Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time
Il-31 Ħadd matul is-Sena
Messalin C
pp 432
Before
the LORD the whole universe is as a grain from a balance or a drop of morning
dew come down upon the earth. But you have mercy on all, because you can do all
things; and you overlook people's sins that they may repent. For you love all things
that are and loathe nothing that you have made; for what you hated, you would not have
fashioned. And how could a thing remain, unless you willed it; or be preserved, had it not
been called forth by you? But you spare all things, because they are yours, O
LORD and lover of souls, for your imperishable spirit is in all things!
Therefore you rebuke offenders little by little, warn them and remind them of
the sins they are committing, that they may abandon their wickedness and
believe in you, O LORD! This is the Word
of the Lord.
L-Ewwel Lezzjoni - Qari mill-Ktieb tal-Għerf 11, 22-26,2)
Mulej, quddiemek id-dinja kollha
qisha traba fil-miżien, jew qatra nida tal-għodwa li tinżel fuq l-art. Iżda int
tħenn għal kulħadd, għax tista' kollox; int tagħlaq għajnejk għal dnubiet
il-bnedmin biex huma jindmu. Għax int tħobb il-ħlejjaq kollha, u xejn ma
tistmell minn
Responsorial
Psalm -
PSalm 145:1-2, 8-9, 10-11, 13,
14
R. (cf. 1) I will praise your name for ever, my king and
my God.
I
will extol you, O my God and King,
and I will bless your name forever and ever.
Every day will I bless you,
and I will praise your name forever and ever. R/
and I will bless your name forever and ever.
Every day will I bless you,
and I will praise your name forever and ever. R/
The LORD is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and of great kindness.
The LORD is good to all
and compassionate toward all his works. R/
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 LORD is faithful in all his words
and holy in all his works.
The LORD lifts up all who are falling
and raises up all who are bowed down. R/
Salm Responsorjali - Salm 144 (145)
R/ Mulej, inbierek ismek
għal dejjem ta'
dejjem.
Ħa nkabbrek, Alla tiegħi, sultan,
u nbierek ismek għal dejjem ta'
dejjem.
Kuljum irrid inbierkek,
u nfaħħar ismek għal dejjem ta'
dejjem. R/
Twajjeb u ħanin il-Mulej,
idum biex jagħdab u kollu tjieba.
Twajjeb ma' kulħadd il-Mulej,
tjubitu fuq kulma għamel. R/
Kulma għamilt iroddlok ħajr, Mulej;
iberkuk il-ħbieb tiegħek kollha.
Is-sebħ tas-saltna tiegħek ixandru,
fuq is-setgħa tiegħek jitkellmu. R/
Ta' kelmtu l-Mulej fil-wegħdiet
tiegħu kollha,
Twajjeb f'dak kollu li għamel.
Iwieżen il-Mulej 'il kull min se
jaqa',
iqajjem 'il kull min hu mitluq. R/
Reading 2 -
2 THESalonians 1:11-2:2
Brothers and sisters: We always pray
for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and powerfully bring
to fulfilment every good purpose and every effort of faith, that the name of
our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, in accord with the
grace of our God and Lord Jesus Christ. We ask you, brothers and sisters, with
regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our assembling with him, not
to be shaken out of your minds suddenly, or to be alarmed either by a
"spirit," or by an oral statement, or by a letter allegedly from us to
the effect that the day of the Lord is at hand. This is the Word of the Lord.
