Suy niệm Tin Mừng thứ Hai tuần 30 Thường Niên

Suy niệm Tin Mừng thứ Hai tuần 30 Thường Niên 

Bài Phúc âm hôm nay, Chúa Giêsu chữa người đàn bà bị quỷ ám gập lưng trong đền Thánh vào ngày Sabat không ngoài mục đích để dậy cho người phái siêu và người do thái bài học là họ phải giữ ngày Sabat, nhưng không phải chỉ giữ khơi khơi bằng môi bằng miệng, nhưng họ phải biết dùng ngày nghĩ để thờ phượng Chúa và làm việc ngay lành phúc đức. Nếu họ biết dùng ngày nghĩ để thả trâu, thả bò, thả gia súc đi ăn, đi uống nước tại sao họ lại cấm Chúa chữa bệnh ngày sabat... Đúng là bọn giả hình. 

Còn Chúng ta thì sao, chúng ta có giữ ngày chúa nhật như điều răn thứ ba trong mười điều răn của Chúa. Có người trong chúng ta chẳng những không giữ xác ngày Chúa nhật mà còn không đi lễ ngày Chúa nhật, một số chúng ta vì công ăn việc làm, điều đó có thể chập nhận được nhưng cần phải kiếm thời gian đi dự thánh lễ Chúa Nhật, nhưng còn một số không nhỏ trong chúng ta, có tiền có bạc rủng rỉng, chẳng phải đi làm ngày Chúa Nhật, nhưng thích du hí, trên các tàu con du lịch vào ngày cuối tuần.. tha hồ vui chơi chẳng còn nhớ ngày chúa Nhật chẳng còn nhớ thánh lễ buộc trong ngày Chúa Nhật. 

Ngày Chúa Nhật là ngày của Chúa, Chúa muốn chúng ta nghỉ ngơi có thời gian để đến với chúa, có thời giờ để nghĩ tới Chúa, tới người anh chị em chung quanh chúng ta. Bài Phúc âm Chúa Giêsu dậy cho chúng ta thấy ma quỷ có quyền năng, chúng có quyền phép để hành hạ thân xác và tinh thần con người chúng ta nếu chúng ta yếu đuối hoặc để chúng tự do hành động. Nhưng quyền năng của ma quỹ chí có thể hủy hoại con người chứ không thể gải thoát con người khỏi cảnh tù đày trong hố sâu của tội lỗi. Thiên Chúa là người mới có quyền phép để giải thòat chúng ta khỏi sự dữ, sự đau khổ nơi thân xác và tinh thần. Vì thế chúng ta cần siêng đến Chúa, nhất là các ngày lễ Chúa nhật để chúng ta được thêm sức mạnh phần hồn và phần xác qua của ăn chúa ban cho chúng ta bằng chính máu và thịt của Chúa Giêsu. Chúng hãy để thân xác nghĩ ngơi để lời chúa đến và được lắng đọng trong tâm hồn, để lời Chúa đem lại cho chúng bình an và tự do và không bị ràng buộc những thèm khát cám dỗ của Satan 

Meditation: 

Is there anything that keeps you bound up or oppressed? Infirmity, whether physical, emotional, or spiritual, can befall us for a variety of reasons and God can use it for some purpose that we do not understand. When Jesus encountered an elderly woman who was spent of her strength and unable to stand upright, he gave her words of faith and freedom and he restored her to health. She must have suffered much, both physically and spiritually for eighteen years, since Jesus remarked that Satan had bound her. How can Satan do this? The scriptures indicate that Satan can act in the world with malice and can cause injuries of a spiritual nature, and indirectly even of a physical nature. Satan's power, however, is not infinite. He cannot prevent the building up of God's kingdom or reign in our lives. Jesus demonstrates the power and authority of God's kingdom in releasing people who are oppressed by physical and emotional sickness, by personal weakness and sin, and by the harassment of the evil one in their lives. It took only one word from Jesus to release this woman instantly of her infirmity. Do you believe in the power of Jesus to release you from affliction and oppression? 

The Jewish leaders were indignant that Jesus would perform such a miraculous work on the Sabbath, the holy day of rest. They were so caught up in their ritual observance of the Sabbath that they lost sight of God's mercy and goodness. Jesus healed on the Sabbath because God does not rest from showing his mercy and love, ever. God's word has power to change us, spiritually, physically, and emotionally. Is there anything that keeps you bound up or that weighs you down? Let the Lord speak his word to you and give you freedom. 

