Suy Niệm Tin Mừng thứ Tư tuần thứ Hai Phục Sinh

Suy Niệm Tin Mừng thứ Tư tuần thứ Hai Phục Sinh
Trong bài Tin Mừng hôm nay chứa đựng một câu Kinh Thánh rất phổ biến: đó là "Thiên Chúa yêu thương thế gian đến nỗi Ngài đã ban Con Một của Ngài, để ai tin vào Con của Ngài thì không bị hư mất, nhưng sẽ được sống đời đời. Đối với Thiên Chúa, Ngài sai Con của Ngài đến với thế gian không phải là để lên án thế gian, nhưng là qua Chúa Con mà cả nhân loại được cứu rỗi ".
            Câu Kinh Thánh này cho chúng ta thấy được tầm quan trọng mà chúng ta phải xác tín rằng: trong Kitô giáo thì chính tình yêu của Thiên Chúa là nguyên lý căn bản và  năng động cho sự cứu rỗi thế giới. Việc này cho thấy rằng Thiên Chúa trong bản tính con người là Chúa Giêsu, mà chúng ta tin rằng Ngài cũng là một với Thiên Chúa. Bằnh với một tình yêu vô biên và tuyệt vời Thiên Chúa đã ban tặng cho thế giới chúng ta Người Con độc nhất của Ngài. Qua Chúa Giêsu, chúng ta biết rằng "thế giới", có nghĩa là, toàn thể tạo vật, và đặc biệt là nhân loại con người là đối tượng của tình yêu cứu độ của Thiên Chúa. Vì vậy, Thánh Gioan đã nói: "Bề rộng của tình yêu Thiên Chúa là thế giới của loài người trong đó Chúa Kitô đã chết, và độ sâu của tình yêu Thiên Chúa là món quà quý giá nhất của Ngài đó chính là Con yêu dấu của Ngài."
            Điều này nhắc nhở chúng ta là Thiên Chúa đã muốn chia sẻ "sự sống đời đời" của Ngài với chúng ta biết bao nhiêu. Là người Kitô hữu, chúng ta được mời gọi để tham dự  vào sự hiệp thông trong sự sống lại với Chúa Giêsu, và đến để chia sẻ sự cứu rỗi này trong đức tin. Với một Đức tin như thế, chúng ta cần phải có những hành động liên tục hướng tới Chúa Giêsu, và tận hiến chính mình cho Chúa  Kitô trong việc chấp nhận Chúa là Thiên Chúa như Ngài đã tỏ lộ chính Ngài cho chúng ta, vâng chính Ngài là Con yêu dấu mọi đàng, là biểu tượng cao nhất của tình yêu Thiên Chúa.
            Lạy Chúa, chúng con cảm tạ ơn Chúa vì Chúa đã tỏ lộ tình yêu của Thiên Chúa cho chúng ta biết.
 
Reflection SG 2016
The Gospel reading today contains one of the most popularly quoted verses in the Bible: “God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not be lost but may have eternal life. For God sent his Son into the world not to condemn the world, but so that through him the world might be saved.” These verses show how important is the conviction that in Christianity it is God’s love which is the dynamic principle for the salvation of the world. It shows that the God whom Jesus revealed, and whom we believe, is a God who is motivated by a love so great that He has gifted the world with His own Son. Through Jesus, we learn that the “world”, that is, the whole of creation, and in particular its human inhabitants, who are the object of God’s saving love. Therefore, as one writer puts it, “The breadth of God’s love is the world of mankind for whom Christ died, and the depth of God’s love is His most precious gift, His only beloved Son.”
            It reminds us how much God wants to share His own “eternal life” with us. As Christians, we are called to enter into a life-giving communion with Jesus, and come to share in this saving “life” through faith. Such faith calls for a constant movement towards Jesus and, the giving of ourselves to him and in accepting him as he has revealed himself, that is, the only beloved Son, the supreme expression of God’s love.    Lord, thank You for revealing God’s love to us. \
 
