Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ Năm Tuần thứ 6 Phục Sinh

Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ Năm Tuần thứ 6 Phục Sinh

Bình thường chúng ta nghĩ rằng, khi Chúa Giêsu Lên Trời, Ngài vào thiên đàng, và Ngài bỏ chúng ta lại ở dưới thế này. Thật sự thì Chúa Giêsu đã rời bỏ thế giới này, nhưng điều đó không có nghĩa là Ngài bỏ rơi chúng ta.

Hôm nay chúng ta mừng kính lễ Chúa lên Trời, và mỗi năm chúng ta nên lợi dụng cớ hội này để suy gẫm vả phản ánh về mối quan hệ của Chúa Giêsu với chúng ta, về sự hiện diện lâu dài của Ngài ỡ giữa chúng ta và ở trong chúng ta.

Khi Chúa Giêsu đã sống lại từ cõi chết, Ngài đã hiện ra với các môn đệ và những người đã tin tưởng và yêu mến Ngài như những người phụ nữ thân tín của Ngài. Mục đích Chúa hiện ra sau khi sống lại trong 40 ngày là để giúp cho các môn để và những người theo Ngài được hiểu rõ là qua cái chết, và sự sống lại Chúa Giêsu, Ngài đã sống lại trong cách sống mới nhưng Ngài vẫn luông ấp ủ mối quan hệ của Ngài với chúng ta, mặc dù bây giờ đã được thể hiện theo một cách mới.

Việc Chúa về Trời cũng là một trong những phần mà Chúa đã hiện ra, đâ là lần cuối cùng và cũng là lúc mà Ngài thiết lập mối quan hệ không phải chỉ với những người đã gặp gỡ Ngài trong cuộc sống trần thế của Ngài, nhưng là với tất cả những người trong mọi lứa tuổi, những người sẽ đến và tin vào Ngài và trong Giáo Hội.

Chúa Giêsu đã sinh ra để làm “Thiên Chúa ở cùng chúng ta” (Immanuel), Ngài sẽ là đấng Immanuel, Thiên Chúa ở cùng chúng ta mãi mãi.

Lạy Chúa Giêsu, Xin ở cùng với chúng tôi trong tất cả và mãi mãi, Xin Chúa mang chúng con đến với niềm vui trong cuộc sống đời đời với Ngài trong sự hiện diện của Chúa Cha muôn đời.

Reflection

It is normal to think that, at his Ascension into heaven, Jesus left us. It is true that Jesus left this world but that does not mean that he left us. At the feast of the Ascension each year we have a good opportunity to reflect on Jesus' relationship with us, his enduring presence among us and within us.

When Jesus rose from the dead, he spent forty days appearing to his disciples, those who knew him before his death and believed in him and loved him. The purpose of these appearances was to bring them to understand that though he had died he was alive in a new way and still cherished his relationship with them, though it was now expressed in a new way. His ascension into heaven was part of this series of appearances, the last one and the one which would establish his relationship, not only with those who had seen him in his earthly life but all those throughout the ages who would come to believe in him in the Church. Born to be Immanuel, he would be Immanuel, God-with-us, forever.

Lord Jesus, present with us in all ages, bring us joyfully to eternal life with You in the Father’s presence forever and ever.

Opening Prayer: 

Dear Lord, we rejoice in your Ascension! You are the king of glory and the king of my life. You show me that there is meaning in our suffering. You have gone before us to give us peace and hope in this life. Help me to be a witness of this peace and hope to others.

Encountering Christ:

· The Glory of God: Christ's Ascension marks the definitive entrance of Jesus's humanity into God's heavenly domain. Jesus Christ, the head of the Church, precedes us into the Father's glorious kingdom so that we, the members of his body, may live in the hope of one day being with him forever (Catechism of the Catholic Church 665 and 666). For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face (1 Corinthians 13:12). Every time we receive the Eucharist, we receive a “taste of heaven,” which by God’s grace can deepen our faith and our holy anticipation of eternity.

· Fidelity to His Will: Pope Francis said that “entering the glory of God demands daily fidelity to his will, even when it demands sacrifice and sometimes requires us to change our plans.” It is known that Jesus’s ascension happened on the Mount of Olives where he had prayed to the Father before the Passion. It was Our Lord’s love of his Father that enabled him to endure suffering and death, and then return to the place of encounter to be raised into heaven. Through our relationship with the Father, we also receive the grace to be faithful to God’s will, and may we one day reap the benefits—eternity with him. With Jesus, we say, “Not my will but yours be done” (Luke 22:42).

· Never Alone: Pope Francis adds,“The Ascension does not point to Jesus’s absence, but tells us that he is alive in our midst in a new way. He is now...present in every space and time, close to each one of us. In our life we are never alone: we have this Advocate who awaits us, who defends us.” Before Jesus died on the cross, he promised that he would send the Holy Spirit to be with his people to accompany them. It is through this gentle Spirit that we perceive the presence of God and receive comfort, consolation, and wisdom to prepare us for our eternal destiny.

Conversing with Christ: 

Dear Jesus, thank you for always being with me. Without the power of your Spirit in my life, I can do nothing. While I am still here on earth, help me to conform my will to your Father’s will. Help me endure hardships with love for you. Let the thought of heaven with you console my heart deeply.

Resolution: Lord, today by your grace I will offer up a prayer for a friend or family member who has been feeling hopeless.

Reflection:Acts 18: 1-8 / Ps 98: 1, 2-3ab, 3cd-4 / Jn 16: 16-20

Jesus often did or said things that appeared strange, radical or even contradictory to the disciples. Even if he assured the disciples that he was coming back again, bidding farewell in the above gospel reading was a puzzle to them and worse, Jesus was not helpful in his explanation. Instances like these of course ideally would give anyone the opportunity to exercise the virtue of faith. If Jesus actually said he would resurrect, the disciples would not understand it because in the first place they never even thought he was going to die. Nobody had resurrected before aside from those whom Jesus himself brought back to life. So then who would be able to bring a dead Jesus back to life? But primarily, how can the anointed savior himself die? This was why when Jesus actually died, the disciples started to have doubts as to whether they had chosen to follow the wrong messiah.

Saying goodbye at that point was not easy. It was easier for Jesus to say 'goodbye for now but not to worry because I am coming back soon anyway'. That is how departing parents usually soothe a crying child being left behind: that they are coming back right away and will be bringing a gift even. Often works too.

It is also a good area for reflection to imagine the different groups of people who were supposed to be joyful when Jesus left and who were to be sorrowful. It is not a difficult exercise actually. The better exercise would be to put a different twist to our reflection and ask: when it is time for us to leave, whether we have time to say our goodbyes or not, how many will be sorrowful and how many will be joyful? Scary and morbid isn't it? But all of us all are going that way anyway. It would not hurt to have especially deeper thoughts to keep us on our toes. More especially if we are not given the chance to say our goodbyes... most especially to those who will be sorrowful.