Second Sunday of Lent
Lectionary: 26
It-Tieni
Ħadd tar-Randan
God put Abraham to the test. He
called to him, "Abraham!" "Here I am!" he replied. Then God said: "Take your son Isaac, your only one, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah
Qari I mill-Ktieb
tal-Ġenesi 22,
1-2.9a.10-13.15-18
F’dak iż-żmien, Alla ried iġarrab lil Abraham u qallu: “Abraham!”. U hu wieġbu: “Hawn jien!” U qallu: “Aqbad lil ibnek il-waħdieni,
li inti tħobb, lil Iżakk; u mur lejn l-art ta’ Morija, u hemm offrih b’sagrifiċċju
tal-ħruq fuq waħda mill-għoljiet li jien se ngħidlek”. U waslu fil-post li kien
semmielu Alla. U Abraham medd idu u qabad is-sikkina biex joqtol lil ibnu. U
sejjaħlu l-anġlu tal-Mulej mis-smewwiet u qallu: “Abraham, Abraham!” U dan
wieġbu: “Hawn jien”. U qallu:“La tmiddx idek fuq
iż-żagħżugħ u tagħmillu ebda ħsara; għax issa naf li inti tibża’ minn Alla, u ma ċaħħadtnix minn minn minn
Responsorial Psalm
PSalm
116:10, 15, 16-17, 18-19
I believed, even when I said,
"I am greatly afflicted."
Precious in the eyes of the LORD
is the death of his faithful ones.
R. I will walk before the Lord, in the land of the living.
"I am greatly afflicted."
Precious in the eyes of the LORD
is the death of his faithful ones.
R. I will walk before the Lord, in the land of the living.
O LORD, I am your servant;
I am your servant, the son of your handmaid;
you have loosed my bonds.
To you will I offer sacrifice of thanksgiving,
and I will call upon the name of the LORD.
R. I will walk before the Lord, in the land of the living.
My vows to the LORD I will pay
in the presence of all his people,
In the courts of the house of the LORD,
in your midst, O Jerusalem.
R. I will walk before the Lord, in the land of the living.
Salm Responsorjali Salm 115 (116), 10.15-19
R/. (9): Jien
nimxi quddiem il-Mulej f’art il-ħajjin
Bqajt nemmen, imqar meta għedt:
“Jien imdejjaq ħafna!”
Għażiża f’għajnejn il-Mulej
hi l-mewt tal-ħbieb tiegħu. R/.
Iva, Mulej, jien qaddej tiegħek,
jien qaddej tiegħek, bin il-qaddejja tiegħek.
Int ħallejtli l-irbit tiegħi.
Lilek noffri sagrifiċċju ta’ radd il-ħajr,
u isem il-Mulej insejjaħ. R/.
Intemm lill-Mulej il-wegħdiet tiegħi,
quddiem il-poplu tiegħu kollu,
fil-btieħi ta’ dar il-Mulej,
ġo nofsok, Ġerusalemm! R/.
Reading 2 ROMans 8:31B-34
Brothers and sisters: If God is for
us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but handed him over for us all, how will he not also give us
everything else along with him? Who will bring a charge against God's chosen
ones? It is God who acquits us, who will condemn? Christ Jesus it is who
died—or, rather, was raised— who also is at the right hand of God, who
indeed intercedes for us. This is the Word of the Lord.
Qari II
mill-Ittra lir-Rumani 8, 31b-34
Ħuti,
jekk Alla hu magħna min jista’ jkun kontra tagħna? Hu, li lanqas lil Ibnu stess
ma ħafirha, imma tah għalina lkoll, kif ma jagħtiniex ukoll kollox miegħu? Min
se jakkuża l-magħżulin ta’ Alla? Alla stess hu dak li jiġġustifikahom. Min se
jikkundannahom? Kristu Ġesù li miet, jew aħjar, li qam mill-imwiet, jinsab fuq
il-lemin ta’ Alla, hu li jidħol għalina.
Il-Kelma tal-Mulej
Gospel MarK 9:2-10
Jesus took Peter, James, and John and led them up a high mountain apart
by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no fuller on earth could
bleach them. Then Elijah appeared to them along with Moses, and they were conversing with Jesus. Then
Peter said to Jesus in reply, "Rabbi, it is good that we are here! Let us make three tents: one for you, one for Moses, and one
for Elijah." He hardly knew what to say, they were so terrified. Then a
cloud came, casting a shadow over them;
from the cloud came a voice, "This
is my beloved Son. Listen to him." Suddenly, looking around, they no
longer saw anyone but Jesus alone with them. As they were coming down from the
mountain, he charged them not to relate what they had seen to anyone, except
when the Son of Man had risen from the dead. So they kept the matter to
themselves, questioning what
rising from the dead meant. This is the Word of the Lord.