"Lord Jesus, you grant freedom to those who seek you. Give me freedom to walk in your way of love and to praise and worship you always. Show me how I can bring your mercy and healing love to those in need around me." 

Opening Prayer: Lord Jesus, I desire freedom and I know that you alone can make me free. Lord, I humbly ask for freedom of spirit, freedom in love, and freedom from sin and selfishness. 

Encountering Christ: 

1. Bent Over: The woman in today’s Gospel was bent over, presumably forced by her infirmity to stare at the ground ahead rather than to look at a person talking to her. From her position, she couldn’t see the clouds in the sky, watch birds nesting in the trees, or scan a crowd for familiar faces. She was missing out on some of life’s simple pleasures. Standing there in the synagogue that day, she listened to Jesus teaching but she couldn’t see his face—until he called her over. How often are we like this woman? Bent over, crippled by sadness, grief, or illness? Unable to see any blessings amidst so much sorrow? When we feel like this, we need to place ourselves in proximity to Jesus, as the bent-over woman did. Whether or not we see his face or audibly hear his voice, Jesus will make himself present with healing graces. May we abandon ourselves in these situations and trust God to act in his time. 

2. He Touched Her: Jesus laid his hands on the woman to cure her. What must it have been like to feel the Lord’s hands on her head sending his healing powers through her tortured body? The touch of Christ happens in our lives every time we receive a sacrament. He also touches us through other people or through “coincidental” circumstances he arranges during our day. When have you felt the touch of Christ? What was it like? Whether it was physical, emotional, or spiritual, the consequence of being touched by Christ is a heart overflowing with gratitude. Thank you Lord Jesus! 

3. Angry Legalism: Jesus unequivocally condemned the legalism of the Pharisees who complained that he healed the woman on the Sabbath. They were so infuriated with Jesus’s rising status among the people that they were unable to feel compassion for the woman, or even awe at the healing power manifested by Christ. Anger is a human emotion, but how we process it divides sinners from saints. Unchecked anger is a dangerous vice—one that can blind us to good in our lives. The Scriptures say, “Be angry but sin not” (Psalms 4:4) 

Conversing with Christ: Lord, help me to accept the circumstances in my life. Please give me self-mastery to control any anger I feel, and prudence to take a course of action that is pleasing to you. I never want to be considered a “hypocrite” or a wrathfully angry person, but I need your grace to live peacefully and authentically. 

Resolution: Lord, by your grace I will entrust my concerns to you and mentally “let go” of anything that is preventing me from seeing the blessings in my day. 

Romans 8:12-17 

Those who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. (Romans 8:14) 

So often, we read passages like this one and focus on what we have to do: “I really need to work harder at being led by the Spirit.” While it’s always a good idea to make sure you’re being responsible to your calling, how often do you simply rejoice in the fact that you are a child of God? It’s true: You have a Father in heaven who loves you immensely. And just to make sure that you know this, he put his Spirit in your heart—the Spirit who confirms this truth by crying out: “Abba, Father!” (Romans 8:15). 

As if that isn’t amazing enough, the news gets even better. Not only are you God’s child, you are also his heir (Romans 8:17). Think about Britain’s Prince William. Someday he will inherit the kingdom from his father, Prince Charles, and his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II. All the riches and rights of the crown will be his. Now if William is looking forward to that day, how much more should you look forward to the day when you will inherit the kingdom of God? Keep in mind that your inheritance is infinitely greater! You will receive a “crown of righteousness” (2 Timothy 4:8). You will live forever in a place of pure beauty where every tear will be wiped away and where there will be no sorrow or crying or pain or death any more (Revelation 21:4). It boggles the mind—and it’s all yours! 

Did you know that you can start to draw on your inheritance right now? In fact, God has given you his Spirit as kind of a “first installment” of all the treasures that await you (2 Corinthians 1:22). So ask the Spirit to show you how to take hold of your heavenly inheritance. Ask him to give you a taste of your Father’s goodness now. Prayers can be answered, hurts healed, and relationships restored. All it takes is a little faith and the courage to step forward and claim your inheritance. 

“Lord, I stand in awe of the inheritance you have given me! Help me to avail myself of all the grace, mercy, and love that you have set aside for me today.”