Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ Hai sau tuần thứ Ba Mùa Chay

Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ Hai sau tuần thứ Ba Mùa Chay
" không một ngôn sứ nào được chấp nhận tại quê hương mình”
Hôm nay, trong Tin Mừng, Chúa Giêsu nói với chúng ta rằng “không một ngôn sứ nào được chấp nhận tại quê hương mình” (Lc 4:24). Chúa Giêsu đã dùng câu tục ngữ này để giới thiệu cho chúng ta biết chính Ngài là một tiên tri.  Chúa Giêsu là một vị tiên tri xuất sắc, là Đấng Cứu Rỗi mà dân Israel hằng mong đợi từ lâu; Và nơi Ngài mà tất cả những lời tiên tri đã được ứng nghiệm. Nhưng, cũng giống như sự việc đã xảy ra vào thời của tiên tri Êlia và Êlisha, Chúa Giêsu cũng không được "đón và tiếp nhận" trong đám người của bà con cùng xóm cùng làng, vì ở đó có những người đã tỏ ra đầy giận dữ “đứng dậy, và lôi Ngài ra khỏi thành” (Lc 04:29 ).
Mỗi người trong chúng ta, sau khi đã nhận được phép Rửa, chúng ta được gọi là con Chúa và cũng được gọi là tiên tri. Do đó: Chúng ta cần phải loan báo Tin Mừng. Để làm được như vậy, như Đức Thánh Cha Phanxicô đã nói, chúng ta phải lắng nghe Lời Chúa một cách tiếp cận chân thành, để cho nó chạm vào cuộc sống của chúng ta, để khôi phục chúng ta, để khuyên nhủ,  và động viên chúng ta, bởi vì nếu chúng ta không dành thời gian để cầu nguyện với Lời Chúa, thì  sau này, chúng ta sẽ thực sự là một "tiên tri giả", một "kẻ lừa đảo" hay một "lang băm rỗng tếch"
Để sống theo Tin Mừng. Một lần nữa Đức Thánh Cha Phanxicô có nói: “Chúng ta không bắt buộc đòi hỏi phải là hoàn hảo, nhưng phải tiếp tục phát triển và cùng mạnh dạn tiến bước theo con đường Phúc Âm; cánh tay của chúng ta không bao giờ phải mỏi mệt”. Đó là điều cần thiết để chắc chắn rằng Thiên Chúa yêu thương chúng ta, Chúa Giêsu Kitô đã cứu chúng ta, và tình yêu của Ngài là mãi mãi.
Là môn đệ của Chúa Giêsu, chúng ta phải biết nhận thức được rằng cũng giống như Chúa Giêsu đã gặp sự chối bỏ, tức giận và bị ném bỏ,  điều này cũng sẽ xảy đến trong cuộc sống mới hàng ngày của chúng ta.  Hãy đến với Đức Maria, Nữ Vương các tiên tri, Xin hướng dẫn chúng ta trên con đường của chúng ta đang và sẽ đi tới.
 
Comment:  «No prophet is honored in his own country»
Today, in the Gospel, Jesus tells us that «no prophet is accepted in his hometown» (Lk 4:24). By making use of this proverb Jesus is introducing Himself as a prophet.
A "Prophet" is someone who speaks on behalf of another, he who carries someone else’s message. Among the Hebrews, the prophets were men sent by God to announce, whether with words, whether with signs, the presence of God, the coming of the Messiah, the message of salvation, peace and hope.
Jesus is the Prophet par excellence, the long awaited Savior; in Him all prophecies are fulfilled. But, just as it did happen at the time of Elijah and Elisha, Jesus is not "well accepted" among their own, for those who are filled with anger «got up, and drow Him out of the town» (Lk 4:29). Each one of us, because of our baptism, is also called to be a prophet. Therefore:
1st. We should announce the Good News. To do so, as Pope Francis said, we have to listen to the Word with a sincere approach, to let it touch our own lives, to let it retrieve us, exhort us, mobilize us, because if we do not dedicate time to pray with that Word, then we shall indeed be a "false prophet", a "swindler" or an "empty charlatan"
2nd. To live by the Gospel. Again Pope Francis says: «We are not asked to be flawless, but to keep growing and wanting to grow as we advance along the path of the Gospel; our arms must never grow slack». It is essential to be sure that God loves us, that Jesus Christ has saved us, that His love is forever.
3rd. As disciples of Jesus, we must be aware that just as Jesus experienced rejection, anger and being thrown out, this will also be present on the horizon of our daily lives.  Let Mary, Queen of the prophets, guide us on our way.
 
