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.
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.
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.
1. Why God Permits Us to be Chastened: All this week, the First Reading has been taken from the Book of Job, which deals with how God’s providence governs human affairs. One of the difficulties that the book addresses concerns an argument against divine providence. It seems like the righteous and just are afflicted with evil here on earth without cause. Job’s three friends – Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar – all tried to figure out why Job, a seemingly just and virtuous man, suffered so many grave afflictions. Eliphaz, for example, held that Job’s sufferings were a punishment from God on account of Job’s sins (Job 4:7, 17). Eliphaz thought that the innocent do not suffer and that if Job was innocent, God would deliver Job from his troubles. Job answered Eliphaz that he was unaware of having committed any wrongdoing or evil (Job 6:24, 30). Throughout the conversations with his friends, Job adamantly maintained his integrity. However, when Job’s three friends finished speaking, a fourth person, a young man named Elihu, spoke. He was angry at Job because Job tried to justify himself rather than God. He was also angry at the three friends because they found no answer to the problem and simply declared that Job was in the wrong (32:2-3). Elihu argued that God speaks to man to turn him aside from evil deeds and to cut off pride from man. God does this to keep man from falling into the Pit and losing his life. When chastened by pain, man turns to God in prayer and enters into God’s presence with joy and recounts to men his salvation (33:26). Elihu concluded that God is just and Job is wrong to proclaim his self-righteousness.
2. The Invitation to Humility Before the Mystery of Suffering: The First Reading follows Elihu’s speech to Job. We finally hear God speak to Job and answer him out of the whirlwind. First, God proclaims his power and manifests it through his creation. This power greatly surpasses Job, who was not there when God laid the foundation of the world, who did not set the limits of the sea, who does not have power over day and night, and who has limited knowledge of the animals of the earth. Job can only respond to this: “Behold, I am of small account; what shall I answer you?” Job fell silent and awaited God’s word a second time. This time, God asks Job why Job has challenged Him and why Job has condemned him so that he can be justified. Job can only respond to God with humility and repentance. He says: “I have uttered what I did not understand; I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.” The Lord accepts Job's repentance, rebukes Job’s three friends, and restores Job's fortunes twofold. The Book of Job, then, does not come to a definitive answer about the problem of why good men and women suffer. However, it does affirm two basic truths: on the one hand, it affirms God’s power, justice, and wisdom. All things are in God’s hands, he acts with justice and guides all things. He creates them and governs them. On the other hand, man should not be self-righteous or think he understands all things. Contemplating God's creation and the fact that man himself is one of God's creatures should lead to humility of heart and filial trust in God.
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?
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.
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