Resolution: Go and sin no more

The Fifth Sunday of Lent

 Il-Hames’ Hadd tar-Randan               

Messalin C 168

Reading 1                             Isaiah 43:16-21

Thus says the LORD, who opens a way in the sea and a path in the mighty waters, who leads out chariots and horsemen, a powerful army, till they lie prostrate together, never to rise, snuffed out and quenched like a wick. Remember not the events of the past, the things of long ago consider not; see, I am doing something new! Now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? In the desert I make a way, in the wasteland, rivers. Wild beasts honor me, jackals and ostriches, for I put water in the desert and rivers in the wasteland for my chosen people to drink, the people whom I formed for myself, that they might announce my praise.  This is the Word of The Lord

L-Ewwel Qari   -   mill-Profeta Isaija 43. 16-21

Dan jgħid il-Mulej, li fetaħ triq fil-baħar, mogħdija fl-ilmijiet qawwija; dak li ħareġ karrijiet u żwiemel, eżerċti u rġiel qalbiena f'daqqa; inxteħtu fl-art, biex aktar ma qamux; inħlew bħal ftil, u ntfew. "La tiftakrux iżjed fi ġrajjiet l-imgħoddi; la taħsbux fuq dak li ġara qabel. Arawni, sejjer nagħmel ħaġa ġdida: feġġet issa; għadkom ma ttendejtux? Sa niftaħ triq fix-xagħri, xmajjar fid-deżert. Ifaħħruni l-bhejjem selvaġġi, ix-xakalli u wlied in-ngħam, għax noħroġ l-ilma fix-xagħri, xmajjar fid-deżert, biex nisqi l-poplu tiegħi, il-maħtur tiegħi, il-poplu li sawwart għalija, biex ixandar it-tifħir tiegħi."  Il-Kelma tal-Mulej.

Responsorial Psalm          PSALM 126:1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 6

R. (3) The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.
When the LORD brought back the captives of Zion,
we were like men dreaming.
Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
and our tongue with rejoicing.                 R/

Then they said among the nations,
“The LORD has done great things for them.”
The LORD has done great things for us;
we are glad indeed.                                       R/

Restore our fortunes, O LORD,
like the torrents in the southern desert.
Those that sow in tears
shall reap rejoicing.                                       R/

Although they go forth weeping,
carrying the seed to be sown,
They shall come back rejoicing,
carrying their sheaves.                                 R/

Salm Responsorjali    -   Salm  125 (126)

R/           Kbir f'għemilu l-Mulej magħna!

Meta l-Mulej reġġa' lura l-imjassra ta' Sijon,

konna qisna mitlufa f'ħolma;

imbagħad bid-daħk imtela fommna,

u bl-għajjat ta' ferħ ilsienna.                                      R/

Ibagħad bdew jgħidu fost il-ġnus:

"Kbir f'għemilu l-Mulej magħhom."

Kbir f'għemilu l-Mulej magħna!

U aħna bil-ferħ imtlejna.                                             R/

Biddel, Mulej, xortina

bħall-widien tan-Neġeb!

Dawk li jiżirgħu fid-dmugħ

jaħsdu bl-għana ta' ferħ.                                              R/

Huma u sejrin, imorru jibku,

iġorru ż-żerriegħa għaż-żrigħ.

Iżda huma u ġejjin lura, jiġu b'għana ta' ferħ,

iġorru l-qatet f'idejhom.                                              R/

Reading 2                             Philippians3:8-14

Brothers and sisters: I consider everything as a loss because of the supreme good of  knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have accepted the loss of all things and I consider them so much rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having any righteousness of my own based on the law but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God, depending on faith to know him and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by being conformed to his death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead.    It is not that I have already taken hold of it or have already attained perfect maturity, but I continue my pursuit in hope that I may possess it, since I have indeed been taken possession of by Christ Jesus. Brothers and sisters, I for my part do not consider myself to have taken possession. Just one thing: forgetting what lies behind but straining forward to what lies ahead, I continue my pursuit toward the goal, the prize of God’s upward calling, in Christ Jesus. This is the Word of The Lord

It-Tieni Qari  -    mill-Ittra lill-Filippin 3, 8-14

Ħuti, jiena ngħodd kollox bħala telf ħdejn il-qligħ kbir li hemm filli nagħraf lil Kristu Ġesu' Sidi;  minħabba  fih ridt li nitlef kollox, u ngħodd kollox  bħala knis, biex nirbaħ lil Kristu, u nkun ninsab fih;  mhux għax għandi  xi ġustizzja tiegħi, dik li tiġi permezz tal-Liġi, iżda dik li tiġi permezz  tal-fidi fi Kristu, il-ġustizzja ġejja minn Alla u mibnija fuq il-fidi.  Irrid nagħraf lilu u l-qawwa tal-qawmien tiegħu mill-imwiet, u naqsam miegħu t-tbatijiet tiegħu, u nsir nixbħu  fil-mewt, biex jirnexxili nikseb il-qawmien mill-imwiet. M'iniex ngħid li jiena ġa ksibtu, jew li jien ġa perfett. Imma  nross 'il quddiem biex naħtaf dan, bħalma Kristu Ġesu' ġa ħataf lili.   Ħuti, ma jidhirlix li dan ġa lħaqtu; imma ħaġa waħda ngħid: waqt li ninsa lil ta' warajja kollu, jien nagħmel ħilti kollha biex nilħaq dak li hemm quddiemi; niġri 'l quddiem lejn it-tmiem, biex nikseb il-premju li għalih Alla qed isejħilna   hemm fuq fi Kristu Ġesu'. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

Gospel                                   John 8:1-11

Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. But early in the morning he arrived again in the temple area, and all the people started coming to him, and he sat down and taught them.  Then the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery and made her stand in the middle. They said to him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery. Now in the law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?”  They said this to test him, so that they could have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground with his finger. But when they continued asking him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again he bent down and wrote on the ground. And in response, they went away one by one, beginning with the elders. So he was left alone with the woman before him. Then Jesus straightened up and said to her, "Woman, where are they?  Has no one condemned you?” She replied, “No one, sir.”  Then Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on do not sin any more.”  This is the Word of The Lord

