It-2
Ħadd tas-Sena ‘B’
Messalin ‘B’ pp 346
.
1 Samuel 3:3b-10, 19
Samuel was sleeping in the temple of the LORD where the
ark of God was. The LORD called to Samuel, who answered, "Here I am."
Samuel ran to Eli and said, "Here I am. You called me." "I did
not call you, " Eli said. "Go back to sleep." So he went back to
sleep. Again the LORD called Samuel, who rose and went to Eli. "Here I am,
" he said. "You called me." But Eli answered, "I did not
call you, my son. Go back to sleep." At that time Samuel was not familiar
with the LORD, because the LORD had not revealed anything to him as yet. The
LORD called Samuel again, for the third time. Getting up and going to Eli, he
said, "Here I am. You called me." Then Eli understood that the LORD
was calling the youth. So he said to Samuel, "Go to sleep, and if you are
called, reply, Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening." When Samuel
went to sleep in his place, the LORD came and revealed his presence, calling out
as before, "Samuel, Samuel!" Samuel answered, "Speak, for your
servant is listening." Samuel grew up, and the LORD was with him, not
permitting any word of his to be without effect. This is the Word of the Lord.
L-Ewwel Lezzjoni
Qari mill-Ewwel Ktieb ta' Samwel 3,
3b-10, 19
F'dak iż-żmien, Samwel kien mimdud
fit-tempju tal-Mulej, fejn kien hemm l-arka ta' Alla. Il-Mulej sejjaħ: "Samwel!" U dan wieġeb: "Hawn jien!" U mar jiġri għand
Għeli u qallu: "Hawn jien,"
qallu, "għalfejn
sejjaħtli?" "Ma sejjahtlekx," wieġeb, "erġa' mur imtedd." U raġa'
mar jorqod. U ssokta l-Mulej isejjaħ:
"Samwel!" U Samwel qam
u mar għand Għeli u qallu: "Hawn Jien! Għalfejn sejjaħtli?"
"Ma sejjaħtlikx, ibni," wieġeb, "erġa' mur orqod." Samwel kien għadu ma għarafx il-Mulej, u
anqas kienet għadha ma ttgħarrfitlu l-kelma tal-Mulej. U ssokta l-Mulej
isejjaħ: "Samwel!" għat-tielet
darba. U dan qam, u mar għand Għeli, u qallu:
"Hawn jien! Għalfejn
sejjaħtli?" U Għeli fehem li
l-Mulej kien qiegħed isejjah iż-żgħażugħ. U qal lil Samwel: "Mur
orqod. Jekk jerġa' jsejjaħlek wieġeb:
Tkellem, Mulej, għax il-qaddej tiegħek qiegħed jisma'." U Samwel mar
jorqod f'postu. U l-Mulej ġie, waqaf ħdejh, u sejjaħ bħal drabi oħra:
"Samwel! Samwel!" U wieġeb Samwel: "Tkellem, għax il-qaddej tiegħek
qiegħed jisma'." Samwel kiber, u l-Mulej kien miegħu, u ma ħalla ebda
kelma milli qal tmur fix-xejn. Il-Kelma
tal-Mulej
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 40:2, 4, 7-8, 8-9, 10
R. (8a and 9a) Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.
I have waited, waited for the LORD,
and he stooped toward me and heard my cry.
And he put a new song into my mouth,
a hymn to our God. R
I have waited, waited for the LORD,
and he stooped toward me and heard my cry.
And he put a new song into my mouth,
a hymn to our God. R
Sacrifice or offering you wished not,
but ears open to obedience you gave me.
Holocausts or sin-offerings you sought not;
then said I, "Behold I come." R.
"In the written scroll it is prescribed for me,
to do your will, O my God, is my delight,
and your law is within my heart!" R.
I announced your justice in the vast assembly;
I did not restrain my lips, as you, O LORD, know. R.
Salm Responsorjali
Salm 39(40)
R/
Hawn jien, Mulej, ġej nagħmel ir-rieda tiegħek.
Ittamajt
b'tama qawwija fil-Mulej!
hu
niżel ħdejja u sama' l-għajta tiegħi.
Qegħedli
fuq fommi għanja ġdida,
għanja
ta' tifħir lil Alla tagħna. R/
Int
ma titgħaxxaqx b'sagrifiċċji u offerti;
imma
widnejja inti ftaħtli;
ma
tlabtnix vittmi tal-ħruq u tat-tpattiija.
Imbagħad
jien għedt: "Hawn jien, ġej!" R/
"Fil-bidu
tal-ktieb hemm miktub fuqi
li
nagħmel ir-rieda tiegħek.
Alla
tiegħi, dan jogħġboni;
il-liġi
tiegħek ġewwa qalbi." R/
Xandart
il-ġustizzja f'ġemgħa kbira;
Xufftejja
ma żammejthomx magħluqa.
Mulej,
dan inti tafu. R/
1 Corinthians 6:13c-15a, 17-20
Brothers and sisters: The body is not for immorality, but
for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body; God raised the Lord and will also
raise us by his power. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? But
whoever is joined to the Lord becomes one Spirit with him. Avoid immorality. Every
other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the immoral person sins against his
own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within
you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been
purchased at a price. Therefore glorify God in your body. This is the Word of the Lord.