Monday third week of Lent
When the people in the synagogue heard this, they were all filled with fury. They rose up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town had been built, to hurl him down headlong. But he passed through the midst of them and went away. Luke 4:28–30
One of the first places Jesus went to begin His public ministry was His own home town. After entering the Synagogue and reading from the Prophet Isaiah, Jesus proclaimed that the prophecy of Isaiah was now fulfilled in His very person. This caused His townspeople to be outraged at Him, thinking He was blaspheming. So they shockingly sought to immediately kill Jesus by driving Him out of their town to the brow of a hill off which they meant to throw Him. But then something fascinating happened. Jesus “passed through the midst of them and went away.”
The Father eventually permitted the grave evil of the death of His Son to take place, but only in His time. It’s unclear from this passage how Jesus was able to avoid being killed right then at the beginning of His ministry, but what’s important to know is that He was able to avoid this because it was not His time. The Father had more for Jesus to do before He would permit Him to offer His life freely for the salvation of the world.
This same reality is true for our own lives. God does permit evil to happen, at times, because of the irrevocable gift of free will. When people choose evil, God will allow them to proceed—but always with a caveat. The caveat is that God only permits evil to be inflicted upon others when that evil is able to be ultimately used for God’s glory and for some form of good. And it is only permitted in God’s time. If we do evil ourselves, choosing sin rather than the will of God, then the evil that we do will end in our own loss of grace. But when we are faithful to God and some external evil is imposed upon us by another, God permits this only when that evil can be redeemed and used for His glory.
The best example of this is, of course, the passion and death of Jesus. A far greater good came forth from that event than the evil itself. But it was only permitted by God when the time was right, in accord with God’s will.
Reflect, today, upon the glorious fact that any evil or any suffering inflicted upon you unjustly can end in the glory of God and the greater salvation of souls. No matter what you may suffer in life, if God permits it, then it is always possible for that suffering to share in the redeeming power of the Cross. Consider any suffering you have endured and embrace it freely, knowing that if God permitted it, then He certainly has some greater purpose in mind. Surrender that suffering over with the utmost confidence and trust and allow God to do glorious things through it.
God of all wisdom, I know that You know all things and that all things can be used for Your glory and for the salvation of my soul. Help me to trust You, especially when I endure suffering in life. May I never despair when treated unjustly and may my hope always be in You and in Your power to redeem all things. Jesus, I trust in You.
 
