[:mt]Kelma tal-Ħajja – Frar [:en]Word of Life – February[:]

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“FITTEX IS-SLIEM U IMXI WARAJH” (SAL 34, 15)

F’dan is-salm is-sultan David wera l-ferħ u l-ħajr tiegħu quddiem il-miġemgħa. Hu għadda minn mumenti ta’ periklu u qtigħ il-qalb, imma dar b’fiduċja lejn Alla ta’ Iżrael u reġa’ sab is-sliem.

F’dan l-innu, il-protagonista hu Alla bil-ħniena tiegħu, bil-preżenza qawwija u deċiżiva tiegħu qrib il-fqir u l-batut li jduru lejH. David qed jgħidilna x’irridu nagħmlu jekk irridu li aħna wkoll ikollna l-istess salvazzjoni: għandna naħarbu dak kollu li hu ħażin, u nagħmlu dejjem it-tajjeb. Hu jisħaq fuq il-bżonn li ma nweġġgħux lill-proxxmu tagħna bi kliemna. Filfatt, il-kelma tista’ twassal għall-gwerra.

Fil-Bibbja, il-kelma sliem għandha diversi tifsiriet: tfisser saħħa fil-ġisem u fir-ruħ, jew ftehim bejn tnejn min-nies u bejn il-ġnus. Iżda qabel xejn is-sliem hu don t’Alla, li bih niskopru l-wiċċ tiegħu ta’ Missier. Mela, biex ikollna l-veru sliem, jeħtieġ li fuq kollox infittxu `l Alla f’ħajjitna bis-saħħa kollha tagħna.

Biex niksbu s-sliem irridu nagħmlu ħilitna kollha u nimxu fuq dak li tgħidilna l-kuxjenza li dejjem timbuttana biex nagħżlu t-triq it-tajba u mhux dik il-ħażina. Ħafna drabi jkun biżżejjed li nħallu `l Alla jiġi għandna għax Hu dejjem ifittex `il kull wieħed u waħda minna.

Bħala Nsara, aħna ġa għandna rabta mill-qrib ma’ Ġesù permezz tal-Magħmudija. Ġesù hu Alla li jinsab qrib tagħna, li wegħedna li jagħtina s-sliem tiegħu; Alla stess huwa l-paċi. Aħna rċevejna d-don tal-Ispirtu s-Santu, li hu Alla tal-faraġ u li jgħinna wkoll naqsmu mal-oħrajn il-frott tal-paċi t’Alla li ġarrabna f’ħajjitna. Hu jurina t-triq biex inħobbu `l dawk li jinsabu qrib tagħna u b’hekk negħlbu l-ġlied, nevitaw li nakkużawhom bla bżonn, li niġġudikawhom u nitkellmu ħażin fuqhom u niftħu qalbna ħalli nilqgħuhom kif imiss.

Forsi aħna ma nistgħux insikktu l-armi kollha li qed ixerrdu d-demm f’ħafna nħawi taddinja, imma nistgħu nagħmlu ħilitna biex fil-familji, fil-komunità nisranija, fuq il-post tax-xogħol u fil-post fejn ngħixu ntaffu l-feriti u jerġa’ jkollna l-għaqda u s-sliem bejnietna. Jekk ikun hemm komunità żgħira jew kbira li timpenja ruħha b’deċiżjoni biex tagħti xhieda għall-qawwa tal-imħabba, inkunu nistgħu nibnu pontijiet bejn gruppi soċjali, knejjes u partiti politiċi.

Jekk aħna nfittxu l-paċi b’konvinzjoni, nagħrfu kif għandna nġibu ruħna biex inħarsu
l-ħolqien, li hu wkoll don t’Alla għal uliedu u li aħna għandna r-responsabbiltà li ngħadduh lill-ġenerazzjonijiet ta’ warajna.

Fl-1999 Chiara Lubich kitbet ittra lil Nikkio Niwano, il-fundatur tal-Moviment Buddista Ġappuniż li jismu Rissho Kosei Kai, fejn qaltlu: “[…] Jekk il-bniedem mhuwiex fil-paċi m’Alla, id-dinja stess ma tkunx fil-paċi. Dawk kollha li huma reliġjużi jħossu t-“tbatija” tad-dinja meta l-bniedem ma jagħmilx użu mid-dinja skont il-pjan t’Alla, imma jkun irid jippossediha. Dan l-egoiżmu u din il-kilba jħammġu l-ambjent aktar minn kull tniġġiż ieħor, li huwa konsegwenza ta’ dan. […] Jekk niskopru li l-ħolqien kollu hu don ta’ Missier li jħobbna, ikun eħfef li nsibu rabta armonjuża man-natura. U jekk niskopru wkoll li dan hu don għal kulħadd, u mhux biss għal xi wħud, noqogħdu aktar attenti u nirrispettaw `il dak li hu tal-bnedmin kollha ta’ issa u ta’ li ġej”.

Letizia Magri
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“Seek peace, and pursue it (Ps. 34:14).”

for ages 4-8 | for ages 9-17 | Print | Audio

In this psalm, David tells the people gathered before him of his joy and gratitude to God. He had experienced danger and anguish, but he called trustingly on the God of Israel and found peace again.

This hymn is primarily about God and his mercy, telling of his powerful presence alongside the poor and oppressed who call upon him.

Wanting to help others obtain salvation as he has done, David went on to suggest some inner attitudes to adopt: to avoid doing evil, but to do good always instead.

He emphasized the need not to malign others. Words, in fact, can lead to war.

Seek peace, and pursue it

In biblical language, peace has several meanings, such as physical and spiritual wellbeing or harmony between individuals and peoples. Above all, however, it is a gift from God, through which we discover his fatherly presence.

That is why, in order to experience true peace, we need to be passionate and persevering in seeking God in our lives.

We can do our part, in seeking God, by following the voice of our conscience. This always urges us to choose the path of goodness and not the path of evil. Often it is enough to let God find us, as he has been searching for each one of us for eternity. Through baptism, we Christians already have a close relationship with Jesus. He is the God who is near and who has promised us peace; he himself is peace. We have received the gift of the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, who also helps us to share with others the fruits of God’s peace that we have experienced. He will show us how to love the people around us and so overcome conflicts by avoiding unfounded allegations, superficial judgments and gossip. In this way, our hearts will open to accept others.

We may not be able to silence all the guns that bring bloodshed to so many parts of the world. However, we can take the initiative in giving new life to wounded relationships, whether they be in our family, our Christian community, at work or in our towns and cities.

Wherever a small or large community is determined to witness to the power of love, it becomes possible to build bridges between social groups, churches and even political parties.

Seek peace, and pursue it

A sincere search for peace will also help us identify practices that can protect creation, which is also God’s gift to his children and is entrusted to us to care for responsibly for future generations.

In 1990, Chiara Lubich wrote to Rev. Nikkyo Niwano, founder of the Japanese Buddhist movement Rissho Kosei Kai: “If human beings are not at peace with God, the earth itself is not at peace. People of faith are aware that the earth ‘suffers’ when it is not treated according to the plan of God, but purely out of self interest and an endless desire to possess. This selfish desire contaminates the environment more than, and before, any other kind of pollution, which is merely its consequence. … If we discover that all creation is the gift of a Father who loves us, it will be much easier to find a harmonious relationship with nature. If we also discover that this gift is for everyone in the human family and not only a few, greater attention and respect will be given to something that belongs to all of humanity, both present and future.”

Letizia Magri

https://soundcloud.com/user-63571203/february-2019-seek-peace-and-pursue-it-ps-3415[:]