Jesus: The Light of the World!

Readings for January 26, 2014    

Third Sunday in Ordinary Time 

                                        It-Tielet Ħadd matul is-Sena  A                                              

Messalin A pp 261

Reading 1                                                         ISaiah 8:23-9:3

First the Lord degraded the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali; but in the end he has glorified the seaward road, the land west of the Jordan, the District of the Gentiles. Anguish has taken wing, dispelled is darkness: for there is no gloom where but now there was distress. The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom  a light has shone. You have brought them abundant joy and great rejoicing, as they rejoice before you as at the harvest, as people make merry when dividing spoils. For the yoke that burdened them, the pole on their shoulder, and the rod of their taskmaster you have smashed, as on the day of Midian. This is the Word of The Lord.

L-Ewwel Lezzjoni  -  Qari mill-Ktieb tal-Profeta Isaija 8, 23b- 9,3

Alla, bħalma qabel fl-imgħoddi kien mela bl-għajb l-art ta' Żebulun u l-art ta' Naftali, hekk issa fl-ahħar isebbaħ it-triq tal-baħar 'l hemm mil-Ġordan, il-Galilija tal-ġnus. Il-poplu li kien miexi fid-dlam ra dawl kbir; in-nies li joqogħdu fl-art id-dlam dawl idda fuqhom. Int kattart il-ġens, kabbart l-hena; huma ferħu quddiemek, bħalma jifirħu fi żmien il-ħsad, bħalma jifirħu fi qsim il-priża.  Għax il-madmad li kien itaqqlu,. u l-ħatar ta' fuq spallejh, u l-bastun ta' l-argusżom. int kissirthom bħal f'jum Midjan. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

Responsorial Psalm                                    PSalm 27:1, 4, 13-14

R/ (1a) The Lord is my light and my salvation.

The LORD is my light and my salvation;
whom should I fear?
The LORD is my life’s refuge;
of whom should I be afraid?                                       R/

One thing I ask of the LORD;
this I seek:
To dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
That I may gaze on the loveliness of the LORD
and contemplate his temple.                                   R/

I believe that I shall see the bounty of the LORD
in the land of the living.
Wait for the LORD with courage;
be stouthearted, and wait for the LORD.              R/

Salm Responsorjali      -  Salm 26(27)

                R/  Il-Mulej id-dawl u s-salvazzjoni tiegħi.

Il-Mulej id-dawl u s-salvazzjoni tiegħi,

minn min għandi nibża?

Il-Mulej hu l-kenn tiegħi

quddiem min għandi nitwerwer?                            R/

Ħaġa waħda tlabt lill-Mulej,

ħaġa waħda nfittex:

li ngħammar f'dar il-Mulej

tul il-jiem kollha ta' ħajti;

biex nigħaxxaq bil-ħlewwa tal-Mulej

jien u nħares lejn it-tempju tiegħu.                       R/

Nemmen li għad nara t-tjieba tal-Mulej f'art il-ħajjin.

Itttama fil-Mulej, żomm sħiħ u qawwi qalbek;

Ittama fil-Mulej.                                                               R/

Reading 2                                         1 CORinthians 1:10-13, 17

I urge you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,  that all of you agree in what you say, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and in the same purpose. For it has been reported to me about you, my brothers and sisters, by Chloe’s people, that there are rivalries among you. I mean that each of you is saying, “I belong to Paul,” or “I belong to Apollos,”  or “I belong to Cephas,” or “I belong to Christ.” Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with the wisdom of human eloquence, so that the cross of Christ might not be emptied of its meaning. This is the Word of The Lord.

It-Tieni Lezzjoni   -   Qari mill-Ewwel Ittra ta' San Pawl Appostlu lill-Korintin 1, 10-13,17

               

Nitlobkom, ħuti, f'isem Sidna Ġesu'  Kristu, biex tkun taqblu fi kliemkom u ma jkunx  hemm firdiet fostkom. Kunu maqgħduin kif imiss, ħsieb wieħed u fehma waħda.  Ħuti, in-nies ta' Kloji qaluli fuqkom li fostkom hemm it-tilwim:  irrid ngħid jien, li kull wieħed minnkom qiegħed jgħid: "Jiena ta' Pawlu" u "jien ta' kefa,""U jiena ta' Kristu."   Jaqaw Kristu mifrud? Forsi Pawlu kien li ssallab għalikom jew f'isem Pawlu tgħammidtu? Kristu ma bagħatnix biex ngħammed iżda biex inxandar l-Evanġelu,  mhux bi kliem l-għerf sabiex ma jiġix fix-xejn is-salib ta' Kristu. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

Gospel                                                                MatThew 4:12-23

When Jesus heard that John had been arrested,  he withdrew to Galilee. He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali,  that what had been said through Isaiah the prophet  might be fulfilled: Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the way to the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles, the people who sit in darkness have seen a great light, on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death light has arisen. From that time on, Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” As he was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two  brothers, Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the sea; they were fishermen. He said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.”  At once they left their nets and followed him. He walked along from there and saw two other brothers, James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They were in a boat, with their father Zebedee, mending their nets. He called them, and immediately they left their boat and their father and followed him. He went around all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and curing every disease and illness among the people.

