Bài đọc thứ nhất hôm nay cho chúng ta những điều mặc khải đẹp nhất về Thiên Chúa. Thiên Chúa muốn chúng ta thân thiện rất cá nhân với Ngài, Ngài là ai đối với chúng ta? Những sự liên hệ của chúng ta với Ngài sẽ phụ thuộc vào điều này. Có lẽ quan điểm của chúng ta về Thiên Chúa cũng giống như một khung cửa sổ, bất kể ánh sáng mặt trời chiếu vào khung cửa sổ đó ra sao, nhưng ánh sáng được chiếu vào trong căn phòng sẽ phụ thuộc vào kích thước của khung cửa sổ đó.
Qua bài Tin Mừng, nếu chúng ta trả lời theo cùng cách mà thánh Phêrô đã trả lời Chúa “Thầy là Đấng Kitô, Con của Thiên Chúa hằng sống,” điều này có nghĩa là chúng ta biết Ngài; với tất cả các giác quan của chúng ta, chúng ta cảm thấy sự hiện diện của Chúa. Qua bức thư gởi cho dân thành Roma có biết là nếu chúng ta thú nhận với đôi môi của mình và tin vào trái tim của chúng ta là Chúa Giêsu Kitô là Chúa, thì chúng ta sẽ được Chúa biến đổi. Ngài sẽ lần lượt nói với chúng ta là " anh thật là người có phúc, vì không phải phàm nhân mặc khải cho anh điều ấy, nhưng là Cha của Thầy, Đấng ngự trên trời."
Today's first reading is one of the most beautiful revelations of who our God is. Our God wants us to be very personal with Him. Who is He to us? Our dealings with Him will depend on this. Perhaps our view of God is like a window – no matter how brightly the sun shines outside, the light that is allowed to shine into the room will depend on the size of the window.
But if we answer in the same way Peter did, "You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God," this means that we know him; with all our senses, we feel his presence. The letter to the Romans says that if we confess with our lips and believe in our hearts that Jesus Christ is Lord, then we are changed by God. He in turn tells us "Blessed are you – for it is the Father that reveals this reality to you."
Let us wholeheartedly confess to Jesus that he is our Lord, his presence surrounds us, his Lordship encompasses us, his power overwhelms us, and we bow down and adore him. He is the Holy God. We are indeed transformed in His presence.
“Do you understand all these things?” They answered, “Yes.” And he replied, “Then every scribe who has been instructed in the Kingdom of heaven is like the head of a household who brings from his storeroom both the new and the old.” Matthew 13:51–52
At times, Jesus’ words are difficult to understand. How well do you understand what He teaches you? He often teaches in figures of speech, as well as with parables. The passage quoted above concludes a section in which He speaks three subsequent parables. The third of these parables, the parable about the fishnet, is contained in the beginning of today’s Gospel passage. But just prior to that parable are the parables about the pearl of great price and the treasure buried in a field. Upon the conclusion of these three parables, Jesus asked His disciples, “Do you understand all these things?” After they affirmed that they did understand, Jesus gave an overview of the mission to which they had been entrusted. These soon-to-be bishops would become the new scribes who were instructed in the Kingdom of Heaven. Their mission would be to bring forth both the “new and the old.”
Many Church Fathers identify the “new and the old” as a reference to the Old Testament and the New Testament. Thus, the Twelve are being entrusted with the mission of being the scribes of the full revelation contained in what will become the full Bible as we have it today. Other commentators suggest that the “old” refers to the old life of sin and the “new” refers to the new life of grace. It will be the mission of the Twelve to instruct people in the full Gospel message, so as to draw them from their old life of sin to the new life of grace.
Though Jesus’ words can be difficult to understand from the perspective of a biblical scholar, the first of His words quoted above are very straightforward. “Do you understand all these things?” As we ponder that question in particular, try to hear our Lord asking that question of you. Though many scholars and saints of old have offered much clarity on what Jesus’ teachings actually mean, the question that Jesus posed to the Twelve must be answered in a more personal way for each of us. As you hear Jesus ask you if you understand these things, the answer you give is not primarily based upon whether or not you have sufficiently studied the text of His teaching and can rationally explain it as a scholar. Instead, the answer He is seeking is whether or not you can respond from faith. He wants you to say, “Yes, I hear You speaking to me, Lord. Yes, my heart is convicted by the words You have spoken. Yes, I understand what I must do. Yes, Lord, I believe.” The Word of God is alive and can only be “understood” properly when we allow our Living Lord to speak to us, personally, as we listen to His holy Word.
Reflect, today, upon this question that Jesus posed to the Twelve. As you do, hear Him asking you this question. How fully do you understand what God is saying to you, right now at this moment in your life? As you read the Scriptures, do you sense God revealing Himself to you? Do you understand what He wants of you? If hearing the voice of God is a challenge at times, then spend more time prayerfully pondering His holy Word so that His Living Voice will more clearly resonate within your soul.
My revealing Lord, You speak to me day and night, continuously revealing Your love and mercy to me. May I learn to become more attentive to Your voice speaking within the depths of my soul. As I hear You speak, please give me the gift of understanding to know Your will and to embrace it with all my heart. Jesus, I trust in You.
Opening Prayer: Lord God, I contemplate today the wondrous confession of Simon Peter. I too unite my prayer to his confession: Jesus is the Messiah and your Son! I fully accept the path of redemptive suffering and dying to self. I will follow your Son wherever he leads me.
