Suy Niệm bài đọc thứ Tư Tuần thứ Sáu Thưòng Niên

Suy Niệm bài đọc thứ Tư Tuần thứ Sáu Thưòng Niên. (Mk. 8:22-26)

Việc dùng nước miếng trong thời ỳ nào cũng bị cho là việc làm mất vệ sinh và quái lạ. Trong Tin Mừng hôm nay, Chúa Giêsu đã dùng các phương tiện và phong tục trong thời của mình. Việv này không phải là Chúa Giêsu nhất thiết tin vào hiệu quả của những thứ bẩn thỉu này Ngài muốn giành được sự tin tưởng của người mù này và Ngài đã làm điều này cũng giộng như các bác sĩ thời bấy giờ cũng làm như thế. Ngày nay việc chữa bệnh phụ thuộc vào niềm tin của bệnh nhân cũng như vào sự chẩn đoán của bác sĩ và các loại thuốc được biến chế đễ chữa trị. Chúng ta tin rằng việc Chúa Giêsu đặt tay để chữa lành vẫn có sức mạnh cổ xưa của nó. Chúng ta hãy nhớ mỗi lầ Chúa hỏi chúng ta”: Con có tin thật lòng không? Trong Cựu Ước Ông Nô-ê tin vào Thiên Chúa. Sau khi trái đất được giải thoát khỏi trận lụt đại hồng thuỷ, việc đầu tiên mà ông Nô-ê đã làm là dựng lên một bàn thờ để thờ phượng Thiên Chúa.

Lạy Chúa xin Giải thoát chúng con thoát khỏi những thảm họa thiên nhiên, chiến tranh, bệnh tật, hoả hoàn,chết chóc. Là người Kitô hữu xin cho chúng con biết tạ ơn Thiên Chúa. Lạy Chúa, Chúng con tin. Chúa là Thiên Chúa của chúng con và Chúa của chúng con. Chúng con xin cảm tạ Chúa vì Chúa đã giải cứu chúng con thoát ược khỏi nanh vuốt của kẻ ác.

Wednesday after 6th Sunday in Ordinary Time

In the Gospel, the use of spittle seems to us unhygienic and very strange. Jesus was using the methods and customs of his time. It was not that he necessarily believed in the efficacy of these but he had to win the confidence of the man and he did this by doing what they expected a doctor to do.

Today healing depends on the faith of the patient as much as on the diagnosis of the doctor and the drugs prescribed. We believe that Christ’s touch has still its ancient power. We do well to remember how often Christ asked a sick person: ‘Do you believe’?

Noah of the Old Testament believed in God. After the earth was delivered from the flood, the first thing that Noah did was to erect an altar for God.

Deliverance from natural disasters, from war, from death, from illness, from fire, the Christian should immediately give thanks to God.

The writer of Psalm 43, following on his escape from death, says, ‘I shall go to the altar of God, to the God of my joy’. Lord, I believe. You are my Lord and my God. Thank You, Lord, for delivering me from the clutches of the evil one

Wednesday after 6th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Opening Prayer: Lord, Jesus, light of the world, so many people are blind to your goodness. So many cannot see their way through the darkness of their sufferings. Lord, we need your healing touch.

Encountering Christ:

1. Blindness of Others: “When Jesus and his disciples arrived at Bethsaida, people brought to him a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him.” This blind man did not come by himself to seek healing from Jesus. Others brought him. We sometimes think it is our mission as faithful disciples to convince the unchurched of the truth of Jesus Christ. This Gospel teaches us a different way. We are called to bring others to Christ in friendship. We can do this through a friendly invitation to Mass, a retreat, or faith study. We can do this by witnessing our Catholic identity in our words and actions. We can do this by bringing souls to Jesus in our intercessory prayers, asking the Holy Spirit to come into their lives.

