Suy niệm Tin Mừng thứ Tư tuần thứ 30 Thường Niên

Suy niệm Tin Mừng thứ Tư tuần thứ 30 Thường Niên

Ngày nay, chúng ta không thể nói với người làm phải vâng tuân theo chủ nhân của họ. Chúng ta thấy chế độ nô lệ dưới mọi hình thức như là một tội ác và không thể chấp nhận được và chúng ta phải tìm mọi cách và tất cả mọi thứ trong khả năng của mình để bãi bỏ nó. Nhưng những người Ephêsô vẫn còn quan trọng hoá và cố vượt thời gian để thực hiện.

Bất kể mọi tình huống chúng ta có thể tự thấy chính mình đang làm chứng cho ​​Chúa Giêsu trong cách sống của chúng ta. Việc chúng ta sống trong một môi trường ngột ngạt hay có một ông chủ bất công không quan trọng, chúng ta phải luôn biết hy vọng và là ngọn hải đăng chiếu ánh sáng. Bằng cách biểu lộ cách sông của Chúa Giêsu trong cuộc sống hàng ngày của chúng ta, chúng ta có thể gây ảnh hưởng sâu đậm đến những người khác. Và chưa chừng biết đâu, chúng ta thậm chí có thể làm cho những người áp bức chúng ta phải biến đổi! Đức tin không thể được coi như là sự đương nhiên. Thánh Luca nói với chúng ta rằng việc thường xuyên đến với Chúa Giêsu hoặc cứ đến nhà thờ chưa chắc đã bảo đảm được quyền làm con trong mắt Chúa.

Có nhiều người trong chúng ta đã tự mãn và chắc chắn rằng họ đã làm trọn bổn phận tinh thần, những những người ấy sẽ tự thấy mình ở dưới đáy cùng. Cũng có những người gặp phải những khó khăn và thất bại nhưng biết đứng lên tiếp tục cuộc hành trình trong đức tin; họ sẽ được nâng lên. Cho dù cửa nước Trời của Thiên Chúa thực sự là hẹp nhỏ, nhưng với tình yêu thương, lòng khiêm tốn, và sự phục vụ có thể giúp chúng ta vượt qua.

Nếu như tôn giáo mà chỉ nói mà không có hành động hay việc làm và nếu chúng ta thiếu yếu tố quan trọng đó thì việc nghe lời Thiên Chúa có nghĩa là làm theo lời của Chúa; Hai điều này không thể tách rời nhau được. Cách thức để sống theo Chúa mỗi ngày của chúng ta là chúng ta phải biết kiểm tra cách sống của chúng ta là hãy xem chúng ta đã có lắng nghe lời Chúa qua Phúc Âm như thế nào.

Lạy Chúa, xin giúp chúng con biết dùng cuộc sống của chúng con để phản ánh lời của Ngài.

Reflection Wednesday Week in Ordinary Time

Today, we would not tell slaves to obey their masters. We see slavery in any form as an intolerable evil and we would do everything in our power to abolish it. But Ephesians still has an important and timeless point to make. Regardless of the situation we find ourselves in we can witness to Jesus by our way of life. It doesn’t matter if we live in an oppressive environment or have an unjust boss we should always be a beacon of light and hope. By demonstrating the way of Jesus in our everyday life we can have a profound effect on others. Who knows, we might even convert our oppressors!

Faith cannot be taken for granted. Luke tells us that familiarity with Jesus or going to church in themselves are no guarantee of being right in the eyes of the Lord. There are many who are self-satisfied and sure that they have it made spiritually who will find themselves at the bottom. There are also those who struggle and fall but continue to walk in faith — they will be lifted up. The door of the kingdom of God is narrow indeed — only love, humility, and service can fit through.

All of the religious talk and activity in the world is of little use if we are lacking that important element. Hearing the word of God means doing the word of God; the two cannot be separated. The manner of our everyday life is the test of how well we have listened.

Lord, may my life reflect Your word.

Wednesday 30th Ordinary Time

Opening Prayer: “The Lord is faithful in all his words and holy in all his works. The Lord lifts up all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down.” Lord, I want to be faithful so as to grow in holiness. Please lift me up when I fall. Please raise me up when I am bowed down.

Encountering Christ:

1. Jesus Passed Through: In the life of every disciple, there was a moment when Jesus “passed through.” Perhaps it was a retreat, a birth, an illness, or a natural disaster that caused this person to take special notice of Our Lord. As their faith was nurtured, they walked more steadily with Christ by deepening their prayer, following the teachings of the Church, growing in virtue, and receiving and giving mercy. This path is the “narrow gate” for which many lack the strength. Do we think by simply calling ourselves Christians we are saved? Walking with Christ takes fortitude, perseverance, and total dependence on grace.

