Is-27 Ħadd matul
is-Sena
Missalin A p 389
Let me now sing of my friend, my
friend's song concerning his vineyard. My friend had a vineyard on a fertile
hillside; he spaded it, cleared it of stones, and planted the choicest vines; within
it he built a watchtower, and hewed out a wine press. Then he looked for the
crop of grapes, but what it yielded was wild grapes. Now, inhabitants of Jerusalem :
What more was there to do for my vineyard that I had not done? Why, when I
looked for the crop of grapes, did it bring forth wild grapes? Now, I will let
you know what I mean to do with my vineyard:
take away its hedge, give it to grazing, break through its wall, let it be
trampled! Yes, I will make it a ruin:
it shall not be pruned or hoed, but overgrown with thorns and briers; I will
command the clouds not to send rain upon it. The vineyard of the LORD of hosts
is the house of Israel , and
the people of Judah
L-Ewwel
Lezzzjoni - Profeta
Isaija 5. 1-7
Ħa ngħanni lill-maħbub
tiegħi l-għanja ta' mħabbtu għall-għalqa tad-dwieli tiegħu. Il-maħbub tiegħi kellu għalqa tad-dwieli fuq għolja għammiela. Għażaqha u naddafha
miż-żrar, u ħawwel fiha dwieli mill-aħjar;
bena torri f'nofsha; u wkoll ħaffer
magħsar fiha. Stennieha tagħmel l-għeneb
tajjeb, iżda kull ma għamlet kien għeneb
qares. U issa, intom li tgħammru f'Ġerusalemm, irġiel ta' Ġuda, agħmlu intom ħaqq bejni u
bejn l-għalqa tad-dwieli tiegħi. X'kien
fadalli nagħmel għall-għalqa tiegħi u ma
għamiltux? Stennejtha tagħmel għeneb
tajjeb, u kull ma' għamelt kien għeneb
qares. U iss ħa nurikom x'sejjer nagħmel jien lill-għalqa tiegħi
tad-dwieli. Inneħħilha l-ilqugħ ta'
madwarha, u jħarbtuha; iġarrfilha l-ħajt,
biex in-nies tgħaffiġha. Nagħmel
minnha xagħra; ħadd ma jiżborha jew jaħdimha, u jinbet fiha x-xewk u l-ħurrieq. Jien ngħid lis-sħab Biex ma jagħmilx xita
fuqha! Għax l-għalqa tad-dwieli
tal-Mulej ta' l-eżerċiti hija d-dar ta'
Iżrael; u l-irġiel ta' Ġuda huma l-mixgtla ta' l-għalqa tiegħu. Huwa stenna l-ġustizza, u araw sab it-tixrid tad-demm, stenna s-sewwa, u araw sama' l-għajat tal-maħqurin. Il-Kelma
tal-Mulej
Responsorial Psalm - psALM 80:9, 12, 13-14, 15-16, 19-20
R/ (Is
5: 7a) The vineyard of the Lord is
the house of Israel
A vine from Egypt
you drove away the nations and planted it.
It put forth its foliage to the Sea,
its shoots as far as the River. R/
you drove away the nations and planted it.
It put forth its foliage to the Sea,
its shoots as far as the River. R/
Why have you broken down its
walls,
so that every passer-by plucks its fruit,
The boar from the forest lays it waste,
and the beasts of the field feed upon it? R/
so that every passer-by plucks its fruit,
The boar from the forest lays it waste,
and the beasts of the field feed upon it? R/
Once again, O LORD of hosts,
look down from heaven, and see;
take care of this vine,
and protect what your right hand has planted
the son of man whom you yourself made strong. R/
look down from heaven, and see;
take care of this vine,
and protect what your right hand has planted
the son of man whom you yourself made strong. R/
Then we will no more withdraw from
you;
give us new life, and we will call upon your name.
O LORD, God of hosts, restore us;
if your face shine upon us, then we shall be saved. R/
give us new life, and we will call upon your name.
O LORD, God of hosts, restore us;
if your face shine upon us, then we shall be saved. R/
Salm Responsorjali - Salm 79 (80)
R/ Il-għalqa tal-Mulej hija d-dar ta' Iżrael.
