English
Malti
[:mt]Niżżel il-fuljett tal-Kelma tal-Ħajja bil-Malti
“Kull min jagħti mqar tazza ilma friska lil xi ħadd minn dawn l-iżgħar għax hu dixxiplu, tassew ngħidilkom, li ma jitlifx il-ħlas tiegħu” (Mt 10, 42).
L-evanġelista San Mattew kien skriba u mgħallem Nisrani tajjeb ħafna. Hu kien jaf sew il-wegħdiet lil Abraham, Iżakk u Ġakobb. Għalih, dak li Ġesù qal u għamel kien biex dawn il-wegħdiet jitwettqu. Għalhekk, fil-Vanġelu tiegħu nsibu dak li Ġesù għallem f’ħames diskorsi kbar, li fihom narawh bħala l-Mosè l-ġdid.
Din il-Kelma tal-ħajja nsibuha fi tmiem “id-Diskors Missjunarju”, li jibda bl-għażla tat-tnax-il appostlu, u jgħidilna wkoll xi kwalitajiet irid ikollhom dawk li jippriedkaw. L-appostli kienu se jsibu ruħhom quddiem nies li ma jifhmuhomx u għalhekk kellhom ikunu xhieda li titwemmen, anki permezz ta’ għażliet radikali.
Mhux hekk biss: Ġesù jurina li dawn il-mibgħuta tiegħu riedu jsibu għeruqhom fil-missjoni li Hu stess kien irċieva mingħand il-Missier. It-Testment il-Qadim jinsisti b’qawwa kbira x’jeħtieġu l-mibgħuta ta’ Alla, fejn ikun Alla stess li jitkellem u jaħdem. Għalhekk hi l-istess imħabba t’Alla li, permezz tax-xhieda ta’ Ġesù u tal-mibgħutin tiegħu, tasal għand kull bniedem.
Kull min jagħti mqar tazza ilma friska lil xi ħadd minn dawn l-iżgħar għax hu dixxiplu, tassew ngħidilkom, li ma jitlifx il-ħlas tiegħu”.
Barra mill-missjoni stess ta’ xi wħud minnhom: l-appostli, ir-ragħajja, il-profeti…, Ġesù jħabbar li kull Nisrani jista’ jkun dixxiplu tiegħu, u fl-istess ħin ikun dak li jilqa’ ġo fih u jwassal il-missjoni tiegħu. Aħna lkoll, bħala dixxipli, anki jekk “żgħar”, nieqsa minn kwalitajiet u tagħlim speċjali, nistgħu nsiru xhieda t’Alla li jinsab qrib tagħna. Il-komunità kollha Nisranija tintbagħat fost il-bnedmin mill-Missier tagħna lkoll.
Permezz ta’ ħutna l-bnedmin, ilkoll kemm aħna rċevejna mingħand Alla attenzjoni, kura, maħfra u fiduċja. Ilkoll nistgħu nagħtu xi ħaġa lill-oħrajn, biex tasal għandhom il-ħlewwa tal-imħabba ta’ Alla, l-istess kif għamel Ġesù tul il-missjoni tiegħu. Fil-Missier għandna l-garanzija li l-“affarijiet iż-żgħar” jistgħu jibdlu d-dinja. Imqar jekk nagħtu biss tazza ilma friska.
“Issa ma jgħoddx nistgħux nagħtu ħafna jew ftit. L-importanti hu ‘kif’ nagħtu, kemm nitfgħu mħabba anki billi noqogħdu attenti għall-bżonnijiet iż-żgħar tal-oħrajn. Kultant biżżejjed toffri tazza ilma, tazza ilma ‘friska’. (…) Dan hu ġest sempliċi u kbir f’għajnejn Alla kemm-il darba aħna nagħmluh f’Ismu, jiġifieri b’imħabba. (…) Il-Kelma tal-ħajja ta’ dan ix-xahar tista’ tgħinna niskopru mill-ġdid kemm tiswa kull ħaġa li nagħmlu: ibda mix-xogħol fid-dar jew fl-għelieqi, f’xi ħanut jew uffiċċju, l-istudju tal-istudenti, kif ukoll ir-responsabiltajiet tagħna fil-qasam ċivili, politiku u reliġjuż. Kollox jista’ jinbidel f’qadi magħmul b’attenzjoni u ħeġġa. L-imħabba mbagħad tagħtina għajnejn ġodda biex nintebħu bil-bżonnijiet tal-oħrajn u ngħinuhom b’qalbna kollha. Dan x’riżultat iħalli? Dak li nagħtu jinqasam bejnietna għax l-imħabba ġġib imħabba. Il-ferħ jiżdied għax: ‘min jagħti hu aktar hieni minn min jirċievi’[1]”[2].
Kull min jagħti mqar tazza ilma friska lil xi ħadd minn dawn l-iżgħar għax hu dixxiplu, tassew ngħidilkom, li ma jitlifx il-ħlas tiegħu”.
Dak li qed jitlob minna Ġesù mhuwiex ħaġa żgħira. Ma rridu qatt nieqfu milli nwasslu l-imħabba ta’ Alla lill-oħrajn. Din l-imħabba titlobna nersqu lejn kull bniedem b’qalb miftuħa u b’qadi konkret, u mmorru lil hinn mill-ġudizzji u l-kategoriji tagħna.
