Il-Wieħed u tletin Ħadd
matul is-Sena
Missalin A p 410
Missalin A p 410
MALAKI 1:14B-2:2B, 8-10
A great
King am I, says the LORD of hosts, and my name will be feared among the
nations. And now, O priests, this commandment is for you: If you do not listen,
if you do not lay it to heart, to give glory to my name, says the LORD of
hosts, I will send a curse upon you and of your blessing I will make a curse. You
have turned aside from the way, and have caused many to falter by your instruction;
you have made void the covenant of Levi, says the LORD of hosts. I, therefore,
have made you contemptible and base before all the people, since you do not
keep my ways, but show partiality in your decisions. Have we not all the one
father? Has not the one God created us? Why then do we break faith with one
another, violating the covenant of our fathers?
This is the Word of The Lord.
L-Ewwel Lezzjoni
Qari mill-Ktieb
tal-Profeta Malakija. (Mal. 1,14b. 2, 2b.8-10)
Jien Sultan
kbir – jgħid il-Mulej ta’ l-eżerċti – u ismi ta’ min jibża’ minnu fost il-ġnus.
U issa għalikom, qassisin, huwa dan il-kmandament: Jekk intom ma tisimgħux u
jekk ma tfittxux minn
Responsorial Psalm
PSALM 131:1, 2, 3
O LORD, my
heart is not proud,
nor are my
eyes haughty;
I busy not
myself with great things,
nor with
things too sublime for me.
R. In
you, Lord, I have found my peace.
Nay rather,
I have stilled and quieted
my soul
like a weaned child.
Like a
weaned child on its mother’s lap,
so is my
soul within me.
R. In
you, Lord, I have found my peace.
O Israel,
hope in the LORD,
both now
and forever.
R. In
you, Lord, I have found my peace.
Salm Responsorjali
Salm 130(131), 1.2.3)
Mulej, ma
tkabbritx qalbi,
anqas ma
nterfgħu għajnejja;
jien ma ġrejtx
wara ħwejjeġ kbar,
jew wara ħwejjeġ
ogħla minni.
R/
Mulej, ħarisli ruħi fis-sliem.
Imma
żammejt ruħi fis-skiet u l-mistrieħ,
bħal
tarbija f'ħoġor ommha;
bħal
tarbija miftuma,
hekk hi ruħi
ġewwa fija. R/
R/
Mulej, ħarisli ruħi fis-sliem.
Ittama,
Iżrael, fil-Mulej,
R/
Mulej, ħarisli ruħi fis-sliem.
1 THESSALONIANS 2:7B-9,
13
Brothers
and sisters: We were gentle among you, as a nursing mother cares for her
children. With such affection for you, we were determined to share with
you not only the gospel of God, but our very selves as well, so dearly beloved
had you become to us. You recall, brothers and sisters, our toil and
drudgery. Working night and day in order not to burden any of you, we
proclaimed to you the gospel of God. And for this reason we too give thanks to
God unceasingly, that, in receiving the word of God from hearing us, you
received not a human word but, as it
truly is, the word of God, which is now at work in you who believe. This is the Word of The Lord.
