Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ Ba Tuần thứ 4 Phục Sinh

Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ Ba Tuần thứ 4 Phục Sinh
Chúa Giêsu đã bị những người Do Thái chối bỏ. Họ đã không thể nhận ra Ngài là Đấng Cứu Thế; do đó họ hỏi Ngài một câu hỏi nhớ ngẩn: có phải ông là Đấng Cứu Thế. Câu trả lời của Chúa Giêsu rất đơn giản, Ngài đã chỉ cho họ tới Thiên Chúa Cha, người mà gọi là Cha của Ngài, và tất cả những công trình mà Ngài đã làm là Ngài làm vì danh của Chúa Cha, thậm chí Ngài còn nói với họ rằng Ngài và Chúa Cha là một. Đây là thần bí của Kitô giáo. Đó là trung tâm của Kitô giáo.
            Chúa Giê-su, là một con người hoàn toàn như chúng ta, và đã có thể tại sự kết hợp giữa Ngài với Thiên Chúa Cha là cha của Ngài qua sức mạnh của những lời cầu nguyện. Ngài trải qua những king nghiệm trong sự kết hợp này và đó là chính là nguồn gốc của lời nói và hành động của Ngài. Rút tỉa trong kinh nghiệm của sự kết hợp không thể phá vỡ  giữa Chúa Cha và Chúa Con, chúng ta cũng được mời gọi để được kết họp và  nên một với Thiên Chúa, cho dù chúng ta là giáo dân, tu sĩ hay giáo sĩ, ơn gọi này được dành cho tất cả mọi người chúng ta. Chúng ta có rất nhiều gương sang và ví dụ như : Thánh Têrêsa Avila, Thánh Joan of Arc, Thánh Inhaxiô Loyola và nhiều người khác, những người đã cảm thấy được mời gọi một cách huyền bí để đưộc kết hợp với Thiên Chúa một cách lạ lung, khó hiểu.  Và sự kết hợp này có thể có được chỉ qua việc cầu nguyện và qua sự nhạy cảm với sự thúc đẩy của Chúa Thánh Thần.
            Lạy Chúa Giêsu, xin cho chúng con, cũng như Chúa, cũng biết trau dồi và phát triển đời sống tinh thần của chúng con và ít nhất là có được một cái nhìn thoáng qua về sự kết hợp của chúng con trên trời với Chúa.
 
Reflection Tuesday 4^th week of Easter
Jesus was rejected by the Jews. They were not able to recognize him as the Messiah; therefore they asked him a plain question whether he was the Messiah. Jesus’ reply was very simple, he referred to his Father, to the works that He did in his Father’s name. He even told them that he and the Father are one. This is the mysticism of Christianity. It is the heart of Christianity.
   Jesus, being a fully human being like us, was able to establish his union with his Father through the power of prayer. He experienced this union and it was the source of his words and actions. Learning from this unbreakable union between the Father and the Son, we, too, are called to be one with God. Whether we are lay or religious or cleric, this call is for all of us.
   We have many examples:  St Teresa of Avila, St Joan of Arc, St Ignatius of Loyola and many others, who deeply felt invited to that mystical union with God. This union is possible only through prayer and being sensitive to the promptings of the Holy Spirit.
Lord Jesus, may we, like You, also grow in our spiritual life and have at least a glimpse of our heavenly union with You.
 
Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Easter
Jesus walked about in the temple area on the Portico of Solomon. So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” Jesus answered them, “I told you and you do not believe.”  John 10:24–25
Why is it that these people did not know that Jesus was the Christ? They wanted Jesus to speak “plainly” to them, but Jesus surprises them by saying that He already answered their question but they “do not believe.” This Gospel passage continues the beautiful teaching about Jesus being the Good Shepherd. It’s interesting that these people want Jesus to speak plainly about whether or not He is the Christ, but instead, Jesus speaks plainly about the fact that they do not believe in Him because they are not listening. They have missed what He has said and are left in confusion.
One thing this tells us is that God speaks to us in His own way, not necessarily in the way we would like Him to speak. He speaks a mystical, profound, gentle and hidden language. He reveals His deepest mysteries only to those who have come to learn His language. But to those who do not understand God’s language, confusion sets in. If you ever find yourself confused in life, or confused about the plan God has for you, then perhaps it’s time to examine how carefully you listen to the way God speaks. We could beg God, day and night, to “speak plainly” to us, but He will only speak in the way He has always spoken. And what is that language? On the deepest level, it’s the language of infused prayer.
Prayer, of course, is different than only saying prayers. Prayer is ultimately a relationship of love with God. It’s a communication on the deepest level. Prayer is an act of God within our soul by which God invites us to believe in Him, to follow Him, and to love Him. This invitation is continually offered to us, but too often we fail to hear it because we fail to truly pray.
Much of John’s Gospel, including Chapter Ten from which we are reading today, speaks in a mystical way. It’s not possible to simply read it like a novel and comprehend all that Jesus says with one read. Jesus’ teaching must be heard in your soul, prayerfully, pondered, and heard. This approach will open the ears of your heart to the certitude of the voice of God.
Reflect, today, upon the mysterious ways in which God communicates to you. If you do not understand how He speaks, then that is a good starting point. Spend time with this Gospel, prayerfully pondering it. Meditate upon Jesus’ words, listening for His voice. Learn His language through silent prayer and allow His holy words to draw you to Himself.
My mysterious and hidden Lord, You speak to me day and night and continually reveal Your love to me. Help me to learn to listen to You so that I may grow deep in faith and may truly become Your follower in every way. Jesus, I trust in You.
 
Tuesday 4^th week of Easter 2025
Opening Prayer: Lord God, as I contemplate the work of your Son and the work of the early Christians, I witness the power of faith in your Son, Jesus Christ. Your Son constantly invited people to believe in him, and the disciples of Jesus did the same. You invite me each day to renew and deepen my faith in your Son. I believe, Lord, help my unbelief!
Encountering the Word of God
1. A Bittersweet Feast: The Feast of Dedication was not very old in Jesus’ day. Unlike the Feast of Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles, which had over 1000 years of history, the Feast of Dedication was a relatively new feast in Jesus’ day. It recalled the actions of the Maccabees, who overthrew the Greek Seleucids and reconsecrated the Second Temple in 164 B.C. To this day, the Jewish people continue to celebrate the Feast of Dedication, known more popularly as Hanukkah. Jesus was very different from the Maccabees. The Maccabees were led by Judas “the Hammer,” who violently overthrew Antiochus “Epiphanes” IV. This dynasty of the Maccabees, known as the Hasmonean dynasty, eventually usurped the high priesthood under Jonathan. And so, the Feast of Dedication was somewhat bittersweet. It recalled how the Jewish people resisted the pagan influence of the Gentile Greeks under the leadership of the Hasmoneans, but also how the high priesthood of Israel was eventually usurped by that same family. And so, in Jesus’ day, there was both a false king appointed by the Romans, i.e., Herod the Great, and false high priests who were not descendants of Zadok.
2. The New Temple: The Feast of Dedication looked forward to the fulfillment of Ezekiel’s prophecy about a New Temple. When the people of Judah returned from exile in Babylon and rebuilt the Temple, they were brought to tears when they did not see the glory of the Lord descend and fill the Holy of Holies. And so, in Jesus’ day, they were still waiting for the glory of the Lord to return to the Temple. The presentation of Jesus in the Jerusalem Temple, 40 days after his birth in Bethlehem, was a fulfillment of Ezekiel’s prophecy. The glory of God, incarnate in the baby Jesus, entered into the Temple. But ultimately, Ezekiel’s prophecy was fulfilled in the death and resurrection of Jesus, when the cornerstone of the New Temple, not made with human hands, was laid. We share in Jesus’ death and resurrection through the Sacrament of Baptism. In this way, washed in the river of life, we become the living stones of the New Temple, the mystical Body of Christ.
3. One God, Three Persons: During the Feast of Dedication, Jesus continues his proclamation of the mystery of the Triune God. At his Baptism, we heard the voice of God the Father and witnessed the descent of the Spirit. At the Transfiguration, the voice of the Father was heard, and the Son was enveloped in the cloud of the Spirit. In the Gospel of John, Jesus announces the sending of the gift of the Spirit. In today’s Gospel, Jesus proclaims that he and the Father are not two gods, but one God: “The Father and I are one.” This means that God is undivided and that the Persons of the Trinity are consubstantial. We, as Christians, do not believe in three gods. We believe in one God, who has been revealed to us in the fullness of time as three co-equal divine Persons. God the Father eternally begets the Son and their mutual and eternal love for one another spirates the Holy Spirit, the Love of God. There are hints of the Trinity in the Old Testament, even in the first lines of Genesis. God created the heavens and the earth by speaking his Word as the Spirit hovered over the waters of the abyss. The same Triune God, who created the world from nothing, is at work in our re-creation, which unites us to the life of the Father through the Son and in the Spirit.  
 
Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, I want to boldly proclaim the Gospel in my family, my workplace, and in my community. Enlighten my mind and heart to know how and when to proclaim you as the Son of God and Savior of the world.
 
Tuesday 4^th week of Easter
Opening Prayer: Jesus, reveal the Father to me. I want to draw closer to you. I know only through you am I able to know the father. Lead me, Good Shepherd, to our heavenly home.
Encountering Christ:
It Was Winter: “The feast of the Dedication was taking place in Jerusalem. It was winter.” John’s Gospel is rich in providing signs to direct minds and hearts. Every word has meaning. Winter symbolizes many things: cold, waiting, end, death, a precursor to spring and its new life. In these lines of Scripture, “It was winter” means that the long wait for the Messiah was coming to an end. Death would soon be defeated. The winter of Satan’s reign would soon pass into the spring of Jesus’ Kingdom. Those who were not Jesus’ sheep were there to do battle. Those opposed to Jesus gathered around to debate him and cause confusion among the crowds. 
And Jesus Walked About: “And Jesus walked about in the temple area on the Portico of Solomon.” The Portico of Solomon was on the east side of the Temple and offered protection from the cold winds of the desert, once again referencing winter. It was a feast day, so many Jews from distant lands were arriving and Jesus was “walking about” them. Psalm 87, today’s responsorial psalm, encouraged the dispersed Jews of 6 B.C. who were living in foreign lands to remain children of Zion, God’s people. Jesus was doing the same here. We can imagine Jesus’ walking about looking in the hearts of those who had come from far away, acknowledging their hopes and desires. And none of them realized that their God was looking lovingly upon them first. Where are the areas of waiting in our life? Places of winter cold or death? God is at this moment walking about those places in our souls. Pope Francis offers us this encouragement: “The Word bec ame flesh and dwelt among us. ‘Dwell’ is the verb […] to signify this reality: It expresses a total sharing, a great intimacy. And this is what God wants: He wants to dwell with us; he wants to dwell in us, not to remain distant.”
But You Do Not Believe: “But you do not believe, because you are not among my sheep. My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” How hurt Jesus must have felt to be among his own people and not be recognized. Every person desire to be acknowledged, affirmed, and appreciated for who he or she is. Our usual response is to self-protect by putting on masks to hide our vulnerability. Jesus wanted to be known and loved, but his response was completely different. God who is Love remained vulnerable and open. Jesus, which means “God Saves,” continued to seek his lost sheep. Jesus, who is Emmanuel, continued to dwell among them even when they failed to recognize him. When it feels like a long winter has settled in our souls, we remember that we are not alone. Jesus, the Good Shepherd, is walking about in us. We welcome him. 
Conversing with Christ: Lord, where do I fail to see you? Help me to acknowledge your presence in my life. Help me to see and help me to respond. I want to be found by you, Lord.