Suy niệm Tin Mừng thứ Ba tuần thứ Ba Mùa Chay
Sự tha thứ là một chủ đề xoay
vòng trong cuộc sống đức tin của chúng ta, bởi vì nó là một trong những nền
tảng của Kitô giáo, và đó cũng là một trong các nhân đức khó thực
hành nhất. Qua bài dụ ngôn này Chúa Giêsu dậy
chúng ta viết là sự Tha
Thứ là sự hằn gắn một mối quan hệ hay mối tình thân đã tan vỡ để nó có thể trở thành một mối tình thân nguyên vẹn trở lại một lần nữa. Chúng ta cầu xin Chúa cho chúng ta có
được ân sủng này mỗi
khi chúng ta khi cầu nguyện với Chúa mỗi khi đọc kinh Lạy Cha’ : ".... xin hãy tha thứ cho chúng con, cũng như chúng
con cũng tha kẻ có nợ chúng con..... ."
Chúng ta nên phải biết tha thứ cho nhau, nhất là cho những người đã lỗi phạm với chúng ta và liên tục pạm lỗi cùng chúng ta.. như Chúa Giêsu dậy ông Phêrô lả: kông
phải chỉ tha bảy lần thôi mà phải tha "bảy mươi lần bảy lần",
có nghĩa là phải tha thứ mỗi khi họ pạm lỗi đến chúng ta, chúng ta phải tha cho họ hết, và phải hết lòng
tha cho họ và còn nhiều hơn nữa.
1. No Special Privileges: Jesus’
fellow townsmen are upset with Jesus for pointing out that there were times in
history that God showed his favor to Gentiles and not just Jews. They are upset
because they had put their security in their Jewish heritage and the promises
made to their people through the Patriarchs. They want to think that because
they are Jews, somehow God must show them more favor than the Gentiles. We,
too, can make this mistake. We think that because we belong to this or that
organization, or because we have this or that position, somehow God must give
us more attention and special privileges. Isn’t this often the cause of
indignation in our lives? We are upset when do not receive preferential
treatment. We think that we are deserving of more. Does that indignation
ever grow so strong that I try to rid myself of Christ?
2.
Seeking God’s Blessings: Why did God
send Elijah to help the widow in Zarephath and Elisha to cleanse Naaman the
Syrian? Surely it was not because they were more important or holier people.
God chose them because they welcomed him. The widow in Zarephath happily went
to fetch Elijah a drink of water when he asked for it and obediently gave him
the last of the food she had. Naaman repented of his indignation and went to
bathe in the Jordan as Elisha told him to do. God gives his gifts to those who
welcome him.
3.
Willful Acceptance of Christ: Christ
is perhaps too familiar to his townsmen. They are not able to recognize who he
really is. They are upset with the way he speaks, and so they do not accept
him. Will I accept Christ in my life? Perhaps he is too familiar to me. I think
I know who he is. Perhaps I am unwilling to accept his teachings. Perhaps I am
indignant that he has blessed others more than me. The people of Nazareth tried
to throw Jesus over a cliff, but they could not get rid of him. Their assault
was futile. Christ simply walked away. Christ cannot be gotten rid of. Perhaps
there are times in my life when I want to get rid of Christ, but I can never destroy
or blot him out of existence. He is always there waiting for me to accept him.
Conversation
with Christ: Lord, please help me so that my
ideas about how things should be will not cloud my vision of who you are. As I
prepare for the approaching Easter, help me to purify myself of all egoism,
sensuality, vanity, and pride so that I can accept your love with an open
heart.
Resolution:
I will look for an instance during
the day when I can welcome Christ’s teaching into my life.
Theo như kinh nghiệm của con người, chúng ta ai cũng biết rằng việc tha thứ không phải là chuyện dễ làm. Suy niệm về bài Tin Mừng hôm nay có thể giúp cho
chúng ta có được ân sủng của sự thay đổi trong tâm
hồn để chúng ta có thể loại bỏ tất cả những cảm giác bệnh hoạn
đang nuôi dưỡng những sự thù
hằn và chống lại những người đã gây thù oán, hay ra gây những nỗi đau khổ, những mất mát trong quá khứ. Việc mà chúng ta cần chú ý đến trước tiên là lòng thương xót vô biên của Thiên Chúa.
