« Sunday, August 18 2019 »
Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 120
L-Għoxrin Ħadd taż-Żmien ta’ Matul is-Sena
Reading
1
Jeremiah 38:4-6, 8-10
In
those days, the princes said to the king: "Jeremiah ought to be put to
death; he is demoralizing the soldiers who are left in this city, and all the
people, by speaking such things to them; he is not interested in the welfare of
our people, but in their ruin." King Zedekiah answered: "He is in
your power"; for the king could do nothing with them. And so they took
Jeremiah and threw him into the cistern of Prince Malchiah, which was in the
quarters of the guard, letting him down with ropes. There was no water in the
cistern, only mud, and Jeremiah sank into the mud. Ebed-melech, a court official,
went there from the palace and said to him: "My lord king, these men have
been at fault in all they have done to the prophet Jeremiah, casting him into
the cistern. He will die of famine on the spot, for there is no more food in
the city." Then the king ordered Ebed-melech the Cushite to take three men
along with him, and draw the prophet Jeremiah out of the cistern before he
should die.
QARI
I
Qari mill-Ktieb tal-Profeta Ġeremija 38, 4-6. 8-10
F’dak
iż-żmien, il-prinċpijiet marru jgħidu lis-sultan: “Ħalli jiġi maqtul Ġeremija,
għax b’dan il-kliem li qiegħed jgħidilhom qiegħed jaqta’ qalb is-suldati li
fadal f’din il-belt u qalb il-poplu kollu. Tassew, bniedem bħal dan mhuwiex
ifittex il-ġid ta’ dan il-poplu, imma l-qerda tiegħu”. U s-sultan Sedekija
qalilhom: “Araw, f’idejkom, hu! Għax is-sultan ma jista’ jagħmel xejn magħkom”.
U ħadu lil Ġeremija u xeħtuh fil-bir ta’ Malakija, bin is-sultan, li kien
fil-bitħa tal-għassa; imbagħad lil Ġeremija niżżluh bil-ħbula f’dan il-bir;
ilma ma kienx fih, imma ħama biss; u Ġeremija għodos fil-ħama. Għebed-melek
ħareġ mill-palazz tas-sultan, mar ikellmu u qallu: “Sidi s-sultan, dawn in-nies
ġiebu ruħhom ħażin f’kulma għamlu lil Ġeremija, il-profeta, li xeħtuh fil-bir,
u dalwaqt imut bil-ġuħ, għax ma baqax ħobż fil-belt”. Is-sultan imbagħad ordna
lil Għebed-melek, il-Kusi, u qallu: “Ħu miegħek tlitt irġiel minn dawn u mur
tella’ lil Ġeremija, il-profeta, mill-bir, qabel ma jmut”. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej
Responsorial
Psalm
PSALM 40:2, 3, 4, 18
I
have waited, waited for the LORD,
and
he stooped toward me.
R.
Lord, come to my aid!
The
LORD heard my cry.
He
drew me out of the pit of destruction,
out of the mud of the swamp;
he
set my feet upon a crag;
he made firm my steps.
R.
Lord, come to my aid!
And
he put a new song into my mouth,
a hymn to our God.
Many
shall look on in awe
and trust in the LORD.
R.
Lord, come to my aid!
Though
I am afflicted and poor,
yet the LORD thinks of me.
You
are my help and my deliverer;
O my God, hold not back!
R.
Lord, come to my aid!
SALM
RESPONSORJALI
Salm 39 (40), 2.3.4.18
R/.
(14b): Mulej, fittex għinni.
Ittamajt
b’tama qawwija fil-Mulej;
hu
niżel ħdejja
u
sama’ l-għajta tiegħi. R/.
Minn
bir waħxi tellagħni,
minn
qalb il-ħama u t-tajn;
fuq
il-blat qegħedli riġlejja,
u
saħħaħli l-mixi tiegħi. R/.
Qegħedli
fuq fommi għanja ġdida,
għanja
ta’ tifħir lil Alla tagħna.
Ħafna
jaraw u jimtlew bil-biża’ tiegħu,
u
jittamaw fil-Mulej. R/.
Jien,
fqajjar u msejken,
għandi
’l Sidi jaħseb fija.
Inti
l-għajnuna u l-ħelsien tiegħi;
iddumx
ma tgħinni, Alla tiegħi! R/.
Reading
2
Hebrews 12:1-4
Brothers
and sisters: Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us
rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us and persevere in
running the race that lies before us while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the
leader and perfecter of faith. For the sake of the joy that lay before him he
endured the cross, despising its shame, and has taken his seat at the right of
the throne of God. Consider how he endured such opposition from sinners, in
order that you may not grow weary and lose heart. In your struggle against sin you
have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood.
