« Sunday, September 2 »
Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 126
It-Tnejn u Ghoxrin Hadd taz-Zmien ta’
Matul is-Sena
Reading 1 Sirak 3:17-18, 20, 28-29
My
child, conduct your affairs with humility, and you will be loved more than a
giver of gifts. Humble yourself the more, the greater you are, and you will
find favor with God. What is too sublime
for you, seek not, into things beyond your strength search not. The mind of a sage appreciates proverbs, and
an attentive ear is the joy of the wise. Water quenches a flaming fire,
and alms atone for sins.
QARI I mill-Ktieb ta’ Bin Sirak 3, 17-20.28-29
Ibni,
kun gwejjed fix-xoghol li taghmel, u tkun mahbub iktar minn wiehed milqugh
min-nies. Akbar m’int, iktar ghandek iccekken ruhek, u ssib grazzja quddiem
il-Mulej. Hafna huma l-imkabbrin u l-imsebbhin, imma l-Mulej jikxef lill-umli
l-misteri tieghu. Ghax kbira hi s-setgha tal-Mulej, imma hu msebbah min-nies
umli. Mhemmx duwa ghall-bniedem kollu kburija, ghax din haxixa hazina
b’gheruqha mxenxla fih. Min ghandu l-gherf jifhem il-proverbji u l-gharef
herqan li jkollu min jisimghu. Il-Kelma
tal-Mulej
Responsorial Psalm Psalm 68:4-5, 6-7, 10-11
The
just rejoice and exult before God;
they
are glad and rejoice.
Sing
to God, chant praise to his name;
whose
name is the LORD.
R.
God, in your goodness, you have made a home for the poor.
The
father of orphans and the defender of widows
is
God in his holy dwelling.
God
gives a home to the forsaken;
he
leads forth prisoners to prosperity.
R.
God, in your goodness, you have made a home for the poor.
A
bountiful rain you showered down, O God, upon your inheritance;
you
restored the land when it languished;
your
flock settled in it;
in
your goodness, O God, you provided it for the needy.
R.
God, in your goodness, you have made a home for the poor.
SALM
RESPONSORJALI Salm 67 (68),
4-5ac. 6-7ab. 10-11
R/.
(ara 11b) O Alla, int hejjejt dar ghall-fqajjar
Il-gusti
jithennew quddiem Alla,
jifirhu
u jaqbzu bil-ferh.
Ghannu
lil Alla, fahhru ismu.
Tghaxxqu
fil-Mulej, aqbzu bil-ferh quddiemu. R/.
Missier
l-iltiema u difensur tar-romol,
hekk
hu Alla fl-ghamara mqaddsa tieghu.
Alla
jaghti d-dar lil dawk li huma wehidhom,
u
lill-habsin bir-rizq johroghom. R/.
Xita
bil-kotra inti bghatt, o Alla, fuq l-art, wirt tieghek,
u
meta kienet bil-ghatx inti hjejtha.
Il-poplu
tieghek ghammar fiha,
fi
tjubitek, o Alla, ghall-fqajjar hejjejtha. R/.
Reading 2 Hebrews 12:18-19, 22-24a
Brothers
and sisters: You have not approached that which could be touched and a blazing
fire and gloomy darkness and storm and a trumpet blast and a voice speaking
words such that those who heard begged that no message be further addressed to
them. No, you have approached Mount Zion and the city of the living God, the
heavenly Jerusalem, and countless angels in festal gathering, and the assembly
of the firstborn enrolled in heaven, and God the judge of all, and the spirits
of the just made perfect, and Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and the
sprinkled blood that speaks more eloquently than that of Abel.
QARI II mill-Ittra lil-Lhud 12, 18-19. 22-24a
Huti,
intom ma rsaqtux lejn in-nar materjali u jheggeg tas-Sinaj; lejn dak is-swied u
d-dlam u r-riefnu; lejn dak id-daqq ta’ tromba u hoss ta’ kliem li dawk li
kienu jisimghuh talbu bil-herqa biex ma jkellimhomx aktar. Imma intom ersaqtu
lejn il-muntanja ta’ Sijon u lejn il-belt ta’ Alla l-haj, li hi Gerusalemm
tas-sema; ersaqtu lejn eluf ta’ angli f’gemgha ferrieha; lejn il-gemgha
tal-ulied ewlenin li isimhom hu miktub fis-sema; lejn Alla l-imhallef ta’
kulhadd; lejn l-erwieh ta’ nies tajba u perfetti; lejn Gesù l-medjatur ta’ patt
gdid. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej
Gospel Luke 14:1, 7-14
On
a sabbath Jesus went to dine at the home of one of the leading Pharisees, and
the people there were observing him carefully. He told a parable to those who
had been invited, noticing how they were choosing the places of honour at the
table. "When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not
recline at table in the place of honour. A more distinguished guest than you
may have been invited by him, and the host who invited both of you may approach
you and say, 'Give your place to this man,' and then you would proceed with
embarrassment to take the lowest place. Rather, when you are invited, go and
take the lowest place so that when the host comes to you he may say, 'My
friend, move up to a higher position.' Then you will enjoy the esteem of your
companions at the table. For every one who exalts himself will be humbled, but
the one who humbles himself will be exalted." Then he said to the host who
invited him, "When you hold a lunch or a dinner, do not invite your
friends or your brothers or your relatives or your wealthy neighbours, in case
they may invite you back and you have repayment. Rather, when you hold a
banquet,invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; blessed indeed will
you be because of their inability to repay you. For you will be repaid at the
resurrection of the righteous."
