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“Jekk xi ħadd irid ikun l-ewwel wieħed, għandu joqgħod wara kulħadd u jkun il-qaddej ta’ kulħadd” (Mk 9, 35).
Huma u sejrin ma’ Ġesù lejn Kafarnahum, id-dixxipli bdew jiddiskutu fuq min kien l-akbar wieħed fosthom. Iżda meta Ġesù staqsiehom fuq xhiex kienu qed jitkellmu, ma kellhomx il-kuraġġ iweġbuh, forsi għax bdew jistħu xi ftit: fit-triq kienu qagħdu jitħaddtu bejniethom fuq min kien l-akbar.
Ġesù kien tkellem ħafna drabi fuq it-tbatija li kienet qed tistennieh, imma għal Pietru u għall-oħrajn dak kien diskors tqil wisq biex jifhmuh u jaċċettawh. Tant hu hekk li kien wara l-esperjenza tal-mewt u l-qawmien tiegħu li ndunaw min hu Ġesù: li hu l-Iben t’Alla li b’imħabba jagħti ħajtu għalina.
Għalhekk, biex jgħinhom ikunu tassew dixxipli tiegħu, Ġesù poġġa bilqiegħda, sejħilhom ħdejh u wriehom min kien “l-ewwel wieħed skont il-Vanġelu”:
“Jekk xi ħadd irid ikun l-ewwel wieħed, għandu joqgħod wara kulħadd u jkun il-qaddej ta’ kulħadd”.
Minkejja li d-dixxipli kienu nies fraġli u beżgħana, Ġesù kien jafdahom u sejħilhom biex jimxu warajh, biex jaqsmu miegħu l-missjoni tiegħu: dik li jaqdu ʼl kulħadd. Dan ifakkarna fi kliem l-Appostlu San Pawl lill-Filippin: “Tagħmlu xejn b’pika ta’ partit, anqas għall-ftaħir fieragħ; imma kunu umli u kull wieħed minnkom iqis lill-ieħor aħjar minnu. Ħadd minnkom ma għandu jfittex dak li jaqbillu, imma dak li jaqbel lil ħaddieħor. Aħsbu bħalma kien jaħseb Ġesù Kristu” . Naqdu mela, mhux tant bħala lsiera, li bilfors ikollhom jaħdmu, imma bħala nies ħielsa li b’ġenerożità joffru dak li kapaċi jagħmlu, nies li jaħdmu mhux biss għal xi grupp jew naħa waħda, imma għal kull min jeħtieġ l-għajnuna, bla ebda eċċezzjoni u preġudizzji.
Din hi wkoll sejħa għalina ħalli jkollna moħħ u qalb miftuħa biex nagħrfu l-bżonnijiet tal-oħrajn u nieħdu ħsiebhom, naraw x’nistgħu nagħmlu ħalli nibnu rabtiet li jixirqu lill-bnedmin, nużaw it-talenti tagħna għall-ġid ta’ ħaddieħor, fil-waqt li minkejja l-fallimenti tagħna, nerġgħu nibdew kuljum. Din hi stedina biex inkunu minn ta’ quddiem u nħeġġu ʹl kulħadd jaħdem ħalli ngħixu ta’ aħwa bejnietna.
“Jekk xi ħadd irid ikun l-ewwel wieħed, għandu joqgħod wara kulħadd u jkun il-qaddej ta’ kulħadd”.
F’kumment fuq din il-Kelma ta’ Ġesù, Chiara Lubich issuġġeriet kif nistgħu ngħixuha. Hi tgħid hekk: “Fil-ħafna okkażjonijiet li jkollna fil-ħajja ta’ kuljum, irridu nagħżlu l-aħħar post ma’ Ġesù. Ningħataw xi bicca xogħol importanti? M’għandniex inħossu li aħna “xi ħadd” u m’għandniex nagħtu lok għas-suppervja u l-kburija. Irridu niftakru li l-aktar ħaġa importanti hi li nħobbu lill-proxxmu tagħna. Irridu napprofittaw ruħna minn din is-sitwazzjoni ġdida biex naqdu aħjar lil ħutna, bla ma ninsew nieħdu ħsieb dawk li jidhru affarijiet żgħar, ir-rabtiet ta’ bejnietna, id-dmirijiet umli ta’ kuljum, l-għajnuna lill-ġenituri, il-paċi u l-armonija fil-familja, l-edukazzjoni ta’ wliedna… Iva, jiġri x’jiġri, irridu niftakru li Kristjaneżmu jfisser inħobbu u nippreferi ʹl dawk li huma fl-aħħar post. Jekk ngħixu b’dan il-mod, il-ħin kollu nkunu qed nibnu s-Saltna t’Alla fuq din l-art, u għal dan l-isforz tagħna Ġesù wiegħed li l-bqija jingħatalna b’żieda: saħħa, ġid, abbundanza f’kollox… biex ikollna x’inqassmu lill-oħrajn u hekk insiru dirgħajn tal-Providenza t’Alla għal ħafna” .
