GOD EXPECTS GRACEFUL RETALIATION FROM US ALWAYS

 Readings for February 19, 2023

      Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 79

 

     Is-Seba’ Ħadd taż-Żmien ta’ Matul is-Sena

 
Reading 1               LEVITICUS 19:1-2, 17-18

The LORD said to Moses, "Speak to the whole Israelite community and tell them: Be holy, for I, the LORD, your God, am holy. "You shall not bear hatred for your brother or sister in your heart. Though you may have to reprove your fellow citizen, do not incur sin because of him. Take no revenge and cherish no grudge against any of your people. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD."

QARI 1                mill-Ktieb tal-Levitku 19:1-2,17-18

Il-Mulej kellem lil Mosè u qallu: “Għid lill-ġemgħa kollha ta’ wlied Iżrael: ‘Għandkom tkunu qaddisin, għax qaddis jien, il-Mulej Alla tagħkom. La tbejjitx lil ħuk f’qalbek, imma lil għajrek wissih u erġa’ wissih, biex ma tkunx ħati tiegħu. La titħallasx b’idejk, u la żżommx f’qalbek għal ulied niesek, imma ħobb lil għajrek bħalek innifsek: Jiena l-Mulej’”. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej.

 
Responsorial Psalm               PSALM 103:1-2, 3-4, 8, 10, 12-13

Bless the LORD, O my soul;
and all my being, bless his holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.

He pardons all your iniquities,
heals all your ills.
He redeems your life from destruction,
crowns you with kindness and compassion.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.

Merciful and gracious is the LORD,
slow to anger and abounding in kindness.
Not according to our sins does he deal with us,
nor does he requite us according to our crimes.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.

As far as the east is from the west,
so far has he put our transgressions from us.
As a father has compassion on his children,
so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.

SALM RESPONSORJALI               Salm 102(103):1-2,3-4,8,10,12-13

R/. (8a): Ħanin u twajjeb il-Mulej.

Bierek, ruħ tiegħi, lill-Mulej!
B’qalbi kollha nbierek l-isem qaddis tiegħu.
Bierek, ruħ tiegħi, lill-Mulej,
u la tinsiex il-ġid kollu li għamel miegħek. R/.

Hu li jaħfer dnubietek kollha;
ifejjaq il-mard tiegħek kollu;
jifdi lil ħajtek mill-qabar;
iħaddnek bit-tjieba u bil-ħniena. R/.

Ħanin u twajjeb il-Mulej,
idum ma jagħdab u kollu mogħdrija.
Ma mexiex magħna skond ma ħaqqhom ħtijietna;
ma ħallasniex skond ma ħaqqha ħżunitna. R/.

Daqskemm hu mbiegħed il-Lvant mill-Punent,
hekk hu jbiegħed minna ħtijietna.
Bħalma jħenn il-missier għal uliedu,
hekk iħenn il-Mulej għal min għandu l-biża’ tiegħu. R/.

 Reading 2               1 CORINTHIANS 3:16-23

Brothers and sisters: Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy that person; for the temple of God, which you are, is holy. Let no one deceive himself. If any one among you considers himself wise in this age, let him become a fool, so as to become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in the eyes of God, for it is written: God catches the wise in their own ruses, and again: The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain. So let no one boast about human beings, for everything belongs to you, Paul or Apollos or Cephas, or the world or life or death, or the present or the future: all belong to you, and you to Christ, and Christ to God.

QARI 2                mill-Ewwel Ittra Korintin 3:16-23

Ħuti, ma tafux li intom tempju ta’ Alla, u li l-Ispirtu ta’ Alla jgħammar fikom? Jekk xi ħadd jeqred it-tempju ta’ Alla, Alla jeqred lilu. Għax qaddis hu t-tempju ta’ Alla, li huwa intom. Ħadd ma għandu jitqarraq! Jekk xi ħadd fostkom jaħseb li hu għaref f’din id-dinja, ħa jiblieh, biex isir għaref. Għax l-għerf ta’ din id-dinja hu bluha quddiem Alla. Għax hemm miktub: “Hu li jaqbad l-għorrief fil-ħażen tagħhom”; u terġa’: “Il-Mulej jaf li fiergħa huma l-ħsibijiet tal-għorrief”. Għalhekk ħadd ma għandu jiftaħar bil-bnedmin, għax kollox hu tagħkom: sew jekk Pawlu, sew jekk Apollo, sew jekk Kefa, sew jekk id-dinja, sew jekk il-ħajja, sew jekk il-mewt, sew jekk iż-żmien ta’ issa, sew jekk li ġej; kollox hu tagħkom, u intom ta’ Kristu, u Kristu ta’ Alla. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej.