L-Evanġelju  -   Qari skont San Ġwann  8, 1-11

F'dak iż-żmien, Ġesu' telaq lejn l-Għolja taż-Żebbuġ.  Imma l-għada qabel is-sebħ raġa' mar fit-tempju, u l-poplu kollu ġie ħdejh, u hu qagħad bilqiegħda jgħallimhom. Imbagħad il-kittieba u l-fariżej ħadulu quddiemu waħda mara li kienet inqabdet fl-adulterju.   Huma qegħduha fin-nofs u qalulu:"Mgħallem, din il-mara nqabdet fil-fatt fl-adulterju.  Issa fil-Liġi tagħna Mose' ordnalna biex nisa bħal dawn inħaġġruhom.  Inti,  imma, xi tgħid?  Dan qaluhulu biex iġarrbuh, ħalli jkollhom fuqiex jixluh. Imma Ġesu' tbaxxa lejn l-art u beda jikteb b'sebgħu fit-trab.  Billi dawk baqgħu jistaqsuh, qam dritt u qalilhom:  "Minn fostkom hu bla dnub jitfgħalha hu l-ewwel ġebla."  U raġa tbaxxa jikteb fit-trab.  Kif semgħuh jgħid dan,  qabbdu u telqu wieħed wara l-ieħor, ibda mix-xjuħ. Ġesu' baqa' waħdu mal-mara, wieqfa fin-nofs.  Qam dritt u qalilha:  "Dawk fejhom, mara?  Ħadd  minnhom ma kkundannak?" "Ħadd, Sinjur," qaltlu:  "Mela anqas jien ma nikkundannak", qalila Ġesu'. "Mur, u mil-lum 'il quddiem tindnibx iżjed."  Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

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COMMENTARY -  Fr Cantalamessa on Families:

Jesus, the woman, and the family

The Gospel of the Fifth Sunday of Lent is about the woman surprised in adultery whom Jesus saves from stoning. Jesus does not intend to say with his gesture that adultery is not a sin or that it is a small thing. There is an explicit, even if delicate, condemnation of adultery in the words addressed to the woman at the end of the scene: “Do not sin anymore.”

Jesus does not intend to approve the deed of the woman; his intention is rather to condemn the attitude of those who are always ready to look for and denounce the sin of others. We saw this last time in our look at Jesus’ general attitude toward sinners.

As we have been doing in these commentaries on the readings for the Sundays of Lent, we will now move from this passage to expand our horizon and consider Christ’s general attitude toward marriage and the family, as this can be discerned in all the Gospels.

Among the strange theses about Jesus advanced in recent years, there is also one about a Jesus who supposedly repudiated the natural family and all familial relationships in the name of belonging to a different community in which God is the father and all the disciples are brothers and sisters. This Jesus is supposed to have proposed an itinerant life like that of the philosophical school known as the Cynics in the world outside Israel.

There are words of Christ about familial bonds that actually perplex at first glance. Jesus says: “If someone comes to me and does not hate his father, his mother, wife, children, brothers, and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26).

These are certainly hard words but already the Evangelist Matthew is careful to explain the meaning that the word “hate” has in this context: “Whoever loves his father and mother … son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me” (Matthew 10:37).

Jesus does not ask us therefore to hate our parents and children, but to not love them to the point of refusing to follow Jesus on their account.

There is another perplexing episode. One day Jesus says to someone: “Follow me.” And the man responds: “Lord, let me go first and bury my father.” Jesus replies: “Let the dead bury the dead; you go and proclaim the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:59ff).

Some critics let loose on this. In their eyes, this is a scandalous request, disobedience to God who orders us to care for our parents, a clear violation of filial duties!

The scandal of these critics is for us a precious proof. Certain words of Christ cannot be explained as long as he is considered a mere man, even if an exceptional one. Only God can ask that we love him more than our father and that, to follow him, we even renounce attending our father’s burial. 
<br> For the rest, from a perspective of faith like Christ’s, what was more important for the deceased father: that his son be at home in that moment to bury his body or that he follow the one sent by God, the God before whom his soul must now present itself?

But maybe the explanation in this case is even more simple. We know that the expression, “Let me go and bury my father,” was sometimes used (as it is today) to say: “Let me go and be with my father while he is still alive; after he dies I will bury him and come follow you.”

Jesus would thus only be asking not to indefinitely delay responding to his call. Many of us religious, priests and sisters, find ourselves faced with the same choice and often our parents have been happier for our obedience to Jesus.

The perplexity over these requests of Jesus arises in large part from a failure to take into account the difference between what he asked of all indistinctly and what he asked only of those who were called to entirely share his life dedicated to the kingdom, as happens in the Church even today.

There are other sayings of Jesus which could be examined. Someone might even accuse Jesus of being the cause of the proverbial difficulty in agreement between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law since he said: “I have come to separate son from father, daughter from mother, daughter-in-law from mother-in-law” (Matthew 10:35).

But it will not be Jesus who divides; it will be the different attitude that each member of the family takes toward him that will determine the division. This is something that painfully occurs even in many families today.

All of the doubts about Jesus’ attitude toward the family and marriage will fall away if we take into account the whole Gospel and not only those passages that we like. Jesus is more rigorous than anyone in regard to the indissolubility of marriage, he forcefully confirms the commandment to honor father and mother to the point of condemning the practice of denying them help for religious reasons (cf. Mark 7:11-13).

Just consider all the miracles that Jesus performed precisely to take away the sorrows of fathers (Jairus and the father of the epileptic), of mothers (the Canaanite woman, the widow of Nain!), and of siblings (the sisters of Lazarus).

In these ways he honors familial bonds. He shares the sorrow of relatives to the point of weeping with them.

In a time like our own, when everything seems to conspire to weaken the bonds and values of the family, the only thing that we have not set against them yet is Jesus and the Gospel!

But this is one of the many odd things about Jesus that we must know so that we are not taken in when we hear talk of new discoveries about the Gospels. Jesus came to bring marriage back to its original beauty (cf. Matthew 19:4-9), to strengthen it, not to weaken it.

Jesus and sinners

The Fourth Sunday of Lent

The Renewal of our Relations with God

Ir-Raba’ Hadd tar-Randan

Messalin C 156

Reading 1                         Joshua:9a, 10-12

The LORD said to Joshua, "Today I have removed the reproach of Egypt from you." While the Israelites were encamped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, they celebrated the Passover on the evening of the fourteenth of the month. On the day after the Passover, they ate of the produce of the land in the form of unleavened cakes and parched grain. On that same day after the Passover, on which they ate of the produce of the land, the manna ceased. No longer was there manna for the Israelites, who that year ate of the yield of the land of Canaan.  This is the Word of the Lord.

