It-2 Ħadd tas-Sena
‘B’
Messalin ‘B’ pp 346
Reading 1 1 SaMuel
3:3B-10, 19
Samuel
was sleeping in the temple of the LORD where the ark of God was. The LORD
called to Samuel, who answered, “Here I
am.” Samuel ran to Eli and said, “Here I am. You called me.” “I did not call
you, “ Eli said. “Go back to sleep.” So he went back to sleep. Again the LORD
called Samuel, who rose and went to Eli. “Here I am, “ he said. “You called
me.” But Eli answered, “I did not call you, my son. Go back to sleep.” At that
time Samuel was not familiar with the LORD, because the LORD had not revealed
anything to him as yet.The LORD called Samuel again, for the third time. Getting
up and going to Eli, he said, “Here I am. You called me.”Then Eli understood
that the LORD was calling the youth. So he said to Samuel, “Go to sleep, and if
you are called, reply, Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening.” When Samuel
went to sleep in his place, the LORD came and revealed his presence, calling
out as before, “Samuel, Samuel!” Samuel answered, “Speak, for your servant is
listening.” Samuel grew up, and the LORD was with him, not permitting any word
of his to be without effect. This is the Word
of the Lord.
L-Ewwel
Lezzjoni mill-Ewwel Ktieb ta' Samwel 3, 3b-10, 19
F'dak iż-żmien, Samwel kien
mimdud fit-tempju tal-Mulej, fejn kien hemm l-arka ta' Alla. Il-Mulej sejjaħ:
"Samwel!" U dan wieġeb: "Hawn
jien!" U mar jiġri għand Għeli u qallu: "Hawn jien," qallu, "għalfejn sejjaħtli?" "Ma sejjahtlekx," wieġeb, "erġa' mur imtedd." U raġa'
mar jorqod. U ssokta l-Mulej isejjaħ: "Samwel!" U Samwel qam u mar għand Għeli u qallu: "Hawn Jien! Għalfejn sejjaħtli?" "Ma
sejjaħtlikx, ibni," wieġeb, "erġa' mur orqod." Samwel
kien għadu ma għarafx il-Mulej, u anqas kienet Għadha ma ttgħarrfitlu l-kelma tal-Mulej. U ssokta
l-Mulej isejjaħ: "Samwel!" għat-tielet darba. U dan
qam, u mar għand Għeli, u qallu: "Hawn jien! Għalfejn
sejjaħtli?" U Għeli fehem li
l-Mulej kien qiegħed isejjah iż-żgħażugħ. U qal lil Samwel:
"Mur orqod. Jekk jerġa' jsejjaħlek wieġeb: Tkellem, Mulej, għax il-qaddej tiegħek qiegħed
jisma'." U Samwel mar jorqod f'postu. U l-Mulej ġie, waqaf ħdejh, u sejjaħ
bħal drabi oħra: "Samwel! Samwel!"
U wieġeb Samwel: "Tkellem,
għax il-qaddej tiegħek qiegħed jisma'.Samwel kiber, u l-Mulej kien miegħu, u ma
ħalla ebda kelma milli qal tmur fix-xejn. 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
Responsorjal - 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 offerti;
imma
widnejja inti ftaħtli;
ma
tlabtnix vittmi tal-ħruq u tat-tpattiija.
Imbagħad
jien għedt: "Hawn jien, ġej!" R/
"Fil-bidu
tal-ktieb hemm miktub fuqi
li
nagħmel ir-rieda tiegħek.
Alla
tiegħi, dan jogħġboni;
il-liġi
tiegħek ġewwa qalbi." R/
Xandart
il-ġustizzja f'ġemgħa kbira;
Xufftejja
ma żammejthomx magħluqa.
