God's chosen ones

Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time 

Id-29 Ħadd matul is-Sena

Messalin C pp 421

Reading 1       -   EXODUS 17:8-13

In those days, Amalek came and waged war against Israel. Moses, therefore, said to Joshua, "Pick out certain men, and tomorrow go out and engage Amalek in battle. I will be standing on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand."  So Joshua did as Moses told him: he engaged Amalek in battle after Moses had climbed to the top of the hill with Aaron and Hur. As long as Moses kept his hands raised up, Israel had the better of the fight, but when he let his hands rest, Amalek had the better of the fight. Moses’hands, however, grew tired; so they put a rock in place for him to sit on. Meanwhile Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side and one on the other, so that his hands remained steady till sunset. And Joshua mowed down Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword. This is the Word of The Lord.

L-Ewwel Lezzjoni   -  Qari mill-Ktieb tal-Eżodu 17, 8-13

F'dak iż-żmien, il-poplu ta' Għamalek qam u tqabad ma' Iżrael f'Rafidim. Mose' qal lil Ġożwe':  "Agħżel irġiel u mur tqabad ma'  Għamalek;  jien noqgħod  wieqaf fuq il-quċċata tal-għolja, bil-ħatar ta' Alla f'idi." Ġożwe' għamel kif qallu Mose', u mar jitqabad mal-Għamalekin.  Mose' Aron u Ħur telgħu fuq il-quċċata tal-għolja. Kull meta Mose' kien jerfa' jdejh, Iżrael kien jirbaħ; u kull meta kien iniżżel idejh, kienu jirbħu l-Għamalekin. Meta idejn Mose' bdew jitqalu ħadu ġebla u qegħduhielu taħtu; u hu qagħad bilqiegħda, waqt li  Aron u Ħur żammewlu dirgħajh, wieħed kull naħa. Hekk idejh baqgħu sodi merfugħa sa nżul ix-xemx. U Ġożwe' qered lil Għamalek u l-poplu tiegħu b'xifer ix-xabla. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

Responsorial Psalm  -   PSALM 121:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8

  R. (cf. 2) Our help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

I lift up my eyes toward the mountains;
whence shall help come to me?
My help is from the LORD,
who made heaven and earth.                         R/

May he not suffer your foot to slip;
may he slumber not who guards you:
indeed he neither slumbers nor sleeps,
the guardian of Israel.                                     R/

The LORD is your guardian; the LORD is your shade;
he is beside you at your right hand.
The sun shall not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.                                    R/

The LORD will guard you from all evil;
he will guard your life.
The LORD will guard your coming and your going,
both now and forever.                                     R/

Salm Responsorjali  -  SALM 120 (121)

            R/        L-għajnuna tiegħi mingħand il-Mulej

Nerfa' għajnejja lejn l-għoljiet;

mnejn se tiġini l-għajnuna?

L-għajnuna tiegħi mingħand il-Mulej,

li għamel is-sema u l-art.                                R/

Ma jħalli qatt li riġlek jogħtor;

ma jongħosx dak li jħarsek.

ara,  la jongħos u lanqas jorqod

dak li jħares lil Iżrael.                                       R/

Il-Mulej hu dak li jħaresk;

il-Mulej hu d-dell tiegħek fuq lemintek.

Ma tolqtokx ix-xemx binhar,

anqas il-qamar billejl.                                       R/

Iħaresek il-Mulej minn kull deni;

hu jħarislek ħajtek.

Il-Mulej iħarsek fil-ħruġ u d-dħul tiegħek,

minn issa u għal dejjem.                                 R/

               

Reading 2                               2 TiMothy 3:14-4:2

Beloved: Remain faithful to what you have learned and believed, because you know from whom you learned it, and that from infancy you have known the sacred Scriptures, which are capable of giving you wisdom for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for refutation, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that one who belongs to God may be competent, equipped for every good work. I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingly power: proclaim the word; be persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient; convince, reprimand, encourage through all patience and teaching.  This is the Word of The Lord.

It-Tieni Lezzjoni  -  Qari mit-Tieni Ittra lil Timotju 3, 16; 4,1-2

Għażiż, ibqa' miexi f'dak li tgħallimt  u emmint bis-sħiħ, għax taf mingħand min tagħallimtu, u għax sa minn żgħoritek sirt midħla tal-Kotba Mqaddsa, li jistgħu jagħtuk l-għerf li jwassal għas-salvazzjoni  permezz  tal-fidi fi Kristu Ġesu'. L-Iskrittura kollha hija mnebbħa minn Alla, u tiswa biex wieħed jgħallem, iċafnar, iwiddeb u  jrawwem fis-sewwa, biex hekk il-bniedem ta' Alla  jkun perfett, imħejji għal kull ħidma tajba. Nitolbok bil-ħerqa, quddiem Alla u Kristu Ġesu', li għandu jagħmel ħaqq mill-ħajjin u mill-mejtin, f'isem id-Dehra tiegħu u s-Saltna tiegħu: xandar il-kelma, insisti f'waqtu u barra minn waqtu, ċanfar, widdeb, wissi, bis-sabar kollu u bit-tagħlim. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

Gospel                                                LUKE 18:1-8

Jesus told his disciples a parable about the necessity for them to pray always without becoming weary. He said, "There was a judge in a certain town who neither feared God nor respected any human being. And a widow in that town used to come to him and say, 'Render a just decision for me against my adversary.' For a long time the judge was unwilling, but eventually he thought, 'While it is true that I neither fear God nor respect any human being,  because this widow keeps bothering me I shall deliver a just decision for her lest she finally come and strike me.'"  The Lord said, "Pay attention to what the dishonest judge says.  Will not God then secure the rights of his chosen ones who call out to him day and night?  Will he be slow to answer them?  I tell you, he will see to it that justice is done for them speedily.  But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?" This is the Word of The Lord.

