Suy niệm Tin Mừng thứ Ba tuần thứ 30 Thường Niên

 Suy niệm Tin Mừng thứ Ba tuần thứ 30 Thường Niên

Hạt cải và men làm bánh mì có thể dạy cho chúng ta những gì về vương quốc của Thiên Chúa?

Như chúng ta biết hạt cải là hạt rất nhỏ, nhỏ nhất trong các loại hột. Nhưng khi hột được gieo vào đất tốt đã được cuốc xới bón phân tốt, nước tưới đầy đủ, hạt cải nhỏ bé sẽ nẩy mầm và phát triển lớn lên thành bụi lớn và thu hút được nhiều loài chim, vì sự chăm sóc, tưới bón của người trồng, nên dù hạt cải đen nhỏ, đã trở thành vườn cải tốt tươi với cành lá xum xuê đến nỗi chim trời có thể làm tổ. Vương quốc của Thiên Chúa cũng tương tự. Nó bắt đầu được chớm nở từ sự khởi ban đầu rất nhỏ nhen trong trái tim của người chúng ta bằng sự tiếp nhận Lời của Thiên Chúa.

Hành trang để được vào nước trời cũng giống như là bột men làm bánh, Đó là đức tin, đức tin được chớm nở trong trái tim của mỗi người chúng ta bằng sự tiếp nhận Lời của Thiên Chúa. Đức tin đó hoạt động vô hình và gây biến chuyển và đổi thay từ bên trong, Men là một tác nhân mạnh mẽ của sự thay đổi. Một cục bột còn lại chính nó vẫn chỉ là một cục bột. Nhưng khi men được thêm vào để bột bánh được phồng lên và khi đút vào lò nướng đó sản xuất bánh mì thơm ngon và đó là chủ yếu cho cuộc sống đối với con người.

Đức tin sẽ biến đổi những ai đã được đón nhận cuộc sống mới mà Chúa ban cho vì khi chúng ta dâng lên Chúa cuộc sống của chúng ta. Thì cuộc sống của chúng ta sẽ được biến đổi bởi sức mạnh của Chúa Thánh Thần đấng đang ngự trong chúng ta. Thánh Phaolô có nói, "kho tàng này, chúng tôi lại chứa đựng trong những bình sành, để chứng tỏ quyền năng phi thường phát xuất từ Thiên Chúa, chứ không phải từ chúng tôi. (2 Cô-rinh-tô 4:7). Hãy đặt niềm tin của chúng ta vào sức mạnh và sự biến đổi của Chúa Thánh Thần

Meditation:

What can mustard seeds and leaven teach us about the kingdom of God? The tiny mustard seed literally grew to be a tree which attracted numerous birds because they loved the little black mustard seed it produced. God's kingdom works in a similar fashion. It starts from the smallest beginnings in the hearts of men and women who are receptive to God's word. And it works unseen and causes a transformation from within. Leaven is another powerful agent of change. A lump of dough left to itself remains just what it is, a lump of dough. But when the leaven is added to it a transformation takes place which produces rich and wholesome bread when heated – the staple of life for humans. The kingdom of God produces a transformation in those who receive the new life which Jesus Christ offers. When we yield to Jesus Christ, our lives are transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit who dwells in us. Paul the Apostle says, "we have this treasure in earthen vessels, to show that the transcendent power belongs to God and not to us" (2 Corinthians 4:7). Do you believe in the transforming power of the Holy Spirit?

"Lord Jesus, fill me with your Holy Spirit and transform me into the Christ-like holiness you desire. Increase my zeal for your kingdom and instill in me a holy desire to live for your greater glory."

Tuesday 30th Ordinary Time 

Opening Prayer: “Blessed are you, Father, Lord of Heaven and earth; you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the Kingdom.” Lord, reveal to me who I am in your Kingdom. Grant me the grace to desire your will for me.

Encountering Christ:

1. The Kingdom/The King: Jesus said, “What is the Kingdom of God like? To what can I compare it?” When we think of living under the authority of a king, we may imagine kingdoms where we are powerless and subjugated under a tyrannical sovereign. But Jesus is a King like no other. Jesus is “Eternal King, Most Merciful King, Loving King Who offers us Healing Grace, Eucharistic King, King foretold by the prophets, King of Heaven and earth, King and Ruler of All Nations, Delight of the Heavenly Court, Most Compassionate toward his subjects, King from Whom proceeds all authority, King Whose Kingdom is not of this world, King Whose Sacred Heart burns with Love for all mankind, King Who is the Beginning and the End, the Alpha and the Omega, King Who has given us Mary, the Queen, to be our dear Mother, King truly present in the Most Blessed Sacrament…” (From the Litany to Christ the King).

2. The Mustard Seed: How can the Lord’s Kingdom be like a mustard seed? In the body of every human, God plants a soul—a tiny mustard seed that, once planted, never dies. In God’s Kingdom, the seed (our soul) is free to choose how it will grow. The Lord wants to send us the Holy Spirit to water our souls with grace. If we reject this grace, we wither, and our God-given mission dies with us. If we accept the grace of the Spirit, we thrive and can support others “dwelling in our branches” as we journey together through life.