Mulej,
dan inti tafu. R/
Reading 2 1 CORinthians
6:13C-15A, 17-20
Brothers and sisters: The body is not for immorality, but for the Lord, and
the Lord is for the body; God raised the Lord and will also raise us by his
power. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? But whoever is
joined to the Lord becomes one Spirit with him. Avoid immorality. Every other
sin a person commits is outside the body, but the immoral person sins against
his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit
within you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have
been purchased at a price. Therefore glorify God in your body. This is
the Word of the Lord.
It-Tieni
Lezzjoni - mill-1 Ittra lill-Korintin 6, 13c-15a, 17-20
Ħuti, il-ġisem mħuwiex għaż-żina iżda għall-Mulej, u l-Mulej huwa għall-ġisem. U Alla qajjem il-Mulej u jqajjem lilna ukoll bil-qawwa tiegħu. Ma tafux li l-iġsma tagħkom huma membri ta' Kristu? Min jingħaqad mal-Mulej hu ruħ waħda miegħu. Aħarbu ż-żina! Kull dnub li wieħed jagħmel hu 'l barra
Jew ma tafux li ġisimkom hu tempju ta' Ispirtu
s-Santu, li jinsab jgħammar fikom, li għandkom minn
Gospel JohN
1:35-42
John
was standing with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus walk by, he
said,“Behold, the Lamb of God.” The two disciples heard what he said and
followed Jesus. Jesus turned and saw them following him and said to them, “What
are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi” — which translated means
Teacher —, “where are you staying?”He said to them, “Come, and you will see.” So
they went and saw where Jesus was staying, and they stayed with him that day. It
was about four in the afternoon.Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter,was one of
the two who heard John and followed Jesus.He first found his own brother Simon
and told him,“We have found the Messiah” — which is translated Christ —.Then he
brought him to Jesus.Jesus looked at him and said,“You are Simon the son of
John; you will be called Cephas” — which is translated Peter. This is the Word of the Lord.
Evanġelju - skond San Ġwann 1, 35-42
F'dak iż-żmien, Ġwanni kien
hemm ma' tnejn mid-dixxipli tiegħu. Ħares lejn Ġesu' li kien għaddej minn : "Araw il-Ħaruf ta' Alla." Iż-żewġ dixxipli semgħuh igħid dan, u marru
wara Ġesu'. Ġesu' dar u rahom mexjin warajh, u qalilhom: "Xi tridu?" Iżda huma staqsewh: "Rabbi"
li tfisser, Mgħallem – "fejn toqgħod?." Hu weġibhom: "Ejjew
u taraw," U marru miegħu u raw fejn kien joqgħod, u dak in-nhar baqgħu miegħu. Kien ħabta tal-erbgħa ta'
waranofsinhar. Wieħed mit-tnejn li semgħu x'kien qal Ġwanni u marru wara
Ġesu' kien Indri', ħu Xmun Pietru. L-ewwel ma għamel mar isib lil ħuh Xmun u
qallu: "Sibna l-Messija" –
li tfisser Kristu. U ħadu għand Ġesu', Ġesu'
ħares lejh u qallu: "Inti Xmun, bin Ġwanni. Inti tissejjaħ Kefa" – jew Pietru. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej
///////////////
COMMENTARY by Larry Broding,
When was the last time you received an invitation? What expectations did you have? Have you ever been surprised by what you saw?
Invitations come in many shapes and sizes.
Some come in the mail or in e-mail. Others come on the street corner. Others
come in ways unexpected. Some are personal, almost intimate. Others are general
and impersonal. No matter their shape or size or means, invitations ask us the
same question: why don't you come
and see?
Why do we come? What do we seek? The early
disciples of Jesus must have asked themselves those questions. Despite a
culture that distrusted novelty, they would come and see something new. The
public appearance of the Messiah. In quick succession, John the Gospel writer
laid out the evangelization of the first disciples. Unlike Matthew, Mark, or
Luke, John clearly connected the Baptist's followers to those of Jesus. In
other words, John saw the ministry of the Baptist flow into the ministry of the
Galilean.
In John 1: 19-51,
the evangelist presented six stories of witness and testimony over seven days.
