Love: The Christian way of living.

The 31^st Sunday during Year B

         

Il-31 Ħadd ta' Matul is-Sena  -  Sena 'B'   

Messalin 'B' pp 503

Reading 1 

Deuteronomy 6:2-6

Moses spoke to the people, saying: "Fear the LORD, your God, and keep, throughout the days of your lives, all his statutes and commandments which I enjoin on you, and thus have long life. Hear then, Israel, and be careful to observe them, that you may grow and prosper the more, in keeping with the promise of the LORD, the God of your fathers, to give you a land flowing with milk and honey. "Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone! Therefore, you shall love the LORD, your God, with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength. Take to heart these words which I enjoin on you today." This is the Word of the Lord.

L-Ewwel Lezzjoni

Qari mill-Ktieb tad-Dewteronomju  6, 2-6

Mose' kellem lill-poplu u qal:   "Ibża' millMulej, Alla tiegħek, billi int, ibnek u bin ibnek, tħarsu dejjem il-liġijiet u l-kmandamenti kollha tiegħu, li jien qiegħed nagħtik, biex ikollok għomor twil. Isma',  o  Iżrael,  u ħu ħsieb agħmilhom, biex ikollok il-ġid u toktor ħafna, bħalma wiegħed il-Mulej, Alla ta' misssierijietkom,  li jagħtik art tnixxi ħalib u għasel. Isma', o Iżrael:  Alla tagħna l-Mulej, il-Mulej waħdu. Ħo, mela, lill-Mulej, Alla tiegħek, b'qalbek kollha u b'saħhtek kollha.   Żomm f'qalbek dan il-kliem u dawn il-kmandamenti li qiegħed  nagħtik illum." Il-Kelma tal-Mulej.

Responsorial Psalm          

PSALM 18:2-3, 3-4, 47, 51

R. (2) I love you, Lord, my strength.
I love you, O LORD, my strength,
O LORD, my rock, my fortress, my deliverer.        R/

My God, my rock of refuge,
my shield, the horn of my salvation, my stronghold!
Praised be the LORD, I exclaim,
and I am safe from my enemies.                       R/

The LORD lives! And blessed be my rock!
Extolled be God my savior.
You who gave great victories to your king
and showed kindness to your anointed.                R/

Salm Responsorjali                                                                

Salm 17

          R/    Inħobbok, Mulej, qawwa tiegħi!

Inħobbok, Mulej, qawwa tiegħi!

Il-Mulej blata tiegħi,

fortizza u ħellies tiegħi!                            R/

Alla tiegħi, sur tal-kenn tiegħi u tarka tiegħi,

qawwa tas-salvazzjoni tiegħi, u kenn tiegħi!

Insejjaħ il-Mulej, li hu ta' min ifaħhru,

u nkun meħlus mill-għedewwa tiegħi.          R/

Ħaj il-Mulej!   Imbierek hu, il-blata tiegħi!

Ikun imfahhar Alla tas-salvazzjoni tiegħi!

Hu jkabbar ir-rebħ lis-sultan tiegħu,

juri mħabbtu mal-midluk tiegħu.                R/

Reading 2                

Hebrews 7:23-28

Brothers and sisters: The levitical priests were many because they were prevented by death from remaining in office, but Jesus, because he remains forever, has a priesthood that does not pass away. Therefore, he is always able to save those who approach God through him, since he lives forever to make intercession for them. It was fitting that we should have such a high priest: holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners, higher than the heavens. He has no need, as did the high priests, to offer sacrifice day after day, first for his own sins and then for those of the people; he did that once for all when he offered himself. For the law appoints men subject to weakness to be high priests, but the word of the oath, which was taken after the law,  appoints a son, who has been made perfect forever. This is the Word of the Lord.

It-Tieni Lezzjoni

Qari mill-Ittra lill-Lhud 7, 23-28

Ħuti, dawk tal-imgħoddi kien  u jsiru qassisin f'għadd kbir, għax minħabba fil-mewt ma kinux jistgħu jibqgħu għal dejjem.Imma Ġesu', billi jibqa' għal dejjem, għandu saċerdożju li ma jintemm qatt.   Għalhekk ukoll huwa jista' jsalva għalkollox  'il dawk li bih jersqu lejn Alla, ladarba hu jibqa' għal dejjem  ħaj biex jidħol għalihom. Dan hu, tabilħaqq, il-qassis il-kbiri li kien jgħodd għalina: qaddis, innoċenti, safi, maqtugħ mill-midinbin, merfugħ 'il fuq  mis-smewwiet; li ma għandux  bżonn, bħall-qassisin il-kbar l-oħra, joffri kuljum is-sagrifiċċju, l-ewwel għad-dnubiet tiegħu stess, imbagħad għad-dnubiet tal-poplu.   Dan hu għamlu darba għal dejjem, meta offra lilu nnifsu.Għax il-Liġi tqiegħed bħala qassisin il-kbar bnedmin li huma dgħajfa; iżda l-kelma tal-ġurament, li ġiet wara  il-Liġi, tqiegħed Iben, li ġie magħmul perfett għal-dejjem.  Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

Gospel             

Mark 12:28b-34

One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him, "Which is the first of all the commandments?" Jesus replied, "The first is this: Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these." The scribe said to him, "Well said, teacher. You are right in saying, 'He is One and there is no other than he.' And 'to love him with all your heart, with all your understanding, with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself' is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices." And when Jesus saw that he answered with understanding, he said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." And no one dared to ask him any more questions. This is the Word of the Lord.