L-Ewwel Qari  -  mill-Ktieb ta' Ġożwe' 5,9a, 10-13

F'dak iż-żmien, il-Mulej qal lil Ġożwe': "Illum jien neħħejtilkom minn fuqkom l-għajb tal-Eġittu.Ulied Iżrael waqqfu l-kamp tagħhom f'Gilgal.  Hemm,fil-witat ta' Ġeriko, għamlu l-Għid filgħaxija tal-erbatax tax-xahar. U sewwa sew l-għada tal-Għid, huma kielu mill-frott tal-art:  ħobż ażżmu u qamħ inkaljat. Minn dakinhar, wara li kielu mill-frott tal-art, il-manna waqfet.  Ulied Iżrael ma kellhomx aktar manna, imma minn dik is-sena bdew jieklu

milli bdiet tagħtihom l-art ta' Kangħan. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

Responsorial Psalm                                   PSALM 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7

R. (9a) Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
I will bless the LORD at all times;
his praise shall be ever in my mouth.
Let my soul glory in the LORD;
the lowly will hear me and be glad.                       R/

Glorify the LORD with me,
let us together extol his name.
I sought the LORD, and he answered me
and delivered me from all my fears.                       R/

Look to him that you may be radiant with joy,
and your faces may not blush with shame.
When the poor one called out, the LORD heard,
and from all his distress he saved him.  R/

 Salm Responsorjali                   -              Salm 33(34)

                R/     Duqu u taraw kemm hu tajjeb il-Mulej!

Kull ħin inbierek il-Mulej;

tifħiru dejjem fuq fommi.

Bil-Mulej tiftaħar ruħi;

Isimgħu l-fqajrin u jifirħu.                            R/

Xandru l-kobor tal-Mulej miegħi;

ħa ngħollu ismu flimkien.

Jien fittixt tal-Mulej, u weġibni,

minn kull biża' tiegħi ħelisni.                    R/

Ħarsu lejh u jiddi bil-ferħ wiċċkom,

u ma jkollkomx għax tistħu.

Dan il-fqajjar sejjaħ u l-Mulej semgħu,

u mid-dwejjaq tiegħu kollha ħelsu.        R/

Reading 2                         2 Corinthians 5:17-21

Brothers and sisters: Whoever is in Christ is a new creation: the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come. And all this is from God, who has reconciled us to himself through Christ and given us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting their trespasses against them  and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. So we are ambassadors for Christ, as if God were appealing through us.We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who did not know sin,so that we might become the righteousness of God in him. This is the Word of the Lord. This is the Word of the Lord.

It-Tieni Lezzjoni -   Qari mit-Tieni Ittra lill-Korintin 5,17-2 

Ħuti, meta wieħed jingħaqad ma' Kristu, isir ħolqien ġdid; il-qadim għadda u daħal il-ġdid. Kollox ġej minn alla li ħabbibna miegħu nnifsu permezz ta' Kristu u tana l-ministeru ta' din il-ħbiberija tal-bnedmin ma' Alla.   Alla kien li ħabbeb il-ħolqien miegħu nnifsu permezz ta' Kristu, bla ma qagħad iżomm il-kont ta' dnubiethom, u fdalna l-ministeru ta' din il-ħbiiberija. Aħna nagħmluha ta' ambaxxaturi ta' Kristu bħallikieku Alla stess qiegħed isejjaħ permezz tagħna, nitolbu fuq li nitolbu f'ġieħ Kristu:   Ħallu lil Alla jħabbihkom miegħu. Dak li ma kienx jaf x'inhu dnub, Alla għamlu dnub għalina sabiexi aħna nsiru fih ġustizzja ta' Alla. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

Gospel                                                Luk e15:1-3, 11-32

Tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to Jesus, but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” So to them Jesus addressed this parable: “A man had two sons, and the younger son said to his father, ‘Father give me the share of your estate that should come to me .’So the father divided the property between them. After a few days, the younger son collected all his belongings and set off to a distant country where he squandered his inheritance on a life of dissipation. When he had freely spent everything, a severe famine struck that country, and he found himself in dire need. So he hired himself out to one of the local citizens who sent him to his farm to tend the swine. And he longed to eat his fill of the pods on which the swine fed, but nobody gave him any. Coming to his senses he thought, ‘How many of my father’s hired workers have more than enough food to eat, but here am I, dying from hunger. I shall get up and go to my father and I shall say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I no longer deserve to be called your son; treat me as you would treat one of your hired workers. ”’So he got up and went back to his father. While he was still a long way off, his father caught sight of him, and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him. His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son.’ But his father ordered his servants, ‘Quickly bring the finest robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Take the fattened calf and slaughter it. Then let us celebrate with a feast, because this son of mine was dead, and has come to life again; he was lost, and has been found.’ Then the celebration began. Now the older son had been out in the field and, on his way back, as he neared the house, he heard the sound of music and dancing. He called one of the servants and asked what this might mean. The servant said to him, "Your brother has returned and your father has slaughtered the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’ He became angry, and when he refused to enter the house, his father came out and pleaded with him. He said to his father in reply, ‘Look, all these years I served you and not once did I disobey your orders; yet you never gave me even a young goat to feast on with my friends. But when your son returns who swallowed up your property with prostitutes, for him you slaughter the fattened calf.’ He said to him, ‘My son, you are here with me always; everything I have is yours. But now we must celebrate and rejoice, because your brother was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’”   This is the Word of the Lord.

Evanġelju  -  Qari  skont  San Luqa 15, 1-3, 11-32

F'dak iż-żmien, il-pubblikani u l-midinbin kienu jersqu b ħġarhom lejn Ġesu' biex jisimgħuh.   U kemm il-Fariżej u kemm il-kittieba kienu jġemgmu u jgħidu:   "Nies midinba jilqa' għandu dan u jiekol magħhom!" U Ġes' qabad u qalilhom din parabbla.  "Kien hemm raġel li kellu żewġ ulied.  Iż-żgħir qal lil missieru:  "Missier, agħtini s-sehem li jmiss lili mill-ġid."  U dak qassmilhom il-ġid. Ma kinux għaddew wisq ġranet, meta ż-żgħir sarr kollox u telaq minn bletu lejn  pajjiż imbiegħed, u hemmhekk berbaq ġidu kollu f'ħajja mtajra.  Meta ħela kulma kellu, fuq dak il-pajjiż waqa' ġuħ kbir, u beda jħoss ruħu fil-bżonn.   U mar daħal ma' wieħed minn dak il-pajjiż,li bagħtu fir-raba' tiegħu jirgħa l-ħnieżer.   Kien jixtieq kieku jimla żaqqu mqar bil-ħarrub li kienu jieklu l-ħnieżer, imma ħadd ma' kien jagħtih. Imbagħad daħal fih innifsu u qal:  "Kemm lavranti ma' missieri għandhom ħobż bix-xaba', u jien qiegħed hawn immut bil-ġuħ!  Ħa nqum u mmur għand missieri u ngħidlu:  "Missier, dnibt kontra s-sema u kontra tiegħek; ma jistħoqqlix iżjed nissejjaħ ibnek;  żommni b'wieħed mil-lavranti tiegħek."  Qam, u telaq għal għand missieru. Iżda kif kien għadu fil-bogħod missieru lemħu u tħassru, u b'ġirja waħda mar inxteħet fuq għonqu u biesu.   It-tifel qallu:  "Missier, dnibt kontra s-sema u kontra tiegħek; ma jistħoqqlix iżjed nissejaħ ibnek."  Iżda l-missier qal lill-qaddejja tiegħu:  "Isaw! Ġibulu l-isbaħ libsa u xidduhielu, libbsulu ċ-ċurkett f'sebgħu u s-sandli f'riġlejħ!   Ġibu l-għoġol l-imsemmen u oqtluh, ha nieklu u nagħmlu festa, għax dan ibni kien mejjet u raġa' qam, kien mitluf u nstab!" U għamlu festa. Mela ibnu l-kbir kien fl-għalqa.   Huwa u rieġa' lura, kif wasal qrib id-dar sama' daqq u żfin.  Sejjaħ wieħed mill-qaddejja u staqsieh dak x'kien.  Dan qallu:  "Hawn ħuk u missierek qatillu l-għoġol l-imsemmen, għax  raġa' kisbu qawwi u sħiħ."   Hu inkorla, u ma riedx jidħol ġewwa, iżda missieru ħareġ jitolbu jidħol. Iżda hu qal lil missieru:  "Ara, ili dawnissnin kollha naqdik, kelmtek ma ksirthielek qatt, u kieku qatt tajtna gidi lili biex nagħem ikla u nifraħ ma' ħbiebi! Imbagħad jiġi dan ibnek, li belagħlek ġidek man-nisa żienja, u lilu tooqtollu l-għoġol l-imsemmen."   Qallu missieru:  "Ibni, inti dejjem miegħi, u kulma hu tiegħi huwa tiegħek.  Imma kien meħtieġ li nagħmlu festa u nifirħu, għax dan ħuk kien mejjet u raġa' qam, kien mitluf u nstab." Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

