Today - time to change?

Readings for Sunday, November 3, 2013

Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time 

Il-31 Ħadd matul is-Sena

Messalin C pp 432

Reading 1           -         WISdom 11:22-12:2

Before the LORD the whole universe is as a grain from a balance or a drop of morning dew come down upon the earth. But you have mercy on all, because you can do all things; and you overlook people's sins that they may repent. For you love all things that are and loathe nothing that you have made; for what you hated, you would not have fashioned. And how could a thing remain, unless you willed it; or be preserved, had it not been called forth by you? But you spare all things, because they are yours, O LORD and lover of souls, for your imperishable spirit is in all things! Therefore you rebuke offenders little by little, warn them and remind them of the sins they are committing, that they may abandon their wickedness and believe in you, O LORD!  This is the Word of The Lord

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L-Ewwel Lezzjoni  - Ktieb tal-Għerf 11, 22-26,2

Mulej, quddiemek id-dinja kollha qisha traba fil-miżien, jew qatra nida tal-għodwa li tinżel fuq l-art. Iżda int tħenn għal kulħadd, għax tista' kollox; int tagħlaq għajnejk għal dnubiet il-bnedmin biex huma jindmu. Għax int tħobb il-ħlejjaq kollha, u xejn ma tistmell minn kulma għamilt;  li kien hemm xi ħaġa li stajt tobgħodha, int ma kontx tagħmilha.  Kif setgħet tibqa' xi ħaġa fid-dinja kieku int ma ridthiex? Jew kif setgħet iżżomm, kieku int ma sejjaħtilhiex? Imma int, o Sid li tħobb kulma jgħix, lil kulħadd tagħder, għax kollox huwa tiegħek. Għax f'kulħadd hemm nifsek bla ma qatt jintemm.  Għalhekk int twiddeb bil-ftit il-ftit lil dawk li jonqsu, twissihom u tfakkarhom fejn dinbu, biex jerġgħu lura mill-ħażen tagħhom, u fik, Mulej, iqiegħdu t-tama tagħhom.  Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

Responsorial Psalm       -       PSalm 145:1-2, 8-9, 10-11, 13, 14

                                                              

     R. (cf. 1) I will praise your name for ever, my king and my God.

I will extol you, O my God and King,
and I will bless your name forever and ever.
Every day will I bless you,
and I will praise your name forever and ever.                  R/

The LORD is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and of great kindness.
The LORD is good to all
and compassionate toward all his works.                            R/

                       
Let all your works give you thanks, O LORD,
and let your faithful ones bless you.
Let them discourse of the glory of your kingdom
and speak of your might.                                                             R/

The LORD is faithful in all his words
and holy in all his works.
The LORD lifts up all who are falling
and raises up all who are bowed down.                                                R/

Salm Responsorjali                       -              Salm 144 (145)

    R/       Mulej, inbierek  ismek  għal  dejjem  ta'  dejjem.

Ħa nkabbrek, Alla tiegħi, sultan,

u nbierek ismek għal dejjem ta' dejjem.

Kuljum irrid inbierkek,

u nfaħħar ismek għal dejjem ta' dejjem.                              R/

Twajjeb u ħanin il-Mulej,

idum biex jagħdab u kollu tjieba.

Twajjeb ma' kulħadd il-Mulej,

tjubitu fuq kulma għamel.                                          R/

Kulma għamilt iroddlok ħajr, Mulej;

iberkuk il-ħbieb tiegħek kollha.

Is-sebħ tas-saltna tiegħek ixandru,

fuq is-setgħa tiegħek jitkellmu.                                               R/

Ta' kelmtu l-Mulej fil-wegħdiet tiegħu kollha,

Twajjeb f'dak kollu li għamel.