Evangelju

Qari skont San Mark 12,  28b-34

F'dak iż-żmien, wieħed mill-kittieba resaq fuq Ġesu' u staqsieħ: "Liema wieħed fost il-kmandamenti kollha huwa l-ewwel?" Ġesu' wieġbu:  "L-ewwel wieħed huwa dan:  Isma' Iżrael!  Il-Mulej, Alla tagħna, Mulej wieħedhu, u int għandek tħobb lill-Mulej, Alla tiegħek, b'qalbek kollha, b'ruħek kollha, b'moħħom kollu, u bil-qawwa tiegħek kollha.   U t-tieni hu dan:  "Ħobb lil għajrek bħalek innifsek.  Ma hemmx kmandament ieħor akbar minn dawn." Qallu l-kittieb;   "Sewwa qiegħed tgħid,  Mgħallem; għandek raġun tgħid li wieħed hemm, u li ma  hemmx ieħor ħliefu.  Iva, li tħobb lilu b'qalbek kollha, b'moħħok kollu, u bil-qawwa tiegħek kollha, u li tħobb lil għajrek bħalek innifsek, huwa aqwa minn kull sagrifiċċju tal-ħruq u mis-sagrifiċċji kollha." Ġesu', meta rah kemm kien wieġeb bil-għaqal, qallu: "M'intix 'il bogħod mis-Saltna ta' Alla. U ħadd ma kellu l-ħila jistaqsih iżjed.   Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

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Our Priorities

Here is a translation of a commentary by the Pontifical Household preacher, Capuchin Fr Raniero Cantalamessa, on the readings from this Sunday’s liturgy.

One day one of the scribes came to Jesus asking him which was the first commandment of the law and Jesus answered, citing the words of the law: “Hear, O Israel, the Lord your God is one God. And you shall love the Lord your God, with your whole heart, and with your whole soul, and with your whole mind, and with your whole strength.” But Jesus immediately added that there is a second commandment similar to this, and it is to “love your neighbour as yourself.”

If we are to understand the meaning of the scribe’s question and Jesus’ response, we need to bear in mind the following. In the Judaism of Jesus’ time there were two opposite tendencies.

On the one hand there was a tendency to endlessly multiply the commandments and precepts of the law, creating norms and obligations for every minimal detail of life. On the other hand there was the desire to look underneath this suffocating congeries of norms to find those things that really count for God, the spirit of all the commandments.

The scribe’s question and Jesus’ response are situated in this approach to the essentials of the law, in this desire not to get lost in the thousand other secondary precepts. It is precisely this lesson about method that above all we must learn from today’s gospel. There are things in life that are important but not urgent (in the sense that nothing will happen if we let them slide); and vice versa, there are things that are urgent but not important. The danger is that we will systematically sacrifice the important things to pursue those that are urgent but often secondary.

How do we avoid this danger? A story will help us understand how. One day an old professor was asked to speak as an expert to some large North American corporations on personal time management. He decided to try an experiment. Standing before a group ready to take notes, he pulled out from under the table a large, empty glass vase. He placed a dozen tennis-ball-size rocks in the vase until it was full. When he was not able to add more rocks he asked those present: “Does the vase seem full to you?” and they all answered “Yes!” He waited a moment and then asked: “Are you sure?”

He again bent down and pulled a box full of pebbles from under the table and carefully poured the pebbles into the vase, moving the vase a little so that the pebbles could reach the rocks at the very bottom. He asked: “Is the vase full this time?”

His audience, having become more prudent, began to understand and said: “Perhaps not yet.” “Very good!” the old professor replied. Again he bent down and this time picked up a bag of sand and poured it into the vase with care. The sand filled all the spaces between the rocks and the pebbles.

He then asked again: “Is the vase full now?” And they all answered without hesitation: “No!” “Indeed,” the old professor said and, as they expected, took the pitcher of water from the table and poured it into the vase up to the brim.

At this point he looked up at his audience and asked: “What great truth does this experiment show us?” The bravest of the group, reflecting on the theme of the course — time management — replied: “This shows us that even when our schedule is full, with a little effort we can always add some other task, some other thing to do.”

“No,” the professor answered, “It’s not that. The experiment shows us something else. If you don’t put the big rocks in the vase first, then you will never be able to put them in afterward.”

There was a moment of silence and everyone took in the evidence for this affirmation.

The professor continued: “What are the big rocks, the priorities, in your life? Health? Family? Friends? Defending a cause? Accomplishing something that is close to your heart?

“The important thing is to put these big rocks on your agenda first. If you give priority to a thousand other little things — the pebbles, the sand — your life will be filled with meaninglessness and you will never find time to dedicate yourself to the truly important things.

“So, never forget to pose this question to yourself: ‘What are the important things in my life?’ Put these things at the head of your agenda.”

Then, with a friendly gesture the old professor bid farewell to his audience and left the room.

To the “big rocks” mentioned by the professor — health, family, friends — we need to add two others, which are the biggest of all, the two greatest commandments: love God and your neighbor.

Truly, loving God, more than a commandment, is a privilege, a concession. If one day we find him, we will not cease to thank God for commanding us to love him and we will not desire to do anything else but cultivate this love.

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