Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ Năm Tuần Tuần 25 Thường Niên
Bình thường, cuộc sống của chúng ta cũng giống như vua Hêrôđê nghĩa là chúng ta có "một cuộc sống rất bình thường" của người Công giáo. Có nghĩa là chúng ta tự để mình rơi vào trong một cái thói quen. Chúng ta đi nhà thờ, làm công việc hay nghĩa vụ của mình theo như “một cái máy” vì luật buộc như việc xưng tội một năm một lần, đi “xem lễ”, rước lễ, và rồi về nhà, thế là xong, cuộc sống xay vòng ngày qua ngày giống như thế. Bằng cách nào đó, đôi khi người Kitô giáo chúng ta có vẻ hầu như cảm nhận thấy rằng, cuộc sống đạo của chúng ta đạo chẳng có gì lấy làm hào hứng và vui thích cho lắm.
Tất nhiên, chúng ta ai cũng muốn thấy Chúa Giêsu, nhưng chúng ta chẳng nỡ bỏ công sức ra để tìm kiếm Chúa. Chúng ta không nhìn thấy và không nhận ra sự cần thiết của sự từ bỏ hay thoát khỏi cái vỏ không trống rỗng để tìm kiếm những sung túc, sự sung sướng và sự thoải mái của chúng ta, để đáp ứng lại cái sự mời gọi của Chúa Giêsu, đặc biệt là những nơi Ngài hiện diện trong những vùng ngoại ô, làng quê héo lánh, hay ở nơi những người đang sống bên lề xã hội, những người nghèo khổ và bị ruồng bỏ. Nhưng chúng ta cũng đã nhận được sự cảnh báo là trong ngày Phán Xét, khi chúng ta được đưa ra trước quan toà Chúa Giêsu, chúng ta cũng đừng ngạc nhiên, nếu Chúa nói với chúng ta là: "Ta không biết ngươi là ai".
Lạy Chúa, xin giúp chúng con biết dùng thời gian của Chúa ban cho chúng con một cách khôn ngoan, để chúng con luôn thực sự và thành tâm đi tìm kiếm Chúa giữa lòng người và dòng đời mà chúng con đang sống, biết nhận ra Chúa trong người anh em nghèo khó, tật nguyền đang sốnh ngay nên cạnh chúng con.
The Gospel reading yesterday described how Jesus sends his closest disciples on mission. This expansion of Jesus’ mission draws the attention of Herod Antiphas, the tetrarch of Galilee. Herod is curious about Jesus because he had heard about Jesus and the miracles Jesus was performing. As a result, Herod desires to see Jesus. Not because he really believed in Jesus' message but because he merely wanted to satisfy his curiosity. So, Herod remains in his palace waiting for the day when he can see Jesus. It never occurs to him to go out and look for Jesus. In the meantime, life goes on as usual. Often, we can become “life as usual” Catholics. We fall into a routine. We go to church, fulfill our religious obligations, receive Communion, and go home. Nothing changes, just as expressed by the writer in the first reading. Nothing really exciting happens to our faith and in our relationship with God. Somehow it seems as though there’s nothing joyful about being a Christian.
Of course, we would like to see Jesus but we do not look for him. We do not see the need to go forth from our comfort zone, outside our homes or parish, to meet Jesus, especially where he is present in the peripheries, in the marginalised, the poor and outcasts. But be warned. In the end when we do meet Jesus, do not be surprised if he says, “I do not know you”. Lord, help me to seek You always.
Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was happening, and he was greatly perplexed because some were saying, “John has been raised from the dead”; others were saying, “Elijah has appeared”; still others, “One of the ancient prophets has arisen.” Luke 9:7–8
Herod the tetrarch, also known as Herod Antipas, ruled the Jews of Galilee for some forty-two years. He began his reign in 2 BC and continued to reign until he was exiled by the Roman Emperor in 37 AD. During his reign, he spent much time in Tiberias, one of the main cities on the western edge of the Sea of Galilee. Most of Jesus’ ministry took place within the region of Herod’s domain, all of Galilee, so Herod was very aware of the many stories about Jesus.
Today’s Gospel concludes by saying that Herod kept trying to see Jesus. Of course, Herod, just like anyone living in that region, could have traveled to where Jesus was preaching so as to listen to Him at any time. But he didn’t do that. Instead, he continued to receive reports about Jesus and remained curious about Him, trying to find a way to figure out Who Jesus was.
Try to imagine what would have happened if Herod would have traveled to where Jesus was preaching so as to listen to Him with an open heart. If he would have done that, and truly listened, Herod would have received one of the greatest gifts imaginable. He would have received the gift of faith and conversion and would have begun down the road toward eternal salvation. But Herod was living an immoral life. He was known to be a cruel leader and also an unrepentant adulterer. He loved his power and was quite jealous of it. Herod most likely knew, at least in the back of his mind, that if he were to listen to Jesus, he would have to change. And he most likely didn’t want to change.
This presents us all with a powerful lesson. Each one of us can easily dismiss various communications and invitations from our Lord, because, deep down, we do not want to change. God is speaking to us all day long, every day of our lives. He is constantly offering us His message of the full Gospel. And though you may be open to much of what God says, there are most likely parts of His divine message that you either knowingly or unknowingly do not listen to. The key to being able to hear everything that God wants to speak to you is to be disposed to completely change in any and every way that God wants you to change.
Reflect, today, upon Herod. First, reflect upon his curiosity about Jesus. This is a good quality, in that it’s much better than being indifferent. From there, think also about the fact that Herod never went to Jesus to listen to Him. His first meeting with Jesus was on the night of His arrest, when he interrogated our Lord and made fun of Him. As you consider Herod’s obstinacy, use it as an examination of your own life. Where you see any small reflection of obstinacy, fear of change or a closed heart, seek to remedy that by turning to our Lord telling Him you are open to all He wishes to say and that you are ready and willing to change in any way He calls you to do so. Do not fear the change our Lord wants of you. Embracing that change will land you on the quick and narrow road toward true holiness of life.
