Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ Tư Tuần thứ 5 Thường Niên.

Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ Tư Tuần thứ 5 Thường Niên. (Gen 3:1-8; Mark 7:14-23)

Qua bài Tin Mừng, Người Pharisêu và những người Do thái đã chất vấn Chúa Giêsu rất nhiều điều, nhưng với ý tưởng xấu xa của họ, Họ không phải hỏi Chúa Giêsu để tìm hiều hay học hỏi thêm về Chân Lý và sự thật, nhưng mục đích của họ muốn nêu lên những câu hỏi là muốn gài bẫy Chúa Giêsu và để họ có dịp triệt hạ Ngài.. Những người Do thái bình thường thì họ đánh giá cao sự khôn ngoan và sự tốt lành của Chúa Giêsu, trong khi đó, các nhà lãnh đạo tôn giào của họ đã khóa kín cửa lòng của họ, để đánh mất cái khôn ngoan mà không biết sự khiêm tốn và nhân nhượng vì thế họ không thể nhận ra rằng Chúa Giêsu, người đứng trước mặt họ là người có sự khôn ngoan còn to lớn hơn của vua Solomon.

Các môn đệ của Giêsu thông thường cũng không thể hiểu được những lời Giáo Huấn của Chúa, nhưng ít ra họ đã có cố gắng tìm tòi và học hỏi them ở nơi Chúa Giêsu. Quan trọng hơn, là họ còn nhớ được những giáo huấn mà Chúa đã truyền dạy cho họ, vì họ hiểu được rằng, sau khi Chúa Giêsu sống lại và lên trời, họ phải có khả năng nhớ lại những điểm quan trọng nhất của giáo lý của Ngài.

Trong khi Giáo Hội đang được lan rộng trên tất cả trái đất, Dưới sự hướng dẫn khôn ngoan của Chúa Thánh Thần, Giáo hội đã dựa vào những lời giáo huấn của Chúa Giêsu để giúp chúng ta có thể đối phó với rất nhiều câu hỏi đã phát sinh qua các thời đại cũng như đang thách thức trong đức tin và cuôc sống ân sũng thực sự của chúng ta, Phúc đức, may mắn thay cho chúng ta, những người đang được hưởng những ân sủng của đức tin, Vì Chúa Giêsu sẽ ban cho chúng ta Chân Lý và sự thật của Ngài và nhờ đó sẽ giải phóng chúng ta ra khỏi vùng tội lỗi và bóng tối của sự chết.

.Wednesday 5th Week in Ordinary Time

The Pharisees and others questioned Jesus but, with a few exceptions, their intention was not to seek the truth but only to trap him. Ordinary people often appreciated the wisdom and the goodness of Jesus while their leaders were locked in their intransigence and could not realize that Jesus stood before them with wisdom greater than that of Solomon. Jesus’ own disciples were frequently unable to understand him, but at least they sought further clarification. More importantly, they remembered better than they understood so that, after Jesus’ Ascension into heaven, they were able to recall the most significant points of his teaching.

As the Church spread all over the earth, She was able, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, to rely on that teaching to deal with the many questions which arose throughout the ages to challenge our faith and our way of living. Blessed are we indeed, who enjoy the gift of faith, the truth given to us by Jesus which sets us free. Lord Jesus, we thank You for the gift of our faith and ask that we may always be attentive to the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit, who guides us to remember Your teaching with understanding.

Wednesday 5th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Opening Prayer: Lord, I believe that your heart is open and ready to receive me this morning. I want to please you. Help me to listen closely to your words as I pray.

Encountering Christ:

1. Hear and Understand: After his admonition of the Pharisees (yesterday’s reading) Jesus turned and implored the crowd gathered there to “hear and understand” his teaching. We might imagine some urgency in his manner, reflecting his heart’s desire that the crowd not be misled by their rulers. He was saying it's not what we eat, but how we speak and behave that has the power to either glorify the Father or defile us. May we take his words as seriously as his listeners and disciples did, and reflect and repent, if necessary, on any sins of the tongue or defiling behaviors.

2. Special Access: The disciples had been chosen by Jesus for close collaboration in the mission. He dedicated most of his time to forming them with special care and attention. They had the unique privilege of being able to ask Jesus for more detailed explanations of his teachings. We too have the ability to share intimate experiences with Christ since, through prayer and the sacraments, we have a special connection to him and can be alone with him. In this moment of solitude with Christ, let us ask him the questions closest to our hearts.

3. Jesus’ List: Jesus leaves us no wiggle room when he warns us against behaviors that can sully our soul and separate us from the Father. However, by our power of rationalization we humans can still fall prey to these sins, and others besides. Because we love Jesus, we strive to resist these temptations by putting on the armor of Christ. “So stand fast with your loins girded in truth, clothed with righteousness as a breastplate, and your feet shod in readiness for the Gospel of peace. In all circumstances, hold faith as a shield, to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:14-17). To strengthen ourselves, we frequent the sacrament of Reconciliation, receive the Eucharist at Mass as often as possible, and spend time in prayer each day.

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, how I want to have a heart like yours! A heart with one desire: to do the will of your Father, to glorify Him, and to love all of humanity! Your heart is the purest of all hearts. My heart is wayward, and I can see by the way I act, by what comes out of my mouth, that I need your grace. Today I choose to let you transform my heart.

Resolution: Lord, today by your grace I will pay close attention to what I say and strive to glorify you with every word.

REFLECTION (year 1)

When God breathed into us, He showed us how to take care of His creations, including ourselves. He has given us our family, friends, and community. He has already offered everything to us. This being the case, at times we still look for more: more knowledge, more material possessions, more than what we were given.

The tree mentioned in the reading can be likened to the many doors presented to us. There are many chances and opportunities to be taken, and yet God only asks for one thing from us: He asks us one thing out of the myriad of offers, to shun evil. This one little thing is hard to do, we have to admit, but His unconditional love for us is even more astounding. He loves us even if we turn away from Him. His arms are always ever open to take us back into His heart. The question is, "Are we ready to return to Him?"

To refrain from eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil is to show how much we appreciate the care that God entrusts to us. It is never too late to ask forgiveness for our sins and start anew through a new beginning with a profound seedling called goodness growing in us. God doesn't need to give us reasons for His commands because they are all for our good. Once we learn how to trust without a question and follow in His footsteps, this would be the only time when we can truly be happy.

REFLECTION

"Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?" So goes that famous line from the comic book character The Shadow and how apt a summary for today's Gospel passage. The Pharisees emphasized much on rituals and rules more than they taught principle and meaning of what those rituals and rules meant. They and the people they preached to were so caught up with these rituals and rules that they neglected the spiritual sustenance of

their own souls.

We can go to Mass and pray the same prayers everyday but Jesus reminds us that we should not depend on the Mass and the prayers we recite to cure us from sin or should we recite them to make us become holier, righteous people. The real us depends on what we think and what we really value. It is from our hearts that we achieve who we really are and how we influence those around us. In the first reading we read how the Queen of Sheba was so impressed by Solomon's wisdom that she praised him and gave him expensive presents. However the story ends with the queen returning to her own country without really saying how she applied what she has

learned. Let us ask ourselves today, how do we apply to action what we hear from the mass and from the prayers we recite? Do we reflect and seek the message and true meaning of Jesus' words? Do we pray to our Blessed Mother not because it is our habit to pray the Rosary or because we ask for her intercession but because we want to feel her presence and the love of her Son within us?

Finally, let us be reminded not to allow evil to lurk in our hearts but rather to allow the goodness and purity of God's love to grow within us.