Hôm nay chúng ta tiếp tục một cuộc hành trình với tâm hồn thống hối và ăn năn của chúng ta để chúng ta có thể tìm thấy đường về với Thiên Chúa với bản thân đích thực như Chúa đã tác tạo ra chúng ta. Cuộc hành trình mùa chay này sẽ đưa chúng ta đến ngã tư đường, nơi mà chúng ta sẽ gặp gỡ Chúa Giêsu trên con đường dẫn tới đồi Calvary (Núi sọ). Nhất định chúng ta sẽ được mời để cùng sống và cùng đồng hành với Đức Kitô trên con đường Ngài đến sự khổ hình, chịu đóng đinh và bị chết treo trên thập giá.
Để đạt tới điểm đó trên đường với Đức Kitô, trước hết, chúng ta cần phải biết chuẩn bị bằng cách mở rộng vành tai để nghe lại những lời của các tiên tri, những người đã hướng dẫn chúng ta tới con đường mà chúng ta phải sống trong cuộc sống này, và chúng ta cũng phải biết mở rộng tâm hồn và cho phép Chúa Thánh Thần đến và sống trong chúng ta để giúp chúng ta biết thay đổi tâm hồn, và biến cho tâm hồn của chúng ta nên giống như của Chúa.
Trong đọc thứ Nhất, chúng ta tiếp tục được nhắc nhở rằng con đường trở lại với sự sống trong sự viên mãn, có ý nghĩa, có sức khỏe, trong an bình và ơn cứu độ chỉ có thể được nếu như chúng ta biết tỏ lòng thương xót, biết cứu giúp những kẻ nghèo đói cơ hàn, biết đáp ứng được những sự mong muốn của người đau yếu, bệnh tật và thiếu thốn,
Tin Mừng hôm nay, Chúa Giêsu đã cho chúng ta những lời khích lệ, Ngài cho chúng ta biết là Ngài đến không phải để kêu mời những người công chính, đạo đức, nhưng Ngài đến để kêu gọi những người tội lỗi biết ăn năn hối cải. Chúng ta hãy thẳng thắn thừa nhận lỗi lầm và khuyết điểm của chúng ta với chính Mình và với Chúa, để xin ơn tha thứ, thêm sức mạnh và lòng tin để chúng ta có thể theo Chúa trọn con đường đến tới Calvary ngay trong cuộc sống đầy những cám dỗ và cặm bẫy hôm nay.
We continue during these first few days after Ash Wednesday to deepen our understanding of what the Lenten season should mean for us. We begin a journey of repentance and conversion that will lead us back to the Lord and to the authentic selves we were created to be. Our journey will finally take us to the crossroads where we will meet Jesus travelling along his own path to Calvary. There we will be invited to accompany Him and be with Jesus on his way to crucifixion and death.
To reach that point on the road, however, we must first prepare ourselves by opening our ears to the words of the prophets who will point out for us the way we must travel, and open our hearts to the Lord who will encourage us to let him enter and change them for us, making them more like his own. Today we hear a continuation of yesterday’s reading from chapter 58 of the Prophet Isaiah. In these verses we are reminded that the road back to life, to fullness, to meaning, to health, peace and redemption can only be travelled by those who ‘pour themselves out for the hungry’ and ‘satisfy the desire of the afflicted.’
Our Gospel offers us the encouraging words of Jesus that he came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. We should then feel free to admit our sinfulness and weaknesses, both to ourselves and to the Lord, for it was indeed for the likes of us that the Lord came into this world. Lord, lead me back to You so that I may know my authentic self.
Jesus saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the customs post. He said to him, “Follow me.” And leaving everything behind, he got up and followed him. Luke 5:27–28
Levi had a good life. He made good money and had steady employment as a tax collector. But in an instant, he gave that all up to follow Jesus, and his life immediately changed for the good.
This short story of the call of Levi is one that we should take note of. Though you most likely have already made the choice to follow Christ, that choice needs to be deepened each and every day. And the witness of Levi is one that should inspire you to do so.
Oftentimes, when we sense God calling us deeper and closer to Him, when we sense that He wants us to follow Him more completely, we might pause and hesitate. It’s common for people to want to think through such a decision and weigh the “pros and cons” before stepping out in faith. But don’t do that. The witness of Levi’s immediate choice to leave all else behind and follow Christ is given to us so as to invite us to do the same.
How is Jesus inviting you, today, to imitate the radicalness of Levi? What is He calling you to walk away from so as to more fully serve Him with love and totality? If you do not know the answer to that question, say “Yes” to our Lord anyway. Tell Him that you want to imitate Levi and that you want to wholeheartedly commit yourself to a complete and radical following of His holy will.
It’s also interesting to note that as soon as Levi made the choice to follow Jesus, he held a dinner at his house for Jesus and other tax collectors. Levi was not afraid to let others know of his choice, and he wanted to offer his friends the opportunity to do the same.
Reflect, today, upon the person and call of Levi. And as you begin this Lenten season, use Levi’s call and response as an opportunity to hear Jesus calling you. You may not be called to “leave everything behind” literally, but express your willingness to do so anyway. Put no conditions on your choice to follow our Lord and you will be eternally grateful you did.
My precious Lord, You call all of your children to follow You without reserve. You call us to be ready and willing to abandon all that this life has to offer so as to obtain so much more. Give me the grace I need to trust You enough to say “Yes” to You today, tomorrow and all days. My life is Yours, dear Lord. Do with me as You will. Jesus, I trust in You.