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Commentary:

Fr Cantalamessa on the Prodigal Son

Here is a translation of a commentary by the Pontifical Household preacher, Capuchin Father Raneiro Cantalamessa, on the readings for this Sunday’s liturgy.

Jesus and Sinners

The Gospel for the Fourth Sunday of Lent is one of the most celebrated pages of Luke’s Gospel and of all four Gospels: the parable of the prodigal son. Everything in this parable is surprising; men had never portrayed God in this way. This parable has touched more hearts than all the sermons that have been preached put together. It has an incredible power to act on the mind, the heart, the imagination, and memory. It is able to touch the most diverse chords: repentance, shame, nostalgia.

The parable is introduced with these words: “All the tax collectors and sinners were drawing near to him to listen to him. The Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, ‘This man receives sinners and eats with them.’ So he told them this parable …” (Luke 15:1-2). Following this lead, we would like to reflect on Jesus’ attitude toward sinners, going through the whole Gospel, guided also by our plan for these Lenten commentaries, that is, to know better who Jesus was, what can be historically known about him.

The welcome that Jesus reserves for sinners in the Gospel is well known, as is the opposition that this procures him on the part of the defenders of the law who accuse him of being “a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners” (Luke 7:34). Jesus declares in one of his better historically attested to sayings, “I have not come to call the just but sinners” (Mark 2:17). Feeling welcomed and not judged by him, sinners listened to him gladly.

But who were the sinners, what category of persons was designated by this term? Someone, trying to completely justify Jesus’ adversaries, the Pharisees, has argued that by this term is understood “the deliberate and impenitent transgressors of the law,” in other words, the criminals, those who are outside the law. If this were so, then Jesus’ adversaries would have been entirely right to be scandalized and see him as an irresponsible and socially dangerous person. It would be as if a priest today were to regularly frequent members of the mafia and criminals and accept their invitations to dinner with the pretext of speaking to them of God.

In reality, this is not how things are. The Pharisees had their vision of the law and of what conformed to it or was contrary, and they considered reprobate all those who did not follow their rigid interpretation of the law. In their view, anyone who did not follow their traditions or dictates was a sinner. Following the same logic, the Essenes of Qumran considered the Pharisees themselves to be unjust and violators of the law! The same thing happens today. Certain ultraorthodox groups consider all those who do not think exactly as they do to be heretics.

An eminent scholar has written: “It is not true that Jesus opened the gates of the kingdom to hard-boiled and impenitent criminals, or that he denied the existence of ‘sinners.’ What Jesus opposed were the walls that were erected within Israel and those who treated other Israelites as if they were outside the covenant and excluded from God’s grace” (James Dunn).

Jesus does not deny the existence of sin and sinners. This is obvious from the fact that he calls them “sick.” On this point he is more rigorous than his adversaries. If they condemn actual adultery, Jesus condemns adultery already at the stage of desire; if the law says not to kill, Jesus says that we must not even hate or insult our brother. To the sinners who draw near to him, he says “Go and sin no more”; he does not say: “Go and live as you were living before.”

What Jesus condemns is the Pharisees’ relegating to themselves the determination of true justice and their denying to others the possibility of conversion. The way that Luke introduces the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector is significant: “He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and despised others” (Luke 18:9). Jesus was more severe with those who condemned sinners with disdain than he was with sinners themselves.

But the novel and unheard of thing in the relationship between Jesus and sinners is not his goodness and mercy toward them. This can be explained in a human way. There is, in his attitude, something that cannot be humanly explained, that is, it cannot be explained so long as Jesus is taken to be a man like other men. What is novel and unheard of is Jesus’ forgiveness of sins.

Jesus says to the paralytic: “My son, your sins are forgiven you.”

“Who can forgive sins but God alone?” Jesus’ horrified adversaries cry out. And Jesus replies: “‘So that you might know that the Son of Man has the authority to forgive sins, Get up!’ he said to the paralytic, ‘Pick up your mat and go home.'” No one could verify whether the sins of that man were forgiven but everyone could see that he got up and walked. The visible miracle attested to the invisible one.

Even the investigation of Jesus’ relationship with sinners contributes therefore to an answer to the question: Who was Jesus? A man like other men, a prophet, or something different still? During his earthly life Jesus never explicitly affirmed himself to be God (and we explained why in a previous commentary), but he did attribute to himself powers that are exclusive to God.

Let us now return to Sunday’s Gospel and to the parable of the prodigal son. There is a common element that unites the parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the prodigal son, which are told in succession in Chapter 15 of Luke’s Gospel. What do the shepherd who finds the lost sheep and the woman who finds her coin say? “Rejoice with me!” And what does Jesus say at the end of each parable? “There will be more joy in heaven for a converted sinner than for ninety-nine just people who do not need to convert.”

The leitmotiv of the three parables is therefore the joy of God. (There is joy “before the angels of God,” is an entirely Jewish way to speak of joy “in God.”) In our parable joy overflows and becomes a feast. That father is overcome with joy and does not know what to do: He orders the best robe for his son, a ring with the family seal, the killing of the fatted calf, and says to all: “Let us eat and make merry, for this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.”

