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[:mt]Niżżel il-fuljett tal-Kelma tal-Ħajja bil-Malti
“Intom ilkoll ulied id-dawl u wlied il-jum; aħna m’aħniex ulied il-lejl, anqas ulied id-dlam” (1 Ts 5, 5).
Id-dawl minn dejjem kien dejjem simbolu tal-ħajja, u fi tlugħ ix-xemx nilmħu jum ġdid. Id-dawl insibuh dejjem fl-istejjer tal-ġnus u fir-reliġjonijiet il-qodma.
It-tradizzjoni Lhudija tiċċelebra l-festa tad-dawl, Hanukkah, b’tifkira tal-konsagrazzjoni tat-Tempju ta’ Ġerusalemm u tal-ħelsien mill-qima pagana. Il-Musulmani jixegħlu x-xemgħa f’jum twelid il-profeta, li bl-Għarbi hu Mawlid u bit-Tork Mevlid Kandili.
Il-festa ta’ Diwali, li tfisser ħafna postijiet imdawla, fil-bidu kienet festa Induwista u tiġi ċċelebrata wkoll minn reliġjonijiet Indjani b’tifkira tar-rebħa tat-tajjeb fuq il-ħażin. Għall-Insara, Ġesù Kristu hu d-dawl li jdawwal dlamijiet id-dinja.
Għalhekk id-dawl hu mimli simboliżmu, għax jirrappreżenta l-preżenza t’Alla, u hu wkoll don għall-bnedmin u għad-dinja.
“Intom ilkoll ulied id-dawl u wlied il-jum; aħna m’aħniex ulied il-lejl, anqas ulied id-dlam”.
Imma kif nagħrfu min huma wlied il-jum? Nagħrfuhom għax “m’humiex ulied il-lejl, anqas ulied id-dlam”. Meta dak li jkun ma jmurx jorqod, ifisser li jrid jibqa’ jishar. Din hi għażla ta’ mħabba li dak li jkun jagħmel biex jgħix il-ħin b’mod sħiħ.
L-istedina urġenti li l-appostlu qed iwassal lill-komunità ta’ Tessalonika hi biex b’ħeġġa jishru lkoll flimkien u ma jibqgħux imheddla u indifferenti. Fi żmien meta l-bniedem jeħtieġ id-dawl, dawk li m’humiex ulied il-lejl huma fid-dmir li jdawlu r-rabtiet tagħhom ma’ ħuthom, billi jingħataw il-ħin kollu lill-oħrajn. B’hekk tidher il-preżenza ta’ Ġesù Rxoxt bil-fidi, bl-imħabba u t-tama, kif jikteb San Pawl (ara 1 Ts 5, 8).
Irid ikollna wkoll rabta aktar intima ma’ Alla, billi nsibu l-ħin ħalli ninżlu fil-fond ta’ qalbna biex nitħaddtu miegħu fit-talb, u billi ngħixu Kelmtu biex hekk jiddi fina id-dawl tiegħu.
“Intom ilkoll ulied id-dawl u wlied il-jum; aħna m’aħniex ulied il-lejl, anqas ulied id-dlam”.
Xi drabi jiġri li nidraw ngħixu fid-dlam ta’ ġo qalbna jew nikkuntentaw ruħna bil-ħafna dawl artifiċjali tad-dinja, li twegħidna l-ferħ. Imma Alla dejjem isejħilna biex inħallu d-dawl tiegħu jiddi ġewwa fina u nħarsu lejn in-nies u l-ġrajjiet b’attenzjoni sħiħa, biex hekk nagħrfu l-pjanijiet imdawlin tiegħu.
“Intom ilkoll ulied id-dawl u wlied il-jum; aħna m’aħniex ulied il-lejl, anqas ulied id-dlam”.
Il-ħin kollu, u b’ħilitna kollha, irridu nagħmlu għażla li biha nitwieldu mill-ġdid, jiġifieri li ngħaddu mid-dlam għad-dawl. Chiara Lubich tgħid: “In-Nisrani ma jistax jaħrab mid-dinja, jinħeba jew iqis ir-reliġjon bħala xi ħaġa privata. Hu jgħix fid-dinja għax għandu responsabiltà, għandu missjoni quddiem il-bnedmin: irid ikun ta’ dawl għall-oħrajn. Inti wkoll għandek dan id-dmir, u jekk ma tagħmilx hekk tkun bħal melħ li jitlef it-togħma, jew bħal dawl mitfi.1 […] Għalhekk in-Nisrani jrid iħalli dan id-dawl jiddi ʹl barra minnu, għandu jkun “sinjal” ta’ din il-preżenza t’Alla fost il-bnedmin”.2
Alla hu dawl u aħna nistgħu nsibuh jekk infittxuh b’qalb sinċiera. Jiġri x’jiġri qatt m’aħna se ninfirdu minn imħabbtu għax aħna wliedu. Jekk aħna ċerti minn dan, id-diffikultajiet li ngħaddu minnhom la jaħsduna u lanqas jgħaffġuna.