3. Yeast: When kneaded into flour and water, yeast ferments to make dough rise. In this parable, we are the yeast created by God, mixed into the world by his loving hands and invited to reproduce and expand his Kingdom. By the power of the sacraments, our personal prayer, and our faithful perseverance, the light of Christ bubbles up in us, impacting everyone around us for the good. If each of us does our part, the Kingdom spreads far and wide.

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, the idea of Kingdom, mustard seed, and yeast are wonder-filled ways you teach us about life in you. We are your creation so you know best how to help us understand your mysterious ways. Bless me, as I pray, with an even deeper understanding of your love for me and for all your creatures.

Resolution: Lord, today by your grace I will pray the Our Father (Lord’s Prayer), slowly reflecting on how the Kingdom of God reigns in my life.

Tuesday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time

Conversion of Heart

Again he said, “To what shall I compare the Kingdom of God? It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of wheat flour until the whole batch of dough was leavened.” Luke 13:20-21

Yeast is a fascinating thing. It is so small in size and yet has such a powerful effect upon the dough. The yeast works slowly and somewhat miraculously. Little by little the dough rises and is transformed. This is always something fascinating for children to watch when making bread .

This is the ideal way for the Gospel to work in our lives. Right now, the Kingdom of God is first and foremost alive in our hearts. The conversion of our hearts will rarely effectively take place in a day or in a moment. Sure, each day and every moment is important, and there are certainly powerful moments of conversion we can all point to. But conversion of heart is more like the yeast causing the dough to rise. The conversion of heart is usually something that takes place little by little and step by step. We allow the Holy Spirit to take control of our lives in a continually deepening way and, as we do, we grow deeper and deeper in holiness just as dough rises slowly but surely.

Reflect, today, upon this image of yeast causing dough to rise. Do you see this as an image of your soul? Do you see the Holy Spirit working on you little by little? Do you see yourself changing slowly but steadily? Hopefully the answer is “Yes.” Though conversion may not always take place overnight, it must be constant so as to enable the soul to progress to that place prepared for it by God.

Lord, I do desire to become holy. I desire to be transformed little by little every day. Help me to allow You to change me every moment of my life so that I can continually walk the path You have laid out for me. Jesus, I trust in You.

Meditation:

Through the two parables today our Lord Jesus explains to us what the Kingdom of God is like.The Kingdom of God is evident on earth by how it grows from very small and humble beginnings into something much larger and greater. The tiniest of seeds becomes a large tree. A small amount of yeast causes the entire loaf to grow. Likewise, twelve simple Apostles took His words and built a church that now covers the entire world. Throughout history, Christ's work has been continued by the work of "small" people such as Francis of Assisi and Mother Teresa. The Kingdom of God is still like the mustard seed and is still being planted and growing in our world today. Through these parables, Jesus encourages us patience and hopeful certainty; parables referring to the Kingdom of God and to the Church and that are also applied to the growth of this same Kingdom in each of us. We now ask our Lord Jesus to fill us with the Holy Spirit and transform us into the Christ-like holiness God desire. Increase our zeal for God’s kingdom and instill in us a holy desire to live for His greater glory.

Meditation:

Through the two parables today, Jesus places before our eyes one of the characteristics of the Kingdom of God: it is something that flourishes slowly as a mustard seed, but, eventually, grows to offer shelter to the birds in its trees. With this parable, Our Lord encourages us to patience, fortitude and hope. These virtues are especially necessary for those who devote themselves to propagate the Kingdom of God. We must be patient, and with God's grace and human cooperation, wait for the planted seed to grow while profoundly embedding its roots in the good soil to gradually become a tree.

In the first place, we need to have faith in the virtuality, fecundity contained in the seed of the Kingdom of God. This seed is the Word; it is also the Eucharist that is planted in us through Communion. In John Gospel, Our Lord Jesus Christ compared himself to “a kernel of wheat that falls to the ground and dies (…). But if it dies, it produces many seeds” (Jn 12:24).

The Kingdom of God, our Lord goes on, is similar to “the yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of wheat flour until the whole batch of dough was leavened." (Lk 13:21). Here also the yeast needed to leaven all the dough. We only need the yeast inside the dough, getting to the people, to be like salt that preserves from corruption and makes all food to taste (cf. Mt 5:13). Time is also of essence so that it can carry out with its function by and by.

The kingdom of God produces a transformation in those who receive the new life which Jesus Christ offers. When we yield to Jesus Christ, our lives are transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit who dwells in us. Paul the Apostle says, "we have this treasure in earthen vessels, to show that the transcendent power belongs to God and not to us" (2 Corinthians 4:7). Through these parables, Jesus encourages us patience and hopeful certainty; parables referring to the Kingdom of God and to the Church and that are also applied to the growth of this same Kingdom in each of us.