Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ Sáu Tuần thứ 4 Mùa Chay

 Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ Sáu Tuần thứ 4 Mùa Chay

Qua bài Tin Mừng hôm nay, chúng ta thấy Chúa Jêsus đang gặp nguy hiểm với tính mạng vì các nhà lãnh đạo tôn giáo người Do Thái đang tìm kiếm bắt Chúa Giêsu và muốn vô hiệu hóa những việc Chúa dạy. Vì trong thời Chúa Giêsu, Ngài đã thực hành những công việc trong xã hội như một nhà hoạt động xã hội hay là một Người có tư tưởng muốn cải cách và đổi mới xã hội trong thời đại và xã hội của chúng ta hôm nay: tất nhiên, những người cầm quyền cảm thấy bị đe doạ và muốn ngăn chặn những người phản đối và làm mất ảnh hưởng và quyền lợi cá nhân của họ.

Chúa Jêsus đã lên tiếng chống lại những luật lệ, hà khắc, khắt khe và những quy luật trong Do Thái giáo và xã hội. Chúa Jêsus đã lên tiếng chống lại những kiểu lãnh đạo độc tài, bè nhóm chiếm ưu thế, những bè nhóm lãnh đạo quyền lực và củng cố uy tín hơn là chú ý đến việc chăm sóc và phục vụ nhân dân.Chúa Jêsus đã bị những kẻ cầm quyền, nhưng không dám hành động: "Họ muốn bắt Ngài, nhưng chẳng có ai dám tra tay bắt Ngài; vì giờ của Ngài chưa đến." Các nhà lãnh đạo Do Thái quá lo sợ vì họ biết rằng rất nhiều người đã nghe và tin theo Ngài. (Jn 7:30)

Xin Chúa ban cho chúng con một tâm hồn mở rộng để nhận biết Chúa, để chúng con có thể thật lòng yêu Chúa, và vì yêu mến Chúa mà chúng con có thể hoàn toàn biết sẵn sằng phục vụ Chúa, Vì Chúa đã đem đến cho chúng con sự tự do hoàn hảo, trong Đức Giêsu Kitô,

REFLECTION Friday 4th week of Lent

Jesus was in danger because the leaders of the Jews wanted to arrest and neutralize him. Jesus was acting in his day and society like an activist or reformer in our day and society: of course, those in power felt threatened and wished to stifle their protests and influence.

oke up against the inconsiderate rules and regulations of Jewish religious society; Jesus spoke up against the type of leadership which prevailed, a leadership of power and prestige, rather than of care and service.

Jesus was targeted by those in power yet they could not act: "They would have arrested him, but no one laid hands on him because his time had not yet come." Also the leaders feared that so many listened to him and followed him.

Do we see novelty in the Gospel message? How relevant is the Gospel message in our modern world?

Friday after4th week of Lent

Opening Prayer: Jesus, teach me how to pray (Luke 11:1). Holy Spirit, come and help me understand your word. Father, help me to know you through your Son.

Encountering Christ:

New Exodus: In this Gospel passage, Jesus was teaching in the Temple around the time of the feast of Tabernacles, which is a week of holy days observed by the Jewish people each autumn. They celebrated the harvest, made sacrifices to God, and commemorated their freedom from Egypt. They dwelled in tents or booths to recall when their ancestors wandered in the desert, waiting for deliverance into the Promised Land of Canaan. This ritual of Tabernacles, also called Sukkot, was one way the Jewish people entered into and experienced the historical event of the Exodus. Jesus would soon accomplish a new Exodus, delivering his people into the Promised Land of Heaven by his death and Resurrection. The Transfiguration introduced the idea of Jesus’ new Exodus: “And behold, two men were talking with him, Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure [Greek, exodus] which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem” (Luke 9:30-31). Peter was then moved by the Holy Spirit to proclaim a new feast of Tabernacles by building booths for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah (Luke 9:33). This was Jesus’ mission, the reason the Father sent him to Earth, to accomplish a new and greater Exodus: the salvation of the world.

One Like Us, Yet Divine: The Jewish people did not recognize Jesus’ Exodus mission, nor his divine origin. But they certainly thought they had him figured out. They “knew” who he was and where he came from. To them, he was just a poor boy from Nazareth: “‘Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?’ And they took offense at him” (Mark 6:3). These people could not accept Jesus as the Messiah because he was too much like them. In his divine love, Jesus took on flesh and became man in order to be like us in all things but sin: “Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery…Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people” (Hebrews 2:14-17). The Jewish people could not believe this was actually the divine Messiah, the anointed King of Israel. He was simply too common; he was too much like themselves. They could not comprehend how Jesus could be both God and man. St. Cyril of Alexandria wrote on the duality of Christ: “...the Word, by having united to himself hypostatically flesh animated by a rational soul, inexplicably and incomprehensibly became man.” With this statement, Cyril defined the hypostatic union: Jesus is fully man and yet fully God in a singular existence.

