The one who serves God willingly is heard

Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time   Year 'C'

It-30  ?add matul is-Sena    

Messalin C pp 427

Reading 1   -       SIRACH  35:12-14, 16-18

The LORD is a God of justice, who knows no favourites.Though not unduly partial toward the weak, yet he hears the cry of the oppressed. The Lord is not deaf to the wail of the orphan, nor to the widow when she pours out her complaint. The one who serves God willingly is heard;  his petition reaches the heavens. The prayer of the lowly pierces the clouds; it does not rest till it reaches its goal, nor will it withdraw till the Most High responds, judges justly and affirms the right, and the Lord will not delay. This is the Word of the Lord.

L-Ewwel Lezzjoni - Qari mill-Ktieb ta' Bin Sirak 35, 14, 16-18

Il-Mulej hu mhallef, u ma jharisx lejn l-uzu?. Ma joqghodx ihares lejn wicc dak li jkun b'dannu tal-fqir, u jaghti widen ghat-talba tal-maghkus. Ma jaghlaqx widnejh ghat-talba bil-hniena  tal-iltim, jew tal-armla li tibki xortiha. Min jaqdi mill-qalb lil Alla jintlaqa', u t-talba tieghu titla' m'oghla s-shab. It-talba tal-umli tinfed is-shab, u ma toqghodx bi kwietha qabel tasal qrib il-Mulej, u ma tieqafx qabel mal-Gholi jaghti widen, u jaghti ragun lill-gusti u jaghmel haqq. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

Responsorial Psalm                  PSALM 34:2-3, 17-18, 19, 23

       R. (7a) The Lord hears the cry of the poor.

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/

             

The LORD confronts the evildoers,

to destroy remembrance of them from the earth.

When the just cry out, the Lord hears them,

and from all their distress he rescues them.          R/

The LORD is close to the brokenhearted;

and those who are crushed in spirit he saves.

The LORD redeems the lives of his servants;

no one incurs guilt who takes refuge in him.          R/

Salm Responsorjali      -   Salm 33

  R/   Dan  il-fqajjar sejjah u l-Mulej semghu

Kull hin inbierek il-Mulej;

tifhiru dejjem fuq fommi.

Bil-Mulej tiftahar ruhi;

jisimghu l-fqajrin u jifirhu!                              R/

Il-harsa tal-Mulej fuq il-hzena,

biex jeqred minn fuq l-art tifkirithom.

Jghajtu l-gusti ghall-ghajnuna, u

l-Mulej jismaghhom;

mid-dwejjaq kollha taghhom jehlishom.     R/

Qrib il-Mulej lejn dawk b'qalbhom maqsuma,

jghin lil dawk b'ruhhom mifnija.

Jifdi l-Mulej il-hajja tal-qaddejja tieghu;

kull min jistkenn fih ma jkollux xi jpatti.        R/

Reading 2   -      2 TIMOTHY 4:6-8, 16-18

Beloved: I am already being poured out like a libation, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith. From now on the crown of righteousness awaits me, which the Lord, the just judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me, but to all who have longed for his appearance. At my first defense no one appeared on my behalf, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them! But the Lord stood by me and gave me strength, so that through me the proclamation might be completed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was rescued from the lion's mouth. The Lord will rescue me from every evil threat and will bring me safe to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory forever and ever. Amen. This is the Word of the Lord

