Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ sáu Tuần thứ
2 Phục Sinh
Trong mùa Phục Sinh, những bài đọc cho chúng ta thấy tình yêu mà Thiên Chúa đã dành cho con người qua những việc mà của Chúa Giêsu đã làm. Hôm nay, Chúa Giêsu muốn mời gọi chúng ta cùng chia sẻ sự thương tâm với Ngài "Ta mua ở đâu ra bánh để cho họ ăn đây?"
Chắc chắn chúng ta sẽ cũng giống như thánh Philliphê trong cái sự suy nghĩ vật chất của thế gian “ Có mua đến hai trăm quan tiền bánh cũng chẳng đủ cho mỗi người một chút”. Có lẽ giờ đây chúng ta phải sẵn sàng chăm chú vào sự hướng dẫn của Chúa Giêsu và đón xem những gì sẽ xảy ra khi biết một cậu bé có năm cái bánh và hai con cá. Bằng cách nào mà Chúa đã cho năm ngàn người đàn ông, chưa kể các đàn bà và trẻ em được ăn no nê vớị 5 cái bánh và hai con cá?.
Có lẽ, chúng ta đã có ấn tượng về việc Chúa Giêsu đã làm phép lạ hoá bánh ra nhiều. Nhưng là mối quan tâm hàng đầu của Ngài là những nhu cầu cần thiết tối thiếu của con người “ Họ đã theo ta ba ngày rồi mà chẳng có gì để ăn). Ngài không để ý hay quan tâm đến việc mọi người muốn tôn vinh Ngài. Ngài chỉ ra tay hành động để đáp ứng những nhu cầu cần thiết tối thiẻu của họ bằng với cả tình thương yêu chân tình, chứ không phải là làm để lấy uy tín cá nhân.
Bây giờ chúng ta hãy suy nghĩ về cậu bé với năm chiếc bánh và hai con cá. Chúng ta có bao giờ dám từ bỏ tất cả những gì mà chúng ta đang có để chia sẽ với những người khác?. 5 chiếc bánh và hai con cá có thể giúp cậu ta và gia đình sống thêm được mấy ngày trước khi đói, thế mà cậu không ích kỷ, cậu sẵn sàng chia xẻ với mọi người dù chỉ là một tí. Thế nhưng nhờ 5 chiếc bánh và hai con cá đó mà Chúa Giêsu đã nuôi sống cả ngàn người. Có những lúc, chúng ta cũng giống như những người trong đám đông, chúng ta chạy theo Chúa Giêsu vì chúng ta được nuôi ăn,và hy vọng sẽ có được một cuộc sống thảnh thơi thoải mái, nhưng lại quên đi hay cố tình không để ý, hay quan tâm đến những nhu cầu tâm linh hay giáo lý mà Ngài đang dạy cho chúng ta? Chúng ta hãy tự hỏi chính mình là: “Tôi đã yêu mến Thiên Chúa vì những gì Ngài có thể làm cho gia đình, cho chính bản thân của chúng tôi? hay là chỉ biết tôi yêu mến Thiên Chúa vì những sự tốt lành của Ngài và sự tốt cho người khác?
REFLECTION
In this Easter season, the readings revisit the total giving of our Lord Jesus for humankind. This time, the invitation is presented to us "Where shall we buy bread so that these people may eat?" Do we feel like Phillip, lost in worldly thinking? Or can we look in the direction of Jesus and see what is going to happen with a boy with five loaves and two fish, and five thousand men, not counting the women and children? Probably, the first time we heard the story we were impressed by the miracle. And probably if there is such a man today, we also would have done what the crowd had intended: take him and make him provide all that we want!
But that was not the intention of Jesus when he multiplied the bread and fish. His concern was the needs of the people. He was not concerned about how people made of him when he acted in response to the people's needs. Now look at the boy. Are we able to give up all that we have to Jesus so that he can meet the needs of others?
Friday of 2nd Week of Easter 2023
“Gather the fragments left over, so that nothing will be wasted.” So they collected them, and filled twelve wicker baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves that had been more than they could eat.” John 6:12–13
John’s Gospel is filled with much symbolic meaning. The passage above concludes the story of the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes. After feeding the multitude of people with only five barley loaves and two fish, they were able to fill twelve wicker baskets with what remained. What was the reason for the extra?
Saint Augustine, in commenting upon this passage, explains that Jesus provided more than the people could eat as a way of symbolically representing spiritual truths that were beyond what the vast crowds could comprehend. Thus, Jesus’ teachings spiritually nourished the crowds to the point that they were fully satisfied. But even though the general crowds were satisfied with what Jesus taught them, there was still so much more that He had to teach. These deeper spiritual truths are represented by the extra twelve baskets.
