Second Sunday of Advent
It-2
Ħadd tal-Avvent Sena
'B'
Messalin B pp80
Comfort,
give comfort to my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem Zion , herald of glad tidings; cry out at the top of your
voice, Jerusalem Judah
L-Ewwel Qari
Qari
mill-Ktieb tal-Profeta Isaija 40, 1-5, 9-11
Farrġu, farrġu l-poplu tiegħi, igħid Alla tagħkom. Kellmu lil qalb
Ġerusalemm u għidulha li ntemm il-jasar tagħha, tħallset ħżunitħa, ħadet minn għand il-Mulej
darbtejn għal dnubietha kollha. Leħen igħajjat; “Ħejju triq
għall-Mulej fid-deżert, wittu għal Alla tagħna mogħdija
fix-xagħri. Jintradam kull wied, u jitniżżlu l-muntanji u l-għoljiet: kull art
imħattba titwitta, kull art imħarbta ssir maqgħad. U tfeġg il-glorja tal-Mulej, u l-bnedmin jarawha lkoll
f'daqqa, għax
fomm il-Mulej tkellem." Itla fuq il-muntanja għolja
Int li ġġib il-bxara tajba lil Sijon; għolli
leħnek bil-qawwa kollha, int li tagħti l-aħbar
it-tajba lill Ġerusalemm; għajjat,
la tibżax. Għid lill-ibliet ta’ Ġuda: “Hawn hu
Alla tagħkom!” Hawn hu Sidi l-Mulej, li ġej bil-qawwa, u jaħkem il-qawwa ta’ driegħu. Hawn hu
bi ħlasu miegħu, u r-rebħa
tiegħu quddiemu. Bħal ragħaj li
jirgħa l-merħla tiegħu, bi driegħu jiġmagħha, u l-ħrief fi ħdanu
jerfagħhom; u n-ngħaġ ireddgħu bil-mod imexxihom. il-Kelma tal-Mulej
Responsorial Psalm
PSalm
85:9-10, 11-12, 13-14
R/ (8) Lord,
let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation.
I will
hear what God proclaims;
the LORD ―for he proclaims peace to his people.
Near indeed is his salvation to those who fear him,
glory dwelling in our land. R/
the LORD ―for he proclaims peace to his people.
Near indeed is his salvation to those who fear him,
glory dwelling in our land. R/
Kindness
and truth shall meet;
justice and peace shall kiss.
Truth shall spring out of the earth,
and justice shall look down from heaven. R/
justice and peace shall kiss.
Truth shall spring out of the earth,
and justice shall look down from heaven. R/
The LORD
himself will give his benefits;
our land
shall yield its increase.
Justice shall walk before him,
and prepare the way of his steps. R/
Justice shall walk before him,
and prepare the way of his steps. R/
Salm Responsorjali
Salm 84
R/
Uri lilna, Mulej, it-tjieba tiegħek, u s-salvazzjoni
tiegħek agħtina.
Ħa nisma’ x’igħid Alla;
il-Mulej is-sliem ixandar,
għal-poplu u l-ħbieb tiegħu.
Qrib tassew is-salvazzjoni tiegħu
għal dawk li jibżgħu minnu,
biex tgħammar is-sebħ f’artna. R/
It-tjieba u l-fedelta jiltaqgħu.
Il-ġustizzja u s-sliem jitbewsu.
Il-fedelta' mill-art tinbet,
u l-ġustizzja mis-sema tixref.. R/
Il-Mulej ukoll jagħti l-ġid tiegħu,
u artna tagħti l-frott tagħha.
Il-ġustizzja quddiemu timxi,
u s-sliem fuq il-passi tiegħu. R/
2
PeTer 3:8-14
Do not
ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand
years and a thousand years like one day. The Lord does not delay his promise,
as some regard “delay” but he is patient with you, not wishing that
any should perish but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens
will pass away with a mighty roar and the elements will be dissolved by fire,
and the earth and everything done on it will be found out. Since everything is
to be dissolved in this way, what sort of persons ought you to be, conducting
yourselves in holiness and devotion, waiting for and hastening the coming of
the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved in flames and
the elements melted by fire. But
according to his promise we await new heavens and a new earth in which
righteousness dwells. Therefore, beloved, since you await these things, be
eager to be found without spot or blemish before him, at peace.
It-Tieni Qari
Qari mit-Tieni Ittra ta’ San Pietru 3, 8-14
Ħuti egħżież, dan għandkom tkunu tafu, li quddiem il-Mulej jum wieħed hu bħal elf sena, u elf sena bħal jum wieħed. Mhux għax jiddawwar il-Mulej li jtemm il-wegħdiet tiegħu, kif jaħsbu xi wħud; imma qiegħed jistabar bikom
għax ma jridx li xi ħadd jintilef, imma, li kulħadd jersaq għall-indiema.
Jasal, tabilħaqq, Jum il-Mulej, bħal ħalliel; jintemmu mbagħad is-smewwiet bi ħsejjes kbar, jinħallu bin-nar
l-elementi tad-dinja, u l-art b’kull ma fiha
tkun maħruqa min-nar... Ladarba hekk
kollox għandu jintemm, araw daqsxejn kif għandkom iġġibu ruħkom, kemm għandha tkun
qaddisa u tajba ħajjitkom, waqt li tistennew b'ħerqa kbira l-miġja tal-Jum ta'
Alla. Hu minħabba f’dan il-Jum li s-smewwiet jinħarqu u jinħallu. u l-elementi
tad-dinja jinqerdu bin-nar. imma aħna, skont il-wegħda tiegħu, nistennew smewwiet ġodda u art ġdida, li fihom tgħammar il-ġustizzja. Għalhekk, ħuti egħżież, waqt li
nistennew dan kollu, qisu li jsibkom fis-sliem, bla tebgħa u bla dnub. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej
Gospel
MarK
1:1-8
The
beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God. As it is written in
Isaiah the prophet: Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you; he will
prepare your way. A voice of one
crying out in the desert: Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.
