Suy Niệm Tin Mừng thứ Bẩy tuần 28 Thường Niên

Suy Niệm Tin Mừng thứ Bẩy tuần 28 Thường Niên

Bài Tin Mừng hôm nay, chúng ta có cảm giác lạ và khác thường khi chúng ta nghe Chúa Giêsu nói về một thứ tội mà không thể tha thứ được. Qua bức hoạ của Thánh Luca về Chúa Giêsu thì Chúa là một người luôn có bàn tay mở rộng và luôn tha thứ cho những người tội lỗi, Chúa là người mà dường như không thể có khả năng từ chối sự tha thứ cho những ai có tội. Tuy nhiên, hôm nay, Chúa Giêsu nói về một thứ tội lỗi mà không thể nào có thể tha thứ được.

Khi những người Pharisi đã thấy Chúa Giêsu làm phép lạ và trừ quỷ ra khỏi người bị quỷ ám. thế nhưng họ cho rằng Chúa Giêsu bị ám bởi quỷ Beelzebul, và khi Ngài trừ quỷ ra khỏi người bị quỷ ám này ngài đã nhờ chính sức mạnh của các hoàng tử quỷ. Họ nhìn Chúa Giêsu mà coi như Ngài như là chúa quỷ Sa-tan; họ nghĩ là họ đang chứng kiến rõ ràng ​là Thiên Chúa không còn chấp nhận việc làm tốt của Chúa Giêsu đã làm mà họ chỉ thấy việc làm hiện tại của Sa-tan. Họ đã mù quáng và không còn thấy được lòng thương xót đầy nhân hậu và sự thật nơi Chúa Giêsu. Họ không còn có thể phân biệt giữa cái ác và tội lỗi khi họ phải đối mặt với chúng. Kể từ khi họ không còn có thể nhìn thấy tội lỗi là tội lỗi, họ không còn thấy sự cần thiết cho sự ăn năn. Họ bị sa lầy vĩnh viễn trong tội lỗi của họ. Họ đã khổng thể thấm nhuần được những ân sủng của Chúa Thánh Thần.

Trong cuộc sống hiện tại Chúng ta cũng có lúc phải đối mặt với mối nguy hiểm này. Tội lỗi phải được công nhận là tội lỗi, tội ác xấu xa là tội ác, sự thật và sự thiện hảo phải là sự thật và thiện hảo. Nếu chúng ta có thói quen không nhìn thấy tội lỗi ở những nơi tội lỗi, thì chúng ta có thể đã đánh mất đi cái khả năng của chúng ta để phân biệt giữa thiện và ác. Mặc dù có tội, chúng ta sẽ không còn có khả năng ăn năn. Chúng ta đã bị mù trong chính tâm hồn của chúng ta.

REFLECTION

It's very strange to hear Jesus speak about an unforgivable sin. The portrait Luke paints of Jesus is of a man whose arms are constantly open to sinners, who seemingly is incapable of refusing forgiveness to sinners. Yet today, Jesus speaks of the unforgivable sin,

The Pharisees had looked at Jesus working miracles and driving demons out of people possessed. What they saw was Jesus possessed by Beelzebul, driving demons out of people possessed by the power of the prince of demons. They looked at Jesus and saw Satan; they witnessed the obviously God-sanctioned works of Jesus and saw Satan at work. They blinded themselves to the goodness and truth in Jesus. They could no longer discern between evil and sin when confronted by them. Since they could no longer see sin as sin, they no longer saw the need for repentance. They were mired permanently in their sin. They had made themselves impermeable by the grace of the Spirit.

We also face this danger. Sin must be recognized as sin, evil as evil, truth and goodness as truth and goodness. If we get in the habit of not seeing sin where there is sin, we will lose our ability to discern good and evil. Though culpable, we will be incapable of repentance. We will have blinded ourselves.

Saturday 28th Ordinary Time – 2022

Opening Prayer: God, Blessed Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, I praise you and I exclaim with today’s psalm, “When I behold your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars which you set in place—What is man that you should be mindful of him, or the son of man that you should care for him? You have given your Son rule over the works of your hands. You have made him little less than the angels, and crowned him with glory and honor. You have given him rule over the works of your hands, putting all things under his feet.”

Encountering Christ:

1. Acknowledging Jesus: In this passage, Jesus invites us to acknowledge him before others. The prerequisite for publicly acknowledging Jesus is knowing and loving him. When we have encountered Jesus and allowed him to fill our souls with his loving presence, we can’t help but acknowledge him before others. His love radiates outward, and this “acknowledgment” takes the form of corporal or spiritual works of mercy, evangelization, apostolic projects in the Church or society, etc. Are others able to see in us the joy and peace that comes from our intimate relationship with Christ? Are the good works we accomplish offered to Jesus for his glory?

