Sunday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time
It-Tmien Ħadd Matul is-Sena
Il-Providenza ta' Alla
Messalin A pp 290
ISAIAH 49:14-15
L-Ewwel Lezzjoni
Qari
mill-Ktieb tal-Profeta Isaija 49, 14-15
Sijon
kienet tgħid: "Ħallieni l-Mulej, Sidi nsieni." Tista'
mara tinsa t-tarbija tagħha, u
ma tħennx għal bin ġufha? Imqar jekk din tinsa,
jien ma ninsiek qatt! Il-Kelma tal-Mulej
PSALM 62:2-3, 6-7, 8-9
Only
in God is my soul at rest;
from him comes my salvation.
He only is my rock and my salvation,
my stronghold; I shall not be disturbed at all.
R. Rest in God alone, my soul.
from him comes my salvation.
He only is my rock and my salvation,
my stronghold; I shall not be disturbed at all.
R. Rest in God alone, my soul.
Only
in God be at rest, my soul,
for from him comes my hope.
He only is my rock and my salvation,
my stronghold; I shall not be disturbed.
R. Rest in God alone, my soul.
for from him comes my hope.
He only is my rock and my salvation,
my stronghold; I shall not be disturbed.
R. Rest in God alone, my soul.
With God is my safety and my glory,
he is the rock of my strength; my refuge is in God.
Trust in him at all times, O my people!
Pour out your hearts before him.
R. Rest in God alone, my soul.
Salm 61(62)
F'Alla
biss il-mistrieħ ta' ruħi;
mingħandu tiġini s-salvazzjoni.
Hu
biss il-blata u s-salvazzjoni tiegħi,
hu
l-kenn tiegħi: xejn ma jċaqlaqni.
F'Alla biss il-mistrieħ ta' ruħi.
F'Alla
biss il-mistrieħ ta' ruħi,
għax
mingħandu tiġini t-tama.
Hu
biss il-blata u s-salvzzjoni tiegħi,
hu
l-kenn tiegħi; xejn ma jċaqlaqni.
F'Alla biss il-mistrieħ ta' ruħi.
F'Alla
s-salvazzjoni u l-ġieħ tiegħi,
hu
l-blata qawwija tiegħi, u l-kenn tiegħi
f'Alla.
Ittama
fih f'kull żmien, o poplu;
Iftħu qalbkom quddiemu.
F'Alla biss il-mistrieħ ta' ruħi.
1 Corinthians 4:1-5
Brothers
and sisters: Thus should one regard us: as servants of Christ and stewards of
the mysteries of God. Now it is of course required of stewards that they be
found trustworthy. It does not concern me in the least that I be judged by you or any human
tribunal; I do not even pass judgment on myself; I am not conscious of anything
against me, but I do not thereby stand acquitted; the one who judges me is the
Lord. Therefore do not make any judgment before the appointed time, until the
Lord comes, for he will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will
manifest the motives of our hearts, and then everyone will receive praise from
God. This is the Word of The Lord.
Qari mill-Ewwel Ittra ta' San Pawl lill-Korintin 4, 1-5
Ħuti, in-nies għandhom
iħarsu
lejna bħala
ministri ta' Kristu u amministraturi tal-misteri ta' Alla. Issa
barra minn minn
Gospel
MATTHEW 6:24-34
Jesus said to his
disciples: “No one can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the
other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and
mammon. “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat
or drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food
and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds in the sky; they do not sow
or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are
not you more important than they? Can any of you by worrying add a single
moment to your life-span? Why are you anxious about clothes? Learn from the way
the wild flowers grow. They do not work
or spin. But I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was clothed like one of them. If God so clothes the grass of the field, which
grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow, will he not much more provide
for you, O you of little faith? So do not worry and say, ‘What are we to eat?’ or ‘What are we to drink?’or
‘What are we to wear?’ All these things the pagans seek. Your heavenly Father
knows that you need them all. But seek first the
L-Evanġelju
Qari mill-Evanġelju skond San Mattew 6, 24-34
F'dak iż-żmien Ġesu'
qal lid-dixxipli tiegħu: "Ħadd ma jista' jaqdi żewġ
sidien; għax
jew ikun jobgħod
lil wieħed
u jħobb
lill-ieħor,
jew jintrabtu ma' wieħed u jistmell lill-ieħor. Ma tistgħtu taqdu lil alla u lill-flus. Għalhekk ngħidilkom:
tinkwetawx ruħkom għall-ħajjitkom, x'se tieklu jew x'tixorbu, anqas għal ġisimkom x'se tilbsu. Jaqaw il-ħajja m'hijiex aqwa mill-ikel, u l-ġisem aqwa mil-ilbies? Ħarsu lejn l-għasafar tas-sema; la jiżirigħu u lanqas jaħsdu u lanqas iġeddsu
fl-imħażen, u madankollu Missierkom li
hu fis-smewwiet jitmagħhom! Intom
ma tiswewx aktar minnhom? U min minnkom, bl-inkwiet kollu tiegħu,
se jseħħlu Jtawwal għomru mqar b'jum wieħed
biss? U għall-ilbies għalfejn tinkwetaw ruħkom? Ħarsu lejn il-ġilji
ta' l-għelieqi,
kif jikbru! U la jiħabtu u lanqas jinsġu. Madankollu, ngħidilkom, anqas Salamun,
fil-glorja kollha tiegħu, ma kien jilbes bħal
wieħed minnhom. Mela jekk Alla jlibes
hekk imqar ħaxixa selvaġġa li llum hawn u għada tinxteħet fil-forn, kemm aktar lilkom, nies ta' fidi ċkejna! Għalhekk toqgħdux tinkwetaw ruħkom u tgħidu: "X'se
nieklu? X'se nixorbu? X'se nilbsu?" għax
dawn huma kollha ħwejjeġ li jifttxuhom il-pagani. Imma Missierkom li hu fis-smewwiet jaf li dan u
dan kollu jingħatalkom ukoll.
