Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ Bẩy Tuần 25 TN Luke 9:43-45
Trong bài Tin Mừng hôm nay, Chúa Giêsu cho chúng ta sẽ biết rằng Chúa đang có một mối lo lắng và một gánh nặng rất to lớn, nếu như chúng ta chứng kiến được những lời cầu nguyện của Ngài trong khu vườn cây dầu vào đêm trước khi Ngài phải chịu nạn chúng ta có thể biết được Ngài đã phải mang cái gánh nặng này đã bao lâu rồi. Chúng ta có hai cách để đọc và suy nghĩ về bàiTin Mừng hôm nay.
1 - Chúng ta có thể đọc đó như là bài chia sẽ mà Chúa Giêsu muốn tâm sự. Ngài muốn chia sẻ gánh nặng này với những các môn đệ của Ngài và những ai muốn gần gũi với Ngài. Nhưng có lẽ họ không có đủ sức mạnh để hiểu và chịu đựng cái nỗi đau thương của Ngài.
2 - Chúng ta có thể đọc bài Tin Mừng hôm nay như là một lời cảnh cáo của Chúa Giêsu cho các môn đệ của Ngài biết rằng; Ngài muốn họ chuẩn bị tinh thần về sự đau khổ và cho cái chết của Ngài.
Trong những tháng năm cùng rao giảng tin mừng với các môn đệ, Chúa Giêsu có nói với các môn đệ nhiều lần rằng Ngài sẽ phải chịu đau khổ và sẽ bị giết. Nhưng có thể là họ không hiểu được những lời Chúa tiên báo này, họ chỉ mới nhớ lại những lời này sau khi Ngài đã chết đi và sống lại từ cõi chết và ghi nhớ lại những dữ kiện sau cái sự thực đau thương phũ phàng, với Thập Giá trong quá khứ, họ đã được biến đổi, và từ gánh nặng Thập giá đó họ sẽ có được sự mặc khải như bây giờ.
Chúa Giêsu biết những gì đang đến, sẽ đến và Ngài can đảm, cam kết sẽ thực thi theo ý muốn của Chúa Cha. Cho dù Ngài đã biết về sự đau khổ và phải chết trên Thập Giá nhục nhã trước khi Ngài đã tập đọc được những chữ cái đầu tiên hay Ngài chỉ biết được cái số phận của mình sau này, Ngài luôn luôn biết rằng Ngài sẽ làm theo ý Chúa Cha, mà không làm theo ý riêng mình. Lạy Chúa xin Giúp cúng con có can đảm để làm theo ý Chúa.
Reflection Saturday 25th Ordinary Time
I wonder when Jesus learned that he would die on the Cross, or if he always knew it. I mean to say, did he know it as a five-year-old boy or did he learn it at some point later in life? He was not taken by surprise: he teaches his disciples about the sufferings to come and he discusses the Cross with Elijah and Moses during the Transfiguration. We know that it was a great burden for him, as is clear from his prayers in the garden on the night before he died, but how long did he carry this burden?
It seems to me that there are two distinct ways to read the Gospel today. We could read it as Jesus trying to share this burden with those closest to him, but they are not strong enough to help bear it, or we could read it as Jesus, knowing that his disciples would not be able to bear the burden that he carried but also wanting to prepare his disciples for his death, tells them about the suffering and death to come, but prevents them from understanding.
In the year leading up to the Cross, Jesus told his disciples many times that he would suffer and die. They did not understand then, but after he died and rose from the dead they remembered these teachings. Remembering them after the fact, with the Cross in the past, they are transformed, from the burden they would have been, to the revelation they are now.
These words are a revelation because they teach us so much about Jesus Christ. Because of these words we know that he was fully aware of the death he would suffer, yet he does not say these words as a merely prescient person would. If you knew right now the death that awaits you, your first instinct would be to consider ways to avoid it, but Jesus does not begin planning ways to avoid his fate. He knows what is coming, and he is committed to doing the will of the Father. Whether he knew about the Cross before he learned his first words or if he did not know until the year before, he always knew that he would do the will of his Father, no matter what.