The twelve baskets represent the Twelve Disciples. They were the ones specially chosen by Jesus to receive so much more. Recall the times when Jesus taught the crowds in parables and then, later, would explain the meaning to the Twelve in private. He revealed to them certain truths that most people could not understand and accept.
It is helpful to consider three different groups of people in this miracle and apply those groupings to us today. The first group of people are those who were not even present for the miracle. Those who did not make the journey to be with Jesus in the wilderness. This is the largest group of people within society who go about their daily lives without even seeking minimal nourishment from our Lord.
The second grouping of people is this “large crowd” who followed Jesus to the remote side of the Sea of Galilee to be with Him. These represent those who diligently seek out our Lord every day. These are those who are faithful to the celebration of the Mass, the reading of Scripture, to daily prayer and study. To this grouping of people, our Lord teaches many things, and they are nourished by His holy Word and Sacraments.
The third grouping of people, the Twelve Disciples who are represented by the Twelve wicker baskets left over, are those who are exceptionally faithful to our Lord and continue to be nourished by Him in a superabundant way. These are those who seek to understand and embrace the deepest spiritual truths so as to be nourished and transformed on the deepest level.
Reflect, today, upon the fact that the spiritual food our Lord wishes to offer you is most often far more than you can immediately accept and consume. But understanding that fact is the first step to disposing yourself to receive even more. As you reflect upon this superabundance of spiritual food from our Lord, recommit yourself especially to seek out that remaining “twelve wicker baskets” of spiritual truths. If you do, you will discover that there is truly no end to the transforming depths of the gifts of grace our Lord wishes to bestow upon you.
My most generous Lord, You not only give spiritual nourishment to Your people, You give it in superabundance. As I daily seek You out and am filled with Your mercy, help me to never tire of feasting upon the superabundant gift of Your grace. Please do nourish me, dear Lord, and help me to consume Your holy Word. Jesus, I trust in You.
Friday of 2nd Week of Easter 2023
Opening Prayer: Lord God, though my needs are many, you care for them all. Though I am but one in a crowd, you treat me as your only son/daughter. I know this miracle prepares your disciples for the gift of the Eucharist; help me to reverence the Blessed Sacrament for its miraculous gift!
2. “Have the People Recline”: Jesus’s response to the problem is counterintuitive: slow down, contemplate, and rest. “Have the people recline,” he said. Stop trying to fix the problem alone and turn your eyes toward Jesus. Look about you; see the deep blue lake and the verdant hillside where Jesus sits, in command. The evangelist bothered to tell us, “Now, there was a great deal of grass in that place.” Is this detail essential? No, but it is part of the harvest we reap when we bring our hunger to Jesus. We can ask question after question. Why does Jesus put Philip to the test? Why does he put us to the test? Christ simply wants us to recline along with five thousand others who also need him. We are each just one sheep in a flock. We cannot buy enough food for ourselves to eat, not without Jesus.
3. Jesus Gives Thanks: When Jesus gives thanks, we are fed. This is the logic of the sacrifice of the Mass. “Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to those who were reclining, and also as much of the fish as they wanted.” Before ten thousand eyes deep-set in five thousand hungry faces, Jesus gave thanks to his Father in heaven. We also come to him in the Mass seeking Eucharistic food, and he distributes it to all those who are reclining–all those who heed the shepherd’s voice. “Oh, come to the water all you who are thirsty; though you have no money, come! Buy and eat…Why spend money on what cannot nourish and your wages on what fails to satisfy?” (Isaiah 55:1-2).
Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, I follow you over the sea and up the hills because I know you are the living bread. I come empty-handed, ready to buy the priceless Bread of Angels at no price. I beg you to give me my fill.
Reflection SG 2016-04-06
For some 2000 years, followers of Jesus have continued to proclaim His resurrection and that He is Lord of all and Savior of the world. During that time, with various reasons and excuses, efforts have continually been made to suppress and silence the witness and religious practices of Jesus’ followers. It’s no different today, where we still see and experience discrimination and prejudiced attitudes, anti-Christian actions of individuals, social groups, governments and states. Disaffected ‘lapsed’ Christians sometimes add their voices too.
Among ourselves, sometimes we feel discouraged by all this opposition, perhaps even shaken in our faith by former Christians who seem to have lost the faith we shared. Have they, and maybe also ourselves sometimes, forgotten or discounted Jesus’ words that He would always be with us? Have we forgotten the wise words of a respected community leader and teacher of the law in Jerusalem?
The religious leaders were embarrassed, irritated and angered by what Peter and the other apostles were publicly saying and doing, the ‘disturbance’ they were causing. They wanted to silence or get rid of them. (So, what is new?) One of the leaders, Gamaliel, advised caution and at the same time quoted recent similar occurrences. If this new movement is just a human invention, he said, it will die out by itself. But if it’s really God’s work, it will survive no matter what action is taken against it.
