Suy Niệm Tin Mừng thứ Tư tuần 16 Thường Niên

 Suy Niệm Tin Mừng thứ Tư tuần 16 Thường Niên

Trong bài đọc một, Tiên tri-Jeremiah được thiện Chúa chỉ định và đặt tiên tri. Thiên Chúa "biết", "chuyên dụng", và "bổ nhiệm" ông làm tiên tri cho dân của Chúa. Ông Jeremiah đã cố từ chối và việc cớ rằng "Tôi không biết cách ăn nói; Tôi còn quá trẻ " đó là nỗ lực mà ông muống tránh thoát khỏi những khó khăn khị (bị) được gọi làm tiên tri. Ông Jeremiah biết là các tiên tri thường phải sống một cuộc sống cô đơn, thường bị khinh thường, bị chối bỏ và bị ngược đãi trong cuộc sống và có thể bị giết hại. Thiên Chúa chỉ đảm bảo cho Jeremiah là với lời hứa, "Ta ở với ngươi đẻ giải thoát cho ngươi."

Qua Phúc Âm, Chúa Giêsu nói với các môn đệ và dân chúng về dụ ngôn người gieo giống. Người gieo giống gieo hạt ở khắp mọi nơi trong ruộng của mình, nhưng không thể biết được những kết quả về việc gieo giống của mình. Một số lớn các hạt giống có thể bị lãng phí vì vương vãi trên những vùng đất cứng có hay đá sỏi.

Một số người trong chúng ta đã nói rằng Chúa Giêsu nói dụ ngôn này để khuyến khích những người theo Chúa. Ngài biết rằng, cũng giống như các Tiên Tri Ngày xưa và như Ngài, họ sẽ phải đối mặt với sự nhạo báng, bị chối bỏ và thậm chí bị bắt bớ giam cầm trong việc loan báo Tin Mừng. Có lúc, họ sẽ phải đối mặt với sự chán nản khi những gì họ gieo vãi dường như không có hiệu quả. Vì số lượng lớn hạt giống của họ gieo có thể bị lãng phí, nhưng sự thành công và sự phong phú của các hạt giống được đảm bảo.

Như chúng ta thấy trong thế giới của chúng ta đang sống, chúng ta đã chứng kiến quá nhiều việc gian ác, thù hận ngay trước mắt, vì vậy đó là nhiệm vụ của chúng ta là phải gieo những hạt giống tốt đó tình yêu và sự tha thứ. Bằng cách làm như vậy, chúng ta sẽ chứng minh được lòng trung thành của chúng ta đối với Thiên Chúa. Muốn được trung thành với Thiên Chúa chúng ta cần phải biết cố gắng để bắt chước sự tốt lành của Ngài, để nói với mọi người về sự hiện hữu của Ngài và chúng ta phải biết bảo vệ bênh vực những người thấp hèn và những người bị áp bức. Cũng giống như Chúa Giêsu, cho dù có nhiều nhà lãnh đạo tôn giáo và chính trị phản đối các việc tốt chúng ta làm, hay chúng ta gặp phải những sự đáp ứng không mấy tốt đẹp nơi mọi người, Chúng ta hãy bày tỏ sự tin tưởng rằng Thiên Chúa sẽ thấy sự chiến thắng trong vương quốc của Ngài và những chiến công của chúng ta trong sự chiến thắng đó. Lạy Chúa, giúp chúng con trung thành trong viện loan báo Tin Mừng.

Reflection Wednesday 16th Ordinary Time

Unless someone is called by God and sent as God's prophet to the people of the Covenant, there is no reason why they should listen to him. So, Jeremiah establishes his credentials as a prophet. That is, God “knew”, “dedicated”, and “appointed” him to be “a prophet to the nations”. Jeremiah’s excuse that “I do not know how to speak; I am too young” is an attempt to escape the difficulties of the prophetic call. Jeremiah knew the prophets lead a lonely life, are frequently scorned, often persecuted and rejected during their lives. Jeremiah’s only assurance is God’s promise, “I am with you to deliver you.” In the Gospel, Jesus preaches the parable of the sower. The sower casts the seeds everywhere in the field, but is unable to tell what may be the result of his sowing. A great number of seed may seem wasted. Bible commentators say that Jesus told this parable to encourage his followers. He knew that, like him, they will face ridicule, rejection and even persecution when proclaiming the Good News. They will face discouragement when what they sow does not seem to bear fruit. Yes, a great number of seed may seem wasted, yet the success and abundance of the seed is assured. There is so much evil, and vengeance in the world, so it is our duty to sow seeds of goodness, love and forgiveness. By doing so, we show our faithfulness to our God. To be faithful to God is to try to imitate his goodness, to tell people about his existence and to defend the oppressed and the lowly. Despite much opposition from religious and political leaders, and poor response from the people, Jesus expresses confidence that God will see to the triumph of his kingdom and of its proclamation. Lord, help me faithfully proclaim the Good News.

Wednesday 16th Ordinary Time

Opening Prayer: Mother Mary, help me see your Son, Our Lord Jesus, with new eyes, and help me hear him speaking these parables. Help me understand how these parables apply to my life. Mother, I want to love Jesus with all my heart. It is easy to let the busyness of life and the general attitudes of people around me distract me from spending time with him. Please take me by the hand and guide me to him. Intercede for me, please, that I grow in faith, hope, and love to be more and more who your Son calls me to be.

