Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Lẽ Kính Thánh Phêrô – Phaolô Tông ĐồĐể thực sự trở thành một môn đệ, một tín hữu
của Chúa Giêsu có ý nghĩa gì? Bài phúc âm hôm nay cho thấy một số
điều kiện đòi hỏi mà chúng ta cần phải có để được Chúa Giêsu mời gọi để làm
người đối tác trong sứ mệnh cứu độ của Ngài.
Một điều kiện cần có
lòng Tin để có thể hoàn toàn sự tin tưởng vào sự quan phòng của Thiên Chúa.
Trong trường hợp một người nói là muốn trở thành môn đệ của Chúa. Chúa Giêsu đã
nói với ông ta rằng muốn theo Chúa thỉ từ bỏ tất cả, ngay cả những điều tối thiểu
cần thiết cho cuộc sống cững chẳng cần. Như việc kiếm nơi trú ẩn hang ngày cũng
chẳng cần thết “on Người không có chỗ tựai đầu. “
Điều
kiện thứ hai thậm chí còn khó khăn hơn khi Chúa Giêsu nói có vẻ thô lỗ với một
người có trách nhiệm chon cất người Cha. Phản ứng của Chúa Giêsu với người đàn
ông này hầu như khá xúc phạm và không được nhạy cảm. Làm thế nào mà kẻ chết có
thể chôn kẻ chết? Tuy nhiên, qua sự suy ngẫm thêm chúng ta bằng cách nào đó có
thể thấy được cái lý do tại sao Chúa Giêsu đã nhận xét như vậy. Chúa Giêsu
khuyến cáo là những xu hướng của chúng ta là tìm cách để hợp lý hóa và trì hoãn
các quyết định của chúng ta như là một cách để biện minh cho hành động của
chúng ta. Khi làm như vậy, chúng ta bỏ lỡ thông điệp của Chúa Giêsu, Đấng muốn
thể hiện sự khẩn cấp trong việc thực hiện sứ mệnh cứu độ. Điều quan trọng là
bây giờ. Có nhiều việc phải làm để công bố Tin Mừng của tình yêu và lòng thương
xót của Thiên Chúa. Mặc dù chúng ta tôn trọng người chết, thời gian trần thế
của họ là hơn và do đó, những gì trở nên quan trọng và cấp bách là những gì
thúc đẩy cuộc sống và sự hiện diện của Chúa Giêsu ở giữa chúng ta.
Cuối
cùng, Chúa Giêsu muốn các môn đệ phải tập trung hoàn toàn vào nhiệm vụ. Chúng
ta biết rất rõ là chúng ta có thể bị phân tâm rất nhiều trong những mối quan
tâm và sự lo lắng trong cuộc sống. Tuy nhiên, khi những gì đang bị đe dọa trong
nhiệm vụ liên quan đến sự cứu rỗi của chúng ta và đó chính là Đức Giêsu, Đấng
kêu gọi chúng ta, mọi thứ khác chỉ là thứ yếu.
Tất
cả những điều kiện đã nói ở trên mô tả những thách thức mà Chúa Giêsu muốn gởi
tới cho những ai muốn được theo Ngài. Những điều kiện đó quả thực là quá khó
khăn và đòi hỏi chúng ta phải đồng hành với Chúa Giêsu trong sứ vụ của Ngài,
nhưng hãy yên tâm phần thưởng dành cho chúng ta rất lớn. Chúng ta đã sẵn sàng
để theo Chúa Giêsu Chưa? Ngài đang chờ đợi sự đáp ứng của chúng ta.
REFLECTION’
What does it really
mean to become a disciple, a follower of Jesus? The gospel passage suggests a
number of requirements when one is called by Jesus to
become a partner in his mission of salvation.
One requirement is to
be able to trust fully in God's providence. In the first instance of this
person wanting to be a disciple, Jesus tells him that even something basic like
shelter is not assured as even the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.
The second condition
is even more challenging in that Jesus seems to be rude to someone who feels
the responsibility to bury his father first. His response to the man is quite
insulting and insensitive. How can the dead bury the dead? Yet, it is only through
further reflection that we can somehow see the reason why Jesus made such a
remark. Jesus challenges our tendency to rationalize and procrastinate our
decisions as our way to justify our actions. In doing so, we miss the message
of Jesus who wants to show the urgency in fulfilling the mission of salvation.
What is important is the now. There is much to be done to proclaim the good
news of the love and mercy of God. Though we respect the dead, their earthly
time is over and thus, what becomes important and urgent is what promotes life
and the presence of Jesus in our midst.
