Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ Ba tuần Thứ tư Thường Niên.

 Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ Ba tuần Thứ tư Thường Niên.

Trong bài Tin Mừng, chúng ta nghe hai câu chuyện thần kỳ đã được đan dệt lại với nhau, câu chuyện người phụ nữ bị hoại huyết và cô gái trẻ, con gái của Jairus. Cả hai phép lạ đều là phản ứng của Chúa Jêsus đối với người có đức tin vững mạnh. Chúa Jêsus an ủi người phụ nữ bị hoại huyết: "này chị, đức tin của chị đã chữa lành cho chị. Hãy đi bình an. "Với ông Jairus, Chúa Giêsu khẳng định:" Đừng sợ, cứ tin rồi sẽ được. "

Một lời nhắn nhủ rất rõ ràng qua câu chuyện này là Lời cầu xin cho một phép lạ chỉ có thể có xảy ra, có hiệu quả khi lời cầu nguyện đó được kèm theo với lòng tin vĩ đại. Với quan điểm hời hợt của chúng ta thì việc chạm vào gấu áo choàng của Chúa Giêsu có vẻ mê tín, nhưng trong câu chuyện, đặc biệt là phản ứng của Chúa Giêsu đối với người phụ nữ nàyNgài đã khẳng định đức tin của người phụ nữ  khi Chúa Giêsu đã gặp bà.

Trong cả hai trường hợp, Chúa Giêsu khuyến khích người ta đừng sợ. Ngài nói điều này trực tiếp với Jairus: "Đừng lo sợ." Và nhỏ nhẹ trìu mến với ngời phụ nữ.. "này chị đức tin của chị đã chữa lành cho chị. Hãy ra đi bình an ". Với Đức tin chân thật hay lòng tin vững chãi sẽ lấy đi tất cả sự sợ hãi ngay trong tảm hồn của chúng ta và mang đến chúng ta một đặc ơn An Bình sâu sắc.

Lạy Chúa Giêsu, xin ban cho chúng ta được ơn là luôn có được một đức tin vững chãi biết lấy đi những sự sợ hãi ra khỏi lòng trí của chúng con và cho phép chúng con được sống trong sự bình an vì đó chính là món quà Phục sinh của Chúa ban cho chúng con

 

REFLECTION
In the Gospel, two miracle stories have been woven together, that of the woman who suffered from a haemorrhage and that of a young girl, Jairus’ daughter. Both miracles are Jesus' response to great faith. Jesus consoled the woman with the haemorrhage: “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.” To Jairus, he asserted: “Do not be afraid, only believe.”
One message is very clear in these two stories and in the other miracle stories in the Gospels: praying for a miracle can only be effective when it is accompanied by great faith. From a superficial point of view, the woman’s act of touching the hem of Jesus’ garment might seem superstitious, but the whole story, especially Jesus’ response to the woman, affirms the faith encounter between the woman and Jesus.
In both instances, Jesus encourages the person not to be afraid. He says this directly to Jairus: “Do not be afraid.” He addresses the woman gently and affectionately “Daughter” and says to her: “Go in peace.” True faith takes away all fear from our hearts and brings us the gift of deep peace.

Lord Jesus, grant that the gift of faith may always drive all fear from our hearts and allow us to live in that peace which is Your resurrection gift to us.

 

Tue 4th Week in Ordinary Time

Opening Prayer: Jesus, feed me with your word. Help me to desire your healing and wholeness. Bless me as I encounter you in Scripture today.

Encountering Christ:

1.      Markan Sandwich: St. Mark used a literary device throughout his Gospel called a “sandwich.” Today’s Gospel reading is a great example. This device helps us understand the shared meaning behind the events in two stories that seem unrelated. Here the story of Jarius and his daughter in the clutches of death is sandwiched in the middle by the story of the woman with a hemorrhage. The key to understanding deeper meaning in this passage is to look for ways that the stories relate. Both are centered on coming to Jesus for healing. Both people were female, and both were miraculously healed. Another similarity is time. The girl was twelve years old, and the woman had suffered with a hemorrhage for twelve years. Her issue of blood made her unable to participate in her community; she was ritually unclean. Consider this: the woman had suffered in this way as long as the girl had been alive, equaling a “lifetime” of isolation, pain, and sufferin g. The little girl was presumed dead. Both needed Jesus to bring them back to life. 

2.      Desiring Healing: In a mystical way, our healing is connected to our internal disposition; we must want Jesus to heal us. Notice that both Jairus and the woman approached Jesus and desired healing. The woman reached out her hand to touch Jesus and his power flowed out of him to her. It is striking, almost as if she was instrumental in her own healing by reaching out to him. Jesus blessed the woman and told her that her faith saved her. Notice that he addressed her in a familial way, calling her “daughter.” When Jesus approached the little girl, he lifted her up, raising her from the sleep of death and restoring her life, even more powerfully than in the case of the woman. Both are returned to health, life, and community. Our conversion to Christ makes us part of God’s family. Jesus raised Jairus’s daughter and called her “little girl’: “Talitha koum.” The woman who was healed became a “daughter” of God, a “little girl” again. Both have new life in and through Christ. Do I truly desire and believe that I can be healed? Do I want to be God’s beloved child?

3.      Hidden Sacraments: This passage holds a key to two hidden sacraments. Both Jairus and the woman approached Jesus in humility and fear of the Lord. Jairus “fell at his feet,” and the woman “came in fear and trembling and fell down before him, and told him the whole truth.” This strikes an image of the sacrament of Reconciliation where we humbly kneel at Christ’s feet and confess the truth of the brokenness of our lives. When we make that short pilgrimage to our Church and stand in line for Confession, we are like the woman stretching our hand out to be healed. Another hidden sacrament is the Anointing of the Sick. Both the woman and the little girl were healed by Christ’s touch. In the Anointing of the Sick, the priest touches the sick person on the forehead and hands with blessed oil and speaks words of healing (CCC 1513). Christ’s words are also instrumental, as they are in the absolution at the end of Confession. &ldquo ;The priest's sacramental absolution God grants the penitent ‘pardon and peace’” (CCC 1424). Jesus tells the woman, “Go in peace, and be healed.” In the sacraments, Christ himself touches and heals us. Do I truly believe that Christ heals me through his sacraments? Do I want to be transformed by the Kingdom of Christ?

Conversing with Christ: Jesus, I want to be healed in every way that I am broken so that I can give glory to you and serve you with a whole and pure heart. Help me reach out to you when I need to be healed physically, mentally, or spiritually. Heal me with the touch and words of your sacraments, especially in the Most Holy Eucharist and Reconciliation. Restore my life and transform me into my deepest identity as your child.

Resolution: Lord, today by your grace I will examine my conscience and ask you to reveal what is in need of your healing. I will then make a plan to receive the sacrament of Reconciliation.

Tue 4th Week in Ordinary Time

“Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed.”

Jesus works two miracles; healing the woman suffering from haemorrhages for twelve years and raising Jairus' daughter to life. Probably these people did not enter Jesus’ life ever after, nor were they related to him ever before. But Jesus’ compassion enters their lives to transform their lives forever.

            Jesus did not need a reason to reach out to those in need and neither did he take credit for his deeds. What was evident was his abounding love for those who needed it most. What the world needs is more people who can radiate love as Jesus did. We, who have been touched by Our Lord’s love, have a sacred responsibility to share our love the way Jesus did. Lord, grant us the grace to go out of our way to love others as You did!