Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ Năm Tuần Phục Sinh

 Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ Năm Tuần Phục Sinh

Trong bài Tin Mừng hôm nay, khi Chúa Giêsu hiện ra với các môn đệ, họ đang sống trong những cơn sợ hãi, vì họ vẫn đang còn nghi ngờ sự sống lại của Chúa. Chúa Giêsu đã phải cho họ thấy những chứng tích của cuộc khồ nạn qua những dấu đóng đinh ở tay và chân của Ngài để chứng minh cho họ thấy rằng Ngài đã thực sự đã sống lại từ cõi chết và đã hiện ra với họ bằng xương bằng thịt chứ không phải chỉ là một bóng ma như họ đang tưởng tượng.

Khi các môn đệ thấy Chúa Phục Sinh, họ nghi ngờ, vì họ nghĩ theo bản tính loài người như chúng ta là “Làm thế nào mà cái chết có thể dẫn đến sự sống lại, và sự khổ hình trên thập giá đã đưa lại sự chiến thắng? Nhưng Chúa Giêsu cho chúng ta thấy con đường và Ngài đã cho chúng ta sức mạnh để vượt qua những tội lỗi và những tuyệt vọng, và mọi thứ khác mà có thể ngăn cách chúng ta đến với tình yêu, chân lý của Ngài. Cũng như các môn đệ đã được giao nhiệm vụ đem tin mừng về sự cứu rỗi cho tất cả mọi dân tộc và mọi quốc gia, do đó chúng ta cũng được mời gọi để làm chứng nhân cho sự sống lại của Chúa Giêsu Kitô cho tất cả những người sống trên mặt đất. Chúng ta có chứng kiến ​​niềm vui của Tin Mừng cho những người xung quanh chúng ta?

Trọng tâm của Tin Mừng là thánh giá, và qua thập giá này, Chúa Kitô đã đánh bại kẻ thù của chúng ta là sự chết và Satan và Ngài đã giành lại cho chúng ta được sự tha thứ cho tội lỗi của chúng ta. Thập giá Chúa Kitô là cánh cửa thiên đàng và chìa khóa vào thiên đường. Con đường đến sự vinh hiển là phải qua thập giá.

"Lạy Chúa Giêsu, Xin Chúa Thánh Thần mở tâm trí của chúng con để chúng con hiểu được Kinh Thánh, hiểu được sự thật của lời của Chúa. Xin Chúa xức dầu cho chúng con có sức mạnh của Chúa và ban cho chúng ta niềm vui và sự táo bạo để loan báo Tin Mừng bằng lời nói và hành động của chúng con."

Meditation: Jesus opened their minds to understand the Scriptures

In the first reading, Peter proclaims the Good News of salvation – that Jesus died for our sins and rose for our justification. Now all men have access to heaven which before was closed to them. In Jesus our sins are forgiven and we now have a Savior who is God himself. In the Gospel reading, when Jesus appeared to his disciples, they were so frightened. Jesus had to show the wounds in his hands and feet to prove to them that it was really him risen from the dead.

The centrality of the Gospel is the cross; but fortunately it does not stop there. Through the cross Jesus defeated our enemies - death and Satan and won pardon for our sins. His cross is the door to heaven and the key to paradise. The way to glory is through the cross. When the disciples saw the risen Lord they disbelieved for joy! How can death lead to life, the cross to victory? Jesus shows us the way and he gives us the power to overcome sin and despair, and everything else that would stand in the way of his love and truth. Just as the first disciples were commissioned to bring the good news of salvation to all the nations, so, we, too, are called to be witnesses of the resurrection of Jesus Christ to all who live on the face of the earth. Do you witness the joy of the Gospel to those around you?

"Lord Jesus, open our minds to understand the Scriptures that we may fully comprehend the truth of your word. Anoint us with your power and give us joy and boldness to proclaim the Gospel in word and deed.

Opening Prayer: 

Lord Jesus, open my mind to understand your word. Teach me and help me to follow you in all things, even your suffering.

Encountering Christ:

1. Surprise!: Today’s Gospel passage continues right after our Gospel passage from yesterday. The disciples that met Christ on the road to Emmaus and recognized him in the breaking of the bread immediately went back to Jerusalem to share their story with the rest of the disciples. They had turned away from the flock, but Jesus, the Good Shepherd, went after them to bring them into the fold. After walking the seven miles back to Jerusalem, imagine their surprise when Christ reappeared to them and the other disciples! Jesus did many surprising things during his ministry and after his Resurrection. Terrified, the Apostles were wondering if he were a ghost, when Jesus asked for something to eat. That is probably not what they expected to happen. What a human thing to do: to ask for mere food. The disciples were also surprised when the Risen Christ cooked fish for them on the beach at daybreak, beckoning them to “come and have breakfast” (John 21:12). How has Jesus surprised you in the workings of your own life?

2. Our Human Senses: Jesus opened the minds of the Apostles to understand the Scriptures. We might wonder why he waited until after he had died and risen to help them fully understand. This is God’s pedagogy, the way he teaches us. We are human beings, and Jesus knows that sometimes we must experience things gradually through our human senses in order to understand them. He directs them to look at his hands and feet—the wounds of the crucifixion. The Apostles had to hear him speak “Peace,” touch him, see his wounds, and watch him eat before they could grasp the reality of his death and Resurrection. They had to personally encounter Christ’s suffering and humanity before they could fully grasp his divinity. The Catechism teaches: “...everything in Christ's human nature is to be attributed to his divine person as its proper subject, not only his miracles but also his sufferings and even his death: ‘He who was crucified in the flesh, our Lord Jesus Christ, is true God, Lord of glory, and one of the Holy Trinity’” (CCC 468). This encounter happened at the very end of Luke’s Gospel. In fact, immediately after this, Jesus led the disciples to Bethany where he ascended to the Father. Only then did the Apostles truly rejoice. They finally “got it.” After his Ascension, they “did him homage and then returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and they were continually in the temple praising God” (Luke 24:52-53).

3. The Mystery of Suffering: The disciples did not understand that Christ had to suffer before he would rise. In truth, suffering is a mystery, both Christ’s and our own. Jesus knew that by taking on our humanity he would also take on the human condition of suffering. He entered into suffering and death to defeat it. He, the “light of life” (John 8:12), entered into the darkness of death and broke it apart from the inside out. Christ’s suffering was the remedy for our sin, bringing us salvation and victory. We who are his disciples follow Jesus all the way to the cross of his self-giving love. St. Peter speaks to our call to suffer with Christ: “For to this [patient suffering] you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example that you should follow in his footsteps” (1 Peter 2:21). Suffering comes to each of us; how we bear it and for whom we bear it makes all the difference. When we suffer, we can offer our pain and tears up to Our Lord and unite them with his sacrifice on the cross. Being a Christian in today’s world means that we will likely suffer in his name. Evangelical author and professor Trevin Wax wrote this regarding Christians suffering: “When we say we want to be the hands and feet of Jesus, we must remember what happened to the hands and feet of Jesus.”

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, I am comforted by your humanity. You are true God and true man. You entered into my humanity to raise it up to share in your divinity. You suffered in my place. There is nothing I could do, no praise or sacrifice I could offer, that would ever express adequately my gratitude for this gift.

Resolution: Lord, today by your grace I will offer any suffering I encounter in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass for the salvation of the world.