Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ Tư Tuần 21
TN Mathêu -23:27-32
Thật dịp tốt để chúng ta thấy chính
bản thân của chúng ta trong hình ảnh người Biệt Phái trong bài Phúc Âm hôm nay.
Điều nguy hiểm nhất là khi chúng ta nghĩ rằng những lời quở mắng của Chúa Giêsu
chỉ dành cho những người bà con hàng xóm láng giềng của chúng ta mà không phải
cho chính chúng ta. Chúa Giêsu nói với chúng ta hôm nay trong Tin Mừng. Ngài
cảnh báo chúng ta rằng chúng ta đưa ra những luật pháp và luân lý đạo đức để
làm tăng thêm gánh nặng cho người khác trong khi chúng ta được miễn trừ hay tự tha
thứ cho mình vì tội lỗi và hành vi tội lỗi mà chúng ta đã mắc phạm. Chúng ta dễ
dàng dùng miệng lưỡi để giải thích với những cách trình bày hợp lý và chúng ta
vặn vẹo, lúng túng biện minh cho tội lỗi của chúng ta, trong khi đó chúng ta
thích chỉ trích, lên án, phán xét và tất cả những người khác dưới ánh sáng mặt
trời, cho dù họ bất cứ là ai, là bạn bè hay là các đối thủ cạnh tranh của chúng
ta, hay họ là những người bà con hàng xóm và những người thân của chúng ta. Ví
thế, đối với điều này mà Chúa gọi chúng ta là những người mù.
Chúng ta bị mù bởi vì chúng ta không nhìn thấy tội lỗi của chúng ta. Chúng ta cần phải rửa sạch bên trong cái chén trước khi chúng ta có thể rữa sạch cái chén bên ngoài. Và vì cái chén đó có chứa đầy tất cả các lỗi lầm, tội lỗi bên trong đó mà chúng ta đã mắc phạm mỗi ngày trong cuộc sống thường nhật của chúng ta. Chúa Giêsu đã uống từ cái chén này, đã uống cạn tội lội lỗi, tính hư nết xấu, những tham vọng của chúng ta. Ngài rửa sạch bên trong cái chén đó và đã tha thứ tất cả các tội lỗi của chúng ta. Và vì vậy chúng ta phải vượt qua chính mình để ân sủng của Thiên Chúa giúp chúnga biết tha thứ cho những người xúc phạm đến chúng ta.
REFLECTION
It is good to see ourselves inside this Gospel as Pharisees. The greatest danger is to think that these words are meant for our neighbor and not for us. Jesus is speaking to us today in the Gospel. He is warning us that we put on laws and morals that weigh and burden others while we excuse ourselves for the sins and offenses we commit. We are easy to explain with rational logic and we squirm out of sin by justifying it, while we criticize, condemn, and judge everyone under the sun, whether they be from the government, our competitors, or our
neighbors and relatives. For this the Lord calls us BLIND.
We are blind because we fail to see our own sins. We need to clean the inside of our cup before we can clean the outside of our cup. And the cup contains all our sins and misdeeds that we commit every single day. The Lord has drunk from this cup and has forgiven our sins, and so must we transcend ourselves to God's grace and forgive those who offend us.
Wednesday 21st Ordinary Time 2023
Jesus said, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You are like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and every kind of filth. Even so, on the outside you appear righteous, but inside you are filled with hypocrisy and evildoing.” Matthew 23:27–28
This would not have been an easy thing for the scribes and Pharisees to hear. It is a hard truth, spoken by our Lord, partly in an attempt to shake them free of their sin. And even though they may not have enjoyed hearing this clear condemnation spoken, since it came from the Savior of the World, we can be sure that these are words of the deepest love and were spoken so that these men would repent and change their ways.
Perhaps each of us, at times, feels like criticizing another. Most often, when we feel this way, it stems from our own personal sin of anger. Perhaps we were hurt by another and that hurt results in a desire for a form of vengeance that comes from anger. But this was not the case with Jesus.