Ġesù jridna naħdmu miegħu, inkunu nies kreattivi u responsabbli mill-ġid ta’ kulħadd, ibda mill-affarijiet iż-żgħar ta’ kuljum. Imma fl-istess ħin mhux sejjer ma jħallasniex għal kull ma nagħmlu. Hu jinsab il-ħin kollu ħdejna, biex jieħu ħsiebna fil-missjoni tagħna.
“(…) Tlaqt ix-xogħol li kelli l-Filippini u mort l-Awstralja biex ningħaqad mal-familja tiegħi (…). Sibt xogħol ma’ kuntrattur u kont innaddaf il-kmamar tal-ikel u tal-uffiċċji, użati minn xi 500 ħaddiem. Xogħol għal kollox differenti minn dak li kelli qabel bħala inġinier (…). Biex inħobb lil dawn il-ħaddiema, nieħu ħsieb li l-kmamar tal-ikel ikunu dejjem nodfa u li kollox ikun f’postu. Madankollu, dejjem issib lil min ma jagħtix każ tal-indafa (…). Ma tliftx il-paċenzja għax għalija din hi opportunità biex inħobb lil Ġesù f’kull min niltaqa’ miegħu. Ftit ftit, dawn in-nies bdew huma wkoll inaddfu wara li jkunu kielu u mbagħad biż-żmien sirna ħbieb u bdejt niġi stmat u afdat (…). Għamilt l-esperjenza li l-imħabba tittieħed u dak li jsir b’imħabba jibqa.”[3]
Letizia Magri u t-team tal-Kelma tal-ħajja
[1] At 20, 35.
[2] C. Lubich Kelma tal-Ħajja Ottubru 2006, fil-ktieb Kliem il-Ħajja ta’ Fabio Ciardi (Opere di Chiara Lubich 5; Città Nuova, Roma 2017) pġ. 792-793.
[:en]
for ages 4-8 | for ages 9-17 | Print| Audio
‘Whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple – truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.’ (Mt 10:42).
The evangelist Matthew is a highly educated Christian scribe; he is thoroughly familiar with the promises of the God of Israel and for him Jesus’ words and actions are their fulfilment. Therefore, in his Gospel he presents Jesus’ teaching in the form of five great discourses, as if he is a new Moses. This Word of Life concludes the ‘missionary discourse’ which begins with the choosing of the twelve apostles and explains what their preaching will involve. Jesus also speaks of the misunderstandings and persecutions they will encounter, which will require of them both credible witness and radical choices.
But there is more: Jesus reveals that the sending of the disciples has its roots in the mission he himself received from the Father. This is a belief that was found in the Old Testament: God himself is present and engaged in his messenger. Therefore, through the witness of Jesus and those he sends, the very love of God reaches every person.
‘Whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple – truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.’
In addition to the specific mission of some people, namely the apostles, the pastors and the prophets, Jesus announces that every Christian can be his disciple and, at the same time, a recipient and bearer of this mission. As disciples, all of us, even if we are ‘small’ and apparently lacking special qualities or titles, can witness that God is near. It is the entire Christian community that the Father of all sends to humanity.
We have received attention, care, forgiveness and trust from God through the actions of our brothers and sisters. We can give something to others so that they can experience the Father’s tenderness, as Jesus did during his mission. This is the root of the belief that, in the Father, there is the guarantee that so-called ‘little things’ can change the world. Even if this is only a glass of cold water. ‘It doesn’t matter whether we can give much or little. What matters is how we give, how much love we put into even a small gesture that shows awareness of another person. Sometimes it is enough to offer them a glass of water, a glass of fresh water; it is a simple gesture that is great in God’s eyes if it is done in his name, that is, out of love.
(…) This month’s Word of Life may help us to rediscover the value of everything we do: from work in the house or fields to dealing with office paperwork and schoolwork and responsibilities in the civil, political and religious fields. Everything can be transformed into attentive and caring service. Love will give us new eyes to sense what others need and to approach them with creativity and generosity. What will the fruits be? Gifts will circulate because love calls for love. Joy will multiply because “there is more joy in giving than in receiving.”’ (i)
‘Whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple – truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.’
What Jesus asks of us is very demanding: he is asking us not to stop the flow of God’s love. He asks us to reach out with open hearts to every man and woman and offer concrete service, overcoming our prejudices and judgments. He wants our active, creative and responsible cooperation for the common
good, starting from the small things of every day, but at the same time he will not fail to reward us. He will always be at our side, to take care of us and accompany us in this mission.
‘(…) I left my job in the Philippines and went to Australia to be with my family. I found a job as a cleaner at a construction site. I had to take care of the dining rooms, locker rooms, offices and canteen that were used by more than 500 workers. It was a completely different job from the one I had before as an engineer. Out of love for others, I made sure that the dining rooms were always clean and tidy. Despite the fact that there were people who did not care about cleanliness, I did not lose my patience because it was an opportunity for me to love Jesus in each person I meet. Gradually, these people began to clean up after lunch and then over time we became friends and I began to gain trust and respect from them. (…) I have seen that love is contagious and that anything that is done out of love remains.’ (ii)
Letizia Magri and the Word of Life Team
(i) Acts 20:35 as in C Lubich, Word of Life Oct 2006
(ii) Edited by S. Pellegrini, G. Salerno, M. Caporali, Famiglie in azione – Un mosaico di vita, Città Nuova 2022.[:]
Add Comment