Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ Ba Tuần thứ Ba Mùa Vọng

 Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ Ba Tuần thứ Ba Mùa Vọng

Chúng ta đang chuẩn gì cho tương lai của chúng ta? Chúa Giêsu khuyến khích chúng ta phải nên suy nghĩ; suy nghĩ về những hậu quả của sự lựa chọn của chúng ta, đặc biệt là những sự lựa chọn và quyết định sẽ không được tính (sét đoán) ngay  bây giờ ở đời này, mà sẽ được tính sổ và phán xét ở đời sau. Những sự lựa chọn của chúng ta làm bây giờ sẽ ảnh hưởng và định hình tương lai cả hai trong cuộc trên thế gian này cũng như trong cuộc sống của đời sau.
Trong bài tin Mừng hôm nay, Chúa Giêsu dạy cho chúng ta một bài học qua câu chuyện dụ ngôn về hai người con không hoàn hảo để minh họa cho chúng ta thấy cách để vào Nước Trới của Thiên Chúa. Người cha đã nuôi nấng cho những người con của mình của ăn, thức uống, chỗ ở, và tất cả mọi thứ cần thiết. Cũng thế tất cả những gì của cha thì cũng thuộc về con. Người cha cũng sẽ dành cho người con những phần thưởng tương xứng với những công việc mà người con đã cố gắng và hoàn tất những gì người cha giao phó. Người cha mong đợi (dự kiến) lòng biết ơn của những người con và lòng trung thành của họ bằng sự vinh danh người cha qua việc vâng lời và thực hiện những công việc hàng ngày theo như ý muốn của người cha.
            Việc biển đổi tâm hồn và ý chí để làm những gì tốt lành và đẹp lòng Thiên Chúa, Người con "phản nghịch" nói ngay trước mặt người cha của mình là :”sẽ không làm những gì mà ngưòi cha yêu cầu”. Nhưng sau đó anh đã thay đổi thái độ, biết thống hối và đã làm những gì cha ông đã truyền cho ông. Còn người con "tốt lành" chỉ biết làm vui lòng người cha bằng môi, bằng miệng mà không bao giờ làm việc gì theo ý người cha. bởi vì anh ta mãi tìm kiếm niềm vui của riêng mình, và luôn ngược lại và làm trái với ý của người cha. Bây giờ, người thực sự ai là người con tốt biết làm theo ý cha mình? Cả hai người con đã không vâng lời nggười cha của họ, nhưng một người đã biết ăn năn, hối hận và đã làm những gì cha anh muốn. Qua dụ ngôn này Chúa Giêsu đã chúng ta biết là: “có những ý định tốt trong lòng vẫn chưa đủ, lời hứa không mà không thực hành thì lời hưa ấy cũng bằng không... ”
            Thiên Chúa muốn thay đổi tâm hồn của chúng ta để chúng ta có thể tỏ lộ ra cho mọi người thấy được sự vâng phục và làm theo ý Chúa muốn bằng lời nói và bằng hành động của chúng ta. Thiên Chúa đã ban cho mỗi người chúng ta một kho báu hết sức to lớn, kho báu không thể bị tàn phá hay hủy hoại được đó là sự an bình, niềm vui và tình bạn hữu với Ngài trong Nước Trời. Chúng ta có thể làm mất kho báu quý giá ấy, nếu như chúng ta từ chối ân sủng, những món quà cho không đó là những phúc lành và sức mạnh của Thiên Chúa  mà Chúa Giêsu đã giành cho chúng ta qua sự chiến thắng của Ngài trên thập tự giá. Chúa Giêsu đã lấp đầy tâm hồn chúng ta với những hồng ân của Chúa Thánh Thần đang hoạt động trong chúng ta và qua chúng ta mà vinh danh Thiên Chúa.
            Chúng ta có muốn làm đẹp lòng Thiên Chúa và tôn trọng ý chỉ của Ngài và những kế hoạch yêu thương của Ngài đả định sẵn cho cuộc sống của chúng ta? Hãy để Chúa Thánh Thần đến, và lấp đầy tâm hồn của chúng ta với sự bình an, niềm vui, hy vọng và sự công chính của Nước Chúa (Rô-ma 14:17).
            "Lạy Chúa Giêsu, xin Chúa hãy biên đổi trái tim của chúng con, để chúng con chỉ biết luôn luôn mong muốn là sống làm đẹp lòng Chúa. Xin Chúa giúp chúng con biết tôn trọng ý chỉ của Chúa và xin cho chúng con có sức mạnh, niềm vui và sự kiên trì để thực thi theo ý Chúa muốn một cách hết lòng."
 