First, these words were spoken by Jesus to his disciples and to the crowds of people, not only to the scribes and Pharisees. So in many ways Jesus spoke this for the good of those who were suffering under the misguided leadership of these religious leaders. But Jesus knew that these leaders would also hear His words, so He spoke those words to them. But unlike us, He did it out of perfect virtue so as to care for their souls.
At times, each one of us needs to hear Jesus rebuke us in love. If any of the scribes and Pharisees were open at that time, then Jesus’ words would have first stung them to the heart but then had the powerful effect of challenging them to change. They needed this and so do we. When we become stuck in our sins, especially if obstinacy sets in, then we need to allow Jesus to challenge us firmly. Such a challenge can be rattling, but that rattling is sometimes necessary. Emotion and passion can lead to sin, but it can also lead to repentance and conversion. The passion with which Jesus spoke became an instrument by which their own passions made them sit up and take notice. The result was that they either became more steeped in their sin or they repented. And though most became even more steeped in sin, which ultimately resulted in their persecution and death of Jesus, we can hope that there were some who did repent, such as Nicodemus.
Reflect, today, upon the strength of Jesus’ words to these religious leaders. Though they were supposed to be both “religious” and “leaders,” they were neither. They needed Jesus’ strength, courage and firmness. They needed to be confronted directly and receive the hard and clear truth about their sin. Reflect upon what it is in your own life that Jesus wants to say to you. Is there an area of your life in which our Lord needs to address you with passion, strength, clarity and firmness? Most likely there is. Perhaps not in an area of serious sin like it was with these scribes and Pharisees, but if we are open, Jesus wants to powerfully go after every sin within us. Open yourself to Him and allow Him to help rid you of the sins with which you struggle the most. And be grateful for this grace when He does.
My passionate Lord, You hate sin but love the sinner. You perfectly desire to rid me of all sin and all attachment to sin. Please open my mind and heart to hear Your rebukes of Love so that I may respond to Your invitation to repent with all my heart. I love You dear Lord. Free me from sin so that I may love You more. Jesus, I trust in You.
Wednesday 21st Ordinary Time 2023
1. Woe to You: Jesus told the Pharisees that, while they appeared beautiful on the outside, they were full of filth inside. He looked directly into their souls, as he does into ours. Power, beauty, and honor can corrupt. If we’re beautiful on the outside, praise him. If we’re in leadership positions, like the Pharisees were, depend on him. If we’re being honored, it’s because Jesus allowed it. Only by relying solely on Jesus and not on our own gifts and strengths will we avoid condemnation like the Pharisees. May Jesus never say to us, “Woe to you.”
Wednesday 21st Ordinary Time2021
Encountering Christ:
“You Hypocrites”: Jesus mentions the word “hypocrite” seven times in this chapter of St. Matthew’s Gospel. He is deeply concerned that we will not find ourselves living a life of hypocrisy. Jesus is not scandalized by sin and imperfection, but he does speak clearly about the scourge of hypocrisy. Why? He knows how much a divided life can hurt and destroy us, and he doesn’t want to see us hurting ourselves and others in this way. He created us to be beautiful, not only on the outside but on the inside too. He wants to restore our inner unity.
Thứ Tư Tuần 21 TN Suy Niệm Tin Mừng
Mathêu 23:27-32
Thường tình, thật là dễ dàng cho chúng ta bị sa lầy bởi những thứ không quan trọng trong cuộc sống hàng ngày của chúng ta và lo lắng về chuyện tầm phào. Các mối quan hệ giữa chúng ta với Thiên Chúa trong đời sống Kitô hữu của chúng ta rất rõ ràng. Như Chúa Giêsu, chúng ta phải là những người của chân lý, của sự thật, những người của yêu thương và lòng bác ái, những người biết thông cảm và biết tha thứ.