John the Baptist appeared in the desert proclaiming a baptism of repentance
for the forgiveness of sins. People of the whole Judean countryside and all the
inhabitants of Jerusalem were going out to him
and were being baptized by him in the Jordan River
as they acknowledged their sins. John was clothed in camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist. He
fed on locusts and wild honey. And this is what he proclaimed: “One mightier than I is coming after me. I am not
worthy to stoop and loosen the thongs of his sandals. I have baptized you with
water; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
L-Evanġelju
Qari
skond San Mark 1, 1-8
Bidu tal-Evanġelju ta’ Ġesu Kristu, l-Iben ta’Alla. Bħalma hu miktub
fil-ktieb ta’ Isaija l-profeta: ‘Ara, jien nibgħat qablek il-ħabbar tiegħi biex iħejji triqtek. Leħen ta’ wieħed igħajjat fid-deżert: Ħejju t-triq
tal-Mulej, iddrittaw il-mogħodijiet tiegħu." Hekk Ġwanni deher jgħammed fid-deżert u jxandar magħmudija ta’ ndiema għall-maħfa tad-dnubiet. U kienet tmur għandu
l-Lhudija kollha u n-nies kollha ta’ Ġersalemm,
jitgħammdu minnu fix-xmara Ġordan waqt
li jistqarru dnubiethom. Ġwanni kien jilbes libsa
tax-xagħar
tal-ġemel, bi ħżiem tal-ġild
madwar qaddu, u kien jiekol ġradijiet u għasel selvaġġ. U kien
ixandar u jgħid: “Ġej
warajja min hu aqwa minni, li jien ma nistħoqqlix
nitbaxxa quddiemu u nħoll
il-qfieli tl-qorq tiegħu. Jiena
ghammidtkom bl-ilma, iżda huwa
jgħammidkom bl-Ispirtu
s-Santu.” Il-Kelma tal-Mulej
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Commentary
by Fr Thomas Rosica
John the Baptizer, the Advent Prophet
One of the great stars of the Advent and Christmas stories,
John the Baptizer, makes his appearance on the biblical stage today. Let us
consider some of the details of John's life and see how he is such a good model
for us.
John the Baptist didn’t mince words. He got
right to the point and said what needed to be said. He would speak with equally
straightforward words to us -- words that would zero in on the weak points of
our lives. John the Baptist was a credible preacher of repentance because he
had first come to love God's word that he heard in the midst of his own desert.
He heard, experienced and lived God's liberating word in the
desert and was thus able to preach it to others so effectively because his life
and message were one. One of the most discouraging things we must deal with in
our lives is duplicity. How often our words, thoughts and actions are not
coherent or one. The true prophets of Israel
The desert
wilderness
Throughout biblical history, leaders and visionaries have
gone to the desert to see more clearly, to listen intently for God's voice, to
discover new ways to live. The Hebrew word for wilderness midvar is derived
from a Semitic root that means, "to lead flocks or herds to pasture."
Eremos,
the Greek word used to translate midvar, denotes a desolate and thinly populated area and,
in a stricter sense, a wasteland or desert.
The term "wilderness" has two different but
related meanings, referring to something judged to be wild and bewildering. It
is probably the unknown (bewildering) and uncontrolled (wild) character of the
place that earned it the name "wilderness." There is also another way
of understanding the meaning of desert or wilderness.
A careful look at the root of the word midvar reveals the
word davar
meaning "word" or "message." The Hebraic notion of
"desert" or "wilderness" is that holy place where God's
word is unbound and completely free to be heard, experienced and lived. We go
to the desert to hear God's Word, unbound and completely free.
The Spirit of God enabled the prophets to feel with God.
They were able to share God's attitudes, God's values, God's feelings, God's
emotions. This enabled them to see the events of their time as God saw them and
to feel the same way about these events as God felt. They 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. Nor did they share these
things in the abstract; they shared God's feelings about the concrete events of
their time.
John the Baptist is the Advent prophet. His image is often
portrayed in the finger pointing to the one who was coming: Jesus Christ. If we
are to take on John’s role of preparing the way in today’s world, our lives
also will become the pointing fingers of living witnesses who demonstrate that
Jesus can be found and that he is near. John gave the people of his time an
experience of forgiveness and salvation, knowing full well that he himself was
not the Messiah, the one who could save. Do we allow others to have experiences
of God, of forgiveness and of salvation?
John the Baptist came to teach us that there is a way out of
the darkness and sadness of the world and of the human condition, and that way
is Jesus himself. The Messiah comes to save us from the powers of darkness and
death, and to put us back on the path of peace and reconciliation so that we
might find our way back to God.
The late Jesuit theologian, Father Karl
Rahner, once wrote: “We have to listen to the voice of the one calling in the
wilderness, even when it confesses: I am not he. You cannot choose not to
listen to this voice, 'because it is only the voice of a man.' And, likewise,
you cannot lay aside the message of the Church, because the Church is 'not
worthy to untie the shoelaces of its Lord who goes on before it.' It is,
indeed, still Advent.”
We
may not have the luxury of travelling to the wilderness of Judah
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