2. Angels and Man: “Everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.” Angels are pure, intelligent spirits able to completely understand God’s will the instant it is presented to them. When Lucifer and the other angels refused to serve God as Man, they understood that they were deciding to live an existence separate from God for all eternity. Their choice was made with full knowledge in their free will. Our human intelligence involves a growth in the understanding of God. When we come to believe Jesus died for our sins, it is the refusal to repent of our sins, receive God’s mercy, and live as Christian disciples and children of God that places us at risk of the unforgivable blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. In his encyclical Dominum et Vivificantem (Lord and Giver of Life), St. John Paul II explained, “If Jesus says that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit cannot be forgiven either in this life or in the next, it is because this ‘non-forgiveness’ is linked, as to its cause, to ‘non-repentance,’ in other words to the radical refusal to be converted.” It is the human free will declaring, “I will not serve.”

3. God with Man: We mortal human beings may not possess the supreme intelligence of the angels, but this gives us no excuse to remain ignorant of God. Jesus has made every provision for us in this life and for our eternal salvation. He received the punishment due to our sin, which opened Heaven so we can enter. He established his Church and the sacraments to teach us about him, and to nourish and heal us along the way. He gave us the Holy Spirit through Baptism so we can receive all the gifts and help we need to stay on Heaven’s path. In every moment of our lives, we have nothing to fear if we place our trust in Jesus before we speak or act. He tells us, “When they take you before synagogues and before rulers and authorities, do not worry about how or what your defense will be or about what you are to say. For the Holy Spirit will teach you at that moment what you should say.”

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, you call me in these lines of Scripture to a transformative encounter with you. May I be so filled with love for you that I am compelled to acknowledge you before others. Please give me the grace, the courage, and the wisdom to do what you ask and offer everything for your glory.

Resolution: Lord, today, by your grace, I will follow the advice of St. Teresa of Avila, whose feast it is today: “Accustom yourself continually to make many acts of love, for they enkindle and melt the soul.”

Saturday 28th Ordinary Time

Opening Prayer: I come before you, Lord, to praise and bless you. You have filled the earth with your glory, with signs of your goodness, your power, your wisdom. I want to live with an awareness of that, of your presence and your love reaching out to me at all times. In this time of prayer, please grant me the grace I need to grow in the faith that will open my eyes to your glory.

Encountering Christ:

· Acknowledging Christ: Jesus encourages us to acknowledge him before others. He promises that if we deny our allegiance to Christ, we will break our connection with him—he will not acknowledge us to the angels in heaven. What does it mean to “acknowledge Christ before others”? It means so many things! Everything we do that indicates to others our faith in Christ is a way of giving witness to Christ. Pausing to pray and make the sign of the cross before a meal at a restaurant or in the cafeteria is a way of acknowledging Jesus. Arriving late to a social engagement because we attend Mass on Sunday is a way of acknowledging Jesus. Speaking calmly but clearly about the Church’s teaching on moral and social issues, even defending those teachings when they are attacked, that too is acknowledging Jesus. Having religious images in our houses is a way to acknowledge Jesus to those who come and visit us. If in our own minds and hearts the core of our identity is that we are disciples and messengers of Jesus Christ, almost everything we do will in some way announce to those around us that he is real, that he is the Lord, and that we belong to him. And the more we do that, the deeper our bond with him becomes, and the greater our joy will be, now and forever.

· Resisting God’s Grace: God’s mercy is infinite; we can never sin so badly that he cannot forgive us. And yet, Jesus says in today’s Gospel passage that those who blaspheme against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. How to explain this apparent contradiction? The one thing that impedes God’s mercy is our persistent refusal to accept God’s mercy. The Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Holy Trinity, is active in the world communicating God’s love and grace to human hearts. To blaspheme against the Holy Spirit is to refuse, over and over again, the love and grace he offers. To die in that state of refusal is to die outside of friendship with God. We all need God’s mercy and grace—the “gift” of “righteousness,” as St. Paul puts it in today’s second reading. Refusing to receive what we need for salvation means we won’t experience salvation. This is a sobering thought. Somehow, although we can’t save ourselves without God’s grace, God still respects our freedom so deeply that he won’t force us to live in that grace. Here is how the Catechism (1864) puts it: “There are no limits to the mercy of God, but anyone who deliberately refuses to accept his mercy by repenting, rejects the forgiveness of his sins and the salvation offered by the Holy Spirit. Such hardness of heart can lead to final impenitence and eternal loss.”

· Preparing for Persecution: Jesus makes it clear that if we are faithful to his friendship, we will at times find ourselves in situations where it will be difficult, costly, to acknowledge our faith in him. Many of his first disciples, including the Apostles, were taken “before synagogues, before rulers and authorities,” because of their Christian faith. This fallen world and the diabolical powers at work within it are not fond of the truth of Christ and the demands it makes on us. And so those who proclaim and bear witness to that truth will run into opposition and be called to give an account of their counter-cultural beliefs, standards, and actions. We are not to be afraid of that. We are to trust that God will actually use that opposition and persecution to further this Kingdom. The Holy Spirit will guide us in those times of crisis and suffering and will work through us to allow the Gospel to penetrate hearts that otherwise might not be reached. This wasn’t just the case for the early Christians. This isn’t just the case for Christians who live under violently anti-Christian political regimes. This is the case for all Christians who stay true to their friendship with Christ. Sooner or later we will face a choice to acknowledge or deny our Lord in a stressful situation. Jesus doesn’t want us to worry about that: …do not worry about how or what your defense will be… (Luke 12:11). But neither does he want us to be blindsided. He wants us to be ready, to be unsurprised, and to trust that the Lord will be with us making all things work together for good for those who love him (Romans 8:28).