Trong dụ ngôn hôm nay,
chúng ta thấy người đầy tớ mắc nợ ông chủ của mình, đã cầu xin ông chủ
nợ cho anh ta hoãn số nợ trong một thời gian, trong khi anh ta cố gắng tìm cách hoàn trả lại nợ đó. Thế nhưng, ông chủ nợ đã xoá bỏ hoàn toàn số nợ của
anh. Đó là tình yêu và lòng thương xót mà Cha của chúng ta đã dành cho chúng
ta. "CHÚA là Ðấng từ bi nhân hậu, Người chậm giận và giàu tình
thương, … Như đông đoài cách xa nhau ngàn dặm, tội ta đã phạm, Chúa cũng
ném thật xa ta." (Ps 103: 8, 12)
Nhưng điểm thứ hai trong bài dụ ngôn cũng nhắc nhở chúng ta là: Lòng thương
xót của Thiên Chúa không thể ban cho chúng ta một cách tự nhiên, nếu chúng ta không chịu tha thứ cho một người đã làm những điều sai trái với chúng ta. Thật vậy, tương tự như thế trong bài dụ ngôn, Ông chủ nợ sẽ thu hồi sự tha thứ, mà ông đã ban cho
người tôi tớ không hề khoan nhượng, và không
biết tha thứ cho bạn mình.
Mùa Chay là thời gian của sự ăn năn. Sám hối. Nhưng sự tha thứ không chỉ giới hạn trong tòa giải tội mà thôi. Nhưng sự tha thứ cần phải được rộng lượng
và sẵn sàng tha thứ một cách tự do như chúng ta nhận được sự tha thứ nơi Thiên Chúa là đấng hằng
thương xót chúng ta. Tình trạng tội lỗi của chúng ta thường là
nhiều, và nặng hơn cái giá trị của sự tốt lành của chúng ta trên cán cân công lý
của Thiên Chúa, nhưng Ngài đã cho chúng ta một bí quyết đó
là dùng tình thương để cân bằng. Chúng ta sẽ làm được như thế? Chúng ta sẽ không bao giờ có thể đáp trả lại lòng thương xót của Ngài đã dành cho chúng ta, nhưng chúng ta luôn có thể đáp trả Tình Yêu của Chúa bằng những việc thương xót người khác,
những người đã đi qua cuộc sống của chúng ta.
REFLECTION
Human experience has repeatedly taught us that forgiveness is never easy.
Reflecting on today's Gospel reading may provide the grace of change of heart
that will remove any ill feelings harbored against someone who inflicted the
pain some time in the past. Consider first the infinite mercy of God.
In the
parable, the servant who owed his master was only asking for some time to repay
his debt. Instead, the master completely wrote off what the servant owed him.
That is how much love and mercy our Father has for us. "Merciful and
gracious is the Lord, slow to anger and abounding in kindness ... As far as the
east is from the west, so far has he put our transgressions from us." (Ps
103: 8, 12).
But there is a second point in the parable. Divine mercy
cannot flow freely to a sinner who refuses to forgive one who has wronged him.
Indeed, in the same parable, the king revoked the forgiveness he granted to the
unforgiving servant. When we consider the enormity of the distance between
ourselves as ones being forgiven by God, how can we remain unforgiving?
Let’s borrow the prayer from saint Francis to
make it our prayer "Lord, make us instrument of your peace. Where there is
hatred let us sow love. Where there is injury let us sow pardon. Where there is
doubt let us sow faith. Where there is despair let us give hope. Where there is
darkness let us give light. Where there is sadness let us give joy."
(Prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi)
Opening Prayer: Oh my Jesus, this teaching can be
difficult. I want to forgive endlessly, from my heart, but truly forgiving is
hard. Lord, help me encounter your love and mercy in this Gospel reflection and
then pour your love and mercy out to others.
Encountering Christ:
·
Imitating God’s
Mercy: The theme for all the Mass readings today is mercy—God’s mercy
towards us, and our mercy toward others. In the first reading, Azariah
(Abednego) prayed to God in the midst of the fiery furnace, imploring God to
“deal with us in your kindness and great mercy” (Daniel 3:42). He called upon
God’s mercy and God delivered them from the fire. We are called to imitate
God’s mercy with our brothers and sisters. “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones,
holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and
patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if one has a
grievance against another; as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do”
(Colossians 3:13).