Mela toqogħdux tħabblu raskom għall-għada, għax il-jum ta' għada jħabbel rasu hu għalih
innifsu. Biżżejjed hu għall-jum it-taħbit
tal-ġurnata.
Il-Kelma tal-Mulej
//////////////////////////////////////////
Just When You Think
Life Is for the Birds,
Take Heart
Life Is for the Birds,
Take Heart
Commentary by Fr. Thomas Rosica, CSB
In Sunday's
reading from Matthew's Gospel (6:25-34), Jesus does not deny the reality of
human needs (v. 32), but forbids making them the object of anxious care and, in
effect, becoming their slave.
Those who truly know God as the
heavenly Father revealed by Jesus cannot be concerned about human needs in the
same way. While disciples have to take reasonable care of themselves and of
those for whom they are responsible, such concerns take second place to
dedication to the rule of God and the "righteousness" (v. 33) for
which it calls.
Verse 25 of this Sunday's Gospel
indicates two major areas of concern for the human being: sustenance (food and
drink) necessary for life, and clothing. Each of the areas is addressed -- food
(vv. 26-27), clothing (vv. 28-30) -- in an argument that rests upon a New
Testament logic. If God takes such care of the birds in the air, and ensures
their feeding, and sees to it that the lilies of the field are magnificently
adorned, how much more then will our heavenly Father take pains to see that the
disciples shall not go wanting, since they are more precious in the divine
sight than the birds of air and the flowers of the field?
In using this analogy, Jesus is by
no means making a moral statement, but rather an imaginative appeal.
Worrywart
The great Christian author and
apologist C.S. Lewis was a devout Christian, but he admitted that throughout
his life he was a great worrier! Commenting on today's Gospel passage (Matthew
6:25-34), Lewis frequently wrote to his friends saying: "If God wanted us
to live like the birds of the air, it would have be nice for him to have given
us a constitution that was more like theirs!"
Jesus did not seem to be a person
who worried a great deal; he lived his life on the principle of trusting his
heavenly Father, and he tried to teach his followers to do the same. The
refrain running through today's Gospel contains the sentiments of "do not
worry" (vv. 25, 27, 28, 31 and twice in 34). A better translation of the
expression could be, "do not fret" or "do not be
preoccupied." Disciples may have legitimate concerns for material goods,
but if those concerns are filled with insecurities and cause new forms of
enslavement to wealth, they will inevitably lead people into slavery to two
separate masters. We are called to serve God and God alone in the deepest sense
in order to experience authentic freedom.
Providential care
The three Scripture readings for
this Sunday invite us to reflect on God's providential care of us. When we say
'Divine Providence,' we are referring to the name of God, especially God as
Father and Creator, which brings all of the dynamics of human existence into
meaning. Providence Providence
You are worth more
Jesus taught about God's provident
care for his children and on not being anxious for the future. Can any of you
by worrying add a single hour to your life? Jesus invited his disciples then
and now to "consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have
neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are
you than the birds!" What holds true for food applies also to clothing and
other necessities of life ("consider the lilies, how they grow: they
neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not
clothed like one of these").
Those who see reality permeated by
the Providence of God gradually grow in wisdom. Serenity, born of time and
grace, becomes evident to onlookers and passersby. The terrible beauty of the
earth, with its calms and its storms, its gentle breezes and its hurricanes,
its new life and its deaths, seems somehow to be within the person who lives by
trustingly believing in God's Providence.
What is worth
fearing?
Throughout the Old Testament,
humans are the main subjects of fear. The reasons for this fear are war, death,
enslavement, loss of a wife or child, disaster, or even a particular place.
Trust in God brings freedom from fear. Fear also arises in the presence of
those who stand in a special relation to God, such as Moses (Exodus 34:30),
Joshua (Joshua 4:14), or Samuel (1 Samuel 12:18).
How many times in the Gospels do
we hear Jesus telling people to "Fear not!" Jairus is not to be
anxious (Mark 5:36); the disciples receive assurance (Mark 6:50); the three
apostles atop Mount Tabor are enabled to look up (Matthew 17:7); the women's
fear gives way to proclamation and resurrection faith (Matthew 28:10); those
whom the angels visit in the infancy narratives are told not to fear (Luke
1:13, 30; 2:10); and in a vision, Peter and Paul are both told by the Lord not
to fear in a context of discipleship and service (Luke 5:10 and Acts 18:9).
What is worth fearing? Jesus warns
his followers about those who can harm the soul. To what does this refer today?
To those people or situations who can dehydrate the spirit, crushing it and
sapping it of life, killing hopes and dreams, destroying faith and joy. Often
those who dehydrate the spirit and kill hope and joy are not "bad"
people! In fact, they are often very good people, and yes, even
"church" people and ‘religious’ people! We often harm the souls of
others through our cynicism, our meanness of spirit and smallness of mind and
heart; our lack of faith, hope and joy. How often have we denied Jesus through
our own reluctance to talk about him and give witness to him, for fear of
excluding others?
It is consoling to know once in a
while that all of our trials and tribulations, our pains anxieties are not in
vain. The next time we get that fearful feeling that our life is for the birds,
let us take heart, and have a bit more courage and confidence in the Father's
care.
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