2. Acquaintances or Friends?: The narrow gate is not a where or a what, it is a who. Jesus is the narrow gate. To enter through the gate means to embrace Jesus with our whole heart, mind, and body. Those in the parable who thought they knew Jesus proclaimed, “We ate and drank in your company and you taught in our streets.” They condemned themselves by their words, unwittingly confessing that they had no intimacy with Jesus. Any acquaintance could have made their claims. God wants our whole heart! More than one hundred verses in the Bible speak of God’s love for us. According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church (221), “God's very being is love. By sending his only Son and the Spirit of Love in the fullness of time, God has revealed his innermost secret: God himself is an eternal exchange of love, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and he has destined us to share in that exchange.” To enter through the narrow gate is to love Jesus and live according to his word.

3. Last Will Be First: Are historical figures like Hitler, Stalin, and Judas damned? What about politicians or celebrities who call themselves Catholic but publicly sin? Do we dare speculate about the judgment these souls will one day receive? In these Gospel verses, Jesus reminds us that “some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.” We are not to judge the souls of others because our human discernment is never perfectly clear. We can be swayed by appearances, influenced by subtle prejudices, blinded by our own sinfulness, etc. St. James reminds us, “There is one lawgiver and judge who is able to save or to destroy. Who then are you to judge your neighbor?” (James 4:12).

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, our faith tells us that God predestines no one to go to Hell. (CCC 1037). The daily prayers of the Church and of so many faithful souls gives me great hope for my own salvation and for those I love. I want to be worthy of entering the narrow gate one day. Come Holy Spirit! Pray for us, Virgin Mary, so we may all be saved.

Resolution: Lord, today by your grace I will do my best to do your will in every moment so that I may one day enter through the narrow gate.

Wednesday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time

Presumption

“Then he will say to you, ‘I do not know where you are from. Depart from me, all you evildoers!’” Luke 13:27

Jesus makes it clear that there are some who will come to Him presuming their entrance into Heaven but their presumption will be met with these frightening words: “I do not know where you are from. Depart from me.”

Presumption is a dangerous sin. It’s dangerous for two reasons. First, when people are presumptuous, they are living in denial of the truth. In regard to God, presumption means that the persons act as if they are in a relationship with God when they are not. They may say holy things, act holy and even believe they are holy, while in fact they do not know our Lord at all. Thus, presumption is when one lives in denial of the truth.

Second, presumption is dangerous because the presumptuous person will not repent of his or her own sin. This is because their denial makes it impossible for them to admit their sin. Without admitting their sin, they cannot subsequently admit their need to change. They remain steeped in their false thinking and their sin.

Jesus presents this teaching not to reveal that He is harsh with those who are presumptuous; rather, He presents it as an act of great mercy for those stuck in this sin. It takes this startling revelation to shake a person free of this sin. In this case, it is the fear of one day hearing these words from Jesus that will help those who are stuck in presumption to break free and to face the truth.

Reflect, today, upon any way that you are not being honest with yourself or with others. Let the shock of the final outcome of any presumption in your life shake you free of this sin so that you can humble yourself before God now, before it is too late. Remember how deeply our Lord loves you and let that love help you to face your life with honesty and integrity.

My loving Lord, I love You deeply and pray that my love may always be honest, genuine and complete. Help me to see, in my life, any ways in which I fail to love You with my whole heart. I give my life to You, dear Lord, without reserve. Jesus, I trust in You.

Meditation:

What does the image of a door say to us about the kingdom of God?

Today Jesus tells us a story about the door being shut to those who come too late and suggests that they had offended their host for being late and n ot prepared, They deserved to be excluded. It was customary for teachers in Jesus' time to close the door on tardy students and not allow them back for a whole week in order to teach them a lesson in discipline and faithfulness. Jesus told this story in response to the question of who will make it to heaven. Many rabbis held that all Israel would be saved, except for a few blatant sinners who excluded themselves! After all, they were specially chosen by God when he established a covenant with them.

Jesus doesn't directly answer the question, however; but his response is nonetheless unsettling on two counts. First, Jesus surprised his listeners by saying that one's membership as a covenanted people does not automatically mean entry into the kingdom of God. Second, Jesus asserts that many from the gentile nations would enter God's kingdom. God's invitation is open to Jew and Gentile alike. But Jesus warns that we can be excluded if we do not strive to enter by the narrow door. What did Jesus mean by this expression? The door which Jesus had in mind was himself. I am the door; if any one enters by me, he will be saved (John 10:9). Jesus opens the way for us to enter into God's kingdom through the cross where he has laid down his life as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. If we want to enter and remain citizens of God's kingdom, then we must follow Jesus in the way of the cross. The word strive can also be translated agony. To enter the kingdom of God one must struggle against the forces of temptation to sin and whatever would hinder us from doing the will of God (even apathy, indifference, and compromise).

The good news is that we do not struggle alone. God is with us and his grace is sufficient! As we strive side by side for the faith of the gospel (Philippians 1:27) Jesus assures us of complete victory! Do you trust in God's grace and help, especially in times of testing and temptation?

"Lord Jesus, help me to always trust in your saving grace, especially when I am tempted and put to the test. Help me to be faithful to you and give me the courage and strength to resist temptation, especially the temptation to compromise or to be indifferent to your word."