Inti qlajt dielja mill-Eġittu,
warrabt il-ġnus biex tħawwel
lilha.
Meddet sal-baħar il-friegħi
tagħha,
sax-xmara ż-żraġen tagħha. R/
Għaliex, mela, ġarraft
il-ħitan tagħha,
u kull min jgħaddi jqaċċat
minnha?
Iħarbatha l-ħanżir selvaġġ,
il-bhejjem tar-raba'
jirigħu fija. R/
Erġa' ejja, Alla ta'
l-eżerċiti;
ħares mis-sema, u ara,
u żur 'il din id-dielja.
Ħu ħsieb dak li ħawlet
lemintek,
ir-rimja li int kabbart għalik. R/
Aħna ma nitbegħdux
minnek;
roddilna l-ħajja, u aħna
nsejħu ismek.
Reġġġagħna għal li konna, Alla ta' l-eżerċti;
itfa' fuqna d-dija ta' wiċċek,
u nkunu salvi. R/
Reading 2 philippians 4:6-9
Brothers
and sisters: Have no anxiety at all,
but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your
requests known to God. Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding
will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers and
sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever
is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence
and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Keep on doing what you have learned and received and
heard and seen in me. Then the God of
peace will be with you. This is the Word of The Lord.
It-Tieni Lezzjoni - mill-Ittra
lill-Filipin 4, 6-9
Ħuti, tħabbtu raskom
b'xejn. Fit-talb kollu tagħkom itolbu u uru lil Alla xi jkollkom bżonn, u iżżuh ħajr.
U s-sliem ta' Alla, sliem li jgħaddi kull ma l-moħħ jista' jifhem, iżommilkom qalbkom u moħħkom sħaħ fi Kristu Ġesu'. Mill-bqija, ħuti, f'dan għandkom taħsbu; f'kull ma hu veru, f'kull ma hu xieraq, f'kull ma hu ġust, f'kull ma hu safi, f'kull
ma jiġbed l-imħabba, f'kull ma jistħoqqlu
ġieħ, f'kull ma hu virtu', f'kull ma ħaqqu
t-tifħir; f'dan kollu aħsbu. U kull ma
tgħallimtu u ħadtu mingħandna, u smajtu
u rajtu fina, agħmluh. Alla tas-sliem
ikun magħkom. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej
Gospel matthew 21:33-43
Jesus
said to the chief priests and the elders of the people:
"Hear another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a hedge around it, dug a wine press in
it, and built a tower. Then he leased it
to tenants and went on a journey. When vintage time drew near, he sent his
servants to the tenants to obtain his produce. But the tenants seized the servants and one
they beat, another they killed, and a third they stoned. Again he sent other servants, more numerous
than the first ones, but they treated them in the same way. Finally, he sent his son to them, thinking, 'They
will respect my son.' But when the tenants saw the son, they said to one
another, 'This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and acquire his inheritance.’
They seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. What will the owner of the vineyard do to
those tenants when he comes?" They answered him, "He will put those
wretched men to a wretched death and lease his vineyard to other tenants who
will give him the produce at the proper times." Jesus said to them, "Did you never read
in the Scriptures: The stone that
the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; by the Lord has this been
done, and it is wonderful in our eyes? Therefore, I say to you, the kingdom of God
L-Evanġelju
- skond San Mattew 21, 33-43
F'dak iż-żmien,. Ġesu'
qal lill-qassisin il-kbar u lix-xjuħ tal-poplu: "Isimgħu parabbola oħra: Kien hemm wieħed, sid ta' għalqa, u ħawwilha bid-dwieli;
tellgħalha ħajt tas-sejjieħ madwarha, ħaffer magħsar fiha, u bnielha torri, u
qabbilha lil xi bdiewa. U siefer f'art oħra.
Meta wasal żmien il-frott, bagħat il-qaddejja tiegħu għand dawk il-bdiewa biex
jiġbrulu l-frott li kien imissu. Iżda l-bdiewa qabdu lill-qaddejja, u lil wieħed
sawtuh, lil ieħor qatluh, u lil ieħor ħaġġruh.
