Il-Ħamsa
u għoxrin Ħadd matul is-Sena
Missalin A p 379
It-Tjieba u l-Ġenerożita’ ta’ Alla
Seek the LORD
while he may be found, call him while he is near. Let the scoundrel forsake his
way, and the wicked his thoughts; let him turn to the LORD for mercy; to our
God, who is generous in forgiving. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor
are your ways my ways, says the LORD. As high as the heavens are above the
earth, so high are my ways above your ways and my thoughts above your thoughts.
This is the Word of The Lord.
L-Ewwel Lezzjoni
- Profeta Isaija 55, 6-9
Fittxu
l-Mulej sekemm tistgħu ssibuh, sejħulu sakemm hu fil-qrib! Ħa jħalli triqtu
l-midneb, u l-bniedem il-ħażin feħmietu;
ħa jerġa' lura għand il-Mulej u jħenn għalih, għand Alla tagħna għax hu
jaħfer ħafna. Il-fehmiet tiegħi m'humiex fehmietkom, u t-triqat tiegħi m'humiex
triqatkom. Oraklu tal-Mulej. Għax daqs kemm huma ogħla
s-smewwiet mill-art, daqshekk ieħor huma
triqati 'l fuq minn
Responsorial Psalm - psalm 145:2-3, 8-9, 17-18
R/ (18a) The Lord is near to all who call upon him.
Every day will I bless you,
and I will praise your name forever and ever.
Great is the LORD and highly to be praised;
his greatness is unsearchable. R/
and I will praise your name forever and ever.
Great is the LORD and highly to be praised;
his greatness is unsearchable. 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/
slow to anger and of great kindness.
The LORD is good to all
and compassionate toward all his works. R/
The LORD is just in all his ways
and holy in all his works.
The LORD is near to all who call upon him,
to all who call upon him in truth. R/
Salm Responsorjali - Salm 144(145)
R/ Qrib il-Mulej lejn kull min isejjaħlu.
Kuljum irrid inbierkek,
u nfaħħar ismek għal dejjem ta' dejjem.
Kbir il-Mulej, ta' min ifaħħru bil-bosta,
bla tarf il-kobor tiegħu. R/
Twajjeb u ħanin il-Mulej,
Idumbiex jagħdab u kollu tjieba.
Twajjeb ma' kulħadd il-Mulej,
Tjubitu fuq kull ma għamel. R/
Ġust il-Mulej fl-imġieba tiegħu kollha,
twajjeb f'dak kollu li għamel.
Qrib il-Mulej lejn kull min isejjaħlu
lejn kull min isejjaħlu fis-sewwa. R/
Brothers and
sisters: Christ will be magnified in my body, whether
by life or by death. For to me life is Christ, and death is gain. If I go on
living in the flesh, that means fruitful labour for me. And I do not know which I shall choose. I am caught between the two. I long to depart this life and be with Christ,
for that is far better. Yet that I
remain in the flesh is more necessary for your benefit. Only, conduct
yourselves in a way worthy of the gospel of Christ. This is the Word of The Lord.
It-Tieni Lezzjoni
- Ittra lir-Rumani 1, 20,- 24,27
Ħuti, Krisu jkun imsebbaħ
fil-ġisem tiegħi, sew jekk ngħix u sew jekk immut. Għax għalija l-ħajja hi
Kristu, u l-mewt hi rebħ. Jekk għandi nibqa' ħaj fil-ġisem, dan ifisser li għandi
nagħti l-frott tax-xogħol tiegħi. X'naqbad nagħmel ma nafx; ninsab bejn ħaltejn. Min-naħa
l-waħda, nixtieq nintemm u nkun ma' Kristu,
li jkun ħafna aħjar għalija; min-naħa
l-oħra, jekk nibqa' ngħix fil-ġisem,
ikun ħafna aħjar għalikom. Ħaġa waħda ngħidilkom: ġibu ruħkom
kif jixraq lill- Evanġelju ta' Kristu. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej
Gospel - matthew 20:1-16a
Jesus told his
disciples this parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who
went out at dawn to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with them for the usual daily
wage, he sent them into his vineyard. Going
out about nine o’clock, the landowner saw others standing idle in the
marketplace, and he said to them, ‘You too go into my vineyard, and I will give you what is just.’ So they
went off. And he went out again around
noon, and around three o’clock, and did likewise. Going out about five o’clock, the landowner
found others standing around, and said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all
day?’ They answered, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You too
go into my vineyard.’ When it was
evening the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Summon the labourers and give them their
pay, beginning with the last and ending with the first.’ When those who had
started about five o’clock came, each received the usual daily wage. So when the first came, they thought that they
would receive more, but each of them also got the usual wage. And on receiving it they grumbled against the
landowner, saying, ‘These last ones
worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us, who bore the day’s
burden and the heat.’ He said to one of
them in reply, ‘My friend, I am not
cheating you. Did you not agree with me
for the usual daily wage? Take what is
yours and go. What if I wish to give
this last one the same as you? Or am I
not free to do as I wish with my own money? Are you envious because I am
generous?’ Thus, the last will be first, and the first will be last. This is the Word of The Lord.
