Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 68
It-Tielet
Ħadd taż-Żmien ta’ Matul is-Sena
Reading 1
JONAH
3:1-5, 10
The word of
the LORD came to Jonah, saying: "Set out for the great city of Nineveh Nineveh Nineveh
Qari I
Qari
mill-Ktieb tal-Profeta Ġona 3, 1-5.10
Il-kelma tal-Mulej waslet lil Ġona
u qallu: “Qum , mur f’Ninwè, il-belt il-kbira,
u xandrilha li ngħidlek jien”. U Ġona qam u mar f’Ninwè kif qallu l-Mulej. Issa
Ninwè kienet belt kbira għall-aħħar, trid tlitt ijiem biex timxiha. Ġona, kif
daħal il-belt, beda ġurnata mixi, ixandar u jgħid: “Erbgħin jum ieħor, u Ninwè
ssir ħerba!”. In-nies ta’ Ninwè emmnu
f’Alla, nedew sawma u libsu l-ixkejjer, mill-kbir saż-żgħir. U Alla ra
x’għamlu, kif reġgħu lura minn
Responsorial Psalm PSALM 25:4-5, 6-7, 8-9
Your ways,
O LORD, make known to me;
teach me
your paths,
Guide me in
your truth and teach me,
for you are
God my savior.
R. Teach me your ways, O Lord.
Remember
that your compassion, O LORD,
and your
love are from of old.
In your
kindness remember me,
because of
your goodness, O LORD.
R. Teach me your ways, O Lord.
Good and
upright is the LORD;
thus he
shows sinners the way.
He guides
the humble to justice
and teaches
the humble his way.
R. Teach me your ways, O Lord.
Salm Responsorjali
Salm 24 (25), 4bċ-5ab.6-7bċ.8-9
Triqatek,
Mulej, għarrafni,
il-mogħdijiet
tiegħek għallimni.
Mexxini
fis-sewwa tiegħek u għallimni,
għax
int Alla tas-salvazzjoni tiegħi.
R/. (4a): Triqatek, Mulej, għarrafni
Ftakar
fil-ħniena u t-tjieba tiegħek,
għax
huma minn
Inti
tajjeb, Mulej;
ftakar
fija skont it-tjieba tiegħek.
R/. (4a): Triqatek, Mulej,
għarrafni
Tajjeb
u sewwa l-Mulej;
għalhekk
juri triqtu lill-ħatja.
Imexxi
l-imsejkna fis-sewwa,
jgħallem
lill-fqajrin it-triq tiegħu.
R/. (4a): Triqatek, Mulej,
għarrafni
Reading 2 1
CORINTHIANS 7:29-31
I tell you,
brothers and sisters, the time is running out. From now on, let those having
wives act as not having them, those weeping as not weeping, those rejoicing as
not rejoicing, those buying as not owning, those using the world as not
using it fully. For the world in its present form is passing away.
Qari II
Qari
mill-Ewwel Ittra lill-Korintin 7, 29-31
Dan
ngħidilkom, ħuti: iż-żmien qsar. Ħa jkunu, mela, dawk li għandhom mara,
bħallikieku ma għandhomx; dawk li jibku, bħallikieku ma jibkux; dawk li
jifirħu, bħallikieku ma jifirħux; dawk li jixtru, bħallikieku ma għandhom xejn;
dawk li jgawdu d-dinja, bħallikieku ma jgawduhiex; għax is-sura ta’ din
id-dinja għad tgħaddi! Il-Kelma
tal-Mulej
Gospel MARK 1:14-20
After John
had been arrested, Jesus came to Galilee
proclaiming the gospel of God: "This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God Sea of Galilee ,
he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting their nets into the sea; they were
fishermen. Jesus said to them, "Come after me, and I will make you fishers
of men." Then they abandoned their
nets and followed him. He walked along a little farther and saw James, the son
of Zebedee, and his brother John. They too were in a boat mending their nets.
Then he called them. So they left their father Zebedee in the boat along with
the hired men and followed him.