It-Tieni Lezzjoni  -  Qari mit-Tieni Ittra lil Timotju 4, 6-8, 16-18

Ghaziz, demmi ?a mxerred b'sagrificcju, u zmien it-tluq tieghi wasal. Tqabadt it-taqbida t-tajba, temmejt il-girja,  h?arist il-fidi.    Mill-bqija hemm merfugha  ghalija l-kuruna tal-gustizzja, li biha f'dak  il-Jum ihllasni l-Mulej, l-Imhallef gust, u mhux lili biss, imma wkoll lil dawk kollha  li jkunu ghexu fl-imhabba tad-Dehra tieghu. Fl-ewwel difiza tieghi hadd ma kien mieghi;  kulhadd hallieni. Jalla ma jkunx maghdud kontrihom!    Imma l-Mulej waqaf mieghi u tani  l-qawwa biex bis-sahha tieghi l-kelma  tixxandar  sal-ahhar u l-gnus kollha jisimghuha.   Hekk jien sfajt mehlus minn halq l-iljun. Il-Mulej jehlisni minn kull deni u jharisni,  sa ma nasal   fis-saltna tieghu fis-sema. Glorja lilu ghal dejjem ta' dejjem Ammen. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

Gospel         -   LUKE 18:9-14

Jesus addressed this parable to those who were convinced of their own Righteousness and despised everyone else.  "Two people went up to the temple area to pray; one was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector. The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself,  'O God, I thank you that I am  not like the rest of humanity --greedy, dishonest, adulterous -- or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my whole income. ’But the tax collector stood off at a distance and would not even raise his eyes to heaven but beat his breast and prayed, 'O God, be merciful to me a sinner.' I tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former; for whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted." This is the Word of the Lord.

L-Evangelju  -  Qari skont San Luqa 18, 9-14

F'dak iz-zmien, kien hemm uhud li kienu  jafdaw fihom infushom li huma gusti u  kienu jmaqdru lill-ohrajn.  Gesu' qalilhom din il-parabbola: "Zewgt irgiel, wiehed farizew u l-iehor pubblikan,  telghu fit-tempju biex jitolbu.   Il-farizew, wieqaf, talab hekk f'qalbu:  "O Alla, nizzik hajr li m'iniex bhall-bqija tal-bnedmin, halliela, ingusti, zienja, jew ukoll bhal dan il-pubblikan.  Jiena nsum darbtejn  fil-gimgha u nhallas l-ghexur ta' kulma ndahhal." Izda l-pubblikan, bilwieqfa fil-boghod anqas biss ried jerfa' ghajnejh lejn is-sema, imma beda jhabbat fuq  sidru u jghid:  "O Alla henn ghalija, ghax jien midneb!" Nghidilkom jien li dan, u  mhux l-iehor, nizel id-dar iggustifikat.  Ghax kull min jitkabbar, jiccekken,u min jiccekken, jitkabbar. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

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Commentary:

In the End, Judgment Belongs to God

by Fr Thomas Rosica CSB

Last Sunday's Gospel focused on the necessity of prayer (Luke 18:1-8). The second of two parables in Chapter 18:9-15 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.

This Sunday's Gospel parable recalls Luke's story of the pardoning of the sinful woman (7:36-50) where a similar contrast is presented between the critical attitude of the Pharisee Simon and the love shown by the pardoned sinner.

One of Luke's favourite themes, the reversal brought about by the coming of Jesus, is beautifully illustrated in this Gospel. The story of the Pharisee and the tax collector is directed to a particular kind of people: those who were law-abiding in their own eyes but who looked down on everyone else. The Pharisee, a member of the group of the so-called righteous, prayed "with himself," and the whole prayer he gives is focused on himself and his good works. He is a legend unto himself, shining in his own eyes, especially as he compares himself to the tax collector, the one who belonged to the despised group in society.

The great distance

The tax collector knew that he wasn't any good. He couldn't reverse the cheating he had done. Acts of penance, like trying to pay back the people he had cheated, wouldn't really help. He couldn't expect people to excuse or forgive him. The only thing he knew was that it was only possible to admit his guilt when he came and brought it before God. That God would forgive him, he didn't dare to hope. And it was only in this way that he was able to experience Jesus' word to him, "You are good because I have accepted you."

In the parable we are told that the tax collector stood at a great distance. This great distance separating the two people is not only a matter of geographical or physical distance, but rather of the great distance in their status in society and in their attitudes. When the tax collector prays, he cries out to God, begging him for mercy. In the end, judgment belongs to God.

