Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ Bảy Ngày 2/1 /2021
Nhiều người trong chúng ta ai cũng muốn chọn cho mình con đường thành công nên họ đã phải luôn nghĩ đến sự thành công thành công và tìm mọi cách để đạt tới sự thàng công trong học trường hay trong công việc, Vì sự thành công đó tích lũy được rất nhiều tiền, và có nhiều thế lực. Nhưng ngược lại, Thánh Gioan Tẩy Giả đã dạy chúng ta, "Hãy chuẩn bị đường cho Chúa, san lấp và làm thẳng mặt đường cho Chúa đi." Điều này, do đó, phải là mục đích chính của chúng ta trong cuộc sống.Qua bài đọc một cho chúng ta thấy là Những tiên tri giả xuất hiện đang chỉ cho chúng ta biết là trọng tâm chính của họ là cái Tôi,, hay họ chỉ muốn đặt bản thân của họ, gia đình họ , hay bạn bè của họ trước những người khác và chỉ nghĩ đến họ trước khi họ nghĩ đến người khác.
Còn Thánh Gioan Tẩy Giả đã bỏ nhà và gia đình để sống trong sa mạc như một ẩn sĩ, không nghĩ đến sự thoải mái, tiên nghi của riêng mình. Chúa Giêsu cũng ra đi bỏ lại Đức Maria, mẹ của ngài một mình ở quê nhà để rao giảng Nước Thiên Chúa cho tất cả mọi người, Ngài đã làm trong sự vâng phục Chúa Cha của Ngàu trên trời. Sống giữa Giái Hội của chúng ta ngày nay, chng ta vẫn còn thấy một số tiên tri giả trong số chúng ta, những người này luôn nghĩ và tin rằng các quy luật của Giáo Hội hôm nay đã lỗi thời, và chúng ta có thể châm chước, bỏ qua một số quy tắc của luật Chúa hay luật của giáo hội để cho hợp điều kiện hay cuộc sống của xã hội hôm tại. Vì Giáo Luật của Chúa quá khắt khe với những điều mà chúng ta muốn, họ cho rằng giáo lý của Thiên Chúa quá khát khe và đã xâm phạm quyền tự do của con người họ hôm nay? . Những sai lầm này đang được trình bày ra đây là sự thật. Trong Giáo Hội sơ khai, các Kitô hữu cũng đã phải đương đầu đấu tranh với những lời giáo huấn đó.
Chúng ta nên biết rằng con đường nên thánh thì rất khó khăn và đầy thử thách, nhưng con đường hẹp này sẽ dẫn chúng ta đến hạnh phúc thật sự và cuộc sống đời đời. Thánh Gioan Tẩy giả đã hướng dẫn các tông đồ của mình đến với Chúa Giêsu. Bây giờ, ông vẫn còn tiếp tục dẫn dắt chúng ta đến với Chúa Giêsu qua lời dạy của Ngài. Nếu chúng ta đã khám phá ra Chúa Giêsu trong cuộc sống của chúng ta, chúng ta phải bỏ lại tất cả mọi thứ phía đằng sau và phải biết tập trung đôi mắt của chúng ta hướng về Chúa Kitô, là Đấng sẽ dẫn dắt chúng ta vào trong cuộc hành trình về đức tin của chúng ta .
Reflection
There are many false prophets in the world. One tells us to go for success always– success in school, in work, in accumulating a lot of money, in having power, etc. In contrast, St. John the Baptist says, "Prepare a way for the Lord, make straight his paths." This, therefore, should be our main purpose in life. Another false prophet tells us always to put oneself, one's family, one's friends before strangers or the poor. However, St. John left his house and family to live in the desert as a hermit, not thinking of his own comfort. Jesus also left his mother to be an itinerant missionary proclaiming the kingdom of God to everyone. This he did in obedience to his Father in heaven. Still another false prophet tells us that the laws of the Church are antiquated, and that we can bend some of her rules and disregard some of her teachings which seem to encroach on our freedom. These falsehoods are being presented to us as truths. In the early Church, the Christians had to contend with such teachings.