Finally, Jesus wants
his followers to be totally focused on the mission. People cannot be
faint-hearted or wishy-washy in their commitment as their progress to be
totally dedicated to the mission will be lacking and lukewarm. We know very
well how we can be distracted with so many concerns and anxieties in life that
are legitimate and reasonable. Yet, when what is at stake is the mission
regarding our salvation and it is Jesus who calls us, everything else is
secondary. There is some truth to one book entitled: "God is first. You
are second. I am third."
All the aforementioned describe the challenges
of Jesus to anyone who desires to become his follower. It is indeed arduous and
demanding to be companions of Jesus in his mission, but rest assured the
rewards are great. Are we ready to follow Jesus? He is only
waiting for our response?
Jesus entered the house of Peter, and saw his mother-in-law lying
in bed with a fever. He touched her hand, the fever left her, and she rose and
waited on him. Matthew 8:14–15
given the witness of Peter’s mother-in-law to answer that question. It should be noted that Jesus was on a continual mission of healing. In fact, before arriving at the house of Peter, Jesus had just healed aHow do we properly respond to the action of God in our lives? In
the passage above, we are centurion’s servant. When the centurion came to Jesus stating that he was not
even worthy to have Him enter his house, Jesus saw the centurion’s faith and
healed his servant from a distance. After arriving at the house of Peter, we
are told that many people brought to Jesus those who were possessed by demons,
and Jesus healed them all. But between the healing of the servant and the
healings of the many, another healing occurred. The response to this healing
sets for us a wonderful example.
Peter’s
mother-in-law was ill and in bed with a fever. It’s unclear just how ill she
was, but the fact remains that she was ill to the point of being in bed.
Notice, first, that Jesus was not even asked to heal her. Rather, He “saw” her
ill and in bed, approached her of His own choosing, “touched her hand,” and she
was healed.
Within the same sentence describing Jesus’ healing, we are told
that “she rose and waited on him.” First of all, “she rose.” This should be
seen as a symbolic depiction of what we must do when we are touched by grace.
The grace of God, when it is given to us, must have the effect of causing us to
rise. We rise from sin when we confess that sin and receive forgiveness,
especially in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. We rise up every time God enters
our lives to give us direction, clarity and hope. To rise is to be strengthened
to dispel the burden that sin and confusion causes. We rise in strength,
renewed and determined to go about the will of God.
After this woman rose, she “waited” on Jesus. This is the reason
we rise up when touched by grace. We are not given God’s grace so that we can
go back to our sin, or pursue our own ventures, or do our own will. We rise so
that we can serve our Lord and His holy will. In a sense, Jesus’ actions in our
lives impose upon us a holy burden. But it is a burden that is light. It’s an
obligation to serve and give ourselves to our Lord to attend to Him, His holy
will, and to all that He calls us to do.
Reflect,
today, upon this threefold action of the Gospel. See Jesus approaching you and
touching you in your prayer. Know that He comes to you not only because you
pray to Him but out of His own initiative when He sees you will respond. Then
consider your response. Rise from that which keeps you down.
Let God’s grace free you from the burdens you carry. And as He
grants you this grace, determine to wait on Him and to serve His will alone.
The service of our Lord is what we are made for, and doing so will enable us to
continually receive His grace through His touch of love.
My merciful Jesus, You continually come to me, approaching me to
reach out and touch me with Your grace. You desire my healing and strengthening
every day. Help me to be open to all that You wish to bestow and please free me
from all that keeps me down. May I rise up in service of You and Your holy will
so that Your Kingdom may be built up more fully through me. Jesus, I trust in
You.
Saturday
12th in Ordinary Time 2024
Opening Prayer: Lord God, I believe that Jesus is the
Christ and your eternal Son. You sent him to establish the Church as the seed
and beginning of your Kingdom. Through Peter and the apostles and the disciples
you spread your Kingdom to the ends of the earth. Reign in my heart!
Encountering the Word of God
1. Peter and Paul: Peter was a fisherman who became the Rock on
which Jesus built his Church; Paul was a tentmaker, who became the Apostle whom
Jesus sent to the Gentiles. Peter denied Christ, but then turned and
strengthened his brethren; Paul persecuted the Church, the Body of Christ, but
then turned and brought the Gospel to the ends of the earth. Both men
experienced Christ, responded to him generously, and ultimately gave witness to
him through their martyrdom in Rome: Peter was crucified upside down on the
Vatican Hill; Paul was beheaded along the Via Ostiense. Peter is a man who is
deeply conscious of his sin and experiences how his sin offends his God. His
weakness and failings often bring him to tears of repentant love and a deeper
trust in the Lord. Paul, on the other hand, knows that he is weak, but enjoys
the struggle of life. He wants to do battle, run the race, fight the good
fight. He trusts not in himself, but in the love of Christ, who can conquer all
things.