L-Evanġelju  -  Qari mill-Evanġelju skont San Luqa 18,1-8

F'dak iż-żmien, Ġesu' qal parabbola lid-dixxipli tiegħu biex jurihom li għandhom  dejjem jitolb bla ma jaqtgħu.  Qalilhom:  "Kien hemm f'belt wieħed imħallef, li la kien jibża' minn  Alla u lanqas iħabbel rasu minn ħadd. F'dik il-belt kien hemm waħda armla, u kienet tmur għandu u tgħidlu:  "Agħmilli ħaqq kontra l-għadu tiegħi."  Hu ma riedx, u dam ħafna hekk; iżda mbagħad bejnu u bejn ruħu qal:  "Mhux għax nibza' minn Alla jew għax se nħabbel rasi min-nies imma għallinqas  għax din l-armla dejqitni; ħa nagħmlilha ħaqq,  biex ma tibqax tiġi u sejra sa ma tifnini."  U l-Mulej qal:  "Isimgħu ftit x'jgħid l-imħallef ħażin. Imbagħad Alla, lill-magħżulin tiegħu li jgħajtulu lejl u nhar,  sejjer ma jagħmlilhomx ħaqq?   Se joqgħod  itawwal magħhom?  Jiena ngħidilkom li malajr  jagħmlilhom ħaqq.  Imma taħsbu intom li Bin  il-bniedem se jsib il-fidi fuq l-art meta jiġi? Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

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 Commentary

God Will Vindicate His Chosen Ones

Fr. Thomas Rosica

Luke depicts Jesus at prayer right from the beginning of his Gospel. Prayer becomes one of the ways by which we follow Jesus. Luke insists on the importance of prayer for the Christian life. We must pray unceasingly, for prayer is a sign of our faith in God. Prayer is not something that we use to put pressure on God to get our own way. Authentic prayer opens us up to the action of God's Spirit, bringing us in line with God's desires, and making us into true disciples, obedient to Jesus and to the Father who has sent him.

Two parables on prayer

In Sunday's Gospel, we find the first of two parables on prayer that conclude the Lukan travel narrative. It is most likely that the two parables existed separately and in other contexts. The first (18:1-8) teaches the disciples the need of persistent prayer so that they not fall victims to apostasy (v. 8). The second (18:9-14) condemns the self-righteous, critical attitude of the Pharisee and teaches that the fundamental attitude of the Christian disciple must be the recognition of sinfulness and complete dependence on God's graciousness.

Verses 2-5 and 10-13 are the parables proper. Luke has joined the two parables because they both deal with the subject of prayer. Yet on closer reading, it is evident that both parables are about God's vindication, i.e., God's upholding, justifying, exonerating and confirming.

According to the first parable, which is next Sunday's Gospel (18:1-8), God will soon vindicate his chosen ones, but in the second parable, it is not those who think of themselves as chosen or holy who are vindicated but those who confess they are sinners. This placing of seemingly contrasting stories back to back (vindication of holy ones/vindication of sinners) recalls a previous structure in Luke. In Chapter 7, Luke moved directly from a story about Jesus and "a woman of the city" to a report in Chapter 8 about Jesus and women who participated in his ministry (8:1-3). Again in Chapter 10, Luke joined two stories, one that said in effect "Go and do likewise" (the Good Samaritan) and the second story set in Bethany, "Sit quietly and listen to the Master" (Martha and Mary).

The judge and the widow

By means of the parable of the judge and the widow (an image of helplessness in that culture, easily victimized by the powerful), Jesus assures his followers that God "will vindicate them quickly" (18:8). This parable is very similar to the parable of the friend at midnight (11:5-8). As in the parable of the steward caught cheating, Sunday's lesson involves a person not of commendable character. The movement of the parable is from the lesser to the greater: If a cruel judge will give way to the unrelenting pressure of the widow, how much more will God listen to the prayers of his holy ones?

Both parables in Luke 18 present prayer as continual and persistent, hurling its petitions against long periods of silence. Prayer means asking, seeking, knocking and waiting, boundless trust and patience. Those who pray sometimes become frustrated and angry that their supplications are not heard. Yet life in the Christian community is possible only through a life of prayer. The surprising thing about prayer is that its first effect is in us. Our own minds and hearts are shaped by prayer as we seek opportunities to translate that prayer into practice, the true test of its authenticity.

The saints allowed God's will to be done in their lives on a daily basis. The Lord worked through their doubts, strengths and human weaknesses to unite the Church. Their action on Jesus' behalf was all very positive, hopeful, courageous, and straightforward. Their active faith in him and their decisive following of him are the unchanging quintessence of the Church's vocation.

Pope John Paul II once said of Canada’s Blessed Brother André Bessette  that "We venerate in him a man of prayer and a friend of the poor, a truly astonishing man. [...] In each age the Holy Spirit raises up such humble witnesses of the Gospel, who turn things topsy-turvy."

Like Aaron and Hur in the Book of Exodus, may the saints – like Blessed Andre - support our hands and arms when we grow tired in prayer (Exodus 17:8-13), and help us to become friends of Jesus and faithful witnesses of the Gospel in our own day.

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