Fifth
Sunday in Ordinary Time
Il-Hames
Hadd matul is-Sena
Messalin C 282
In
the year King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a high and lofty
throne, with the train of his garment
filling the temple. Seraphim were stationed above. They cried one to the other,
Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts!
All the earth is filled with his glory!” At the sound of that cry, the
frame of the door shook and the house was filled with smoke. Then I said, “Woe
is me, I am doomed! For I am a man of unclean lips, living among a people of
unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!” Then one of
the seraphim flew to me, holding an ember that he had taken with tongs from the
altar. He touched my mouth with it, and said, “See, now that this has touched
your lips, your wickedness is removed, your sin purged.” Then I heard the voice
of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?” “Here I am,”
I said; “send me!” This is the Word of
TheLord.
L-Ewwel Qari -
mill-Ktieb tal-Profeta Isaija 6, 1-2, 3-8
Fis-sena li fiha miet is-sultan Għużżija, jien rajt
lil Sidi bilqiegħda fuq it-tron għoli merfgħu
'il fuq; djul il-libsa tiegħu kienu
jimlew it-tempju, 'Il fuq minnu kien hemm serafini, li kienu jgħajtu u jwieġbu
lil xulxin: "Qaddis, qaddis,qaddis
hu l-Mulej tal-eżerċti! l-art kollha mimlija bil-glorja tiegħu."
Bl-għajjat tagħhom is-sisien tal-għetiebi theżżu, u t-tempju mtela bid-duħħan. Imbagħad jien għedt: "Jaħasra
għalija! Mitluf jien! Bniedem b'xuftejh
imniġġsa jien! U f'nofs poplu
b'xofftejh imniġġsa ngħammar; madanakollu rajt b'għajnejja lis-Saltan, il-Mulej
tal-eżerċti." Wieħed mis-serafini ttajjar lejja, b'ġamra nar f'idu, li hu kien qabad bi mqass minn
(1c) In the sight of the angels I will sing your
praises, Lord.
I
will give thanks to you, O LORD, with all my heart,
for you have heard the words of my mouth;
in the presence of the angels I will sing your praise;
I will worship at your holy temple
and give thanks to your name. R/
for you have heard the words of my mouth;
in the presence of the angels I will sing your praise;
I will worship at your holy temple
and give thanks to your name. R/
Because
of your kindness and your truth;
for you have made great above all things
your name and your promise.
When I called, you answered me;
you built up strength within me. R/
for you have made great above all things
your name and your promise.
When I called, you answered me;
you built up strength within me. R/
All
the kings of the earth shall give thanks to you, O LORD,
when they hear the words of your mouth;
and they shall sing of the ways of the LORD:
“Great is the glory of the LORD.” R/
when they hear the words of your mouth;
and they shall sing of the ways of the LORD:
“Great is the glory of the LORD.” R/
Your
right hand saves me.
The LORD will complete what he has done for me;
your kindness, O LORD, endures forever;
forsake not the work of your hands. R/
The LORD will complete what he has done for me;
your kindness, O LORD, endures forever;
forsake not the work of your hands. R/
Salm Responsorjali - SALM 137(138)
Quddiem l-allat, Mulej, irrid ngħannilek.
Iroddlok ħajr, Mulej. b'qalbi kollha,
għaliex int smajt kliem fommi.
Quddiem l-allat irrid ngħannilek.
B'wiċċi fl-art ninxteħet quddiem is-santwarju
tiegħek. R/
Irroddlok ħajr għat-tjieba u l-fedelta' tiegħek,
għax int kabbar ismek u kelmtek fuq kollox.
Meta ssejaħtlek, int weġibtni,
Kattarli l-qawwa f'ruħi. R/
Iroddulek ħajr, Mulej, is-slaten kollha ta' l-art,
għaliex semgħu l-kliem ta' fommok.
U jgħannu l-imġiba tal-Mulej,
għax kbir hu sebħ
il-Mulej. R/
Il-leminija tiegħek issalvani.
Il-Mulej iżomm kelmtu miegħi.
