The 34th
Sunday in Ordinary Time ‘C’
IL-34 Ħadd matul is-Sena
Messalin C pp 450
2 SAMUEL l 5:1-3
In those days, all the tribes of
Israel came to David in Hebron Israel and shall
be commander of Israel Israel
came to David in Hebron , King David made an
agreement with them there before the LORD, and they anointed him king of Israel
L-Ewwel Lezzjoni
Qari mit-Tieni
Ktieb ta' Samwel 5, 1-3
F'dak iż-żmien,
it-tribujiet kollha ta' Iżrael ġew għand David f'Ħebron Ħebron u s-sultan David għamel patt
magħhom f'Ħebron
PSALM 122:1-2, 3-4, 4-5
I rejoiced because they said to me,
"We will go up to the house of the LORD."
And now we have set foot
within your gates, O Jerusalem.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
"We will go up to the house of the LORD."
And now we have set foot
within your gates, O Jerusalem.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
with compact unity.
To it the tribes go up,
the tribes of the LORD.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
According to the decree for
to give thanks to the name of the LORD.
In it are set up judgment seats,
seats for the house of David.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
Salm
Responsorjali -
Salm 121 (122)
R/ Sejrin
ferħana f'dar
il-Mulej
Fraħt meta qaluli:
"Sejrin
f'dar il-Mulej!"
Diġa' qegħdin riġlejna
fi
bwiebek, Ġerusalemm! R/
Ġerusalemm,
mibnija bħal belt,
magħquda ħaġa waħda.
Lejha
t-tribujiet jitilgħu,
it-tribujiet
tal-Mulej. R/
Biex
skont il-liġi ta' Iżrael,
ifaħħru isem il-Mulej.
Għax hemm twaqqfu t-tronijiet tal-ħaqq,
it-tronijiet
tad-dar ta' David. R/
Brothers and sisters: Let us give thanks to the Father, who has
made you fit to share in the inheritance of the holy ones in light. He delivered us from the power of
darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have
redemption, the forgiveness of s ins. He is the image of the invisible
God, the firstborn of all creation. For in him were created all things in heaven and on earth, the visible and the
invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers; all things were
created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things
hold together. He is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the
firstborn from the dead, that in all things he himself might be preeminent. For
in him all the fullness was pleased to dwell, And through him to reconcile all
things for him, making peace by the blood of his cross through him, whether
those on earth or those in heaven. This
is the Word of the Lord.
It-Tieni Lezzjoni
Qari mill-Ittra ta'
San Pawl Appostlu lill-Kolossin 1, 12-20
Ħuti, roddu ħajr lill-Missier, li għamilkom denji li tissieħbu fil-wirt tal-qaddisin fis-saltana
tad-dawl. Hu ħelisna mill-ħakma tad-dlam, u daħħalna fis-saltna ta' Ibnu l-maħbub, li bih għandna l-fidwa, il-maħfra tad-dnubiet. Hu xbieha ta' Alla li ma jidhirx,
il-kbir fost il-ħlejjaq kollha; għax fih kien maħluq kollox, fis-sema u fl-art, dak kollu li jidher
u dak kollu li ma jidhirx, Troni u Ħakmiet,
Prinċipati u Setgħat. Kollox bih u għalih kien maħluq, hu li hu qabel kollox, u kollox fih qiegħed iżomm. Hu r-Ras tal-Ġisem, li hu l-Knisja. Hu li hu l-bidu,
il-kbir li qam mill-imwiet, sabiex ikun
hu l-ewwel f'kollox. Hekk Alla għoġbu li tgħammar fih il-milja kollha; bih Alla għoġbu jerġa'
jħabbeb kollox miegħu; bid-demm tiegħu, imxerred fuq is-salib, ġieb is-sliem permezz tiegħu fis-sema u fl-art. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej
The rulers sneered at Jesus and said, "He saved others, let
him save himself if he is the chosen one, the Christ of God." Even the soldiers jeered at him. As they approached to offer him wine they
called out, "If you are King of the Jews, save yourself." Above him
there was an inscription that read, "This is the King of the Jews." Now
one of the criminals hanging there reviled Jesus, saying, "Are you not the
Christ? Save yourself and us." The other, however, rebuking him, said in
reply, "Have you no fear of God, for you are subject to the same
condemnation? And indeed, we have been condemned justly, for the sentence we
received corresponds to our crimes, but this man has done nothing
criminal." Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your
kingdom." He replied to him, "Amen, I say to you, today you will be
with me in Paradise ." This is the Word of the Lord.
L-Evanġelju
Qari mill-Evanġelju
skont San Luqa 23, 35-43
F'dak
iż-żmien, wara li sallbu lil Ġesu', il-poplu waqaf hemm iħares, waqt li l-kapijiet bdew
jiddieħku b'Ġesu' u jgħidu: "Salva lil oħrajn; ħa
jsalva lilu nnifsu jekk dan hu l-Messija, il-Maħtur ta' Alla!" Is-suldati wkoll bdew jgħadduh biż-żmien; u resqu lejh, newlulu nbid
qares u qalulu: "Jekk inti s-sultan tal-Lhud salva lilek innifsek."
