God feeds and cares for us

Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 110

Is-17-il Ħadd matul is-Sena

Messalin B  pp426

 

Reading 1             2 KinGS 4:42-44

A man came from Baal-shalishah bringing to Elisha, the man of God, twenty barley loaves made from the first fruits, and fresh grain in the ear.  Elisha said, “Give it to the people to eat.”  But his servant objected, “How can I set this before a hundred people?”  Elisha insisted, “Give it to the people to eat.”  “For thus says the LORD,  ‘They shall eat and there shall be some left over.’”  And when they had eaten, there was some left over, as the LORD had said.  This is the Word of The Lord.

1 Qari   -   2 Slaten 4: 42-44  

U ġie għand Eliżew raġel minn Bagħal-salisa, u ġieb lir-raġel ta' Alla ħobż tal-bikri: għoxrin ħobża tax-xgħir, u sbul mimli qamħ ġdid. Eliżew qallu: “Agħtihom lin-nies ħa jieklu.” Imma l-qaddej tiegħu wieġeb:   “Kif nista' nqassam dawn lil mitt ruħ?” Raġa’ qallu Eliżew:  “Agħti lin-nies ħa jieklu; għax dan jgħid il-Mulej: 'Mhux biss jieklu, imma jifdal ukoll.' ”Dak qassmilhom; u huma kielu, u kien għad fadal minnhom, bħalma qal il-Mulej.  Il-Kelma tal-Mulej.

Responsorial Psalm        PSalm 145:10-11, 15-16, 17-18

Let all your works give you thanks, O LORD,
and let your faithful ones bless you.
Let them discourse of the glory of your kingdom
and speak of your might.
R. The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs.

The eyes of all look hopefully to you,
and you give them their food in due season;
you open your hand
and satisfy the desire of every living thing.
R. The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs.

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. The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs.

 

Salm Responsorjali             Salm 145:10-11, 15-16, 17-18

Kull ma għamilt iroddlok ħajr,Mulej;

iberkuk il-ħbieb tiegħek kollha.

Is-sebħ tas-saltna tiegħek ixandru,

fuq is-setgħa tiegħek jitkellmu,

R/ Iftah idek, Mulej: ferrahna bil-gid li taghtina.

Għajnejn kulħadd iħarsu lejk, Mulej,

u inti tagħtihom l-ikel f'waqtu.

Int tiftaħ idek,

u xxabba' 'l kulħadd bil-ġid.

 R/ Iftah idek, Mulej: ferrahna bil-gid li taghtina.

Ġust il-Mulej fl-imġiba tiegħu kollha,

twajjeb f'dak kollu li għamel.

Qrib il-Mulej lejn kull min isejjaħlu,

lejn kull min isejjaħlu fis-sewwa.

R/ Iftah idek, Mulej: ferrahna bil-gid li taghtina.

Reading 2         EPHesians 4:1-6

Brothers and sisters: I, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love, striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace: one body and one Spirit, as you were also called to the one hope of your call;  one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.  This is the Word of The Lord.

2 Qari          EFESIN 4:1-6

Nħeġġiġkom jien, il-priġunier tal-Mulej, biex timxu sewwa skond is-sejħa li biha kontu msejjħin;] billi bl-umiltà kollha, bil-ħlewwa u bis-sabar, taħmlu u tħobbu 'l xulxin. abirku biex iżżommu spirtu wieħed bir-rabta tas-sliem; ġisem wieħed u ruħ waħda, l-istess kif kontu msejjħa għal tama waħda; ulej wieħed, fidi waħda, magħmudija waħda; Alla wieħed u Missier ta' kulħadd, li hu fuq kulħadd, b'kulħadd u f'kulħadd.  Il-Kelma tal-Mulej.

Gospel       JohN 6:1-15

Jesus went across the Sea of Galilee.  A large crowd followed him, because they saw the signs he was performing on the sick.  Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples.  The Jewish feast of Passover was near.  When Jesus raised his eyes and saw that a large crowd was coming to him, he said to Philip, “Where can we buy enough food for them to eat?”  He said this to test him, because he himself knew what he was going to do.  Philip answered him, “Two hundred days’ wages worth of food would not be enough for each of them to have a little.”  One of his disciples, Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, said to him, “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what good are these for so many?”  Jesus said, “Have the people recline.”  Now there was a great deal of grass in that place.  So the men reclined, about five thousand in number.  Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to those who were reclining, and also as much of the fish as they wanted.  When they had had their fill, he said to his disciples, “Gather the fragments left over, so that nothing will be wasted.”  So they collected them, and filled twelve wicker baskets with fragments  from the five barley loaves that had been more than they could eat.  When the people saw the sign he had done, they said, “This is truly the Prophet, the one who is to come into the world.”  Since Jesus knew that they were going to come and carry him off to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain alone.   This is the Word of The Lord.