It-tjieba tiegħek, Mulej, tibqa' għal dejjem;
la titlaqx għemil idejk. R/
Reading 2 1
Corinthians15:1-11
I am reminding you, brothers and sisters, of the gospel I preached to you, which you indeed received and in which you also stand. Through it you are also being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I handed on to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures; that he was buried; that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures; that he appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve. After that, Christ appeared to more than five hundred brothers at once, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. After that he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one born abnormally, he appeared to me. For I am the least of the apostles, not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted thechurch of God
I am reminding you, brothers and sisters, of the gospel I preached to you, which you indeed received and in which you also stand. Through it you are also being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I handed on to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures; that he was buried; that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures; that he appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve. After that, Christ appeared to more than five hundred brothers at once, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. After that he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one born abnormally, he appeared to me. For I am the least of the apostles, not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the
It-Tieni
Qari -
mill-Ewwel Ittra lill-Korintin 15, 1-11
Ħuti, irrid infakkarkom
fl-Evanġelju li xandarnielkom u li intom ilqajtu u li fih qegħdin iżżomu sħiħ. Bih intom
salvi bil-kelma li jien ħabbartilkom,
kemm-il darba żżommuha, jekk ma emmintux għal xejn. Qabel xejn, jien
għallimitkom dak li tgħallimt jien, jiġifieri, li Kristu miet minħabba
dnubietna, skond l-Iskrittura; difnuh u qam mill-imwiet fit-tielet jum, skont
l-Iskrittura. U deher lil Kefa, u mbagħad lit-Tnax. Deher imbagħad lil aktar minn
Gospel Luke
5:1-11
While the crowd was pressing in on Jesus and listening to the word of God, he was standing by theLake of Gennesaret.He
While the crowd was pressing in on Jesus and listening to the word of God, he was standing by the
Evanġelju -
Qari skont San Luqa 5,1-11
Darba l-kotra bdiet tross fuq Ġesu' biex tisma'
l-kelma ta' Alla. Hu kien qiegħed f'xatt l-għadira ta' Ġennesaret. U ra żewġ
dgħajjes qegħdin max-xatt; is-sajjieda kienu niżlu miunn fuqhom u kienu qegħdin
jaħlsu x-xbiek.Tela' fuq waħda minnhom, li kienet ta' Xmun, u talbu jaqla'
kemmxejn 'il barra mill-art; imbagħad
qagħad bilqiegħda u beda jgħallem lin-nies mid-dgħasja. Meta temm li
kellu jgħid, qal lil Xmun: "Aqdef 'il barra fil-fond, u kalaw ix-xbiek
tagħkom għas-sajd." Wieġbu Xmun u qallu:
"Mgħallem, għamilna lejl sħiħ nitħabtu u ma qbadna xejn. Imma la qiegħed tgħid int, ħa nkala
xbiek." Hekk għamlu, u qabdu kotra hekk kbira ta' ħut li x-xbiek tagħhom
kien għoddu nqasam. Għalhekk għamlu
sinjal lil sħabhom li kienu fid-dgħasja l-oħra
biex jiġu jgħinuhom. Dawk ġew, u
mlew iż-żewġ dgħajjes hekk li għal ftit
ma għerqux. Xmun Pietru, kif ra dan, inxteħet f'riġlejn Ġesu' qallu:
"Tbiegħed minni, Mulej, għaliex jien raġel midneb!" Għax baqgħu
tassew mistagħġba, kemm hu u kemm dawk kollha li kienu miegħu, għal dik
il-qabda ħut li qabdu. U hekk ukoll
ġralhom Ġakbu u Ġwanni, ulied Żebedew, li kienu sħab Xmun.
Imbagħad Ġesu' qal lil Xmun:
"Tibżax'; minn Meta
mbagħad ressqu d-dgħajjes mal-art, telqu
kollox u marru warajh. Il-Kelma
tal-Mulej
///////////////////////////////////////////////////
Commentary by Larry Broding
Go Fish!
When was
the last time you went fishing?
If you’ve had any experience fishing you know that the best
time to catch is in the early morning, when the fish swim to the surface for
food and warmth. When the water warms with the heat of the day, they swim to
lower depths.
Simon Peter, along with his contemporaries, knew this.
When he returned after a pre-dawn expedition without any fish, he was
frustrated. No more frustrated than with the traveling preacher who
commandeered his boat for preaching, then ordered him to go fishing in the
middle of the day. That day would change his life, for he encountered, then
followed, Jesus. I hate to admit it but I've never caught a
fish in my life. I can empathize with Simon in Luke's gospel. He worked all
night without a single fish to call his own. Then, he met Jesus. And the fish
came in abundance. So did a call.
