Twenty-sixth
Sunday in Ordinary Time
Is-26 Ħadd
matul is-Sena
Messalin B p 475
Numbers 11:25-29
The LORD
came down in the cloud and spoke to Moses. Taking some of the spirit that was
on Moses, the LORD bestowed it on the seventy elders; and as the spirit came to
rest on them, they prophesied. Now two men, one named Eldad and the other
Medad, were not in the gathering but had been left in the camp. They too had
been on the list, but had not gone out to the tent; yet the spirit came to rest
on them also, and they prophesied in the camp. So, when a young man quickly
told Moses, "Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp, " Joshua,
son of Nun, who from his youth had been Moses?aide, said, "Moses, my lord,
stop them." But Moses answered him, "Are you jealous for my sake? Would
that all the people of the LORD were prophets! Would that the LORD might bestow
his spirit on them all!" This is the
Word of the Lord.
L-Ewwel Qari
Qari
mill-Ktieb tan-Numri 11, 25-29
F'dak
iż-żmien, Il-Mulej niżel fi sħaba minn
Responsorial Psalm
PSALM 19:8, 10,
12-13, 14
R. (9a) The precepts of the Lord give joy to the heart.
The law of
the LORD is perfect,
refreshing the soul;
the decree of the LORD is trustworthy,
giving wisdom to the simple. R/
refreshing the soul;
the decree of the LORD is trustworthy,
giving wisdom to the simple. R/
The fear of
the LORD is pure,
enduring forever;
the ordinances of the LORD are true,
all of them just. R/
enduring forever;
the ordinances of the LORD are true,
all of them just. R/
Though your
servant is careful of them,
very diligent in keeping them,
Yet who can detect failings?
Cleanse me from my unknown faults! R/
very diligent in keeping them,
Yet who can detect failings?
Cleanse me from my unknown faults! R/
From wanton sin especially, restrain your servant;
let it not rule over me.
Then shall I be blameless and innocent
of serious sin. R/
Salm Responsorjali
(Salm 18 (19)
R/ Il-preċetti
tal-Mulej dritti, u jiferrħu l-qalb.
Il-liġi tal-Mulej
perfetta,
u tagħti l-ħajja;
ix-xhieda tal-Mulej hi sewwa,
u tgħallem lil min ma jafx. R/
Il-biża' tal-Mulej sinċier,
u jibqa' għal dejjem;
il-ġudizzji tal-Mulej sewwa,
u mseddqa għalkollox. R/
Fehemhom sewwa l-qaddej tiegħek;
ħlas tajjeb għandu min iħarishom.
In-nuqqas min
jista' jagħrfu?
Mill-kburija wkoll ħares il-qaddej tiegħek,
tħalliha qatt
taħkimni.
Imbagħad inkun bla ħtija
u ħieles minn
James 5:1-6
Come now,
you rich, weep and wail over your
impending miseries. Your wealth has rotted away, your clothes have become moth-eaten, your gold and silver have
corroded, and that corrosion will be a testimony against you; it will devour
your flesh like a fire. You have stored up treasure for the last days. Behold,
the wages you withheld from the workers who harvested your fields are crying
aloud; and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of
hosts. You have lived on earth in luxury and pleasure; you have fattened your
hearts for the day of slaughter. You
have condemned; you have murdered the righteous one; he offers
It-Tieni Qari
Qari
mill-Ittra ta' San Ġakbu 5, 1-6
Ejjew issa,
intom il-għonja, ibku u ixhru fuq l-għawġ li ġej fuqkom! Ġidkom tħassar, ħwejjiġkom kilithom il-kamla. Id-deheb u l-fidda tagħkom rabbew is-sadid, u
s-sadid tagħkom għad jixhed kontra tagħkom u jiklilkom ġisimkom bħal nar.
Ħżintu l-ġid fl-aħħar jiem! Ara, il-ħlas
tal-ħaddiema li ħasdu l-għelieqi tagħkom –
ħlas li intom żammejtuhulhom bil-qerq –qiegħed jgħajjat kontra tagħkom, u l-biki ta' dawk li ħasdu wasal f'widnejn il-Mulej
tal-eżerċti. Fuq l-art għextu fix-xalar u l-lussu;qgħadtu tissemmnu għall-jum
tal-qatla. Intom ikkundannajtu l-ġust, qtitluh għax ma jistax jiqfilkom! Il-Kelma tal-Mulej
you no
resistance. This is the Word of the Lord.
Gospel
Mark 9:38-43, 45,
47-48
At that
time, John said to Jesus, "Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name, and we tried to prevent
him because he does not follow us."
