Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 144
It-Tmienja u Għoxrin Ħadd taż-Żmien ta’ Matul is-Sena
Reading 1 2 KINGS 5:14-17
Naaman went down and plunged into the Jordan seven times at the word of Elisha, the man of God. His flesh became again like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean of his leprosy. Naaman returned with his whole retinue to the man of God. On his arrival he stood before Elisha and said, "Now I know that there is no God in all the earth, except in Israel. Please accept a gift from your servant." Elisha replied, "As the LORD lives whom I serve, I will not take it;" and despite Naaman's urging, he still refused. Naaman said: "If you will not accept, please let me, your servant, have two mule-loads of earth, for I will no longer offer holocaust or to any other god except to the LORD."
Qari 1 mit-Tieni Ktieb tas-Slaten 5:14-17
F’dak
iż-żmien, Nagħman, il-kmandant tal-eżerċtu tas-Sultan ta’ Aram, niżel
fil-Ġordan, u għodos seba’ darbiet, bħalma qallu Eliżew, il-bniedem ta’
Alla, u ġismu raġa’ sarlu qisu l-ġisem ta’ tfajjel żagħżugħ, u ndaf
mil-lebbra tiegħu. U raġa’ lura għand Eliżew, il-bniedem ta’ Alla, hu u
kull min kellu miegħu; daħal, waqaf quddiemu u qallu: “Ara, issa naf,
iva, li ma hemmx Alla ieħor fid-dinja kollha, ħlief f’Iżrael. Ilqa’,
nitolbok, dan ir-rigal mingħand il-qaddej tiegħek”. U qallu Eliżew:
“Daqskemm hu ħaj il-Mulej li lilu naqdi, jien ma nieħu xejn”. U ma
ħadhulux, għad li l-ieħor issikkah ħafna. Għalhekk Nagħman qallu: “La ma
tridx, nitolbok li tingħata lill-qaddej tiegħek tagħbija ta’ żewġ
bgħula ħamrija; għax il-qaddej tiegħek mhuwiex se jagħmel iżjed
sagrifiċċji tal-ħruq u offerti lil allat oħra, jekk mhux lill-Mulej”.
Il-Kelma tal-Mulej.
Responsorial Psalm PSALM 98:1, 2-3, 3-4
Sing to the LORD a new song,
for he has done wondrous deeds;
his right hand has won victory for him,
his holy arm.
R. The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power.
The LORD has made his salvation known:
in the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice.
He has remembered his kindness and his faithfulness
toward the house of Israel.
R. The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation by our God.
Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands:
break into song; sing praise.
R. The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power.
Salm Responsorjali Salm 97(98):1,2-3ab,3ċd-4
R/.(ara 2b): Il-Mulej għarraf is-salvazzjoni lill-ġnus.
Għannu lill-Mulej għanja ġdida,
għax għamel ħwejjeġ tal-għaġeb.
Ġibitlu r-rebħa l-leminija tiegħu,
u d-driegħ imqaddes tiegħu. R/.
Għarraf il-Mulej is-salvazzjoni tiegħu,
f’għajnejn il-ġnus wera l-ġustizzja tiegħu.
Ftakar fit-tjieba u l-fedeltà tiegħu
mal-poplu ta’ Iżrael. R/.
L-art kollha, minn tarf għall-ieħor,
rat is-salvazzjoni ta’ Alla tagħna.
Għajtu bil-ferħ lill-Mulej fl-art kollha,
infexxu fil-hena, ifirħu u għannu! R/.
Reading 2 2 TIMOTHY 2:8-13
Beloved: Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, a descendant of David: such is my gospel, for which I am suffering, even to the point of chains, like a criminal. But the word of God is not chained. Therefore, I bear with everything for the sake of those who are chosen, so that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, together with eternal glory. This saying is trustworthy: If we have died with him we shall also live with him; if we persevere we shall also reign with him. But if we deny him he will deny us. If we are unfaithful he remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself.
Qari 2 mit-Tieni Ittra lil Timotju 2:8-13
Għażiż,
ftakar f’Ġesù Kristu, li qam mill-imwiet, li hu min-nisel ta’ David,
skond l-Evanġelju li ħabbart jien. Għalih jien qiegħed inbati sa l-irbit
tal-ktajjen bħallikieku għamilt xi delitt. Imma l-kelma ta’ Alla
mhijiex marbuta! Għalhekk kollox nieħu bis-sabar għall-imħabba ta’ dawk
li Alla għażel, biex huma wkoll jiksbu s-salvazzjoni, li hi ta’ glorja
għal dejjem fi Kristu Ġesù. Din hi kelma ta’ min joqgħod fuqha: Jekk
aħna mitna miegħu, għad ngħixu miegħu wkoll; jekk insofru bis-sabar,
għad insaltnu miegħu wkoll; jekk niċħduh, jiċħadna hu wkoll; jekk nonqsu
mill-kelma li tajna, hu jibqa’ jżomm kelmtu; għax hu ma jistax iqarraq
bih innifsu. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej.