Wednesday of the Second Week of Easter
“God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.” John 3:16
We continue, today, to read from the conversation that Jesus had with Nicodemus, the Pharisee who ultimately converted and is venerated as one of the early saints of the Church. Recall that Jesus challenged Nicodemus as a way of helping him to make the difficult decision to reject the malice of the other Pharisees and to become His follower. This passage quoted above comes from Nicodemus’ first conversation with Jesus and is often quoted by our evangelical brothers and sisters as a summary of the whole Gospel. And indeed it is.
Throughout Chapter 3 of John’s Gospel, Jesus teaches about light and darkness, being born from above, wickedness, sin, condemnation, the Spirit and much more. But in many ways, all that Jesus taught in this chapter and throughout His public ministry can be summed up in this short and to-the-point statement: “God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.” This short teaching could be broken down into five essential truths.
First, the Father’s love for humanity, and specifically, for you, is a love so deep that there is no way we will ever fully understand the depths of His love. 
Second, the love the Father has for us compelled Him to give us the greatest gift we could ever receive and the greatest gift the Father could give: His own divine Son. This gift must be prayerfully pondered if we are to come to a deepening understanding of the infinite generosity of the Father.
Third, as we prayerfully enter deeper and deeper into our understanding of this incredible gift of the Son, our only appropriate response is faith. We must “believe in Him.” And our belief must deepen just as our understanding deepens.
Fourth, we must realize that eternal death is always possible. It is possible that we eternally “perish.” That realization will give even greater insight into the gift of the Son, in that we will realize that the first duty of the Son is to save us from eternal separation from the Father.
Lastly, the gift of the Son from the Father is not only to save us but also to draw us to the heights of Heaven. That is, we are given “eternal life.” This gift of eternity is of infinite capacity, value, glory and fulfillment.
Reflect, today, upon this summary of the whole Gospel: “God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.” Take it line by line, prayerfully seeking to understand the beautiful and transforming truths revealed to us by our Lord in this holy conversation with Nicodemus. Try to see yourself as Nicodemus, a good person who is trying to understand Jesus and His teachings more clearly. If you can listen to these words with Nicodemus and accept them deeply in faith, then you, too, will share in the eternal glory these words promise.
My glorious Lord, You came to us as the greatest Gift ever imagined. You are the gift of the Father in Heaven. You were sent out of love for the purpose of saving us and drawing us into the glory of eternity. Help me to understand and believe all that You are and to receive You as the saving Gift for Eternity. Jesus, I trust in You.
 
