ENCOUNTERING JESUS

« Sunday, April 7, 2019

Fifth Sunday of Lent – Year C Readings

Lectionary: 36

Il-Ħames Ħadd tar-Randan

Reading 1   A Readings from ISAIAH 43:16-21

Thus says the LORD, who opens a way in the sea and a path in the mighty waters, who leads out chariots and horsemen, a powerful army, till they lie prostrate together, never to rise, snuffed out and quenched like a wick. Remember not the events of the past, the things of long ago consider not; see, I am doing something new! Now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?In the desert I make a way, in the wasteland, rivers. Wild beasts honour me, jackals and ostriches, for I put water in the desert and rivers in the wasteland for my chosen people to drink, the people whom I formed for myself, that they might announce my praise.

QARI I         mill-Ktieb tal-Profeta Isaija 43, 16-21

Dan jgħid il-Mulej, li fetaħ triq fil-baħar,  mogħdija fl-ilmijiet qawwija; dak li ħareġ karrijiet u żwiemel,  eżerċti u rġiel qalbiena f’daqqa; inxteħtu fl-art, biex aktar ma qamux; inħlew bħal ftila, u ntfew: “La tiftakrux iżjed fi ġrajjiet l-imgħoddi; la taħsbux fuq dak li ġara qabel. Arawni, sejjer nagħmel ħaġa ġdida: feġġet issa; għadkom ma ttendejtux? Se niftaħ triq fix-xagħri, xmajjar fid-deżert. Ifaħħruni l-bhejjem selvaġġi, ix-xakalli u wlied in-ngħam, għax noħroġ l-ilma fix-xagħri,

xmajjar fid-deżert,  biex nisqi l-poplu tiegħi,  il-maħtur tiegħi, il-poplu li sawwart għalija, biex ixandar it-tifħir tiegħi”. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej  

Responsorial Psalm        PSALM 126:1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 6.

When the LORD brought back the captives of Zion, 

we were like men dreaming.  

Then our mouth was filled with laughter, 

and our tongue with rejoicing.

R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.

Then they said among the nations,

“The LORD has done great things for them.”

The LORD has done great things for us;

we are glad indeed.

R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.

Restore our fortunes, O LORD,

like the torrents in the southern desert.

Those that sow in tears

shall reap rejoicing.

R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.

Although they go forth weeping,

carrying the seed to be sown,

They shall come back rejoicing,

carrying their sheaves.

R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.

Salm Responsorjali       Salm 125 (126), 1-2ab. 2ċd-3.4-5.6

R/. (3): Kbir f’għemilu l-Mulej magħna!

Meta l-Mulej reġġa’ lura l-imjassra ta’ Sijon,

konna qisna mitlufa f’ħolma;

imbagħad bid-daħk imtela fommna,

u bl-għajjat ta’ ferħ ilsienna. R/.

Imbagħad bdew jgħidu fost il-ġnus:

“Kbir f’għemilu l-Mulej magħhom”.

Kbir f’għemilu l-Mulej magħna!

U aħna bil-ferħ imtlejna. R/.

Biddel, Mulej, xortina

bħall-widien tan-Negeb!

Dawk li jiżirgħu fid-dmugħ

jaħsdu bl-għana ta’ ferħ. R/.

Huma u sejrin, imorru jibku,

iġorru ż-żerriegħa għaż-żrigħ.

Iżda huma u ġejjin lura, jiġu b’għana ta’ ferħ.

iġorru l-qatet f’idejhom. R/.

Reading 2   PHILIPPIANS 3:8-14

Brothers and sisters: I consider everything as a loss because of the supreme good of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.  For his sake I have accepted the loss of all things and I consider them so much rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having any righteousness of my own based on the law but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God, depending on faith to know him and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by being conformed to his death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead. It is not t I have already taken hold of it or have already attained perfect maturity, but I continue my pursuit in hope that I may possess it, since I have indeed been taken possession of by Christ Jesus. Brothers and sisters, I for my part do not consider myself to have taken possession. Just one thing: forgetting what lies behind but straining forward to what lies ahead, I continue my pursuit toward the goal, the prize of God’s upward calling, in Christ Jesus.

