« Sunday, July 12 »
Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 103
Il-Ħmistax-il Ħadd taż-Żmien ta’ Matul
is-Sena
Gospel MATTHEW 13:1-23 OR 13:1-9
On that day, Jesus went out of the house and sat down by the sea.
Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat down, and
the whole crowd stood along the shore. And he spoke to them at length in
parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell on
the path, and birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky ground, where it had
little soil. It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep, and when the
sun rose it was scorched, and it withered for lack of roots. Some seed fell
among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it. But some seed fell on rich
soil, and produced fruit, a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold. Whoever has ears
ought to hear.” The disciples approached him and said, “Why do you speak to
them in parables?” He said to them in reply, “Because knowledge of the
mysteries of the kingdom of heaven has been granted to you, but to them it has
not been granted. To anyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich;
from anyone who has not, even what he has will be taken away. This is why I
speak to them in parables, because they look but do not see and hear but do not
listen or understand. Isaiah’s prophecy is fulfilled in them, which says: You
shall indeed hear but not understand, you shall indeed look but never see.
Gross is the heart of this people, they will hardly hear with their ears, they
have closed their eyes, lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears
and understand with their hearts and be converted, and I heal them. “But
blessed are your eyes, because they see, and your ears, because they hear.
Amen, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you
see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it. “Hear
then the parable of the sower. The seed sown on the path is the one who hears
the word of the kingdom without understanding it, and the evil one comes and
steals away what was sown in his heart. The seed sown on rocky ground is the
one who hears the word and receives it at once with joy. But he has no root and
lasts only for a time. When some tribulation or persecution comes because of
the word, he immediately falls away. The seed sown among thorns is the one who
hears the word, but then worldly anxiety and the lure of riches choke the word
and it bears no fruit. But the seed sown on rich soil is the one who hears the
word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields a hundred or sixty
or thirtyfold.”
Evanġelju Qari skond San Mattew 13, 1-23
Dakinhar Ġesù ħareġ mid-dar, mar f’xatt il-baħar u qagħad
bilqiegħda hemm. U nġabru madwaru folol hekk kbar ta’ nies li kellu jitla’ fuq
dgħajsa u jinżel bilqiegħda fiha; in-nies qagħdu lkoll wieqfa fuq ix-xatt, u hu
beda jkellimhom fuq bosta ħwejjeġ bil-parabboli. U qalilhom: “Darba wieħed
bidwi ħareġ jiżra’. Huwa u jiżra’, xi żerrigħat waqgħu mal-mogħdija, ġew
l-għasafar u naqqruhom kollha. Oħrajn waqgħu f’art kollha blat, fejn ma kienx
hemm wisq ħamrija, u malajr nibtu, għax il-ħamrija ma kinitx fonda; iżda mbagħad
telgħet ix-xemx, u nħarqu u nixfu, għax ma kellhomx għeruq. Oħrajn waqgħu qalb
ix-xewk, u x-xewk kiber magħhom u ħonoqhom. Imma oħrajn waqgħu f’art tajba, u
għamlu l-frott, min mija, min sittin, u min tletin. Min għandu widnejn, ħa
jisma!”. Resqu lejh id-dixxipli u staqsew: “Għaliex tkellimhom bil-parabboli?”.
Hu weġibhom: “Għax lilkom ingħata li tagħrfu l-misteri tas-Saltna tas-Smewwiet,
iżda lilhom dan ma kienx mogħti. Għax kull min għandu, jingħatalu, u jkollu
żżejjed ukoll; iżda min ma għandux, jitteħidlu saħansitra dak li għandu. Jien
għalhekk inkellimhom bil-parabboli; għax iħarsu kemm iħarsu ma jarawx, u
jisimgħu kemm jisimgħu ma jifhmux. U hekk isseħħ fihom il-profezija ta’ Isaija
li tgħid, “Tisimgħu kemm tisimgħu ma tifhmux, u tħarsu kemm tħarsu ma tarawx.
