EJJEW GĦANDI

 

Qari mill-Evanġelju skond San Mattew (Mt 11, 25-30)

F’dak iż-żmien Ġesù qabad u qal: “Infaħħrek, Missier, Sid is-sema u l-art, għax inti dawn il-ħwejjeġ ħbejthom lil min għandu l-għerf u d-dehen u wrejthom liċ-ċkejknin. Iva, Missier, għax lilek hekk għoġbok. Kollox kien mogħti lili minn Missieri, u ħadd ma jagħraf lill-Iben jekk mhux il-Missier, kif ħadd ma jagħraf lill-Missier jekk mhux l-Iben u dak li lilu l-Iben irid jgħarrafhulu.

Ejjew għandi, intom ilkoll li tinsabu mħabbtin u mtaqqlin, u jiena nserraħkom. Ħudu fuqkom il-madmad tiegħi u tgħallmu minni, għaliex jiena ta’ qalb ħelwa u umli, u intom issibu l-mistrieħ għal ruħkom. Għax il-madmad tiegħi ħelu u t-toqol tiegħi ħafif”.

 Is-silta mill-Evanġelju ta’ San Mattew li għadna kemm qrajna hi qasira u hi maqsuma fi tnejn. Fl-ewwel biċċa nisimgħu lil Sidna Ġesù jfaħħar lil Missieru tas-Sema għaliex wera ħwejjeġ kbar lil nies ċkejknin, nies li dawk li jidhrilhom li huma għorrief ħafna jwarrbuhom għax jqisuhom ta’ bla valur. 

BIEX INKUNU DIXXIPLI TA’ ĠESÙ

Qari mill-Evanġelju skond San Mattew (Mt 10, 37-38)

F’dak iż-żmien, Ġesù qal lill-appostli tiegħu: “Min iħobb lil missieru jew lil ommu iżjed minni ma jistħoqqlux li jkun miegħi; min iħobb lil ibnu jew lil bintu iżjed minni ma jistħoqqlux li jkun tiegħi. U min ma jerfax salibu u jimxi warajja ma jistħoqqlux li jkun miegħi. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej. 

Għandu mnejn ninħasdu meta fil-Vanġelu nisimgħu lil Ġesù jgħidilna: “Min iħobb lil missieru jew lil ommu jew lil uliedu iżjed milli jħobb lili ma jistħoqqlux li jkun miegħi”.

BEWARE, AND BE AWARE

A Reading from the  gospel of Matthew (7, 15-20)   ‘Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles? In the same way, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will know them by their fruits. The Word of the Lord. 

ĠESÙ JĦOSS GĦAN-NIES

Mill-evanġelju ta’ S. Mattew (9:36—10:8)   F’dak iż-żmien Ġesù dar l-ibliet kollha u l-irħula jgħallem fis-sinagogi, ixandar l-Evanġelju tas-Saltna, u jfejjaq kull xorta ta’ mard u ’l kull min kien nieqes minn saħħtu. Ra n-nies u tħassarhom, għax kienu mdejqa u mitluqa bħal nagħaġ bla ragħaj. Imbagħad qal lid-dixxipli tiegħu: “Il-ħsad huwa kbir, iżda l-ħaddiema ftit. Itolbu mela lil Sid il-ħsad biex jibgħat ħaddiema għall-ħsad tiegħu”.

Sejjaħ lejh it-tnax-il dixxiplu tiegħu, u tahom is-setgħa fuq l-ispirti ħżiena biex ikeċċuhom, u jfejqu kull xorta ta’ mard u ’l kull min kien nieqes minn saħħtu. L-ismijiet tat-tnax-l appostlu huma dawn: l-ewwel Xmun, jgħidulu Pietru, u ħuh Indrì, u Ġakbu ta’ Żebedew, u ħuh Ġwanni, Filippu u Bartilmew, Tumas u Mattew il-pubblikan, Ġakbu ta’ Alfew, u Taddew, Xmun il-Kanani, u Ġuda l-Iskarjota, li mbagħad ittradieh.  Lil dawn it-tnax Ġesù bagħathom b’dawn l-ordnijiet: “Taqbdux triq il-pagani, u tidħlux f’belt tas-Samaritani; imma qabel xejn morru fittxu n-nagħaġ il-mitlufa tad-dar ta’ Iżrael. Intom u sejrin, xandru u għidu li s-Saltna tas-Smewwiet waslet. Fejqu l-morda, qajmu l-mejtin, fejqu l-lebbrużi, keċċu x-xjaten. B’xejn ħadtu, b’xejn agħtu. Tfittxux li jkollkom flus fuqkom, la tad-deheb, la tal-fidda u lanqas tar-ram; u la ħorġa għat-triq, la żewġ ilbiesi, la qrieq u lanqas ħatar, għax il-ħaddiem ħaqqu ħobżu. Il-kelma tal-Mulej.

