Suy Niệm Bài đọc thứ Sáu Tuần 26 Thừơng Niên

 Suy Niệm Bài đọc thứ Sáu Tuần 26 Thừơng Niên

Qua bài Tin Mừng chúng ta được nghe đến những thành phố Chorazin và Bethsaida là những thành phố đông đúc dân chúng, nhiều người đã được nhìn thấy Chúa được nghe những lời giảng dạy và chứng kiến những điều huyền diệu, phép lạ mà Chúa Giêsu đã thực hiện ở đây; Nhưng họ vẫn không mấy ấn tượng và không chịu thay đổi cách sống của họ, Vì thế Chúa Giêsu đã phải thốt ra lời nguyền rủa là : “họ sẽ không có được một tương lai hạnh phúc”, và ngay cả vùng Capernaum cũng đã bị chỉ trích. Họ tự đánh giá cao chính bản thân của họ, nhưng họ không chịu nghe lời răn bảo của Chúa mà ăn năn hay tỏ ra được sự xám hối, Họ từ chối không chấp nhận Chúa Giê-su khi Ngài đi qua và giảng dạy trên các đường phố của họ, Họ đã chối từ Thiên Chúa.

Phần chúng ta, nếu chúng ta tự xét mình, chắc chắn cũng có lúc nào đó trong cuộc sống chúng ta cũng có những hành động như những người này, vì chúng ta đã có những động thái tốt! Nhưng điều quan trọng là chúng ta phải biết tự sửa mình là không được tự mãn hay hoài nghi, nhưng luôn luôn cởi mở và mong muốn được nghe những lời giảng dạy về Phúc âm để tự phát triển tâm linh. Để giữ được một mối quan hệ tốt với Chúa Giêsu là chúng ta phải biết thay đổi. Lạy Chúa, Xin cho Lời Chúa có thể biến đổi chúng con và cuộc sống của chúng con.

Friday 26th Ordinary Time

The towns of Chorazin and Bethsaida had seen great things done in their midst; the teaching and the miracles of Jesus. But they remain unimpressed and unwilling to change their ways. Jesus uttered a warning; they did not have a happy future. Even Capernaum was criticized; they thought highly of themselves but did not show the fruits of repentance. To reject Jesus when he walked and taught in their streets was the same as rejecting God. Not a good move! It is important not to be complacent or cynical, but always open and eager to be taught and to grow spiritually. A relationship with Jesus means change.

Lord, may Your word transform me.

Friday 26th Sunday Ordinary Time

Opening Prayer: Dear Lord, I want to take this time to open my mind and my heart to whatever it is you want to say to me today. I believe in your love for me, even though I don’t always feel it. I hope in the power of your grace to continue purifying and strengthening me in my journey through life. And I thank you for all the good gifts you have given me throughout my life, and especially in these last twenty-four hours. Lord, “lead me in the path of your commandments, for that is my delight” (Psalms 119:35).

Enountering Christ:

1. Jesus Cares: Jesus shows so much emotion in this passage! He chastises the Jewish towns because their citizens were insensitive to God’s invitations. Somehow, their hearts had been hardened and God’s loving voice couldn’t penetrate. And this mattered to Jesus. His heart is not indifferent to the indifference of the people he loves and wants to fill with his grace. We encounter this passionate heart of the Lord throughout the holy Scriptures. God is constantly intervening in the life of his people, constantly calling them to trust him and follow him. And even though they often do not or will not hear and heed him–as is evident, for example, in today’s first reading–he simply will not give up. He continues to speak out, to call, to invite. He cares. We matter to him—deeply! Let that sink in: I matter to Jesus; he cares deeply about me. If I believed that more fully, what difference would it make in my life?

2. Human Beings Are Free: Jesus would not chastise the people of Chorazin and Bethsaida if they were incapable of choosing their response to witnessing his “mighty deeds.” Even though our nature has been wounded by original sin, we are still free. We are “response-able” beings. We can choose to turn our attention to God—or not. We can choose to follow God’s call when we hear it in the Gospels, in our conscience, in the teachings of the Church—or not. We can choose to accept God’s invitation of mercy as often as he makes it–and he makes it unceasingly–or not. True, our freedom is not absolute. It is conditioned by many factors, but it is still present. And what we do with it, how we respond to the challenges, opportunities, and invitations that God sends or permits, determines the kind of person we will be. In this sense, Christians are the ultimate existentialists: Our existence is a gift, and what we choose to do with that gift day after day determines whether our lives will end up being “meaning-full” or “meaning-less.” God invites us to be his partners in building up a Kingdom of infinite value, but he refuses to force us.

3. Jesus Speaks through Messengers: As Jesus sent out the seventy-two disciples, he promised that “whoever listens to you, listens to me; whoever rejects you, rejects me.” God speaks through his followers. This means that we are not only God’s disciples but God’s messengers. With our example, our deeds, and our words, Jesus is continuing to spread his Gospel in the world; he speaks through us. This is our core identity as Christians: disciples who are missionaries, followers of Christ who are also his messengers. But this also means that he continues to speak to us through our brothers and sisters in Christ. Today’s saint, Therese of the Child Jesus, is a powerful example. Filled with the grace that comes into a heart fully given over to Christ’s love, this young saint’s autobiography (she died at the age of 24), written under her Carmelite vow of obedience, has become a spiritual lighthouse amid the darkness of a secularized world. When in 1997 St. John Paul II declared her the thirty-third Doctor (Teacher) of the Church, it was a recognition of this truth, that by the Holy Spirit God continues to speak into our needy world through Christ’s faithful followers. If we want to hear his voice, all we need to do is listen.

Conversing with Christ: Dear Lord, why do you care so much about us? We are so slow, so deaf, so lazy, so easily distracted. And yet you never give up on us. You never give up on me. You continue to send me messages, in so many ways, reminding me of your love and your truth. But not only that: You actually send me as your messenger! You entrust your love and your truth to me and ask me to share it with those around me. Don’t you know how weak I am, how foolish, how fearful? I know you do. But somehow, this is the path along which our friendship grows: trying to listen for your voice, and trying to be a faithful echo of that voice. Please, Lord, make me a good listener and make me your good messenger.

Resolution: Lord, today by your grace I will listen for your voice in a special way and pay attention to the “mighty deeds” you have done in the holiness of St. Therese of Lisieux, who teaches all of us to find and enjoy your loving presence in the little things of everyday life.

Reflection

In today's Gospel Jesus accuses the people of Chorazin and Bethsaida for their hardness of heart, for their indifference to the Gospel. The Good News had reached them but they did not respond. Great wonders had been done among them but they were not convinced. To have the Good News presented to us is indeed a blessing from God. It is a privilege. The Good News is the word of God addressed to us. While there are millions of people who have accepted the Gospel message, there are also quite a lot of people who, like the people of Capernaum, have rejected it. Others have heard Christ's message but failed to think deeply on it; they are indifferent about it. They just don't want to think about sin and so they have no interest in thinking about redemption. As Christians, we have been blessed with the Good News. Do we really try to learn all we can about it? To have heard God's word is a great responsibility. A person will be judged according to what he has learned. When a person receives God's word of wisdom - the Good News of Salvation, it becomes for that person a gift, a great glory. But each word of God that has been received carries with it a responsibility. As Christians we need to give witness to his word.