REFLECTION
It is so easy for us to get bogged down by unimportant things in our daily lives and to worry about trivialities. Often it is very obvious in our relations with God and in our Christian living. While all the time what really matters is if, like Jesus, we are people of truth, people of love and compassion, people of understanding and forgiveness.
Again we spend so much time being anxious about how we appear before people, what people think about us. When what really matters is the "real me" inside and how we relate to God and to people. We can get so lost in little details that we forget to ask the most important questions of fairness, justice, decency and charity. Jesus says: "Clean the inside of the cup first and the outside will take care of itself". Jesus means, of course, that if our interior dispositions are good, wholesome, truly Christian and Gospel oriented, then our exterior, our lives, our actions, our contacts with our fellowmen will also be truly Christian. There is little good in being exteriorly correct, polite, and civil, unless our interior thoughts are the origin and basis for these acts. Otherwise we become hypocrites and are no better than the Scribes and Pharisees. Honesty with self is not only good mental health. It is also Christian in every sense of the word.
Chúng ta bị mù bởi vì chúng ta không nhìn thấy tội lỗi của chúng ta. Chúng ta cần phải rửa sạch bên trong cái chén trước khi chúng ta có thể rữa sạch cái chén bên ngoài. Và vì cái chén đó có chứa đầy tất cả các lỗi lầm, tội lỗi bên trong đó mà chúng ta đã mắc phạm mỗi ngày trong cuộc sống thường nhật của chúng ta. Chúa Giêsu đã uống từ cái chén này, đã uống cạn tội lội lỗi, tính hư nết xấu, những tham vọng của chúng ta. Ngài rửa sạch bên trong cái chén đó và đã tha thứ tất cả các tội lỗi của chúng ta. Và vì vậy chúng ta phải vượt qua chính mình để ân sủng của Thiên Chúa giúp chúnga biết tha thứ cho những người xúc phạm đến chúng ta.
It is good to see ourselves inside this Gospel as Pharisees. The greatest danger is to think that these words are meant for our neighbor and not for us. Jesus is speaking to us today in the Gospel. He is warning us that we put on laws and morals that weigh and burden others while we excuse ourselves for the sins and offenses we commit. We are easy to explain with rational logic and we squirm out of sin by justifying it, while we criticize, condemn, and judge everyone under the sun, whether they be from the government, our competitors, or our
neighbors and relatives. For this the Lord calls us BLIND.
We are blind because we fail to see our own sins. We need to clean the inside of our cup before we can clean the outside of our cup. And the cup contains all our sins and misdeeds that we commit every single day. The Lord has drunk from this cup and has forgiven our sins, and so must we transcend ourselves to God's grace and forgive those who offend us.
Jesus said, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You are like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and every kind of filth. Even so, on the outside you appear righteous, but inside you are filled with hypocrisy and evildoing.” Matthew 23:27–28
This would not have been an easy thing for the scribes and Pharisees to hear. It is a hard truth, spoken by our Lord, partly in an attempt to shake them free of their sin. And even though they may not have enjoyed hearing this clear condemnation spoken, since it came from the Savior of the World, we can be sure that these are words of the deepest love and were spoken so that these men would repent and change their ways.
Perhaps each of us, at times, feels like criticizing another. Most often, when we feel this way, it stems from our own personal sin of anger. Perhaps we were hurt by another and that hurt results in a desire for a form of vengeance that comes from anger. But this was not the case with Jesus.
First, these words were spoken by Jesus to his disciples and to the crowds of people, not only to the scribes and Pharisees. So in many ways Jesus spoke this for the good of those who were suffering under the misguided leadership of these religious leaders. But Jesus knew that these leaders would also hear His words, so He spoke those words to them. But unlike us, He did it out of perfect virtue so as to care for their souls.
