Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ Ba Tuần 13 Thường niện
Đoạn Tin Mừng của Thánh
Mathêô hôm nay rất quang trọng vì có chủ yếu là diễn
tả một câu chuyện thật kỳ
diệu, để cho chúng ta thấy sức mạnh và
quyền năng của Chúa Giêsu, thậm
chí Ngài có quyền trên cả vũ trụ và thiên nhiên. Tuy nhiên,
trong Tin Mừng này
nói nên cho chúng ta biết được là những đòi hỏi nơi mỗi người chúng ta nếu
chúng ta thưc sụ muốn theo và làm môn đệ của Chúa Giêsu. Vì như chúng ta thấy, đoạn khởi đầu bài Tin Mừng là
các môn đệ đã theo lên một chiếc thuyền theo
sau Chúa Giêsu. Khi Chúa Giêsu đã lên thuyền và vào trong
khoang thuyền, Ngài đã làm khoang thuyền này trở nên một chỗ cho chúng ta có thể đến
với Ngài qua môn đệ, và qua việc
từ bỏ mọi thứ mà theo Ngài.
Câu chuyện Tin Mừng hôm nay sẽ trở trở thành một dụ ngôn cho chúng ta thấy về cuộc sống trong Giáo Hội trong sự hiệp nhất với Chúa
Giêsu. Các cơn bão dữ dội là một biểu tượng của những khó khăn, những nguy hiểm về sự ngăn cấn
và bắt đạo và thậm chí cả
những vụ bê bối của các giáo sĩ một cách nghiêm trọng và đang làm đau khổ và
ảnh hưởng đến
Giáo Hội trên thế giới. Đối mặt với tội lỗi ngay
bên trong hội thánh, chúng ta có thể cảm nhận
như thấy rằng Thiên
Chúa đang ngủ trong con thuyền hội thánh, mà Ngài đã bỏ rơi chúng ta. Như thế, chúng ta cần phải cầu nguyện cho hội thánh, như Chúa Giêsu nói chúng ta cần phải cầu nguyện với lòng can đảm và trong đức tin. Lạy Chúa, trong những
thời gian khó
khăn và thử thách, Xin
Chúa chúc lành cho
chúng con và tất cả các thành viên của Giáo Hội có một lòng can đảm vững
mạnh hơn và một đức
tin sâu sắc hơn.
Reflection
from Jesuit
This passage from Matthew’s Gospel
is a fine example of the pedagogical techniques of the Evangelists. They weave
together different types of material and so educate us to look into the deeper
meanings of the Gospel and consequently into the deeper meaning which we can
derive from or give to things that occur in our own lives.
This
passage from Matthew is essentially and primarily a miracle story, showing the
power of Jesus even over nature. However, within the Gospel it is set after a
number of stories about following Jesus, about discipleship. So the passage
begins with Jesus getting into a boat and the disciples following him. As Jesus
gets into the boat he makes it a place where we can be with him through
discipleship, through following him.
The
story then becomes a parable of life in the Church in union with Jesus. The
violent storm is a symbol of the difficulties, dangers and even scandals which
seriously and grievously affect the Church in the world. Facing the sinful side
of the church we may often feel that God is asleep, that he has abandoned us.
Then we must pray, as Jesus says, with courage and faith.
Lord, in times of difficulties,
bless us and all members of the Church with greater courage and a deep faith
Tuesday 13th Ordinary Time
Opening Prayer: Lord,
I come to you today to give you thanks for all the blessings in my life. Please
help me to remember that, no matter how dark this life gets for me, you are
always in my boat and always ready to restore calm in my heart.
Encountering Christ:
1.
In the Darkest Times, Pray: “Lord, save us! We are perishing!” comes from Psalm
130 and is a de profundis prayer: “Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord.
Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my
supplications” (v. 1-2). Psalm 130 is the official prayer of the Church for the
Holy Souls in Purgatory. It is the prayer offered at the darkest times of our
lives, when we feel completely powerless to help ourselves. Jesus sleeping in
the midst of a storm is a very powerful image of God’s sovereignty over even
the darkest times in our lives. St. Therese of Lisieux used to meditate on this
passage in times of inner confusion or darkness. Yet she wouldn’t wake the
Lord. For her, it was enough just to sit beside him as he slept.
2.
Yet You Are There: Notice that Jesus said “O you of little faith.” These men
had faith, but it was just too little. Their faith, like ours, grows only when
it is tested. The Father knows what we need even before we ask. Jesus is always
with the Father, and that reality is the key to peace in the storms of life. Do
we believe that the Father will not try us beyond our strength? Do we believe
that faith the size of a mustard seed can move mountains? Lord, please increase
our faith.
3.
The Power of Jesus: Just before this passage, in Matthew 8, Jesus cleansed a
leper, healed a centurion’s servant, and healed many at the house of Peter. He
was truly a physical healer. Here, we also saw his power over nature; even the
winds and the seas obeyed him. Yet, all these healings pale in comparison to
his power to heal us from the worst affliction of all and the only one that
matters: sin. Jesus came to take away sin by becoming sin and crucifying it on
the cross, in his very person. He paid a price we couldn’t pay for our sins
that he didn’t commit. There is no greater love–and no greater power–than the
power of Jesus Christ, the only son of God. The Gospels of Mark (4) and Luke
(8) also tell their version of this calming of the storm at sea. In his famous
painting of “The Storm on the Sea of Galilee,” Rembrandt depicted this scene in
all its terror. When we imagine ourselves in the scene, how do we react?
