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Fil-ktieb tad-Dewteronomju nsibu sensiela ta’ diskorsi li Mosè qal lejn tmiem ħajtu. Fihom hu jfakkar il-liġijiet tal-Mulej lill-ġenerazzjonijiet il-ġodda, waqt li mill-bogħod jixxennaq għall-Art Imwiegħda li lejha b’kuraġġ kbir kien qiegħed imexxihom.
F’dan il-Ktieb, il-“liġi” t’Alla hija ppreżentata l-ewwelnett bħala dik il-“kelma” ta’ Missier li jieħu ħsieb `l uliedu kollha. Din hi mixja ta’ ħajja li Alla jagħti lill-poplu tiegħu biex iseħħ il-Patt tiegħu ta’ ħbiberija. Jekk il-poplu jħarisha b’għożża, b’imħabba u b’ħajr u mhux għax imbeżża’ mill-kastigi, hu jkompli jħoss li Alla hu qrib tiegħu u jħarsu.
Wieħed mill-modi biex jitwettaq dan il-Patt li Alla jagħti bħala don hu li l-poplu jfittex bi sħiħ il-ġustizzja. Min jibqa’ fidil lejn il-Patt irid iwettaq il-ġustizzja billi jiftakar b’ħajr fl-għażla li Alla kien għamel meta ħatru bħala l-poplu tiegħu u ma jadura `l ħadd ħlief lill-Mulej. Irid ukoll jiċħad il-qligħ personali li jdallam il-kuxjenza tiegħu quddiem il-bżonnijiet ta’ min hu fqir.
“GĦANDEK TFITTEX IL-ĠUSTIZZJA, U L-ĠUSTIZZJA BISS”.
L-esperjenza tal-ħajja tagħna ta’ kuljum tpoġġi quddiem għajnejna ħafna sitwazzjonijiet ta’ inġustizzja, uħud minnhom serji, l-aktar dawk li jagħmlu l-ħsara `l min qed jgħix fit-trufijiet tas-soċjetà tagħna. Kemm-il Kajjin hawn li jużaw il-vjolenza kontra ħuthom!
Jekk irridu jkollna soċjetà ġusta, jeħtieġ li malajr kemm jista’ jkun neqirdu l-abbużi u d-diżugwaljanzi kollha, ibda minn dawk li hemm f’qalbna u fil-postijiet fejn ngħixu.
Iżda Alla ma jwettaqx il-ġustizzja tiegħu billi jeqred lill-Kajjin, imma Hu jara kif jagħmel u jħarsu biex jerġa’ jaqbad it-triq it-tajba1. Il-ġustizzja t’Alla tinsab filli Hu jagħti ħajja ġdida.
Fil-ħajja tagħna ta’ Nsara, aħna ltqajna ma’ Ġesù. Bi kliemu u b’għemilu, imma l-aktar biddon tal-ħajja u bid-dawl tal-Irxoxt, Hu wriena li Alla hu ġust għax iħobb lil uliedu kollha b’imħabba li ma tintemm qatt.
Ġesù fetaħ it-triq għalina wkoll biex ngħixu u nxerrdu madwarna l-ħniena u l-maħfra, li huma wkoll il-pedament tal-ġustizzja soċjali.
“GĦANDEK TFITTEX IL-ĠUSTIZZJA, U L-ĠUSTIZZJA BISS”.
Dan il-kliem mill-Iskrittura ntagħżel biex niċċelebraw il-Ġimgħa ta’ talb għall-Għaqda tal-Insara għas-sena 2019, li se ssir bejn it-18 u l-25 ta’ Jannar. Jekk aħna wkoll nilqgħu din il-Kelma, inkunu nistgħu nimpenjaw ruħna biex infittxu t-toroq tal-għaqda u l-maħfra,
l-ewwelnett bejnietna l-Insara. Meta nagħtu ruħna biex naqdu `l kulħadd, inkunu qed infejqu l-ġrieħi tal-inġustizzja.
Dan hu li minn xi ftit snin `il hawn qed jgħixu xi Nsara ta’ Knejjes differenti li qed jgħinu xi ħabsin fil-belt ta’ Palermo. L-inizzjattiva bdieha Salvatore, membru tal-Knisja Evanġelika: “Indunajt bil-bżonnijiet spiritwali u umani ta’ dawn ħutna. Ħafna minnhom ma kellhomx qraba li setgħu jgħinuhom. Jien afdajt f’Alla u tkellimt fuq din il-problema ma’ ħafna minn ħuti tal-Knisja tiegħi u ta’ Knejjes oħra”. Christine, li hi Anglikana, żiedet tgħid: “Il-fatt li nistgħu ngħinu `l dawn ħutna fil-bżonn jimliena bil-ferħ għax b’hekk il-providenza t’Alla ssir ħaġa konkreta. Hu jrid li, permezz tagħna, imħabbtU tasal għand kulħadd”. U Nunzja, mara Kattolika, qalet: “Din rajnieha bħala okkażjoni kemm biex ngħinu `l ħutna fil-bżonn kif ukoll biex inħabbru `l Ġesù anki b’affarijiet materjali żgħar”.