Opening Prayer: Lord Jesus, open my ears to hear your words, open my eyes to see as you see, and open my heart to love as you love. I ask for the grace of understanding.
Encountering Christ:
1. “The Son of Man Is to Be Handed Over”: The disciples of Jesus were amazed at his multiplication of loaves and fishes and the many healings he performed, but at this moment, Jesus intentionally diverted their attention away from his successes. Instead, for the second time, Jesus told them he would suffer and die. Still, it didn’t sink in. Human understanding is not always capable of grasping the ways of God. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways—oracle of the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, my thoughts higher than your thoughts (Isaiah 55:5-6). Jesus wanted the apostles to know that suffering fit into God’s plan, so he would tell them as often as they needed to hear it. When we are confused or seek discernment about the way God is working in our life, we need to persevere in prayer until we understand the message.
2. They Did Not Understand: The disciples did not understand, but they would eventually understand. Faith believes that what one does not currently see, one will see. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, on your own intelligence do not rely; In all your ways be mindful of him, and he will make straight your paths (Proverbs 3:5-6). Jesus told his disciples he would suffer so that when it came about, they would remember what he told them. When he was taken by the guards in the garden of Gethsemane, the apostles would recall Jesus’s words and be assured that, despite all appearances, God’s will was being done.
3. Afraid to Ask: What would have happened had the apostles asked for more details? On other occasions, when they asked Jesus to explain something they did not understand, he spoke more plainly. When we’re confused by life’s circumstances, do we seek clarity from God? What keeps us from asking him to explain? God always wants to hear from us. We can trust him with our confused feelings, with our anger, with our sorrow. He is pleased when we come to him as dependent children, asking for clarity about what we don’t understand.
Conversing with Christ: Dear Lord, when life gets confusing, help me trust in you even though my understanding is limited. Increase my faith! Help me to confront my fears, to place them before you.
Resolution: Lord, today, by your grace, I will spend some time in prayer, sincerely pouring out my heart, trusting that my loving Father hears my plea.
Saturday-25th Week in Ordinary 2013
Scripture frequently uses the image of a shepherd to speak of God’s protecting love and care for us, as in the passage from Jeremiah which serves as our responsorial Psalm today. People who have grown up with a religious life nourished by the word of Scripture have probably assimilated the image to such an extent that they find no problem with the image and are even moved to great devotion by singing “The Lord is my shepherd”.
Since, however, we mostly live in urban areas and not in a nomadic culture where actual shepherds do guide and care for their flocks of sheep, it is beneficial and at times even necessary for us to re-think the image of a shepherd and try to reach a real understanding of the truth which Scripture conveys to us. Many other biblical images are no longer part of our urbanized culture and social ambience and need to be re-thought.
Even Jesus’ disciples found it difficult to understand his message, partly because the notion of a suffering Messiah did not make any sense to them. So then, through prayer and reflection, we need to personalize our religion and cultivate a relationship with God that makes spiritual sense to us and strengthens our faith. Lord, bless us with the strengthening experience of Your protective love.
REFLECTION
In today's Gospel reading, Jesus tries to convey to his disciples a correct view of his mission, but they simply do not understand. The notion of a suffering Messiah is just too much for them to grasp. They even hesitate to inquire more deeply about it. They could understand Jesus' miracles. They could understand the traditional Jewish concept of a conquering Messiah. But the idea of a Messiah who would be killed was totally foreign to them. It seemed like complete defeat.
After Pentecost, however, their eyes would be opened. With the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, they would come "to understand fully the mystery, the plan God was pleased to decree in Christ to reconcile everything in his person both on earth and in the heavens, making peace through the blood of his cross." With the Spirit they could see beyond the externals of life and religion, and see into the very heart of God. This heart is a heart of love. It is also a heart of mystery. It lives by dying for those it loves. It is glorified in being humbled for those it loves. It is given abundant wealth by becoming poor so that those it loves might share in its wealth. These things are all paradoxes. They are all mystery. Yet they all boldly and clearly proclaim the truth of God's love. This love was most dearly revealed in the death of God's Son, Jesus Christ.