Għax il-qalb ta’ dan il-poplu twebbset; kienu tqal biex jisimgħu b’widnejhom, u
għalqu għajnejhom li ma jmorrux jaraw b’għajnejhom, u jisimgħu b’widnejhom u
jifhmu b’moħħhom, u hekk ibiddlu ħajjithom u jiena nfejjaqhom”. Intom, iżda,
henjin għajnejkom, għax qegħdin jaraw; henjin widnejkom, għax qegħdin jisimgħu.
Tassew, ngħidilkom, li bosta profeti u nies ġusti xtaqu jaraw dak li qegħdin
taraw intom u ma rawhx, u jisimgħu dak li qegħdin tisimgħu intom, u ma
semgħuhx! Mela isimgħuha intom il-parabbola ta’ dak li ħareġ jiżra’. Kull min
jisma’ l-kelma tas-Saltna u ma jifhimhiex, jersaq il-Ħażin u jisraqlu dak li
jkun inżera’ f’qalbu: dan huwa dak li nżera’ mal-mogħdija. Dak li nżera’ f’art
kollha blat huwa dak li jisma’ l-kelma u jilqagħha minnufih bil-ferħ; imma
għeruq ma jkollux fih innifsu, u għalhekk ftit idum; imbagħad jiġi fuqu
l-għawġ, jew isib min iħabbtu minħabba l-kelma, u malajr jitfixkel. Dak li
nżera’ qalb ix-xewk huwa dak li jisma’ l-kelma iżda l-inkwiet żejjed
għall-ħwejjeġ tad-dinja u l-ġibda għall-ġid tal-art joħonqulu l-kelma, li
għalhekk ma tagħmilx frott. Dak imbagħad li nżera’ f’art tajba huwa dak li
jisma’ l-kelma u jifhimha; u tassew hu jagħmel il-frott; dan jagħmel mija, dak
sittin, u l-ieħor tletin”. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej
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A God of His Word
Gospel Commentary
by Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa, OFMCap, Pontifical
Household Preacher
The readings of this Sunday speaks of the word of God with two
interlaced images: that of rain and of seed.
In the first reading, Isaiah compares the word of God with rain
that falls from heaven and does not return without watering and helping seeds
to grow. In the Gospel, Jesus speaks of the word of God as a seed that falls on
different terrains and produces fruit. The word of God is seed because it
generates life and rain that nourishes life, which allows the seed to grow.
When speaking of the word of God we often take for granted the
most moving event of all, namely, that God speaks. The biblical God is a God
who speaks!"
"Our God comes and will not be silent," says Psalm 50;
God himself often repeats: "Listen, my people, I will speak" (Psalm
50:7). In this the Bible sees the clearest difference from the idols that
"have mouths, but do not speak" (Psalm 115).
What meaning should we give such an anthropomorphic expression as
"God said to Adam," "thus speaks the Lord," "the Lord
says," "oracle of the Lord," and others like them? Obviously it
is a way of speaking that is different from the human, a speaking to the ears
of the heart.
God speaks the way he writes! "I will place my law within
them," says the prophet Jeremiah (Jeremiah 31:33). He writes on the heart
and he also makes his words resonate in the heart. He says so expressly himself
through the prophet Hosea, speaking of Israel as an unfaithful bride: "So
I will allure her; I will lead her into the desert and speak to her heart"
(Hosea 2:16).
God does not have a human mouth or breath; the prophet is his
mouth, the Holy Spirit is his breath. "You will be my mouth," he
himself says to his prophets. He also says "I will put my word on your
lips." This is the meaning of the famous phrase "human beings moved
by the Holy Spirit spoke under the influence of God" (2 Peter 1:21). The
spiritual tradition of the Church has coined the expression "interior
locutions" for this way of speaking addressed to the mind and heart.
