Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Chúa Nhật Thứ 5 Phục Sinh

Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Chúa Nhật Thứ 5 Phục Sinh

Hôm nay, trong cảnh mà chúng ta được xem thấy trong bài Tin Mừng đã giải thích sự thân mật tồn tại giữa Chúa Giêsu Kitô và Chúa Cha; nhưng không chỉ có vậy; nhưng bài Tin Mừng này còn mời gọi chúng ta khám phá ra mối quan hệ giữa Chúa Giêsu Kitô và các môn đệ của Ngài "Sau khi Thầy đi dọn chỗ cho anh em, thì Thầy sẽ trở lại và đem anh em về với Thầy, để Thầy ở đâu, anh em cũng ở đó." (Ga 14:03): Những lời này của Chúa Giêsu, không phải chỉ để nói với các môn đệ ở một góc độ của tương lai, nhưng cũng khuyên họ tiếp tục trung thành trong quá trình mà họ đã quyết định theo Chúa. Để được chia sẻ với Chúa trong cuộc sống vinh quang, họ cũng phải chịu những đau khổ, tù đày , bắt bớ và chịu chết theo cùng một cách mà Chúa Giêsu Kitô phải chịu để họ có thể hướng về nhà ở của Cha Ngài.

"Thưa Thầy, chúng con không biết Thầy đi đâu, làm sao chúng con biết được đường?"(Ga 14:05). Chúa Giêsu trả lời: Chính Thầy là con đường, là sự thật và là sự sống. Không ai đến với Chúa Cha mà không qua Thầy.  Nếu anh em biết Thầy, anh em cũng biết Cha của Thầy. Ngay từ bây giờ, anh em biết Người và đã thấy Người".(Ga 14:6-7).

 Chúa Giêsu không phải chỉ đề xuất một cách đơn giản, nhưng Ngài chỉ cho chúng ta con đường nào và cách nào để chúng ta làm theo. Trong thực tế, Ngài chính là đường dẫn chúng ta tới với Chúa Cha; qua sự phục sinh của Ngài, Ngài trở thành con đường chính, là phương cách để hướng dẫn chúng ta trong những ân sũng và hồng ân của Chúa Thánh Thần, Ngài khuyến khích và củng cố chúng ta để chúng ta không đánh mất tâm hồn và trái tim của chúng ta trong cuộc hành trình đến với Chúa Cha "Anh em đừng xao xuyến! Hãy tin vào Thiên Chúa và tin vào Thầy."(Ga 14:1).

Trong lời mời gọi, Chúa Giêsu muốn chúng ta  đến Chúa Cha qua Ngài, với Ngài và trong Ngài, nhiệm vụ sâu sắc nhất của Ngài và sự mong muốn chân tình nhất của Ngài là muốn chúng ta làm anh em với Ngài, và do đó Thánh Gregory of Nassa đã viết:" Ngài chính là Thiên Chúa hiện diện bằng xương thịt con người  như tất cả mọi người chúng ta, Ngài đại diện cho tất cả con người chúng ta trước Thiên Chúa Cha và  là Cha thật  bằng cách đem theo với Ngài tất cả  những người bà con họ hàng riêng của Ngài."

Lạy Chúa xin giúp chúng được hiểu biết đường lối của Chúa, để chúng con biết rao giảng chân lý của Ngài và để chúng con cùng đồng hưởng sự sống trong niềm vui trong Chúa Giêsu Kitô.

                               

Comment:

Today, the scene we consider in the Gospel explains the existing intimacy between Jesus Christ and the Father; but not only that; it invites us to discover the relationship between Jesus Christ and his disciples. «After I have gone and prepared a place for you, I shall come again and take you to me, so that where I am, you also may be» (Jn 14:3): these words of Jesus, not only place his disciples in a perspective of future, but also exhort them to keep on faithfully following the course they had begun. To share with the Lord the glorious life, they also have to partake the same way that takes Jesus Christ towards the dwellings of his Father.

«Lord, we don't know where you are going; how can we know the way?» (Jn 14:5). Jesus answers: «I am the way, the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father but through me. If you know me, you will know the Father also; indeed you know him and you have seen him» (Jn 14:6-7). Jesus does not certainly propose a simple way, but he points out the path to follow. In fact, He becomes himself the Way to the Father; through his resurrection, He becomes the Walker who is to guide us; with the gift of the Holy Spirit, He encourages and fortifies us so that we do not lose heart in our pilgrimage: «Do not be troubled; trust in God and trust in me» (Jn 14:1).