Evanġelju - skond San Mattew 20.
1-16
F'dak
iż-żmien, Ġesu' qal lid-dixxipli tiegħu din il-parabbola:
"Is-Saltna tas-Smewwiet tixbah lil wieħed sid li ħareg filgħodu
kmieni ħafna biex isib nies tax-xogħol u jħaddimhom fl-għalqa tiegħu
tad-dwieli. Ftiehem ma' xi ħaddiema
b'dinar kull jum u bagħathom fl-għalqa. Ħareġ
ukoll madwar it-tielet siegħa, ra oħrajn
qegħdin fil-pjazza, bla xogħol, u qalilhom: "Morru intom ukoll l-għalqa, u nagħtikom
li jkun ħaqqkom" U marru.
Raġa' ħareġ għal xi s-sitt siegħa
u mbagħad għal xi d-disgħa siegħu, u għamel
l-istess. Għall-ħabta tal-ħdax-il siegħa raġa ħareġ u sab oħrajn
qiegħda, u qalilhom: "Għaliex qegħdin hawn il-jum kollu ma
tagħmlu xejn?" Qalulu: 'Għax ħadd
ma qabbadna." Qalilhom: "Morru intom ukoll l-għalqa." Għal
fil-għaxija mbagħad sid l-għalqa qal lill-prokoratur tiegħu:
"Sejjaħ lill-ħaddiema u ħallashom, ibda minn dawk li ġew l-aħħar u spiċċa b'dawk ta' l-ewwel." Ġew
dawk li daħlu għax-xogħol fil-ħdax-il siegħa u ħadu dinar kull wieħed. Ġew ta' l-ewwel, u stennew li kienu se jirċievu iktar, iżda huma wkoll ħadu dinar
kull wieħed. Huma u jitħallsu qabdu jgemgmu kontra s-sid u jgħidu: "Dawn ta' l-aħħar siegħa waħda għamlu, u int
qisthom bħalna li tgħabbejna bil-piż tal-jum u s-sħana!" Qabeż is-sid u qal lil wieħed minnhom: "Ħabib, minn xejn ma nqastek jien; mhux
b'dinar ftehemt miegħi? Ħu li
jmissek u itlaq. Lil dan ta' l-aħħar
irrid nagħtih daqs kemm tajt lilek. Ma
nistax nagħmel li rrid bi ħwejjġi jien?
Jew qiegħed tgħir għax jien qalbi tajba?" Hekk ta' l-aħħar jiġu l-ewwel, u ta' l-ewwel
jiġu l-aħħar." Il-Kelma
tal-Mulej
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
“Are you envious
because I am generous?”
By Fr. Thomas Rosica, CSB,
CEO Salt +
Light Catholic Media Foundation
Jesus teaches through
parables, he expresses profound truths with simple stories and images that
engage minds and hearts. In the Old Testament, the use of parables reflects an
ancient, culturally universal method of teaching an ethical lesson applicable
to every day life, by using symbolic stories with concrete characters and
actions. Most of the time, the original audience that first heard these stories
was left to draw their own conclusions. Other times, the evangelists provided
an explanation of Jesus’ story. Often the indirectness of parables makes the
wisdom of Jesus of inaccessible to hostile literalists.
Today’s gospel parable of the
workers in the vineyard (Matthew 20: 1-16a)
serves as a corrective to false notions of entitlement and merit. The story
reflects the socio-economic background of Palestine : 00
a.m. for a denarius, which would be considered as a fair day’s wages. We are
already given a hint of the householder’s generosity as he engages laborers at
varying hours during the day. Could it be that the householder has a
compassionate concern for the unemployed and their families as opposed to actually
needing them for the harvest? The question is open-ended.
