Suy Niệm tin mừng Thứ Ba tuần 2 Mùa Chay.

 Suy Niệm tin mừng Thứ Ba tuần 2 Mùa Chay. Matthew 23:1-12,

Khiêm tốn là nền tảng của tất cả mọi nhân đức vì sự khiêm tốn giúp chúng ta nhìn thấy và đánh giá được sự việc một cách chính xác, như cách nhìn của Thiên Chúa.  Sự khiêm tốn giúp chúng ta có thể học để có được những kiến thức thực sự, về trí tuệ, và tầm nhìn về thực tại một cách trung thực. Sự khiêm tốn giúp chúng ta tự do để yêu thương và biết quên mình mà phục vụ người khác vì phúc lợi cho người khác, chứ không phải tư lợi cho chính mình. Thánh Phaolô cho chúng ta ta một ví dụ và mô hình của sự khiêm nhường trong con người của Chúa Giêsu Kitô là : “Chúa kitô đã trút bỏ vinh quang mặc lấy thân tôi đòi, trở nên giống phàm nhân sống như người trần thế. Người lại còn hạ mình, vâng lời cho đến nỗi bằng lòng chịu chết, và chết trên cây thập giá. ( Phi-líp 2:7-8).

            Chúa luôn muốn chúng ta là những người tôi tớ như chíng Chúa Giêsu là chỉ biết phục vụ và yêu thương những người khác.  Chúa đã ban tất cả những hồng ân  của Chúa Thánh Thần cho tất cả chúng ta, những người biết khiêm tốn và tìm kiếm Ngài.

"Lạy Chúa Giêsu, Chúa đã mặc lấy thân phận tôi đòi và trở nên giống chúng con vì lợi ích phần rỗi của chúng con. Chúa đã ban cho chúng con được tự do và Xin Chúa cứu chúng con thoát hỏi sự thống trị của sự kêu ngạo,  tự hào, ích kỷ và háu danh.  Xin hãy dạy chúng con biết khiêm nhường như chính Chúa đã khiêm tốn và biết yêu thương người khác với tấm lòng quảng đại, từ tâm, vị tha và nhân từ hơn.

 

REFLECTION

Humility is the queen or foundation of all the other virtues because it enables us to see and judge correctly, the way God sees. Humility helps us to be teachable so we can acquire true knowledge, wisdom, and an honest view of reality. It directs our energy, zeal, and ambition to give ourselves to something greater than ourselves. Humility frees us to love and serve others selflessly, for their sake, rather than our own. Paul the Apostle gives us the greatest example and model of humility in the person of Jesus Christ, who emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, and ...who humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross (Philippians 2:7-8). Do you want to be a servant as Jesus served and loved others? The Lord gives grace to those who humbly seek him.  "Lord Jesus, you became a servant for my sake to set me free from the tyranny of selfish pride and self-concern. Teach me to be humble as you are humble and to love others generously with selfless service and kindness."

Opening Prayer: 

Lord, help me to open my heart in prayer so that I will be won over by your plan of greatness through service—of triumphing through humble, merciful love. 

Encountering Christ:

1. Don’t Be Called “Rabbi” and “Master”: Both the word “Rabbi” in Hebrew and the word “Master” as it is used here are words that we would translate as “Teacher.” In Jesus’s time, “Don’t call anyone ‘Teacher’ except the Christ,” was a way of saying that the most important, the greatest teacher in life, was to be the Christ (the Messiah). No other teacher was as important as Christ, and Christ most deserved to be called “Teacher.” Jewish people in Jesus’s time certainly called many people “Rabbi” and “Master”; the Christians continued to do so afterward, but they acknowledged that Christ is our primary Teacher and Master.

2. Don’t Be Called “Father”: Some Christians citing this passage object to calling priests “Father,” yet they continue to use the word for their own fathers, so what does Jesus mean here? He means that all fathers have Someone to measure up to—that the person who really deserves the title “Father” is the heavenly Father and that the others only deserve the title insofar as they resemble the heavenly Father. He is the one who is truly Father. This is a challenge for both priests and the fathers of families. We are called to imitate the merciful love of God the Father in our vocation.

3. To Be Great, You Must Serve: All around us, we see people who seek to be great by dominating others. This is a temptation everyone feels at some point—to increase our power, fame, wealth, etc., by forcing others to accept our will. God wants us to do his will, and his will involves serving others as he did. Christ our King humbly healed, blessed, and served others his entire life, and ultimately died for us on the Cross. To be great, we do not dominate—we serve, as did our King. 

Conversing with Christ: Lord, instead of hardening my heart to do my own will, I want to open my heart more to you and to others. You offered your life for me and I am often overwhelmed by your love. I am grateful for this. Remembering your sacrifice helps me to want to love more, even though sometimes loving hurts.

Resolution: Lord, today by your grace I will try to forgive when a conflict arises, and love more instead of hardening my heart to defend myself.

 

REFLECTION 2018

The Gospel reading tells us to avoid hypocrisy, not to believe in one thing and act in a different way, not to pretend to be what one is not.

Jesus warns all about the hypocritical behavior of the Pharisees and the leaders of the Jews, "The teachers of the Law sat on the seat of Moses. So you shall do and observe all they say, but do not do as they do, for they do not do what they say. They tie up heavy burdens and load them on the shoulders of the people, but they do not even raise a finger to move them."

We stay away from people who are hypocrites. God reads our minds and sees what we really are; he knows if we really wish to glorify God or only ourselves.

Let us reflect on our actions: do we act according to the truth and to what we believe? Are we also hypocrites?

 

REFLECTION
In Jesus' day, the Pharisees had unfortunately developed some pretty bad habits. They were very good at telling the people down to the smallest detail what the Law of Moses prescribed them to do, but they exempted themselves from having to fulfill it.  Note that Jesus does not tell crowds to rebel against the Pharisees. But we should not do as they do. We should not lord it over others. Sometimes, we can fall into this way of living, and when we do, the first thing to be thrown out of our Christian living is the law of love.  Jesus has called us to go well beyond the bad example of the Pharisees. He calls us to put his law of love into practice at all times. We need to be on guard against looking at our faith as a series of "do's and don'ts," of mere rules to follow like a robot. We need to love God above all else in order to see that everything that he asks  of us is to our benefit and is a joy, because the truth alone sets us free.  We imitate Jesus when we go about our daily duties the way Jesus would do and love people the way Jesus would have us love them. Dear friends, put Jesus' words in today's gospel reading into practice by doing an act of charity to someone in your family or workplace.