It-Tieni Lezzzjoni
Qari mill-Ewwel Ittra
lit-Tessalonkin 2, 7b-9.13
Ħuti, aħna ġibna
ruħma magħkom bil-ħlewwa, bħalma omm tradda' tħaddan lil uliedha. Aħna
għożżejniekom hekk li ridna naqsmu magħkom mhux biss l-Evanġelju ta’ Alla, imma
wkoll ħajjitna stess, daqskemm ħabbejniekom. Intom, ħuti, tiftakru fit-taħbit u
t-tbatija kbira tagħna. Sakemm konna qegħdin inxandrulkom l-Evanġelju ta’ Alla,
aħna ħdimna bil-lejn u bi nhar, biex lil ħadd minnkom ma ngħabbu. Aħna niżżu ħajr
bla heda lil Alla talli l-kelma ta’ Alla, li intom smajtu mingħandna,
iltqajtuha mhux bħala kelma ta’ bniedem, iżda bħala kelma ta’ Alla, kif tassew
hi, dik il-kelma, li qiegħda tagħdem fikom li emmintu. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej
Gospel
MATTHEW 23:1-12
Jesus spoke
to the crowds and to his disciples, saying, “The scribes and the Pharisees have
taken their seat on the chair of Moses. Therefore, do and observe all
things whatsoever they tell you, but do not follow their example. For they
preach but they do not practice. They tie up heavy burdens hard to carry and
lay them on people’s shoulders, but they will not lift a finger to move
them. All their works are performed to be seen. They widen their
phylacteries and lengthen their tassels. They love places of honor at
banquets, seats of honor in synagogues, greetings in marketplaces, and the
salutation “Rabbi”; As for you, do not be called “Rabbi”; You have but one
teacher, and you are all brothers. Call no one on earth your father; you
have but one Father in heaven. Do not be called “Master” you have but one
master, the Christ. The greatest among you must be your servant. Whoever
exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” This is
the Word of The Lord.
L-Evanġelju
Qari mill-Evanġelju skond
San Mattew. (Mt 23, 1 -12)
F’dak iż-żmien, Ġesu’ kellem
lin-nies u lid-dixxipli tiegħu, u qalilhom: “Fuq il-katedra ta’ Mose’ qagħdu
l-kittieba u l-Fariżej. Mela kull ma jgħidulkom huma agħmluh u ħarsuh, iżda tagħmlux
kif jagħmlu huma, għax huma kliem biss għandhom, imma fatti xejn. Huma jorbtu
qatet kbar u tqal u jgħabbuhom fuq sallejn ħaddieħor, waqt li huma stess anqas
b’sebagħhom wieħed ma jridu jħarrkuhom. Kull ma jagħmlu, jagħmluh għal għajnejn
in-nies; għalhekk ikabbru l-filatteri u jtawlu l- ġmiemem tagħħom. Iħobbu
l-postijiet ewlenin fl-imwejjed, u s-siġġijiet ta’ quddiem fis-sinagogi, u
jixtiequ min isellmilhom fil-pjazez u li n-nies isejħulhom “rabbi”;. Imma intom
tħallux min isejħilkom “rabbi” għax Imgħallem tagħkom wieħed hu, u intom ilkoll
aħwa. U ssejħu lil ħadd “missier” fuq l-art, għax il-Missier tagħkom wieħed hu,
dak li hu fis-smewwiet. Hekk ukoll tħallux min issejħilkom “mexxejja” għax
il-Mexxej tagħkom wieħed hu, il-Messija. Il-kbir fostkom għandu jkun il-qaddej
tagħkom; min jitgħolla, jitbaxxa, u min jitbaxxa, jitgħolla’. Il-Kelma
tal-Mulej
///////////////////////
Commentary by
Fr. Thomas Rosica, CSB
Sunday’s Gospel text from Matthew 23:1-12 comes
from a very polemical chapter of the first Gospel. We learn once again of the
bitter conflict between Pharisaic Judaism and Matthew’s ecclesial community.
Our episode contains a clear denunciation by Jesus of the scribes and
Pharisees, and contains material that is unique to Matthew’s Gospel.
In the first section of chapter 23, the focus is
on religious teachers and their responsibility for ordinary people. Jesus
criticizes his religious opponents (many of whom were Pharisees). The reference
to the Pharisees’ “sitting on the seat of Moses” (23:2) may simply be a
metaphor for Mosaic teaching authority or it may refer to an actual chair on
which the teacher sat. Studies have confirmed that there was a seat so designated
in synagogues of a later period than that of today’s Gospel.
Over the course of time, Jesus’ words as related in Matthew’s Gospel
were understood to be directed primarily at the Pharisaic teachers who, after
the disastrous war with Rome (AD 66-73) sought
to reconstruct Jewish ethnic identity by extending and consolidating their
influence in the synagogues of Palestine
The heart of the conflict
What lies at the heart of the conflict?
