Thirteenth
Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 99
Lectionary: 99
It-Tlettax-il Ħadd taż-Żmien ta’ Matul is-Sena
Reading 1 1 Kings 19:16b, 19-21
The LORD said to Elijah: "You shall anoint Elisha, son
of Shaphat of Abelmeholah, as prophet to succeed you." Elijah set out and came upon Elisha, son of
Shaphat, as he was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen; he was following the
twelfth. Elijah went over to him and threw his cloak over him.Elisha left the oxen, ran after Elijah, and said, "Please, let me kiss my
father and mother goodbye, and I will follow you." Elijah answered, "Go back! Have I done
anything to you?" Elisha left him, and taking the yoke of oxen,
slaughtered them; he used the plowing equipment for fuel to boil their flesh,
and gave it to his people to eat. Then Elisha left and followed Elijah as his
attendant.
Qari I mill-Ewwel
Ktieb tas-Slaten 19, 16b.
19-21
F’dak
iż-żmien, il-Mulej qal lil Elija: “Lil
Eliżew bin Safat, ta’ Abel-mehola,
idilku profeta flokok”. Elija
telaq minn hemm u sab lil Eliżew bin Safat, waqt li kien qiegħed jaħrat bi tnax-il żewġ gniedes quddiemu; u hu kien qiegħed imexxi t-tnax-il wieħed. Resaq lejh Elija, u xeħet fuqu l-mantell tiegħu. Dan ħalla l-gniedes u mar jiġri wara Elija jgħidlu: “Ħallini mmur insellem lil missieri u ’l ommi, imbagħad niġi warajk”. Qallu Elija: “Mur u erġa’ ejja; għaliex x’għamiltlek jiena?”. Eliżew tbiegħed minnu, qabad żewġ
gniedes, qatilhom u offriehom sagrifiċċju.
U bl-għodda tal-ħrit sajjar il-laħam, qassmu lin-nies, u kielu. U hu mar wara Elija, u beda jservih. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej
Responsorial
Psalm PSALM 16:1-2, 5, 7-8, 9-10,
11
Keep me, O God, for in you I take refuge;
I say to the LORD, "My Lord are you.
O LORD, my allotted portion and my cup,
you it is who hold fast my lot."
R. You are my inheritance, O Lord.
I bless the LORD who counsels me;
even in the night my heart exhorts me.
I set the LORD ever before me;
with him at my right hand I shall not be disturbed.
R. You are my inheritance, O Lord.
Therefore my heart is glad and my soul rejoices,
my body, too, abides in confidence
because you will not abandon my soul to the netherworld,
nor will you suffer your faithful one to undergo corruption.
R. You are my inheritance, O Lord.
You will show me the path to life,
fullness of joys in your presence,
the delights at your right hand forever.
R. You are my inheritance, O Lord.
Salm Responsorjali Salm 15 (16),
1-2a u 5. 7-8. 9-10. 11
R/. (5a): Mulej, inti s-sehem tal-wirt u r-riżq tiegħi
Ħarisni, o Alla, għax fik jien nistkenn.
Jien għedt lill-Mulej: “Int Sidi,
m’għandix ġid ieħor ħliefek”.
Mulej, inti s-sehem tal-wirt u r-riżq tiegħi,
inti żżomm f’idejk xortija. R/.
Imbierek lill-Mulej li tani l-fehma;
imqar billejl qalbi tgħallimni.
Inżomm il-Mulej dejjem quddiemi,
għax bih f’leminti qatt ma nitħarrek. R/.
Hekk tifraħ qalbi u tithenna ruħi,
u ġismi wkoll jistrieħ fil-kwiet.
Għax int ma titlaqnix fl-imwiet,
ma tħallix il-maħbub tiegħek jara l-qabar. R/.
Reading
2 Galatians 5:1, 13-18
Brothers and sisters: For freedom Christ set us free; so
stand firm and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery. For you were called
for freedom, brothers and sisters. But do not use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh; rather, serve one another through love. For
the whole law is fulfilled in one statement, namely, You shall love your neighbour
as yourself. But if you go on biting and devouring one another, beware that you
are not consumed by one another. I say, then: live by the Spirit and you will
certainly not gratify the desire of the flesh. For the flesh has desires against the Spirit, and
the Spirit against the flesh; these are opposed to each other, so that you may
not do what you want. But if you are guided by the Spirit, you are not under
the law.
