[:mt]Kelma tal-Ħajja ta’ Ottubru[:en]October Word of Life[:]

[:mt]Niżżel il-fuljett tal-Kelma tal-Ħajja bil-Malti

“Agħtu lil Ċesari dak li hu ta’ Ċesari, u lil Alla dak li hu ta’ Alla” (Mt 22, 21).

Kif Ġesù kien dieħel Ġerusalemm, in-nies bdiet tgħajjat “Bin David”. Dan hu titlu rjali li fil-Vanġelu ta’ Mattew ifisser Kristu, li ħabbrilna li s-Saltna t’Alla hi fil-qrib.

F’dan il-kuntest, bdiet għaddejja diskursata bejn Ġesù u grupp ta’ nies li bdew jagħmlulu xi mistoqsijiet. Uħud minnhom kienu Erodjani, oħrajn Fariżej. Dawn iż-żewġ gruppi ma kenux jaħsbuha l-istess fuq is-setgħa tal-imperatur Ruman. Huma staqsewh jekk kenitx ħaġa sewwa li jħallsu t-taxxa lil Ċesari. Dan għamluh biex iġegħluh jgħid kienx jaqbel jew le mal-ħakma Rumana, biex imbagħad ikunu jistgħu jakkużawh.

Imma Ġesù weġibhom billi qalilhom juruh il-munita tat-taxxa. Billi fuqha kien hemm wiċċ u kitba tal-imperatur, weġibhom hekk:

“Agħtu lil Ċesari dak li hu ta’ Ċesari, u lil Alla dak li hu ta’ Alla”.

Imma xinhu dak li rridu nagħtu lil ċesari u lil Alla?

Ġesù fakkarhom li Alla jiġi l-ewwel u qabel kollox. Infatti, kif fuq il-munita tat-taxxa kien hemm ix-xbieha tal-imperatur. Bl-istess mod insibu x-xbieha ta’ Alla minquxa f’kull bniedem.

L-istess tradizzjoni Lhudija tisħaq li kull bniedem hu xbieha t’Alla1, billi tuża l-eżempju tax-xbieha li ssib fuq il-muniti: “Meta xi ħadd jagħmel il-muniti mill-istess forma, dawn joħorġu kollha l-istess, imma r-Re tar-rejiet, il-Qaddis imbierek, ħoloq kull bniedem bl-istess forma tal-ewwel bniedem, u l-ebda wieħed ma hu l-istess”2.

Għalhekk, aħna nistgħu nagħtu lilna nfusna ʹl Alla biss, aħna ħlejjaq tiegħu u biss fiH insibu l-libertà u d-dinjità. M’hemm l-ebda setgħa tal-bniedem li tista’ tippretendi l-istess fedeltà. Ġesù waħdu, u ħadd ħliefu ma jista’ jgħinna nagħtuH il-post li jixraqlu. Għal Ġesù “(…) li tħobb kien ifisser li jwettaq ir-rieda tal-Missier. Lil Missieru, Ġesù tah moħħu, qalbu u l-enerġija kollha tiegħu, saħansitra ħajtu. Hu ngħata kollu kemm hu biex iwettaq il-pjan li l-Missier kellu għaliH. Fil-Vanġelu narawH dejjem b’ħarstu lejn  il-Missier. (…) L-istess hu mitlub minna: li nħobbu jfisser nagħmlu r-rieda ta’ Alla, nagħmluha kollha kemm hi, bis-saħħa kollha tagħna. […] B’hekk aħna mitlubin nagħtu kull ma għandna, għax lil Alla rridu nagħtuh kollox, u xejn inqas minn hekk: qalbna kollha, ruħna kollha, moħħna kollu”3.

“Agħtu lil Ċesari dak li hu ta’ Ċesari, u lil Alla dak li hu ta’ Alla”.

Kemm-il darba jiġrilna li niltaqgħu ma’ problemi, ma għażliet diffiċli li bihom nistgħu naqgħu fit-tentazzjoni li naraw kif nagħmlu u ninħelsu minnhom f’qasir żmien. Ġesù wkoll sab ruħu quddiem żewġ soluzzjonijiet, imma għaliH is-soluzzjoni kienet waħda ċara: fuq quddiemnett kien hemm il-wasla tas-saltna t’Alla. Issa dan nagħmluh billi nibqgħu nħobbu.

Ta’ min nistaqsu lilna nfusna: qalbna xi trid: il-fama, il-karriera, suċċess fil-ħajja? Nammiraw lil dawk li jissejħu ‘influencers’?

Qegħdin nagħtu lil dawn l-affarijiet l-ewwel post li jixraqlu Alla?

Bit-tweġiba tiegħu lill-Erodjani u l-Fariżej, Ġesù jridna nimxu ʹl quddiem billi naraw tassew x’irridu npoġġu fuq quddiem nett fil-ħajja tagħna.

Fil-fond tal-kuxjenza tagħna nistgħu nisimgħu leħen, xi drabi leħen ħelu li ma jagħmilx storbju u li ħsejjes oħra jippruvaw ifixkluh. Imma dan il-leħen ħelu aħna nistgħu nagħrfuh. Din hi t-triq li biha l-ħin kollu nfittxu kif insiru aktar aħwa ta’ xulxin. Din it-triq tinkuraġġina nġeddu dejjem din l-għażla, anki jekk ikollna nimxu kontra l-kurrent.