DO NOT BE AFRAID

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 25, 31-46)

‘When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, “Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.” Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?” And the king will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.” Then he will say to those at his left hand, “You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.” Then they also will answer, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?” Then he will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.” And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.’ The Word of the Lord.

Let's follow them!

 

        If we follow the news we will hear about corruption, injustice, violence and wars, too many of these all the world over. We hear about people risking their lives, many of them dying in their effort to cross the Mediterranean in search of a better life. We can then agree that the past years were dominated by extreme darkness not because of lack of electricity, but of genuine light in people’s minds and hearts. However, there is a desire for better days expressed by greetings for a ‘Happy New Year’.

Today the Church invites us to celebrate the feast of Epiphany and to remember the journey of the Wise Men coming from the East in the hope of finding the new-born king. Theirs is an example we should follow, if we want to help bring about a change of lifestyle that favours love, that brings peace, justice, solidarity and happiness to all peoples.

We normally centre our attention on the three Wise Men and we stress the fact that through them Jesus is presented to the non-Jewish peoples. However, I would like to include other manifestations of Jesus, starting from His birth, the visit of the shepherds, the visit of the Wise Men, and including Jesus’ baptism.

My first thoughts go to Joseph and Mary who were unable to find a decent place where Mary could give birth to her firstborn son, so she laid him in a manger. Surely they had hoped for a better place where to welcome their Son, who “will be called Son of God” (Lk 1, 35), as Gabriel the angel told Mary.

Then I think about the shepherds who were “keeping watch over their flock by night when an angel of the Lord stood before them … and they were terrified. “Do not be afraid” the angel told them, “for see, I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people:” (Lk 2, 8-10).

And then I think of the Magi, wise men they were, who studied the stars by night and who had some knowledge of Jewish messianic expectations. When they saw a different star in the sky they knew that they had to go to Jerusalem, where kings lived.

So there were these three groups to whom the Saviour’s birth was announced. All of them were somehow surrounded by darkness: there was no place for Joseph and Mary in the inn, the shepherds were keeping watch over their flock by night, the Magi studied the skies by night.

In truth there was another group of people who received the news of a new-born king of the Jews. It was King Herod who when he received the news, was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him (Mt 2, 8).

What did the first three groups do, when they received the news of the birth of the Child? Each one of them started on a journey to meet Him. Joseph and Mary went to Bethlehem and they had to search for a humble place where Mary could give birth to her son. There they welcomed the Son of God into our human history. The shepherds said to one another, “Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place which the Lord has made known to us”, and there they spoke about what had been told them about this Child. Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart, and the shepherds glorified and praised God for all they had heard and seen. The Wise Men went to Jerusalem asking King Herod about the Child king of the Jews, “For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage”. Then they followed the star that led them to the house where the child was. They saw the Child with his mother. They knelt down and paid Him homage, and they offered Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh”.

What did Herod do? He heard the news about the birth of the Child king and remained in his palace thinking of a way to get rid of the Child, who, he thought would threaten his power. When Herod saw that the wise men had returned to their own country by another road, he was infuriated and he ordered the killing of all the boys in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or younger.

What does all this teach us?

We know that we are living a dark night of wars, violence, corruption and egotism. We wished one another a New Year as it started. This means that we have to do our part and search for a light that can guide us and answer our questions. Isaiah brings us the words of the Lord, “I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?” (Is 43, 19).

We have to ask ourselves, are we ready to learn about and accept the new way of life offered us by Jesus, our Redeemer, like Mary, Joseph, the Shepherds and the Wise Men did, and set out on our journey to meet Him and love Him, or do we prefer Herod’s ways and somehow  support our modern-day Herods? Our answer will make all the difference if we want to find true newness in our lives and in that of all those who inhabit our small and troubled world.

Finally I remember Jesus’ manifestation at His baptism, when the voice from heaven said: “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased”. Jesus is the Son of God and the Son of Man. He is the true light, for “in Him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness” (Jn 1, 4-5).

Let us ask Him to teach us how to love Him. He said: “Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them” (Jn 14, 23). Are we ready to open our heart and let Him in when He knocks on our door?

 

THE NARROW DOOR

 A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 13, 22-30)

Jesus went on his way through towns and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem. And someone said to him, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?” And he said to them, “Strive to enter by the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. When once the householder has risen up and shut the door, you will begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us.’ He will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’ Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ But he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you come from; depart from me, all you workers of iniquity!’ There you will weep and gnash your teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God and you yourselves thrust out. And men will come from east and west, and from north and south, and sit at table in the kingdom of God. And behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”

 Once Jesus asked the crowd: “Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division!” (Lk 12, 51). Christ’s answer may shock us for we believe he is the one who, Isaiah tells us, is “a son given to us”, the Son of God and the Son of Man at the same time. This is our Christian faith. Isaiah goes on to tell us that “authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Is 9, 6).