Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ Bẩy Tuần thứ Hai, Mùa Vọng

Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ Bẩy Tuần thứ Hai, Mùa Vọng
Thiên Chúa đã ban những điều lạ (dấu hiệu) mà Ngài sắp làm cho dân Do Thái. Thánh Gioan Tẩy Giả là một trong những dấu hiệu đó, Thánh Gioan là người đã chỉ cho mọi người biết Chúa Giêsu và dọn đường cho Ngài đến với họ những người dân riêng của Chúa. Thánh Gioan đến để hoàn tất nhiệm vụ quan trọng của tất cả các tiên tri (ngôn sứ) đã đi trước ông, Ông là ngón tay chỉ vào Chúa Giêsu Kitô.  Ông là vị tiên tri cuối cùng và lớn nhất của vương quốc cũ, của giao ước cũ.
Người Do Thái mong đợi khi Đấng Cứu Thế sẽ đến, Tiên tri Ê-lia sẽ xuất hiện để thông báo sự hiện diện của Ngài. Ông Gioan nắm giữ tất cả các vai trò của tiên tri Ê-lia và chuẩn bị dọn đường cho sự xuấn hiện của Chúa Giêsu Kitô bằng cách rao giảng phép rửa, thống hối và canh tân cuộc sống.
Là người đầy tớ trung thành, thận trọng và trung tín, chúng ta cũng phải biết chuẩn bị cho sự trở lại của Chúa đến với loàn người chúng ta một lần nữa bằng cách sửa đổi cuộc sống, từ bỏ tội lỗi và từ bỏ tất cả mọi thứ mà đã ngăn cản chúng ta theo đuổi và làm ý muốn của Ngài.  
Chúng ta có mong muốn làm theo ý của Thiên Chúa và chúng ta đã chuẩn bị sẵn sàng để gặp Chúa Jesus, khi Ngài trở lại trong vinh quang?
"Lạy Chúa Giêsu, xin Chúa khuấy động lòng nhiệt tình của chúng con cho sự công chính và cho Nước Trời của Chúa. Xin Chúa Giải thoát chúng con tthoát khỏi mọi sự tự mãn và thoát khỏi những ảnh hưởng xấu trong đường lối của tội lỗi và thế gian vật chất để chúng con có thể hướng trọn tâm hồn của chúng con cho bạn và cho Nước Ttrười của mình Chúa."
 
Meditation: "Elijah must first come"
God gives signs to show what he is about to do. John the Baptist is one such sign, who pointed to Jesus and prepared the way for his coming. John fulfilled the essential task of all the prophets: to be fingers pointing to Jesus Christ. John is the last and greatest prophet of the old kingdom, the old covenant. The Jews expected that when the Messiah would come, Elijah would appear to announce his presence. John fills the role of Elijah and prepares the way for the coming of Jesus Christ by preaching a baptism of repentance and renewal.
As watchful servants, we, too must prepare for the Lord's coming again by turning away from sin and from everything that would keep us from pursuing his will. Are you eager to do God's will and are you prepared to meet the Lord Jesus when he returns in glory?
"Lord Jesus, stir my zeal for your righteousness and for your kingdom. Free me from complacency and from compromising with the ways of sin and worldliness that I may be wholeheartedly devoted to you and to your kingdom."
 
Saturday of the Second Week of Advent 
“I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him but did to him whatever they pleased.  So also will the Son of Man suffer at their hands.”  Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist.  Matthew 17:12–13
The last of the Old Testament Prophets was Malachi. He concluded his ministry about 400 years prior to the coming of Christ. Malachi prophesied that a “messenger” would come before the Messiah so as to prepare the way before Him. Malachi goes on further to say that “Elijah the Prophet” will come before the day of the Lord (See Malachi 3:1–24).
Many of the people at the time of Jesus did not understand this prophecy and were not even aware of it. Therefore, the scribes used this prophecy to confuse many of the people by claiming that since “Elijah” had not come, then clearly Jesus was not the promised Messiah.
Jesus clarified to the disciples that the “messenger,” who was to be the new Elijah, had already come in the person of John the Baptist. Thus, in clarifying this, Jesus also clarified that the scribes were not accurate in their attempt to interpret the Scriptures and were actively misleading the people on account of their errors.
One thing this tells us is that we must approach the word of God with humility. The pride of the scribes led them to believe that they had some sort of extraordinary wisdom that they did not. Thus, they acted as poor spiritual teachers of the people of God.
Humility before the Word of God is essential if we are to properly understand not only the Old Testament prophecies but also the very words of Jesus Himself. Without humility before the Word of God, we can all easily misinterpret the beautiful and holy words spoken by our Lord.
Everything in the Scriptures is profound, deep and true. And by this holy Word of God we come to meet God Himself. But if we allow pride to seep in, we may find ourselves imitating the scribes and misunderstanding God’s Word. The result will be a skewed image of God which will become an impediment to our personal encounter with our loving Lord. But if we can always remain humble before all that God has revealed to us, then we will more easily be open to those deepest and most beautiful truths God wants to speak to our hearts.
Reflect, today, anyway that you have found yourself confused by the Word of God. Try to humbly open your heart more fully to that which our Lord wants to speak to you. Listen with an open mind and heart and allow the pure gift of faith to become your guide so that you will be led to those deepest truths of our faith.
My mysterious and beautiful Lord, You have revealed to us the deepest and most profound mysteries of life through Your written Word. May I always approach Your Word with humility and openness so that I will come to know You more fully. Jesus, I trust in You.
 