Wednesday 2nd Week of Easter 2025
Opening Prayer: Lord God, you sent your Son into the world to save it. He is the light who overcomes the darkness of evil, sin, and death. By dying, he destroyed our death. By rising, he established the way to eternal life with you. Grant me a deeper participation in the life, death, and resurrection of your Beloved Son.
Encountering the Word of God
1. Eternal Life: When John writes that those who believe in Jesus have eternal life, this does not mean that if someone makes an act of faith, then they are saved. Salvation is not a once-and-done event. Salvation is an ongoing process with a beginning, a middle, and an end. What Jesus means here is that faith brings about an initial participation in eternal (divine) life. Faith is the beginning of eternal life; charity – union with God – is the end. Faith doesn’t last forever. Faith in God in this earthly life will give way to the vision of God in heaven. As Paul teaches in 1 Corinthians 13:12-13: “At present we see indistinctly, as in a mirror, but then face to face. At present, I know partially; then I shall know fully, as I am fully known. So faith, hope, love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” In heaven, faith in God becomes the vision of God. In heaven, the desire for God and hope in God become the possession and enjoyment of God. In heaven, our imperfect love for God is transformed and brought to perfection.
2. Belief in the Name of the Son of God: Jesus has been speaking to Nicodemus about the cross and faith. While the link between spiritual rebirth and baptism is more explicit, John subtly links baptism with the cross. The last element in Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus underscores the importance of faith for coming to eternal life (see Morales, The Bible and Baptism, 96). In the Gospel, Jesus refers to the importance of believing in his name. In fact, believers will be baptized in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Now, the “name of the Lord” has a rich and profound meaning in the Old Testament. One dimension concerns the sacrificial worship of God. A person is encouraged to “call upon the name of the Lord,” and the Temple is designated as the place where the name of the Lord dwells. “These associations between the name and worship, on the one hand, and between the name and baptism, on the other, once again point to worship as an important aspect of baptism” (Morales, The Bible and Baptism, 110). What this teaches us is that Baptism incorporates the believer into the new temple. By calling upon the name of the Lord Jesus, the Spirit comes to dwell in the believer as in a temple (see Morales, The Bible and Baptism, 119).
3. Live the Truth: The Gospel of John is full of stark contrasts: between truth and falsehood, between light and darkness, and between life and death. The Gospel today draws out the connection between light and Baptism. In fact, the early Church referred to the Sacrament as “Illumination.” “Baptism is not simply a new birth but also the enlightening of the mind to know God and so to come to eternal life” (Morales, The Bible and Baptism, 96). Jesus is the light of God and has come into the world. Those who do evil works hate the light of God. They want their evil works to remain hidden. Those who do good works, empowered by God’s grace, have nothing to fear. They live in the truth and the light. 
Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, I trust in you as my king, my savior, and my redeemer. You are my Lord and my God. Help me overcome any temptations to envy so that I can focus on loving others and seeking their good.
 
Wednesday 2nd Week of Easter
Opening Prayer: Heavenly Father, you desire that I might know you–that all people might know you–and welcome the salvation you so lovingly offer. I believe in your mercy. Let me begin this time of prayer from that place in your heart where you are salvation and closeness and mercy. How I need you to speak these truths in my life today! I trust in you, Lord, and I love you. Let me enter this time of prayer with you. 
Encountering Christ: 
Timeless Truth: Is there a passage from the Gospels more well-known or loved than this one, John 3:16? Reading this today, whether it strikes a deep chord or seems to slide off the back in trite repetition, let us ask the Lord to reveal this truth in a new, personal way. His word is life-giving, penetrating, and able to discern the thoughts of the heart (Hebrews 4:12). He knows us more deeply than we know ourselves, and desires that we might have life, that we might share in his life. May this truth touch any shadows of doubt and darkness in our hearts today. 
This Love: “This is one of the central verses of the Gospel,” Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI says in the homily of November 4, 2010. He says, “The subject is God the Father, the origin of the whole creating and redeeming mystery. The verbs ‘to love’ and ‘to give’ indicate a decisive and definitive act that expresses the radicalism with which God approached man in love, even to the total gift, crossing the threshold of our ultimate solitude, throwing himself into the abyss of our extreme abandonment, going beyond the door of death.” How radical, indeed, is the love with which God draws near to us. Do we pause often enough to consider that he offers us his whole self–he who can be neither measured nor contained–if only we will accept his love? 
This Light: Christ affirms that the light has already come into the world. The question is not whether he will come, but rather whether we will choose to receive the light. Benedict continues, “God does not domineer but loves without measure. He does not express his omnipotence in punishment, but in mercy and in forgiveness.” This, he says, is what it means to enter this saving mystery. “Jesus came to save, not to condemn; with the sacrifice of the cross he reveals the loving face of God.” Let us not be afraid to let the Lord draw us to himself, though it means taking up our cross beside him and letting him bind our crosses to his own. 
Conversing with Christ: Jesus, you have come to reveal your Father’s love and to give me life by your Spirit. You wait at the door and knock (Revelation 3:20), and sometimes I don’t hear you knocking—or maybe sometimes I do, but I don’t want to open. Today, Lord, open my heart to this truth of your love and light which you come to proclaim. May your words bring healing to my heart today. 
Resolution: Lord, today by your grace I will strive to make a Spiritual Communion at some point during my busy day to deepen my understanding of this passage of your Gospel. 
 