Evanġelju Qari
skont Mark 9, 2-10
F’dak iż-żmien, Ġesù ħa miegħu lil Pietru u lil Ġakbu u lil
Ġwanni, tellagħhom weħidhom fuq muntanja għolja, u tbiddel quddiemhom.
Ilbiesu sar abjad u jgħammex b’dija tal-għaġeb: ebda ħassiel fid-dinja ma
jista’ jġib il-ħwejjeġ bojod daqshekk. U dehrilhom Elija ma’ Mosè, jitkellmu
ma’ Ġesù. Qabad Pietru u qal lil Ġesù: “Mgħallem, kemm hu sew li aħna hawn! Ħa
ntellgħu tliet tined, waħda għalik, waħda għal Mosè, u waħda għal Elija”. Dan
qalu għax ma kienx jaf x’jaqbad jgħid bil-biża’ kbir li waqa’ fuqhom. Imbagħad
ġiet sħaba u għattiethom, u minn minn
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Moriah, Tabor,
Calvary: Darkness can be Radiant
A commentary by Fr.
Thomas Rosica, CSB
Moriah. Sinai. Nebo. Carmel Zion Mount of Olives .
Calvary . Golgotha .
Mountains are often used in the Bible as the stages of important encounters
between God and his people. Though we may have never visited the lands of the
Bible, we are all familiar with these biblical mountains and the great events
of our salvation history that took place there.
Sunday's Old Testament and Gospel reading take place on two important
biblical mountains-- Mount Moriah and Mount
Tabor
How many pagan voices were assailing Abraham at this moment? What would
a contemporary father do if he were to be called on to sacrifice his only son
to God? He would be thought mad if he even considered it -- and unfaithful to
God as well. What a poignant story indeed! "Take your son, your only son
Isaac whom you love ... and offer him as a burnt offering. ... So Abraham rose
early in the morning." Because Abraham listened to the Lord's messenger,
his only son's life was spared. The binding of Isaac, then, is a symbol of
life, not death, for Abraham is forbidden to sacrifice his son.
What happens on Mount Moriah finds an echo in what happens atop Mount Tabor
and Mount Calvary
in the New Testament: The mounts Moriah, Tabor and Calvary
are significant places of vision in the Bible. For on these peaks, we see a God
who never abandons us in our deepest despair, terror and death. God is with us
through thick and thin, through day and night.
These mountains teach us that it is only when we are willing to let go
of what we love most and cherish most in this life, to offer it back to God,
the giver of all good gifts, that we can ever hope to receive it back in ways
we never dreamed of or imagined. Only then will we experience resurrection,
healing, consoling light and new life.
We can only speculate on what lies behind the story of the
Transfiguration -- one of the Gospel's most mysterious and awesome visions
(Mark 9:2-8; Matthew 17:1-8; Luke 9:28-36). Peter, James and John had an
overwhelming experience with the Lord on Mount Tabor Golgotha , the glorious rays of the Transfiguration burst
forth. Before their eyes, the Jesus they had known and with whom they walked
became transfigured. His countenance was radiant; his garments streaming with
white light. At his side, enveloped in glory, stood Moses, the mighty
liberator, who had led Israel
out of slavery, and Elijah, the greatest of Israel
Jesus needed the light and affirmation of the mountaintop experience in
his own life. In the midst of his passion predictions, he needed Mount Tabor ,
to strengthen him as he descended into the Jordan
Valley and made his way up to Jerusalem
And yet Mark's story of Jesus transfigured reminds us that gazing in
contemplation is not enough. The disciples are told to listen to Jesus, the
Beloved of God, and then return to their daily routine down in the valley.
The awesome Gospel story of the Transfiguration gives us an opportunity
to look at some of our own mountaintop experiences. How have such experiences
shed light on the shadows and darkness of life? What would our lives be without
some of these peak experiences? How often do we turn to those few but
significant experiences for strength, courage and perspective? How has the
mountaintop experience enabled us to listen more attentively to God's voice --
a voice calling us to fidelity and authenticity in our belief? When we're down
in the valley we often can't see Christ's glory.
The most consoling message of the Transfiguration is perhaps for those
who suffer, and those who witness the deformation of their own bodies and the
bodies of their loved ones. Even Jesus will be disfigured in the passion, but
will rise with a glorious body with which he will live for eternity and, faith
tells us, with which he will meet us after death.
So many voices assail us that we find it difficult to listen to God's
voice. Before light envelops us, we need to go through darkness. Before the
heavens open up, we need to go through the mud and dirt. We must experience
both mountains -- Tabor and Golgotha -- in
order to see the glory of God. The Transfiguration teaches us that God's
brilliant life included death, and there is no way around it -- only through
it.
It also reminds us
that the terrifying darkness can be radiant and dazzling. During moments of
transfiguration, God penetrates the hardened, incredulous, even disquieting
regions within us, about which we really do not know what to do, and he leaves
upon them the imprint of his own face, in all its radiant and dazzling glory
and beauty.
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