Reġa' bagħtilhom qaddejja oħra, aktar minn qabel, u għamlulhom l-istess.
Fl-aħħar bagħtilhom lil ibnu, "Min ibni jistħu," qal. Iżda kif raw
lil ibnu l-bdiewa bdew bdew jgħidu bejniethom: "Ara l-werriet! Ejjew naqtluh, biex il-wirt tiegħu neħduh aħna." Qabduh, xeħtuh 'il barra mill-għalqa u
qatluh. Issa sid l-għalqa x'jagħmlilhom lil dawk il-bdiewa meta jiġi?
Qalulu: "Jeqridhom
blla ħniena, ta' ħżiena li huma, u l-għalqa jqabbilha lil bdiewa oħra li jroddulu l-frott fi żmienu." Qalilhom
Ġesu': "Qatt ma qrajtu fl-Iskrittura li: "Il-ġebla
li warrbu l-bennejja saret il-ġebla tax-xewka;
bis-saħħa tal-Mulej seħħ dan; ħaġa ta' l-għaġeb f'għajnejna?" Għalhekk ngħidilkom li s-Saltna ta' Alla
tittieħed mingħandkom u tingħata lil ġens
li jagħmel il-frott minnha." Il-Kelma
tal-Mulej
//////////////////////////////
Gospel Commentary
The Vineyard and the
Fruits
By
Father Raniero Cantalamessa, OFM Cap
The
immediate context of the parable of the murderous tenants of the vineyard is
the relationship between God and the people of Israel Israel
But
similar to all of Jesus’ parables, this story has a certain openness. In the
relationship between God and Israel
Here
the parable does not correspond to reality. Human beings do not plant vineyards
and dedicate themselves to its care for the love of the vines but for their own
benefit. God is different. He creates man and enters into a covenant with him,
not for his own benefit, but for man’s benefit, out of pure love. The fruits
that are expected from man are love of God and justice toward the oppressed: all things that are for the good of man, not God.
This parable of Jesus is terribly relevant to our Europe ,
and in general to the Christian world. In this context, too, we must say that
Jesus has been “cast out of the
vineyard,” thrown out of a culture that proclaims itself post-Christian, or
even anti-Christian. The words of the vineyard tenants resound, if not in the
words at least in the deeds, of our secularized society: “Let us kill the heir and the inheritance will be ours!”
No one wants to hear anymore about Europe ’s Christian roots, of the Christian patrimony.
Secularized humanity wants to be the heir, the master. Sartre put this terrible
declaration into the mouth of one of his characters: “There is nothing in heaven, neither good nor evil, there is no one
who can give me orders. [...] I am a man, and every man must invent his own
path.”
What I have just sketched is a “broadband” application of the parable.
But Jesus' parables almost always have a more “narrow band” application, an application to the individual: they apply to each individual person, not just to
humanity or Christendom in general. We are invited to ask ourselves: What fate have I prepared for Christ in my life?
How am I responding to God’s incomprehensible love for me? Have I too, by
chance, thrown him out of my house, my life; that is, have I forgotten and
ignored Christ?
I remember one day I was listening to this
parable at Mass while I was fairly distracted. Then came the words of the owner
of vineyard: “They will respect my Son.” I started, and I understood that those
words were addressed to me personally in that moment. The heavenly Father was
about to send me his Son in the sacrament of his body and blood. Did I
understand the importance of this great moment? Was I ready to welcome him with
respect, the respect that the Father expected? Those words brought me brusquely
back from my wandering thoughts.
There is a sense of regret, of delusion in the
parable. It certainly is not a story with a happy ending! But in its depths it
tells us of the incredible love that God has for his people and for every
creature. It is a love that, even through the alternating events of loss and
return, will always be victorious and have the last word.
God’s rejections are never definitive. They are
pedagogical abandonments. Even the rejection of Israel ,
which obliquely echoes through Christ’s words -- “The kingdom
of God
On Sept. 29 our brothers celebrated the New
Year with the feast of Rosh Hashanah. I would like to take this occasion to
offer my wishes for peace and prosperity. With the Apostle Paul I ask that “peace be upon the Israel
[Translation by Joseph G. Trabbic]
[Translation by Joseph G. Trabbic]
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