Lord, we rejoice in being “Easter people”, having the risen Lord among us as the rock of our faith.
Trong mùa Phục Sinh, những bài đọc cho chúng ta thấy tình yêu mà Thiên Chúa đã dành cho con người qua những việc mà của Chúa Giêsu đã làm. Hôm nay, Chúa Giêsu muốn mời gọi chúng ta cùng chia sẻ sự thương tâm với Ngài "Ta mua ở đâu ra bánh để cho họ ăn đây?"
Chắc chắn chúng ta sẽ cũng giống như thánh Philliphê trong cái sự suy nghĩ vật chất của thế gian “ Có mua đến hai trăm quan tiền bánh cũng chẳng đủ cho mỗi người một chút”. Có lẽ giờ đây chúng ta phải sẵn sàng chăm chú vào sự hướng dẫn của Chúa Giêsu và đón xem những gì sẽ xảy ra khi biết một cậu bé có năm cái bánh và hai con cá. Bằng cách nào mà Chúa đã cho năm ngàn người đàn ông, chưa kể các đàn bà và trẻ em được ăn no nê vớị 5 cái bánh và hai con cá?.
Có lẽ, chúng ta đã có ấn tượng về việc Chúa Giêsu đã làm phép lạ hoá bánh ra nhiều. Nhưng là mối quan tâm hàng đầu của Ngài là những nhu cầu cần thiết tối thiếu của con người “ Họ đã theo ta ba ngày rồi mà chẳng có gì để ăn). Ngài không để ý hay quan tâm đến việc mọi người muốn tôn vinh Ngài. Ngài chỉ ra tay hành động để đáp ứng những nhu cầu cần thiết tối thiẻu của họ bằng với cả tình thương yêu chân tình, chứ không phải là làm để lấy uy tín cá nhân.
Bây giờ chúng ta hãy suy nghĩ về cậu bé với năm chiếc bánh và hai con cá. Chúng ta có bao giờ dám từ bỏ tất cả những gì mà chúng ta đang có để chia sẽ với những người khác?. 5 chiếc bánh và hai con cá có thể giúp cậu ta và gia đình sống thêm được mấy ngày trước khi đói, thế mà cậu không ích kỷ, cậu sẵn sàng chia xẻ với mọi người dù chỉ là một tí. Thế nhưng nhờ 5 chiếc bánh và hai con cá đó mà Chúa Giêsu đã nuôi sống cả ngàn người. Có những lúc, chúng ta cũng giống như những người trong đám đông, chúng ta chạy theo Chúa Giêsu vì chúng ta được nuôi ăn,và hy vọng sẽ có được một cuộc sống thảnh thơi thoải mái, nhưng lại quên đi hay cố tình không để ý, hay quan tâm đến những nhu cầu tâm linh hay giáo lý mà Ngài đang dạy cho chúng ta? Chúng ta hãy tự hỏi chính mình là: “Tôi đã yêu mến Thiên Chúa vì những gì Ngài có thể làm cho gia đình, cho chính bản thân của chúng tôi? hay là chỉ biết tôi yêu mến Thiên Chúa vì những sự tốt lành của Ngài và sự tốt cho người khác?
In this Easter season, the readings revisit the total giving of our Lord Jesus for humankind. This time, the invitation is presented to us "Where shall we buy bread so that these people may eat?" Do we feel like Phillip, lost in worldly thinking? Or can we look in the direction of Jesus and see what is going to happen with a boy with five loaves and two fish, and five thousand men, not counting the women and children? Probably, the first time we heard the story we were impressed by the miracle. And probably if there is such a man today, we also would have done what the crowd had intended: take him and make him provide all that we want!
But that was not the intention of Jesus when he multiplied the bread and fish. His concern was the needs of the people. He was not concerned about how people made of him when he acted in response to the people's needs. Now look at the boy. Are we able to give up all that we have to Jesus so that he can meet the needs of others?
“Gather the fragments left over, so that nothing will be wasted.” So they collected them, and filled twelve wicker baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves that had been more than they could eat.” John 6:12–13
John’s Gospel is filled with much symbolic meaning. The passage above concludes the story of the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes. After feeding the multitude of people with only five barley loaves and two fish, they were able to fill twelve wicker baskets with what remained. What was the reason for the extra?
Saint Augustine, in commenting upon this passage, explains that Jesus provided more than the people could eat as a way of symbolically representing spiritual truths that were beyond what the vast crowds could comprehend. Thus, Jesus’ teachings spiritually nourished the crowds to the point that they were fully satisfied. But even though the general crowds were satisfied with what Jesus taught them, there was still so much more that He had to teach. These deeper spiritual truths are represented by the extra twelve baskets.
