Readings for Sunday, July 28, 2024
Qari tas-Sbatax-il Ħadd taż-Żmien ta’ Matul is-Sena
Reading 1 2 KINGS 4:42-44
A man came from Baal-shalishah bringing to Elisha, the man of God, twenty barley loaves made from the firstfruits, and fresh grain in the ear. Elisha said, "Give it to the people to eat." But his servant objected, "How can I set this before a hundred people?" Elisha insisted, "Give it to the people to eat." "For thus says the LORD, 'They shall eat and there shall be some left over.'" And when they had eaten, there was some left over, as the LORD had said.
QARI 1 mit-Tieni Ktieb tas-Slaten 4:42-44
F’dak iż-żmien, ġie għand Eliżew raġel minn Bagħal-Salisa, u ġieb lir-raġel ta’ Alla ħobż tal-bikri: għoxrin ħobża tax-xgħir, u sbul mimli qamħ ġdid. Eliżew qallu: “Agħtihom lin-nies ħa jieklu”. Imma l-qaddej tiegħu wieġeb: “Kif nista’ nqassam dawn lil mitt ruħ?”. Raġa’ qallu Eliżew: “Agħti lin-nies ħa jieklu; għax dan jgħid il-Mulej: ‘Mhux biss jieklu, imma jifdal ukoll’”. Dak qassmilhom; u huma kielu, u kien għad fadal minnhom, bħalma qal il-Mulej. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej.
Responsorial Psalm PSALM 145:10-11, 15-16, 17-18
and let your faithful ones bless you.
Let them discourse of the glory of your kingdom
and speak of your might.
R. The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs.
The eyes of all look hopefully to you,
and you give them their food in due season;
you open your hand
and satisfy the desire of every living thing.
R. The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs.
The LORD is just in all his ways
and holy in all his works.
The LORD is near to all who call upon him,
to all who call upon him in truth.
R. The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs.
SALM RESPONSORJALI Salm 144(145):10-11,15-16,17-18
R/. (ara 16): Iftaħ idek, Mulej: ferraħna bil-ġid li tagħtina.
Kulma għamilt iroddlok ħajr, Mulej;
iberkuk il-ħbieb tiegħek kollha.
Is-sebħ tas-saltna tiegħek ixandru,
fuq is-setgħa tiegħek jitkellmu. R/.
Għajnejn kulħadd iħarsu lejk, Mulej,
u inti tagħtihom l-ikel f’waqtu.
Int tiftaħ idek,
u xxabba’ ’l kulħadd bil-ġid. R/.
Ġust il-Mulej fl-imġiba tiegħu kollha,
twajjeb f’dak kollu li għamel.
Qrib il-Mulej lejn kull min isejjaħlu,
lejn kull min isejjaħlu fis-sewwa. R/.
Reading 2 EPHESIANS 4:1-6
Brothers and sisters: I, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love, striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace: one body and one Spirit, as you were also called to the one hope of your call; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
QARI 2 mill-Ittra lill-Efesin 4:1-6
Ħuti, inħeġġiġkom jien, il-priġunier tal-Mulej, biex timxu sewwa skont is-sejħa li biha kontu msejħin; billi bl-umiltà kollha, bil-ħlewwa u bis-sabar, taħmlu u tħobbu ’l xulxin. Ħabirku biex iżżommu spirtu wieħed bir-rabta tas-sliem; ġisem wieħed u ruħ waħda, l-istess kif kontu msejħa għal tama waħda; Mulej wieħed, fidi waħda, magħmudija waħda; Alla wieħed u Missier ta’ kulħadd, li hu fuq kulħadd, b’kulħadd u f’kulħadd. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej.
Gospel JOHN 6:1-15
Jesus went across the Sea of Galilee. A large crowd followed him, because they saw the signs he was performing on the sick. Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. The Jewish feast of Passover was near. When Jesus raised his eyes and saw that a large crowd was coming to him, he said to Philip, "Where can we buy enough food for them to eat?" He said this to test him, because he himself knew what he was going to do. Philip answered him, "Two hundred days' wages worth of food would not be enough for each of them to have a little." One of his disciples, Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, said to him, "There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what good are these for so many?" Jesus said, "Have the people recline." Now there was a great deal of grass in that place. So the men reclined, about five thousand in number. Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to those who were reclining, and also as much of the fish as they wanted. When they had had their fill, he said to his disciples, "Gather the fragments left over, so that nothing will be wasted." So they collected them, and filled twelve wicker baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves that had been more than they could eat. When the people saw the sign he had done, they said, "This is truly the Prophet, the one who is to come into the world." Since Jesus knew that they were going to come and carry him off to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain alone.
