Behold,
the Lamb of God!
Dan hu l-Ħaruf ta' Alla
Second Sunday in
Ordinary Time / A
It-Tieni Ħadd matul is-Sena A
Messalin A pp 256
Reading
1 ISaiah 49:3, 5-6
The LORD said to me: You are my
servant, Israel Israel Israel
L-Ewwel Lezzjoni - Qari mill-Ktieb
tal-Profeta Isaija 49, 3,5-6
Il-Mulej qalli: "Iżrael, inti l-qaddej tiegħi, bik jiena nkun
imfaħħar." Issa tkellem il-Mulej, li minn ġuf ommi għamilni qaddej tiegħu, biex għandu nraġġa' lura lil Ġakobb, u biex
Iżrael jinġabar miegħu mill-ġdid - għax
jien kont imfaħħar f'għajnejn il-Mulej, u Alla tiegħi kien il-qawwa tiegħi – u
Hu qalli: "Tkun ħaġa żgħira wisq għalik,
li inti tkun il-qaddej tiegħi,biex tqajjem it-tribu'
ta' Ġakobb, u traġġa lura l-fdal ta' Iżrael. Jien nagħmel minnek dawl għall-ġnus, biex is-salvazzjoni tiegħi sa truf l-art tinfirex." Il-Kelma
tal-Mulej
Responsorial Psalm - Psalm 40:2, 4, 7-8, 8-9, 10
R/ (8a and 9a) Here am I, Lord; I come to do
your will.
I have waited, waited for the
LORD,
and he stooped toward me and heard my cry.
And he put a new song into my mouth,
a hymn to our God. R/
and he stooped toward me and heard my cry.
And he put a new song into my mouth,
a hymn to our God. R/
Sacrifice or offering you wished
not,
but ears open to obedience you gave me.
Holocausts or sin-offerings you sought not;
then said I, “Behold I come.” R/
but ears open to obedience you gave me.
Holocausts or sin-offerings you sought not;
then said I, “Behold I come.” R/
“In the written scroll it is
prescribed for me,
to do your will, O my God, is my delight,
and your law is within my heart!” R/
to do your will, O my God, is my delight,
and your law is within my heart!” R/
I announced your justice in the
vast assembly;
I did not restrain my lips, as you, O LORD, know. R/
I did not restrain my lips, as you, O LORD, know. R/
Salm
Responsorjali - Salm 39(40)
R/ Hawn jien,
Mulej, ġej nagħmel ir-rieda tiegħek
Ittamajt b'tama qawwija fil-Mulej;
hu niżel ħdejja u sama' l-għajta tiegħi.
Qegħedli fuq fommi għanja ġdida,
għanja ta' tifħir lil Alla tagħna. R/
Int ma titgħaxxaqx b'sagrifiċċji u b'offerti;
imma widnejja int ftaħtli,
ma tlabtnix vittmi tal-ħruq u
tat-tpattija.
Imbagħad jien għedt: "Hawn
jien, ġej." R/
Fil-bidu tal-ktieb hemm miktub fuqi
li nagħmel ir-rieda tiegħek.
Alla tiegħi, dan jogħġobni:
il-liġi tiegħek ġewwa qalbi. R/
Xandart il-ġustizzja f'ġemgħa kbira;
xufftejja ma żammejthomx magħluqa.
Mulej, dan inti tafu. R/
Reading
Paul, called to be an apostle of
Christ Jesus by the will of God, and
Sosthenes our brother, to the church
of God that is in Corinth
It-Tieni Lezzjoni - Bidu ta' l-Ewwel Ittra ta'
San Pawl Appostli lill-Korintin 1, 1-3
Pawlu, li Alla
ried isejjaħlu biex ikun appostlu ta' Kristu Ġesu', u Sosteni ħuna, lill-Knisja ta' Alla li qiegħda f'Korintu; lil dawk li tqaddsu fi Kristu Ġesu', imsejħa
biex ikunu qaddisin flimkien ma'
dawk kollha li f'kull pajjiż isejħu l-isem ta' Ġesu' Kristu, is-Sid tagħhom u
tagħna, grazzja u sliem mingħand
Alla missierna u l-Mulej Ġesu' Kristu.
Il-Kelma tal-Mulej
Gospel JohN 1:29-34
John the Baptist saw Jesus coming
toward him and said, “Behold, the Lamb
of God, who takes away the sin of the world.