In the invitation Jesus makes to us, to go to the Father through Him, with Him and in Him, his deepest mission and most intimate desires are revealed: «He, who is the Son of God who became the Son of Man, wants to make us his brothers and, thus, He is in Himself presenting all humanity to its God and true Father, by taking with him all of his own kin» (St. Gregory of Nyssa).

A Way to walk, a Truth to proclaim, a Life to share and enjoy: Jesus Christ.

 

4^th Sunday of Easter 2023

 

Jesus said to his disciples: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?” John 14:1–2

These consoling and encouraging words, spoken by Jesus to the Apostles at the Last Supper, come immediately after Judas left to betray Jesus and after Jesus told Peter, in the presence of the others, that Peter would deny Jesus three times before the cock crowed. As a result, the Twelve (now Eleven) would have been discouraged, especially Peter. Jesus senses this and says, “Do not let your hearts be troubled…”

Peter was told that he would soon commit a grave sin against Jesus. As we are later told, as soon as Peter committed these sins, he went out and wept bitterly. Perhaps, as he did, he would have recalled Jesus’ words: “Do not let your hearts be troubled…”

Being tempted toward sin can be discouraging. But that can turn into a good thing. If we are not affected by our temptations, then we lack love for God. And if we give into those temptations and fail to experience sorrow, this is even worse. However, discouragement over our sins cannot remain; it must turn into its opposite, the virtue of hope. Hope will result from sin only when we hear and understand Jesus’ promise, seen above.

Jesus not only tells the disciples not to be troubled, He also tells them why. Jesus promises them He will prepare a place for them in Heaven and will come to take them to that place in His Father’s House, despite their failings. By believing, Peter and the other apostles will be able to dispel the initial discouragement they feel over their failings and turn back to God with the anticipation of Heaven.

Do you get discouraged by your sin? Begin by calling to mind any sin that you regularly struggle with. Habitual sin, especially, will lead to either sorrow, repentance and hope, or to a discouragement that ends in despair and the abandonment of virtue. Like Saint Peter, we must strive to weep bitterly over our sins. We must let our sins, and the temptation toward despair, become a motivation to regain hope, courage, and determination. This will only be possible if we always hear Jesus say to us, “Do not let your hearts be troubled…” We must sense His compassion and tenderness and allow that love to fill us with confidence that we will one day overcome all sin and be welcomed into the Father’s House.

Reflect, today, upon any sin with which you regularly struggle. As you do, consider whether your discouragement leads to despair or hope. Hope does not come from your ability to overcome sin on your own. It comes from the compassion of our Lord and His promise to redeem you. If you do have a troubled heart, that is good. It is the starting point for hope. Allow Jesus to lift your troubled heart and to point your eyes to Heaven.

Most compassionate Lord, though I am a sinner, You speak to me with tenderness and call me to repent so that I will always have hope in Heaven. Please give me a true and holy sorrow for my sins and help me to always turn back to You so that You will one day lead me to the fullness of the Father’s House. Jesus, I trust in You.

4^th Sunday of Easter 2023

Introductory Prayer: Lord, thank you for allowing me to spend this time with you. There are things in life, Lord, that attract me, but you attract me more. I hope in you, and I love you. Maybe I don’t understand what it means to love, and maybe I don’t love the way I should, but I do love you.

Petition: Lord, help me be patient and accept your timing.

1. Nostalgia: Few of us feel at home in this world. We are exiles, often homesick, waiting for news from a faraway land. We have heard of this land many times, but have never seen it. To compensate for our homesick emptiness, we work hard to fill our existence with material goods. When we have them, we suffer from boredom. When we don’t, we suffer from ambition. “Vanity of vanities and all things are vanity!” (Ecclesiastes 1:2). We long for something that can fill that emptiness.

2. Right Now: Lord Jesus, I know that you are hidden behind the veil of the Eucharist and that you are in your Father’s house. In your Father’s house, there are many rooms. Right now, as I pray, you are preparing a place for me. Lord, may I tell you how I would like my room to be? (Imagine being an interior decorator and being able to make that room any way you like.)

3. One Day: One day, when I least expect it, you will come and take me home. When I get there, I will know it is the place I have been mysteriously longing for all my life. In some way, it will be as I imagined, and yet, it will be different. It will be a place of no more nostalgia, no more pining. I will be able to meet many friends there again. Each day will get better and better. Yes, it is important to dream about that day and what it will be like because that keeps me motivated in my struggle to attain eternal life.

Conversation with Christ: Meanwhile, Lord, I am here, right here, and I have work to do. Some of today’s tasks don’t excite me; however, I will do them for you. In those moments of my day when I don’t feel you, I wait. I know you are coming.

Resolution: I will be patient and accept the Lord’s timing because those who love, learn the hard lesson of waiting.