Suy Niệm Tin MừngThứ Hai Tuần 23 TN

Suy Niệm Tin MừngThứ Hai Tuần 23 TN: Luke 6:6-11
Trong cuộc sống hiện tại, chúng ta mỗi người ai cũng đều muốn tìm kiếm những thứ khác nhau trong cuộc sống, và hay bị thu hút, cám dỗ bởi hay bị thúc đẩy vào những gì mà họ tìm kiếm. Thánh Phaolô đang tìm kiếm sự hiệp nhất với Chúa Kitô trong Chúa Thánh Thần. Điều này cho phép thánh nhân nhìn rõ vào cuộc sống và cái chết với sự thờ ơ, lãnh đạm,  miễn sao mà ngài tìm thấy Chúa Kitô ở đó, cho dù Chúa Kitô ở trong sự hiệp nhất với dân Ngài trong niềm hạnh phúc vĩnh cửu hoặc trong sự hợp tác với họ nhằm lao động cho tình yêu của thế giới.
Qua bài Tin Mừng, Những người Biệt Phái đang rình mò, quan sát để tìm kiếm những khe hở hay những sơ xuất của Chúa Giêsu đẻ lên án Chúa,  vì đối với họ, họ thích tìm kiến những sự chú ý trọng cái vẻ bề ngoài, chấp hành pháp luật được coi như là một ưu tiên hàng đầu và  coi trọng cái vỏ bề ngoài hơn cả những việc làm tốt và những lành phúc đức với  lòng nhân hậu và thương xót;  Họ đã để cho sự ghen tương, tức tối đè nén cảm xúc riêng trong tâm hồn của họ. Nhưng Chúa Giêsu đã nhận thức sâu sắc cái sự đau đớn và khổ sở của người có cánh tay khô héo, tật nguyền. Phục hồi cánh Tay của anh Chúa cho anh ta có được một cuộc sống trọn vẹn. Nhưng đối với Ngài, Ngài đã phải chịu những chỉ trích và nhưng chống đối thật nguy hiểm. Nhưng Chúa Giêsu đãi bất chấp những trách móc, chê bai và những cái giá mà Ngài sẽ phải trả.
            Còn chúng ta, Chúng ta đã nhanh chóng nhìn người khác và vội vàng phán xét họ? Bởi vì họ có những tiêu chuẩn khác với chúng ta? Chúng ta đã phán đoán họ dựa theo pháp luật của tình yêu hay dựa theo sự giải thích riêng cá nhân của chúng ta?  Chúng ta cần biết thận trọng và cố gắng để tìm cơ hội thực hiện những việv làm hữn ích làm đẹp lòng Chúa hơn là bận tâm trong việc tìm những cọng rác trong mắt của những người chung quanh rồi lên án họ mà quên đi cái đà ngang đang dính cứng ngắc trong mắt mình mà mình không thấy.
            Thiên Chúa của chúng ta là Đấng hằng hằng Hữu, là đấng công minh, chính trực, là dấng hay cứu chữa người đau bệnh  và là đấng ban phát sự sống. Xin Cho chúng ta luôn biết thể hiện tình yêu thường với lòng nhân hậu với mọi người và luôn luôn có sự tự tin và hy vọng, biết giơ thẳnh cánh tay của chúng ta ra để đón nhận được hồng ân và những thứ cần thiết để chúng ta có được một cuộc sống lành mạnh từ nơi Thiên Chúa.
 
Reflection
Different people look for different things in life, and are drawn or driven by what they look for. Paul is looking for unity with Christ in the Spirit. This enables him to look at life and death with indifference, so long as he finds Christ there, whether Christ in union with his people in eternal happiness or in collaboration with them to labor for the love of the world. The Pharisees watch, alert to any transgression. To them, observance of the law takes precedence over good deeds and works of mercy; do’s and don’ts override feelings and wants.
            Jesus looks around and recognizes where there is a need. Today’s gospel tells us that Jesus, keenly aware of the pain and suffering of the man with the withered hand, restores him to life’s wholeness in spite of the potential scandal he may cause and the price to pay.
            How quick are you to judge people? By what standards? Is it according to the law of love or your own personal interpretations of that law? It’s good to be vigilant and to try to be as pleasing to the Lord as possible. But getting stuck in the “weeds” of every individual rule can blind us to God’s desire for us to become vessels of his love, compassion, and justice in this world.  Our God is a God who cures and gives life. May we, with confidence and hope, stretch out our hands to receive from God and people the help we need to live a wholesome life. Lord Jesus, give me the grace to reflect prayerfully on my daily life, to see you as I perceive the world around me — Your gaze, Your gestures, Your hands, Your feet, Your voice — and to respond by life-giving service.
 
