Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ Sáu Tuần 13 Thường Niên

 Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ Sáu Tuần 13 Thường Niên

Đoạn Tin Mừng hôm nay đoạn cho chúng ta thấy được niềm hy vọng, vì Chúa Giêsu đến để kêu gọi và cứu chữa những con người tội lỗi. Người thu thuế Mathêô chắc chắn đã có thấu hiểu đưoơc về sự vô nghĩa của việc tích lũy của cải vật chất. Và vì thế ông đã từ bỏ tất cả để chạy theo và nghe những lời Chúa Giêsu giảng dạy.  Tất cả của cải vật chất trên thế giới và sự đam mê của chúng sẽ không thể đáp ứng cho con người chúng ta. Chỉ có Chúa Giêsu, Con Thiên Chúa là vị cứu tinh của thế giới mới có thể đem lại chúng ta những niềm vui và hạnh phúc nước trời.            Lạy Chúa Giêsu, là Đấng Cứu Thế của chúng con, xin Chúa, sưởi ấm tâm hồn của chúng con với tình yêu vị tha của Chúa. Vì tâm hồn của chúng con đang mang đầy tội lỗi; Xin tẩy sạch chúng con bằng máu quý báu của Chúa. Va xin lấp đầy tâm hồn của chúng con với sự hiện diện của Chúa Thánh Thần.  Lạy Chúa Giêsu,  tâm hồn của chúng con là của Chúa; Xin Chúa hãy chiếm hữu tâm hồn chúng con và chỉ có Chúa mới là sở hữu tâm hồn con mà thôi.

 

Reflection:
Today gospel passage gives us hope. Jesus comes to save sinners. The tax collector Matthew must have experienced the meaninglessness of accumulating riches, exploiting others, etc.  He must also have resolved to amend his ways after listening to Jesus preach. The world and all its allurements cannot satisfy man. Only Jesus, Son of God and saviour of the world, can.

            Do we believe this?  Have you finally realized this? If you are still thinking that the world can give you happiness, true happiness, Jesus is coming to you and inviting you to change your mentality. Do not be like the Pharisees who were self-righteous and who looked down on others. Jesus is willing to dine with us even if we are sinners. Are we interested in dining with him or do we prefer the company of the devil? 

 

Friday 13^th ordinary time

Opening Prayer: Lord, you nourish me with your words in Scripture, and with your body when I answer your invitation to come to your banquet table. Never stop calling me to follow you, and give me the grace to walk in your ways, with the help of your Holy Spirit. 

Encountering Christ:

1.      Seeing a Man: When the penetrating gaze of Jesus fell upon Matthew, the Lord saw a man. Instead of perceiving Matthew as the object of derision for the role he played in society, Jesus saw the man first and foremost as a reflection of himself, created in his image and likeness. Man’s first sin in the garden had surely tarnished this reflection, but neither that original sin, nor any subsequent sin committed by this particular man, diminished the incredible dignity that Matthew enjoyed as a child of God. Matthew had used his free will, granted by our loving God and Father, to side with the Roman authorities against the Jews, the chosen people into which he was born. But Our Lord also gave him, and gives us, a chance to turn his back on his former life and follow Christ, perfecting that will. “By free will one shapes one's own life. Human freedom is a force for growth and maturity in truth and goodness; it attains its perfection when directed toward God, our beatitude” (CCC 1731).

2.      Seeing a Problem: Jesus’ invitation to Matthew, a seemingly simple “Follow me,” was anything but simple. Adding the despised tax collector to his band of followers would have immediately sowed discord among the rest of the disciples. Many of them would surely see a problem with this new addition. We can imagine what they might have been thinking, or even declaring aloud: “Lord, not him!” Today, we may be preparing for our weekend and hoping to get together with family or friends. How will we respond if we find a stranger in our company? What if this stranger has a reputation? One one hand, Jesus does tell us to be “shrewd as serpents,” but he also implores us to be “harmless as doves” (Matthew 10:16). Furthermore, although we must always speak the truth in charity regarding behaviors we witness, Scripture frequently urges us not to judge others, leaving judgment to Our Lord (Matthew 7:1, Luke 6:37, and Romans 2:1-2).

3.      The Master’s Plan: Jesus knew exactly what he was doing when he called Matthew. His reasons soon became quite clear, at the “breaking of bread” that evening. The religious authorities, convinced of their superiority, took the opportunity to test Our Lord. Placing themselves above the sinners present at the dinner, they endeavored to have Jesus admit that the worth of the individual, and thus the degree to which the individual is worthy of attention, is somehow related to his or her behavior. They failed to acknowledge that they had misunderstood the God of Israel, the object of their intense study. They should, instead, have been studying this man right in front of them to witness how he was fulfilling the law. Jesus, always the teacher, reminded them, and reminds us, how we can draw near to God: “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.”

Conversing with Christ: Jesus, thank you for calling men of all kinds to follow you, especially those to whom I can relate. You show me with your example that you not only desire mercy, but you freely extend mercy to sinners who return to you. Let me never think that any sin is worth distancing myself from you; on the contrary, grant me the grace to seek you often in your sacrament of Reconciliation.

Resolution: Lord, today by your grace I will pray the Divine Mercy chaplet, offering each decade for somebody whom I find myself judging.

 

REFLECTION 2017

     There are two key points we could consider from the Gospel reading today.

     The first is how Matthew, the tax collector, was called by Jesus. Walking by the custom-house, Jesus sees Matthew, a tax collector, Jesus simply tells him, "Follow me!" and, without any hesitation or thought, Matthew "got up [from his seat at the custom-house] and followed him."

     Matthew's response was one of great generosity and trust in Jesus: what did Matthew know about Jesus? What kind of a man was Matthew? Except that he was named among the Twelve, there is nothing more about Matthew in the Gospels. Matthew wrote the first Gospel which was written in Aramaic. Tradition says Matthew preached in Persia and Ethiopia. He was martyred in Ethiopia.

     The second key point was Jesus' reiteration of his mission in life, "Healthy people do not need a doctor, but sick people do... I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

     This was a simplified statement of his mission, as compared to what he had read and affirmed from the prophet Isaiah, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me. He has anointed me to bring good news to the poor, to proclaim liberty to captives and new sight to the blind; to free the oppressed and announce the Lord's year of mercy." "Today these prophetic words come true even as you listen." (Lk 4:18- 19, 21)

     Hence, we see Jesus eating with tax collectors and sinners; we see him forgiving sin; we hear him give the parable of the Prodigal Son and the Merciful Father. We see him promising heaven to the good thief and praising the humility and faith of the publican in his parable.

     We thank the Lord for his loving mercy for all of us, sinners that we are.

 

Reflection:
“Come to me all you that labour and are burdened, and I will give you rest”. This quotation from Matthew's Gospel, chosen for today’s Alleluia verse, has been described as “the sweetest verse in Scripture.” Although this verse occurs in a later Chapter, the Gospel passage we read today illustrate how Jesus looks for and chooses those who labour and are burdened.

            As a tax-collector, Mathew was despised and marginalized, and the friends whom he could invite to dinner in his home were tax-collectors and those whom religious leaders looked down upon as “sinners” — ordinary hard-working people who did not know the Law as the scholars did. These religious leaders presumed that the people were not capable of living according to it.

            In spite of what the leaders thought, these poor people were probably living lives of quiet desperation, and striving to live as decently as possible. They came together in Matthew’s house to be with Jesus and would have felt something of the comfort of his presence and acceptance.

            Jesus, when we are burdened by the cares and worries of life and wonder where we can find God, draw us to Yourself for spiritual rest and consolation.