We know that the path to holiness is full of trials and hardships, but this narrow path leads to true happiness, to eternal life. St. John led the apostles to Jesus. Now, he continues to lead us to Jesus through his teachings. If we have discovered Jesus in our lives, we must put everything else behind, or in second place. We should keep our eyes focused on him who leads us in our journey of faith.
Opening Prayer:
Holy Spirit, teach me how to pray. I ask you for what you know I need. Let me encounter you in your greatness and acknowledge the truth of who I am before you.
Encountering Christ:
1. He Must Increase: St. John the Baptist teaches us a lesson about humility in this passage. His followers looked up to him, even to the point of wondering if he was the Messiah who would come. But John clearly knew his mission. He would point out the true Messiah, and he would disappear. In another Gospel passage, he said to his disciples, “I must decrease; he must increase” (John 3:30), as he was looking in Jesus’s direction. John the Baptist reminds us that one thing matters: not fame or glory, but that people encounter Jesus in us. If we have faith in Jesus, we have everything we need.
2. The Voice: Jesus is the Word—the Word through which the Father created everything, the Word who became flesh to save us from sin. John the Baptist knew that he was not the Word. The Word was given to him. He knew himself to be merely a voice. But he knew that his calling was a very important and irreplaceable mission. God wants to use our talents, our gifts, and who we are to communicate himself to mankind, in much the same way John the Baptist did. Every morning we can offer the Lord our hands, our feet, our voice, and our heart so he can use them to point people to salvation. He is the protagonist, but he wants us to be part of his great story of salvation. What we do to spread the Gospel makes a difference in the eternal life of others.
3. The Voice of the Saints: St. Basil the Great and St. Gregory Nazianzen, whom we celebrate today, were, like St. John the Baptist, great examples of people who lent their voice to Christ. Both gave their life to God in the monastic life, but God called them to the episcopate. As bishops, they had to speak strongly against heresies of the time. When have you ever experienced God filling you with courage and wisdom to do his will? He wants to remind us that our mission is his work, not ours, and that he will accomplish it in and through us if we let him.
Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make my heart more like yours. Today I renew my trust in your grace working through me, even when I do not see it. I could never take the credit for what you do in and through my life because I have experienced my own frailty, and I know the good that happens is yours.
Resolution: Lord, today by your grace I will look for opportunities to practice humility and remember that you are the protagonist in my life and vocation.
Conversation with Christ: Lord, when I look at myself and my life, I see that too often I have been selfish, focused on what I enjoy and on what I want. Help me to love you above all things. Help me want to make you known by living love, even at the cost of my pride and comfort.\
January 2, 2018 -John 1: 19-28
This is the testimony of John. When the Jews from Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to him to ask him, "Who are you?" He admitted and did not deny it, but admitted, "I am not the Christ." So they asked him, "What are you then? Are you Elijah?" And he said, "I am not." "Are you the Prophet?" He answered, "No." So they said to him, "Who are you, so we can give an answer to those who sent us? What do you have to say for yourself?" He said: "I am the voice of one crying out in the desert, 'Make straight the way of the Lord,' as Isaiah the prophet said." Some Pharisees were also sent. They asked him, "Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ or Elijah or the Prophet?" John answered them, "I baptize with water; but there is one among you whom you do not recognize, the one who is coming after me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie." This happened in Bethany acros s the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
The Power of Humility.
In this reading, John the Baptist demonstrates the attitude fundamental to making Christ known: humility. John the Baptist had the chance to be considered the Messiah, the Christ. True, eventually the deception would become known, but for a while, he could have had all of Israel at his feet. All too often today, people give in to temptation and compromise their principles to get glory and power for a day — think of businessmen who inflate their company’s profits, or scientists who fake their results. Their inevitable downfall is tragic. St. John the Baptist knows that the only way he can serve God and fulfill his mission in life is to direct all glory to God and none to himself, never presuming to be more than he is. We, too, can live as true Christians and make Jesus present to others only if we put aside our pride and vanity.