QARI
II
mill-Ittra lil Lhud 12, 1-4
Ħuti,
ladarba aħna wkoll għandna madwarna sħaba hekk kbira ta’ xhieda, ejjew inwarrbu
minna kull xkiel u kull dnub li malajr ifixkilna, u b’qalbna qawwija nibqgħu
niġru t-triq tal-prova li għandna quddiemna. Inżommu għajnejna merfugħa lejn
Ġesù, li minnu tibda u fih tintemm il-fidi tagħna; hu li, flok l-hena li kellu
quddiemu, qagħad għas-salib bla xejn ma qies l-għajb tiegħu, u issa qiegħed fuq
in-naħa tal-lemin tat-tron ta’ Alla. Aħsbu mela fih, li qagħad għal
oppożizzjoni hekk kbira min-naħa tal-midinbin, biex ma tegħjewx u ma taqtgħux
qalbkom. Sa issa fil-ġlieda tagħkom kontra d-dnub, għad ma żammejtux hekk iebes
li wasaltu biex xerridtu demmkom. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej
Gospel
Luke 12:49-53
Jesus
said to his disciples: "I have come
to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing! There is a
baptism with which I must be baptized, and how great is my anguish until it is
accomplished! Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No,
I tell you, but rather division. From now on a household of five will be
divided, three against two and two against three; a father will be divided
against his son and a son against his father, a mother against her daughter and
a daughter against her mother, a mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and
a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law."
EVANĠELJU Qari skont San Luqa 12, 49-53
F’dak
iż-żmien, Ġesù qal lid-dixxipli tiegħu: “Nar ġejt inqiegħed fuq l-art, u kemm
nixtieq li diġà qabad! Iżda hemm magħmudija li biha għandi nitgħammed, u x’diqa
għandi sa ma dan iseħħ! Taħsbu intom li jien ġejt inġib il-paċi fid-dinja? Le,
ngħidilkom, imma l-firda; għax mil-lum ’il quddiem ħamsa minn nies f’dar waħda
jkunu mifruda bejniethom, tlieta kontra tnejn u tnejn kontra tlieta; jinfirdu
l-missier kontra l-iben u l-iben kontra l-missier, l-omm kontra l-bint u l-bint
kontra l-omm, omm ir-raġel kontra mart binha u mart l-iben kontra omm żewġha”. Il-Kelma
tal-Mulej
//////////////////////////////
Father
Cantalamessa on Division
Here is a translation of a
commentary by the Pontifical Household preacher, Capuchin Father Raniero
Cantalamessa, on the readings from Sunday’s liturgy.
I have come to
bring division to the earth
This Sunday’s Gospel reading
contains some of the most provocative words ever spoken by Jesus: “Do you think
that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather
division. From now on a household of five will be divided, three against two
and two against three; a father will be divided against his son and a son
against his father, a mother against her daughter and a daughter against her
mother, a mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and a daughter-in-law
against her mother-in-law.”
And to think that the person who
pronounced these words was the same whose birth was greeted by the words:
“Peace on earth to men of good will,” and that during his life he proclaimed:
“Blessed are the peacemakers.” The same person, when he was arrested, commanded
Peter to “Put your sword back into its sheath!” (Matthew 26:52). How do we
explain this contradiction?
It is very simple. It is a matter
of seeing which peace and unity Jesus came to bring and which is the peace and
unity he came to take away. He came to bring the peace and unity of the good,
that which leads to eternal life, and he came to take away the false peace and
unity, which serves only to lull the conscience to sleep and leads to ruin.
It is not that Jesus came
purposefully to bring division and war, but his coming inevitably brings
division and contrast because he places people before a decision. And, faced
with the necessity of making a decision, we know that human freedom will react
in different ways. Jesus’ word and person will bring to the surface that which
is most hidden in the depths of the human heart. The elderly Simeon had
predicted it, taking the baby Jesus in his arms: “Behold, this child is
destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be
contradicted so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed” (Luke 2:35).
He himself will be the first victim
of this contradiction, the first to suffer from the “sword” that he came to
bring to the earth, he will give his life on account of it. After him the
person most directly involved in this drama is Mary his mother, of whom Simeon
says: “A sword will also pierce your soul.”
Jesus himself distinguishes the two
types of peace. He says to the apostles: “Peace I leave you, my peace I give to
you; not as the world gives peace do I give peace to you. Do not let your heart
be troubled and do not be afraid” (John 14:27). After having destroyed with his
death the false peace and solidarity of the human race in evil and sin, he
inaugurates the new peace and unity that is the fruit of the Holy Spirit. This
is the peace that he offers to the disciples on Easter night, saying “Peace be
with you!”
Jesus says that this “division” can
also work its way into the family: between father and son, mother and daughter,
brother and sister, daughter-in-law and mother-in-law. And, unfortunately, we
know that this is sometimes painfully true. The person who has found the Lord
and seriously wants to follow him often finds himself in the difficult
situation of having to choose: Either make those at home happy and neglect God
and religious practice or follow the latter and put himself in conflict with
his own, who give him trouble for every little thing he does for God and piety.
But the contrast penetrates even
deeper, within the person himself, and it becomes a struggle between flesh and
spirit, between the call to egoism and sensuality, and that of conscience. The
division and conflict begin inside of us. Paul illustrated this marvelously: “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”
(Galatians 5:17).
Man is attached to his little peace
and freedom, even if it is precarious and illusory, and this image of Jesus who
comes to bring disruption carries the risk of making us indisposed toward
Christ, considering him as an enemy of our tranquility. It is necessary to
overcome this impression and realize that this too is Jesus’ love, perhaps the most
pure and genuine love.
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