Opening Prayer: Lord God, on this fourth day of Lent, I bow before you in reverence and humility. I do not deserve to be called your child, and yet you have welcomed me into your holy family. I count your Son as my brother and Lord, and your life-giving Spirit as the bond of our love.
Encountering the Word of God
1. Calling Sinners to Follow: In the Gospel, Jesus’ first words to Levi are not “repent,” but “follow me.” This is an important detail. The attraction and draw of the good is prior to and more fundamental than the decision to change one’s life. God is the first mover. When Jesus saw Levi at the customs post, he knew the depths of his soul. He knew his strengths and weaknesses, his successes and failures, and his temptations and deepest desires. Jesus knew the heights of holiness and perfection he could achieve. What was important was that Levi abandoned the pursuit of earthly wealth and began to accumulate heavenly treasure. We can only store up treasure in heaven with Jesus. Without Jesus, we cannot. Let us, then, abandon our sinful ways and embrace the way of Jesus this Lenten season.
2. Calling Sinners to Repentance: The call to follow Jesus cannot be separated from the call to repentance (metanoia). Repentance means a radical change in mindset. It means not only turning from a life of sin to a life in God but also having the same sentiments, mindset, and strategy of Jesus. By walking with Jesus, entering into communion with him, and living with him, we learn what it is that we need to repent from. Living in communion with the Divine Physician, we are healed from the sickness caused by sin. The initial trust we place in Jesus, who invites us to follow him, can flourish as we adopt the mindset of Christ in all that we think, say, and do.
3. Overcoming Religious Hypocrisy: The First Reading continues the passage from Isaiah that we began yesterday (Isaiah 58:1-9a). The problem Isaiah is addressing is that of religious hypocrisy, “the sin of adhering to outward forms of religion (58:2) while tolerating injustice, strife, and neglect of the poor (58:3-4, 7). Serving the Lord cannot be separated from serving other members of the covenant community” (Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: Old and New Testament, 1248). Isaiah, in today’s reading, asks that we remove oppression, false accusation, and malicious speech from our lives, and also that we be faithful to the Sabbath rest and honor the Lord’s holy day. If we do the first set of actions, then our lives will be filled with light, and the Lord will guide us and strengthen us. If we truly keep the Sabbath holy, then we will delight in the Lord and flourish.
Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, you have called me to follow you. Your way, the way of every Christian, leads to the Golgotha. I naturally tend to resist shouldering the burden of the cross. And yet, in the depths of my heart, I want to be another Simon of Cyrene and walk with you under your yoke.
1. Calling Sinners to Follow: In the Gospel, Jesus’ first words to Levi are not “repent,” but “follow me.” This is an important detail. The attraction and draw of the good is prior to and more fundamental than the decision to change one’s life. God is the first mover. When Jesus saw Levi at the customs post, he knew the depths of his soul. He knew his strengths and weaknesses, his successes and failures, and his temptations and deepest desires. Jesus knew the heights of holiness and perfection he could achieve. What was important was that Levi abandoned the pursuit of earthly wealth and began to accumulate heavenly treasure. We can only store up treasure in heaven with Jesus. Without Jesus, we cannot. Let us, then, abandon our sinful ways and embrace the way of Jesus this Lenten season.
Opening Prayer: Lord, here I am. I come to do your will. I want to follow you more closely today than I did yesterday. Bless me and lead me on this day’s journey.
Follow Me: Do you wonder why Levi, who became Matthew and one of the Twelve Apostles, left everything, got up, and followed Jesus? What would compel a rich businessman to leave the security and privilege of his profession to follow someone who many thought was just an itinerant preacher? The answer, our faith professes, is both God’s grace and our free will. Grace is first and foremost the gift of the Spirit who justifies and sanctifies us (CCC 2003). God’s free initiative demands man’s free response, for God has created man in his image by conferring on him, along with freedom, the power to know him and love him (CCC 2002). The preparation of man for the reception of grace is already a work of grace (CCC 2001). We can confer from this that Levi/Matthew was prepared by God to accept his invitation, but that it required his assent to leave where he was and follow Jesus. This assent was not for Levi/Matthew, nor is it for us, a one-time event. We are not “once saved, always saved.” Life’s ups and downs require continuous assent to God’s grace to remain and grow in faith: “I have the strength for everything through him who empowers me” (Philippians 4:13).
In the Gospel reading the Pharisees and their fellow teachers criticize Jesus "for eating and drinking with tax collectors and other sinners." Jesus explains to them why he eats with tax collectors and sinners, "Healthy people don't need a doctor, but sick people do. I have come to call to repentance; I call sinners, not
the righteous."
Jesus came to call sinners; his mission was to reconcile sinful mankind with God. We see this concern even in his choice of his close followers and helpers. In today's Gospel reading he calls Levi, a tax collector, to follow him. At Jesus' call, without any hesitation or delay, Levi, "leaving everything, got up and followed Jesus." At Jesus' call, "Follow me," Levi leaves his tax-office and follows Jesus.
After a miraculous catch of fish at Jesus' instructions, "Simon Peter fell at Jesus' knees, saying, 'Leave me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!"' Jesus then calls Peter and his fishermen-partners James and John, "Do not be afraid. You will catch people from now on." (Lk 5: 8- 10)
Before God we are all sinners and in need of his forgiving love. We are most grateful for a Savior who ate with sinners and sought sinners not only to assure them of his love but also to save them in his mission to call sinners
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