'It-Tieni
Ħadd ta' l-Avvent - il-PACI
Messalin A pp 68
On
that day, a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a
bud shall blossom. The spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him: a spirit of
wisdom and of nderstanding, a spirit of counsel and of strength, a spirit of
knowledge and of fear of the LORD, and his delight shall be the fear of the
LORD. Not by appearance shall he judge, nor by hearsay shall he decide, but he
shall judge the poor with justice, and decide aright for the land’s afflicted. He
shall strike the ruthless with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his
lips he shall slay the wicked. Justice shall be the band around his waist, and
faithfulness a belt upon his hips. Then the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb, and
the leopard shall lie down with the kid; the calf and the young lion shall
browse together, with a little child to guide them. The cow and the bear shall
be neighbors, together their young shall rest; the lion shall eat hay like the
ox. The baby shall play by the cobra’s den, and the child lay his hand on the
adder’s lair. There shall be no harm or ruin on all my holy mountain; for the
earth shall be filled with knowledge of the LORD, as water covers the sea. On
that day, the root of Jesse, set up as a signal for the nations, the Gentiles
shall seek out, for his dwelling shall be glorious.
L-Ewwel Lezzjoni
Qari mill-Ktieb tal-Profeta Isaija 11, 1-10
Ġhad-toħrog fergħa miz-zokk ta' Ġesse, għad tinbet rimja minn
Responsorial Psalm
O
God, with your judgment endow the king,
and with your justice, the king’s son;
he shall govern your people with justice
and your afflicted ones with judgment.
R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
and with your justice, the king’s son;
he shall govern your people with justice
and your afflicted ones with judgment.
R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
Justice
shall flower in his days,
and profound peace, till the moon be no more.
May he rule from sea to sea,
and from the River to the ends of the earth.
R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
and profound peace, till the moon be no more.
May he rule from sea to sea,
and from the River to the ends of the earth.
R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
For
he shall rescue the poor when he cries out,
and the afflicted when he has no one to help him.
He shall have pity for the lowly and the poor;
the lives of the poor he shall save.
R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
and the afflicted when he has no one to help him.
He shall have pity for the lowly and the poor;
the lives of the poor he shall save.
R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
May his name be blessed forever;
as long as the sun his name shall remain.
In him shall all the tribes of the earth be blessed;
all the nations shall proclaim his happiness.
R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
SALM 71(72)
R/ Tħaddar f'jiemu l-ġustizzja.
O Alla, agħti lis-sultan il-ħaqq tiegħek,
il-ġustizzja tiegħek lil bin isek bil-ġustizzja,
u bil-ħaqq l-imsejknin tiegħek. R/
Tħaddar f'jiemu l-ġustizzja,
u sliem kotran sa ma jintemm il-qamar,
Isaltan minn
u mix-xmara sa truf l-art. R/
Għax hu jeħles lill-fqir li jsejjaħlu,
u lill-imsejknin li m'għandux min jgħinu.
Iħenn għad-dgħajjef u għall-fqajjar;
il-ħajja tal-fqajrin isalva. R/
Ismu jibqa' jissemma għal dejjem;
idum ismu sakemm iddum ix-xemx!
Bih jitbierku l-ġnus kollha ta' l-art;
il-popli kollha jsejħulu ħieni. R/
R eading 2
Brothers
and sisters: Whatever was written previously was written for our instruction,
that by endurance and by the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. May the God of endurance
and encouragement grant you to think in
harmony with one another, in keeping with Christ Jesus, that with one accord
you may with one voice glorify the God
and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Welcome one another, then, as Christ
welcomed you, for the glory of God. For I say that Christ became a minister of
the circumcised to show God’s truthfulness, to confirm the promises to the
patriarchs, but so that the Gentiles
might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written: Therefore, I will praise you among the Gentiles
and sing praises to your name.
and sing praises to your name.
Qari mill-Ittra ta' San Pawl Appostlu lir-Rumani 15,4-9
Ħuti, kull ma nkiteb fl-Iskrittura fl-imgħoddi , inkiteb għat-tagħlim tagħna, biex bis-sabar u bil-faraġ li tagħtina l-Iskrittura, aħna jkollna t-tama. Alla, li minnu ġej kull sabar u faraġ, jgħtikom il-grazzja li tkunu fehma waħda bejnietkom skond Kristu Ġesu', biex b'fomm wieħed u b'qalb waħda tfaħħru lil Alla u Missier Sidna Ġesu' Kristu. Għalhekk ilqgħu lil xulxin bħalma Kristu wkoll laqa' lilkom, għall-glorja ta' Alla. Jiena ngħidilkom li Kristu sar qaddej tal- Lhud ċirkonċiżi minħabba l-fedelta' ta' Alla, biex iseħħu l-wegħdiet li għamel lill-Patrijarki, u biex il-pagani wkoll ifaħħru lil Alla minħabba l-ħniena tiegħu bħalma hu miktub: "Għalhekk jiena nfaħħrek fost il-ġnus u ngħanni tifħir ismek." Il-Kelma tal-Mulej
Gospel
John
the Baptist appeared, preaching in the desert of Judea
Qari skond San Mattew 3, 1-12
F'dawk il-jiem, deher Ġwanni l-Battista jipprieda fid-deżert tal-Lhudija u jgħid: "Indmu, għax is-saltna tas-smewwiet waslet." Għax għalih kien ingħad permezz tal-profeta Isaija, meta qal: "Leħen ta wieħed jgħajjat fid-deżert: Ħejju t-triq tal-Mulej, iddrittaw il-mogħdijiet tiegħu." Dan Ġwanni kellu fuqu libsa tax-xagħar tal-ġemel, bi ħżiem tal-ġild madwar qaddu, u l-ikel tiegħu kien gradijiet u għasel selvaġġ. U kienet tmur għandu Ġerusalemm u l-Lhudija kollha u l-inħawi kollha ta' madwar il-Ġordan, u kienu jigħammdu minnu fix-xmara Ġordan huma u jistqarru dnubiethom. Kif ra bosta mill-Fariżej u mis-Sadduċej ġejjin għall-magħmudija tiegħu, qalilhom: "Ja nisel il-lifgħat, min uriekom kif għandkom taħarbu mill-korla li ġejja? Agħmlu mela frott xieraq ta' l-Indiema, u taħsbux li tistgħu tgħidu fikom infuskom: "Għandna b'missier lil Abraham." Ngħidilkom li Alla, minn