Conversing with Christ: I am sorry, my Lord, for the times when I have hidden my Christian identity. You know how weak I am, how vain I am, how anxiously I want to be accepted and welcomed. And sometimes I fear that acknowledging you as my Lord will lead only to ridicule, or even to rejection. I know that you can handle those situations, that you will never abandon me, even if others do, even if they persecute me. Holy Spirit, make me strong in my faith, joyful in my trust, and courageous in my love for Jesus Christ and his everlasting Kingdom.

Resolution: Lord, today by your grace I will look for an opportunity to acknowledge Christ to others that I normally might not take advantage of, and I will take advantage of it.

Opening Prayer:

Holy Spirit, you are my light and guide. Please bless me during this time of prayer by opening my ears to hear the message you have for me today.

Encountering Christ:

1. Angels as Our Witnesses: Christians by definition acknowledge that they live for Christ. We do our best to know, love, and serve the Lord and we begin each day by reflecting on his holy word so as to grow more “Christian.” Today, we learn that Jesus may someday “introduce” us to the angels—perhaps by name. What delight! It’s good to reflect from time to time on heaven and imagine what it might be like. These thoughts can help to enliven our faith and motivate us to do just a little bit better today than we did yesterday, all for God’s glory.

2. Blaspheming the Spirit: Can’t Jesus forgive anything we do? Yet, he tells us in this Scripture that we will not be forgiven if we blaspheme against the Holy Spirit. Saint John Paul II explains: “‘Blasphemy’ does not properly consist in offending against the Holy Spirit in words; it consists rather in the refusal to accept the salvation which God offers to man through the Holy Spirit, working through the power of the cross” (Dominum et Vivificantem, #46). If we are so hard of heart as to reject the mercy God offers through the Holy Spirit, “it may lead to final impenitence and eternal loss,” according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, #1864. May our pride never be so great as to assume we can’t be forgiven for something we’ve done!

3. No Words: How many times have we found ourselves at a loss for words? Or speaking the wrong words? Jesus reassures us in this Gospel passage that when we call on the Holy Spirit in those moments of grief, fear, or suffering, we will find the words we need to communicate God’s love to another. What a consolation it is to know that the Holy Spirit stands by to put his words on our hearts, so that we may speak God’s healing into this needy world. May we often whisper a prayer to the Holy Spirit before we speak! “Set a guard, Lord, before my mouth, keep watch over the door of my lips” (Psalms 141:3).

Conversing with Christ: Lord, as someone who often speaks before I think, I find the promise you make to send the Holy Spirit to inspire my words very comforting. Thank you for sharing your awesome power and might, your light and love with me. May I always bring glory to you in speech and actions.

Resolution: Lord, today by your grace I will whisper “Come Holy Spirit” before I speak to my friends at work about anything substantive.

Meditation:

What is the unforgivable sin which Jesus warns us to avoid?

Jesus knows that his disciples will be tested and he assures them that the Holy Spirit will give them what they need in their time of adversity.

He warns them, however, that it's possible to reject the grace of God and giving up the faith out of cowardice or disbelief.

The scriptural expression to deny someone means to disown them. Jesus also speaks against blaspheming the Holy Spirit.

What is blasphemy and why is it reprehensible? Blasphemy consists in uttering against God, inwardly or outwardly, words of hatred, reproach, or defiance. It's contrary to the respect due God and his holy name. Jesus speaks of blaspheming against the Holy Spirit as the unforgivable sin. Jesus spoke about this sin immediately after the scribes and Pharisees had attributed his miracles to the work of the devil instead of to God. \

A sin can only be unforgivable if repentance is impossible. If someone repeatedly closes his heart to God and shuts his ears to his voice, he comes to a point where he can no longer recognize God even when God makes himself known. Such a person ends up perceiving evil as good and good as evil (Isaiah 5:20).

There are no limits to the mercy of God, but anyone who refuses to accept God's mercy by repenting of wrongdoing, rejects the forgiveness of their sins and the salvation offered by the Holy Spirit.

God gives grace and help to all who humbly call upon him. Giving up on God and refusing to turn away from sin and disbelief results from pride and the loss of hope in God.

Saint John tells us that "God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16). Jesus' death on the cross won for us our salvation and adoption as the children of God.

The love and mercy of Jesus Christ, the forgiveness of sins, and the gift of the Holy Spirit are freely given to those who acknowledge Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Is your hope securely placed in Christ and his victory on the cross?

"Lord Jesus, you are my hope and salvation. May I trust you at all times and rely on your grace in times of testing and temptation? Let the fire of your Holy Spirit burn in my heart and fill me with a consuming love for you."