Gospel LUKE 17:11-19
As Jesus continued his journey to Jerusalem, he traveled through Samaria and Galilee. As he was entering a village, ten lepers met him. They stood at a distance from him and raised their voices, saying, "Jesus, Master! Have pity on us!" And when he saw them, he said, "Go show yourselves to the priests." As they were going they were cleansed. And one of them, realizing he had been healed, returned, glorifying God in a loud voice; and he fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked him. He was a Samaritan.Jesus said in reply, "Ten were cleansed, were they not? Where are the other nine? Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God?" Then he said to him, "Stand up and go; your faith has saved you."
Evanġelju Qari skont San Luqa 7:11-19
Ġara li huwa u sejjer lejn Ġerusalemm, Ġesù għadda minn bejn is-Samarija u l-Galilija. Kif kien dieħel f’raħal, iltaqgħu miegħu għaxart irġiel morda bil-lebbra. Waqfu ’l bogħod minnu, għollew leħinhom u qalulu: “Ġesù, mgħallem, ikollok ħniena minna!”. Kif rahom, qalilhom: “Morru uru rwieħkom lill-qassisin”. U ġara li, huma u sejrin, fiequ mill-marda tagħhom. Wieħed minnhom, kif ra ruħu mfejjaq, raġa’ lura jgħajjat u jfaħħar lil Alla, inxteħet wiċċu fl-art f’riġlejn Ġesù u raddlu ħajr. Issa dan kien Samaritan. U Ġesù qabad u qal: “Mhux l-għaxra fiequ mil-lebbra? Fejn huma d-disgħa l-oħra? Ma kien hemm ħadd minnhom li raġa’ lura biex jagħti glorja lil Alla ħlief dan il-barrani?”. Imbagħad qallu: “Qum, mur; il-fidi tiegħek salvatek”. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej.
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Eight-minute Gospel reflection by Fr Antony Kadavil
A God who desires gratitude from us
Introduction:
The central theme of Sunday’s readings is gratitude – in particular, the expression of gratitude God expects from us. Today’s Gospel story of ‘the forgetful lepers presents a God Who desires gratitude from us for the many blessings we receive from Him, and Who feels pain at our ingratitude.
Scripture lesson summarized:
Naaman, the Syrian military commander in the first reading, was an outcast, not only because of his leprosy, but because he was also a non-Israelite, a pagan. But he returned to thank the Prophet Elisha for curing his leprosy, and as a sign of his gratitude, transferred his allegiance to the God of Israel.
St. Paul, in the second reading, advises Timothy to be grateful to God even in his physical sufferings and amid the dangers associated with spreading the Word of God because God will always be faithful to His people.
Next Sunday’s Gospel story tells us of a single non-Jewish leper (a “Samaritan, considered by the Jews as heretic”), who returned to thank Jesus for healing him, while the nine Jewish lepers went their way. Perhaps, they were under the false impression that healing was their right as God’s “chosen people.” So, they hurried off to obtain health certificates from the priests. “Where are the other nine?” Jesus asked the returned Samaritan and the crowd rhetorically.
Sunday’s readings also remind us that Faith and healing go hand in hand. It was Faith that prompted Naaman to plunge himself into the waters of the Jordan River, and it was Faith in Jesus which prompted the lepers to present themselves first to Jesus and then to the priests. The readings also demonstrate the universal love of God for all peoples, including the Samaritans (whom the Israelites hated), and the pagans, Israel’s enemies, whom Naaman represented.
Life Messages:
1) We need to learn to be thankful to God and to others. We can express our gratitude to our loving and providing God by offering grace before meals and by allotting a few minutes of the day for family prayer. Let us show our gratitude to our forgiving God by forgiving others and by loving God in them, radiating His love, mercy, and compassion to all we encounter, including our families and friends. It is by taking good care of our old and sick parents that we express our gratitude to them for the loving sacrifices they have made in raising us.
2) We need to celebrate the Holy Eucharist as the supreme act of thanksgiving: The Greek word “Eucharist” means profoundly religious and thoroughly spiritual “thanksgiving” (from the efkaristo). When we celebrate Holy Mass together, we are thanking God for giving us the great gift of His Son in the Holy Eucharist so that we can share His Divine life and recharge our spiritual batteries, and for giving us His teaching, guiding, strengthening Holy Spirit. We express our thanks to God as a parish community by sharing our time, talents, and material blessings in the various ministries and services of the parish and by our active participation in its outreach programs in the community.
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