Wednesday 2nd Week of Easter
Opening Prayer: Lord, let there be light in my soul as I reflect on your profound words in today’s Scripture verses.
Encountering Christ:
John 3:16: These are some of the most famous words of Scripture. We see this passage written on signs at public venues, prominently displayed on the faces of sports players, and printed on t-shirts. It’s no wonder—this simple phrase assures us that God is love, that he loved us enough to sacrifice his Son for our good, and that we need not die because eternal life awaits us. Our greatest two fears are not being loved and dying. If we can believe in Jesus, we need not fear any longer! But belief can be costly, can’t it?
I Believe: Belief in God requires our turning away from sin and striving to live according to the commandments and Church teaching. But many in our modern, post-Christian, individualistic society believe that obedience to God is a price too high to pay. It restricts “freedom,” they complain. How foolish! If God so loved the world as to give his Son in sacrifice, then we can trust that his commandments are also for our own good. It can be very hard to conform our lives to the commandments and Church teaching, but that’s one important way we show that we believe! It’s one beautiful way to show our love for God! And through our obedience, we experience true freedom as Jesus told us in John 8:32: “...the truth will set you free.” 
Condemnation: When we refuse to believe in Jesus, we “have already been condemned.” We are condemned even before we die as we wallow in unrepentant sin, enslaved by our passions. This spiritual reality binds us to the darkness, but even more tragically, we miss out on the delight and wonder of coming to know our loving God here and now. Life can be wonderfully illuminated by God’s light–in the faces of our loved ones, in the glories of nature, in the experiences of his grace–or we can choose to live in darkness day after day. All it takes is a little faith to break free of darkness. “Lord, I do believe, help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24).
Conversing with Christ: When my own “works are done in God” I radiate your light and, by your grace, can reach into another’s darkness to help him or her break free. Lord, I want to be an instrument of your light for many of my family and friends. Please continue to bless me with your grace so that I may “let my light shine before others” (Matthew 5:16).
Resolution: Lord, today by your grace I will reach out to one person with a kindness, knowing that your light is shining through me.
 
Suy Niệm Thứ Tư Tuần thứ Hai Phục Sinh
Quyền năng Thiên Chúa vượt xa các quy tắc và cấu trúc nhân tạo của con người . Điều này được thấy rõ trong bài đọc thứ nhất hôm nay. Các tông đồ đã bị bắt và bị giam cầm. Tuy nhiên, nhờ quyền năng của Thiên Chúa, họ đã được đưa ra khỏi nhà tù và tiếp tục hướng dẫn để rao giảng trong các đền thờ mà họ ngoan ngoãn vâng lời Thiên Chúa và thực hành. Chính trong bối cảnh này mà các tín hữu và môn đệ của Chúa Giêsu, đã đáp lại với những tiếng gọi của Chúa để tiếp tục sứ mạng của Chúa Giêsu, Nhất định họ phải có niềm tin vào sự can thiệp của Thiên Chúa; và tất cả có thể được tiến hành tốt trong tình yêu của Thiên Chúa. Tuy nhiên tình yêu của Thiên Chúa không phải là những cảm giác mơ hồ hay cảm giác tình cảm mà là một tình yêu phải trả giá. Thiên Chúa đã cho chúng ta những gì là thân yêu nhất với Thiên Chúa; đó là Con của Ngài, là Chúa Giêsu Kitô đã chết cho chúng ta để cho chúng ta thấy tình yêu của Thiên Chúa như là tình yêu của Cha  mẹ và Ngài đã thực hiện lời hứa của Ngài là ban cho chúng ta "sự sống đời đời". Do đó sự cứu rỗi là trọng tâm sứ mệnh của Chúa Giêsu trên trái đất này.
            Làm thế nào để chúng ta có thể đáp ứng lại với lời kêu gọi của Chúa, để tiếp tục sứ mệnh của Chúa Giêsu trong bất cứ nơi nào chúng ta đến và trong mọi hoàn cảnh trong cuộc sống (kinh nghiệm tích cực và tiêu cực) của chúng ta. Có phải chúng ta chuẩn bị để vượt xa hơn những cơ cấu và các quy tắc và chọn con đường dọi ánh sáng của Chúa Kitô thay vì bóng tối? Để kiểm tra động cơ thúc đẩy của chúng ta trong tất cả các lời nói và hành động của chúng ta, chúng ta được mời tham dự những thách thức, thử thách để thực hành việc xem xét và kiểm thảo chính mình  mỗi ngày;  kiểm thảo (kiểm tra) cuộc sống của chúng ta hàng ngày trong ánh sáng của Chúa Kitô,  để thấy sự hiện diện của Thiên Chúa trong kinh nghiệm cuộc sống hàng ngày của chúng ta. Như những người được Phục Sinh trong Chúa Kitô, chúng ta được gọi là những người mang ánh sáng của Chúa Kitô và là các nhân chứng tình yêu của Thiên Chúa cho tất cả mọi người.
 