The provocative story warns us of our own behaviour in prayer, word and deed. This parable was a shock to its first hearers. If anyone in Judaism would not go home from the temple justified, it would be a tax collector. One who worked for a foreign government collecting taxes from his own people, a participant in a harsh and corrupt system, politically a traitor, religiously unclean, a publican, was a reprehensible character. While his prayer was in the spirit of the Miserere (Psalm 51), his life was offensive.

Doing justice to the parable

The Pharisee is not a venomous villain and the publican is not the generous, common man or woman. To reduce these characters to caricatures does not do justice to the parable. If the Pharisee is pictured as a villain and the tax collector a hero, then each gets what he deserves, there is no surprise of grace and the parable is stripped of its real meaning. The meaning of the story is not that all Pharisees are by their nature false, dishonest, proud and arrogant, and that all tax collectors are really poor, humble, truthful people deep down inside. Luke tells us that to set oneself apart from "the rest" is to go home unjustified, unapproved and ungraced by God.

In Jesus' parable, what each person receives is "in spite of," not "because of." When the two men are viewed in terms of character and community expectations, without labels or prejudice, the parable still shocks us, and still carries the power both to offend and bless. We cannot preach about this parable and depict the characters in such a way that people go out the doors of our Churches this day saying to themselves, and perhaps to others, "Thank God I am not like the Pharisee." It is possible that the reversal could be reversed!

The prayer of the lowly is heard

The words of this Sunday's first reading from Sirach (35:12-14, 16-18) are most fitting to understand the spirit required of us in the Gospel parable: "The one who serves God willingly is heard; his petition reaches the heavens. The prayer of the lowly pierces the clouds; it does not rest till it reaches its goal, nor will it withdraw till the Most High responds, judges justly and affirms the right, and the Lord will not delay."

Paul's life poured out like a libation

In the reading from Second Letter of Timothy (4:6-8, 16-18) offers us an important insight into St. Paul's ministry. Paul, in prison in Rome, saw death approaching and sketched an evaluation full of recognition and hope. He was at peace with God and with himself and faced death serenely, in the knowledge that he had spent his whole life, sparing no effort, at the service of the Gospel. Paul knew that his death through martyrdom was imminent. He regards it as an act of worship in which his blood will be poured out in sacrifice (cf. Exodus 29:38-40; Philippians 2:17). At the close of his life Paul could testify to the accomplishment of what Christ himself foretold concerning him at the time of his conversion, "I will show him what he will have to suffer for my name" (Acts 9:16).

Having recently spent some weeks in Rome preparing for and taking part in the canonization ceremonies of new saints for the Church, the memory of Peter and Paul hovers mightily over this city. Peter and Paul, each with his own personal and ecclesial experience, testify that the Lord never abandoned them, even amid the harshest trials. The Lord was with Peter to deliver him from the hands of his opponents in Jerusalem; he was with Paul in his constant apostolic endeavours to communicate to him the strength of his grace, to make him a fearless proclaimer of the Gospel for the benefit of the nations (2 Timothy 4:17).

Paul modelled his life on Jesus Christ. During the Last Supper, Jesus had already anticipated the event of Calvary. He accepts the death on the cross and with his acceptance transforms the act of violence into an act of giving, of self-giving poured forth, "Even if I am to be poured out as a libation on the sacrificial offering of your faith," Paul says on the basis of this and in regard to his own imminent martyrdom in Philippians 2:17. At the Last Supper the cross is already present, accepted and transformed by Jesus.

May the Lord make us better servants who do what we ought, never focusing on being better than or above others, but recognizing our obligation to be greater servants to others, precisely because we have been given so much, forgiven so much, and blessed so much. May God grant us generous hearts as we serve Him and love him in others! To him be glory forever and ever.

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