L-Evanġelju -  Qari mill-Evanġelju skond San Mattew 4, 12-23

Meta Ġesu' sama'  li kienu arrestaw lil Ġwanni, warrab lejn il-Galilija.   Telaq minn Nażaret u mar joqgħod Kafarnahum, qrib il-baħar,  fl-inħawi ta' Żebulun u Naftali, biex hekk iseħħ dak li kien ingħad permezz tal-Profeta Isaija, meta qal: "Art ta' Żebelun, u art ta Naftali, it-triq tal-baħar, art 'il hemm mill-Ġordan, Galilija tal-ġnus! Il-poplu li kien qiegħed fid-dlam ra dawl kbir; dawk li kienu f'art u dell il-mewt idda dawl għalihom." Minn dak iż-żmien Ġesu' beda jxandar u jgħid: "Indmu għax is-Saltna tas-Smewwiet waslet." Huwa u jdur ma' xatt il-baħar tal-Galilija lemaħ żewġt aħwa, Xmun jgħidulu Pietru, u ħuħ Indri, qegħdin jixħtu x-xbiek fil-baħar, għax kienu sajjieda. U qalilhom:  "Ejjew warajja, u nagħmilkom sajjieda tal-bnedmin."   U minnufih telqu x-xbiek, u marru warajh. Wara li mexa minn hemm ra żewġt aħwa oħra, Ġakbu bin Żebedew u ħuħ Ġwanni, qegħdin fid-dgħajsa ma missierhom Żebedew isewwu x-xbiek tagħhom, u sejħilhom. Minnufih telqu d-dgħajsa u lil missierhom, u marru warajh. Ġesu' dar il-Galilija kollha jgħallem fis-sinagogi tagħhom, ixandar l-Evanġelju tas-Saltna u jfejjaq kull xorta ta' mard u dgħufija fost il-poplu. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

COMMENTARY

Father Cantalamessa on God's Healing 

- In his commentary on this Sunday's Gospel passage, Capuchin Father Raniero Cantalamessa, the preacher of the Pontifical Household, points out nature and grace as the means man has to overcome his illnesses.

The passage of this coming Sunday’s Gospel of the 3rd Sunday of Ordinary Time– about Peter and Andrew’s calling – ends with these words: "He went around all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and curing every disease and illness among the people." Approximately one-third of the Gospel is taken up by the cures wrought by Jesus in the brief period of his public life. It is impossible to eliminate these miracles, or to give them a natural explanation, without distorting the whole Gospel and making it incomprehensible.

The miracles of the Gospel present unmistakable characteristics. They are never carried out to astonish or to extol the one working them. There are some today who allow themselves to be fascinated when listening to those who seem to have certain powers of levitation, of making things appear and disappear, and other such things. To whom does this type of miracle serve, supposing that they are such? No one. Only themselves, to make disciples or money. Jesus works miracles out of compassion because he loves people. He also works miracles to help them believe. Finally, he heals to proclaim that God is the God of life and that in the end, together with death, sickness will also be overcome and there will be no more mourning or weeping.

Not only does Jesus cure, but he orders his apostles to do the same after him: "And he sent them to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal" (Luke 9:2). "As you go, make this proclamation: 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.' Cure the sick" (Matthew 10:7-8). We always find the two things together: preach the Gospel and cure the sick. Man has two means to try to overcome his sicknesses: nature and grace. Nature indicates the intelligence, science, medicine, technology; grace indicates direct recourse to God, through faith and prayer and the sacraments. The latter are the means that the Church has at her disposition to "cure the sick." Evil begins when a third way is attempted: the way of magic, the one which exerts pressure on alleged occult powers of the person, which are not based either on science or faith. In this case, either we are before pure charlatanism and deceit, or worse, before the action of God's enemy.

It is not difficult to distinguish between a true charism of healing and its falsification in magic. In the first case, the person never attributes the results obtained to his own powers, but to God; in the second, people only exhibit their own supposed "extraordinary powers." When, because of this, one reads announcements such as: Magician of so on and so forth "succeeds where others fail, resolves problems of all kinds, has recognized extraordinary powers, casts out demons, removes the evil eye…" One must not have a minute's doubt -- they are swindlers. Jesus said that demons were cast out "with fasting and prayer," not by taking people's money!

However, we must ask ourselves another question. What should we think of the one who, despite everything, does not heal? That this person does not have faith or that God does not love this person? Were the persistence of illness a sign that the person has no faith, or that God does not love him, one would have to conclude that the saints were the poorest in faith and the least loved by God, because some spent their life in bed. The answer is another. God's power does not manifest itself only in one way -- eliminating evil, curing physically -- but also by giving the capacity, at times even the joy, of carrying one's cross with Christ, completing what is lacking in his sufferings. Christ has also redeemed suffering and death. The latter is no longer a sign of sin, sharing in Adam's fault, but is an instrument of redemption.

[Original in Italian published by Famiglia Cristiana. Translation by ZENIT].