Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 116
Id-19-il Ħadd matul is-Sena
Messalin
B pp 436
Reading
1
1 KinGS 19:4-8
Elijah went a day’s journey
into the desert, until he came to a broom tree and sat beneath it. He
prayed for death saying: “This is enough, O LORD! Take my life, for I am
no better than my fathers.” He lay down and fell asleep under the broom
tree, but then an angel touched him and ordered him to get up and eat. Elijah
looked and there at his head was a hearth cake and a jug of water. After
he ate and drank, he lay down again, but the angel of the LORD came back a
second time, touched him, and ordered, “Get up and eat, else the journey will
be too long for you!” He got up, ate, and drank; then strengthened by that food, he walked
forty days and forty nights to the mountain
of God
L-Ewwel Qari - mill-Ewwel Ktieb tas-Slaten 19, 4 – 8
F'dak
iż-żmien, il-Profeta Elija rħiela lejn id-deżert.
Wara jum mixi waqaf, inxteħet taħt siġra
tal-ġummar, talab li jmut, u qal: "Issa biżżejjed, Mulej; ħudli 'l ħajti, għax m'iniex aħjar minn Qum u kul!" Elija dawwar wiċċu, u lemaħ ħdejn rasu ftira moħmija u ġarra ilma;
kiel Qum
u kul, inkella ma tkunx tiflaħ għall-mixja li fadallek." Elija qam, kiel
Responsorial
Psalm
PSalm 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9
I will bless the LORD at all
times;
his praise shall be ever in my mouth.
Let my soul glory in the LORD;
the lowly will hear me and be glad.
R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
his praise shall be ever in my mouth.
Let my soul glory in the LORD;
the lowly will hear me and be glad.
R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
Glorify the LORD with me,
Let us together extol his name.
I sought the LORD, and he answered me
And delivered me from all my fears.
R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
Look to him that you may be radiant with joy.
And your faces may not blush with shame.
When the afflicted man called out, the LORD heard,
And from all his distress he saved him.
R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
The angel of the LORD encamps
around those who fear him and delivers them.
Taste and see how good the LORD is;
blessed the man who takes refuge in him.
R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
Salm Responsorjali -
Salm 33 (34)
R/ Ippruvaw u taraw kemm hu
tajjeb il-Mulej.
Kull
ħin inbierek il-Mulej,
tifħiru
dejjem fommi.
Bil-Mulej
tiftaħar ruħi;
jisimgħu
l-fqajrin u jifirħu! R/
Xandru
l-kobor tal-Mulej miegħi,
ħa
ngħollu ismu flimkien.
Jien
fittixt il-Mulej, u weġibni,
u minn
Ħarsu
lejh u tiddu bil-ferħ wiċċkom
u ma
jkollkomx għax tistħu.
Dan
il-fqajjar sejjaħ u l-Mulej semgħu,
u
mid-dwejjaq tiegħu kollha ħelsu. R/
L-anġlu
tal-Mulej jgħasses
madwar
dawk li jibżgħu minnu, u jeħlishom.
Ippruvaw
u taraw kemm hu tajjeb il-Mulej,
ħieni l-bniedem li jistkenn fih. R/
Reading
2 EPHesians 4:30—5:2
Brothers
and sisters: Do not grieve the Holy
Spirit of God, with which you were
sealed for the day of redemption. All
bitterness, fury, anger, shouting, and reviling
must be removed from you, along with all malice. And be kind to
one another, compassionate, forgiving one another as God has forgiven you in
Christ. So be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and handed himself over
for us as a sacrificial offering to God
for a fragrant aroma.
It-Tieni
Qari -
mill-Ittra lill-Efesin 4, 30 –5,2
Ħuti, tnikktux l-Ispirtu
s-Sanntu ta' Alla, li fih intom issiġillati
għall-jum il-fidwa. Imrar, saħna, korla, tagħjir, għajjat, dan
kollu warrbuh minnkom,
u wkoll kull ħażen ieħor. Kunu twajba ma' xulxin, ħennu għal xulxin, aħfru lil xulxin, bħalma
Alla ħafer lilkom fi Kristu. Kunu, mela,
tixbħu lil Alla, bħala wlied maħbuba, u
imxu fl-imħabba, bħalma Kristu wkoll ħabb lilna u ta lilu nnifsu għalina,
offerta u sagrifiċċju jfuħu quddiem Alla. Il-Kelma
tal-Mulej
Gospel
JohN 6:41-51
The Jews murmured about Jesus
because he said, I am the bread that
came down from heaven, ” and they said, “Is
this not Jesus, the son of Joseph? Do we not know his father and
mother? Then how can he say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” Jesus
answered and said to them, “Stop murmuring among yourselves. No one can
come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him, and I will raise him on the
last day. It is written in the prophets: They shall all be taught by
God. Everyone who listens to my Father and learns from him comes to
me. Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father. Amen, amen, I
say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of
life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died; this is
the bread that comes down from heaven so that one may eat it and not die.