Iwieżen il-Mulej 'il kull min se jaqa',

iqajjem 'il kull min hu mitluq.                                   R/

Reading 2           -         2 THESsalonians 1:11-2:2

Brothers and sisters: We always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and powerfully bring to fulfillment every good purpose  and every effort of faith, that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, in accord with the grace of our God and Lord Jesus Christ.  We ask you, brothers and sisters, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our assembling with him, not to be shaken out of your minds suddenly, or to be alarmed either by a "spirit," or by an oral statement, or by a letter allegedly from us to the effect that the day of the Lord is at hand.  This is the Word of The Lord.

It-Tieni Lezzjoni  -  Tieni Ittra lit-Tessalonikin 1, 11-12;2,1-2

               

Ħuti, aħna dejjem nitolbu għalikom li Alla tagħna jagħmilkom denji għas-sejħa tiegħu, u jagħmel li bil-qawwa tiegħu sseħħ kull rieda tajba tagħkom għall-ġid u kull ħidma tal-fidi tagħkom.   U hekk l-isem ta' Sidna Ġesu' Kristu jkun igglorifikat fikom u intom fih skont il-grazzja ta' Alla  tagħna u tal-Mulej Ġesu' Kristu. Ħuti, għal dak li għandu x'jaqsam mal-miġja ta' Sidna Ġesu' Kristu u l-ġemgħa tagħna biex  ningħaqdu miegħu, nitolbukom biex ma toqogħdux  tħawdu raskom malajr u tinħasdu  bħallikieku il-miġja ta' jum il-Mulej qorbot, u la jekk tkunu mnebbħin mill-ispirtu u lanqas jekk tisimgħu xi kelma jew  taqraw xi ittra taparsi mingħandna.  Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

Gospel                 -              LuKe 19:1-10

At that time, Jesus came to Jericho and intended to pass through the town.  Now a man there named Zacchaeus, who was a chief tax collector and also a wealthy man, was seeking to see who Jesus was; but he could not see him because of the crowd, for he was short in stature.  So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus,  who was about to pass that way. When he reached the place, Jesus looked up and said, "Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house."  And he came down quickly and received him with joy.  When they all saw this, they began to grumble, saying, "He has gone to stay at the house of a sinner."  But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, "Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to  the poor, and if I have extorted anything from anyone I shall repay it four times over."  And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house because this man too is a descendant of Abraham.  For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost."   This is the Word of The Lord.

L-Evanġelju  -   San Luqa 19, 1-10

F'dak iż-żmien, Ġesu' daħal Ġeriko u kien għaddej mit-triq.Mela ikun hemm raġel, jismu Żakkew;  dan kien wieħed mill-kapijiet tal-pubblikani, u kien għani. Kellu xewqa li jara min kien Ġesu', imma ma setax minħabba l-folla, billi kien raġel qasir.   Għalhekk mar jiġri  'l quddiem u xxabbat ma' siġra  tat-tin selvaġġ, għax minn dik in-naħa kien se jgħaddi. Ġesu', kif wasal hemm, ħares 'il fuq u qallu:  "Żakkew, isa, inżel minn hemm, għax illum jeħtieġli  noqgħod għandek."    Dak niżel bla telf ta' żmien, u kollu ferħan laqgħu għandu.   In-nies, meta rawh, ilkoll bdew igemgmu bejniethom u  jgħidu li għand wieħed midneb daħal jistrieħ.  Imma Żakkew, wieqaf,  qal lill-Mulej,  "Ara, Mulej, nofs ġidi se nagħtih lill-foqra, u jekk  jien qarraqt  b'xi ħadd irroddlu għal erba' darbiet iżjed." Qallu Ġesu':  "F'din id-dar illum daħlet is-salvazzjoni, għax  dan ir-raġel ukoll huwa bin Abraham.  Għax Bin il-bniedem ġie jfittex u jsalva l-mitluf. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

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COMMENTARY:

By Larry Broding, Word-Sunday.com  – a lectionary  resource for Catholics 

 

The Time of Change

                                                 

What was the most important choice you made today? Why was it so important?  Look! Today is the only day you have!  How can anyone argue with such an emphatic statement? But like many other such apparent truisms, the call to focus on today can drift off and change into the next piece of momentary wisdom. We all would like to live as if today was the only day that mattered. But few of us do. Reflection over the past and anxiety over the future do not allow us the luxury of living each day on its own terms.