Vangelu         GWANNI 6:1-15

Wara dan, Ġesù telaq lejn in-naħa l-oħra tal-baħar tal-Galilija, jew ta' Tiberija. Ħafna nies marru warajh, għax raw is-sinjali li kien jagħmel bil-fejqan tal-morda.  Ġesù tela' lejn l-għoljiet u qagħad hemm bilqiegħda mad-dixxipli tiegħu. Kien qrib l-Għid, il-festa tal-Lhud.  Ġesù rafa' għajnejh, lemaħ kotra ta' nies ġejja lejh, u qal lil Filippu: "Mnejn nixtru l-ħobż biex dawn ikollhom x'jieklu? Dan qalulu biex jippruvah, għaliex hu kien jaf x'sejjer jagħmel.  Filippu wieġbu: "Mitejn dinar ħobż ma jkunux biżżejjed għalihom biex kull wieħed minnhom jieħu xi ftit." Wieħed mid-dixxipli tiegħu, Indrì, ħu Xmun Pietru, qallu: "Hawn tfajjel li għandu ħames ħobżiet tax-xgħir u żewġ ħutiet żgħar; imma dawn x'inhuma għal daqshekk nies?"  "Qiegħdu n-nies bilqiegħda," qal Ġesù. Dik in-naħa kien hemm ħafna ħaxix. Għalhekk in-nies, xi ħamest elef raġel, qagħdu bilqiegħda. Ġesù ħa l-ħobżiet, radd il-ħajr, u qassamhom lil dawk li kienu bilqiegħda; hekk ukoll għamel bil-ħut, u kulħadd ħa kemm ried.  Meta xebgħu, Ġesù qal lid-dixxipli tiegħu: "Iġbru l-loqom li baqa', biex xejn ma jinħela." Marru jiġbruhom, u mlew tnax-il qoffa bil-loqom li kien fadlilhom in-nies mill-ħames ħobżiet tax-xgħir wara li kienu kielu.Għalhekk dawn in-nies, meta raw dan is-sinjal li għamel Ġesù, qalu: "Dan hu tassew il-Profeta li għandu jiġi fid-dinja!" Imma Ġesù, meta ntebaħ li kienu ġejjin biex jeħduh bilfors ħalli jagħmluh sultan, raġa' warrab waħdu lejn l-għoljiet. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej.

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

Father Cantalamessa Says to Waste Not

Gather Up the Fragments Left Over

For several Sundays, the Gospel has been taken from Jesus' discourse on the bread of life in the synagogue of Capernaum, to which the Evangelist John refers. This Sunday's passage comes from the multiplication of loaves and fishes, which is an introduction to the Eucharistic discourse.

It is no accident that the presentation of the Eucharist begins with the account of the multiplication of loaves. What is stated with it is that, in man, the religious dimension cannot be separated from the material dimension. Provision cannot be made for man's spiritual and eternal needs without being concerned, at the same time, about his earthly and material needs.

It was precisely the latter which for an instant was the temptation of the apostles. In another passage of the Gospel one reads that they suggested to Jesus that he dismiss the crowd so that it would find something to eat in neighboring villages.

But Jesus answered: "You give them something to eat!" (Matthew 14:16). With this, Jesus is not asking his disciples to perform miracles. He is asking that they do what they can. To place in common and share what each one has. In arithmetic, multiplication and division are two opposite operations, but in this case they are the same. There is no "multiplication" without "partition" (or sharing)!

This connection between the material and spiritual bread was visible in the way the Eucharist was celebrated in the early days of the Church. The Lord's Supper, then called "agape," took place in the context of a fraternal meal, in which both ordinary bread and Eucharistic bread was shared.

That is why differences between some one who had nothing to eat and some one who became "inebriated" were perceived as scandalous and intolerable (1 Corinthians 11:20-22). Today the Eucharist is no longer celebrated in the context of an ordinary meal, but the contrast between those who have what is superfluous and those who lack what is necessary has not diminished, what is more, it has assumed global dimensions.

On this point, the end of the account also has something to say to us. When all were satiated, Jesus ordered: "Gather up the fragments left over, that nothing may be lost."

We live in a society where waste is habitual. In 50 years, we have gone from a situation in which one went to school or Sunday Mass carrying one's shoes to the threshold, so as not to wear them out, to a situation in which virtually new shoes are discarded so as to adapt oneself to the changing fashion.

The most scandalous waste occurs in the food sector. Research carried out by the United States Department of Agriculture reveals that one-fourth of food products end up every day in the garbage, not to speak of what is deliberately destroyed before it reaches the market.

Jesus did not say that day: "Destroy the left-over fragments so that the price of bread and fish will not fall in the market." But it is exactly what is done today.  Under the influence of repetitive advertising, "Spend, don't save!" is at present the codeword in the economy.  Of course, it is not enough to save. Prudence must enable individuals and societies of rich countries to be more generous in their aid to poor countries, otherwise it is more like avarice than prudence.