Suy Niệm Bài đọc thứ Sáu Tuần 26 Thừơng Niên

Suy Niệm Bài đọc thứ Sáu Tuần 26 Thừơng Niên
            Qua bài Tin Mừng chúng ta được nghe đến những thành phố Chorazin và Bethsaida là những thành phố đông đúc dân chúng, nhiều người đã được nhìn thấy Chúa được nghe những lời giảng dạy và chứng kiến những điều huyền diệu, phép lạ mà Chúa Giêsu đã thực hiện ở đây;  Nhưng họ vẫn không mấy ấn tượng và không chịu thay đổi cách sống của họ, Vì thế Chúa Giêsu đã phải  thốt ra lời nguyền rủa là : “họ sẽ không có được một tương lai hạnh phúc”, và ngay cả vùng Capernaum cũng đã bị chỉ trích. Họ tự đánh giá cao chính bản thân của họ, nhưng họ không chịu nghe lời răn bảo của Chúa mà ăn năn hay tỏ ra được sự xám hối, Họ từ chối không chấp nhận Chúa Giê-su khi Ngài đi qua và giảng dạy trên các đường phố của họ, Họ đã chối từ Thiên Chúa.
            Phần chúng ta, nếu chúng ta tự xét mình, chắc chắn cũng có lúc nào đó trong cuộc sống chúng ta cũng có những hành động như những người này, vì chúng ta đã có những động thái tốt! Nhưng điều quan trọng là chúng ta phải biết tự sửa mình là không được tự mãn hay hoài nghi, nhưng luôn luôn cởi mở và mong muốn được nghe những lời giảng dạy về Phúc âm để tự phát triển tâm linh.  Để giữ được một mối quan hệ tốt với Chúa Giêsu là chúng ta phải biết thay đổi.  Lạy Chúa, Xin cho Lời Chúa có thể biến đổi chúng con và cuộc sống của chúng con.
 
Friday 26^th Ordinary Time
            The towns of Chorazin and Bethsaida had seen great things done in their midst; the teaching and the miracles of Jesus. But they remain unimpressed and unwilling to change their ways. Jesus uttered a warning; they did not have a happy future. Even Capernaum was criticized; they thought highly of themselves but did not show the fruits of repentance. To reject Jesus when he walked and taught in their streets was the same as rejecting God. Not a good move! It is important not to be complacent or cynical, but always open and eager to be taught and to grow spiritually. A relationship with Jesus means change.
Lord, may Your word transform me.
 
Friday of the Twenty-Sixth Week in Ordinary Time
Jesus said to them, “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would long ago have repented, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.” Luke 10:13
Have you ever sat in sackcloth and ashes? In the Gospel passage above, Jesus gives clear indication that doing so is a holy sign of responding to His preaching. He states that the pagan towns of Tyre and Sidon would have certainly sat in sackcloth and ashes if they would have been privileged to witness the mighty deeds done in the Jewish towns of Chorazin and Bethsaida.
“Sackcloth and ashes” were a common sign used to indicate interior repentance and sorrow for sin. There are many times throughout the Old Testament when this happened. Recall, for example, that when Jonah preached to the people of Nineveh, everyone from the king down to the common citizen responded by expressing their repentance in this way (Jonah 3:5–7). Sackcloth was a rough and uncomfortable material usually made out of black goats hair, symbolizing the rejection of the false consolation of sin. Ashes symbolized desolation and destruction resulting from purifying fire. Of course, all of us do sit in ashes every Ash Wednesday as an external manifestation of our desire to repent. And though putting on actual sackcloth for clothing today may not be our literal practice, it is good to see the spiritual fruitfulness of these actions and to consider ways in which these actions can still be performed in our day and age. How might you sit in sackcloth and ashes today? What practical action can you take to publicly manifest your desire to turn from sin and toward the Gospel?
First of all, to properly answer this question, it’s important to recognize the fact that turning from sin should not only be a personal and interior act, it must also be exterior and manifest for others to see. Sin not only does harm to us individually, but it also damages others in varying degrees. Therefore, if your sin has done clear harm to others, it’s important to realize that you not only need to repent to God but that you must also repent in such a way that others see your repentance and sorrow.
So how might you repent in sackcloth and ashes today? There are many ways to do this. The essential quality present in such an act will be that it is clear to others that you are sorry for your sin and that you are attempting to change. If the sin you have committed toward another is grave, then your interior repentance must match the seriousness of your sin, and the exterior manifestation of that repentance must also measure up.
Reflect, today, upon some practical ways in which God is calling you to publicly manifest your “sitting in sackcloth and ashes” as a sign of your sorrow toward those against whom you have sinned. For example, if your sin is that of anger and you have regularly harmed another by that sin, then don’t only repent to God, look also for external ways to manifest your sorrow to them. Perhaps do some form of manifest service for them. Or engage in a public act of penance, such as fasting, as a way of showing them you are sorry. Manifest charitable good works, service, prayer, public penance and the like are all ways that you can spiritually and practically sit “in sackcloth and ashes” today.
My merciful Lord, You call me to daily repent of my sin and to do so through the manifest signs of sitting “in sackcloth and ashes.” Give me the grace of true sorrow for my sins and help me to sincerely repent as I trust in Your mercy. As I do, please also guide me so that I may humble myself and express my sorrow in manifest ways toward those against whom I have sinned. May this humble act bring healing and unity in You. Jesus, I trust in You.
 
