Suy niệm Tin Mừng thứ Tư tuần thứ 30 Thường Niên

Suy niệm Tin Mừng thứ Tư tuần thứ 30 Thường Niên

Ngày nay, chúng ta không thể nói với người làm phải vâng tuân theo chủ nhân của họ. Chúng ta thấy chế độ nô lệ dưới mọi hình thức như là một tội ác và không thể chấp nhận được và chúng ta phải tìm mọi cách và tất cả mọi thứ trong khả năng của mình để bãi bỏ nó. Nhưng những người Ephêsô vẫn còn quan trọng hoá và cố vượt thời gian để thực hiện.

Bất kể mọi tình huống chúng ta có thể tự thấy chính mình đang làm chứng cho ​​Chúa Giêsu trong cách sống của chúng ta. Việc chúng ta sống trong một môi trường ngột ngạt hay có một ông chủ bất công không quan trọng, chúng ta phải luôn biết hy vọng và là ngọn hải đăng chiếu ánh sáng. Bằng cách biểu lộ cách sông của Chúa Giêsu trong cuộc sống hàng ngày của chúng ta, chúng ta có thể gây ảnh hưởng sâu đậm đến những người khác. Và chưa chừng biết đâu, chúng ta thậm chí có thể làm cho những người áp bức chúng ta phải biến đổi! Đức tin không thể được coi như là sự đương nhiên. Thánh Luca nói với chúng ta rằng việc thường xuyên đến với Chúa Giêsu hoặc cứ đến nhà thờ chưa chắc đã bảo đảm được quyền làm con trong mắt Chúa.

Có nhiều người trong chúng ta đã tự mãn và chắc chắn rằng họ đã làm trọn bổn phận tinh thần, những những người ấy sẽ tự thấy mình ở dưới đáy cùng. Cũng có những người gặp phải những khó khăn và thất bại nhưng biết đứng lên tiếp tục cuộc hành trình trong đức tin; họ sẽ được nâng lên. Cho dù cửa nước Trời của Thiên Chúa thực sự là hẹp nhỏ, nhưng với tình yêu thương, lòng khiêm tốn, và sự phục vụ có thể giúp chúng ta vượt qua.

Nếu như tôn giáo mà chỉ nói mà không có hành động hay việc làm và nếu chúng ta thiếu yếu tố quan trọng đó thì việc nghe lời Thiên Chúa có nghĩa là làm theo lời của Chúa; Hai điều này không thể tách rời nhau được. Cách thức để sống theo Chúa mỗi ngày của chúng ta là chúng ta phải biết kiểm tra cách sống của chúng ta là hãy xem chúng ta đã có lắng nghe lời Chúa qua Phúc Âm như thế nào.

Lạy Chúa, xin giúp chúng con biết dùng cuộc sống của chúng con để phản ánh lời của Ngài.

Reflection Wednesday Week in Ordinary Time (B)

Today, we would not tell slaves to obey their masters. We see slavery in any form as an intolerable evil and we would do everything in our power to abolish it. But Ephesians still has an important and timeless point to make. Regardless of the situation we find ourselves in we can witness to Jesus by our way of life. It doesn’t matter if we live in an oppressive environment or have an unjust boss we should always be a beacon of light and hope. By demonstrating the way of Jesus in our everyday life we can have a profound effect on others. Who knows, we might even convert our oppressors!

Faith cannot be taken for granted. Luke tells us that familiarity with Jesus or going to church in themselves are no guarantee of being right in the eyes of the Lord. There are many who are self-satisfied and sure that they have it made spiritually who will find themselves at the bottom. There are also those who struggle and fall but continue to walk in faith — they will be lifted up. The door of the kingdom of God is narrow indeed — only love, humility, and service can fit through.

All of the religious talk and activity in the world is of little use if we are lacking that important element. Hearing the word of God means doing the word of God; the two cannot be separated. The manner of our everyday life is the test of how well we have listened.

Lord, may my life reflect Your word.

Wednesday 30th Ordinary Time

Opening Prayer: I come before you today, Lord, eager to praise you and to receive from you the grace I need to live this day to the full. I feel what St. Paul describes in today’s first reading: we do not know how to pray as we ought. And I invoke your promise through St. Paul: The Spirit himself comes to the aid of our weakness… the Spirit himself intercedes with inexpressible groanings. Holy Spirit, guide my time of prayer today, for the glory of God and the advance of Christ’s Kingdom.

Encountering Christ:

· Clear Destinations: Jesus had a clear destination. He was …making his way to Jerusalem. He knew that his mission was to culminate in his self-offering on the cross for the world’s redemption. And even though he kept busy on the way, Jesus passed through towns and villages, teaching as he went; he never lost sight of that destination. Do I know what my destination is? Do I know how everything I do in my daily life contributes to the journey? We need to be intentional about keeping our destination–everlasting happiness through growth in our communion with God here on earth and entering the Father’s house after death–in the forefront of our minds. So many other voices try to distract us. So many false promises vie for our attention. We are so easily distracted. As disciples of Christ, we should learn from our Master and renew our commitment every single day to continue our journey to our true destination.

