Suy niệm Tin Mừng thứ Hai tuần thứ Ba Mùa Chay

Suy niệm Tin Mừng thứ Hai tuần thứ Ba Mùa Chay

Qua bài tin mừng chúng ta thấy Chúa Giêsu đã không ngần ngại quở trách lòng chai đá, tội lỗi cũng như sự thờ ơ và vô tín của người Do Thái, trong khi người Do Thái xúc phạm đến Chúa nơi quê Ngài, vì họ đã mù quáng không nhìn thấy lòng thương xót của Thiên Chúa và kế hoạch cứu chuộc cho tất cả mọi dân tộc. Lời cảnh báo và sự phán đoán của Chúa Giêsu đã làm cho dân Do Thái  gây ra sự thù địch với Ngài.

            Chúa Giêsu ban ơn chữa lành và tha thứ cho tất cả những người khiêm tốn biết xin lòng thương xót của Ngài và giúp đỡ, Chúa sẵn sàng giải phóng chúng ta mọi thói quen tội lỗi và mọi cách có hại liên quan đến người chung quanh của chúng ta, nếu chúng ta cho phép Chúa tẩy rửa và chữa lành chúng ta. Nếu chúng ta muốn đồng hành và theo sát trong sự tự do và phát triển trong tình yêu và sự thánh thiện, thì chúng ta phải biết khiêm tốn,  phải từ bỏ con đường tội lỗi của chúng ta và sống the sự hướng dẫn của Chúa Kitô.

    "Lạy Chúa Giêsu, xin dạy chúng con biết nhanh chóng từ bỏ tội lỗi và những thú vui tội lỗi trong cuộc sống của chúng con hoàn toàn và biết sống làm theo ý muốn của Chúa."

 

REFLECTION Monday third week of Lent Gospel Reading: Luke 4:24-30

            When Jesus proclaimed the good news of God's kingdom to his own people, he did not hesitate to confront them with their sin of indifference and unbelief. He startled his listeners in the synagogue at Nazareth with a seeming rebuke that no prophet or servant of God can receive honor among his own people. He then angered them when he complimented the Gentiles who seemed to have shown more faith in God than the "chosen ones" of Israel. The Jews regarded the unbelieving Gentiles as "fuel for the fires of hell." Jesus' praise for "outsiders" offended the ears of his own people because they were blind-sighted to God's mercy and plan of redemption for all nations. The word of warning and judgment spoken by Jesus was met with hostility by his own people. They forcibly threw him out of the town and would have done him harm had he not stopped them.

            The Lord Jesus offers healing and pardon to all who humbly ask for his mercy and help. He will set us free from every sinful habit and every harmful way of relating to our neighbor, if we allow him to cleanse and heal us. If we want to walk in freedom and grow in love and holiness, then we must humbly renounce our sinful ways and submit to Christ's instruction and healing for our lives. Scripture tells us that the Lord disciplines us for our good that we may share his holiness (Hebrews 12:10). Do you want the Lord Jesus to set you free from every sinful pattern and to make you whole and well again? Ask him to show you the way to walk in his love and truth.

            "Lord Jesus, teach me to love your ways that I may be quick to renounce sin and wilfulness in my life. Make me whole and clean again that I may I delight to do your will."

 

Monday 3rdd week of Lent

Opening Prayer: Dear Jesus, I want to encounter you as I read this story of your preaching. You were courageous in speaking the truth, and you wanted your listeners to wake up and change. Instead, they let themselves get angry with you and turned against you. Lord, may I never turn against you. Allow your words to penetrate my soul and bring about a change of heart in me. 

Encountering Christ:

1.      No Prophet Is Accepted in His Native Place: Objectively, Jesus is the most loveable person there ever was or will be. But he encountered many people, even those from his hometown, who rejected him. In this passage, they rejected Jesus because he was too familiar. They assumed they knew him well, and their partial knowledge blinded them to the greater truth that the Messiah was in their midst. It is pride that prompts us to jump to conclusions and judge rashly. The Messiah is in our midst every day. May our hearts be open and docile to his promptings, not hardened by our pride. 

2.      They Rose up and Drove Him Out: The movement of the angry mob of people in the synagogue is a paradigm for sin—an image of what happens in our lives every time we turn away from God due to our own pride, vanity, or sensuality. We can get swept up by the “angry mob” (temptation) and purposely push Jesus away by sinning outright, or we might simply “go along with the crowd” and reject Jesus by our complacency or distraction. To keep grace alive in our souls, we have to resist the lure of angry mobs. We have to set ourselves apart from much of contemporary thought and take the narrow path his disciples took, sometimes even lamenting, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” (John 6:68).

3.      They Seek to Hurl Him Down Headlong: Did Jesus have the power to escape his enemies whenever he wanted to? He most certainly did. In this passage, Jesus “passed through the midst” of those intent on killing him, completely in control of his destiny. John, whose writing emphasizes Jesus’ divinity, told us also that when it was his time to give his life during his Passion, Jesus did so voluntarily: “No one takes my life from me, but I lay it down of myself” (John 10:18). Jesus, in His humanity, suffered and died, but in his divinity made his sacrificial offering for us from the depths of his heart, of his own holy will. 

Conversing with Christ: Jesus, help me to enter into the mystery of your Passion, the greatest mystery of your life and of history, through the words of today’s Gospel. You were utterly rejected by many of those you came to save. You came to love humanity, and they rose up in hatred. You came because your anger with our sin was obliterated by your mercy, but you faced only unforgiving anger from those who heard your words. Help me to answer you differently, full of love and humility, seeking to follow you.

Resolution: Lord, today by your grace I will take a moment to gaze on the crucifix and pray, offering my love to you.

REFLECTION on 2 Kings 5:1-15

The miraculous healing of Naaman would not have taken place if not for the people who were involved leading to it. These include the Israelite servant girl, Naaman's wife, Naaman’s master, the king of Syria, the king of Israel, Naaman’s servants and the prophet Elisha. Each had a role to play.

Of these, two particularly stand out because, although they played a very significant role, in the eyes of the world, they were insignificant people. These are the Israelite servant girl who first mentioned the prophet Elisha to her master’s wife, and Naaman’s servants, who appealed to Naaman to do as the prophet advised. '

  We see another excellent example of this in the Gospel passage. To most people in Nazareth, the place where he was brought up, Jesus, the Son of God is seen as someone insignificant because he was merely the son of Joseph, the carpenter. To God, Jesus is the cornerstone, the essential key to His whole plan of salvation. As Christians, although we may not be seen as important by the world, we have to be aware that we too are significant in God's eyes. Just as He used the young Israelite girl or Naaman's servants, He wants to use us in small but significant ways to touch the lives of others. Let us be open to His promoting and be ready to be used by Him today.