Conversing with
Christ: Lord, I know you are
with me in all the storms of my life. I know that you will never leave me
orphaned. Help me to cry out to you in desperate times. Lord, I believe.
Increase my faith.
Resolution: Lord, today by your grace I will pray with Psalm
130 and, if possible, commit it to memory.
Meditation:
How can we fight fear
with faith? Jesus' sleeping presence on the storm-tossed sea reveals the
sleeping faith of his disciples (Matthew 8:25). They feared for their lives
even though their Lord and Master was with them in the boat. They were asleep
to Christ while he was present to them in their hour of need.
Why are you afraid?
The Lord is ever present
to us. And in our time of testing he asks the same question: Why are
you afraid? Have you no faith (Matthew 8:26)? Do you recognize the
Lord's presence with you, especially when you meet the storms of adversity,
sorrow, and temptation? Whenever we encounter trouble, the Lord Jesus is there
with the same reassuring message: "It is I, do not be
afraid" (Matthew 14:27).
Faith nourished with the
word of God
What are the
characteristics of faith and how can we grow in it? Faith is an entirely free
gift that God makes to us. Believing is only possible by grace and the help of
the Holy Spirit, who moves the heart and who opens the eyes of the mind to
understand and accept the truth which God has revealed to us. Faith enables us
to relate to God rightly and confidently, with trust and reliance, by believing
and adhering to his word, because he is utterly reliable and trustworthy. If we
want to live, grow, and persevere in faith, then it must be nourished with the
word of God.
Let the love of Christ
rule your heart and mind
Fear does not need to
cripple us from taking right action or rob us of our trust and reliance on God.
Courage working with faith enables us to embrace God's word of truth and love
with confidence and to act on it with firm hope in God's promises. The love of
God strengthens us in our faith and trust in him and enables us to act with
justice and kindness towards our neighbor even in the face of opposition or
harm. Do you allow the love of Jesus Christ to rule in your heart and mind, and
to move your will to choose what is good in accordance with his will?
"Lord Jesus,
increase my faith in your redeeming love and power that I may always recognize
your abiding presence with me. Give me courage and strength to face every
difficulty, trial, and temptation with trust in your saving help and guiding
presence."
Epriest 2019
Introductory Prayer: Lord, I come to you in this meditation, ready to do whatever
it is you ask. Left to myself, I often take the easy and convenient path, yet I
know the way of a Christian is through the narrow gate. In you, I find the
reason to abandon the easy path for a more perfect mission of love. I’m ready
to learn the meaning of your command: “Follow me.”
Petition: Lord, grant me the grace of a mature faith.
1. God’s Silence, Man’s Faith: We can imagine ourselves in the place of the apostles, in
this poor boat tossed by the turbulent waves. The situation instantly speaks to
our worst of fears; yet Jesus sleeps. Our temptation is to wake him…and too
many souls do so through complaining incessantly, despairing attitudes,
withdrawing from prayer, or unloading anger on others. When in a moment of
trial we find life is no longer under our complete control, the option of
meltdown is always at hand. But we mustn’t take that route; instead we must
contemplate the power that emanates from the sleeping Christ. Trials are
intended by God to draw us closer to him and increase our dependence on him. We
have to live from faith; otherwise all that reigns is fear, insecurity and
bitterness. The “Silence of Christ” is powerful. To pass over its meaning
lightly is to abandon some of the deepest lessons of Christ’s heart. The
“Silence of Christ” must teach us.
2. The “Silence of Christ” Speaks to
Our Faith: What is Christ’s sleep like? As a
young mother, Mary watched Jesus sleep many times. Archbishop Martinez writes:
“Jesus was exceedingly beautiful
when he spoke the words of eternal life, accomplished wonders, looked with
love, pardoned with mercy and caressed with tenderness. But I would like to
have seen him while he was sleeping because I could have contemplated him to my
heart’s content, without the fascination of his gaze distracting me, without
the perfection of his beauty and the glory of his splendor dazzling my eyes and
enrapturing my soul. The beauty of Jesus awake is far too great for my
smallness. Who could support it? I felt it more suited to me veiled by sleep,
as the glory of the sun is more adapted to my eyes when I look at it through a
translucent lens” (When Jesus Sleeps, p.15).
May I trust the power of Christ just
as much when he chooses not to act as when he does.
3. God’s Eternal Pedagogy: Water, a boat, the apostles and Christ… this scene repeats
itself over and over again in the Gospel. Water is a symbol of the experiences
of life taken on a human level; the boat is the experience of faith on a
supernatural level -- it is our life with Christ. Christ’s message is that we
can never let our experiences of life overwhelm our experience of faith. We
have to live not from the surface level of impressions of the moment, but from
the deep channel of faith that reveals the action of God, the wisdom of his
Providence and the ultimate destiny of eternity. Faith is what reveals Christ’s
presence in our boat; faith is what makes us believe that every wave and wind
gust are blessed invitations to confide in the One who rules all. Faith is what
permits God to console our hearts, calm our fears and preserve our joy in the
midst of problems and difficulties that may take months or years to run their
course.
Conversation with Christ: Lord, I know belief makes me vulnerable. But I know that I
will not know your love if I do not believe that you can make me happier than I
can be by myself. If I do not face the enemies of my soul and my mission and
abandon myself to your grace, I will not know your victory.
Resolution: Today I will take a problem and, with complete trust and
confidence in him, leave it totally in God’s hands.
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