·
Powerful
Mercy: St. Thomas
Aquinas wrote about the power that is demonstrated in God’s mercy: "the
justification of the ungodly...is greater than the creation of heaven and
earth" (Summa Theologica I-II.113.9). Imagine that God’s act of
forgiving a person’s sins is even greater than the work of creation itself! In
forgiving people for their sins, God shows that his love is more powerful than
evil or sin. We do not have the power that God has to forgive others’ sins, but
we do have the power to forgive the sins that have been committed against us.
This is the power of mercy. It takes strength and grace to truly forgive
someone from the heart. Forgiveness is an act of the will, and we can choose
it, thereby imitating God’s powerful mercy.
·
Restoration
of Freedom: Forgiveness is also
powerful in the way it frees and heals our own hearts. When we choose not to
forgive someone, we enable that person to have an attachment to us. The sin
against us that we cannot seem to forgive remains. We are being held captive by
our anger and hurt. St. John Paul II said, “Forgiveness is the restoration of
freedom to oneself; it is the key held in our own hand to our prison cell.”
When we choose to forgive, be it seven times or seventy times seven times, we
free the other person and ourselves from the pain of sin, anger, and hurt.
Conversing with Christ: Jesus, forgiving others can be difficult. Help
me to trust in you when I need to forgive someone who has hurt me. When I find
it difficult to forgive, give me your courage and help me to offer your mercy
in place of mine and offer your words from the cross: “Father, forgive them,
they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34).
Resolution: Lord, today by your grace I will choose to forgive someone
who has hurt me.
Tuesday, March 9, 2021
Forgiving From the Heart
Tuesday of the Third Week of Lent
Peter approached Jesus and asked him, “Lord,
if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven
times?” Jesus answered, “I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times. Mat 18:21–22
Forgiveness of another is difficult. It’s much
easier to remain angry. This line quoted above is the introduction to the
Parable of the Unforgiving Servant. In that parable, Jesus makes it clear that
if we want to receive forgiveness from God, then we must forgive others. If we
withhold forgiveness, we can be certain that God will withhold it from us.
Peter may have thought that he was being quite
generous in his question to Jesus. Clearly Peter had been considering Jesus’
teachings about forgiveness and was ready to take the next step of offering
that forgiveness freely. But Jesus’ answer to Peter makes it clear that Peter’s
concept of forgiveness greatly paled in comparison to the forgiveness demanded
by our Lord.
The parable that Jesus then tells presents us
with a man who was forgiven a huge debt. Subsequently, when that man
encountered a person who owed him a small debt, he failed to offer the same
forgiveness that was given to him. As a result, the master of that man who was
forgiven the huge debt becomes outraged and requires once again a full payment
of the debt. And then Jesus ends the parable with a shocking statement. He
says, “Then in anger his master handed him over to the torturers until he
should pay back the whole debt. So will my heavenly Father do to you, unless
each of you forgives your brother from your heart.”
Note that the forgiveness God expects us to
offer others is one that comes from the heart. And note that a lack of
forgiveness on our part will result in us being handed “over to the torturers.”
These are serious words. By “torturers,” we should understand that the sin of
not forgiving another brings with it much interior pain. When we hold on to
anger, this act “tortures” us in a certain way. Sin always has this effect upon
us, and it is for our good. It’s a way in which God constantly challenges us to
change. Thus, the only way to freedom from this interior form of torture by our
sin is to overcome that sin, and in this case, to overcome the sin of
withholding forgiveness.
Reflect, today, upon the calling God has given
to you to forgive to the fullest extent. If you still sense anger in your heart
toward another, keep working at it. Forgive over and over. Pray for that
person. Refrain from judging them or condemning them. Forgive, forgive,
forgive, and God’s abundant mercy will also be given to you.
My forgiving Lord, I thank You for the unfathomable
depths of Your mercy. I thank You for Your willingness to forgive me over and
over again. Please give me a heart worthy of that forgiveness by helping me to
forgive all people to the same extent that You have forgiven me. I forgive all
who have sinned against me, dear Lord. Help me to continue to do so from the
depths of my heart. Jesus, I trust in You
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