Fuq rasu kien hemm kitba li kienet tgħid:
"Dan huwa s-sultan tal-Lhud." Wieħed mill-ħatjin
li kienu msallbin miegħu beda jgħajjru u jgħidlu: "Int m'intix il-Messija? Salva lilek
innifsek u lilna!" Imma qabeż l-ieħor, ċanfru u qallu:
"Anqas minn
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COIMMENTARY
This is hardly the
stuff of kingship… or is it?
Sunday’s solemn feast of Christ
the King, the grand finale to the Liturgical Year C, gives us an opportunity to
lay aside a lot of cultural baggage about kings and kingdoms, and discover how
Jesus Christ can be a true king, unlike earthly rulers. Over the past
year, we have seen the important Lukan theme of the imitation of Jesus,
especially in his ministry of forgiveness and reconciliation. In Luke’s
moving Gospel story of the crucifixion, this theme reaches its apex.
Details of Jesus’ final moments
This Gospel
[23:35-43] is recounted only by Luke. The penitent sinner receives
salvation through the crucified Jesus. Luke's moving scene of the crucifixion
is filled with details typical of his portrayal of Jesus. He is crucified
with the two criminals surrounding him, fulfilling Jesus' own prediction at the
supper table [23:37]. Just as Jesus had repeatedly taught his disciples
not to respond to violence with more violence and to be forgiving, so he
forgives the very men who had condemned him and who drive the stakes into his
body [23:34]. When one of the crucified criminals joins in the chorus of
derision that accompanies Jesus to his death, the other confesses his sin and
asks for mercy [23:39-43]. It is Luke's prescription for authentic
conversion as exemplified in the story of publican and the sinner [18:9-14] and
so Jesus promises this man not only forgiveness but also a place at his side
that very day as his journey to God triumphantly reaches its home in
paradise. Only Luke describes this poignant scene [23:39-43]:
“Jesus, remember
me when you come into your kingdom.” He replied, “Truly I tell you, today
you will be with me in Paradise .” The image of
the dying Jesus jars us with such a sense of shame and powerlessness in Luke,
who describes the death of the Son of God, the King of the Jews. Luke
gives us a lexicon of abuse and humiliation: criminals, condemnation,
crucifixion, nakedness, scoffing, mocking, taunting, deriding, reviling,
sneering.... hardly the stuff of kingship, and no crowns here except one of
thorns. We are face to face with agony and grief, and a cacophony of
insults instead of songs and praise.
The
Kingdom and the Church
As we celebrate
the feast of Christ’s kingship on Sunday, let me leave you with this one
thought that has been on my mind for the past year in particular. If we
follow the example of the prophets of ancient Israel who worked within the
framework of the structures of the faith of God’s people of their day, then we
in our day cannot marginalize Christian revelation and its ecclesial
transmission by proposing a non-Christian vision where misuse of the
terminology "Kingdom or Reign of God" is a substitute for Jesus
Christ and his Church. The Church is the necessary vehicle, and
privileged instrument for us to encounter Jesus Christ, to receive his life
through the Sacraments, to hear his Word mediated through preaching and the
interpretation of the Church, and to journey toward the fullness of the Kingdom of Heaven
Jesus Christ is
our great prophet. He is the only full Revelation of God and he is the
Lord and Savior of all men and women. We must be watchful and vigilant
that the Christian terminology is never emptied of its theological meaning so
as to be better integrated into a "vision" or a supposedly "new
wisdom" of this age.
On this great
feast, let us remember that Jesus took his wounds to heaven, and there is a
place in heaven for our wounds because our king bears his in glory.
Perhaps we need to cry out: "Where are you, God?" And
today we are given the answer: God is hanging on a tree, in the broken body of
a young man- arms outstretched to embrace us, and gently asking us to climb up
onto the cross with him, and look at the world from an entirely new
perspective. Or perhaps we need to cry out for mercy, asking that he not
forget us in the New Jerusalem: “Jesus, remember me, when you come into your
kingdom."
And from the
depth of our own darkness and shadows, we might have to pray with Cleopas and
his companion on the road to Emmaus, “Stay with us, Lord, for it is almost
evening and the day is far spent." Or maybe in the midst of our
despair, we recognize the source of our hope and echo the words of Jesus,
“Father, into your hands I commend my spirit."
What a strange
form of kingship Christ offers us this Sunday! May this feast force us to
remember the appalling fact of our salvation. When all around us seems to
be darkness, destruction, night, and even death, let us never forget that we
are not alone. In our midst hangs the Crucified One, arms outstretched in
loving mercy and welcome. May we have the courage to ask our benevolent
king to remember us in his kingdom, and the peace to know that paradise is
already in our midst even when every external sign indicates darkness and
death. This is abundant life on the Royal Road
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