It-Tieni Lezzjoni
Qari mill-Ewwel Ittra lill-Korintin 6, 13c-15a, 17-20
Qari mill-Ewwel Ittra lill-Korintin 6, 13c-15a, 17-20
Ħuti,
il-ġisem mħuwiex għaż-żina iżda għall-Mulej, u l-Mulej huwa għall-ġisem. U Alla qajjem il-Mulej u jqajjem lilna ukoll
bil-qawwa tiegħu. Ma tafux li l-iġsma tagħkom huma membri ta' Kristu? Min
jingħaqad mal-Mulej hu ruħ waħda miegħu. Aħarbu ż-żina! Kull dnub li wieħed jagħmel hu 'l barra minn minn
Bil-għoti
kontu mixtrija! Mela agħtu ġieħ lil Alla
permezz ta' ġisimkom. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej
Gospel
John 1:35-42
John was standing with two of his disciples, and as he
watched Jesus walk by, he said, "Behold, the Lamb of God." The two
disciples heard what he said and followed Jesus. Jesus turned and saw them
following him and said to them, "What are you looking for?" They said
to him, "Rabbi" - which translated means Teacher -, "where are
you staying?" He said to them, "Come, and you will see." So they
went and saw where Jesus was staying, and they stayed with him that day. It was
about four in the afternoon. Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, was one of the
two who heard John and followed Jesus. He first found his own brother Simon and
told him, "We have found the Messiah" - which is translated Christ
-.Then he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, "You are
Simon the son of John; you will be called Cephas" - which is translated
Peter. This is the Word of the Lord.
Evanġelju
Qari skont San Ġwann 1,
35-42
F'dak
iż-żmien, Ġwanni kien hemm ma' tnejn mid-dixxipli tiegħu. Ħares lejn Ġesu' li
kien għaddej minn
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The Cost of Our Discipleship
Commentary by Fr. Thomas
Rosica, CSB
Reflecting on Sunday's readings, especially the call
of Samuel and of Andrew and his brother, I remembered something that the German
Lutheran Pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote from his prison in Nazi Germany, that
"only by living unreservedly in this life's duties, problems, successes
and failures, experiences and perplexities ... does one become a man and a
Christian." Bonhoeffer experienced what he called so poignantly "the
cost of discipleship."
The Prophet Samuel and Andrew and Simon Peter
experienced this cost in their own lives. First let us consider the story of Samuel's
call -- a dramatic story exemplifying the dynamics of God's call, and offering
to us a model to follow in our own lives. Eli was old and nearly blind. His
sons, who were the priests of the temple, had been unfaithful to God. Their
time was nearing an end, so God called Samuel to begin a new era.
Samuel needed help in discerning his call, and Eli's
wisdom and friendship with the young man were necessary so that Samuel could
really hear the Lord's voice. Once Samuel recognized that it was truly the Lord
who was calling him, he became the great prophet who would discern God's will
regarding religious, social and political matters for the people.
In the Gospel story for the Second Sunday in Ordinary
Time, it is Jesus who takes the initiative or the first step. His question to
the disciples is intriguing: "What are you looking for?" (1:38). Far
from any simple interrogation, these words are deeply religious and theological
questions. "Why" Jesus asks, "are you turning to me for
answers?" They ask him, "Teacher, where do you live? Where do you
stay?" (verse 38). The verb "live," "stay,"
"remain," "abide," "dwell," "lodge,"
occurs 40 times in the Fourth Gospel. It is a verb that expresses concisely
John's theology of the indwelling presence.
The disciples are not only concerned about where
Jesus might sleep that night, but they are really asking where he has his life.
Jesus responds to them: "Come and see" (verse 39). Two loaded words
throughout John's Gospel -- to "come" to Jesus is used to describe
faith in him (cf John 5:40; 6:35. 37.45; 7:37). For John, to "see"
Jesus with real perception is to believe in him.
The disciples began their discipleship when they went
to see where he was staying and "they stayed on with him that day"
(John 1:39). They responded to his invitation to believe, discovered what his
life was like, and they "stayed on"; they began to live in him, and
he in them. After Andrew had grown in his knowledge of who Jesus was, he
"found his brother" Peter and "brought him to Jesus (verses
41,42). This whole experience will be fulfilled when the disciples see his
glory on the cross.
What can we learn from the call stories in Sunday's
readings? We are never called for our own sake, but for the sake of others. Israel
To be called does not require perfection on our
behalf, only fidelity and holy listening. Samuel and the prophets of Israel , the fishermen of Galilee
and even the tax collectors that Jesus called were certainly not called because
of their qualifications or achievements. Paul says that Jesus calls "the
foolish," so that the wise will be shamed. It is a dynamic call that
involves a total response on our part. We will never be the same because he has
called us, loved us, changed us and made us into his image. Because he has
called us, we have no choice but to call others to follow him.
How have you been called away from the routine of
your life, away from the frustrations of daily life and work? What new purpose
do you find emerging in your life because of the ways that God has called you?
Through whom have you encountered the call of the Lord in your life? Have you
called anyone to follow the Lord recently?
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