And yet, it is a speaking in the true sense of the term. The
creature receives a message that can be translated into human words. So alive
and real is God's speaking, that the prophet recalls with precision the place,
day and time that a certain word "came" to him. So concrete is the
word of God that it is said it "falls" upon Israel, as if it were a
stone (Isaiah 9:7). Or, as if it were bread that is eaten with pleasure:
"When I found your words, I devoured them; they became my joy and the
happiness of my heart," (Jeremiah 15:16).
No human voice comes to man with the depth with which the word of
God comes to him. "Indeed, the word of God is living and effective,
sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating even between soul and spirit,
joints and marrow, and able to discern reflections and thoughts of the
heart" (Hebrews 4,12). At times God's speaking is a powerful thunder that
"splinters the cedars of Lebanon" (Psalm 29), at other times it seems
like the "tiny whispering sound" (1 Kings 19:12). It knows all the
tones of human speech.
This interior and spiritual nature of God's speaking changes
radically the moment that "the word became flesh." With the coming of
Christ, God also speaks with a human voice, which can be heard not only with
the ears of the soul but also of the body.
As we can see, the Bible attributes immense dignity to the word.
Attempts have not been lacking to change the solemn affirmation with which John
begins his Gospel: "In the beginning was the word."
Goethe has his Faust say: "In the beginning, there was
action," and it is interesting to see how the writer comes to this
conclusion.
"I cannot give 'the word' such high value," says Faust.
"Perhaps I should understand it as 'hearing,' but can hearing be what acts
and creates everything? Hence one should say: 'In the beginning force existed.'
But no, a sudden illumination suggested the answer to me: 'In the beginning,
action existed.'"
However, these are unjustified attempts at correction. John's word
or logos has all the meanings that Goethe assigns to the rest of the terms. As
we see in the prologue, it is light, life and creative force.
God created man "in his image" precisely because he
created him capable of speaking, of communicating and of establishing
relationships. He, who has in himself from eternity one word, has created man
and gifted him with the word, in order to be, not only "image" but
also "likeness" of God (Genesis 1:26). It is not enough for man to
speak, but he must imitate God's speaking. The content and motor of God's
speaking is love.
From beginning to end, the Bible is no more than a message of the
love of God for his creatures. The tones might change, from the angry to the
tender, but the essence is always, and only, love. God has used the word to
communicate life and truth, to instruct and console. This poses the question:
What use do we make of the word? In his play "Closed Doors," Sartre
has given us a striking image of what human communication can become when love
is lacking.
Three persons are introduced, in brief intervals, in a room. There
are no windows. The light is at its brightest and there is no possibility to
turn it off. There is suffocating heat, and there is only one seat for each
one. The door, of course, is closed. The bell is there but does not ring. Who
are these people?
They are three dead persons, a man and two women, and the place
they are in is hell. There are no mirrors, and they can only see themselves
through the words of the others, which gives them the most horrible image of
themselves, without any mercy, on the contrary, with irony and sarcasm.
When, after a while, their souls became naked to one another and
the faults of which they were ashamed have come into the light one by one and
enjoyed by the others without mercy, one of the individuals says to the other
two: "Remember, the brimstone, the flames, the tortures with fire. All are
stupidities. There is no need of torments: Hell is the others." Abuse of
the word can transform life into a hell.
St. Paul gives Christians this golden rule in regard to words:
"No foul language should come out of your mouths, but only such as is good
for needed edification, that it may impart grace to those who hear"
(Ephesians 4, 29). The good word is the one that chooses the positive side of
an action and a person and that, even when it corrects, does not offend. A good
word is one that gives hope. A bad word is every word said without love, to
wound and humiliate one's neighbour. If a bad word comes out of the lips, it
will be necessary to retract it.
Not altogether correct are the verses of the Italian poet
Metastasio: "Word that comes from within, is no longer worth retracting;
The arrow cannot be stopped, when it has left the bow."
A word that issues from the mouth can be retracted, or at least
its negative effect can be limited, by asking for forgiveness. Hence, what a
gift it can be for our fellow men and what an improvement for the quality of
life in the heart of the family and of society!
//////// [Translation
by Joseph G. Trabbic]
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