Suy Niệm Tin Mừng thứ Tư tuần thứ 3 Mùa Vọng
Người hạnh phúc là một người biết siêng năng cầu nguyện, Vì sự cầu nguyện thông đem lại, sự thánh thiện, và sự cống chính. Sự cầu nguyện giúp chúng ta tìm đến những kinh nghiệm của niềm vui bên trong tâm hồn mà không ai có thể lấy đi.
Trong Tin Mừng hôm nay, Chúa Giêsu đã dậy chúng ta chủ đề này với một sự chú ý cần thiết và nhiều thận trọng. Người hạnh phúc và người công chính là một trong những người làm cho Chúa Kitô hiện diện với những người khác và những người làm các công việc của Chúa Cha.
Đây là sứ vụ của thánh Gioan và Chúa Giêsu. Thánh Gioan tẩy giả là người làm chứng về Chúa Giêsu. Chúa Giêsu đã đến để ban sự sống cho tất cả những ai tin vào Ngài. Chúa Giêsu tỏ lộ cho chúng ta biết tên của Chúa Cha là TÌNH YÊU. Sự chứng kiến của Gioan và sứ vụ của Chúa Giêsu nhắc nhở chúng ta rằng người Kitô hữu có thể sẽ gặp phải những sự chống đối, bắt bớ, giam cầm và thậm chí phải hy sinh mạng sống. Sự thánh thiện không phải là sự miễn trừ đặc biệt không phải chiêu đau khổ một cách huyền diệu, bí mật, Nhưng trong thực tế, để thực thi những công việc của Thiên Chúa và để tìm sự thánh thiện này là phải chấp nhận sự đau khổ. Tuy nhiên, chúng ta không nên phải sợ hãi, Vì những người nhân danh Chúa thực thi ý của Thiên Chúa thì sẽ được Chúa ban cho sức mạnh để chịu đựng và được kiên trì theo chân Chúa Kitô qua ơn Chúa Thánh Thần.
Mùa Vọng là khoảng thời gian mà chúng ta trải nghiệm qua với nhiều hạnh phúc và niềm vui. Chúng ta không bao giờ nên đánh mất cái tầm nhìn về những lý do trong mùa vọng này và lời kêu gọi căn bản của nó đối với sự hòa bình. Đây là mùa mà khi chúng ta phải chuẩn bị cho những ân sũng căn bản của tình yêu Thiên Chúa trong Ngôi Lời hập Thể làm người.
Chúng ta hãy để cuộc sống của chúng ta là một bài thánh ca dâng lên Chúa, để ca tụng tình yêu của Chúa Cha đối với chúng ta, Chúng ta hãy dành cuộc sống của chúng ta làm thành một bài thánh ca cho tình yêu mà chúng ta dành cho nha, Tình yêu là một bài thánh ca của niềm vui.
REFLECTION
The happy person is a person of prayer. It is through seeking after justice, personal holiness, good example and prayer that we come to experience an inner joy which no one can take away. In today's Gospel, Jesus communicates this theme with a much-needed note of caution. The happy and just person is one who makes Christ present to others and who does the works of the Father.
This was the mission of John and Jesus. John the Baptist testified about Jesus. Jesus came to give life to all who believe in Him. Jesus reveals the name of the Father as LOVE. The witness of John and the ministry of Jesus remind us that the Christian can expect opposition, rejection and even death. Holiness is not some magical exemption from suffering. In fact, to do the works of God and to seek this holiness is to find suffering. Yet, we need not fear. Those who come in the name of the Lord will be given the strength to persevere through the Spirit.
Advent is a time when we experience much happiness and joy. Let us never lose sight of the reason for this season and its ultimate call to peace. This is the season when we prepare for the ultimate gift of God's love in the Word made flesh. Let our life be a hymn to the father’s love for us. Let our life be a hymn to the love we have for one another. Love is the hymn of joy.
