORD, with all my heart,
for you have heard the words of my mouth;
in the presence of the angels I will sing your praise;
I will worship at your holy temple
and give thanks to your name. R/
Because of your kindness and your truth;
for you have made great above all things
your name and your promise.
When I called you answered me;
you built up strength within me. R/
The LORD is exalted, yet the lowly he sees,
and the proud he knows from afar.
Though I walk amid distress, you preserve me;
against the anger of my enemies you raise your hand. R/
and the proud he knows from afar.
Though I walk amid distress, you preserve me;
against the anger of my enemies you raise your hand. R/
Your right hand saves me.
The LORD will complete what he has done for me;
your kindness, O LORD, endures forever;
forsake not the work of your hands. R/
The LORD will complete what he has done for me;
your kindness, O LORD, endures forever;
forsake not the work of your hands. R/
Salm
Responsorjali - Salm
137 (138)
Meta sejjaħtlek, int weġibtni, Mulej.
Irroddlok
ħajr, Mulej, b'qalbi kollha,
għaliex
int smajt kliem fommi.
Quddiem
l-allat irrid ngħannilek.
B'wiċċi
fl-art ninxteħet quddiem is-santwarju tiegħek. R/
Irroddlok
ħajr għat-tjieba u l-fedelta' tiegħek,
għax
int kabbart ismek u kelmtek fuq kollox.
kattarli
l-qawwa f'ruħi. R/
Kbir
il-Mulej, imma jieħu ħsib iż-żgħar;
u,
għalkemm fl-għoli, jagħraf mill-bogħod.
Jekk
insib ruħi fl-għali, inti tħarisli ħajti;
terfa'
idek kontra l-għedewwa tiegħi. R/
Il-leminija
tiegħek issalvani mill-qilla tagħhom.
Il-Mulej
iżomm kelmtu miegħi.
It-tjieba
tiegħek, Mulej, tibqa' għal dejjem,
la
titlaqx għemil idejk! R/
………………….
Brothers and sisters: You were buried with him in
baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the power of
God, who raised him from the dead. And even when you were dead in transgressions
and the uncircumcision of your flesh, he brought you to life along with him,
having forgiven us all our transgressions; obliterating the bond against us,
with its legal claims, which was opposed to us, he also removed it from our
midst, nailing it to the cross. This is the Word of the Lord.
It-Tieni
Lezzjoni Kolossin 2, 12 -14
Ħuti, intom indfintu ma' Kristu bil-magħmudija u
rxuxtajtu miegħu permezz tal-fidi tagħkom
fil-qawwa ta' Alla li qajmu mill-imwiet. Kontu mejta minħabba dnubietkom
u għax ma kellkomx iċ-ċirkonċiżjoni f'ġisimkom;
imma issa Alla takom il-ħajja
flimkien ma' Kristu. Ħafrilna dnubnietna
kollha. Ħassar il-kont tad-dejn li
kellna bl-obbligi li kien hemm kontrina;
neħħieh min-nofs u sammru mas-salib.
Il-Kelma tal-Mulej.
…………………
Gospel Luke 11:1-13
Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he had
finished, one of his disciples said to
him, “Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples.” He said to them, “When you pray, say: Father,
hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread and
forgive us our sins for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us, and do not
subject us to the final test.” And he
said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend to whom he goes at midnight and
says, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, for a friend of mine has arrived
at my house from a journey and I have nothing to offer him,’ and he says in
reply from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been locked and my
children and I are already in bed. I
cannot get up to give you anything.’ I tell you, if he does not get up to give
the visitor the loaves because of their friendship, he will get up to give him whatever he needs
because of his persistence. “And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and
you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one
who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. What father among you would hand his son a
snake when he asks for a fish? Or hand
him a scorpion when he asks for an
egg? If you then, who are wicked, know
how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in
heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?” This is the Word of the Lord.
L-Evanġelju Luqa 11, 1-13
Darba Ġesu' kien qiegħed xi mkien jitlob. Kif spiċċa mit-talb, wieħed mid-dixxipli
tiegħu qallu: "Mulej, għallimna nitolbu, bħalma Ġwanni wkoll għallem
lid-dixxipli tiegħu." U qalilhom:
"Meta titolbu, għidu: Missier,
jitqaddes ismek, tiġi Saltnatek, Ħobżna
ta' kuljum agħtina kuljum. U aħfrilna dnubietna, għax aħna wkoll naħfru lil
kull min hu ħati għalina, u la
ddaħħalniex fit-tiġrib." Qalilhom
ukoll: "Wieħed minnkom ikollu ħabib li jiġih f'nofs ta' lejl u jgħidlu: "Ħabib, islifni tliet ħobżiet, għax ġie għandi wieħed ħabib tiegħi
mill-vjaġġ u ma għandix x'nagħtih."