But there are those rare days that do change the course of life. Days when life-changing decisions are made. And many times we don't even know those days will come until they arrive. Those are the days when life is full. Yesterday and tomorrow don't seem to matter.

A small, rich tax collector had such a day, when Jesus came to town.  The story of Zacchaeus is held as one of the most beloved passages in Luke. The little man who stood tall. And became a follower. But the focus of the passages lie elsewhere. In spite of many standard caricatures (dishonorable tax man and the righteous crowd), the details of the narrative pointed to one conclusion Jesus was Lord. Belief in him led to eternal life.

As the gospel opened, Jesus drew closer to Jerusalem. On the outskirts leading away from Jericho, a small man with a large (and questionable) reputation climbed a tree to see Jesus. As the children's translation aside noted, tax collectors were hated by the populace as cheats and traitors. Luke heightened the emotion by giving the title of "head tax collector" to Zacchaeus and compounded the hatred with a mention to the man's wealth. Combining the man's rank and economic status reinforced the public's feeling toward him. Zacchaeus preyed on the people, making himself rich at their expense. In the process, he sold his soul to the enemy Romans. So, the question of Zacchaeus' moral character was justified. People wondered if the man was lost forever.

                                         

We can only speculate why a small tax collector might want to see Jesus. But if we look at the themes Luke has laid out in his gospel, we can clearly see why he included the narrative of Zacchaeus and its details. The morally unclean man wanted to see Jesus simply because the traveling preacher represented a chance. And a change. Like the other unclean and questionable characters in Luke, Zacchaeus would provide fertile ground for evangelization, to turn his life around and trust God again.

                                  

So the little man climbed a tree (even today, something considered childish), only to beckoned to come down and share hospitality. Forget the rudeness Jesus showed by inviting himself into the Zacchaeus' home. The interplay between Zacchaeus, Jesus, and the crowd revolved around one issue: the worth of the sinner. The crowd rejected the sinner. Zacchaeus took a chance to assert his worth. But Jesus saw beyond the reticence of the crowd and the bravado of the tax man. And peered into the man's heart. Yes, the lost man had great value and was worthy of the Kingdom. Were any of the skeptics in the crowd worthy?

                              

Two sets of the words thread this narrative to its moral: "Look!" and "Today." The word "look" or "behold" referred to Zacchaeus. The word introduced the little rich man [19:2] as a way to flag his moral standing in the community. The word also emphasized Zaccheaus' change of heart, as he responded to the Lord's call. [19:8]. The word emphasized the man's status and his conversion.

The word "today" referred to Jesus. Jesus initiated his encounter with the tax man, stressing the immediacy of the encounter with the word "today." [19:5c] Jesus also confirmed the man's salvation with the word. For, in Luke, the moment of salvation was now, at this moment. At the beginning of his ministry, Jesus announced the fulfillment of scripture before his fellow Nazarenes with the word (Luke 4:21). And, at the end of his earthly life, he confirmed the salvation of the thief on the cross with the word (Luke 23:43). "Today" was not just a time frame of existence. In Luke, it was the time of God's action, as action that could not be delayed. It was an action the Messiah initiated. Today! The time Jesus offered salvation. The time Jesus declared salvation. This was why Jesus is Lord!

Have you ever had moments of immediate change, moments that demanded choice now? Did any of those choices involve faith? What happened?

Look! Today is the only day you have to live! A truism? Yes. But, from the mouth of the Lord, it's the only day we have to say "Yes" to his invitation. The only day that really matters.

Reflect on today. How has the Lord invited you to a more intimate walk this day?