The workers who were hired
first appeal to common sense, equitable treatment, logic, and reason. Their
complaint is not necessarily that the last hired received a payment, but that
if the householder was so generous with the last, then certainly he might
provide them with a “bonus” for having endured the heat of the day. Some
interpreters have attempted to minimize this breach of fairness by explaining
that perhaps the quality of work which was done during the last hour was
equivalent to the work done the entire day by others. Others use the rationale
that a contract is indeed a contract, and therefore the laborers hired at the
beginning of the day have reason whatsoever to argue about the wages due to
them. The fact of the matter is that from the purely human, logical point of
view, they had reason to complain. However, this parable is not about ethical
and fair labor management, but rather about the radical nature of God’s
generosity, compassion and the in-breaking Kingdom.
The radical moment of the
parable (as indicated by 19: 30 and
20: 16) is noted in 20: 8-9 as those who were employed not only receive
payment in reverse order, but receive equal payment for their efforts! The
parable reaches its crescendo in verse 15 with the question: “Or am I not free to do as I wish with my own
money? Are you envious because I am generous?” The owner of the vineyard
reserves the right to pay his employees not on the basis of their own merits
but rather on the basis of his own compassion.
Generosity condemned as
injustice
In today’s parable, why
should such generosity be condemned as injustice? This idea finds its roots and
deepest meaning in the Old Testament understanding of God the Creator who is
good and generous to all who turn to him. This is the God in whom Jesus
believed and lived, but in the person of Jesus, the divine compassion, the
divine mercy, the divine goodness surpassed the divine justice. Therefore all who
follow Jesus as his disciples and friends much imitate this extraordinary
compassion and lavish generosity and never question, deny it or begrudge it.
The God and Father of Our
Lord Jesus Christ reveals his identity to us in today’s first reading from the
prophet Isaiah: “For my thoughts are
not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says the Lord. For as the
heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my
thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55: 8-9)
We are like the eleventh-hour
workers
Perhaps many of us feel
strongly with the disgruntled workers of verse 12. How often have we known
whimsical employers who have compensated lazy or problematic workers far too
generously, rather than acknowledging the faithful, dedicated day-in day-out
workers? We may ask ourselves: How
can God be so unfair? How can God overlook his most faithful workers?
Underneath this parable is the issue of bargaining with God. From the very
beginnings of religion it has been assumed that we mortals can bargain with the
gods to obtain from them what we want.
How many times have we
experienced this in our Church belonging and service? Some may grumble and
claim that their long, dedicated, tireless service qualifies them instantly for
higher pay, higher rank, and greater privilege and prestige. It is precisely at
moments like this that we must humbly acknowledge that we are like those
eleventh-hour workers. Not one of us deserves the blessings that God has
prepared for us. Our grumbling and lateral gazing often lead to serious
resentments that are hard to shake off. All our good works give us no claim
upon God. How much less do we have the right to demand, even if we have done
everything we ought to do, that we should be honored and rewarded by God in a
special manner as if we were such meritorious indispensable persons in His
service? The word “entitlement” does not exist in the vocabulary of the Kingdom
of God
The only remedy to such
sentiments is to look upon the merciful face of Jesus and thus recognize God’s
lavish generosity in the flesh. Human logic is limited but the mercy and grace
of God know no limits or boundaries. God doesn’t act by our standards. This
means that we must see God and accept Him, in our brother and sister just as
God has wished them to be. When God chooses a person, granting him/her
particular graces, blessings or gifts, God does not reject the other person nor
deprives him/her of His grace. God’s graces and blessings are boundless, and
each person receives his or her own share. God’s choice of a person or people
should not be a cause of pride in those chosen, or rejection of those not
chosen. It is only when the two parties live in humility and simplicity, and
recognize together a God of love and mercy at work in their lives, that they
will begin to learn the real meaning of love and justice, and finally come to reconciliation
and deep, mutual understanding.
For your
reflection
In the New
Testament, Jesus teaches us that we must overcome jealousy and envy. This is
brought out in today’s parable of the laborers who come to work at different
times of the day, and receive the same salary at the end. Those who came at the
first hour grumbled against the landowner. “He said to one of them in reply,
‘My friend, I am not cheating you… Are you envious because I am generous?” (Mt
20:13-15).
Consider these
two sections from the Catechism of the Catholic Church (#2552-2553):
2552 The tenth
commandment forbids avarice arising from a passion for riches and their
attendant power.
2553 Envy is sadness
at the sight of another’s goods and the immoderate desire to have them for
oneself. It is a capital sin.
Envy is that
fault in the human character that cannot recognize the beauty and uniqueness of
the other, and denies them honor. In order to approach God, who is total
goodness, beauty and generosity, this attitude must be broken from within. Envy
can no longer see. Our eyes remain nailed shut. Envy and avarice are sins
against the tenth commandment. What can we do to move beyond the blindness and
hardness of heart?
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