2. Peter’s Mission: Both Peter and Paul received special
commissions from Jesus Christ. Pope Benedict XVI pointed out that Peter was
given his task on three different occasions (Homily, June 29, 2009). First, in
the Gospel of Matthew, Peter confesses that Jesus is the Messiah and Son of God
and, in response, Jesus tells Peter that he “will be the rocky foundation on
which he will build the edifice of the Church; he will have the keys of the
Kingdom of Heaven to open or close it to people as he sees fit; lastly, he will
be able to bind or to loose, in the sense of establishing or prohibiting
whatever he deems necessary for the life of the Church” (Benedict XVI, June 7,
2006). Second, in the Gospel of Luke, during the Last Supper, Jesus tells
Peter: “When you have turned again, strengthen your brethren” (Luke 22:32).
These words foretell the weakness of Simon Peter, who was to deny to a maid and
a servant that he knew Jesus. “Through this fall, Peter – and with him the
Church of all times – has to learn that one’s own strength alone does not
suffice to build and guide the Lord’s Church” (Benedict XVI, June 29, 2006).
Jesus’ words also promise Peter’s conversion; Jesus will look at Peter (Luke
22:61) and bring him reconciliation and salvation. Third, in the Gospel of
John, the risen Jesus entrusts his flock to Peter. He would preside over the
flock in charity by following Christ and being open to the action of the
Spirit. Peter, then, is the Rock who is called to strengthen his brethren and
care for the flock like a shepherd. Peter’s faith began in his experience of
Jesus, was founded on the mystery of Jesus’ death and resurrection, advanced by
the working of the Holy Spirit, and, after his death, gave way to the beatific
vision in the glory of heaven.
3. Paul’s Mission: Paul is an Apostle by vocation, by the will of
God: his conversion was not the result of a development of thought or
reflection, but the fruit of divine intervention, an unforeseeable, divine
grace (Benedict XVI, October 25, 2006). The only thing that mattered to him was
serving Jesus Christ and his Gospel. He dedicated himself to make the Gospel
known, to announce the grace destined to reconcile men with God, self, and
others. He never tired of proclaiming that we are justified through faith in
Jesus Christ. The works of the Old Law do not justify and make us righteous.
After his conversion on the road to Damascus, he “no longer lives for his own
justice. He lives for Christ and with Christ: in giving of himself, he is no
longer seeking and building himself up” (Benedict XVI, November 8, 2006). We
are united to Christ by faith and are led by the Spirit to the fullness of
love. Paul recognized Peter as one of the pillars of the Church. He respected
him but did not hesitate to defend the truth of the Gospel. He confronts Peter
and argues in favor of freedom from the Law: “In the light of the encounter
with the Risen Christ, Paul realized that as soon as they adhered to the Gospel
of Jesus Christ, the Gentiles no longer needed as a hallmark of justice either
circumcision or the rules that governed food and the Sabbath: Christ is our
justice, and all things that conform to him are ‘just.’ No other signs are
necessary in order to be just” (Benedict XVI, October 1, 2008). We are free
when we conform our lives to Christ, are guided by faith, and serve our
brothers.
Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, enlighten my mind and guide
me to know my mission and how to place the talents you gave me at the service
of your Kingdom. I reaffirm my faith in you today as the Son of God. Be with me
always as I walk toward eternal life with you.
Living the Word of God: The lives of Peter and Paul teach us
that we each have different personalities, sensibilities, gifts, and ways of
encountering Jesus and responding to him. Holiness is essentially union with
God through Jesus Christ in the Holy Spirit. At the same time, our holiness is
personal; as Jacques Philippe writes: “there are as many forms of holiness, and
hence also ways to holiness, as there are people. For God, each person is
absolutely unique. Holiness is not the realization of a given model of
perfection that is identical for everyone” (Philippe, In the School of
the Holy Spirit, 17-18). To be holy we need to understand that God will
reveal his path to us by degrees, through the inner promptings of the Holy
Spirit. Both Peter and Paul are models for us, as they both allowed themselves
to be guided by the Spirit through many trials and sufferings. Both now enjoy
the heavenly glory of God and intercede for us before the throne of grace.