Saturday 2nf week of Advent
Opening Prayer: Dear Jesus, open my heart to your inspirations in this moment of prayer. I believe that you have something you wish to say to me, and I want to be ready to hear you. Good Jesus, increase my trust in you and teach me to love you more and more. 
Encountering Christ: 
Jesus Is Always Open: Jesus must have welcomed this question from his disciples. They seem to be sincerely trying to understand why or how things were unfolding so differently from what they had expected. How good Jesus is that he never despises or shames us, even in our slowness to understand his ways. Perhaps in this time of prayer, we can sit with our questions and let our hearts be open before him, knowing that he is “the Way, the Truth and the Life” (John 14:6).
Jesus Reminds Us: The Apostles still didn’t understand entirely, but their slowness didn’t keep Jesus from trying to help them along. Even here, he reminded them–gently, but clearly–that the Son of Man would suffer. Jesus had not come to establish a worldly kingdom here but to lead us, through this world, to the Kingdom of Heaven that will have no end. We may fear to suffer, as the Apostles did, but let us keep our eyes on Jesus and not lose hope. He has taken all this suffering upon himself and redeemed it, so we can never suffer for naught. He doesn’t promise to take away all the difficulties, but he, God-with-us, Emmanuel, is with us through them all. 
They Understood: It seems from today’s Scripture that the disciples understood the meaning of Jesus’ words all at once, in a moment. “Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist.” Those little (or big) “ah-ha” moments we sometimes experience, whether slow awakenings or coincidences–“God-winks”–are wonderful expressions of God’s loving care for us. We can sense the Holy Spirit at work, enlightening our minds to see God’s hand at work in a new way, and our hearts fill with gratitude. Notice, however, that new insights follow when we’ve had the courage and childlike simplicity to ask questions of Jesus. He invites us to “speak up” in prayer, wrestle with difficult truths, and persevere, bringing our difficulties to him with the same openness and sincerity as his Apostles did. As we reach the halfway point of Advent, perhaps we can pause, heart-to-heart with Jesus, and speak to him of these things. 
Conversing with Christ: Good Jesus, thank you for this time of prayer. Thank you for reminding me that you are so gentle, good, and patient. You neither despise my slowness nor shame me for my faults. How much I need your mercy, Jesus! Come, make haste! Come to my heart and come into this waiting world, so in need of your grace and salvation. 
Resolution: Lord, today by your grace I will strive to be sincere before you and let you into these places of my heart where I feel afraid, confused, or uncertain about what you are asking of me. I trust that if I open the door, you will enter with grace. 
 
Saturday of the Second Week of Advent 2022
Introductory Prayer: Lord, your disciples, sincerely tried to comprehend your identity and believe in you. I come before you today with my doubts and problems, hoping to find an answer to my deepest aspirations in this prayer. I want to believe with unwavering faith, and I want to love you with a devout heart. I offer you this prayer time as my token of gratitude for all I have received from you.
 Petition: Mary, help me to embrace God’s will in my life, just as Christ embraced the Father’s plan for our salvation.
John the Baptist as Elijah: The Gospel refers to John the Baptist as the one whose role is to prepare us for the One who is to come. Through the prophet Malachi, the Jews’ expectation of the return of Elijah, who will prepare the way for the promised Messiah, has grown. But they have come to view him as a great power figure who will sweep men away. So, they fail to recognize Elijah’s presence in the person of John the Baptist, whose only power is that of the Spirit of God, calling all people to the conversion of heart to receive Christ. How many times in my life do I fail to recognize the presence of Christ in my life because I’m seeking something other than Christ’s promises to his followers? Christ doesn’t offer an easy path of comfort and consolation.
Bethlehem and the Cross: Why did Christ become a helpless baby at Bethlehem? Why did he take on a fragile human body? Precisely so he could suffer for us to redeem us. What does that mean for our lives as Christians? It means nothing less than that suffering is a gift from God. It is the Father’s gentle caress, molding us into the image of his Son. The cross is the source of our fruitfulness, in our personal spiritual growth and the mission to win graces for others, for all of the souls God has mysteriously entrusted to our care.
Obedience unto Death: Christ’s desire to embrace suffering rose from his loving obedience to his Father’s plan without condition or limit. This loving obedience is what gives suffering its redemptive value. From the moment of his birth at Bethlehem, Christ shows us what it means to obey with love. Bethlehem is a school of obedience. In Bethlehem, Christ teaches us that only loving obedience frees, only loving obedience redeems and sanctifies, and only loving obedience enriches. Loving obedience alone saves, loving obedience alone frees us from sin, and loving obedience alone pleases God. Let us embrace the cross of obedience in the challenging circumstances of our daily lives, in the trials brought by the passing of years, and in the sorrow that afflicts us when God calls our loved ones back to him. Loving obedience is the path to holiness, the way to the Father’s house.
 Conversation with Christ: Thank you, Lord, for giving us a school of loving obedience at Bethlehem, throughout your life and in your death on the cross. Help me to embrace suffering as you did and to be confident in its power to make me holy and win graces for souls.
Resolution: I will seek to recognize God’s presence in my day by patiently welcoming the suffering and trials he permits, so he can bring about a greater good.