In one of his novels Dostoyevsky describes a scene that has the air of having been witnessed in reality. A woman holds a baby a few weeks old in her arms and — for the first time, according to her — he smiles at her. All contrite, she makes the sign of the cross on his forehead and to those who ask her the reason for this she says: “Just as a mother is happy when she sees the first smile of her child, God too rejoices every time a sinner gets on his knees and addresses a heartfelt prayer to him” (“The Idiot”).

Who knows whether a person who is reading this does not decide finally to give this joy to God, to smile at him before he dies …

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Leave it a while, it may bear fruit next year!

Third Sunday of Lent

It-Tielet Ħadd tar-Randan

Messalin Ċ 156

Reading 1                             Exodus 3:1-8a, 13-15

Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian. Leading the flock across the desert, he came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There an angel of the LORD appeared to Moses in fire flaming out of a bush. As he looked on, he was surprised to see that the bush, though on fire, was not consumed.  So Moses decided, “I must go over to look at this remarkable sight, and see why the bush is not burned.” When the LORD saw him coming over to look at it more closely,  God called out to him from the bush, Moses! Moses!” He answered, “Here I am.” God said, “Come no nearer! Remove the sandals from your feet,  for the place where you stand is holy ground. I am the God of your fathers, “ he continued,  “the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob.” Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. But the LORD said, “I have witnessed the affliction of my people in Egypt  and have heard their cry of complaint against their slave drivers,  so I know well what they are suffering. Therefore I have come down to rescue them from the hands of the Egyptians and lead them out of that land into a good and spacious land,  a land flowing with milk and honey.” Moses said to God, “But when I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ if they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what am I to tell them?” God replied, “I am who am.” Then he added, “This is what you shall tell the Israelites:  I AM sent me to you.”  God spoke further to Moses, “Thus shall you say to the Israelites:  The LORD, the God of your fathers,  the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob,  has sent me to you. “This is my name forever; thus am I to be remembered through all generations.”  This is the Word of The Lord..

L-Ewwel Qari    -    mill-Ktieb ta' l-Eżodu 3, 1-8a. 14-15)

F'dak iż-żmien, Mose' kien jirgħa l-merħla ta' ħatnu Ġetru, qassis ta' Midjan, u ħa l-merħla 'l hemm fid-deżert, u wasal sa ħdejn il-Ħoreb, il-muntanja ta' Alla. Hawn deherlu l-anġlu tal-Mulej f'ħuġġieġa nar qalb l-għollieq, Mose' ħares u ra l-għollieq jaqbad bin-nar bla ma jintemm. Mose' qal: "Ħa nersaq u nara din id-dehra tal-għaġeb: għala mhux jinħaraq l-għollieq?" Il-Mulej rah riesaq biex jara, u Alla sejjaħlu minn qalb l-għollieq u qallu: "Mose', Mose'!"  U Mose' wieġeb:  "Hawn jien!" U l-Mulej qallu:  "La tersaqx 'l hawn.  Neħħi l-qorq minn riġlejk, għax  il-post li inti fuqu hu art qaddisa."    U sskota jgħidlu: "Jien hu Alla ta' missirijietek:  Alla ta' Abraħam,  Alla ta' Iżakk u Alla ta' Ġakobb." Mose' għatta wiċċu, għax beża' jħares lejn Alla. U l-Mulej qallu:  "Jien ħarist u rajt it-tbatija tal-poplu tiegħi fl-Eġittu. U jien smajt il-karba tagħhom minħabba fl-argużini tagħhom u għaraft l-uġigħ tagħhom.   Issa nżilt biex neħlishom minn idejn  l-Eġizzjani u biex intellagħhom minn dik l-art u neħodhom f'art tajba u wiesgħa, f'art tnixxi ħalib u għasel." Mose' reġa wieġeb:  "Ara, jien mmur għand ulied Iżrael u ngħidilhom: "Alla ta' missirijietkom bagħatni għandkom." Huma jistaqsuni:  "X'jimsu?'  Jien xi ngħidilhom?" Alla wieġbu:  "Jien li Jien."  U kompla jgħidlu: "Hekk għidilhom lil ulied Iżrael:  "JIENA-HU bagħatni għandkom." U Alla kompla jgħidlu:  "Hekk għandek tgħidilhom lil uliex Iżrael: "Jaħweh, Alla ta' missirijietkom, Alla ta' Abraħam, Alla ta' Iżakk, Alla ta' Ġakobb, bagħatni għandkom." Dan ikun ismi għal dejjem u dan l-isem ifakkarhom  fija minn nisel għal nisel." Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

Responsorial Psalm           PSALM 103: 1-2, 3-4, 6-7, 8, 11

R. (8a) The Lord is kind and merciful.

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/

He pardons all your iniquities,
heals all your ills,
He redeems your life from destruction,
crowns you with kindness and compassion.  R/

The LORD secures justice
and the rights of all the oppressed.
He has made known his ways to Moses,
and his deeds to the children of Israel.  R/

.

Merciful and gracious is the LORD,
slow to anger and abounding in kindness.
For as the heavens are high above the earth,
so surpassing is his kindness toward those who fear him.            R/

Salm Responsorjali             Salm 102 (103)

                R/   Ħanin u twajjeb il-Mulej

Bierek, ruħ tiegħi. il-Mulej!

B'qalbi kollha nbierek l-isem qaddis tiegħu.

Bierek, ruħ tiegħi, il-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 l-ħniena.                 R/

Il-Mulej jagħmel is-sewwa,

u l-ħaqq mal-maħqurin kollha.

Hu għarraf lil Mose' l-ħsieb tiegħu,

l-għemejjel tiegħu lil ulied Iżrael.                           R/

Ħanin u twajjeb il-Mulej,

idum ma jagħdab u kollu mogħdrija.

Daqskemm huma s-smewwiet 'il fuq mill-art,

hekk hi kbira tjubitu ma' min jibża' minnu.        R/

Reading 2                             1 Corinthians 10: 1-6, 10-12

I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters,  that our ancestors were all under the cloud  and all passed through the sea,  and all of them were baptized into Moses  in the cloud and in the sea. All ate the same spiritual food,  and all drank the same spiritual drink,  for they drank from a spiritual rock that followed them,  and the rock was the Christ. Yet God was not pleased with most of them,  for they were struck down in the desert. These things happened as examples for us,  so that we might not desire evil things, as they did.  Do not grumble as some of them did,  and suffered death by the destroyer. These things happened to them as an example,  and they have been written down as a warning to us,  upon whom the end of the ages has come. Therefore, whoever thinks he is standing secure  should take care not to fall. This is the Word of The Lord.