Meditation: Which son did the father's will?
What kind of future are you preparing for? Jesus encourages us to think - to think about the consequences of our choices, especially the choices and decisions that will count not just for now but for eternity as well. The choices we make now will affect and shape our future, both our future on earth as well as in the life of the age to come. 
Repaying a debt of gratitude and showing respect where it is due
Jesus tells a simple story of two imperfect sons to illustrate the way of God's kingdom. The father amply provided for his son’s food, lodging, and everything they needed. Everything the father had belonged to them as well. The father also rewarded his sons with excellent work in his own vineyard.  He expected them to show him gratitude, loyalty, and honor by doing their fair share of the daily work.
Converting both heart and will to do what is good and pleasing to God
The "rebellious" son told his father to his face that he would not work for him. But afterwards he changed his mind and did what his father commanded him. The "good" son said he would work for his father, but didn't follow through. He sought his own pleasure, contrary to his father's will. Now who was really the good son?  Both sons disobeyed their father - but one repented and then did what the father told him. Jesus makes his point clear - Good intentions are not enough.  And promises don't count unless they are performed.
A transformed heart filled with gratitude and respect
God wants to change our hearts so that we will show by our speech and by our actions that we respect his will and do it. God offers each one of us the greatest treasure possible - indestructable peace, joy, and friendship with him in his everlasting kingdom. We can lose that treasure if we refuse the grace - the free gift of God's blessing and strength - which the Lord Jesus has won for us through his victory on the cross. The Lord Jesus fills us with the gift of the Holy Spirit who works in and through us for the glory of God. Do you seek to please God and respect his will and loving plan for your life? Allow the Holy Spirit to to fill your heart with the peace, joy, and righteousness of God’s kingdom (Romans 14:17).
"Lord Jesus, change my heart that I may only desire that which is pleasing to you. Help me to respect your will and give me the strength, joy and perseverance to carry it out wholeheartedly."
 
Tuesday3rd week of Advent 2022
Introductory Prayer: Father, here I am before you, ready to open my heart to you. I believe that you are my God, my Creator. I am confident that you are leading me home to you day by day. You wish to draw me closer to you, because you have given me your only Son as my Redeemer. I love you and wish to cooperate with your loving designs for my salvation and the salvation of countless souls. Here I am, Lord, to do your will!
Petition: Lord, help me to cooperate generously in your work of salvation.
1. Saying “Yes, But No.” It seems that the longer we have been following Jesus, the more we are like the second son in the parable. We have said “Yes” to God. Our intention is to follow him, but in the end, we don’t seem to follow him very well. We come up short. Then we renew our resolutions to follow him more closely, and before long, we catch ourselves once again using up our time on ourselves and doing very little for him. What’s wrong? We don’t truly want to be like the second son, who said “Yes” only with his lips. In what aspect of my life am I saying, “Yes, but no”?
2. Doing the Bare Minimum: Isn't at least part of the problem that Jesus doesn't come first in our lives? Since we live in a world where many follow him lukewarmly––if at all––, it's easy to think we are doing a wonderful, even exceptional, job with the way we practice our faith. It’s easy to think this way even when we're doing little more than the bare minimum, or perhaps living with a fatal flaw in some basic virtue like charity or purity. What if we were evaluated in our Christianity the way we would be evaluated for a job? Would we keep that job if we never worried about doing more than the bare minimum, or if we lacked one of the basic skills needed for it? Why do I think I can get away with shoddy work when it comes to Jesus? Do I forget that God the Father invites me to work in his vineyard, the Church, not as a servant, but as his son/daughter?
3. I Am Crucial for the Salvation of Souls: Following Jesus is the single most important thing I have to do in my life. It is more important than any job I could ever have. He has given me a mission in my life similar to his own mission. Our Lord wishes me to earn graces not only for myself but for many souls out there whom I may never even know. These graces could be crucial for the salvation of many souls. Certainly, if I am married, my spouse and children would be the first ones to benefit from the graces I gain through my prayers, good works and sacrifices. But in addition, I have no way of knowing how many others will depend on my holiness. I need to be ready at any time to bear witness to Jesus and to be a faithful instrument of his grace for whomever he places in my life.
Conversation with Christ: Dear Jesus, I am preparing myself to celebrate the beginning of your mission of salvation. Help me to understand the importance of the part of your mission you have entrusted to me, so I can live it well as you hope I will. Help me to be more faithful to the daily living of my Christian life and to give witness to you in all situations. Help me to guide others to you with real Christian charity, not pride, so they will not be repelled by my behavior, but drawn to you. Help me to be the light to my family that you want me always to be.
Resolution: What part of my mission do I do the most poorly? I will take some time to think about how I will accomplish it better today and put it into action.
 