It-Tieni Lezzjoni - Qari
mit-Tieni Ittra lit-Tessalonikin 1,
11-12;2,1-2
Huti, aħna dejjem nitolbu għalikom
li Alla tagħna jagħmilkom denji għas-sejħa tiegħu, u jagħmel li bil-qawwa
tiegħu sseħħ kull rieda tajba tagħkom għall-ġid u kull ħidma tal-fidi
tagħkom. U hekk l-isem ta' Sidna Ġesu'
Kristu jkun igglorifikat fikom u intom fih skont il-grazzja ta' Alla tagħna u tal-Mulej Ġesu' Kristu. Ħuti, għal
dak li għandu x'jaqsam mal-miġja ta' Sidna Ġesu' Kristu u l-ġemgħa tagħna biex
ningħaqdu miegħu, nitolbukom biex ma toqogħdux tħawdu raskom malajr u
tinħasdu bħallikieku il-miġja ta' jum
il-Mulej qorbot, u la jekk tkunu mnebbħin mill-ispirtu u lanqas jekk tisimgħu
xi kelma jew taqraw xi ittra taparsi mingħandna. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej
Gospel - LuKe 19:1-10
At
that time, Jesus came to Jericho
L-Evanġelju - Qari skont San Luqa 19, 1-10
F'dak iż-żmien, Ġesu' daħal Ġeriko u
kien għaddej mit-triq.Mela ikun hemm raġel, jismu Żakkew; dan kien wieħed
mill-kapijiet tal-pubblikani, u kien għani. Kellu xewqa li jara min kien Ġesu',
imma ma setax minħabba l-folla, billi kien raġel qasir. Għalhekk mar jiġri 'l quddiem u xxabbat ma' siġra tat-tin
selvaġġ, għax minn minn
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Commentary:
I Need to Stay at Your House
Fr. Thomas Rosica
Sunday's Gospel story remains forever engraved in my
memory. I still remember a song from my early grade school years that began
with, "There was a man from Jericho Jericho
on many occasions during my graduate studies in the Holy Land -- to get away
from Jerusalem on some damp, cold wintry day in
order to enjoy Jericho Jericho
is rightly called the City of Palms
The locals still point out to us foreigners the exact
location of Rahab's house. She was the infamous prostitute of the Old Testament
who made it into Matthew's genealogy of Jesus. Her "house" had become
an accounting office on one of my last visits to Jericho
The locals also take delight in pointing out the
ruins of the walls that Joshua brought down in one of the Old Testament's
mighty battles that may have never taken place! Best of all are the 39 or so
sycamore trees that Zacchaeus climbed in order to catch a glimpse of Jesus who
was passing by, and the house of the town's chief tax collector-turned-saint!
Small stature
So next Sunday's
Gospel is one of Jesus' beloved meals scenes in the New Testament. Luke's
portrait of Zacchaeus is vivid and irresistibly charming! The story of Jericho
The evangelist's graphic description is enhanced in
also calling him a "little man." His is a kind of smallness that is
far more devastating and corroding than being short. His smallness emerges from
his terrible self-image resulting from others' attitudes toward him. Are we not
most vulnerable at these moments in our lives?
Though a member of a group that was widely despised,
Zacchaeus appears in this story as a fundamentally honest and humble man who
seeks the truth and is open to finding it where he can, even if it means
climbing a sycamore tree in a crowd, just to catch a glimpse of Jesus. He
represents that figure who turns up again and again in the scriptures -- the
outsider, the person who for one reason or another looks in from the edge, but
must always stay there. It is on the edge that we meet him, shut out by others,
desperately anxious to be part of the proceedings, all the while failing.
The parade at our front door
Why would Zacchaeus be so intent on catching a
glimpse of Jesus? Perhaps because Jesus is all that he is not! Jesus is
admired, sought out, and above all accepted by a large following. If we are
terribly honest with ourselves, we would admit that at some point in our own
loneliness or alienation, in our real or imagined non-acceptance or un-love, we
long to identify with someone else's seeming acceptance.
Do we not often strain our necks, like Zacchaeus in
his tree, imprisoned in our loneliness, envy, jealousy, self-pity, laziness?
And then suddenly, the unexpected happens. The parade stops at our front door,
and we get an invitation with astonishing words: "I'm really glad to see
that you are here," or "Let's go out for a coffee, you've had a hard
day," or "Come and join us, it's not good to be alone," or
"When are you going to invite me over? I'd really like to have supper with
you." And the list goes on and on. An invitation leads to the most
intimate favour of hospitality.
Houseguest
"Zacchaeus, make haste and come down; for I must
stay at your house today" (Luke 19:5). "Zacchaeus": Jesus called
by name a man despised by all. "Today": Yes, this very moment was the
moment of his salvation. "I must stay": Why "I must"?
Because the Father, rich in mercy, wants Jesus "to seek and to save the
lost" (Luke 19:10).
Zacchaeus' repentance is attested by his
determination to amend his former ways, and shows himself to be a true
descendant of Abraham, the true heir to the promises of God in the Old
Testament. Underlying Luke's depiction of Zacchaeus as a descendant of Abraham,
the father of the Jews, is his recognition of the central place occupied by Israel
When the favour is asked of Zacchaeus, and all those
like him who are accustomed to being shunned and rejected, Zacchaeus and his
types are dizzy with excitement. The walls of Jericho
Salvation arrives
Jesus declares publicly, "Today salvation has
come to this house." It's almost as if Jesus said to the chief tax
collector of Jericho
Morals of the story
Over the years, I have found several morals in this
ancient story. One of them tells us that when it comes to the love of God, we
must first declare that we are lost and empty, and then begin the process
whereby we are found. We must name and own the masks we wear before we can ever
begin to remove them and the makeup, and see our true face. We have to
experience the death at work in us, our hearts, emotions, intellects,
relationships and self esteem, in order to begin the journey up to Jerusalem
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