It-Tieni Qari   -   mill-Ewwel Ittra lill-Korintin 10, 1-6, 10-12

Ma rridkomx ma tkunux tafu, ħuti, li missirijietna  lkoll kienu taħt is-sħaba, ilkoll qasmu l-baħar,  ilkoll kienu mgħammda f'Mose' fis-sħaba u fil-baħar,  ilkoll kielu mill-istess ikel spiritwali – xorbu tassew mill- blata spiritwali li kienet timxi magħhom, u  din il-blata kienet Kristu – madankollu  l-biċċa l-kbira minnhom lil Alla ma  għoġbuħx għax ilkoll waqgħu mejta fid-deżert. Dan ġara b'eżempju għalina, biex ma nixxennqux  għal ħwejjeġ ħżiena, bħalma xxennqu huma. Anqas ma għandkom tgergru, kif għamlu xi  wħud minnhom, u qeridhom il-Qerried.   Dan kollu ġralhom b'eżempju, u  nkiteb bi twiddiba għalina li fuqna wasal tmiem  iż-żminijiet. Min jidhirlu li hu wieqaf, joqgħod attent li ma jaqax.  Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

Gospel                       Luke 13:1-9

Some people told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with the blood of their sacrifices. Jesus said to them in reply,  “Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way  they were greater sinners than all other Galileans? By no means! But I tell you, if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did! Or those eighteen people who were killed  when the tower at Siloam fell on them— do you think they were more guilty  than everyone else who lived in Jerusalem? By no means! But I tell you, if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did!” And he told them this parable:  “There once was a person who had a fig tree planted in his orchard,  and when he came in search of fruit on it but found none, he said to the gardener, ‘For three years now I have come in search of fruit on this fig tree  but have found none. So cut it down. Why should it exhaust the soil?’ He said to him in reply, ‘Sir, leave it for this year also,  and I shall cultivate the ground around it and fertilize it;  it may bear fruit in the future. If not you can cut it down.’”  

L-Evanġelju  -  Qari skond San Luqa 13, 1-9

F'dak iż-żmien, ġew xi wħud għand Ġesu' u qalulu b'dawk il-Galilin li Pilatu kien ħallat demmhom mad-demm tal-vittmi tas-sagrifiċċju tagħhom.  U Ġesu' qabad u qalilhom:  "Taħsbu intom li dawn  il-Galatin kienu iżjed midinbin mill-Galilin l-oħra biex sofrew dan kollu?  "Le, ngħidilkom, imma jekk ma tindmux,  ilkoll tintilfu bħalhom.   Jew dawk it-tmintax-il ruħ li  fuqhom waqa' t-torri ta' Silwam u qatilhom,  taħsbu intom li kienu iżjed ħatja min-nies l-oħra ta' Ġerusalemm?  Le, ngħidilkom, imma jekk ma tindmux, ilkoll tintilfu xorta waħda." U qalilhom din il-parabbola:   "Wieħed kellu siġra tat-tin imħawla fl-għalqa.   Mar ifittex il-frott fiha, u ma sabx.   Għalhekk qal lil dak li kien jaħdimlu l-għalqa:   'Ara, ili tliet snin niġi nfittex il-frott f'din is-siġra tat-tin, u qatt ma sibtiha.   Mela aqlagħha!    Għax għalfejn se tibqa' tkidd l-art?" Iżda dak wieġbu:  "Inti ħalliha, sinjur, għal  din is-sena, sa ma nagħżqilha madwarha u  nagħtiha d-demel.   Id-dieħla għandha mnejn tagħmel  il-frott, jekk le, aqlagħha."  Il-Kelma tal-Mulej.

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The Right to Convert  

Here is a translation of a commentary by the Pontifical Household preacher, Capuchin Father Raniero Cantalamessa, on the readings from this Sunday’s liturgy.

The Gospel for the Third Sunday of Lent offers us an example of Jesus’ preaching. He takes his cue from some recent news (Pontius Pilate’s execution of some Galileans and the death of twelve persons in the collapse of a tower) to speak about the necessity of vigilance and conversion.

In accord with his style he reinforces his teaching with a parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard….” Following the program that we have set out for this Lent, we will move from this passage to look at the whole of Jesus’ preaching, trying to understand what it tells us about the problem of who Jesus was.

Jesus began his preaching with a solemn declaration : “The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the Gospel” (Mark 1:15). We are used to the sound of these words and we no longer perceive their novelty and revolutionary character. With them, Jesus came to say that the time of waiting is over; the moment of the decisive intervention of God in human history, which was announced by the prophets, is here; now is the time! Now everything is decided, and it will be decided according to the position that people take when they are confronted with my words.

This sense of fulfillment, of a goal finally reached, can be perceived in different sayings of Jesus, whose historical authenticity cannot be doubted. One day, taking his disciples aside, he says: “Blessed are the eyes which see what you see! For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear and did not hear it” (Luke 10:23-24).

In the sermon on the mount Jesus said among other things: “You have heard that it was said (by Moses!) … but I say to you.” The impression that these words of Christ had on his contemporaries must have been fairly uniform. Such claims leave us few options for explanation: Either the person was crazy or simply spoke the truth. A lunatic, however, would not have lived and died as he did, and would not have continued to have such an impact on humanity 20 centuries after his death.

The novelty of the person and preaching of Jesus comes clearly to light when compared to John the Baptist. John always spoke of something in the future, a judgment that was going to take place; Jesus speaks of something that is present, a kingdom that has come and is at work. John is the man of “not yet”; Jesus is the man of “already.”

Jesus says: “Among those born of woman there is none greater than John and yet the littlest one of the kingdom of God is greater than him” (Luke 7:28); and again: “The law and the prophets were until John; since then the good news of the kingdom of God is preached and everyone enters it violently” (Luke 16:16). These words tell us that between the mission of John and Jesus there is a qualitative leap: The littlest one in the new order is in a better position than the greatest one of the old order.

Here we see how historically indefensible is the thesis of those who want to enclose Jesus in the world of the Judaism of his time, making him a Jew just like the others, one who did not intend to make a break with the past or to bring anything substantially new. This would be to set back the historical research on Jesus to a stage that we left behind quite some time ago.

Let us go back, as we usually do, to this Sunday’s Gospel passage to glean some practical guidance. Jesus comments on Pilate’s butchery and the collapse of the tower thus: “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered in this way? No, I tell you; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.” We deduce a very important lesson from this. Such disasters are not, as some think, divine castigation of the victims; if anything, they are an admonition for others.

This is an indispensable interpretive key which allows us to see that we should not lose faith when we are confronted with the terrible events that occur every day, often among the poorest and most defenseless. Jesus helps us to understand how we should react when the evening news reports earthquakes, floods, and slaughters like that ordered by Pilate. Sterile reactions like, “Oh those poor people!” are not what is called for.

Faced with these things we should reflect on the precariousness of life, on the necessity of being vigilant and of not being overly attached to that which we might easily lose one day or the next.