B’hekk qed iseħħ dak li kienet qalet Chiara Lubich fl-1998, meta kienet mistiedna titkellem f’laqgħa ekumenika fil-knisja Evanġelika ta’ Sant’Anna f’Augsburg, il-Ġermanja:
“[…] Jekk aħna l-insara nagħtu daqqa t’għajn lejn l-istorja tagħna […] ma nistgħux ma nitnikktux meta naraw kemm nuqqas ta’ ftehim, kustjonijiet u ġlied seħħu matulha. Dan kollu ħtija ta’ ċirkustanzi storiċi, kulturali, politiċi, ġeografiċi u soċjali…; imma anki għax bejn l-Insara kien jonqos dak l-element li jġib il-għaqda: l-imħabba.
Il-ħidma ekumenika tista’ tassew tħalli l-frott jekk dawk li jiddedikaw ruħhom għaliha jirnexxilhom jaraw `il Kristu msallab u abbandunat, li ntelaq f’idejn il-Missier, bħala ċ-ċavetta li biha nifhmu kull firda u nġibu l-għaqda […]. Meta ngħixu l-għaqda, ikun hemm effett […]: il-preżenza ta’ Ġesù bejn ħafna nies minn fost il-komunità. Ġesù qal: “Fejn tnejn jew tlieta jkunu miġbura f’ismi hemm inkun jien f’nofshom” (Mt 18, 20). Ġesù jinsab fejn Kattoliku u Evanġeliku jħobbu `l xulxin, fejn Anglikani u Ortodossi jinħabbu bejniethom, fejn mara Armena u oħra Riformata jħobbu `l xulxin. U x’paċi tinħass minn issa stess u x’dawl ikun hemm sabiex il-mixja ekumenika tkun kif għandha tkun!”.
Letizia Magri
1 Ara Ġen 4, 8-16.
ĊENTRU TAL-MOVIMENT TAL-FOKOLARI WWW.FOCOLAREMALTA.ORG [:en]
for ages 4-8 | for ages 9-17 | Print | Audio
The Book of Deuteronomy is made up of a series of speeches Moses gave towards the end of his life. He reminds the younger generation of the laws given by the Lord to the People of Israel, while he himself can see from afar the Promised Land to which he has courageously guided them.
In this Book, the ‘law’ of God is presented first of all as the ‘word’ of a Father who takes care of all his children. It is a way of journeying through life that God has given his people to fulfil the Covenant he has made with them. If the people observe the law faithfully, out of love and gratitude more than out of fear of punishment, they will continue to enjoy God’s presence and protection.
The Covenant has been received as a gift from God and one practical way of fulfilling it is to be very determined in pursuing justice. Believers keep the Covenant not only when they are thankful to God for choosing his people, and when they avoid worshiping anyone but the Lord, but also when they refuse benefits that cloud their conscience concerning the needs of the poor.
‘Justice, and only justice, you shall pursue.’
In daily life, we come across many situations of injustice, some of which are very serious. They affect people who are already vulnerable and those who live on the margins of society. There are so many ‘Cains’ who act violently towards their brothers or sisters.
Eradicating inequality and abuse is a basic demand of justice that has to start in our own heart and in all the places we frequent.
However, God does not do justice by destroying Cain. Instead, he wanted to protect him so that he can resume his journey. God’s justice is done by giving new life.
We Christians are people who have met Jesus. By his words and deeds, and above all by giving his life and the light of the Resurrection, Jesus showed us that God’s justice is found in his infinite love for all his children.
Through Jesus, a path opens up before us in which we can practice and spread mercy and forgiveness, which are also the foundations of social justice.
‘Justice, and only justice, you shall pursue.’
This verse of Scripture has been chosen to celebrate the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2019 which, in the northern hemisphere, runs from 18 to 25 January. If we too welcome this Word, we can commit to seeking pathways to reconciliation, first of all among Christians. By putting ourselves at everyone’s service, we will effectively heal the wounds of injustice.
For several years now, Christians from various churches have had this experience when working together to help prisoners in the city of Palermo (Italy). Salvatore, who belongs to an evangelical association, first had the idea: “I realized that these neighbours of ours had spiritual and human needs. Often their families were not able to help them. Trusting in God, I shared this with many brothers and sisters in my own church and other churches”. Christine, from the Anglican Church, added: “Being able to help these needy neighbours makes us happy because it shows God’s providence in real terms. God wants his love to reach them all, through us.” Nunzia, who is Catholic, said: “It seemed an opportunity both to help people in need and witness to Jesus also through small material things.”
