Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 108
Is-Sittax-il Ħadd taż-Żmien ta’ Matul is-Sena
Reading 1 GENESIS 18:1-10a
The LORD appeared to Abraham by the terebinth of Mamre, as he sat in the entrance of his tent, while the day was growing hot. Looking up, Abraham saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he ran from the entrance of the tent to greet them; and bowing to the ground, he said: "Sir, if I may ask you this favor, please do not go on past your servant. Let some water be brought, that you may bathe your feet, and then rest yourselves under the tree. Now that you have come this close to your servant, let me bring you a little food, that you may refresh yourselves; and afterward you may go on your way." The men replied, "Very well, do as you have said." Abraham hastened into the tent and told Sarah, "Quick, three measures of fine flour! Knead it and make rolls." He ran to the herd, picked out a tender, choice steer, and gave it to a servant, who quickly prepared it. Then Abraham got some curds and milk, as well as the steer that had been prepared, and set these before the three men; and he waited on them under the tree while they ate. They asked Abraham, "Where is your wife Sarah?" He replied, "There in the tent." One of them said, "I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah will then have a son."
Qari 1 mill-Ktieb tal-Ġenesi 18:1-10a
F’dak
iż-żmien, il-Mulej deher lil Abraham ħdejn il-ballut ta’ Mamri; u hu
kien fil-bieb tal-għarix fl-aqwa tas-sħana tal-jum. U rafa’ għajnejh u
ħares, u ra tlitt irġiel weqfin quddiemu; u malli rahom mar jiġri
jilqagħhom mill-bieb tal-għarix u nxteħet wiċċu fl-art quddiemhom. U
qal: “Sidi, jekk jien sibt ħniena f’għajnejk, tibqax għaddej minn
quddiem il-qaddej tiegħek. Ħa nġib ftit ilma u aħslu riġlejkom, u
strieħu taħt is-siġra, sakemm inġibilkom gidma ħobż, biex titrejqu,
imbagħad tibqgħu sejrin – għax għalhekk għaddejtu għand il-qaddej
tagħkom”. U huma qalulu: “Tajjeb, agħmel kif għedt”. U Abraham ħaffef
lejn l-għarix, ħdejn Sara, u qalilha: “Fittex lesti tliet sigħan smid,
agħġnu u agħmlu ftajjar”. U Abraham mar jiġri ħdejn il-baqar u ħa għoġol
tari u sabiħ, u tah lill-qaddej; u dan fittex ilestih. U ħa l-baqta u
l-ħalib u l-għoġol li kien lesta, u qegħedhom quddiemhom. U hu baqa’
bilwieqfa quddiemhom taħt is-siġra, u huma bdew jieklu. U staqsewh:
“Fejn hi Sara, martek?”. U hu weġibhom: “Hemm fl-għarix”. U qallu:
“Nerġa’ niġi għandek bħal dan iż-żmien sena, u ara, Sara martek ikollha
iben”. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej.
Responsorial Psalm PSALM 15:2-3, 3-4, 5
One who walks blamelessly and does justice;
who thinks the truth in his heart
and slanders not with his tongue.
R. He who does justice will live in the presence of the Lord.
Who harms not his fellow man,
nor takes up a reproach against his neighbor;
by whom the reprobate is despised,
while he honors those who fear the LORD.
R. He who does justice will live in the presence of the Lord.
Who lends not his money at usury
and accepts no bribe against the innocent.
One who does these things
shall never be disturbed.
R. He who does justice will live in the presence of the Lord.
R/.(1a): Mulej, min jgħammar fid-dar tiegħek?
Min jgħix bla ħtija u jagħmel it-tajjeb,
min jgħid is-sewwa f’qalbu;
min ma jqassasx bi lsienu. R/.
Min ma jagħmilx deni lil ġaru,
u ma jgħajjarx lil għajru;
min ma jistmax lill-bniedem ħażin,
imma jweġġaħ lil dawk li jibżgħu mill-Mulej. R/.
Min jislef u ma jitlobx imgħax,
u ma jixxaħħamx kontra min hu bla ħtija.
Min jagħmel dan qatt ma jitħarrek. R/.
Reading 2 COLOSSIANS 1:24-28
Brothers and sisters: Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ on behalf of his body, which is the church, of which I am a minister in accordance with God's stewardship given to me to bring to completion for you the word of God, the mystery hidden from ages and from generations past. But now it has been manifested to his holy ones, to whom God chose to make known the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; it is Christ in you, the hope for glory. It is he whom we proclaim, admonishing everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone perfect in Christ.