Do we understand this mystery, or do we still seek a Messiah who will come in worldly victory? Do we really seek the action of the Spirit in our life so we might understand this mystery? Do we really allow ourselves to be daily born again in his love by coming to share in a daily death to selfishness and sin? As a Church we must not allow ourselves to remain in ignorance. We must be born again in the true sense of the word.
1 - Chúng ta có thể đọc đó như là bài chia sẽ mà Chúa Giêsu muốn tâm sự. Ngài muốn chia sẻ gánh nặng này với những các môn đệ của Ngài và những ai muốn gần gũi với Ngài. Nhưng có lẽ họ không có đủ sức mạnh để hiểu và chịu đựng cái nỗi đau thương của Ngài.
2 - Chúng ta có thể đọc bài Tin Mừng hôm nay như là một lời cảnh cáo của Chúa Giêsu cho các môn đệ của Ngài biết rằng; Ngài muốn họ chuẩn bị tinh thần về sự đau khổ và cho cái chết của Ngài.
Trong những tháng năm cùng rao giảng tin mừng với các môn đệ, Chúa Giêsu có nói với các môn đệ nhiều lần rằng Ngài sẽ phải chịu đau khổ và sẽ bị giết. Nhưng có thể là họ không hiểu được những lời Chúa tiên báo này, họ chỉ mới nhớ lại những lời này sau khi Ngài đã chết đi và sống lại từ cõi chết và ghi nhớ lại những dữ kiện sau cái sự thực đau thương phũ phàng, với Thập Giá trong quá khứ, họ đã được biến đổi, và từ gánh nặng Thập giá đó họ sẽ có được sự mặc khải như bây giờ.
Chúa Giêsu biết những gì đang đến, sẽ đến và Ngài can đảm, cam kết sẽ thực thi theo ý muốn của Chúa Cha. Cho dù Ngài đã biết về sự đau khổ và phải chết trên Thập Giá nhục nhã trước khi Ngài đã tập đọc được những chữ cái đầu tiên hay Ngài chỉ biết được cái số phận của mình sau này, Ngài luôn luôn biết rằng Ngài sẽ làm theo ý Chúa Cha, mà không làm theo ý riêng mình. Lạy Chúa xin Giúp cúng con có can đảm để làm theo ý Chúa.
Reflection Saturday 25th Ordinary Time
I wonder when Jesus learned that he would die on the Cross, or if he always knew it. I mean to say, did he know it as a five-year-old boy or did he learn it at some point later in life? He was not taken by surprise: he teaches his disciples about the sufferings to come and he discusses the Cross with Elijah and Moses during the Transfiguration. We know that it was a great burden for him, as is clear from his prayers in the garden on the night before he died, but how long did he carry this burden?
It seems to me that there are two distinct ways to read the Gospel today. We could read it as Jesus trying to share this burden with those closest to him, but they are not strong enough to help bear it, or we could read it as Jesus, knowing that his disciples would not be able to bear the burden that he carried but also wanting to prepare his disciples for his death, tells them about the suffering and death to come, but prevents them from understanding.
In the year leading up to the Cross, Jesus told his disciples many times that he would suffer and die. They did not understand then, but after he died and rose from the dead they remembered these teachings. Remembering them after the fact, with the Cross in the past, they are transformed, from the burden they would have been, to the revelation they are now.
These words are a revelation because they teach us so much about Jesus Christ. Because of these words we know that he was fully aware of the death he would suffer, yet he does not say these words as a merely prescient person would. If you knew right now the death that awaits you, your first instinct would be to consider ways to avoid it, but Jesus does not begin planning ways to avoid his fate. He knows what is coming, and he is committed to doing the will of the Father. Whether he knew about the Cross before he learned his first words or if he did not know until the year before, he always knew that he would do the will of his Father, no matter what.
Opening Prayer: Lord Jesus, open my ears to hear your words, open my eyes to see as you see, and open my heart to love as you love. I ask for the grace of understanding.