QARI II         mill-Ittra lill-Filippin 3, 8-14

Ħuti, jiena ngħodd kollox bħala telf ħdejn il-qligħ kbir li hemm filli nagħraf lil Kristu Ġesù Sidi; minħabba fih ridt li nitlef kollox, u ngħodd kollox bħala knis, biex nirbaħ lil Kristu, u nkun ninsab fih; mhux għax għandi xi ġustizzja tiegħi, dik li tiġi permezz tal-Liġi, iżda dik li tiġi permezz tal-fidi fi Kristu, il-ġustizzja ġejja minn Alla u mibnija fuq il-fidi. Irrid nagħraf lilu u l-qawwa tal-qawmien tiegħu mill-imwiet, u naqsam miegħu t-tbatijiet tiegħu, u nsir nixbhu fil-mewt, biex jirnexxili nikseb il-qawmien mill-imwiet. M’iniex ngħid li jiena ġa ksibtu, jew li jien ġa perfett. Imma nross ’il quddiem biex naħtaf dan, bħalma Kristu Ġesù ġa ħataf lili. Ħuti, ma jidhirlix li dan ġa lħaqtu; imma ħaġa waħda ngħid: waqt li ninsa lil ta’ warajja kollu, jiena nagħmel ħilti kollha biex nilħaq dak li hemm quddiemi; 14niġri ’l quddiem lejn it-tmiem, biex nikseb il-premju li għalih Alla qed isejħilna hemm fuq fi Kristu Ġesù. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

Gospel       JOHN 8:1-11 

Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. But early in the morning he arrived again in the temple area, and all the people started coming to him, and he sat down and taught them. Then the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery and made her stand in the middle.

They said to him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery. Now in the law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” They said this to test him, so that they could have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground with his finger.  But when they continued asking him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again he bent down and wrote on the ground. And in response, they went away one by one, beginning with the elders. So he was left alone with the woman before him. Then Jesus straightened up and said to her,

“Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She replied, “No one, sir.” Then Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on do not sin any more.”

EVANĠELJU           Qari skont San Ġwann 8, 1-11

F’dak iż-żmien, Ġesù telaq lejn l-Għolja taż-Żebbuġ. Imma l-għada qabel is-sebħ raġa’ mar fit-tempju, u l-poplu kollu ġie ħdejh, u hu qagħad bilqiegħda jgħallimhom. Imbagħad il-kittieba u l-fariżej ħadulu quddiemu waħda mara li kienet inqabdet fl-adulterju. Huma qegħduha fin-nofs u qalulu: “Mgħallem, din il-mara nqabdet fil-fatt fl-adulterju. Issa fil-Liġi tagħna Mosè ordnalna biex nisa bħal dawn inħaġġruhom. Int, imma, xi tgħid?”. Dan qaluhulu biex iġarrbuh, ħalli jkollhom fuqiex jixluh. Imma Ġesù tbaxxa lejn l-art u beda jikteb b’sebgħu fit-trab. Billi dawk baqgħu jistaqsuh, qam dritt u qalilhom: “Min fostkom hu bla dnub jitfgħalha hu l-ewwel ġebla”. U raġa’ tbaxxa jikteb fit-trab. Kif semgħuh jgħid dan, qabdu u telqu wieħed wara l-ieħor, ibda mix-xjuħ. Ġesù baqa’ waħdu mal-mara, wieqfa fin-nofs. Qam dritt u qalilha: “Dawk fejnhom, mara? Ħadd minnhom ma kkundannak?”. “Ħadd, Sinjur”, qaltlu. “Mela anqas jien ma nikkundannak”, qalilha Ġesù. “Mur, u mil-lum ’il quddiem tidnibx iżjed”. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

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Father Cantalamessa on Families

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

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Jesus, the woman, and the family

The Gospel of the Fifth Sunday of Lent is about the woman surprised in adultery whom Jesus saves from stoning. Jesus does not intend to say with his gesture that adultery is not a sin or that it is a small thing. There is an explicit, even if delicate, condemnation of adultery in the words addressed to the woman at the end of the scene: “Do not sin anymore.”