What makes John the Baptist’s message effective is that he doesn’t just preach his message; he is his message. He preaches penance, but first, he lives it, going out into the desert and living an ascetic life. He baptizes with water, but first, he gets into the water. If we want to make Jesus known to others, we first have to know him ourselves. We cannot preach the essence of the Gospel, the message of love, if we don’t live love in our daily lives. We can’t criticize, judge others, and always “look out for number one” (where “one” is ourselves) and still hope to be an effective apostle of Christ. However, if with the help of God’s grace, we do our best to put love into action, then words will hardly be necessary. Our example alone will change people’s lives.
REFLECTION
The Christmas holidays are over. Hopefully we have spent the past weeks in love and thanksgiving to the newborn Son of God. Hopefully our families have become closer and grateful for the blessings of the past year. Even if the past year wasn't so good, we must still be grateful for the greatest blessing God has given to us – His beloved Son Jesus. Now as we begin a new year, let us be reminded to let the Holy Spirit guide us in our daily undertakings. Let God be a light for our paths and a lamp for our eyes. He has filled us with His Truth so let Him remain with us always. St. John the Baptist was a man filled with the Holy Spirit. He was always telling the people to wait for the coming of the Messiah. His life was in function of another – Jesus, the Anointed One. He called men to repent and amend their sinful ways. For him, Jesus is the One who will renew everything. Let us believe in his words which should serve as a light for our paths. Let us "make a straight path for the Lord." Let us live uprightly in anticipation for the coming of the Messiah in our lives.
January 2, 2018 -John 1: 19-28
This is the testimony of John. When the Jews from Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to him to ask him, "Who are you?" He admitted and did not deny it, but admitted, "I am not the Christ." So they asked him, "What are you then? Are you Elijah?" And he said, "I am not." "Are you the Prophet?" He answered, "No." So they said to him, "Who are you, so we can give an answer to those who sent us? What do you have to say for yourself?" He said: "I am the voice of one crying out in the desert, 'Make straight the way of the Lord,' as Isaiah the prophet said." Some Pharisees were also sent. They asked him, "Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ or Elijah or the Prophet?" John answered them, "I baptize with water; but there is one among you whom you do not recognize, the one who is coming after me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie." This happened in Bethany acros s the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
The Power of Humility.
In this reading, John the Baptist demonstrates the attitude fundamental to making Christ known: humility. John the Baptist had the chance to be considered the Messiah, the Christ. True, eventually the deception would become known, but for a while, he could have had all of Israel at his feet. All too often today, people give in to temptation and compromise their principles to get glory and power for a day — think of businessmen who inflate their company’s profits, or scientists who fake their results. Their inevitable downfall is tragic. St. John the Baptist knows that the only way he can serve God and fulfill his mission in life is to direct all glory to God and none to himself, never presuming to be more than he is. We, too, can live as true Christians and make Jesus present to others only if we put aside our pride and vanity.
What makes John the Baptist’s message effective is that he doesn’t just preach his message; he is his message. He preaches penance, but first, he lives it, going out into the desert and living an ascetic life. He baptizes with water, but first, he gets into the water. If we want to make Jesus known to others, we first have to know him ourselves. We cannot preach the essence of the Gospel, the message of love, if we don’t live love in our daily lives. We can’t criticize, judge others, and always “look out for number one” (where “one” is ourselves) and still hope to be an effective apostle of Christ. However, if with the help of God’s grace, we do our best to put love into action, then words will hardly be necessary. Our example alone will change people’s lives.
REFLECTION
The Christmas holidays are over. Hopefully we have spent the past weeks in love and thanksgiving to the newborn Son of God. Hopefully our families have become closer and grateful for the blessings of the past year. Even if the past year wasn't so good, we must still be grateful for the greatest blessing God has given to us – His beloved Son Jesus. Now as we begin a new year, let us be reminded to let the Holy Spirit guide us in our daily undertakings. Let God be a light for our paths and a lamp for our eyes. He has filled us with His Truth so let Him remain with us always. St. John the Baptist was a man filled with the Holy Spirit. He was always telling the people to wait for the coming of the Messiah. His life was in function of another – Jesus, the Anointed One. He called men to repent and amend their sinful ways. For him, Jesus is the One who will renew everything. Let us believe in his words which should serve as a light for our paths. Let us "make a straight path for the Lord." Let us live uprightly in anticipation for the coming of the Messiah in our lives.
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