I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will
live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the
world.”
L-Evanġelju - Qari
skond San Ġwann 6, 41 – 51
F'dak iż-żmien, il-Lhud bdew igergru fuq Ġesu għax kien qal: "Jien hu l-ħobż li niżel mis-sema".
U bdew igħidu: "Dan mhuwiex Ġesu',
bin Ġużeppi? Lil missieru u 'l ommu ma nafuhomx? Mela kif qiegħed jgħid:
:"Jiena nżilt mis-sema"?" Ġesu' weġibhom: "Toqgħodux tgorru
bejnitkom." Ħadd ma jista'
jiġi għandi jekk il-Missier li bagħatni ma jiġbdux lejja; u jien nqajmu mill-imwiet fl-aħħar jum. Hemm miktub fil-profeti: "U kulħadd ikun imgħallem minn minn minn
//////////////////// Reflection by
Larry Broding
The
Promise of Eternal Life
Do you
have life insurance coverage? Why is such coverage important to you and your
family?
"Life insurance is the
bet you pay against your death." The
idea of life insurance is illogical but necessary in our society. Despite the
mean jokes about insurance salespeople (and my apologies to lawyers,
politicians, and car salespeople), they provide a valuable service. We pay them
in life, so they will care for our loved ones if we should die unexpectedly.
It's a gamble, but one many of us are willing to take.
If so
many of us accept the illogic of life insurance, why do so few of us accept the
offer Jesus makes: trust me and live forever. He makes us this offer in
Eucharist.
The gospel
opened with discussion between Jesus and his audience in progress. The people
"murmured" against the statement Jesus made. How could this local son
claim so much? How could he hold himself so high as a prophet? In a
subtle way, John drew two contexts together. In both scenes, the people "murmured."
In both scenes, God offered the people "bread from heaven." However,
here the similarities ended. In the scene with Moses, God gave the people bread
in response to their complaints. In the scene with Jesus, the people complained
in response to God's offer itself.
Instead
of God commanding silence from his people, Jesus himself called for attention.
The Galilean spoke for God. He had the power of the Father, for his ministry
began as God's initiative. (If "I will raise him up on the last day"
is dropped from 6:44-45, both verses refer to God's activity in the ministry of
Jesus.) Indeed, following Jesus itself came as a gift from God.
How could
Jesus claim such the support of God? Because Jesus (and only Jesus) came from
the Father and had "seen" the Father. Jesus found his source directly
in the Father. Hence, he claimed to witness for the Father (for he "had
seen God and lived"). The power of resurrection stemmed from Jesus' source
and witness (6:43b and 6:47).
The image
of bread threaded the themes from 6:44-46 together: God's initiative in the
ministry of Jesus, the source and witness of Jesus, and the power to raise up
the faithful. As THE food staple, bread represented life. As the heavenly
bread, Jesus would feed the world by 1) "coming down from heaven" (a
reference to his source and witness) and 2) giving bread to the faithful so
that "he might eat and not die" and might "live into the final
age" (a reference to the resurrection).
Ultimately,
the Father gave this bread (i.e., the life of Jesus) for "the life of the
world." In other words, salvation became an extension of creation, for the
death and resurrection of Christ would usher in a new time and new creation.
Followers would receive the "bread of life" as a result of the
Father's invitation.
What
spiritual experiences have you had in Communion? How has the Eucharist helped
you live, renewed your faith, and given you hope?
What a
life insurance policy Jesus offers us! In the bread and wine of Eucharist, he
gives us the means to life everlasting. It is not a hedge against the
unexpected, but a sure promise that we will live despite what will happen.
The cost
is so small, yet so few want to pay. It seems parting with our money is easier
than parting with our trust. Yet, who else should we trust with our lives?
Who else
should we trust? On a piece of paper, write down a list of the people you trust
in life in one column. In the other column, write down why you trust them.
Where does God fit on that sheet? Use this exercise as a reflection on the
place of God in life and his offer to you that the Eucharist represents.
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