My ever-present Lord, You call to me day and night, inviting me to change as I listen to Your holy Word. I thank You for these constant promptings of grace and commit myself to remain open to all that You ask of me. I choose You, my Lord. And as I turn to You, I pray that I will have the courage I need to respond wholeheartedly to Your call. Jesus, I trust in You.
Opening Prayer: Lord Jesus, I believe in you, I hope in you, and I love you. Grant me a sacred reverence for supernatural phenomena and a holy fear of the Lord. Lord, I humbly ask for the presence of mind to be in awe before you and approach the tabernacle with great reverence.
1. Worldly Power: Wordly power seduces the powerful into believing that he or she can control all outcomes. Hearing about Jesus agitated Herod, most likely because he had a guilty conscience for having beheaded John. Perhaps he also worried about the possibility of another prophet more popular than John. And he certainly felt that all the commotion was getting out of hand. Herod sought out Jesus to assuage his concerns, but might he also have had a glimmer of authentic curiosity? When we seek Jesus in prayer, does anxiety prompt us, or do we look for him with hearts motivated by healthy, loving curiosity?
Opening Prayer: Dear Lord Jesus, I come before you in prayer. Increase my faith so I can grasp your word. Strengthen my love to live your word, and fortify my hope to hold onto your word. May our encounter in this time of prayer bear fruit in my soul.
Herod Was Greatly Perplexed: Upon hearing about Jesus, Herod “was greatly perplexed.” In the Gospel of Mark, Herod even said that Jesus “is John whom I beheaded. He has been raised up” (Mark 6:16). Herod, as worldly as he was, could not fully disavow his attraction to the sacred. Before beheading John, “Herod feared John, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man… when he heard him speak he was very much perplexed, yet he liked to listen to him” (Mark 6:20). Now his fascination with the saintly John and his guilty conscience (for having beheaded John) made Herod uneasy when hearing about Jesus. While people may try to ignore their religious and moral sense and live a hedonistic lifestyle, the voice of conscience calling man back to goodness and truth is very resilient. This is so because God made us in his image and likeness.
In the first reading the post-exilic prophet Haggai speaks about the rebuilding of the nation, beginning with the rebuilding of the Temple, where God dwells. Their growth and development as a nation will depend upon their faithfulness to their covenant with Yahweh. From the destruction of their Temple and nation and the shame, defeat and desolation of exile, God's chosen people hoped to rise again. Has the exile formed a chastened and renewed people?
In the Gospel reading King Herod wonders who this Jesus miracle-worker is: one of the prophets come back to life, Elijah-come-back, or John the Baptist raised to life? Though Herod respected John as "an upright and holy man" and "liked listening to him, although he became very disturbed whenever he heard him (Mk 6: 20), he had John beheaded at the request of the daughter of Herodias his consort.
We know that Herod wanted to meet Jesus. He finally met him when Pilate sent Jesus to him at his trial. But he got no reply from Jesus. (Lk 23: 6 -12)
Like Herod, we are asked the same question? Who is this Jesus of Nazareth? And, more important, what is he to us now? When Jesus asked his disciples at Caesarea Philippi, "Who do you say I am?" Peter replied, "You are the Messiah." What is our answer?
The first reading from Ecclesiastes challenges us to reflect on the meaning of our lives. The message of Ecclesiastes which was written in the third century before Christ is reflected in the first reading: What is this world we live in about?
Hopefully with our Christian faith and Judeo-Greek-Roman background we are able to answer the questions and concerns raised in Ecclesiastes.
In the Gospel reading King Herod wonders who this Jesus miracle-worker is: one of the prophets come back to life, Elijah-come-back, or John the Baptist raised to life? Though Herod respected John as "an upright and holy man" and "liked listening to him, although he became very disturbed whenever he heard him" (Mk 6: 20), he had John beheaded at the request of the daughter of Herodias, his consort.
We know that Herod wanted to meet Jesus. He finally met him when Pilate sent Jesus to him at his trial. But he got no reply from Jesus. (Lk 23: 6 -12) Like Herod, we are asked the same question? Who is this Jesus of Nazareth? And, more important, what is he to us now? When Jesus asked his disciples at Caesarea Philippi, "Who do you say I am?" Peter replied, "You are the Messiah." What is our answer?
Herod was the governor of the land. He had power and resources. He was "the authority" and had the wisdom to rule his people. And yet the wisdom of this world that was Herod's was confounded by the simple reality of Jesus' healing presence and his teachings. "He did not know what to think... I had John beheaded... Who is this man..." He lost his wisdom when confronted with the wonders or the miracles Jesus had done.
In our world today, there are still some miracles, great and small, happening now and then. If we are attuned to the movement of the Spirit in us, in others and in the world, we see these miracles, accept them and perceive God's action in them because of the Spirit in us. However, if God is not in us, and we act as if we are responsible for everything and anything, then we can be like Herod, confounded by simple yet divine realities. We could not believe this or that would be God's miracle. It may be just the fact that we can get up in the morning to live another day, or that we have been saved from a near catastrophic event like a plane crash or car accident, or that bitter enemies have reconciled, or the reality that the bread and wine have become the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ at Mass.
Let us pray for one another and ask the Lord to make us sensitive to His presence in the different events in our life and in the world. We know that He is with us always, but are we conscious of that? If we are, then, we would never be offending one another, and always be grateful to God for His presence.
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