Suy Niệm các bài đọc Thứ Bẩy Tuần thứ 4 Mùa Chay

  Suy Niệm các bài đọc Thứ Bẩy Tuần thứ 4 Mùa Chay

Tin Mừng hôm nay, cho chúng ta thấy chính Chúa Giêsu cũng đã đang phải gặp những vấn đề khó khăn tương tự tiên tri Jeremiah trong bài đọc thứ Nhất, Vì Chúa Giêsu cũng bị người Do Thái thời bấy giờ chống đối và tìm cách hãm hại khi Ngài hành thi hành sứ vụ rao giảng Cứu Rỗi mà Chúa Cha đã trao giao phó cho Ngài.

Đây là vấn để dễ làm cho chúng ta thất vọng, dễ gây ra cho chúng ta sự nản lòng và mất niềm tin.

Như vậy, có lẽ Chúa Giêsu đã có sự cảm nhận như thế trong ngày hôm nay về thái độ của chúng ta, vì thế Ngài đã thách thức mọi người chúng ta hãy nhìn vào những gì mà Ngài đã làm, những gì mà chỉ có Thiên Chúa mới có thể làm được; để rồi chúng ta sẽ đưa ra quyết định riêng cho mỗi người chúng ta. Chúng ta hãy xem xét, kiểm tra cuộc sống của chúng ta và hành vi mà chúng ta đã đối xử với người khác: Chúng ta hãy tự hỏi chính mình là: chúng ta có mang ấn dấu của Chúa Giêsu nơi chúng ta và và mang trong lòng chúng ta cái sức mạnh của lòng nhân từ và đầy thương xót của Ngài?

Hình ảnh và sự hiện diện của Chúa Giêsu trong mỗi người chúng ta như thế nào với những ân sủng Ngài mang đến cho mỗi người chúng ta? Những gì khác biệt Ngài đã thực hiện trong cuộc sống của chúng ta và những người chung quanh?.Chúng ta không thể “phát hiện ra” hay phân tích được Chúa Giêsu, Nhưng chúng ta chỉ có thể chấp nhận và cảm nghiệm được Ngài mà thôi.

Lạy Chúa, Xin ban cho chúng con có lòng tin vững chãi vào Chúa và được sống trong tình yêu vô biên của Ngài. .

Saturday 4th Sunday of Lent 

Jeremiah was not a happy or joyful prophet. He was reluctant from the start, and as his ministry unfolded, we can see why. He was constantly opposed — and more than that, those in power actually tried to have him killed. There was not much cause for rejoicing, and he even tried to quit a couple of times, but the Spirit of God in him would not leave him in peace. In his lament about the plot against his life, he reaffirmed his trust in God. Alone he could not accomplish his mission, but with God all things were possible. We should remember this when we feel discouraged, especially when we are doing God’s work. It’s not about us; it’s all about God.

Jesus met the same sort of resistance in his ministry. It must have been discouraging and disheartening to face such unbelief and hardheartedness — and he would probably feel the same way today about the attitudes of many Christians. He challenged people to look at his record — the things that he was doing, which only God could do — and then make their decision. We can examine our own lives and those of others: do they bear the marks of Jesus and his compassionate power?

What sort of presence has Jesus graced us with? What difference has He made? Jesus cannot be ‘figured out’ or analyzed; He can only be accepted and experienced. Lord, deepen my trust in You.

Saturday 4th week of Lent

Opening Prayer: Jesus, such chaos is happening in this passage. Why could these people not see you for who you are? Help me to hear your voice above the dissenting crowd. May I always recognize you as my Savior, King, and God.

Encountering Christ:

You Cannot Ignore Christ: Everyone was bickering about just who this Jesus was and what his purpose was. One thing is for certain: he could not be ignored. The same is true today. Those who deny Jesus’ identity as God must always negate their belief in him. He must be addressed. An atheist is exactly that, “a-theist,” one who denies there is a God. Surely this is one ironic sign of his divinity—that he cannot be ignored. He is one who must be reckoned with. This could be an interesting way to engage with an interlocutor who does not believe in God, of course in a charitable way.