Qari II mill-Ittra
lill-Galatin 5, 1.13-18
Ħuti, Kristu
ħelisna biex ngħixu ta’ nies ħielsa. Żommu sħiħ, u
terġgħux tmiddu għonqkom għall-madmad tal-jasar. Intom
imma, ħuti, intom ġejtu msejħa għall-ħelsien; imma tinqdewx b’dan il-ħelsien għall-ġisem, iżda aqdu lil xulxin fl-imħabba. Il-Liġi kollha tinġabar f’liġi waħda: “Ħobb lil għajrek bħalek innifsek”. Jekk intom tgiddmu u tieklu lil xulxin, oqogħdu attenti li ma tikkunsmawx lil xulxin! Jien
ngħidilkom, imxu fl-Ispirtu u taqgħux għall-passjonijiet tal-ġisem.
Il-passjonijiet tal-ġisem huma kontra l-Ispirtu, u l-Ispirtu hu kontra l-ġisem; dawn it-tnejn huma kontra xulxin, biex ma jħallukomx tagħmlu dak li tixtiequ. Jekk
lilkom imexxikom l-Ispirtu, m’intomx taħt il-Liġi. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej
Gospel Luke 9:51-62
When the days for Jesus' being taken up were fulfilled, he
resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem, and he sent messengers ahead of
him. On the way they entered a Samaritan village to prepare for his reception there, but they would not welcome him because the
destination of his journey was Jerusalem. When the disciples James and John saw this
they asked, "Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to consume
them?" Jesus turned and rebuked
them, and they journeyed to another village. As they were proceeding on their journey
someone said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go." Jesus
answered him, "Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head." And to another he said,
"Follow me." But he replied,
"Lord, let me go first and bury my father." But he answered him, "Let the dead bury
their dead. But you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God." And another
said, "I will follow you, Lord, but first let me say farewell to my family
at home." To him Jesus said, "No one who sets a hand to the plow and
looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God."
Evanġelju Qari skont San Luqa 9, 51-62
Meta
Ġesù qorob għalih iż-żmien li fih kellu jittieħed mid-dinja, b’rieda sħiħa dar u telaq lejn Ġerusalemm. U bagħat xi messaġġiera qablu li, huma u sejrin, daħlu f’raħal tas-Samarija biex iħejjulu fejn joqgħod. Iżda hemmhekk ma laqgħuhx, billi hu kien sejjer Ġerusalemm.
Meta raw dan, id-dixxipli Ġakbu u Ġwanni qalulu: “Mulej,
tridx ngħidu lin-nar jinżel mis-sema u jeqridhom?”. Iżda hu dar
fuqhom u ċanfarhom. U marru f’raħal ieħor. Huma u
miexja fit-triq kien hemm wieħed li qallu: “Tmur fejn tmur, jiena niġi warajk”. U qallu Ġesù: “Il-volpijiet għandhom l-għerien tagħhom u l-għasafar tal-ajru l-bejtiet, iżda Bin il-bniedem ma għandux fejn imidd rasu”. Lil wieħed ieħor qallu: “Imxi warajja”. Iżda
dak wieġbu: “Ħallini l-ewwel
immur nidfen lil missieri”. Iżda hu wieġbu: “Ħalli l-mejtin jidfnu l-mejtin tagħhom; iżda int mur u xandar is-Saltna ta’ Alla”. U ieħor ukoll qallu: “Jien niġi, Mulej, warajk, imma l-ewwel ħallini nsellem lil tad-dar”. Qallu Ġesù: “Min iqiegħed idu fuq il-moħriet u jħares lura mhuwiex tajjeb għas-Saltna ta’ Alla”. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej
////////// Reflection
Here is a translation of a commentary by the Pontifical Household preacher, Capuchin Father Raniero Cantalamessa, on the readings from this Sunday’s liturgy.
