Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ Ba Tuần thứ 19 Thường Niên.

Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ Ba Tuần thứ 19 Thường Niên.
            Chúa Giêsu đến để giải cứu các con chiên lạc lối hay bệnh tật. Ngài sẽ không thể bỏ rơi họ. Người S chăn Chiên Lành thì biết những con chiên của họ và và những con chiên của họ biết chủ chăn của chúng. Chúa Giêsu chính là Chúa Chiên Lành, Người đã dám hiến mạng sống của mình cho đoàn chiên của mình (Gioan 10: 14-15). Chúa Giêsu đã hiến chính mạng sống của Ngài cho chúng ta, như Lời Chúa trong Kinh Thánh và trong phép Thánh Thể,  Mình và Máu của Ngài đã trở thành của ăn nuôi sống chúng ta. Chúa Giêsu Kitô là Mục Tử Nhân Lành đi trước chúng ta, hướng dẫn chúng ta và chia sẻ với chúng ta những niềm vui của Nước Trời, trong sự hiệp nhất với Chúa Cha và Chúa Thánh Thần.
            Chúng ta hãy xin Chúa giúp chúng ta được nên giống như các Thánh biết sống trong sự khiêm nhường và yêu thương, phục vụ Chúa Kitô, đặc biệt là ở những người nghèo khó trong giáo xứ, trong xóm làng của chúng ta.
 
Reflection SG
Jesus never fails to come to the sheep’s rescue.  Neither would he desert them. The Good Shepherd knows his own and his own know him. Jesus lays down his life for his sheep (John 10:14-15). He gives himself to us, as Word in the Scripture and in person in the Eucharist. Christ the Good Shepherd goes before us, leading us to share in the joys of heaven, in the unity of the Father and the Spirit.
 
Tuesday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time
“What is your opinion? If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine in the hills and go in search of the stray? And if he finds it, amen, I say to you, he rejoices more over it than over the ninety-nine that did not stray. In just the same way, it is not the will of your heavenly Father that one of these little ones be lost.” Matthew 18:12–14
It is so easy to go astray. There are many wandering souls who are lost, confused, and in need of the Shepherd. Perhaps there are many reasons for this straying, including the lure of fleshly indulgence, the lure of money, temptations toward pride, anger, and selfishness, confusion, and much more. Today’s Gospel passage is not so much about the fact that people do stray; rather, it’s about God’s desire to win them back.
When a person strays from God, they are left empty. That is the reality of our human condition. The only way to be satisfied in life is to give yourself to God out of love. God and God alone fulfills us. God and God alone can bestow joy and happiness upon us. So when a person is straying and is left empty inside, they have to make a choice. Will they repent of their sins and turn back to God? Or will they continue to seek satisfaction elsewhere?
One of the greatest obstacles to repenting of one’s sins and turning back to God is our pride. It is hard to admit to sin. It is hard to admit we went astray. It is hard to take ownership of what we have done and turn to God for His mercy and compassion.
Today’s Gospel is especially for the sinner who has strayed. It presents us with an image of God that is exceptionally inviting. It’s the image of a God Who goes forth searching for the stray sheep. But the most important image in today’s Gospel is that of the rejoicing of the Shepherd. We must come to realize that when God seeks us out and gets through to us, we should have no shame anymore. God does not condemn the person who has sorrow. Instead, He rejoices and carries that soul back home. Whenever we start to stray in life and give into a life of sin, we must understand this image of God and know that it applies to us.
The truth is that sin is humiliating. And facing humiliation is difficult. But it’s also purifying. And if you are willing to embrace the humiliation experienced by confessing your sin, an endless amount of freedom awaits. Freedom comes especially in the form of God rejoicing and carrying you home.
Reflect, today, upon the holy image of the Good Shepherd diligently searching for you. See His loving desire to get through to you, to reunite with you, to forgive you, and to lovingly carry you home. Allow fear of judgment to disperse. Humble yourself and acknowledge your sin. Admit that you are incapable of overcoming it by yourself. If you do, the heart of the Good Shepherd will rejoice as He lifts you up and carries you to freedom.
Jesus, my Good Shepherd, Your love and compassion are incredible. You are a God of the utmost mercy. Please open my eyes to see You as You are, and dispel all fear from my heart. Please forgive me of my sin, lift me up, and carry me back to Your fold. Jesus, I trust in You.
 