Gospel               MATTHEW 5:38-48

Jesus said to his disciples: "You have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil. When someone strikes you on your right cheek, turn the other one as well. If anyone wants to go to law with you over your tunic, hand over your cloak as well. Should anyone press you into service for one mile, go for two miles. Give to the one who asks of you, and do not turn your back on one who wants to borrow. "You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have? Do not the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brothers only, what is unusual about that? Do not the pagans do the same? So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect."

EVANĠELJU                 Qari skond San Mattew 5:38-48

F’dak iż-żmien, Ġesù qal lid-dixxipli tiegħu: “Smajtu xi ntqal: ‘Għajn b’għajn u sinna b’sinna’. Imma jiena ngħidilkom biex bniedem ħażin ma tiqfulux; anzi, jekk xi ħadd jagħtik daqqa ta’ ħarta fuq ħaddek tal-lemin, dawwarlu l-ieħor ukoll; u lil min ikun irid itellgħek il-qorti u jeħodlok il-libsa, ħallilu wkoll il-mantar. U jekk xi ħadd iġagħlek timxi miegħu mil wieħed, mur miegħu tnejn. Agħti lil min jitolbok u ddawwarx spallejk lil min ikun irid jissellef mingħandek.  Smajtu xi ntqal: ‘Ħobb lil għajrek, u obgħod lill-għadu tiegħek’. Imma jiena ngħidilkom: Ħobbu lill-għedewwa tagħkom, u itolbu għal dawk li jippersegwitawkom, biex tkunu wlied Missierkom li hu fis-smewwiet; għax hu jtalla’ x-xemx tiegħu sew fuq il-ħżiena u sew fuq it-tajbin, u jniżżel ix-xita sew fuq min hu tajjeb u sew fuq min mhuwiex. Għax jekk intom tħobbu lil min iħobbkom, xi ħlas jistħoqqilkom? Mhux il-pubblikani wkoll jagħmluh dan? U jekk issellmu lil ħutkom biss, xi tkunu tagħmlu żejjed? Mhux il-pagani wkoll jagħmluh dan? Kunu mela perfetti, bħalma hu perfett Missierkom li hu fis-smewwiet”. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej.

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Reflection on Sunday's Readings by Fr. Anthony Kadavil

"BE HOLY AS I AM HOLY"

Introduction:

Sunday’s readings explain why Christians are expected to be holy and how we are meant to become holy people. The first and second readings give us reasons why we should be holy, and the Gospel describes four ways of becoming holy people prescribed for us by Jesus, using three examples of graceful Christian retaliation when people offend us and violate our rights and privileges.

Scripture lessons summarized:

The first reading, taken from the book of Leviticus, teaches us that we should be holy because it is the command given to us by God through Moses: “Be holy, for I the Lord, your God, am Holy.” It also shows us the way to share in God’s holiness: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” The Responsorial Psalm (Ps 103) challenges us to be holy as our God is Holy by becoming kind and merciful and forgiving, as He is to us.

In the second reading, St. Paul gives us an additional reason to be holy. We are to keep our bodies and souls holy because we are the temples of the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit lives in us. In the Gospel passage, taken from the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches us four ways of becoming holy as God is holy.

Life message:

We need to become holy: 

    1) The first way is to abstain from all forms of retaliation. Jesus discards even the milder form of retaliation developed by Hammurabi in ancient Babylon and passed on to Israel through Moses. The policy was one of limited, proportional retaliation (Lex Talionis, “tit-for-tat”): “an eye for an eye, a tooth for tooth,” rather than allowing unlimited vengeance. In place of this limited, proportional retaliation, Jesus gives his new law of love, grace, forgiveness, reconciliation, and no retaliation. For Jesus, retaliation, or even limited vengeance, has no place in the Christian life, even though graceful acceptance of an offense requires great strength, discipline of character, and strengthening by God’s grace.

    2) The second way of becoming holy as God is Holy is to take the offense gracefully and love the offender. Jesus illustrates this in three images: “turning the other cheek, freely giving the tunic and adding the cloak to it, and walking the extra mile.” Jesus tells us that what makes Christians different is the grace with which they treat others, offering them loving kindness and mercy as God does for us, even if they don’t deserve this treatment. We are commanded to love our enemies as Jesus loves us, with agápe love, not because our enemies deserve our love, but because Jesus loves them so much that he died for them as he did for us.

    3) The third way of sharing in God’s Holiness is by unconditionally and whole-heartedly forgiving the offender without planning revenge in any form. This means not only loving one’s neighbors, but also forgiving those enemies who hurt us and seem willfully to cause us suffering, hardship and unhappiness.

    4) The fourth way of becoming holy as God is Holy is to seal our determination to forgive our enemies by sincerely praying for their spiritual and physical welfare and for the grace they need for their conversion and renewal of life. Thus, today’s Scripture readings challenge us to become holy as our God is Holy by loving, forgiving, and blessing others, even our enemies with graceful and magnanimous love, as our Holy God does for us.


//////////////////////////////////////     © 2023, Fr. Anthony Kadavil - https://frtonyshomilies.com

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