Jesus does not intend to approve the deed of the woman; his intention is rather to condemn the attitude of those who are always ready to look for and denounce the sin of others. We saw this last time in our look at Jesus’ general attitude toward sinners.

As we have been doing in these commentaries on the readings for the Sundays of Lent, we will now move from this passage to expand our horizon and consider Christ’s general attitude toward marriage and the family, as this can be discerned in all the Gospels.

Among the strange theses about Jesus advanced in recent years, there is also one about a Jesus who supposedly repudiated the natural family and all familial relationships in the name of belonging to a different community in which God is the father and all the disciples are brothers and sisters. This Jesus is supposed to have proposed an itinerant life like that of the philosophical school known as the Cynics in the world outside Israel.

There are words of Christ about familial bonds that actually perplex at first glance. Jesus says: “If someone comes to me and does not hate his father, his mother, wife, children, brothers, and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26).

These are certainly hard words but already the Evangelist Matthew is careful to explain the meaning that the word “hate” has in this context: “Whoever loves his father and mother … son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me” (Matthew 10:37).

Jesus does not ask us therefore to hate our parents and children, but to not love them to the point of refusing to follow Jesus on their account.

There is another perplexing episode. One day Jesus says to someone: “Follow me.” And the man responds: “Lord, let me go first and bury my father.” Jesus replies: “Let the dead bury the dead; you go and proclaim the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:59ff).

Some critics let loose on this. In their eyes, this is a scandalous request, disobedience to God who orders us to care for our parents, a clear violation of filial duties!

The scandal of these critics is for us a precious proof. Certain words of Christ cannot be explained as long as he is considered a mere man, even if an exceptional one. Only God can ask that we love him more than our father and that, to follow him, we even renounce attending our father’s burial.

For the rest, from a perspective of faith like Christ’s, what was more important for the deceased father: that his son be at home in that moment to bury his body or that he follow the one sent by God, the God before whom his soul must now present itself?

But maybe the explanation in this case is even more simple. We know that the expression, “Let me go and bury my father,” was sometimes used (as it is today) to say: “Let me go and be with my father while he is still alive; after he dies I will bury him and come follow you.”

Jesus would thus only be asking not to indefinitely delay responding to his call. Many of us religious, priests and sisters, find ourselves faced with the same choice and often our parents have been happier for our obedience to Jesus.

The perplexity over these requests of Jesus arises in large part from a failure to take into account the difference between what he asked of all indistinctly and what he asked only of those who were called to entirely share his life dedicated to the kingdom, as happens in the Church even today.

There are other sayings of Jesus which could be examined. Someone might even accuse Jesus of being the cause of the proverbial difficulty in agreement between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law since he said: “I have come to separate son from father, daughter from mother, daughter-in-law from mother-in-law” (Matthew 10:35).

But it will not be Jesus who divides; it will be the different attitude that each member of the family takes toward him that will determine the division. This is something that painfully occurs even in many families today.

All of the doubts about Jesus’ attitude toward the family and marriage will fall away if we take into account the whole Gospel and not only those passages that we like. Jesus is more rigorous than anyone in regard to the indissolubility of marriage, he forcefully confirms the commandment to honor father and mother to the point of condemning the practice of denying them help for religious reasons (cf. Mark 7:11-13).

Just consider all the miracles that Jesus performed precisely to take away the sorrows of fathers (Jairus and the father of the epileptic), of mothers (the Canaanite woman, the widow of Nain!), and of siblings (the sisters of Lazarus).

In these ways he honours familial bonds. He shares the sorrow of relatives to the point of weeping with them. In a time like our own, when everything seems to conspire to weaken the bonds and values of the family, the only thing that we have not set against them yet is Jesus and the Gospel!

But this is one of the many odd things about Jesus that we must know so that we are not taken in when we hear talk of new discoveries about the Gospels. Jesus came to bring marriage back to its original beauty (cf. Matthew 19:4-9), to strengthen it, not to weaken it.

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