The twelve baskets represent the Twelve Disciples. They were the ones specially chosen by Jesus to receive so much more. Recall the times when Jesus taught the crowds in parables and then, later, would explain the meaning to the Twelve in private. He revealed to them certain truths that most people could not understand and accept.
It is helpful to consider three different groups of people in this miracle and apply those groupings to us today. The first group of people are those who were not even present for the miracle. Those who did not make the journey to be with Jesus in the wilderness. This is the largest group of people within society who go about their daily lives without even seeking minimal nourishment from our Lord.
The second grouping of people is this “large crowd” who followed Jesus to the remote side of the Sea of Galilee to be with Him. These represent those who diligently seek out our Lord every day. These are those who are faithful to the celebration of the Mass, the reading of Scripture, to daily prayer and study. To this grouping of people, our Lord teaches many things, and they are nourished by His holy Word and Sacraments.
The third grouping of people, the Twelve Disciples who are represented by the Twelve wicker baskets left over, are those who are exceptionally faithful to our Lord and continue to be nourished by Him in a superabundant way. These are those who seek to understand and embrace the deepest spiritual truths so as to be nourished and transformed on the deepest level.
Reflect, today, upon the fact that the spiritual food our Lord wishes to offer you is most often far more than you can immediately accept and consume. But understanding that fact is the first step to disposing yourself to receive even more. As you reflect upon this superabundance of spiritual food from our Lord, recommit yourself especially to seek out that remaining “twelve wicker baskets” of spiritual truths. If you do, you will discover that there is truly no end to the transforming depths of the gifts of grace our Lord wishes to bestow upon you.
My most generous Lord, You not only give spiritual nourishment to Your people, You give it in superabundance. As I daily seek You out and am filled with Your mercy, help me to never tire of feasting upon the superabundant gift of Your grace. Please do nourish me, dear Lord, and help me to consume Your holy Word. Jesus, I trust in You.
Opening Prayer: Lord God, though my needs are many, you care for them all. Though I am but one in a crowd, you treat me as your only son/daughter. I know this miracle prepares your disciples for the gift of the Eucharist; help me to reverence the Blessed Sacrament for its miraculous gift!
2. “Have the People Recline”: Jesus’s response to the problem is counterintuitive: slow down, contemplate, and rest. “Have the people recline,” he said. Stop trying to fix the problem alone and turn your eyes toward Jesus. Look about you; see the deep blue lake and the verdant hillside where Jesus sits, in command. The evangelist bothered to tell us, “Now, there was a great deal of grass in that place.” Is this detail essential? No, but it is part of the harvest we reap when we bring our hunger to Jesus. We can ask question after question. Why does Jesus put Philip to the test? Why does he put us to the test? Christ simply wants us to recline along with five thousand others who also need him. We are each just one sheep in a flock. We cannot buy enough food for ourselves to eat, not without Jesus.
3. Jesus Gives Thanks: When Jesus gives thanks, we are fed. This is the logic of the sacrifice of the Mass. “Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to those who were reclining, and also as much of the fish as they wanted.” Before ten thousand eyes deep-set in five thousand hungry faces, Jesus gave thanks to his Father in heaven. We also come to him in the Mass seeking Eucharistic food, and he distributes it to all those who are reclining–all those who heed the shepherd’s voice. “Oh, come to the water all you who are thirsty; though you have no money, come! Buy and eat…Why spend money on what cannot nourish and your wages on what fails to satisfy?” (Isaiah 55:1-2).
Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, I follow you over the sea and up the hills because I know you are the living bread. I come empty-handed, ready to buy the priceless Bread of Angels at no price. I beg you to give me my fill.
For some 2000 years, followers of Jesus have continued to proclaim His resurrection and that He is Lord of all and Savior of the world. During that time, with various reasons and excuses, efforts have continually been made to suppress and silence the witness and religious practices of Jesus’ followers. It’s no different today, where we still see and experience discrimination and prejudiced attitudes, anti-Christian actions of individuals, social groups, governments and states. Disaffected ‘lapsed’ Christians sometimes add their voices too.
Among ourselves, sometimes we feel discouraged by all this opposition, perhaps even shaken in our faith by former Christians who seem to have lost the faith we shared. Have they, and maybe also ourselves sometimes, forgotten or discounted Jesus’ words that He would always be with us? Have we forgotten the wise words of a respected community leader and teacher of the law in Jerusalem?
The religious leaders were embarrassed, irritated and angered by what Peter and the other apostles were publicly saying and doing, the ‘disturbance’ they were causing. They wanted to silence or get rid of them. (So, what is new?) One of the leaders, Gamaliel, advised caution and at the same time quoted recent similar occurrences. If this new movement is just a human invention, he said, it will die out by itself. But if it’s really God’s work, it will survive no matter what action is taken against it.
Lord, we rejoice in being “Easter people”, having the risen Lord among us as the rock of our faith.
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