· Few or Many? The question posed to Jesus in today’s Gospel is one that continues to be posed in every generation: Lord, will only a few people be saved? Jesus doesn’t really give a direct answer to this question. Rather, he turns the tables. We don’t really need to know how many people will make it to heaven. What we need to be concerned about is our own journey, our own fidelity to God’s grace. And so, Jesus encourages us to stay humble, to take good care of our own souls first: Strive to enter through the narrow gate. He implies that in this fallen world it isn’t so easy to be a faithful disciple of Jesus: …many… will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough. Being Christ’s disciple is not complicated—he himself summed it up in two commandments: love for God and love for neighbor. But the many traps and deceptions swirling around us and within us–because of our own fallen nature (concupiscence), the fallen world, and the fallen angels who hate God and work to separate us from him–make it difficult. It is so difficult, in fact, that we can easily deceive ourselves, thinking we are living a faithful friendship with Christ when in truth we are just building up our own petty, self-centered kingdoms. This is the message of his parable about the master who locks the door. We don’t need to panic. God’s grace will never fail us. We just need to stay humble, to stay focused, to make good use of the many means for spiritual growth the Church offers us (that’s part of our “striving”), and trust that God will do the rest.

· A Cure for Discouragement: The tone of our Lord’s answer to his questioner in today’s Gospel can strike some readers as stark, maybe even pessimistic. But we must not take this passage in isolation from the rest of the Gospel. Jesus makes equally clear in many passages that God’s mercy is infinite and proactive; he wants us to be saved. In fact, the basic theological virtue of hope propels us to remain deeply optimistic even amid all our struggles and the grave evil around us. The Catechism points out (1821): We can therefore hope in the glory of heaven promised by God to those who love him and do his will. In every circumstance, each one of us should hope, with the grace of God, to persevere "to the end" and to obtain the joy of heaven, as God's eternal reward for the good works accomplished with the grace of Christ. In hope, the Church prays for "all men to be saved.” This robust, wise, theological hope is what St. Paul has in mind when he writes in today’s first reading: We know that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28). We should all memorize this verse and go back to it frequently, because it is true, and it reminds us of a truth that we need to be reminded of almost every single day.

Conversing with Christ: I want to strive to enter through the narrow gate of your friendship— narrow because to be your faithful friend I have to stay humble, to stay small, to become once again like a child, trusting more in you than in myself or any otherworldly power. I want to live with the buoyant joy of hope always shining in me and through me. I want to live simply, truly, limpidly, free from all unnecessary complications that inhibit me from living in your peace and spreading that peace all around me. Teach me, Lord; never let me be separated from you.

Resolution: Lord, today by your grace I will make a special visit to the Eucharist and pray earnestly for the salvation of all people, especially those in most need of your mercy.

Meditation:

What does the image of a door say to us about the kingdom of God?

Today Jesus tells us a story about the door being shut to those who come too late and suggests that they had offended their host for being late and n ot prepared, They deserved to be excluded. It was customary for teachers in Jesus' time to close the door on tardy students and not allow them back for a whole week in order to teach them a lesson in discipline and faithfulness. Jesus told this story in response to the question of who will make it to heaven. Many rabbis held that all Israel would be saved, except for a few blatant sinners who excluded themselves! After all, they were specially chosen by God when he established a covenant with them.

Jesus doesn't directly answer the question, however; but his response is nonetheless unsettling on two counts. First, Jesus surprised his listeners by saying that one's membership as a covenanted people does not automatically mean entry into the kingdom of God. Second, Jesus asserts that many from the gentile nations would enter God's kingdom. God's invitation is open to Jew and Gentile alike. But Jesus warns that we can be excluded if we do not strive to enter by the narrow door. What did Jesus mean by this expression? The door which Jesus had in mind was himself. I am the door; if any one enters by me, he will be saved (John 10:9). Jesus opens the way for us to enter into God's kingdom through the cross where he has laid down his life as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. If we want to enter and remain citizens of God's kingdom, then we must follow Jesus in the way of the cross. The word strive can also be translated agony. To enter the kingdom of God one must struggle against the forces of temptation to sin and whatever would hinder us from doing the will of God (even apathy, indifference, and compromise).

The good news is that we do not struggle alone. God is with us and his grace is sufficient! As we strive side by side for the faith of the gospel (Philippians 1:27) Jesus assures us of complete victory! Do you trust in God's grace and help, especially in times of testing and temptation?

"Lord Jesus, help me to always trust in your saving grace, especially when I am tempted and put to the test. Help me to be faithful to you and give me the courage and strength to resist temptation, especially the temptation to compromise or to be indifferent to your word."