The imprint of the Father: The people could not understand Jesus because their minds were closed to the ways that God can work. They had God in a little box in their minds: “God works this way. He would never act in another way.” They did not recognize Jesus because he was different from what they expected. In short, they did not truly know the Father, so they could not recognize his Son. “Jesus said to [Thomas], ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.’ Philip said to him, ‘Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, “Show us the Father”? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?’” (John 14:6-10). When we come to know, love, and follow Jesus, he reveals the Father to us. Jesus is the “exact imprint” of the Father’s nature (Hebrews 1:3), the true imago Dei. The all-powerful, everlasting God became weak and mortal in order to introduce us to himself, that we might have life in him: “For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself” (John 5:26).

Conversing with Christ: Jesus, I am in awe of your glory and your incomprehensible love. You work in ways I cannot begin to understand. You gave up your glory in Heaven to become human like me to save me. You became flesh as a little child so I could imagine holding you in my arms. You come to me in the humble appearance of bread and wine each day so that I can hold you in my hands and in my body in order to become like you. Help me gratefully respond by being humble and small for others, as you are for me. Help me recognize the imago Dei, the image of God in myself through you.

Resolution: Lord, today by your grace I will pray a Glory Be slowly, giving due glory to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit both separately and together in the mystery of the Holy Trinity.

Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ Sáu Tuần thứ 4 Mùa Chay

Qua Bài Tin Mừng hôm nay, chúng ta được thấy một tranh luận giữa những người Do Thái về nguồn gốc của Chúa Giêsu Kitô. Ngài chưa bao giờ là học trò của một vị giáo sĩ Do Thái hay một trường nào, vì vậy, đâu là nguồn gốc học vấn và nguồn kiến thức của Ngài? Ngài đâu có đáng giá gì ? Làm thế nào mà Ngài có thể là một Đấng Thiên Sai (Messiah ) khi Ngài được sinh ra ở Belem (trong máng cỏ, hang lừa), lớn lên và trưởng thành ở làng Nazareth, một làng bé nhỏ không có gì là đáng nói? Làm thế nào mà Ngài có thể là Con Thiên Chúa khi cha mẹ ruột sinh ra Ngài là ông Giuse làm nghề thợ mộc và bà Maria?

Có chúng ta cũng chẳng khác gì hơn những người Do Thái, bởi vì chúng ta cũng có nhiều nghi ngờ về Chúa Giêsu Kitô. Nếu Ngài thực sự là Con Thiên Chúa, tại sao Ngài không giúp chúng ta? Tại sao những lời cầu nguyện của chúng ta không được Ngài đáp trả và ban cho chúng ta những gì chúng ta muốn? Tại sao trong cuộc sống của chúng ta lại có rất nhiều đau khổ ? còn kẻ thù của chúng ta thì thanh thản, có chức vụ cao, có tiền, có của??... Chúa Giêsu Kitô của chúng ta là ai? Có phải Ngài đến là chỉ để ban cho chúng ta hạnh phúc và những ước mơ vật chất mà chúng ta mong muốn?

Chúa Kitô muốn cho chúng ta một kinh nghiệm của hạnh phúc ở giữa những nỗi đau khổ, hòa bình ở giữa những xung đột, tình yêu ở trong những sự thù hằn. Nhưng những ân sủng và hồng ân đó sẽ mãi mãi bền lâu vì chúng thuộc về Đức Kitô, Con Thiên Chúa. Những gì là hạnh phúc, sung túc ở trần thế mà chúng ta muốn có ở trên cõi đời này có phải là niềm hạnh phúc thật và vĩnh cửu?

"Lạy Thiên Chúa hằng hữu, Chúa chính là ánh sáng của những tâm hồn mà biết Chúa, là niềm vui của những tấm lòng hay những trái tim biết yêu Chúa và là sức mạnh của những ý chí muốn phục vụ Chúa, Xin Chúa ban cho chúng con một tâm hồn mở rộng để nhận biết Chúa, để chúng con có thể thật lòng yêu Chúa, và vì yêu mến Chúa mà chúng con có thể hoàn toàn biết sẵn sằng phục vụ Chúa, Vì Chúa đã đem đến cho chúng con sự tự do hoàn hảo, trong Đức Giêsu Kitô, Chúa chúng ta. "(Thánh Augustinô)

REFLECTION

There is a discussion among the Jews about the origin of Christ. He has never been a pupil of the rabbis, so where is the source of his knowledge? Is he worth anything? How can he be the Messiah when he was born in Nazareth, an insignificant town? How can he be the Son of God when his parents are Joseph and Mary? We are not any different from the Jews because we, too, have many doubts about Christ. If he really is the Son of God, why doesn't he help me? Why are my prayers unanswered? Why are there a lot of suffering in my life?