Evanġelju
Qari
mill-Evanġelju skont San Mark 1,
14-20
Wara
li arrestaw lil Ġwanni, Ġesù mar il-Galilija jxandar l-Evanġelju ta’ Alla u
jgħid: “Iż-żmien huwa mitmum, u s-Saltna ta’ Alla waslet; indmu u emmnu
fl-Evanġelju”. Waqt li kien għaddej ma’ xatt il-baħar tal-Galilija, lemaħ lil
Xmun u ’l ħuh Indrì qegħdin ikalaw ix-xbiek fil-baħar, għax kienu sajjieda. U
Ġesù qalilhom: “Ejjew warajja, u nagħmel minnkom sajjieda tal-bnedmin”. U
minnufih telqu x-xbiek, u marru warajh. Wara li mexa ftit ieħor ra lil Ġakbu
ta’ Żebedew u lil ħuh Ġwanni fid-dgħajsa qegħdin isewwu x-xbiek, u minnufih
sejħilhom. U huma telqu lil missierhom Żebedew fid-dgħajsa mal-lavranti, u
marru warajh. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej
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The Big Fish, the Great Catch, the Ultimate Commission
Commentary by Fr Thomas Rosica
Those with literal minds
will question many things about the Jonah story [Jonah 3:1-5, 10]: the great
fish, the size and population of this immense city, and the conversion of the
Assyrians.
On the other hand, those who
really listen to and view this story with ears and eyes of faith will take all
of these other factors in stride. What is essential is not the size of God's
sea monsters, nor the distances to be covered within cities, nor the large
numbers of those converted.
For people of faith, the
rather amazing Jonah story contains a far greater message: Because the people
of Nineveh
It is no wonder, then, that
Christianity saw Jonah as a positive figure prefiguring Christ and his
universal Gospel message. Through Christ, God approaches his world in a new,
decisive way in order to fulfill all the expectations and hopes of the Old
Testament.
Jesus to the city
When the disciples in Sunday's
Gospel [Mark 1:14-20] leave their nets and present occupations in order to
submit to God's Kingdom, they model what this turning from and turning toward
means. How can we bring the Good News of God and of Jesus to our cities that
are often so vast, so impersonal, so busy and filled with noise?
At times do we not often run
the other way to the lake and wait for some speedboat or cruise ship to pick us
up and take us to a quiet, peaceful place that is much less complicated and
less hostile to our message? How can we Christians be the souls of our cities?
We begin by celebrating the
Eucharist with devotion and love. We must pray incessantly. We continue to do
many hidden, quiet sacrifices each day of our lives with love, peace and joy.
We take our baptism seriously and activate the Beatitudes in daily living. We
must never give up in living God's Word and preaching it to others in words and
deeds.
The Zeal of St.
Paul
This great Apostle to the
Gentiles causes every Catholic hold up a mirror to his or her life and to ask,
“Am I as determined and as energetic about spreading the Catholic faith as St. Paul
Our Catholic faith only
grows when we consciously and conscientiously share it with others. Christ will
look at each one of us with his merciful eyes at our individual judgment and
ask what efforts we made during the course of our lifetime to invite people
into communion with Jesus Christ and his Church. In the end, the Lord will ask
us: “Did you love me? To whom did you preach the Good News? How many people did
you bring with you?”
The Ultimate Commission
What does Jesus Christ
demand of us today? Repentance, conversion, a turning away from our own ideas
about how God's Kingdom should operate and a turning toward belief in Christ's
teaching and example about God's Kingdom that is among us here and now. Our
ultimate commission is to preach the word of God in season and out of season.
May the fire that the Holy
Spirit poured into the heart of St. Paul of Tarsus, inflame our hearts to be
vibrant and effective missionaries of the New Evangelization. May it strengthen
us never to give up, especially when it seems like no one is listening any
more. For it is precisely at such moments that the Lord will say again to us:
"Do not be afraid, but speak and do not be silent; for I am with you, and
no one will lay a hand on you to harm you, for there are many in this city who
are my people."
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