Tuesday 3rd week of Advent
“Jesus said to his disciples: “What is your opinion? If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine in the hills and go in search of the stray?”  Matthew 18:12
This Gospel passage goes on to say that the man who finds that one stray sheep “rejoices more over it than over the ninety-nine that did not stray.” At first, this might seem unfair. Why not primarily rejoice over the ninety-nine who did not stray? Saint Hillary, in commenting on this passage, interprets the man who sought out the one stray sheep as the Son of God. He left the “ninety-nine,” meaning the glory of the hosts of Heaven, to descend to earth to seek out straying humanity. Humanity as a whole is that one lost sheep. That includes us all.
The first thing this interpretation reveals to us is that the Son of God was clearly sent on a mission to seek out each and every one of us after we strayed far from the Father in Heaven. The Father did not sit back and wait for us to return. Rather, He sent the Son on a diligent mission of seeking us out to bring us back into His divine fold.
As we reflect upon this passage, it is important to see the zeal and determination of our Lord as He seeks us out. Do you see this in your own life? Sometimes we can fall into the trap of thinking that it is primarily our responsibility to seek out God. And though we certainly have this responsibility, our duty is made much easier when we understand how passionately our Lord seeks us out and desires to find us when we stray. Only in Heaven will we fully understand all that our Lord has done to seek us out, day in and day out. But for now, we must strive to understand this spiritual truth so that we will be more open to Jesus’ diligent search for us.
A second thing this passage reveals is the joy in the Heart of the Son of God every time He finds us and carries us away from our sin. Too often we can fall into the trap of seeing God as a judgmental God who is angry at us and condemning. But if we understand the extent to which the Son of God went, so as to find us when we stray, and if we can understand the joy in His heart upon finding us and carrying us away from sin, then we will more readily open ourselves to Him, to His gentle invitations, and to His merciful Heart every time He comes to us by grace.
Reflect, today, upon the great anticipation in the Heart of our Lord as He personally seeks you out. The anticipation is that of joy—the joy that He is filled with as He picks you up and gently carries you back to the Father. Allow this joy in the Heart of our Lord to come to fruition so that you will share in this abundance of joy.
My diligent Lord, You seek me out, day and night, never tiring of calling me to return more fully to Yourself. Please help me to fill Your Heart with joy by always responding to Your gentle invitations of love and mercy. Jesus, I trust in You.
 
Tuesday 3rd week of Advent
Opening Prayer: Lord, adjust my thinking about the work you ask of me. As I sit before you in these moments of prayer, work in my heart. When you ask me to go out and “work in the vineyard,” help my response to be a heartfelt yes! Teach me to lean on you and seek your direction as I go about my day. 
Encountering Christ: 
1.      Not Me! The first son refused his father’s request. When asked to go out and work in the vineyard, he answered, “I will not.” Although his initial answer was probably displeasing to his father, he ended up doing what his father wanted. We can take great comfort in Jesus’ meaning here: God will always give us a second chance. The reality is that we are all sinners. Despite our best intentions, we will sometimes tell God “no.” We do this not only by our actions but sometimes by our failure to act. His mercy is infinite; he will always give us another chance to turn back to him and to do his will. 
2.      Sure, Dad! The second son had the answer every parent wants to hear. When his father requested that he go out and work in the vineyard, he gave a quick “Yes, sir” as his reply. However, after thinking about it or maybe just becoming distracted with a more pleasurable activity, he did not follow through. His “yes” was meaningless because it was not backed up by his actions. We can be sure that Jesus was thinking of the times we are quick to pay lip service to living a holy life but do not want to do the hard work of discerning and following God’s will. 
3.      Acts of Faith: When we were little children, we followed our parent’s orders because, on some level, we had faith that they had our best interests at heart. When we rebelled as older children or teenagers, we thought we knew better than our parents. We had lost faith in their “omnipotence.” In relationship to our heavenly Father, obedience is the ultimate act of trust. What gets us to Mass on those Sundays when we are busy or tired? What drives us to choose the right thing when we would rather not act or possibly do the wrong thing? It is faith that our heavenly Father knows what is best. Doing his will is an act of faith; it is trust in his perfect plan and goodness.
Conversing with Christ: Still my heart at this moment. Turn my gaze towards you, my heavenly Father. Fill my soul with the knowledge that you are the perfect Father. Let me come to you like a child, seeking your will. Through the Holy Spirit, strengthen me to do your will today.
Resolution: Lord, today by your grace I will spend time in prayer today meditating on Jeremiah 29:11: “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper and not to harm you; plans to give you hope and a future.”