This gospel represent the activity of days three through four in a seven day
week. Scripture scholars see this "week" as the new creation. God
created a new people, starting with the testimony of the Baptist, and ending
with the miracle at the Cana wedding feast.
The first day was studied in John 1: 19-28
(the Third Sunday in Advent: Cycle
B) where the Baptist defined his ministry as " . . . a voice crying out in
the desert; 'Make straight the way of the Lord!'" (see 1: 23) This gospel presented the next two stories.
Unlike 1: 19-28 where the Baptist
testified to the Jewish leadership, he evangelized his own followers, who, in
turn, evangelized others.
When the Baptist saw Jesus, he proclaimed
"Look! The Lamb of God!" While this title might strike us as
enigmatic, the proclaimed title caused two followers to follow Jesus. Why? As
gentle, docile animals, lambs were prized for their tender meat and fine coat;
in other words, they gave all they had for their masters. The "Lamb of
God" referred to the sacrificial animal, slaughtered at the Temple : 14, 31, 42) In
John, this was the same day Jesus was crucified. Jesus was the One the Baptist
foretold, because he gave himself totally for his followers, even to death.
This theme resonated with Isaiah's Suffering Servant ("He was oppressed,
and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to
the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is dumb, so he opened
not his mouth." Isaiah 53: 7,
RSV)
(Note how John
wove discipleship, sacrifice, and meal together in one title. Don't we see the
same themes in the Eucharist, a meal of sacrifice and discipleship?) [1: 36]
Two disciples left John and followed Jesus.
Since any legal testimony required more than one witness, the gospel writer
presented two disciples to assure the veracity of the Baptist's claim. [1: 37] Even though they sought the Lord, notice the
initiative of Jesus. He first asked the followers intent and invited them to
join him. The gospel writer used the invitation "come and see" in
other contexts of evangelisation. Philip invited Nathaniel to meet Jesus with
the phrase "come and see" in 1: 45.
The Samaritan woman at the well invited others in her town to "come and
see the man who told me everything I have done" in 4: 29.
The invitation begun by Jesus was continued with followers bringing others into
the community. [1: 38-39]
John used one of the two followers as the
transition point between the Baptist and the new Rabbi. Andrew invited his
brother, Simon, to meet his new Teacher. Again note the language of Andrew's
invitation. "We (dual witnesses indicating the veracity of the claim) have
found the Messiah (the title definitively claiming what the Baptist
inferred)." The invitation sealed the transition. Jesus was the Christ,
the focal point of revelation. [1: 40-41]
When Jesus met Simon, he gave the follower a new
identity. He called Simon by his formal name to clearly identify him. Then
Jesus gave him his new name:
"Cephas" (Aramaic for "Rock;" the Greek translated the word
as "Petros," from which we get the name "Peter"). When
Jesus gave Simon his new name, he defined the new disciple's role in the
community. Simon was like solid rock, not a pebble or a stone that could be
moved. Peter was a rock layer strong enough to securely build the foundation of
a house. In light of the other gospels, Jesus gave Simon a leadership role with
the new name. Remember that, in the time of Jesus, one's name revealed one's
strength of character and abilities. In other words, a name defined one's
power. [1: 42]
Why is self-giving so unusual? Have you ever
been impressed by others who give their time and talent to others? Have they
ever asked you to join them? What happened? Did their invitation change you?
A simple invitation can be life-changing. Come
and see . . . That invitation can come in different ways, from a letter or a
look to a simple act of unselfish love. Come and see . . . When we invite
others to faith, we ask them to encounter the One after whom we pattern our
lives. Come and see . . . the Lord. He will show us the loving way to live and
he will give us a new identity as a Christian. He will show us the way to the
Father. Come and see . . .
How have you influenced others to become
Christ-like? Have you extended them acts of love? Have you ever asked them to
join you at Church? Try to help someone this week and invite him or her closer
to the Lord.
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