The word with which Jesus begins his preaching resounds in this Gospel passage: conversion. I would like to point out, however, that conversion is not only a duty, it is also a possibility for all, almost a right. It is good and not bad news! No one is excluded from the possibility of changing. No one can be regarded as hopeless. In life there are moral situations that seem to have no way out. Divorced people who are remarried; unmarried couples with children; heavy criminal sentences … every sort of bad situation.

Even for these people there is the possibility of change. When Jesus said that it was easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven, the apostles asked: “But who can be saved?” Jesus’ answer applies even to the cases I have mentioned: “For men it is impossible, but not for God.”    

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Second Sunday of Lent

It-Tieni Hadd tar-Randan   

Messalin C 150

Reading 1                 -           Genesis 15:5-12, 17-18

The Lord God took Abram outside and said, "Look up at the sky and count the stars, if you can.  Just so,” he added, “shall your descendants be.”Abram put his faith in the LORD, who credited it to him as an act of righteousness.He then said to him, I am the LORD who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land as a possession.” “O Lord GOD,” he asked, “how am I to know that I shall possess it?”He answered him, “Bring me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old she-goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.”Abram brought him all these, split them in two, and placed each half opposite the other; but the birds he did not cut up.Birds of prey swooped down on the carcasses, but Abram stayed with them.As the sun was about to set, a trance fell upon Abram, and a deep, terrifying darkness enveloped him. When the sun had set and it was dark, there appeared a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch, which passed between those pieces. It was on that occasion that the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying: “To your descendants I give this land, from the Wadi of Egypt to the Great River, the Euphrates.”

L-Ewwel Qari   -    mill-Ktieb tal-Ġenesi15, 5-12, 17-18

F'dak iż-żmien:  Il-Mulej ħareġ lil Abram 'il barra u qallu: Ħares sewwa lejn is-smewwiet u għodd il-kwiekeb, jekk għandek ħila tgħoddhom."  U żied jgħidlu:  "Hekk għad ikun nislek."  U Abram emmen fil-Mulej, u dan għaddhulu b'ġustizzja. U qallu: "Jiena l-Mulej li ħriġtek minn Ur tal-Kaldin, biex nagħtik din l-art  b'wirt." U qallu Abram:  "Sidi Mulej, kif inkun naf li se niritha?" U wieġbu:  "Ħudli għoġla ta' tliet snin, mogħża ta' tliet snin, muntun ta' tliet snin, gamiema u ħamiema." U ħadlu dawn kollha, u qasamhom min-nofs, u kull nofs qiegħdu biswit l-ieħor, imma l-għasafar ma qasamhomx.   U niżlu l-għasafar tal-priża għal fuq l-iġsna mejtin, imma Abram gerrixhom lura. Hi u nieżla x-xemx waqa' fuq Abram ngħas qawwi, u waqgħu fuqu biża' u dalma kbira. Meta x-xemx kienet niżlet u kien dalam, kenur idaħħan u lsien nar iżiġġ qasmu minn bejn il-bċejjeċ tal-laħam. Dakinhar il-Mulej għamel patt ma' Abram u qallu: "Lil nislek nagħti din l-art, mix-xmara tal-Eġittu sax-xmara l-kbira, ix-xmara tal-Ewfrat." Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

Responsorial Psalm     -     PSALM 27:1, 7-8, 8-9, 13-14

R. (1a) The Lord is my light and my salvation.

The LORD is my light and my salvation;
whom should I fear?
The LORD is my life’s refuge;
of whom should I be afraid?                                       R/

Hear, O LORD, the sound of my call;
have pity on me, and answer me.
Of you my heart speaks; you my glance seeks.       R/

Your presence, O LORD, I seek.
Hide not your face from me;
do not in anger repel your servant.
You are my helper: cast me not off.                           R/

I believe that I shall see the bounty of the LORD
in the land of the living.
Wait for the LORD with courage;
be stouthearted, and wait for the LORD.                  R/

Salm Responsorjali    -    SALM  26 (27).

                R/           Il-Mulej id-dawl u s-salvazzjoni tiegħi.

Il-Mulej d-dawl u s-salvazzjoni tiegħi,

minn min għandi nibża'?

Il-Mulej hu l-kenn tiegħi,

quddiem minn għandi nitwerwer?                 R/

Isma', Mulej, leħen l-għajta tiegħi,

ħenn għalija u weġibni.

"Ejja" għidt f'qalbi, "fittex 'il-wiċċi!"

Jien wiċċek infittex, Mulej.                             R/

La taħbix wiċċek minni,

la twarrabx bl-herra l-qaddej tiegħek.

Inti l-għajnuna tiegħi

tħallinix u titlaqnix,

Alla tas-salvazzjoni tiegħi.                             R/

Nemmen li għad nara t-tjieba tal-Mulej

f'art il-ħajjin.

Ittama fil-Mulej, żomm  sħiħ u qawwi qalbek,

ittama fil-Mulej.                                               R/

Reading 2                             Philippians 3:17—4:1

Join with others in being imitators of me, brothers and sisters, and observe those who thus conduct themselves according to the model you have in us.For many, as I have often told you and now tell you even in tears, conduct themselves as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction.Their God is their stomach; their glory is in their “shame.” Their minds are occupied with earthly things.But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we also await a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.He will change our lowly bodyto conform with his glorified body by the power that enables him also to bring all things into subjection to himself. Therefore, my brothers and sisters, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, in this way stand firm in the Lord.

It-Tieni Qari   -   mill-Ittra lill-Filippin 3, 17-21;4,1

Ħuti, ixbħu lili, u ħarsu lejn dawk li jimxu  skont l-eżempju li rajtu fina.     Għaliex hawn ħafna – dan għedthulkom bosta drabi, imma issa ntennihulkom bid-dmugħ f'għajnejja – li jġibu ruħhom bħal għedewwa tas-Salib ta' Kristu.  It-telfien għad ikun tmiemhom; alla tagħhom hu żaqqhom, jiftaħru b'dak li jmisshom jistħu minnu, u moħħhom biss fil-ħwejjeġ tad-dinja. Imma aħna pajżani tas-sema; minn hemm bil-ħerqa nistennewh jiġi, is-Salvatur tagħna Sidna Ġesu' Kristu. Hu għad irid ibiddlilna l-ġisem imsejken tagħna fis-sura tal-ġisem glorjuż tiegħu, bil-qawwa tas-setgħa li għandu li jġib kollox taħtu. Għalhekk, intom, ħuti li intom l-għożża u x-xewqa tiegħi, ferħ u kuruna tiegħi, żommu sħiħ fil-Mulej, maħbubin tiegħi.  Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

Gospel                                   Luke 9:28b-36

Jesus took Peter, John, and James  and went up the mountain to pray. While he was praying his face changed in appearance and his clothing became dazzling white. And behold, two men were conversing with him, Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of his exodus that he was going to accomplish in Jerusalem. Peter and his companions had been overcome by sleep, but becoming fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him.As they were about to part from him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good that we are here; let us make three tents, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” But he did not know what he was saying. While he was still speaking, a cloud came and cast a shadow over them, and they became frightened when they entered the cloud.  Then from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my chosen Son; listen to him.” After the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. They fell silent and did not at that time tell anyone what they had seen.