1. The New Covenant: Today’s Liturgy of the Word presents two very powerful themes: in Jeremiah, we read God’s announcement of a New Covenant; in the Gospel of Matthew, we listen to Peter’s confession of faith: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” The theme of the New Covenant is common to several prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel. The New Covenant, as we read today, will not be like the old covenant with Moses; instead, it will be a restoration of the covenant with David. Jesus Christ, the Son and heir of David, is the one who restores this covenant and brings it to fulfillment in the new. “According to [the Letter to the] Hebrews, the New Covenant is superior to the old (that is, the Mosaic covenant) because it is established by a better mediator (Christ versus the high priest; Heb 8:6, 9:25), based on better sacrifices (the blood of Christ versus the blood of animals; Heb 9:12, 23), in a better sanctuary (heaven itself versus the earthly tabernacle; Heb 9:11, 24)” (Hahn, “Covenant,” Catholic Bible Dictionary, 174). The New Covenant fulfills all the other covenants in the history of salvation. Jesus is the new Adam who makes us into a new creation; he fulfills all the promises of the covenant made to Abraham. “Even the Mosaic covenant, which to a certain extent is abrogated (Gal 3:19-25) is fulfilled in its essence by the New Covenant, which grants believers the power of the Holy Spirit to fulfill the very heart of the Mosaic Law, the commands of love for God and neighbor” (Hahn, “Covenant,” Catholic Bible Dictionary, 174). The law of the New Covenant, Jeremiah writes, will be written on our hearts. This New Covenant is able to forgive sins and grants us profound knowledge of our Lord God.
2. Differences Between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant: Cardinal Ratzinger wrote that the Mosaic covenant is transitory, while the covenant in Christ abides perpetually. Paul, he writes, sees the transience of the first symbolized by the stone Tables of the Law. “Stone signifies what is dead; anyone who remains exclusively in the realm of the Law written in stone remains in the realm of death. Here Paul was no doubt thinking of Jeremiah’s promise that, in the New Covenant, the Law would be engraved on the people's hearts; also he may have been thinking of Ezekiel, who had said that the heart of stone would be replaced by a heart of flesh” (Ratzinger, “The New Covenant.” in Many Religions - One Covenant, 53). The Old Covenant is particular, concerns the ‘fleshly’ descendants of Abraham, depends on the principle of inheritance, is conditional since it depends on the keeping of the Law, and can be broken and has been broken; the New Covenant is universal, is addressed to all peoples and is based on a spiritual relationship created by sacrament and faith, bestows the gift of friendship, and cannot be broken (see Ratzinger, “The New Covenant,” in Many Religions - One Covenant, Ignatius Press, 66-67). In bringing all the covenants to fulfillment, the New Covenant restores and transforms the Davidic covenant: “Jesus Christ is the Son of David who rules eternally from the heavenly Zion (Heb 12:22-24) and manifests his rule over Israel and all the nations (Matt 28:18-20) through his royal steward Peter (cf. Matt 16:18-19; Isa 22:15-22, esp. 22) and his other officers, the apostles (Luke 22:32; Matt 19:28; cf. 1 Kgs 4:7). Thus James sees the growth of the Church among Jews and Gentiles as a fulfillment of Amos's promise that God would restore the fallen ‘tent’ (i.e., the kingdom) of David (Acts 15:13-18; cf. Amos 9:11-12)” (Hahn, “Covenant,” Catholic Bible Dictionary, 174).
3. Authority in the Church as Service: We contemplate today not only the fulfillment of the covenants in the New Covenant, promised through Jeremiah, but also the giving of authority to Peter as head of the Apostles. At the Last Supper, Jesus seals the New Covenant in his blood (Luke 22:20) and appoints a kingdom for the Apostles, giving them authority: “You are those who have continued with me in my trials; as my Father appointed a kingdom for me, so do I appoint for you that you may eat and drink at my table in the kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel” (Luke 22:28-30). The Church is called to exercise authority as service and exercises it in the name of Jesus Christ, who received all authority from his Father. “Through the Shepherds of the Church, Christ tends his flock, in fact: it is he who guides, protects and corrects them, because he loves them deeply. But the Lord Jesus, the supreme Shepherd of our souls, has willed that the Apostolic College, today the Bishops, in communion with the Successor of Peter and the priests, their most precious collaborators, to participate in his mission of taking care of God’s People, of educating them in the faith and of guiding, inspiring and sustaining the Christian community” (Benedict XVI, May 26, 2010).
Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, I am humbled as I contemplate how you established the New Covenant through the shedding of your blood and your death on the Cross. You are the eternal high priest, ever faithful and ever merciful! Teach me to live as you did and be a faithful and merciful servant of the Kingdom.
Epriest 2018
Imagine the agony of the mother in this Gospel passage. Imagine the near-physical pain she felt in the depths of her heart. However, her love nourished her hope and propelled her to seek out Christ. When those we love suffer, we need the same wisdom to seek the Lord. \
"Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters." Faith and humility move Christ’s heart. How easily we adopt a spoiled-child mentality, believing that we deserve more. “The earth doesn’t owe you a living,” a sage once said. “It was here before you.” we will much happier when we acknowledge our littleness and unworthiness, when we recognize our status as creatures of God who gives us life, breath and every beat of our heart. All we possess is a gift of his creative love. We will very happy when we are grateful and let him know this a thousand times a day.
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