It-terremot li seħħ fit-Turkija u s-Sirja din is-sena ħalla aktar minn ħamsin elf ruħ mejta, filwaqt li miljuni oħra għaddew minn ħafna tiġrib. Dawk li baqgħu ħajjin f’din it-traġedja, flimkien ma’ komunitajiet kemm minn fosthom kif ukoll minn pajjiżi oħra, wasslu d-dawl tagħhom billi mill-ewwel bdew jagħtu l-għajnuna lil dawk fil-bżonn. B’hekk huma taffew xi ftit it-tbatija ta’ min tilef lill-qrabatu u kulma kellu.
Id-dlam qatt ma jista’ jaħkem il-ħajja ta’ min jagħżel li jgħix fid-dawl u li jkun ta’ dawl għall-ħutu l-bnedmin. Għalina l-Insara dan ifisser li rridu ngħixu bil-preżenza ta’ Kristu fostna, u din il-preżenza twassal xaqq ta’ dawl, tama ġdida, biex hekk ngħixu fl-imħabba t’Alla.
Patrizia Mazzola u
t-team tal-Kelma tal-Ħajja
1 Cf. Mt 5, 13-16.
2 C. Lubich, Kelma tal-Ħajja, Awwissu 1979, fil-ktieb, Parole di Vita, ta’ Fabio Ciardi (Opere di Chiara Lubich 5; Città Nuova, Roma 2017) pġ. 145-146.
https://on.soundcloud.com/yt1J4[:en]
“You are all children of light and children of the day; we do not belong to the night, nor to darkness (1 Thess 5:5).”
for ages 4-8 | for ages 9-17 | Print| Audio
Light has always symbolized life. Every day we await the dawn as the harbinger of a new beginning. The theme of light has often been featured in the histories of peoples and in ancient religions. Jewish tradition celebrates Hannukah, the festival of lights, which commemorates the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem and the liberation from pagan cults. Some Muslims light candles on the day of the prophet’s birth, known as Mawlid in Arabic or Mevlid Kandili in Turkish. Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, is also celebrated in other Indian religions and symbolises the victory of good over evil. For Christians, Jesus Christ is the light that illuminates the darkness of the world. Light, therefore, is charged with strong symbolism and represents the presence of the divine and is a gift for humanity and the earth.
“You are all children of light and children of the day; we do not belong to the night, nor to darkness.”
But what are the characteristics of the children of the day? One of them is “not belonging to the night, nor to darkness.” The renunciation of lethargy and apathy lies in the decision to remain in a state of wakefulness. It means choosing to love and to live each moment fully. In this letter, the apostle’s pressing invitation to the Thessalonian community is to keep watch together, renouncing all kinds of stupor and indifference. During a time when humanity is particularly in need of light, as Paul writes (cf. 1 Thess 5:8) those who “do not belong to the night” have the task of bringing greater clarity to all human relationships by a process of continuous self-giving that, through faith, love and hope, makes visible the presence of the Risen One. Furthermore, we need to cultivate a closer and more sincere relationship with God by searching our hearts deeply and finding moments of dialogue in prayer and by living out his word that makes this light shine out.
You are all children of light and children of the day; we do not belong to the night, nor to darkness.
Sometimes we can become accustomed to living in the darkness of our hearts and be content with the many false lights around us and the world’s various promises of happiness. However, God always calls us to allow his light to shine within and to look carefully at people and all that is happening so we can recognise signs of radiance. Effort is needed to continually choose to begin afresh and turn from darkness to light. Chiara Lubich wrote, “The Christian cannot escape from the world and hide or consider religion to be a private affair. He or she lives in the world because each person has a responsibility, a mission, to be the light that illuminates. You, too, have this task, and if you do not do this, your ineffectiveness is like salt that has lost its flavour or light that has become shadow.” [i] […] “The task of all Christians is, therefore, to let this light shine through them and be the ‘sign’ of this presence of God among all people.” [ii]
You are all children of light and children of the day; we do not belong to the night, nor to darkness.
God is light and can be found by those who seek him with a sincere heart. No matter what happens, we will never be separated from his love because we are his children. If we are sure of this we will not be surprised or crushed by upsetting events. This year’s earthquake in Turkey and Syria, which claimed more than 50,000 victims, turned the lives of millions of people upside down. Those who survived the catastrophe found that entire communities there and in other countries have been points of light that worked to bring immediate aid and provide relief to those who have lost loved ones, homes … everything.
Darkness can never overwhelm those who choose to live in the light and to generate light. For us Christians, this means a life with Christ in our midst, a presence that makes it possible to catch a glimpse of life that restores hope and allows us to continue to dwell in God’s love.
Patrizia Mazzola and
the Word of Life team
1 Cf. Mt 5, 13-16.
https://on.soundcloud.com/yt1J4[:]
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