He is the one of whom I said, ‘A
man is coming after me who ranks ahead of me because he existed before me.’ I
did not know him, but the reason why I came baptizing with water was that he
might be made known to Israel
L-Evanġelju - Qari mill-Evanġelju skond San
Ġwann 1, 29-34
F'dak iż-żmien,
Ġwanni, ra lil Ġesu' riesaq lejħ u qal: "Araw il-Ħaruf ta' Alla, li jneħħi
d-dnub tad-dinja. Dan hu li għalih għedtilkom:
"Warajja ġej bniedem li hu aqwa minni, għax kien qabli." Anqas jien stess ma kont nafu, imma jien
għalhekk ġejt ngħammed bl-ilma, biex hu jkun mgħarraf lil Iżrael." U
Ġwanni xehed għalih u qal: "Jiena
rajt l-Ispirtu nieżel mis-sema bħal ħammiema u joqgħod fuqu. Tabilħaqq, anqas jien
ma kont nafu; imma dak li bagħatni ngħammed bl-ilma, hu stess
qalli: "Fuq min tara l-Ispirtu jinżel u
joqgħod, dak hu li
jgħammed bl-Ispirtu s-Santu." "Dan
rajtu b'għajnejja, u għalhekk xhedt, dan hu l-Iben ta' Alla." Il-Kelma tal-Mulej
///////////////////////////////////////////
COMMENTARY
Behold,
the Lamb of God!
Gospel Commentary
for 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
By
Father Raniero Cantalamessa, OFM Cap
In next Sunday’s Gospel we hear John the
Baptist who, presenting Jesus to the world, exclaims: "Behold the lamb of God, behold him who takes away the sins of the
world!" The lamb, in the Bible, as in other
cultures, is the symbol of being innocent; it cannot do evil to anyone but only
suffer it. Following this symbolism, the first letter of Peter calls Christ "the lamb unspotted" (1:19)
who, "reviled, did not revile; when
he suffered, he threatened not" (2:23). Jesus, in other words, is par
excellence the innocent one who suffers.
It has been written that the suffering of the
innocent "is the rock of
atheism." After Auschwitz , the
problem was posed in a still more acute way. There are countless books and
dramas that have been written about this theme. It feels like being at a trial
and hearing the voice of the judge ordering the defendant to stand up. The
defendant in this case is God.
What does the faith have to say about all this?
First of all, it is necessary that we all, believers and nonbelievers, adopt an
attitude of humility, because if faith is not able to "explain" the suffering, much less is reason. The
suffering of the innocent is something too pure and mysterious to try to close
it up in one of our poor "explanations."
Jesus -- who, as far as explanations go, certainly had more than us -- faced
with the suffering of the widow of Naim and the sisters of Lazarus, knew
nothing better to do than to be moved and weep.
The Christian response to the problem of
innocent suffering is wrapped up in one name: Jesus Christ! Jesus did not come
to give us expert explanations about suffering, he came rather silently to take
it upon himself. Taking it upon himself, however, he changed it entirely: from
a sign of malediction, he made it an instrument of redemption. Even more: he
made it the supreme value, the highest order of greatness in this world. After
sin, the true greatness of the human creature is measured by the fact of
bearing the least amount of guilt possible and the maximum amount of punishment
possible. It is not so much in the one or the other taken separately -- that
is, in innocence or in suffering -- as it is in the co-presence of the two in
the same person. This is a type of suffering that brings us closer to God. Only
God, in fact, if he suffers, suffers as innocent in an absolute sense.
Jesus, however, did not only give a meaning to
innocent suffering, he also conferred a new power on it, a mysterious
fruitfulness. Look at what flowed from the suffering of Christ: the
resurrection and hope for the whole human race. But look also at what happens
around us. How much energy and heroism is often brought out in a couple in the
acceptance of a handicapped child, bedridden for years! How much unsuspected
solidarity surrounds them! How much otherwise unknown capacity to love!
The most important thing, however, when we
speak of innocent suffering, is not to explain it; it is not to increase it with
our actions and our omissions. But neither is it enough not to increase
innocent suffering; we must also try to relieve the innocent suffering that
exists! Faced with a little girl frozen by the cold, who cries because of
hunger pains, a man cried out in his heart one day to God: "Oh, God, where
are you? Why don't you do something for that innocent girl?" And God
answered him: "I certainly have done something for her: I made you!"
[Translation from the Italian original by Joseph G. Trabbic]
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