Meditation: "The blind see, the lame walk, the poor receive good news"
How can we know that Jesus is who he claims to be, the Son of God, the promised Messiah, and Savior of the world? Is our faith a blind leap we must take without certainty or proof? John the Baptist sent his disciples to question Jesus about his claim to be God's anointed Messiah. Did John have doubts about Jesus and his claim to divinity? Not likely, since John had earlier revealed Jesus' mission at the River Jordan when he exclaimed, Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29).
John saw from a distance what Jesus would accomplish through his atoning sacrifice on the cross - our redemption from bondage to sin, condemnation, and death, and our adoption as sons and daughters of God and citizens of the kingdom of heaven. John very likely sent his disciples to Jesus because he wanted them to hear and see firsthand for themselves the signs and proof that the Messiah had indeed come in the person of Jesus who was sent by the Father in heaven and anointed by the Spirit at the River Jordan.
The Messiah performs the signs of God's kingdom power
The miracles which Jesus performed and the message he proclaimed about the coming of God's kingdom in his person was a direct fulfillment of what the prophets had foretold many centuries before (see Isaiah 29:18-19; 35:5-6; 61:1). Isaiah had prophesied that the Messiah would come in the power of the Holy Spirit to bring freedom and new life for all who were oppressed by afflictions, infirmities, sin and guilt, and demonic spirits (see Isaiah 61:1-2).
Jesus came in the power of God's kingdom to release those bound up by sin, fear, and hopelessness. His miracles and exorcisms are direct signs of God's power and presence and they confirm that the Father has sent his only begotten Son to be our Messiah (which means the Anointed One) and Savior.
Through Jesus' atoning death on the cross and through the power of his resurrection we receive the first-fruits of God's kingdom - the forgiveness of our sins, adoption as sons and daughters of God, new life in the Holy Spirit, and the promise that we will be raised to everlasting life with God in his kingdom. The Gospel is "good news" for all who receive it and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Do you know and witness to others the joy and good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ?
"Lord Jesus, you are the fulfillment of all our hopes and desires.Set my heart aflame with the fire of your love and with the power of the Holy Spirit that I may boldly witness the joy of the Gospel and serve your kingdom wherever you place me."
Opening Prayer: Dear Lord, you granted sight to many who were blind and cured many of disease, suffering, and evil spirits. I ask you to look upon me with mercy and teach me to look to you for strength and healing. Strengthen my love for you and my reliance on you. Thank you for your mercy, your grace, and your love.
Encountering Christ:
A Heartfelt Question: Unlike other people who sought to trick or entrap Jesus when they asked if he was the Messiah, John the Baptist was sincere in his question. He sought the truth and wanted to know if Jesus was indeed the “one who is to come.” We can see that Jesus recognized the purity of John’s heart and the sincerity of his question by his awe-inspiring response. Jesus never fails to bless seekers of truth.
Prophesies: There are dozens of major prophecies in the Old Testament that predicted how the Messiah would arrive and specified the historical context. As a devout Jew, John the Baptist knew his Scripture. As Jesus’ cousin, he would have no doubt been aware that Jesus’ birth and early life had already fulfilled at least three Old Testament prophecies: that the Messiah would be from David’s lineage; that a virgin would conceive the Messiah; and that the Messiah would spend time in Egypt. John had doubtless heard from his own parents the exceptional circumstance surrounding Jesus’ early life. Because he had “learned” of these things, John’s heart was ready to hear confirmation that Jesus is the “one who is to come.” We, too, must study and pray with the word to know Our Lord and be able to see and acknowledge his presence in our lives.
A Perfect Answer: Jesus answered John’s messengers in a powerful way that left no doubt to any faithful Jew that he was indeed the Messiah: “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the good news proclaimed to them.” His answer pointed to the prophecy of Isaiah, and Jesus’ listeners would have recalled these words: “Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert” (Isaiah 35:5-6). Truly, to know Scripture is to know Christ (St. Jerome).
Conversing with Christ: Dear Lord, quiet my heart as I sit before you in this time of prayer and reflection. Give me the grace to seek you with a pure heart. May I turn to you when I need healing, direction, and guidance. Through your loving mercy, cleanse me from distraction and doubt. Let me sit quietly today with you in the truth that you are the Messiah, my Lord, and Savior.
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