Din hi ħidma fundamentali biex biha nibnu djalogu ma’ ħaddieħor, biex flimkien insibu tweġibiet tajba għal ħajjitna. Dan ma jfissirx li naħarbu mir-responsabiltajiet persunali tagħna  fis-soċjetà, imma li noffru lilna nfusna biex naħdmu għall-ġid ta’ kulħadd.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer kien arrestat u spiċċa maqtul minħabba l-oppożizzjoni tiegħu għan-nażiżmu. Waqt li kien maqful, hekk kiteb lill-għarusa tiegħu: “Fidi li taħrab mid-dinja ma nifhimhiex. Bil-fidi rridu nibqgħu nirreżistu fid-dinja, irridu nibqgħu nħobbu u nibqgħu fidili lejn is-Saltna t’Alla, minkejja s-slaleb kollha li din il-fedeltà ġġibilna. Iż-żwieġ tagħna għandu jkun tweġiba lil Alla li biha ngħidulu iva. Hu għandu jsaħħaħ fina l-kuraġġ biex naħdmu u  noħolqu xi ħaġa f’din id-dinja. Wisq nibża’ li dawk l-insara li jimxu fuq sieq waħda fid-dinja, għad jitilgħu fis-sema b’sieq waħda” .

Letizia Magri u t-team tal-Kelma tal-Ħajja

1. Ara. Ġen 1, 26.
2. Mishnà Sanhedrin 4, 5.
3. C. Lubich, Kelma tal-Ħajja Ottubru 2002, fil-ktieb, Parole di Vita, ta’ Fabio Ciardi (Opere di Chiara Lubich 5; Città Nuova, Roma 2017) pġ. 669-670

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Give therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s. (Mt. 22:21)

Jesus has entered Jerusalem and people have acclaimed that he is the ‘Son of David’.  This is a  royal title that Matthew’s Gospel attributes to the Christ who has come to announce that the Kingdom of God is imminent.In this context, a unique dialogue takes place between Jesus and a group of people who question him. Some are Herodians and others are Pharisees, two groups that held differing views with respect to the power of the Roman emperor. They ask him whether or not he judges it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor and thus force him to take sides for or against Caesar and, therefore, create the basis to make possible accusations against him. But Jesus answers with another question about the image stamped on the coinage of the time. Since it is that of the emperor, he replies:

“Give therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

But what is due to the emperor, Caesar,  and what is due to God? Jesus recalls the primacy of God: for just as the image of the emperor was stamped on the Roman coins, so the image of God is stamped on every human being.The rabbinic tradition itself affirms that every person is created in the likeness of God,[i]  just as Caesar’s image was imprinted on coinage:  ‘When a person stamps several coins with one seal, they are all similar to each other. But the supreme King of kings, the Holy One, Blessed be He, stamped all people with the seal of Adam the first man, as all of them are his offspring, and not one of them is similar to another.’ [ii] Therefore, it is to God alone that we can give ourselves completely, to him alone we belong and in him we find freedom and dignity. No human power can claim the same allegiance. ‘If there is anyone who knows God and can help us give him his rightful place, it is  Jesus. For him … to love meant doing the Father’s will with all his mind, heart, energy and life itself: he gave himself entirely to the Father’s plan for him. The Gospel shows us that his focus  was always upon the Father …. He asks the same of us: to love means to do the will of the Beloved, without half measures, with our whole being … We are asked to do this wholly and completely  because  we cannot give God anything less than everything: our whole heart, our whole soul, our whole mind.’ [iii]

“Give therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

Often we are faced with dilemmas or difficult choices that threaten to make us slip into the temptation of finding a loophole or easy way out. Jesus too was tested when faced with two ideological solutions but for him it was clear: the priority was the coming of the kingdom of God and the primacy of love.  This Word of Life makes us ask if our hearts are won over by fame or if they are given to making  rapid progress in our careers? Do we admire successful people and the various influencers? Do we give things their rightful place with God?

Jesus’ answer proposes a quantum leap and invites us to a serious and thorough discernment of our scale of values. Deep in our consciences we can discern a voice that is sometimes subtle and overpowered by other voices but, nevertheless, is recognizable. It is the voice that urges us to tirelessly seek ways of creating fraternity and always encourages us to renew this choice, even at the cost of going against the tide of current opinion.

This is a fundamental exercise if we wish to build the foundations of  genuine dialogue with others and try to find together adequate answers to the complexity of life. This does not mean we  shirk personal responsibility towards society but that we offer ourselves in selfless service to the common good. During the time  Dietrich Bonhoeffer was imprisoned and eventually executed for civil resistance towards Nazism, he  wrote to his fiancée, ‘I do not mean the faith that flees the world, but the faith that endures in the world and loves and remains faithful to the earth, despite all the tribulations it brings us. Our marriage must be a “yes” to God’s earth, it must strengthen our courage to work and create something on earth. I fear that Christians who dare to stand with only one foot on  earth will have only one foot in heaven too.’[iv]

 By Letizia Magri and the Word of Life team