2. Our Blindness: “He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village.” God will not usurp our free will, but he will provide us with many opportunities to step out of our spiritual darkness. He can use a move to a new city, a stalled car, an illness, or tragedy—any kind of circumstance that prompts us to give up our self-control and lean on him. When these situations happen, Jesus extends his hand to us. He wants to provide clarity and restore peace and security in our hearts. We let Jesus take our hand by trusting in his providence and recalling that he is with us. Jesus, I trust in you.

3. Living in the Light of Faith: Jesus did not rush the blind man’s healing. Perhaps he was gently easing this man from total darkness into the fullness of light. Jesus is gentle with us, too. Conversion to discipleship is a lifetime process, and Jesus accompanies us intimately as we journey toward him. Our experience of his patience, kindness, and gentleness should inspire us to be patient with ourselves and others. After his healing, Jesus told the blind man, “Do not even go into the village.” In our conversion from darkness to the light of Christ, we don’t return from whence we came. We are new men and women in Christ so we resist the temptation to return to past sins. We strengthen ourselves by seeking out Jesus in the sacraments: frequently participating at Mass, receiving healing through the sacrament of Reconciliation, and Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.

Conversing with Christ: Jesus, I want to follow you. I desire to be a faithful disciple. I feel inadequate leading others to you when I am so blind myself in many ways. Please inspire me to reflect on your love and care for each soul I meet. May I bring them closer to you by my authentic witness as your disciple.

Resolution: Lord, today by your grace I will take your hand in situations where I feel out of control. I will also make an effort to be a helping hand for others, bringing them closer to you in friendship. Jesus, I trust in you.

Wednesday after 6th Sunday in Ordinary Time

In the Gospel, the use of spittle seems to us unhygienic and very strange. Jesus was using the methods and customs of his time. It was not that he necessarily believed in the efficacy of these but he had to win the confidence of the man and he did this by doing what they expected a doctor to do.

Today healing depends on the faith of the patient as much as on the diagnosis of the doctor and the drugs prescribed. We believe that Christ’s touch has still its ancient power. We do well to remember how often Christ asked a sick person: ‘Do you believe’?

Noah of the Old Testament believed in God. After the earth was delivered from the flood, the first thing that Noah did was to erect an altar for God.

Deliverance from natural disasters, from war, from death, from illness, from fire, the Christian should immediately give thanks to God. The writer of Psalm 43, following on his escape from death, says, ‘I shall go to the altar of God, to the God of my joy’. Lord, I believe. You are my Lord and my God. Thank You, Lord, for delivering me from the clutches of the evil one.

Reflection:

Jesus always shows compassion on the sick and has done countless miracles, healing them of their diseases. In today's Gospel, he again is moved with pity on a blind man. He performs this miracle outside the village, away from the crowd, so as not to attract attention to himself, not to be admired, not to be glorified by the people. But Christ performs a miracle to increase the faith of the people especially of the person who receives the healing.

Do not think that Christ came mainly to heal our illnesses. Often, he does heal us when we are sick but this is only a sign of the power he has over any kind of evil. For there is a more serious illness than that of the body and that is the illness of the spirit, meaning sin. We are all quick to ask Christ to heal us when we are physically ill, but we rarely ask him to heal us of our sinfulness. Maybe we are comfortable with our sins and do not seriously want to change. But if we do want healing, we need only to approach Christ and beg for his healing.

It is interesting to note that Christ uses his spittle in this healing. The spittle comes from the mouth where speech comes from, where the word comes from. Today, Jesus heals our wounds of sin with his Word. That is why it is so vital for us to listen to his Word when it is proclaimed. Listening to Christ's Word has the power to heal us.

In several of his healings, Christ touches the sick. We may think that it would have been amazing if we had lived in Christ's time so we could touch him physically, but this does not have to be. We are in fact more fortunate than those who actually saw Christ because now we do not need to touch him physically to be healed. As long as we have faith in Christ, we are already touching him. Let us allow him to hold our hand as he did with this blind man and lead us to salvation from our sins.