Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ Năm Tuần thứ 19 Thường Niên

 Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ Năm Tuần thứ 19 Thường Niên

Qua bài Tin Mừng hôm nay Chúa Giêsu đã dạy cho chúng ta về việc cần thiết cho việc tha thứ cho nhau, "không phải là bảy lần mà thôi, nhưng phải bảy mươi lần bảy”. Bởi vì chúng ta cần nên phải có lòng thương xót và đại lượng với lòng từ bi như Chúa Cha của chúng ta trên trời.

Trong cuộc sống hiện tại, chúng ta có thể không thấy quá khó để tha thứ cho những người mà chúng ta yêu thích. Nhưng chúng ta lại cảm thấy rất khó để tha thứ cho những người mà chúng ta không ưa (thích) hay là những người đã làm tổn thương cho chúng ta về thân xác lẫn tinh thần.

Chắc chắn là chúng ta cần phải có ân sủng của Thiên Chúa để đánh động và cải hoá trái tim của chúng ta, để chúng ta có thể nhìn xa hơn về những tội phản nghịch và chống lại chúng ta, và để chúng ta có thể hiểu được và thông cảm với những người đã chống lại hay phản nghịch với chúng ta. Và từ đó, chúng ta mới có thể nhận ra rằng những người phản nghịch với chúng ta có thể thật sự là không biết những gì mà họ đã làm hay các hành vi của họ thực sự không có gì là đáng kể, hay là chúng ta có thể đã phóng đại những sự thiệt hại mà họ đã gây ra cho chúng ta. Điều quan trọng hơn là ân sủng của Thiên Chúa sẽ nhắc nhở chúng ta về lòng thương xót và sự tha thứ của Thiên Chúa đối với chúng ta trong những hành vi tội lỗi của chúng ta và Thiên Chúa luôn luôn tha thứ cho chúng ta, nhưng chúng ta cũng phải biết tha thứ cho những người còn mắc nợ chúng ta.

Reflection:

The Gospel reading speaks of the necessity that we forgive one another, "not seven times, but seventy-seven times" because we should be merciful and compassionate as our heavenly Father.

We may find not so hard to forgive those we like. But it is not easy to forgive those whom we do not like or who have gravely injured us. .

It takes God's grace to soften our hearts, to look beyond the offense committed against us, and to understand the offender. Then we may realize that the offender may not really know what he/she has done or that the offense is really not that great or that we may have over-stated the harm done to us.

More important, God's grace will remind us of God's mercy and forgiveness to us for our own many offenses and that God will forgive us as we forgive those who trespass against us.

Thursday 19th Ordinary Time;

Opening Prayer: Lord Jesus, grant me a heart like yours that looks upon each person with magnanimity, compassion, and true reverence. Help me unbind any areas in my life where unforgiveness has me captive.

Encountering Christ:

1. “Not Seven Times, But Seventy-Seven Times”: Jesus’ magnanimity surpasses our logic. What we think is generosity is stingy by comparison. He does not hold back his self-giving and challenges us to do the same. This calls for reflection on our part. Are there relationships where we hold back kindness, compassion, or proper reverence for the person? Where does unforgiveness hold us prisoner?

2. “Were You Not Bound to Have Pity”: We look at Jesus on the cross and consider how he endured suffering out of love for us. We ask him what was in his heart as he hung on the cross and as he continues to suffer in his mystical body, the Church. Do we see in him unforgiveness, spite, desire for revenge, and hardness of heart towards those who wrong him? Or the contrary? Jesus is magnanimous: “Father, forgive them. They know not what they do.” When we feel we have been wronged, even slightly, what is our first inclination? Are we Christlike or spiteful? Do we desire the good of the person over the protection of our ego and vanity?

3. “The Master Handed Him over to Be Tortured”: We prefer not to dwell on the justice of God, yet we very much like to be the judge of others. Ironically, he is the only true judge. An excellent meditation is to imagine ourselves before the throne of God on the day of judgment. Do we set ourselves upon that throne, or is God upon it? Before the Lord, we ask for the grace to let go of judgments and unforgiveness that enslave our hearts. A perfect act of forgiveness is done out of love for God and the other. If that can’t be mustered, we can beg for grace from our magnanimous Lord.

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, by the intercession of your Blessed Mother, grant that I may be free of petty grudges and coarse thoughts of others, and heal injured sensitivities so that I may look upon my neighbor with compassion, mercy, and reverence.

Resolution: Lord, today, by your grace, I will reject thoughts that condemn and judge others and strive to look upon the other with a heart of mercy and compassion.

Reflection

Someone once said, ‘the only way to be able to forgive others without limits is to live in the grateful awareness of the Father’s infinite love and forgiveness we have already received!

Our “debt” to the Father is immeasurable in comparison with our neighbour’s “debt” to us. How can we pass on God’s Forgiveness to those who have wronged us? Praying for them: Thinking first about whether we’ve done anything wrong ourselves; dropping the issue and letting them know it’s past history; looking for ways to show kindness to them. Forgiveness must come from the heart! It must be profound and absolute! v27. “The servant’s master felt so sorry for him that he let him go and cancelled the debt, altogether!” The servant received extravagant mercy from the king, but responded to another with extravagant mercilessness! I forgive but I cannot forget, is not truly Christian.

Father, forgive them for they know not what they do!

Reflection

Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant, as I had pity on you? (Matthew 18:33).

Science has suggested that humans use only 10 percent of their brains. Moving from this idea, some people have suggested that if we could access the other 90 percent, we would be able to solve so many problems like poverty and world hunger. There may be some merit in this speculation, but we should also acknowledge that much of the problem lies in our hearts and not just in our brains.

Imagine what could happen if we were able to access more of our hearts! What would this world look like if we could love more, forgive more, have more empathy, and look at ourselves and each other the way God does?

Today’s Gospel tells the story of a man who was given the opportunity to do just that but who refused. Having received the pardon of an immense debt from his master, he turned around and acted out of a stingy heart instead. Somehow, even though he had been given a huge gift, he remained as hard-hearted and ungenerous as before. And so it was not the master’s decree but the servant’s own ingratitude that landed him in prison. He excluded himself from the forgiveness his master had offered him.

As far as Jesus is concerned, anyone who has been forgiven much should be so touched by this forgiveness that he or she is moved to love much. But that will happen only as we allow our hearts to be melted by the mercy given to us. Again, it’s a heart issue as well as a brain issue.

Jesus gave all he possibly could when he died on the cross. Don’t take this gift lightly. There’s no way you could possibly repay him for what he has done for you. The only real response; the response of the heart; is to embrace his love and let it make you into a more merciful person. It’s only if we close our hearts to God’s mercy that our love shrinks, allowing criticism and harshness to creep in. So stay mindful of all that you have been given, and you’ll find your capacity to love expanding day by day!

“Thank you, Father, for treating me with so much love! May that love overflow in me, touching every person I encounter today.”