At times, each one of us needs to hear Jesus rebuke us in love. If any of the scribes and Pharisees were open at that time, then Jesus’ words would have first stung them to the heart but then had the powerful effect of challenging them to change. They needed this and so do we. When we become stuck in our sins, especially if obstinacy sets in, then we need to allow Jesus to challenge us firmly. Such a challenge can be rattling, but that rattling is sometimes necessary. Emotion and passion can lead to sin, but it can also lead to repentance and conversion. The passion with which Jesus spoke became an instrument by which their own passions made them sit up and take notice. The result was that they either became more steeped in their sin or they repented. And though most became even more steeped in sin, which ultimately resulted in their persecution and death of Jesus, we can hope that there were some who did repent, such as Nicodemus.
Reflect, today, upon the strength of Jesus’ words to these religious leaders. Though they were supposed to be both “religious” and “leaders,” they were neither. They needed Jesus’ strength, courage and firmness. They needed to be confronted directly and receive the hard and clear truth about their sin. Reflect upon what it is in your own life that Jesus wants to say to you. Is there an area of your life in which our Lord needs to address you with passion, strength, clarity and firmness? Most likely there is. Perhaps not in an area of serious sin like it was with these scribes and Pharisees, but if we are open, Jesus wants to powerfully go after every sin within us. Open yourself to Him and allow Him to help rid you of the sins with which you struggle the most. And be grateful for this grace when He does.
My passionate Lord, You hate sin but love the sinner. You perfectly desire to rid me of all sin and all attachment to sin. Please open my mind and heart to hear Your rebukes of Love so that I may respond to Your invitation to repent with all my heart. I love You dear Lord. Free me from sin so that I may love You more. Jesus, I trust in You.
1. Woe to You: Jesus told the Pharisees that, while they appeared beautiful on the outside, they were full of filth inside. He looked directly into their souls, as he does into ours. Power, beauty, and honor can corrupt. If we’re beautiful on the outside, praise him. If we’re in leadership positions, like the Pharisees were, depend on him. If we’re being honored, it’s because Jesus allowed it. Only by relying solely on Jesus and not on our own gifts and strengths will we avoid condemnation like the Pharisees. May Jesus never say to us, “Woe to you.”
Encountering Christ:
“You Hypocrites”: Jesus mentions the word “hypocrite” seven times in this chapter of St. Matthew’s Gospel. He is deeply concerned that we will not find ourselves living a life of hypocrisy. Jesus is not scandalized by sin and imperfection, but he does speak clearly about the scourge of hypocrisy. Why? He knows how much a divided life can hurt and destroy us, and he doesn’t want to see us hurting ourselves and others in this way. He created us to be beautiful, not only on the outside but on the inside too. He wants to restore our inner unity.
Thường tình, thật là dễ dàng cho chúng ta bị sa lầy bởi những thứ không quan trọng trong cuộc sống hàng ngày của chúng ta và lo lắng về chuyện tầm phào. Các mối quan hệ giữa chúng ta với Thiên Chúa trong đời sống Kitô hữu của chúng ta rất rõ ràng. Như Chúa Giêsu, chúng ta phải là những người của chân lý, của sự thật, những người của yêu thương và lòng bác ái, những người biết thông cảm và biết tha thứ.
It is so easy for us to get bogged down by unimportant things in our daily lives and to worry about trivialities. Often it is very obvious in our relations with God and in our Christian living. While all the time what really matters is if, like Jesus, we are people of truth, people of love and compassion, people of understanding and forgiveness.
Again we spend so much time being anxious about how we appear before people, what people think about us. When what really matters is the "real me" inside and how we relate to God and to people. We can get so lost in little details that we forget to ask the most important questions of fairness, justice, decency and charity. Jesus says: "Clean the inside of the cup first and the outside will take care of itself". Jesus means, of course, that if our interior dispositions are good, wholesome, truly Christian and Gospel oriented, then our exterior, our lives, our actions, our contacts with our fellowmen will also be truly Christian. There is little good in being exteriorly correct, polite, and civil, unless our interior thoughts are the origin and basis for these acts. Otherwise we become hypocrites and are no better than the Scribes and Pharisees. Honesty with self is not only good mental health. It is also Christian in every sense of the word.
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