On one level, Luke
presented Simon's call in a straightforward manner. After Jesus ordered the
fisherman to lower his nets, the catch overwhelmed Simon. So did the call. On a
deeper level, however, the narrative revealed the influence of the Galilean
ministry on the writing of the gospels (and the Christian tradition).
The narrative line
was simple. In Luke, Jesus moved to the coast of Lake Gennesaret (Sea of
Galilee) in Capernaum. Here he called his first disciples (who become his
closest friends). The context of the story indicated that Jesus arrived early
in the morning, a time of day when the fishermen were cleaning up after a
night's fishing. Jesus entered the boat of Simon and began to preach to the crowd.
If Simon (the assumed leader) allowed Jesus, the rabbi, to teach from his boat
(an honour that would have raised the reputation of Simon to a higher level),
he certainly would not have objected to Jesus' next request. So, the teaching
of Jesus set up the willingness of Simon and his partners in the following
verses.
Luke unfolded a
fish story that turns common sense upside down. To maximize a catch, fishing
was done at night when water was cool and the activity of the fish was minimal.
During the day, the fish would see the activity of the boats on the surface
and, with the water warming, would easily swim away. Notice Peter's surprise to
Jesus' command, and greater surprise to the size of the catch, enough to fill
two boats! In the sight of the miracle, Peter declares his sinful status before
the man who has the power of God. [4-10]
With the
revelation of God's power, Jesus called Peter and friends to fish for people.
Together, they left their boats and their livelihoods to join with the rabbi.
[10-11]
On a deeper level,
the impact of the fishermen, Simon, Andrew, James, and John, upon the Christian
tradition cannot be underestimated. For example, the method of transportation.
Without a knowledge of sailing, how was Jesus, a traveling preacher, going to
visit towns and hamlets along the lake shore line? (Remember the towns of
Bethsaida, Capernaum, Chorazin, Gadara, Gennesaret, Magdala, and Tiberias?)
Enter Simon and his friends.
The commodity
Simon and the others used for income had influence. As a food, fish itself was
common in the region, after the discovery of drying techniques. Fish figured in
the stories of the multiplication of the loaves (Matthew 14.13-21; Mark
6:30-44, Luke 9.10-17; John 6.1-14) and John's post-resurrection narrative that
paralleled this narrative (John 21:1-19). Jesus used fish in his parable on
prayer (Luke 11:11) and in the story of paying the Temple Tax (Matthew
17:24-26). And, let's not forget the famous IXTHUS or Christian
"fish" symbol of the early Church.
Finally, the fishing
boat Simon and his friends used for travel became a symbol for the Church. When
Jesus walked on the water of the lake (Matthew 14.22-33; Mark 6:45-49; John
6.15-21), the boat in the storm tossed the doubting disciples about. This image
symbolized the Church in a state of anxiety when it faced persecution.
In his early
ministry, Jesus formed a travelling ministry that was supported by the
hospitality of believers in a rural lake region. After his resurrection and
ascension, followers formed communities in urban settings. While there was a
real (and radical) shift in setting, the traditions of Jesus' early lake
ministry found its way into the oral and written gospels of city churches.
An encounter with God – as when Simon realized the power and presence of
God before him - is an experience that
transcends our perceptions. Moses encountered God in the burning bush. When
asked for a name, God responded with an enigma that transcended understanding:
"I Am who I Am." The name itself described the unknowable and totally
Other. Yet, the name also revealed God's eternal presence. He who was beyond
all understanding would be close, present to whom he revealed himself. The
encounter and the name revealed told Moses that God always was and always would
be present. God was eternally transcendent, yet eternally immanent. An
encounter with such a reality demanded a response. It could not be ignored.
An encounter with God also transcends our expectations. God is radically
free. And he calls us to his will. We do not call him to ours. Simon could not
anticipate nor expect a call from God. Yet, he received a call to reach beyond
himself and follow the Lord. We, too, receive the same call. Reach beyond and
follow Jesus.
How has God "caught you in his net?" How has that experience
changed your life?
Though I've never
caught a fish that doesn't mean I haven't been caught. In fact, I was caught a
long time ago. Chances are most of you who have read this have been caught,
too. God, through people, went fishing. God caught more than my average. A lot
more. Let's pray we can be part of that fishing expedition.
How can you be part of God's fishing expedition this week? Remember who
the Captain of the boat really is.
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