Monday 23rd Week in Ordinary Time 2023
On a certain sabbath Jesus went into the synagogue and taught, and there was a man there whose right hand was withered. The scribes and the Pharisees watched him closely to see if he would cure on the sabbath so that they might discover a reason to accuse him. But he realized their intentions… Luke 6:6–8
Jesus had a gift. Of course, He had every good gift to perfection. But in today’s Gospel, we see one of  Jesus’ gifts made manifest. Namely, Jesus was able to realize the intentions of those He daily encountered.
Normally, we can only know another’s intentions if they were to tell us their intentions. We cannot read minds and hearts. But our Lord could. He had the divine ability to read every soul and know every heart. For that reason, when someone came to Him with great faith, He knew it. And when someone came to Him with evil intent, He knew it.
When Jesus perceived the ill intentions of the scribes and Pharisees, He used that knowledge to manifest their intentions. They intended to find a reason to accuse Jesus, so He gave them one. Jesus cured a man with a withered hand on the Sabbath, and the scribes and Pharisees “became enraged and discussed together what they might do to Jesus.” They thought miracles were violations of the law of Sabbath rest.  Jesus knew they would apply their twisted logic to this miraculous healing, and He knew they would become enraged at Him on account of their envy. So, in a sense, Jesus provoked them so that that which was in their hearts would come forth for them to see.
All of our interior intentions and thoughts are known by God and must become manifest to us in the presence of God. By provoking the scribes and Pharisees in charity, Jesus forces them to face that which was within them. They had to choose to either continue down the path of envy or to realize the foolishness of their interior thoughts. Sadly, for the scribes and Pharisees, it appears that many of them became more hardened in their sin. But this was a choice only they could make.
Reflect, today, upon your own interior intentions and thoughts. Why do you do the things you do? What hidden motivations are in your heart? Is there some person, or a certain situation you find yourself in that causes you to obsess in anger interiorly? Or is it true charity that resides within you and is the source of your actions? Is there a profound faith? A supernatural hope? Or is it primarily some sin with which you struggle? Know that Jesus knows your heart, and He wants you also to see clearly those things hidden in your heart. He wants you to see your intentions as clearly as He sees them. Allow Him to reveal the depths of your heart to you so that you can turn away from the sins you find and rejoice in the virtues by which you live.
My glorious Lord, you know all thoughts and probe the depths of every heart. You know me, Lord, through and through. Please open my eyes to see that which is within me so that I can discern the ill intentions I have and rejoice in the virtues given to me by You. May I always be attentive to You, dear Lord, so that I become aware of all that You wish to reveal to me. Jesus, I trust in You.
 
Monday 23rd Week in Ordinary Time 2023
Opening Prayer: Lord Jesus, you opened the eyes of the blind and healed those crippled in body and soul. You know how much I need you in my life. Teach me how to pray and keep my eyes fixed on you. 
Encountering Christ: 
1.      The Pharisees Watched Closely: The scribes and the Pharisees watched Jesus closely–not to learn from him, not to understand more deeply, not even to marvel at his power and goodness–but to be able to accuse him. This scene can move us to reflect on our own outward gaze. What are we looking at, or better said, what are we looking for? Struggles in the world today, in our own homes, or in our relationships can cloud our vision. The closer we draw to Jesus, the closer we let him draw us, the brighter his light will shine on us, and the more clearly we will see with eyes of faith. 
2.      The Crippled Man Watched Closely: Luke tells us that, knowing the intentions of their hearts, Jesus asked the man to stand up before them. Imagining the scene, we find that Jesus asked a crippled man to stand up in front of the leadership in the synagogue. A man with an infirmity (in those times, often viewed as a punishment from God or a fruit of one’s own or familial sins) stood before all by Jesus’s design. Can we imagine a more vulnerable or exposed position for this man? Yet perhaps his gaze was fixed on the face of Christ, giving him strength even in his vulnerability. 
3.      Our Predisposition: Two people can see the same external actions and yet take in polemically different realities. When the Pharisees looked at Christ, they saw only a troublemaker whose activities threatened the community they governed. The cripple saw the same Christ, but he wasn’t threatened. He trusted and courageously opened his hands to receive whatever the Lord wished to give him. He believed, not because he knew what he would get in the end, but because he believed in the goodness of the Giver. Hearts infused with the love of Christ are predisposed to see the light of Christ in others, and they live more joyfully as a result.
Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, you come before me today as you did that day in the synagogue. You let yourself be exposed, made vulnerable before me in the Eucharist, in the poor, in the needy, in my own family, friends, and daily realities. Help me to keep my gaze fixed on you. Grant me true openness of sight and heart to find you even in the places where you surprise me most. Send me your Holy Spirit so I may not become closed in on my expectations. I long to know the truth that you have come to reveal. 
Resolution: Lord, today, by your grace, I will ask the Holy Spirit for light to readjust my outward vision as needed and purify my intention. 
For Further Reflection: A helpful way to remember prayers of petition to the Holy Spirit throughout the day is through song. “Be Thou My Vision” or “Refiner’s Fire” are good examples.