Encountering Christ:
1. “The Son of Man Is to Be Handed Over”: The disciples of Jesus were amazed at his multiplication of loaves and fishes and the many healings he performed, but at this moment, Jesus intentionally diverted their attention away from his successes. Instead, for the second time, Jesus told them he would suffer and die. Still, it didn’t sink in. Human understanding is not always capable of grasping the ways of God. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways—oracle of the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, my thoughts higher than your thoughts (Isaiah 55:5-6). Jesus wanted the apostles to know that suffering fit into God’s plan, so he would tell them as often as they needed to hear it. When we are confused or seek discernment about the way God is working in our life, we need to persevere in prayer until we understand the message.
2. They Did Not Understand: The disciples did not understand, but they would eventually understand. Faith believes that what one does not currently see, one will see. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, on your own intelligence do not rely; In all your ways be mindful of him, and he will make straight your paths (Proverbs 3:5-6). Jesus told his disciples he would suffer so that when it came about, they would remember what he told them. When he was taken by the guards in the garden of Gethsemane, the apostles would recall Jesus’s words and be assured that, despite all appearances, God’s will was being done.
3. Afraid to Ask: What would have happened had the apostles asked for more details? On other occasions, when they asked Jesus to explain something they did not understand, he spoke more plainly. When we’re confused by life’s circumstances, do we seek clarity from God? What keeps us from asking him to explain? God always wants to hear from us. We can trust him with our confused feelings, with our anger, with our sorrow. He is pleased when we come to him as dependent children, asking for clarity about what we don’t understand.
Conversing with Christ: Dear Lord, when life gets confusing, help me trust in you even though my understanding is limited. Increase my faith! Help me to confront my fears, to place them before you.
Resolution: Lord, today, by your grace, I will spend some time in prayer, sincerely pouring out my heart, trusting that my loving Father hears my plea.
Saturday-25th Week in Ordinary 2013
Scripture frequently uses the image of a shepherd to speak of God’s protecting love and care for us, as in the passage from Jeremiah which serves as our responsorial Psalm today. People who have grown up with a religious life nourished by the word of Scripture have probably assimilated the image to such an extent that they find no problem with the image and are even moved to great devotion by singing “The Lord is my shepherd”.
Since, however, we mostly live in urban areas and not in a nomadic culture where actual shepherds do guide and care for their flocks of sheep, it is beneficial and at times even necessary for us to re-think the image of a shepherd and try to reach a real understanding of the truth which Scripture conveys to us. Many other biblical images are no longer part of our urbanized culture and social ambience and need to be re-thought.
Even Jesus’ disciples found it difficult to understand his message, partly because the notion of a suffering Messiah did not make any sense to them. So then, through prayer and reflection, we need to personalize our religion and cultivate a relationship with God that makes spiritual sense to us and strengthens our faith. Lord, bless us with the strengthening experience of Your protective love.
REFLECTION
In today's Gospel reading, Jesus tries to convey to his disciples a correct view of his mission, but they simply do not understand. The notion of a suffering Messiah is just too much for them to grasp. They even hesitate to inquire more deeply about it. They could understand Jesus' miracles. They could understand the traditional Jewish concept of a conquering Messiah. But the idea of a Messiah who would be killed was totally foreign to them. It seemed like complete defeat.
After Pentecost, however, their eyes would be opened. With the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, they would come "to understand fully the mystery, the plan God was pleased to decree in Christ to reconcile everything in his person both on earth and in the heavens, making peace through the blood of his cross." With the Spirit they could see beyond the externals of life and religion, and see into the very heart of God. This heart is a heart of love. It is also a heart of mystery. It lives by dying for those it loves. It is glorified in being humbled for those it loves. It is given abundant wealth by becoming poor so that those it loves might share in its wealth. These things are all paradoxes. They are all mystery. Yet they all boldly and clearly proclaim the truth of God's love. This love was most dearly revealed in the death of God's Son, Jesus Christ.
Do we understand this mystery, or do we still seek a Messiah who will come in worldly victory? Do we really seek the action of the Spirit in our life so we might understand this mystery? Do we really allow ourselves to be daily born again in his love by coming to share in a daily death to selfishness and sin? As a Church we must not allow ourselves to remain in ignorance. We must be born again in the true sense of the word.
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