U l-ieħor iwieġbu minn
…………………………….
COMMENTARY:
Learning to
Pray from
Abraham and Jesus
by Fr. Thomas Rosica
CSB
The biblical cities of Sodom and Gomorrah , home to Abraham’s nephew, Lot ,
were full of sin. Israelite tradition was unanimous in ascribing the
destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah Sodom Sodom
Biblical bargaining session ................. Today’s
first reading from Genesis [18:20-32] presents the famous bargaining session
between God and Abraham over the destruction of the two cities. When
Abraham heard that God was going to judge the cities where his nephew lived, he
began with a general question: Will you
destroy the innocent along with the guilty [v 23]? Abraham
appeals to God’s better nature, as one does when one is trying to persuade a
powerful person to do the right thing!
God starts at fifty, if there are fifty righteous men, Sodom
This intriguing story of Abraham interceding for Sodom
What are the essential elements of good negotiation? First,
demand or request must be clearly articulated and understood. Second, the logic
behind the demand or request must be presented and agreed upon. Third, the
person requesting or demanding must persist in the negotiation. What are ultimately
required are clarity, logic and persistence. We cannot give up!
When we pray to God, we should take Abraham’s example to heart.
We must pray with a clear request, seek God’s will, and persist in prayer, even
when we pray for something small. How are we clear in our prayer, logical
in its implications, and persistent in its petition? How does our prayer
reflect these wonderful Abrahamic qualities?
Centrality of prayer in Christian life ................... Throughout Luke’s Gospel,
Jesus at prayer is a model for us. In each prayerful moment, Jesus lives
out the story of God’s great dialogue with the human family by remaining
totally open to the power of God. We must pray unceasingly, for prayer is
a sign of our faith in God. Prayer is not something that we use to put
pressure on God to get our own way. Authentic prayer opens us up to the
action of God’s Spirit, bringing us in line with God’s desires, and making us
into true disciples, obedient to Jesus and to the Father who has sent him.
Prayer becomes one of the ways by which we follow Jesus in the Christian life.
In today’s Gospel scene, Luke presents three episodes concerned
with prayer [11:1-13]. The first [vv 1-4] recounts Jesus teaching his disciples
the Christian communal prayer, the “Our Father”; the second [11:5-8], the
importance of persistence in prayer; the third [11:9-13], the effectiveness of
prayer. The “Our Father” is taught to
the Twelve in their role as disciples, not just as individuals to be converted
but also as persons already co-responsible for the community. This prayer
is an apostolic prayer, because it is said in the plural and takes for granted
one’s awareness of a people, of co-responsibility, of solidarity, linking each
of us to the other.
When we pray “thy kingdom
come,” we reveal our deepest longing to see the day when the triumphant,
sovereign lordship of our loving God will no longer be a mere hope clung to
desperately by faith, but a manifest reality in all human affairs. Our souls
can never be entirely content until God’s honor is fully vindicated in all
creation. These words utter a heartfelt plea: When will the reign of evil
and death end?
When we beg for bread, we are really pleading for more than
food. We beg the author of life for all the necessities of life. “God, give us what we need in order to enjoy
the gift of life… bread for today and bread for tomorrow, to sustain us as a
community.” We ask God to forgive
our sins as we forgive everyone their debts to us. This may possibly
reflect Luke’s concern that possessions not hinder community fellowship.
The final petition is most likely eschatological: do not lead us into trial;
i.e., the final, great and ultimate test and agony of evil before the end.
The “Our
Father” becomes the prayer of the poor, of those who plod along– weary,
hungering and struggling for faith, meaning and strength. It is perhaps
the first prayer we ever learn, and the last prayer we ever say before we close
our eyes on this life.
God’s assurance of good gifts ............. The parable of the friend at midnight is found
nowhere else in the New Testament. Its message, too, is about prayer and
its point is that if our friends answer importunate or shameless appeals, how
much more will God who desires to give us the kingdom [12:32]? The
concluding section [vv 9-13] builds on the previous section. The analogy
moves from friends to parents: if parents give good gifts, how much more so
will God. Prayer is to be continual asking, seeking, knocking, but even so,
this persistence is within a parent-child relationship, which assures good
gifts. Authentic prayer opens us up to the action of God’s Spirit,
bringing us in line with God’s desires, and making us into true disciples,
obedient to Jesus and to the Father who has sent him.