Encountering Christ:

1. A Large Crowd Gathered: So many people gathered to hear Jesus speak that he had to leave the place where he was seated and teach from a boat. People probably came for many reasons. Some had heard of his teachings and wanted to hear more. Others had seen him heal someone or cast out a demon and wanted to know more about him. It may be that some were there because a family member or a friend brought them. Others may have just seen a crowd gathering and joined the group because they were curious. Perhaps some were skeptical and came to find things they could report to the authorities. There is no simple answer as to why people sought out Jesus. What do we hope for in our daily encounters with Christ? Today, we can reflect on our disposition as we spend this time with Jesus in prayer.

2. He Spoke in Parables: St. Matthew’s Gospel presents Jesus’ teaching as very straightforward in Chapters 5-7. For example, “…everyone who grows angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment…” (Matthew 5:22). In these verses, Jesus spoke in parables and spoke at length. Parables are not simple statements of facts, black and white instructions, but invitations to reflect and mull things over. This takes time and interior recollection. It takes an interior disposition to want to be touched with a personal application of the truth Jesus presents. Presenting his teaching in parables is a way Jesus honors our freedom to assent in faith. He doesn’t “coerce” us by the weight of irrefutable proof. We have to choose him. We are called to allow Jesus to shape us by his word, to let the Word of God change our lives.

3. What Kind of Soil: We can look at the rocky, shallow, and rich soil responses to Jesus’ message by different individuals. However, we can also use these references to the soil as we consider our lives. St. Thomas Aquinas is credited with the saying, “Grace builds on nature.” In other words, our spiritual life doesn’t grow in isolation but is built on the foundation of self-knowledge, emotional maturity, psychological health, virtue, and prayer. St. Irenaeus said, “The glory of God is man fully alive.” Our spiritual life is not separate from all the other aspects of our life. We need to seek out an integral spiritual, apostolic, intellectual, and human formation. We need to develop our character, our gifts, our mental and emotional health, and, yes, our physical health to be all that God created us to be and so that we can glorify him in every aspect of our lives. Perhaps we see the rocky soil as those areas where we struggle to accept the cross of Christ. The shallow soil may be an area where we fail to persevere in living the faith deeply. We see evidence of rich soil where we notice growth and fruit, and we thank God for these great blessings.

Conversing with Christ: Jesus, your parables challenge me to see my life in new ways and to make changes so that my life is a more faithful reflection of yours. Lord, help me to “walk my talk.” Let me see those areas where I need to grow so that I am not only growing in my knowledge of the faith but that I am more the person you created me to be in all areas of my life.

Resolution: Lord, today, by your grace, I will pay attention to my behaviors so that at the end of the day, I can determine whether there is a particular area in which I need to develop virtue, emotional maturity, or human skills to support my spiritual life.

Reflection Wednesday 16th Ordinary Time

In the Gospel, Jesus preaches the parable of the sower. The sower casts the seeds everywhere in the field, but is unable to tell what may be the result of his sowing. A great number of seed may seem wasted. Bible commentators say that Jesus told this parable to encourage his followers. He knew that, like him, they will face ridicule, rejection and even persecution when proclaiming the Good News. They will face discouragement when what they sow does not seem to bear fruit. Yes, a great amount of seed may seem wasted, yet the success and abundance of the seed is assured.

There is so much evil, and vengeance in the world, so it is our duty to sow seeds of goodness, love and forgiveness. By doing so, we show our faithfulness to our God. To be faithful to God is to try to imitate his goodness, to tell people about his existence and to defend the oppressed and the lowly.

Despite much opposition from religious and political leaders, and poor response from the people, Jesus expresses confidence that God will see to the triumph of his kingdom and of its proclamation.

Lord, help me faithfully proclaim the Good News.

Opening Prayer: 2021

Lord Jesus, open my spiritual ears to hear your word. Grant me true freedom that welcomes you with a spirit ready to obey your promptings.

Encountering Christ:

1. Jesus’s Availability: During Jesus’s public life near the Sea of Galilee, he began to attract many followers. The large crowds were quick to find him and he attended to their needs, making himself available so that they would be fed, not only with food that nourishes the body but with his word that nourishes the spirit. Two thousand years later he continues to make himself available, in his word and in the Eucharist. We need only to have a heart like those who sought him out and stood along the shore to take in every word and accept his gift of “our daily bread.”

2. A Parable to Remember: Jesus used imagery that spoke to something very familiar in his followers’ lives— the sowing of seed. They could identify with the preparation of the land and all the elements that could work contrary to good cultivation of the seed. But the parable speaks to us today as well. Nature hasn’t changed. His words can still resonate in our twenty-first-century hearts. What are the thorns, the sun that scorches, or the rocky ground that threatens the life of Christ within us? How well do we cultivate the soil of our soul to receive the word of God?

3. Ears to Hear With: Jesus ended his parable saying, “Whoever has ears to hear, ought to hear.” He was reminding us that we are all capable of receiving his word, but perhaps we do not permit it. True listening requires the right disposition, which is a spirit ready to use our freedom to obey the voice of God. We must be ready, like Elijah, to hear God's voice that comes as a soft breeze or whisper. We must be willing to root out the distractions that create thorns and rocky soil, so as to truly receive the Lord, ready and willing to speak to our hearts.

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, thank you for revealing yourself and your holy will through your word. Help me to reverence you as I listen to sacred Scriptures. Help me to take the time to pray and ponder your word.

Resolution: Lord, today by your grace I will set aside time to pray with sacred Scriptures, asking the Holy Spirit to open my spiritual ears to hear what you wish to speak to me.