Who is Jesus Christ for us? Is he there only to give us the happiness we want? Christ wants to give us an experience of happiness in the midst of woe, peace in the midst of conflict, love when there is enmity. These gifts last because they belong to Christ, the Son of God. What about the earthly happiness that we want – is this eternal?

REFLECTION

The Jews were already after Jesus, but still he went around his mission of teaching the people. He was so passionate with what he was doing that he did not mind if his life was in danger. All he knew was that he was doing the will of his Father. Some of the people who heard him recognized him. They knew his parents Joseph and Mary. They were surprised. They could not believe that the son of the carpenter could be the Messiah. Even though he was speaking with authority, they doubted the origin of his wisdom and miracles.

"A prophet is despised in his own country among his own relation and in his own house." (Mark 6:4) Jesus was amazed at the lack of faith among the people he knew, but he praised the faith of the centurion who did not doubt him – "In truth I tell you, no one in Israel have I found faith as great as this." (Mt. 8:10)

We can learn from the actions of the townspeople. They were quick to judge Jesus about his credibility. What standard did they use – his poor background? Just because he was the son of Joseph the carpenter? They did not know that he was sent by his Father in heaven, his source

REFLECTION

Our Lord's time of suffering and death had been planned by God. Jesus will suffer and die at the "appointed time." God's plan cannot be changed by men. The enemies of Jesus could not "lay a finger on him," could not arrest him unless he allowed them to. Jesus will suffer at the time set by God his Father. God is all-powerful. No man canfrustrate or change God's plan. However, Our Lord cooperates with God's plan. His relatives go to the Jewish festival of Booths. Jesus does not join them. Scripture narrates: "... he too went but as if in secret and not for all to see."

In the Gospels, in certain miracles he performed, Jesus cautioned those cured not to publicize the cures so as to avoid inciting his enemies to take action against him before the scheduled time of his suffering. Jesus gives us an example of cooperating with God's plan. God is our Father. He loves us. He takes care of us. At the same time, has given us a mind and abilities to cooperate, in our human way, with care for us. He wants us to do what is in our power to cooperate with him. For example, we pray that God will give good health. So, we have to choose well the food we eat. We practice moderation in food and drink. In modern times, it is generally recommended to have regular physical exercise to enjoy good health. For our spiritual health we pray to God to help us avoid sin and to do good. This means we should avoid the occasions of sin. These occasions of sin may be persons or things, which could lead us to strong temptations and sin. They also could be places where most people usually fall into serious sin. Our cooperation with God's care and protection requires that we avoid these occasions of sin.

God helps those who help themselves. While praying for and trusting in God's protection, we do our part to avoid sin and do good to others. When we ask God to help us do good to others, we must look for and create the opportunities for doing good.

Reflection:

All of us have experienced days when we don't feel like doing a task at hand because it seems such a drudgery. We'd rather do a shortcut or just forget about it. But then we also know that it is important to finish the job and we feel good when we complete it.

Jesus had been going around Palestine preaching the Good News. There were people who believed in his message and followed him. There were also others who did not believe and felt threatened by his message because they thought it would end the status quo and their comfortable positions. Jesus hesitated going up to Jerusalem (in Judea) because of the threats on his life. But because of his love for and obedience to his Father and his strong commitment to his mission, he entered Jerusalem and continued with his preaching, knowing full well that he would invite strong opposition from the Jews and earn their ire.

In the Temple court of Jerusalem, the center of life in the city, Jesus boldly proclaimed, "I have not come of myself; I was sent by the One who is true, and you don't know him. I know him for I come from him and he sent me." Jesus' intimacy with the Father gave him the courage and steadfastness to carry on with his mission and fulfill his Father's will. In the same way, we need to build an intimate relationship with Jesus and follow him. If we know Christ, then we'll also know the Father. And just as Jesus was sent by the Father, so does Jesus send each one of us to continue his mission of bringing the Good News to everyone.

Friday 4th week of Lent

“You know where I am from… But the one who sent me is true, and you do not know him.”

To know Jesus' native place is information, but to know Jesus himself is a revelation. Smart phones, Wi-Fi, internet connections can provide information but do not lead us to a deeper revelation of the Divine.

Jesus derived his identity from his relationship with his Father — a relationship he built on the awareness of his Father's abiding presence. How blessed are we if we too derive our identity from our relationship with Jesus! Now, during Lent, is a time for us consciously to experience the love of Christ crucified and to deepen our response to that passionate love.

Your love for us, Lord, we realize, is an experience and not information. We pray, Lord, that we may experience more of that love and let not our sinfulness blind us to your abounding love.