Friday 26th Sunday Ordinary Time
Opening Prayer: Dear Lord, I want to take this time to open my mind and my heart to whatever it is you want to say to me today. I believe in your love for me, even though I don’t always feel it. I hope in the power of your grace to continue purifying and strengthening me in my journey through life. And I thank you for all the good gifts you have given me throughout my life, and especially in these last twenty-four hours. Lord, “lead me in the path of your commandments, for that is my delight” (Psalms 119:35).
Encountering Christ:
1. Jesus Cares: Jesus shows so much emotion in this passage! He chastises the Jewish towns because their citizens were insensitive to God’s invitations. Somehow, their hearts had been hardened and God’s loving voice couldn’t penetrate. And this mattered to Jesus. His heart is not indifferent to the indifference of the people he loves and wants to fill with his grace. We encounter this passionate heart of the Lord throughout the holy Scriptures. God is constantly intervening in the life of his people, constantly calling them to trust him and follow him. And even though they often do not or will not hear and heed him–as is evident, for example, in today’s first reading–he simply will not give up. He continues to speak out, to call, to invite. He cares. We matter to him—deeply! Let that sink in: I matter to Jesus; he cares deeply about me. If I believed that more fully, what difference would it make in my life?
2. Human Beings Are Free: Jesus would not chastise the people of Chorazin and Bethsaida if they were incapable of choosing their response to witnessing his “mighty deeds.” Even though our nature has been wounded by original sin, we are still free. We are “response-able” beings. We can choose to turn our attention to God—or not. We can choose to follow God’s call when we hear it in the Gospels, in our conscience, in the teachings of the Church—or not. We can choose to accept God’s invitation of mercy as often as he makes it–and he makes it unceasingly–or not. True, our freedom is not absolute. It is conditioned by many factors, but it is still present. And what we do with it, how we respond to the challenges, opportunities, and invitations that God sends or permits, determines the kind of person we will be. In this sense, Christians are the ultimate existentialists: Our existence is a gift, and what we choose to do with that gift day after day determines whether our lives will end up being “meaning-full” or “meaning-less.” God invites us to be his partners in building up a Kingdom of infinite value, but he refuses to force us.
3. Jesus Speaks through Messengers: As Jesus sent out the seventy-two disciples, he promised that “whoever listens to you, listens to me; whoever rejects you, rejects me.” God speaks through his followers. This means that we are not only God’s disciples but God’s messengers. With our example, our deeds, and our words, Jesus is continuing to spread his Gospel in the world; he speaks through us. This is our core identity as Christians: disciples who are missionaries, followers of Christ who are also his messengers. But this also means that he continues to speak to us through our brothers and sisters in Christ. Today’s saint, Therese of the Child Jesus, is a powerful example. Filled with the grace that comes into a heart fully given over to Christ’s love, this young saint’s autobiography (she died at the age of 24), written under her Carmelite vow of obedience, has become a spiritual lighthouse amid the darkness of a secularized world. When in 1997 St. John Paul II declared her the thirty-third Doctor (Teacher) of the Church, it was a recognition of this truth, that by the Holy Spirit God continues to speak into our needy world through Christ’s faithful followers. If we want to hear his voice, all we need to do is listen. 
Conversing with Christ: Dear Lord, why do you care so much about us? We are so slow, so deaf, so lazy, so easily distracted. And yet you never give up on us. You never give up on me. You continue to send me messages, in so many ways, reminding me of your love and your truth. But not only that: You actually send me as your messenger! You entrust your love and your truth to me and ask me to share it with those around me. Don’t you know how weak I am, how foolish, how fearful? I know you do. But somehow, this is the path along which our friendship grows: trying to listen for your voice, and trying to be a faithful echo of that voice. Please, Lord, make me a good listener and make me your good messenger.
Resolution: Lord, today by your grace I will listen for your voice in a special way and pay attention to the “mighty deeds” you have done in the holiness of St. Therese of Lisieux, who teaches all of us to find and enjoy your loving presence in the little things of everyday life.
 
Reflection
In today's Gospel Jesus accuses the people of Chorazin and Bethsaida for their hardness of heart, for their indifference to the Gospel. The Good News had reached them but they did not respond. Great wonders had been done among them but they were not convinced. To have the Good News presented to us is indeed a blessing from God. It is a privilege. The Good News is the word of God addressed to us. While there are millions of people who have accepted the Gospel message, there are also quite a lot of people who, like the people of Capernaum, have rejected it. Others have heard Christ's message but failed to think deeply on it; they are indifferent about it. They just don't want to think about sin and so they have no interest in thinking about redemption. As Christians, we have been blessed with the Good News. Do we really try to learn all we can about it? To have heard God's word is a great responsibility. A person will be judged according to what he has learned. When a person receives God's word of wisdom - the Good News of Salvation, it becomes for that person a gift, a great glory. But each word of God that has been received carries with it a responsibility. As Christians we need to give witness to his word.