Tuesday 19^th Ordinary Time 2024
Opening Prayer: Lord God, I need to learn the lesson of true humility. I need to see myself as I really am: with my unique gifts and talents and personality, with my faults and tendencies. Help me to act as your child and as a servant to my brothers and sisters.
Encountering the Word of God
1. The Prophetic Commission of Isaiah and Jeremiah: When the prophet Isaiah saw the vision of the Lord in the Temple, he confessed himself a man of unclean lips. His lips were purified by a burning coal taken by a seraphim from the altar. Purified of his sin and guilt, Isaiah responded to God’s request for someone to be sent to prophesy to the people: “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then I said, ‘Here am I! Send me’” (Isaiah 6:6-8). The prophet Jeremiah also heard God’s word appointing him a prophet to the nations. He said to God: “Behold, I do not know how to speak; for I am only a youth.” The Lord told him not to worry about his youth, for he would be with him to deliver him from those to whom the prophet speaks. Then the Lord put forth his hand and touched Jeremiah's mouth saying: “Behold, I have put my words in your mouth. See, I have set you this day over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant” (Jeremiah 1:4-10). 
2. The Prophetic Commission of Ezekiel and John: Ezekiel’s prophetic call and purification happened in a similar fashion. He was told not to be like the rebellious house of Israel. That rebellious house refused to listen to the words of the Lord and make them their own. That is why Ezekiel is given a scroll to eat. His message to the House of Israel was one of lamentation, mourning, and woe. God told Ezekiel that Israel would refuse to listen to him because they were unwilling to listen to God himself. The House of Israel was of a hard forehead and of a stubborn heart. Ezekiel was to receive God’s word in his heart and hear God’s word with his ears (Ezekiel 3:4-11). In the Book of Revelation, John will also eat a scroll: “So I went to the angel and told him to give me the little scroll; and he said to me, ‘Take it and eat; it will be bitter to your stomach, but sweet as honey in your mouth.’ And I took the little scroll from the hand of the angel and ate it; it was sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it my stomach was made bitter. And I was told, ‘You must again prophesy about many peoples and nations and tongues and kings’” (Revelation 10:9-11).
3. God’s Purifying Word: The lesson that we can draw from all four is that God’s word is a purifying word, that is heard with our ears and penetrates our hearts. God’s word is a word that sends us out to the nations, to be witnesses to his love and to the resurrection of Jesus. Jesus will characterize our hearts like soil that is either rocky, trampled underfoot, filled with thorns, or fertile. Some hear God’s word without understanding it; others accept it for a time but are soon consumed by the world; others reject it outright and choose to delight in the riches of the world; others welcome it and allow it to bear fruit in their lives. One way to make sure that we welcome God’s word into our heart is to be simple, humble, and childlike. A complex, calculating, prideful, and hardened heart has no room for God’s word because it is full of itself. A simple heart focuses on the essential – love for God and love for neighbor. A humble heart recognizes and is thankful for all the good things received from the Father. A child-like heart is ready to be taught by God and molded by the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Ezekiel was sent out to the rebellious house of Israel, now in exile in Babylon. Jesus was sent to the lost sheep of Israel and gathered them in by appointing the twelve apostles and being raised up. The Holy Spirit filled the disciples in the upper room and gave them the strength, power, and courage to go out to all the world in order to preach the Gospel to all nations and baptize them. 
Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, thank you for going out to find me when I stray. I am comforted knowing that you will put me on your shoulders and bring me back to the flock. Protect me from all evil and call my name so that I may return to you always.