Jewish-Christian missionaries who proclaimed a crucified and resurrected
Messiah found in these Pharisaic teachers their most determined adversaries and
rivals, and consequently reapplied Jesus’ saying to this new situation. There
is also another level of interpretation: the sayings are applied to Christian
teachers who are warned not to be like the very teachers Jesus condemned.
Matthew’s real concern is to address the problem
of Christian leadership that has fallen short of the ideal required by Jesus.
Verses 6-12 are not to be understood as simply an aside to in a chapter
condemning the Pharisees but as a passage expressing the central purpose of
Jesus’ message. We must read Matthew 23 with theological lenses, and not only
as a moral exhortation or a condemnation of something in the past.
Critique of the
Pharisaic Teachers
The Pharisees had special responsibilities for
leading Israel
To those entrusted with the Good News of Jesus
Christ, they must teach whatever Jesus commanded (28:19) and embody his
teaching in their very lives. We are all vulnerable to this critique, since not
one of us is fully capable of fully exemplifying the ideal to which we aspire
and which we strive to proclaim with our lives.
The second teaching, found in verse 4, is a bit
difficult to understand, especially in view of verse 3: “Do whatever they teach
you and follow it.” I would like to suggest that Matthew refers here to the
fact that the Pharisees stressed consistency in observance. It was not enough
to keep the Sabbath in a general way; it was necessary to define carefully
which weekday activities constituted work and were therefore prohibited on the
Sabbath.
Although Jesus observed the Sabbath, he insisted
that his ministry to the sick took precedence over the Sabbath rulings of the
legalists. He offered an easier yoke and lighter burden to his disciples and
hearers (11:28-30). Matthew may have directed this criticism to Christian
teachers who were urging followers of Jesus to observe the Sabbath and the
other ritual laws in accordance with the Pharisaic interpretation.
Hypocrisy
The third critique in verse 5 requires little
interpretation. It speaks for itself. The hypocrisy of a piety that seeks the
praise of other people rather than the glorification of God has already been
unambiguously denounced in the Sermon on the Mount (6:1-6, 16-18). The widening
of phylacteries and the lengthening of tassels were for the purpose of making
these evidences of piety more noticeable.
Honorific titles
There is a stern criticism over titles of honour
(23:7-11). Only after 70 AD did the practice develop of using “rabbi” as a
technical term to designate those of the Pharisaic tradition who had been
trained as teachers and set apart for this particular leadership role in the
community. Without a doubt the role is indispensable, but it must not be used
as an excuse for a self-aggrandizement that harms the unit of the community.
The prohibition of these titles to the disciples suggests that their use was
present in Matthew’s Church. Jesus forbids not only the titles but also the
spirit of superiority and pride that is shown by their acceptance. Only one
person is to be recognized and honoured with the title; the rest are brothers
and sisters bound together by mutual affection and respect.
The title “father”
Verse 9 of today’s Gospel intensifies the command by using the active
voice: “And call no one your father on earth.” This is not referring to one’s
biological father but to a religious authority. Some rabbinic leaders were
addressed as ab,
“father.” There is nothing wrong with addressing clergy with titles such as
“Reverend,” “Father,” “Excellency,” “Bishop,” Eminence,” etc. Such titles, far
from setting people apart from those in authority or leadership, exist to
foster deep, authentic relationships in the community of the Church. For those
on the receiving end of such honorific titles, the responsibility to work
diligently at becoming humble servants and break down barriers that exist among
us is only intensified!
The greatest one will be servant
The fourth criticism deals with true greatness in
the community of the disciples who have become “Church.” In verses 11-12,
Matthew outlines the qualities of the greatest person in the community, the one
who becomes servant to all. This ideal of the Church as a community of equals
was later embraced by St. Paul
Sharing the Gospel and our very selves
As I reflect on this second reading from 1
Thessalonians 2:7-9, 13, I cannot help but recall with affection and gratitude
the figure of Saint John XXIII. St.
Paul
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