EVANĠELJU Qari skond San Ġwann 6:1-15
F’dak iż-żmien, Ġesù telaq lejn in-naħa l-oħra tal-baħar tal-Galilija, jew ta’ Tiberija. Ħafna nies marru warajh, għax raw is-sinjali li kien jagħmel bil-fejqan tal-morda. Ġesù tela’ lejn l-għoljiet u qagħad hemm bilqiegħda mad-dixxipli tiegħu. Kien qrib l-Għid, il-festa tal-Lhud. Ġesù rafa’ għajnejh, lemaħ kotra ta’ nies ġejja lejh, u qal lil Filippu: “Mnejn nixtru l-ħobż biex dawn ikollhom x’jieklu?”. Dan qalhulu biex jippruvah, għaliex hu kien jaf x’sejjer jagħmel. Filippu wieġbu: “Mitejn dinar ħobż ma jkunux biżżejjed għalihom biex kull wieħed minnhom jieħu xi ftit”. Wieħed mid-dixxipli tiegħu, Indrì, ħu Xmun Pietru, qallu: “Hawn tfajjel li għandu ħames ħobżiet tax-xgħir u żewġ ħutiet żgħar; imma dawn x’inhuma għal daqshekk nies?”. Ġesù qal: “Qiegħdu n-nies bilqiegħda”. Dik in-naħa kien hemm ħafna ħaxix. Għalhekk in-nies, xi ħamest elef raġel, qagħdu bilqiegħda. Ġesù ħa l-ħobżiet, radd il-ħajr, u qassamhom lil dawk li kienu bilqiegħda; hekk ukoll għamel bil-ħut, u kulħadd ħa kemm ried. Meta xebgħu, Ġesù qal lid-dixxipli tiegħu: “Iġbru l-loqom li baqa’, biex xejn ma jinħela”. Marru jiġbruhom, u mlew tnax-il qoffa bil-loqom li kien fadlilhom in-nies mill-ħames ħobżiet tax-xgħir wara li kienu kielu. Għalhekk dawn in-nies, meta raw dan is-sinjal li għamel Ġesù, qalu: “Dan hu tassew il-Profeta li għandu jiġi fid-dinja!”. Imma Ġesù, meta ntebaħ li kienu ġejjin biex jeħduh bilfors ħalli jagħmluh sultan, raġa’ warrab waħdu lejn l-għoljiet. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej.
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An 8-minute Reflection on Sunday's Readings by Fr Anthony Kadavil
Introduction:
Sunday’s readings invite us to become humble instruments in God’s hands by sharing our blessings with our needy brothers and sisters. They focus on hunger and food and how we can satisfy the deeper hunger of our life. They remind us that if we and our country are blessed with an abundant food supply, we need to share it with the hungry people and poor countries. Once physical hungers are satisfied, then we are challenged to satisfy the deeper hungers, for love, mercy, forgiveness, companionship, peace, and fulfilment.
Scripture lessons summarized:
The first reading tells us how the prophet Elisha, by invoking God’s power, fed one hundred men with twenty barley loaves. Elisha relied not on what he had but on what God would do with what the Prophet had received as a gift. This miracle foreshadows the Gospel account of Jesus’ miraculous feeding of the pursuing crowd seeking the Master.
The Refrain for Sunday’s Responsorial Psalm has us sing, “The hand of the Lord feeds us; He answers all our needs.” In the second reading, St. Paul gives us the theology behind sharing. Jesus united the Jews and the Gentiles by bringing them together as Christians in one Faith by means of one Baptism, enabling them to become communities of sharing Christians living together and helping each other by sharing their blessings.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus’ miraculous feeding of the five thousand people, using five barley loaves and two fish offered by a boy in the crowd through the apostles, is associated with the Holy Eucharist early in the Church’s tradition. That is why it is described in all four gospels and the second century Christians used this miracle in their catacomb wall drawings. The people who had been fed immediately gave Jesus two Messianic titles: “The prophet” and “the one who is to come.” This miracle teaches us that God works marvels through ordinary people. Elisha’s servant and Jesus’ disciples distributed the bread provided by God through generous people who were willing to share their food with the hungry. Thus, God meets the needs of people through the good will and services provided by members of His community.
The Gospel story also teaches that Jesus meets the most basic human need, namely hunger, with generosity and compassion, tells us that God really cares about His people, and shows us that He provides more than enough for everybody. Studies indicate that the world today produces enough food grains to provide every human being on the planet with 3,600 calories a day, not counting such foods as tuber crops, vegetables, beans, nuts, fruits, meats, and fish! Hence, let us pray and work for better social justice in all communities and countries.
Life messages:
A challenge to generous sharing: As Christians we need to commit ourselves to share and to work with God in communicating His compassion to all, as the early Christians did. God always blesses those who share their blessings, time, and talents with loving commitment. We can begin our own humble efforts at “sharing” right in our parish by participating in the works of charity done by organizations like St. Vincent DePaul Society, the Knights of Columbus etc. Once physical hungers are satisfied, then we are challenged to satisfy the deeper hungers, for love, mercy, forgiveness, companionship, peace, and fulfilment.
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