Mondat 3^rd Sunday of Lent 2025
Opening Prayer: Lord God, you are able to cleanse me and wash me clean. You are all-powerful and offer me the wondrous gift of forgiveness. Bestow your merciful love upon me and teach me to be merciful towards my brothers and sisters.
Encountering the Word of God
1. Proclamation of the End-Times Jubilee: When Jesus went to his hometown of Nazareth and taught on the Sabbath, he inaugurated the end-times Jubilee. During a normal jubilee year, all debts were forgiven, all ancestral land that was sold to pay debt was returned, and anyone sold into slavery was set free. The end times jubilee was foretold by the prophet Daniel, who learned from the angel Gabriel that the time of Judah’s tribulation would be prolonged and last 490 years. Since the jubilee was to be celebrated every 49 years, the 10^th jubilee held special significance. In Nazareth, when Jesus proclaimed “a year acceptable to the Lord” (Luke 4:19), he was proclaiming the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy and Daniel’s prophecy about the end times jubilee. The people of Nazareth were pleased at the proclamation of the jubilee year but reacted negatively when Jesus announced that jubilee mercy would be given to the Gentiles. The people of Nazareth wanted freedom from the Gentiles, not for the Gentiles themselves to receive divine mercy. 
2. Jubilee Blessings for the Gentiles: In today’s Gospel, Jesus does not say that the blessings of the jubilee year would be bestowed exclusively on the people of Israel and Judah. In his preaching, Jesus spoke about two Gentiles who received mercy in Northern Israel during the time of Elijah and Elisha: the widow of Sidon was miraculously provided for during the famine and Naaman the Syrian was cured of leprosy by washing in the Jordan River. The reason why the people of Nazareth tried to throw Jesus off the hill, was that Jesus “had just implied that they – the good Israelites of Nazareth – were less worthy of a miracle than an old widow from the accursed Sidonians, and a leprous general (Naaman) from one of Israel’s most ancient enemies, Syria” (Bergsma, Jesus and the Jubilee, 75). Both Old Testament miracles mentioned by Jesus have New Testament sacramental implications: the flour that never failed for the widow looks forward to the Eucharist and the washing in the waters of the Jordan looks forward to Baptism. The Sacraments of Baptism and the Eucharist are the principal ways the Gentiles will receive divine mercy: they will be washed of their sins in Baptism and given the Bread of Life in the Eucharist.
3. Perpetual Jubilee in the Church: The end-times or final Jubilee was not expected to come to an end. “It was supposed to be the beginning of a new era of God’s peace and justice. So how would Jesus perpetuate – make permanent – the jubilee that he proclaimed?” (Bergsma, Jesus and the Jubilee, 77). Moses perpetuated the jubilee through laws that commanded it be celebrated every 49 years. Jesus perpetuates the jubilee through the Church by granting the authority to forgive sins to his apostles (see Matthew 18:18; John 20:21-23). “Christ created the mystical body of his Church and appointed ministers with the power of the Holy Spirit to be prophets and priests of the order of Melchizedek: to proclaim liberty and free people from slavery to Satan and debt to sin” (Bergsma, Jesus and the Jubilee, 78). When Peter asked Jesus how often he should forgive, Jesus alluded to the number of the end-times Jubilee: “70 times 7 times,” 490 times! “In one sense, Jesus was referencing the era of punishment the angel Gabriel described to Daniel for Israel’s offenses against the Lord (seventy weeks of years). In a way, he was saying, ‘As many times as God has forgiven Israel, so you should forgive others.’ … Thus, when Peter asked Jesus how many times he should forgive, Jesus’s ‘seventy times seven’ response meant: be generous as your Father in heaven was generous. Jesus commissioned Peter and his successors to be the living embodiment of jubilee, to perpetuate the age of the Messiah” (Bergsma, Jesus and the Jubilee, 79).
Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, you have washed me in the waters of Baptism and cleansed my soul from sin. At Nazareth, you inaugurated the end-time jubilee of mercy. Be merciful to me, release me from the bondage of sin, and guide me as I live the freedom of the children of God.
 