Jesus replied, "Do not prevent him. There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my name who can at the same
time speak ill of me. For whoever is not against us is for us. Anyone who gives
you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ, amen, I say to you,
will surely not lose his reward. "Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better
for him if a great millstone were put around his neck and he were thrown into
the sea. If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to
enter into life maimed than with two hands to go to hell, into the unquenchable fire. And if your
foot causes you to sin, cut if off. It is better for you to enter into life
crippled than with two feet to be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you
to sin, pluck it out. Better for you to enter into the
Qari
skont San Mark.9, 38-43. 45. 47-48
F'dak iż-żmien, Ġwanni qal lil Ġesu': "Mgħallem, wieħed
raġel, li soltu ma jkunx magħna, rajnieh
ikeċċi x-xjaten f'ismek u ridna nżommuh,
għax hu mhuxiex wieħed minn minn
dawn iċ-ċkejknin li jemmnu fija, ikun jaqbillu jekk jorbtulu ma' għonqu
ġebla tat-tħin minn
A reflection by Fr. Thomas Rosica, CSB
The severe denunciation of the unjust rich in Sunday's second reading
from the Letter of James (5:1-6) is reminiscent of the Old Testament prophets
(e.g., Amos 8:4-8). It is not intended to influence the rich to whom it is
rhetorically addressed, but is rather a salutary warning to the faithful of the
terrible fate of those who abuse riches and perhaps also a consolation to those
now oppressed by the rich (James 2:5-7). The identical mode of introduction in
5:1-6 and 4:13-17 and the use of direct address throughout indicate the
parallelism of the two sections. However, the present passage is harsher in
tone and does not seem to allow the chance for repentance. In 5:2-3, the
perfect tense of the verbs used (rotted, moth-eaten, rusted) probably indicate
the present worthlessness of wealth. Furthermore, although silver and gold do
not actually rust (verse 3), the expression used for them indicates their basic
worthlessness.
This reading from James does not parallel the other two readings,
especially in the matter of spiritual gifts manifesting themselves outside the
immediate circle of Jesus' disciples. Nevertheless it offers hard words against
the wealthy who abused their workers and withheld wages and insight into abuse
of power. James is speaking explicitly of the secular realm of employment,
salaries and just recompense for work. The author of James maintains that the
rich have mistreated their employees. Since they withheld the wages that were due,
their silver and gold will corrode and their garments will fall prey to
ravaging moths. The wealthy have not realized that God is the God of the poor,
and intercedes on their behalf.
Problems in Mark's Church community
Today's Gospel passage (Mark 9:38-43, 45, 47-48) is rather loosely put
together and seems to reflect the problems of Mark's Church community. First
there is the exchange between John and Jesus about the foreign exorcist (9:38),
followed by Jesus' rejection of the elitism of the disciples (verses 39-40). In
the second part (verse 41), anyone who gives the disciple a drink will belong
to Christ; in the third part (verse 42), Jesus holds up the little ones as
totally dependent on God, whom no one may lead astray.
There is a certain irony about Jesus' explanation of the disciples'
action in trying to stop the foreign exorcist. In 9:14-29, the disciples,
themselves, fail to exorcise an unclean spirit from a young boy and are sharply
rebuked by Jesus. Now they want to restrain a successful exorcist simply
because he is not part of their own group. The issue is clearly not whether the
exorcist is acting in the name and power of Jesus, but whether he is part of
their own chosen establishment. The exclusivist attitudes of the disciples are
exposed for all to see. The success of the foreign exorcist is a threat to the
status of the "official" disciples! Jesus answers with an inclusive
word, and yet one that realistically recognizes the problem of unauthorized
ministries (9:39). The disciples need to nurture the gifts of generosity and
graciousness.
The need for self-criticism
In the second half of the passage, we find a miscellaneous collection of
sayings that call for a stance of self-criticism. The disciples are directed to
reflect on their own style of life and ministry. Do any of their words or
actions serve as stumbling blocks for the children of the Church? Mark uses
words of Jesus against scandal and the misuse of one's hands, eyes and feet.
Jesus does not mandate mutilation. He has a typically Semitic way of speaking
-- graphic, vivid, even exaggerated. Nothing, no one comes before Christ.
Jesus' command to "cut it off" is not mutilation, but rather an
invitation to liberation. It liberates us to love without reservation, not trapped
in the self-love where everything and perhaps everyone, even God, himself, must
revolve around me. The fascinating paradox of this story is this: The more we
focus on the God who lives in us, on the people God cherishes in a special way
because they are more needy, and on the earth that God saw as being "very
good" (Genesis 1:31), the richer will be our delight in ourselves. Human
life is a matter of relationships: with God, with people, with earth.
Despite its disjointedness, today's Gospel passage provides a strong
antidote to the ever-present temptation to overestimate one's own position as
the chosen of God. Human nature tends to be judgmental. Sometimes our
inclination to judge results in elitism, concluding that others are not worthy
of our company. We make difficulties, not thinking of others but blindly
plunging ahead with feet, hands and eyes. We ignore God's consecration of our
hands to work, of our eyes to perceive, and of our feet to walk God's special
ways. We reject others as outsiders, foreign to our own ranks and status in
life. Instead of questioning the validity of other active, and perhaps
successful groups, we are reminded in graphic fashion of the importance of
self-criticism and humility.
A final thought on humility
Jesus said, "Learn of me, because I am meek, and humble of heart:
and you shall find rest to your souls" (Matthew 11:29). Most of the saints
prayed for and manifested humility in their lives. Many of us live in societies
and cultures that value self-promotion of worth, assertiveness,
competitiveness, communicating our accomplishments if we wish to get anywhere
and make a difference.
The virtue of humility is a quality by which a person considering his or
her own defects has a lowly opinion of himself and willingly submits himself or
herself to God and to others for God's sake. How can we strike a balance
between being humble and meek, and assertive enough to succeed in the world
today? Or do we need to sacrifice one for the other? In living just and upright
lives, we can do a good job as a humble leader, but that is different from been
able to succeed and being placed in greater positions of responsibility.