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Commentary
Experiencing
Forgiveness and Salvation
In Sunday’s
Scripture readings, two of the three outstanding Advent guides (Isaiah, John
the Baptist and Mary) show us the proper attitude to assume as we prepare to
welcome the Saviour of the world. First of all, Isaiah, the prophet of
consolation and singer of hope. The idyllic reading from the prophet
Isaiah [11:1-10] speaks of a shoot that will sprout from the stump of Jesse,
and from his roots a bud shall blossom [1]. This is a reference to the
fact that after the Babylonian Exile only a stump of the Davidic dynasty would
remain; from it would arise the new shoot, the messianic King. In verses 2-3
we have the source of the traditional names of the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
An image of the
idyllic harmony of paradise in vv 6-9 is a dramatic symbol of the universal
peace and justice of messianic times. Throughout this season of Advent,
Isaiah proclaims a true and proper Gospel for the people of Israel , enslaved in Babylon
The
kingdom of heaven is at hand
Then there is
John the Baptist [Matthew 3:1-12], the precursor of the Messiah, who is
presented as a “voice crying in the wilderness”, preaching “a baptism of
repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” Unlike Luke, Matthew says
nothing of the Baptist’s origins and does not make him a relative of Jesus.
Matthew takes up
the order of Jesus’ ministry found in the gospel of Mark, beginning with the
preparatory preaching of John the Baptist. The Baptist calls for a change
of heart and conduct, a turning of one’s life from rebellion to obedience
towards God. It is the only condition for recognizing the Messiah already
present in the world. The kingdom of heaven is at hand: “heaven”
(literally, “the heavens”) is a substitute for the name “God” that was avoided
by devout Jews of the time out of reverence. The expression “the kingdom of
heaven” occurs only in the gospel of Matthew. It means the effective rule of
God over his people. In its fullness it includes not only human obedience to
God’s word, but the triumph of God over physical evils, ultimately over
death. In the expectation found in Jewish apocalyptic, the kingdom was to
be ushered in by a judgment in which sinners would be condemned and perish, an
expectation shared by the Baptist. This was later modified in Christian
understanding where the kingdom was seen as being established in stages,
culminating with the parousia (second coming) of Jesus.
John’s
wardrobe
Matthew presents
John the Baptist as the first Christian preacher. Wearing the clothes of
a latter-day Elijah [II Kings 1:8], John solemnly proclaims that God is
undertaking a new involvement with humankind. The expectation of the
return of Elijah from heaven to prepare Israel
Ritual washing
[6] was practiced by various groups in Palestine Dead Sea . John’s is a baptism of repentance
requiring the convert to adopt a new way of thinking and acting.
At times prophets
shared God’s anger, God’s compassion, God’s sorrow, God’s disappointment, God’s
revulsion, God’s sensitivity for people, and God’s seriousness. They did
not share these things in the abstract; rather, they shared God’s feelings
about the concrete events of their time. This is the type of prophet that
John the Baptist was. He didn’t mince words. He got right to the
point and said what needed to be said. How often our words, thoughts and
actions are incoherent and ambiguous! How often do the skirt the issues
and great questions of our time and of our Church! The true prophets of Israel
John the Baptist
continues to speak down the centuries to every generation. The “voice” of
the great prophet asks us to prepare the way of the Lord, who comes in the
external and internal wildernesses of today, thirsting for the living water
that is Christ. May the memory of John guide us to true conversion of heart, so
that we may make the necessary choices to harmonize our mentalities and lives
with the Gospel.
“Verbum
Domini” along the Advent journey
May I suggest to
you a wonderful way to prepare a way for the Lord in your own lives this
Advent? Read Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI’s Apostolic Exhortation Verbum Domini [The Word of the Lord Abides
Forever]. This important document is the culmination of the Synod of
Bishops on the Word of God in the Life and Mission
Christology
of the word
11.
From this glimpse at all reality as the handiwork of the Blessed Trinity
through the divine Word, we can understand the statement made by the author of
the Letter to the Hebrews: “in many and various ways God spoke of old to our
fathers by the prophets; but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son,
whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the
world” (1:1-2). It is very beautiful to see how the entire Old Testament
already appears to us as a history in which God communicates his word: indeed,
“by his covenant with Abraham (cf. Gen 15:18) and, through Moses, with the race
of Israel (cf. Ex 24:8), he gained a people for himself, and to them he
revealed himself in words and deeds as the one, living and true God. It was his
plan that Israel might learn by experience God’s ways with humanity and, by
listening to the voice of God speaking to them through the prophets, might
gradually understand his ways more fully and more clearly, and make them more
widely known among the nations (cf. Ps 21:28-29; 95:1-3; Is 2:1-4; Jer 3:17)”.
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