L-Evanġelju   -    skont San Luqa 9,, 28b-36

F'dak iż-żmien, Ġesu' ħa miegħu lil Pietru, lil Ġwanni u lil Ġakbu, u tala' fuq il-muntanja biex jitlob. U ġara li huwa u jitlob, id-dehra ta' wiċċu tbiddlet u l-ilbiesi tiegħu saru ta' bjuda li tgħammex. U kien hemm żewġt irġiel jitħaddtu miegħu, Mose' u Elija,   li dehru fil-glorja, jitħaddtu fuq it-tmiem ta' ħajtu li kellu jseħħ f'Ġerusalemm. Pietru u sħabu kienu mejtin bin-ngħas,  imma baqgħu mqajmin sewwa,  u raw il-glorja tiegħu u ż-żewġt irġiel li kienu miegħu. X'ħin dawn it-tnejn kienu se jinfirdu minnu, Pietru qal lil Ġesu': "Mgħallem, kemm hu sew li aħna hawn!  Ħa ntellgħu tliet tined, waħda għalik, waħda għal Mose' u  waħda għal Elija!"   Ma kienx jaf x'inhu jgħid. Waqt li kien qiegħed jgħid dan, ġiet sħaba u għattiethom u huma beżgħu kif daħlu fis-sħaba. U minn ġos-sħaba nstama' leħen igħid:  "Dan hu Ibni l-maħtur,lilu isimgħu!" Malli nstama' l-leħen Ġesu' sab ruħu waħdu. Huma żammew is-skiet,u għal dawk il-jiem ma qalu xejn lil ħadd minn dak li kienu raw. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

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Commentary by Larry Broding

Looking to the Future in a Rearview Mirror

What do people fear about the future? Why do they harbour such fears?

As much as we are focused on the present moment, we like to peer into the future. To see visions of what can be, to dream about what is possible. To let go of the baggage from the past, to feel the freedom of tomorrow. Of course, change means the instability of the unknown. So, we may no longer want to rush to the future. We may want to conserve what we have and what we understand.

The stress we feel in our culture is the tussle between the rocky rush to the future and the comfort the past gives. We might be pulled between the fresh and the stale. But, we stand between the uncertainty of the unknown and the certainty of the already known.

Thisd Sunday’s Gospel takes us with Peter and his partners as they followed Jesus up the mountain to pray. There, they experienced a vision that gave them a choice. What was to be vs what they relied on. Personal change may be reflected in past experience, but it can be of an unknown origin, or even the promise of the future. We need trust in God's will to cope with such change. And we find God's will in prayer.

Jesus invited his earliest disciples and closest friends to pray with him. Several verses earlier in Luke, Jesus revealed the type of Messiah he would be; he predicted his death and resurrection. Now it was time for the power and meaning of the prediction to set in; so, Jesus prayed and shared his prayer time with Peter, James, and John.

The power and meaning of Christ's prediction revealed themselves as a heavenly vision. Glorified, Jesus discussed his coming death with the two pillars of the Jewish faith: Moses, the Law giver, and Elijah, the first of the prophets [29-31]. The presence of both represented the two divisions of the Jewish Scripture, the Law and the Prophets. Hence, the discussion between Jesus, Moses, and Elijah symbolized the Passion as the fulfillment of Scripture.

Did Peter, James, and John fully understand the implications of Jesus' prediction and its meaning? Hardly. They were asleep; not only were they in slumber (the literal meaning of sleep), they didn't understand (the figurative meaning of being asleep). This scene would be repeated when Jesus took these same disciples with him to pray at the Agony in the Garden.

From his slumber and lack of understanding, Peter wanted to build three booths or tents. Tents built on the side of a mountain were references to the Festival of Booths, when the Jews had a post-harvest celebration. During the multi-day festival, people lived in temporary shelters around Jerusalem. At one point they carried palm branches into a procession. In the centuries before the birth of Jesus, the festival took on Messianic overtones:

The symbols were all here: the light, the central focus on Jesus, climbing the mountain to worship (just as Jerusalem was built on a mountain). But Peter wanted to celebrate a past revelation (i.e., Moses and Elijah as the Law and the Prophets: the Jewish Scripture) and a past understanding of the Messiah (i.e., Jesus as the political and religious Messiah).

Peter failed to realize Jesus was speaking about a future event and a future revelation. The past meant no change, but the future meant uncontrollable change. The past merely required certainty; the future required faith. In his fear, Peter lacked faith; he just didn't know what he was saying.

To confirm the revelation, the cloud and the voice from heaven (both symbols of God's presence) appear. From the cloud the Father affirms his Son's prediction with the words: "This is my chosen Son; listen to him." The word of God given through the Law and the Prophets was now given through Jesus. The focus of the past now became the focus on the future.

We may take comfort in the past, in the Tradition of Faith. And so we should. But that comfort should not mask the possibilities the future holds. Ultimately, change lies in the hands of God, in divine providence.

What is divine providence? Divine Providence is the wise and loving act of God which guides all creation from its origin to its ultimate end. We take part in divine providence by freely cooperating with God's plan for our lives, to trust in God's will. Even when we place our trust in God, we can still experience the results of sin. After all, evil lurks in the world.

Why does God permit evil in the world? When we ask this question, we can also ask, "Why did the Son of God die on the cross?" The answer to both questions is the same: to allow a greater good to come from the evil. Christ died in order to rise from the dead. The faith that believes in the risen Lord will also give us hope that a greater good comes from an evil act.

At the Transfiguration, Peter, John, and James experienced the living tradition of the past and the promise of salvation in the future. But, that promise came at a price. The death of the Master they loved.

What challenges to faith have you experienced? How did God guide you through them? Did your experience of divine providence increase your faith in God? Why or why not?

We Christians may not be immune from the stresses of future promise. But, we have a unique perspective on the future. We look forward to God's will and the coming of the Lord in glory through the eyes of a faith two millennium old. We are, in effect, looking at the future through a rearview mirror. Such a view should not blind us to the possibilities of the future. It should just give our view perspective.

How should we cope with future shock? How did Jesus? In prayer. Prayer is time with God's will and our future. How we spent that time is a clear measure of our trust in God and his ways that change us.

The challenge of the future should give us pause. And a chance to pray. What challenges lie on your horizon this week? How have you placed them in prayer?

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