Division: It is easy to assume that Jesus came to bring peace to the world. After all, he is the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6). He brings peace, but not in the ways that one might think. Jesus said, “Do you think that I have come to give peace on Earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. For from now on in one house, there will be five divided, three against two and two against three. They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law” (Luke 12:51-53). Unfortunately, Jesus’ presence brings division between the people who believe in him and those who do not. You can see the effect he has on the people in today’s Gospel passage. They argued and pointed fingers at each other. Once Jesus completely establishes his Kingdom on Earth, then there will be peace. But until then, we will continue to confront the messiness of life.

What a Mess: Have you ever noticed that to clean up a mess, you sometimes have to make a bigger mess to fully put everything into order? When you clean out a closet, you have to get everything out, sort it, determine what to keep and what to donate, and then put everything back. Things can appear to be in total disarray when actually they are being rightly ordered. This is one way that God works in our lives, and it is a mystery how his will unfolds for us. Life can look very messy when we are intent on orienting our lives to Christ, either for the first time or when we are working on a problem. Our old ways of doing things can appear like an unruly jumble of closet items, all piled up around us. We can be tempted to quit working and go back to what is comfortable, although disordered. But Jesus will create peace if we continue to order our lives toward him. He is Emmanuel, God-with-Us. In the end, he will live with us forever and our lives will be perfectly ordered to him; our unity will be perfect: “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.’ And he who was seated on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new’” (Revelation 21:3-5).

Conversing with Christ: My Jesus, sometimes this life seems in disarray. I see a tangle of knots that are issues and problems in my life and society and I can get discouraged. Give me the courage to order my days in your peace when life is messy and help me look forward to the time when you will make all things new.

Resolution: Lord, today by your grace I will pray a rosary to Mary under the title of Our Lady, Undoer of Knots, asking her to help untangle an issue or mess in my life or in society.

Reflection:

"Doesn't Scripture say that the Christ is a descendant of David and from Bethlehem, the city of David?" John 7:42

The Scripture speaks of signs...what to expect. Most often we take them literally. We live by labels and the dictates of society. Sadly we fail to see that life is a mystery. Things happen which we could not understand. When it does we fall back on understanding literally what was written. Have we ever thought that God is God? He does not need to explain Himself to us. "I Am Who Am." The great "I Am" works in ways so much different from ours. We may not see it but He is true to His word. We cannot put God in a box. Neither can we do the same with life. Our faith has to transcend signs. We simply must believe that our Father is taking good care of us every microsecond of the day.

REFLECTION

During his time, Jesus encountered many people who changed their ways because of his teachings and examples. Silenced and dumbfounded by his great wisdom, many accepted his great authority as divine.

Challenged by Jesus, those who accepted and recognized him as "the One" promised to establish the Kingdom of God, in whatsoever way they understood it. They were gradually molded and came to understand his love more deeply. However, pride blocked this offer of peace and love. It betrayed the truth and schemed to work against what was good and true. That was why the prophets who spoke the truth about the Messiah were killed. That was why Jesus was betrayed. It also happened to his apostles, who had witnessed the Gospel of Jesus.

Today as in the past, the "Culture of Death," as Pope John Paul II called it, opposes all that the "Culture of Life" offers. Many will be deceived. That is why the followers of Christ must be unrelenting and vigilant in proclaiming what the Lenten season celebrates – the Love of God and His desire that we "turn from sin and believe in the Gospel."

REFLECTION

The Gospel today has Jesus also caught up in controversy. The people in the crowd are divided, some thinking him to be the prophet or even the Messiah, others denying he is either, some even in favor of his arrest. Nicodemus, a Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin, who secretly became a disciple of Jesus, openly defends him, asserting that the law allows no one to be condemned without the facts having been established and without the accused being given a hearing. Nicodemus's colleagues, dismiss his legal advice with smothering ridicule.

Jesus and Jeremiah are alike in several ways. Each is a prophet sent by God. Each preaches the truth as God wants it preached. Each enjoys a close relationship with God. Each turns to God in prayer when difficulties and problems arise. But it is here that Jesus and Jeremiah differ completely from each other - in their prayer. In the first reading, Jeremiah prays that God will take revenge on his enemies and that he be allowed to look on when God's vengeance consumes his enemies. Jesus will pray-and in this he is being true to his teaching-Jesus will pray for those who are crucifying him. This is the great difference between the two testaments. Jesus here brings Jewish Law to fulfillment. The desire for vengeance against an enemy is to be replaced by love for the enemy. The law of love is to dominate Christian thinking and behavior