Reflection: 2014
God’s power goes beyond man-made rules and structures.  This is clearly seen in the first Reading. The apostles were arrested and imprisoned. Yet by the power of God, they were taken out of the prison and further instructed to preach in the temple which they obediently carried out. It is in this context that the believers and followers of Jesus, in responding to the call to continue the mission of Jesus, ought to have faith in the intervention of God — that all may be well (Julian of Norwich) in God's love.  However God’s love is not vaguely sentimental feeling but a love that costs.  God gave what was most dear to God — His Son, Jesus Christ whose death reveals God's love as the Father/Mother and the fulfillment of God's promise of ‘eternal life’. Hence salvation is central to Jesus’ mission on earth.
            How do we respond to this call, to continue Jesus' mission wherever we are and under all circumstances in life (positive and negative experiences). Are we prepared to go beyond structures and rules and choose the path of light of Christ instead of the darkness? In order to check our motivations in all our words and actions, we are invited to take up the challenge to practice the Daily Examine — to check our life daily in the light of Christ, and to see God’s presence in our daily life experiences.  As Easter people, we are called to be bearers of light and witnesses of God’s love for all.
 
Reflection:
Today the Gospel proposes to us once more to follow in the footsteps of Thomas the Apostle, that go from doubt to faith. Like Thomas, we approach the Lord full of doubts, but He also comes to meet us: «God so loved the world that he gave his only Son that whoever believes in him may not be lost, but may have eternal life» (Jn 3:16).
            Thomas was not present in the first apparition of Jesus to the apostles, that Easter morning. «A week later» (Jn 20:26), in spite of his refusal to believe, Thomas joins the other disciples. The hint is quite clear: faith is not maintained far from the community. Far from our brothers, our faith does not grow nor ripen. At each Sunday's Eucharist we recognize his Presence. If Thomas was honest enough to show his doubts it was because the Lord did not initially grant him what He did to Mary of Magdala: not only to listen and to see the Lord, but to touch him with her own hands. Christ comes to meet us, mostly when we are together with our brothers and are celebrating with them the partition of the Bread, that is, the Eucharist. It is then when He invites us to “put our fingers in His side”, that is, to penetrate the impenetrable mystery of His life.
            The move from incredulity to Faith has its stages. Our conversion to Jesus Christ —our step from darkness into light— is a personal process, but we need the community. These past Easter days, we all have felt the urge to follow Jesus on his way of the Cross. Now, fully in Easter time, the Church invites us to enter the new life with Him, with our works being done in God (cf. Jn 3:21).
            Today, we also have to personally feel Jesus' invitation to Thomas: «and be not faithless, but believing» (Jn 20:27). Our life is at stake, as «he that believed on him is not condemned» (Jn 3:18), but goes to the light