Mondat 3^rd Sunday of Lentv2023
Opening Prayer: Speak, Lord; your servant is listening.  
Encountering Christ:
1. Amen, I Say to You: Amen: so be it, verily, truth—when the Lord speaks, he speaks in truth. Sometimes we question in prayer, “Is that my voice and my words? Or is it you, Jesus, and your words?” We can let our thoughts or distractions infiltrate our prayer, turning the conversation into a task list or a hurried, one-sided monologue. If we “rest in him,” allowing the Lord to draw our heart and mind back to him, he reminds us that our prayer time is sacred and intimate—a time we don’t want to rush through, for it’s then that he speaks truth into our lives.
2. Filled with Fury: Hearing the truth can be difficult. We don’t always like constructive criticism or negative feedback, but it’s a great reminder that we are not perfect, that we need God. Pride and vanity have strong roots, and emotions can be blinding, but we know that when we give our sinful tendencies and emotions over to the Lord in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, we are transformed, and our virtue is strengthened. We are freer to be the person Our Lord created and called us to be.
3. He Passed through the Midst of Them: Jesus, at the end of this passage, speaks to us of sin. When we allow anger to dictate our actions and reactions we are pushing the Lord out of our heart. He simply passes by. Our Lord never forces us to behave in a certain way. He respects our free will and doesn’t intrude. However, he is never far away—he always awaits our return, for the storm to pass, for our contrition to sink in. His patience, mercy, and compassion are limitless, and for this, we are humbled and grateful. 
Conversing with Christ: Dearest Jesus, grant me the grace to always recognize and welcome your truth. Grant me the humility to give you my sinful tendencies and emotions, and strengthen me in virtue so that I may be free. I want to be perfect as my heavenly Father is perfect—perfect in love.
Resolution: Lord, today, by your grace, I will accept correction with gratitude for the chance to grow in humility.
 
Monday third week of Lent: Gospel Reading: Luke 4:24-30
Qua bài tin mừng chúng ta thấy Chúa Giêsu đã không ngần ngại quở trách lòng chai đá, tội lỗi cũng như sự thờ ơ và vô tín của người Do Thái, trong khi người Do Thái xúc phạm đến Chúa nơi quê Ngài, vì họ đã mù quáng không nhìn thấy lòng thương xót của Thiên Chúa và kế hoạch cứu chuộc cho tất cả mọi dân tộc. Lời cảnh báo và sự phán đoán của Chúa Giêsu đã làm cho dân Do Thái  gây ra sự thù địch với Ngài.
            Chúa Giêsu ban ơn chữa lành và tha thứ cho tất cả những người khiêm tốn biết xin lòng thương xót của Ngài và giúp đỡ, Chúa sẵn sàng giải phóng chúng ta mọi thói quen tội lỗi và mọi cách có hại liên quan đến người chung quanh của chúng ta, nếu chúng ta cho phép Chúa tẩy rửa và chữa lành chúng ta. Nếu chúng ta muốn đồng hành và theo sát trong sự tự do và phát triển trong tình yêu và sự thánh thiện, thì chúng ta phải biết khiêm tốn,  phải từ bỏ con đường tội lỗi của chúng ta và sống the sự hướng dẫn của Chúa Kitô.
"Lạy Chúa Giêsu, xin dạy chúng con biết nhanh chóng từ bỏ tội lỗi và những thú vui tội lỗi trong cuộc sống của chúng con hoàn toàn và biết sống làm theo ý muốn của Chúa."
 
Meditation:
            When Jesus proclaimed the good news of God's kingdom to his own people, he did not hesitate to confront them with their sin of indifference and unbelief. He startled his listeners in the synagogue at Nazareth with a seeming rebuke that no prophet or servant of God can receive honor among his own people. He then angered them when he complimented the Gentiles who seemed to have shown more faith in God than the "chosen ones" of Israel. The Jews regarded the unbelieving Gentiles as "fuel for the fires of hell." Jesus' praise for "outsiders" offended the ears of his own people because they were blind-sighted to God's mercy and plan of redemption for all nations. The word of warning and judgment spoken by Jesus was met with hostility by his own people. They forcibly threw him out of the town and would have done him harm had he not stopped them.
            The Lord Jesus offers healing and pardon to all who humbly ask for his mercy and help. He will set us free from every sinful habit and every harmful way of relating to our neighbor, if we allow him to cleanse and heal us. If we want to walk in freedom and grow in love and holiness, then we must humbly renounce our sinful ways and submit to Christ's instruction and healing for our lives. Scripture tells us that the Lord disciplines us for our good that we may share his holiness (Hebrews 12:10). Do you want the Lord Jesus to set you free from every sinful pattern and to make you whole and well again? Ask him to show you the way to walk in his love and truth.
            "Lord Jesus, teach me to love your ways that I may be quick to renounce sin and wilfulness in my life. Make me whole and clean again that I may I delight to do your will."