Qari 2 mill-Ittra lill-Kolossin 1:24-28
Ħuti,
jien issa nifraħ bit-tbatijiet tiegħi minħabba fikom, għaliex bihom
jiena ntemm f’ġismi dak li jonqos mit-tbatijiet ta’ Kristu għall-ġisem
tiegħu li hu l-Knisja. Tagħha jiena sirt ministru, skont ma tani nagħmel
Alla għalikom, jiġifieri li nxandar b’mod sħiħ il-Kelma ta’ Alla,
il-misteru li kien moħbi sa miż-żminijiet u l-ġenerazzjonijiet kollha, u
li issa hu mgħarraf lill-qaddisin tiegħu. Lil dawn Alla ried
jgħarrafhom kemm huwa kbir l-għana tal-glorja ta’ dan il-misteru fost
il-pagani: Kristu hu fikom, it-tama tal-glorja tagħkom. Lilu aħna
nħabbru lill-bnedmin kollha, u nwissu u ngħallmu lil kulħadd bl-għerf
kollu biex inwasslu lil kull bniedem għall-perfezzjoni fi Kristu.
Il-Kelma tal-Mulej.
Gospel LUKE 10:38-42
Jesus entered a village where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him. She had a sister named Mary who sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak. Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me." The Lord said to her in reply, "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her."
Evanġelju Qari skont San Luqa 10:38-42
F’dak iż-żmien, Ġesù daħal f’raħal, u laqgħetu għandha waħda mara jisimha Marta. Din kellha oħtha, jisimha Marija, li niżlet bilqiegħda f’riġlejn il-Mulej tisimgħu x’kien qiegħed jgħid. Iżda Marta kienet moħħha fuq il-ħafna xogħol tad-dar. Imbagħad resqet u qaltlu: “Mulej, m’intix tara kif oħti ħalliet ix-xogħol kollu fuqi biss? Mela għidilha taqbad tagħmel xi ħaġa miegħi”. Qabeż il-Mulej u qalilha: “Marta, Marta! Inti taħseb wisq u tinkwieta fuq ħafna ħwejjeġ; imma waħda hi meħtieġa. U Marija għażlet l-aħjar sehem, li ma jitteħdilhiex”. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej.
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Eight-minute Gospel reflection by Fr Antony Kadavil 
HOSPITALITY AND THE CHRISTIAN
Introduction:
The central themes of Sunday’s readings are the importance of hospitality in Christian life and the necessity of listening to God before acting. The key to the Christian life is setting priorities: Jesus Christ first, then everything else. The only way really to learn that lesson is to spend some time every day, “sitting at the feet of Jesus.” (An anecdote may be added).
Scripture lessons:
Sunday’s first reading describes how Abraham and Sarah’s hospitality to angels in the guise of strangers was rewarded by God, who blessed them with a son in their old age. The refrain for today’s Responsorial Psalm (Ps 15) He who does justice will live in the presence of the Lord, reminds us of our intended final destination.
In the second reading, Paul declares that he was commissioned by God to minister to the Church, as the revealer of the mystery of salvation and the preacher of the word in its fullness (v. 25). He invites believers to open their hearts and minds and to show their hospitality to the mystery of Christ which he preaches. Paul also challenges us to cultivate that quality of hospitality which welcomes all others in Christ.
Sunday’s Gospel passage describes how Martha, a genuine child of Abraham, wanted to extend the traditional generous hospitality of her people to Jesus, the true Messiah, by preparing an elaborate meal for him (while her sister Mary spent her time in talking to Jesus and listening to him; It invites us to serve others with Martha’s diligence after recharging our spiritual batteries every day by prayer – listening to God and talking to God – as Mary did. We can minister truly to the needs of others only after welcoming God’s Word into in our hearts and minds.
Life Messages:
1) We need to recharge our spiritual batteries: We should put aside the work we do for the Lord in serving others and just spend some time being with Him, talking to Him and listening to Him, fully aware of His holy presence in our souls. We may also recharge our spiritual energy by means of our personal and family prayers, our meditative reading of the Bible and our participation in the celebration of the Holy Mass.
2) We need listening Marthas and serving Marys: Martha has become a symbol of action-oriented, responsible people who get the job done. Our world and our parish churches need such dynamic and generous men, women, boys and girls. We need them to sing in the choir, to help in the Church, to teach in the Sunday school, to visit the sick and the shut-ins and to serve in all other ministries of the parish community.
3) We need to be good listeners, like Mary, at home and in the workplace. Active and busy as we are, we must find time every day to listen to God, to our spouse, kids, and neighbors. Listening and quiet caring are essential for the success of married life, of family life and of the rearing of children with love, affection, and a gentle, firm discipline. Human love begins at home, and it begins with listening
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