“Jekk xi ħadd irid ikun l-ewwel wieħed, għandu joqgħod wara kulħadd u jkun il-qaddej ta’ kulħadd”.
Il-ħarsien tad-dar komuni hu qadi li permezz tiegħu, flimkien ma’ ħafna nies oħra fid-dinja, nistgħu nagħtu s-sehem tagħna għall-ġid komuni tal-umanità, u issa dan ilu snin ikun suġġett qawwi ta’ xhieda nisranija komuni. Tajjeb niftakru li, għal numru ta’ knejjes li dejjem qed jiżdied, anki din is-sena x-xahar ta’ Settembru jiftaħ biċ-ċelebrazzjoni tal-Jum Dinji tal-Ħolqien, ċelebrazzjoni li tibqa’ sejra sal-4 ta’ Ottubru, sa Żmien il-Ħolqien.
F’waħda minn dawn l-okkażjonijiet, il-komunità ta’ Taizè ssuġġeriet din it-talba: “Alla tal-imħabba, fil-waqt li nibqgħu fil-preżenza tiegħek, agħtina l-ħila li nintebħu bil-ġmiel infinit ta’ dak kollu li ħlaqt, ta’ dak kollu li jiġi minnek, u tal-ħniena kbira tiegħek. Agħmel li nkunu dejjem aktar attenti għall-oħrajn u għall-ħolqien kollu kemm hu. Għallimna niskopru s-siwi ta’ kollox u agħmel li nkunu bennejja tal-paċi fil-familja tal-bnedmin” .
Letizia Magri
[:en]”Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all” (Mk. 9:35).
The disciples were having a lively discussion amongst themselves as they travelled with Jesus to Capernaum. However, when Jesus asked them what they were talking about, they did not dare answer him, perhaps because they were ashamed. The fact was they were trying to establish who among them was the greatest. Jesus had spoken several times about his mysterious appointment with suffering but for Peter and the others it was too difficult to understand and accept. In reality, it was only after the experience of Jesus’ death and resurrection that they discovered who he really is: the Son of God who gives his life out of love. That is why, to help them truly be his disciples, Jesus sat down, called them to come close to him and revealed the true nature of “evangelical primacy”:
Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.
In spite of their frailty and fears, Jesus had confidence in the disciples and had called them to follow him and to share his mission to serve everyone. Paul’s exhortation to the Christians in Philippi comes to mind: “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus.” [i] Serve, not so much as slaves who are forced into their work, but as a free people who generously offer their skills and strength and give of themselves not only for the benefit of a specific group or party, but for all those who need help, without exception and without prejudice. This is a call for us today, too, to have open minds and hearts, to recognise and care for the needs of others and to be active in building truly human relationships. It is an invitation to put our talents to good use for the common good and, in spite of our failures, to start afresh to do so each day, putting ourselves in the last place in order to press on together with others towards the only possible future: universal fraternity.
Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.
Focolare founder, Chiara Lubich, commenting on this Word of Jesus, suggested ways we could put it into practice: “There are countless opportunities in everyday life when we, like Jesus, can choose to take the last place. If we have been asked to be the lead in completing an important task, let’s not feel that we are ‘somebody’, let us not give way to pride and arrogance. Instead, let us remember that the most important thing is to love our neighbour. Let us take advantage of the new situation to serve our neighbour better, without forgetting what could seem to be small things such as personal relationships, simple household jobs, helping our parents, peace and harmony in the family and educating children… Yes, whatever happens, let us remember that Christianity means to love and to have a preferential love for the least. If we live like this, we will continue to build up the Kingdom of God on earth and Jesus has promised that if we do this, all the rest will be given to us too – health and material goods in abundance … to be shared with others. If we do this, we become the arms of God’s Providence for so many people.” [ii]
The protection of our common home is a particularly timely form of service which we can share with so many people around the world. It has been a strong theme in Christian witness for many years. For an increasing number of churches, once again this year, the month of September opens with the celebration of the Season of Creation which continues until 4 October, the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation. On one such occasion in the past, the Taizè community proposed this prayer: “God of love, as we remain in your presence, make us capable of grasping the infinite beauty of what you have created, of all that comes from you, of your inexhaustible compassion. Increase our attention towards others and towards all creation. Teach us to discover the value of everything, and make us bearers of peace in the human family.” [iii]
Letizia Magri
[i] Phil. 2:3-5
[ii] Chiara Lubich Word of Life Sept 1985
[iii] Cf. https://www.taize.fr/it_article24642.html
https://soundcloud.com/user-63571203/september-2021-word-of-life[:]
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