EVANGELJU Qari skont San Luqa 14, 1.7-14
Darba,
kien is-Sibt, Gesù dahal ghand wiehed mill-kapijiet tal-farizej biex jiekol
ghandu, u huma qaghdu ghajnejhom fih. Billi ra b’ghajnejh kif il-mistednin bdew
jaghzlu l-postijiet ta’ quddiem fil-mejda, qalilhom din il-parabbola: “Meta
wiehed jistiednek ghal xi festa ta’ tieg, tmurx toqghod fil-post ta’ quddiem,
li ma jkunx hemm xi mistieden aqwa minnek, u dak li jkun stieden lilek u lilu
jigi fuqek jghidlek: “Aghti l-post lil dan”, u int imbaghad, b’reghxa ta’
misthija fuqek, ikollok tiehu l-post tal-ahhar. Ghall-kuntrarju, meta tkun
mistieden, mur inxtehet fil-post tal-ahhar, biex meta jigi dak li stiednek
jghidlek: “Habib, itla f’post aktar ‘il fuq”. U dan ikun ta’ gieh ghalik
quddiem dawk kollha li jkunu fil-mejda mieghek. Ghax kull min jitkabbar, jiccekken;
u min jiccekken, jitkabbar”. Imbaghad qal ukoll lil dak li kien stiednu: “Meta
taghti ikla jew pranzu, tistedinx lil hbiebek jew lil hutek jew lil qrabatek, u
anqas girien ghonja, ghax ghandhom mnejn imbaghad jistiednu lilek huma, u hekk
iroddulek il-pjacir li tkun ghamiltilhom. Ghall-kuntrarju, meta taghmel ikla,
stieden il-foqra, il-maghtubin, iz-zopop u l-ghomja, u hieni int, ghax dawn ma
ghandhomx minn fejn iroddulek pjacir bi pjacir, imma jroddhulek Alla meta
l-gusti jqumu ghall-hajja”. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej
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Here is a translation of a commentary by the Pontifical Household preacher,
Capuchin Father Raniero Cantalamessa, on the readings from this Sunday’s
liturgy.
*
* *
Be Modest in What You Do!
The
beginning of this Sunday’s Gospel helps us to correct a widely diffused
prejudice: “One Sabbath when he went to dine at the house of a ruler who
belonged to the Pharisees, they were watching him.” Reading the Gospel from a
certain angle we have ended up making the Pharisees the prototype for all
vices: hypocrisy, duplicity, falsity; Jesus’ enemies par excellence. The terms
“Pharisee” and “Pharisaical” have entered into the vocabulary of many languages
with negative connotations.
Such
an idea of the Pharisees is not correct. There were certainly many among them
who corresponded to this negative image and it is with these that Jesus has
serious problems. But not all of them were like this. Nicodemus, who comes to
see Jesus one night and who later defended him before the Sanhedrin, was a
Pharisee (cf. John 3:1; 7:50ff.). Saul was a Pharisee before his conversion and
was certainly a sincere and zealous person then, if misguided. Gamaliel, who
defended the apostles before the Sanhedrin, was a Pharisee (cf. Acts 5:34ff.).
Jesus’
relationships with the Pharisees were not only conflictual. They often shared
the same convictions, such as faith in the resurrection of the dead and the
love of God and neighbor as the first and most important commandment of the
law. Some, as we see in Sunday’s Gospel, even invited Jesus to dinner at their
house. Today there is agreement that the Pharisees did not want Jesus to be
condemned as much as their rival sect, the Sadducees, who belonged to
Jerusalem’s priestly caste.
For
all these reasons, it would be a very good thing to stop using the terms
“Pharisee” and “Pharisaical” in a disparaging way. This would also help
dialogue with the Jews who recall with great respect the role played by the
Pharisees in their history, especially after the destruction of Jerusalem.
During
the dinner that Sabbath, Jesus taught two important things: one directed to
those who were invited and the other to their host. To the host Jesus says
(perhaps privately or only in the presence of his disciples): “When you give a
dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your
relatives or rich neighbours …” This is what Jesus himself did when he invited
the poor, the afflicted, the meek, the hungry, the persecuted — the persons
named in the beatitudes — to the great banquet of the kingdom.
But
this time I would like to focus on what Jesus says to the invitees. “When you
are invited to a wedding feast, do not take a place of honour …” Jesus does not
intend to give a lesson in good manners here. Neither does he wish to encourage
the subtle calculation of those who take a lower place with the secret hope of
gaining a more honourable place from the host. The parable could deceive us if
we do not think about the banquet and the host that Jesus has in mind. The
banquet is the most universal one of the kingdom and God is the host.
In
life, Jesus wants to say, Choose the last place, try to work more for the
benefit of others than for your own benefit. Be modest in evaluating your
merits, allow others to do this instead (“No one is a good judge of his own
case”), and already in this life God will lift you up. He will lift you up in
his grace; he will make you rise in the ranks of Jesus’ friends and true
disciples, which is the only thing that really matters.
He
will also exalt you in the esteem of others. It is a surprising fact but a true
one: It is not only God who “comes to the humble but holds the proud at a
distance” (cf. Psalm 107:6); men do the same, whether or not they are
believers. Modesty, when it is sincere and not affected, conquers, makes those
who practice it loved, makes their company desirable, their opinion
appreciated. True glory flees from those who seek it and seeks those who flee
from it.
We
live in a society that has an extreme need to hear this Gospel message of
humility again. Running to take the first seats, perhaps without scruple using
others as steppingstones, being opportunistic and viciously competitive — these
are things that are universally condemned but, unfortunately, they are also
universally practiced. The Gospel has an impact on society, even when it speaks
of humility and modesty.
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