When Benedict XVI’s book “Jesus of Nazareth” appeared in bookshops I thought that I would take account of the Pope’s reflections in my commentary on some of the Sunday Gospels. First of all, I’d like to remark on the content and purpose of the book. It treats of Jesus in the period from his baptism in the Jordan to the moment of his transfiguration, that is, from the beginning of his public ministry almost to its epilogue. (The Pope says that if God gives him sufficient strength and time to write it, a second volume will deal with the accounts of Jesus’ death and resurrection along with the infancy narratives. These were not treated in the first volume.)
The book presupposes historical-critical exegesis and uses its findings, but desires to go beyond this method, aiming at a properly theological interpretation, that is, one that is global, not narrow, and that takes seriously the witness of the Gospels and Scriptures as books inspired by God.
The purpose of the book is to show that the figure of Jesus that is arrived at in this way is “much more logical and, from the historical point of view, also more understandable than the reconstructions that we have seen in the last decades. I hold,” the Pope adds, “that precisely this Jesus — that of the Gospels — is a historically sensible and convincing figure.”
It is quite significant that the Pope’s choice to attend to the Jesus of the Gospels finds a confirmation in the more recent and authoritative orientation of the same historical-critical approach, in, for example, the Scottish exegete James Dunn’s monumental work “Christianity in the Making.” According to Dunn, “the synoptic Gospels bear testimony to a pattern and technique of oral transmission which has ensured a greater stability and continuity in the Jesus tradition that has thus far been generally appreciated.”
But let us come to the Gospel reading for the 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time. It recounts three different meetings Jesus had on the same journey. We will focus on one of these meetings. “And to another Jesus said, ‘Follow me.’ But he replied, ‘Lord, let me go first and bury my father.’ But Jesus answered him, ‘Let the dead bury their dead. But you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.'”
In his book, the Pope comments on the theme of family relations alluded to in the above Gospel passage in dialogue with the Jewish-American Rabbi Jacob Neusner. In his book “A Rabbi Talks with Jesus,” Rabbi Neusner imagines himself as present in the crowds when Jesus speaks.
Rabbi Neusner explains why, despite his great admiration for the “Rabbi of Nazareth,” he would not have been able to become his disciple. One of the reasons for this is Jesus’ position on family relations. Rabbi Neusner says that on many occasions Jesus seems to invite transgression of the fourth commandment, which says that we must honour our father and mother. Jesus asks someone, as we just heard, to forget about burying his own father and elsewhere he says that whoever loves father and mother more than him is not worthy of him.
Often the response to these objections is to cite other words of Jesus that strongly affirm the permanent validity of family bonds: the indissolubility of marriage, the duty to help one’s father and mother. In his book, however, the Pope offers a more profound and illuminating answer to this objection, an objection that is not only Rabbi Neusner’s, but also that of many Christian readers of the Gospel. He takes his point of departure from something else Jesus says. “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers? … Whoever does the will of my Father who is in heaven is my brother, sister, and mother” (Matthew 12:48-50).
Jesus does not thereby abolish the natural family, but reveals a new family in which God is father, and men and women are all brothers and sisters thanks to a common faith in him, the Christ. Rabbi Neusner asks whether he has a right to do this. This spiritual family already existed: It was the people of Israel, united by observance of the Torah, that is, the Mosaic law.
A son was only permitted to leave his father’s house to study the Torah. But Jesus does not say, “Whoever loves father or mother more than the Torah is not worthy of the Torah.” He says, “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me.” He puts himself in the place of the Torah and this can only be done by someone who is greater than the Torah and greater than Moses, who promulgated it.
Benedict XVI thinks that the rabbi is right to conclude: “Only God can demand of me what Jesus asks.” The Pope notes that the discussion about Jesus and family relations — like that about Jesus and observance of the Sabbath — thus brings us to the true heart of the matter, which is to know who Jesus is. If a Christian does not believe that Jesus acts with the authority itself of God and is himself God, then Rabbi Neusner, who refuses to follow Jesus, has a more coherent position than that particular Christian does. One cannot accept Jesus’ teaching if one does not accept his person.
Let us take some practical instruction from this discussion. The “family of God,” which is the Church, not only is not against the natural family, but is its guarantee and promoter. We see it today. It is a shame that some divergences of opinion in our society on questions linked to marriage and the family impede many from recognizing the providential work of the Church on behalf of the family. She is often without support in this decisive battle for the future of humanity.
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