This experience is a practical application of what Chiara Lubich spoke about in 1998, during an ecumenical meeting in the Evangelical Church of St Anne in Augsburg:
“If we Christians take a look at our history, … we will be saddened to see that it has often been a succession of misunderstandings, quarrels and conflicts. Certainly it was due to historical, cultural, political, geographical, and social circumstances, but also because Christians were lacking in what is their specific unifying feature: love.
Efforts in the field of ecumenism will be fruitful in so far as those who dedicate themselves to it see in Jesus crucified and forsaken, who re-abandons himself to the Father, the key to understanding every disunity and to re-establishing unity … When unity is lived, it has an effect … It is the presence of Jesus among people, in the community. Jesus said: “For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them” (Mt 18:20). The presence of Jesus between a Catholic and an Evangelical who love each other, between Anglicans and Orthodox, between an Armenian and a Reformed Christian who love each other – how much peace it would bring even now, how much light it would shed for a productive ecumenical journey!”
Letizia Magri[:gb]
Word of Life January 2019 Download
The Book of Deuteronomy is made up of a series of speeches Moses gave towards the end of his life. He reminds the younger generation of the laws given by the Lord to the People of Israel, while he himself can see from afar the Promised Land to which he has courageously guided them.
In this Book, the ‘law’ of God is presented first of all as the ‘word’ of a Father who takes care of all his children. It is a way of journeying through life that God has given his people to fulfil the Covenant he has made with them. If the people observe the law faithfully, out of love and gratitude more than out of fear of punishment, they will continue to enjoy God’s presence and protection.
The Covenant has been received as a gift from God and one practical way of fulfilling it is to be very determined in pursuing justice. Believers keep the Covenant not only when they are thankful to God for choosing his people, and when they avoid worshiping anyone but the Lord, but also when they refuse benefits that cloud their conscience concerning the needs of the poor.
‘Justice, and only justice, you shall pursue.’
In daily life, we come across many situations of injustice, some of which are very serious. They affect people who are already vulnerable and those who live on the margins of society. There are so many ‘Cains’ who act violently towards their brothers or sisters.
Eradicating inequality and abuse is a basic demand of justice that has to start in our own heart and in all the places we frequent.
However, God does not do justice by destroying Cain. Instead, he wanted to protect him so that he can resume his journey. God’s justice is done by giving new life.
We Christians are people who have met Jesus. By his words and deeds, and above all by giving his life and the light of the Resurrection, Jesus showed us that God’s justice is found in his infinite love for all his children.
Through Jesus, a path opens up before us in which we can practice and spread mercy and forgiveness, which are also the foundations of social justice.
‘Justice, and only justice, you shall pursue.’
This verse of Scripture has been chosen to celebrate the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2019 which, in the northern hemisphere, runs from 18 to 25 January. If we too welcome this Word, we can commit to seeking pathways to reconciliation, first of all among Christians. By putting ourselves at everyone’s service, we will effectively heal the wounds of injustice.
For several years now, Christians from various churches have had this experience when working together to help prisoners in the city of Palermo (Italy). Salvatore, who belongs to an evangelical association, first had the idea: “I realized that these neighbours of ours had spiritual and human needs. Often their families were not able to help them. Trusting in God, I shared this with many brothers and sisters in my own church and other churches”. Christine, from the Anglican Church, added: “Being able to help these needy neighbours makes us happy because it shows God’s providence in real terms. God wants his love to reach them all, through us.” Nunzia, who is Catholic, said: “It seemed an opportunity both to help people in need and witness to Jesus also through small material things.”
This experience is a practical application of what Chiara Lubich spoke about in 1998, during an ecumenical meeting in the Evangelical Church of St Anne in Augsburg:
“If we Christians take a look at our history, … we will be saddened to see that it has often been a succession of misunderstandings, quarrels and conflicts. Certainly it was due to historical, cultural, political, geographical, and social circumstances, but also because Christians were lacking in what is their specific unifying feature: love.
Efforts in the field of ecumenism will be fruitful in so far as those who dedicate themselves to it see in Jesus crucified and forsaken, who re-abandons himself to the Father, the key to understanding every disunity and to re-establishing unity … When unity is lived, it has an effect … It is the presence of Jesus among people, in the community. Jesus said: “For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them” (Mt 18:20). The presence of Jesus between a Catholic and an Evangelical who love each other, between Anglicans and Orthodox, between an Armenian and a Reformed Christian who love each other – how much peace it would bring even now, how much light it would shed for a productive ecumenical journey!”
Letizia Magri
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