Suy Niệm Tin Mừng thứ Sáu Tuần thứ 3 Phục Sinh

Suy Niệm Tin Mừng thứ Sáu Tuần thứ 3 Phục Sinh
Trong những ngày trước, Chúa Giêsu đã làm phép lạ hoá bánh và cá ra nhiều để nuôi sống muôn người. Người Do Thái nhận ra có một điều đặc biệt ở đây, đó là Chúa Giêsu có thể là Đấng Thiên Sai hoặc ít nhất là một tiên tri. Họ đã tò mò tiếp tục theo Chúa. Họ đã thích thú tất cả những gì mà Chúa đã truyền dậy cho họ, cho dù họ vẫn chưa hiểu được một đoạn Thánh kinh hoàn toàn và chính xác, nhưng họ cũng đủ hiểu với những gì họ quen nghe, nên điều đó khiến họ không gặp những khó khăn. Họ tiếp tục đặt câu hỏi, tìm kiếm sự hiểu biết, đặc biệt là sự hiểu biết mà họ có thể thoải mái.
Những khi chúng ta gặp phải những điều khó xử  và thử thách trong cuộc sống của chúng ta, chúng ta sẽ có thái độ thế nào khi chúng ta đặt câu hỏi với Chúa? Có phải chúng ta sẽ cố tìm cách để hiểu được ý của Thiên Chúa để rỗi chúng ta sẽ tuân thủ và thực hành theo như kế hoạch của Thiên Chúa, hay chúng ta phản ứng theo sự phụ thuộc vào mức độ hiểu biết riêng của chúng ta?.
            Hôm nay, Chúa Giêsu đã nói lên những lời thực sự gây sốc cho chúng ta, Ngài muốn chúng ta ăn thịt và uống máu Ngài! Cho đến thời điểm này, hầu hết đám đông đã sẵn sàng chấp nhận Ngài như một người ban phát của ăn cho họ. Ngài cho họ ăn uống no thoả hôm qua. Có lẽ, nếu họ cố ở lại bên ngài mỗi ngày, Ngài sẽ làm phép lạ hoá bánh cho họ ăn no thoả nữa. Ý nghĩ của họ về Đấng Thiên Sai quá vật chất, họ chỉ nghĩ Chúa Giêsu là người sẽ tái lập Vương quốc của David mà tiêu diệt quân thù La Mã. Thế nhưng Chúa Giêsu lại muốn đưa họ đến với mầu nhiệm của lòng thương xót, yêu thương và quảng đại của Thiên Chúa. Giống như xưa, Thiên Chúa đã ban bánh manna cho họ ở nơi hoang dã, nay, Ngài muốn ban cho họ một cái gì đó tuyệt vời hơn nhiều. Tuyệt vời như Vương quốc David, Ngài muốn cho họ một vương quốc vĩ đại hơn. Điều này vượt xa tất cả những gì mà họ đang tìm kiếm; họ sẽ không thể hiểu được những gì Ngài đang làm và đang ban cho họ. Và điều này chỉ có thể được chấp nhận trong đức tin.
            Chúng ta có thể hiểu được nhiều thứ, thậm chí nhiều thứ thuộc về tâm linh. Trong lòng tốt của mình, Thiên Chúa đã ban cho chúng ta trí thông minh để chúng ta có thể hiểu được một số sự thật về Ngài. Nhưng những điều đơn giản thật sự hơn là Ngài không muốn tiết lộ vinh quang trọn vẹn của Thiên Chúa. Chúa Giêsu muốn ban cho nhân loại thịt mình để ăn và máu của Ngài để uống. Ngài đã nói rõ điều này với đám đông, và vì họ thiếu niềm tin, nên họ không hiểu nổi. Một số người đã chán nản bỏ đi, họ đi tìm một người khác.
Hy vọng, số người trong chúng ta đang tìm kiếm sự mặc khải về mầu nhiệm bí ẩn của Thiên Chúa. Những hồng ân to lớn nhất mà Thiên Chúa có thể ban cho chúng ta vì chúng ta không tìm cách lấp đầy cái dạ dày hay tâm trí của chúng ta. nhưng chúng ta đang tìm cách lấp đầy trái tim thương yêu của chúng ta. Đây là những hồng ân mà Chúa Giêsu dự định sẽ ban tặng cho chúng ta và ban rất nhiều cho chúng ta.
 
Friday of the Third Week of Easter
What is it I Truly Seek?
On the preceding day, Jesus multiplied loaves and fishes to feed the multitude. The Jews realize there is something special here, that Jesus may be the Messiah or at least a prophet. They are curious enough to continue following him and asking him questions. They have liked everything he has said up till now. Some of it they have not understood completely or correctly, but it has been close enough to what they are used to hearing that it causes them no great difficulty. They continue to ask questions, looking for understanding, especially understanding they can be comfortable with. What is my attitude when I question Our Lord about events and challenges in my life? Am I seeking to understand so I can embrace God’s plan better, or does my response depend on how much I comprehend?
2. Opening Our Horizons: Now Jesus has said something truly shocking. He wants them to eat his flesh and drink his blood! Up to this point, most of the crowd has been willing to accept him as a bread-provider. He fed them yesterday. Maybe, if they hang around long enough, he will do it again. Their ideas about the Messiah are too materialistic, based only on the re-establishment of David’s Kingdom at the expense of the Romans. Jesus, on the other hand, wants to take them to a new level. He wants to take them into the mystery of the loving generosity of God. As good as the manna in the wilderness was, he wants to give something much better. As wonderful as David’s Kingdom was, he wants to give a greater kingdom. This is so far beyond what they are looking for; they will not be able to understand what he is offering. It will have to be accepted in faith.
3. Great Gifts Come in Small Packages: We can understand many things, even many spiritual things. In his goodness, God has given us intelligence so that we can understand some of the truths about him. But these simpler truths don’t reveal the full glory of God. They are not as fulfilling as some of the more important truths about him. Jesus wants to give his flesh to eat and his blood to drink. He reveals this to the crowds, and since they lack faith, they don’t understand. Some straggle off to find another “wonder-worker.” Others, looking for understanding, go off to look for a “teacher” who makes sense to them. Hopefully, some are looking for the revelation of the mysteries of God, the greatest gifts that God can offer. They are not looking to fill their stomachs or their minds. They are looking to fill their hearts. These are the kinds of gifts that Jesus intends to give – and in abundance.
Conversation with Christ: Dear Lord, so often I am looking for material gifts from you. Help me to realize that the greatest gifts you give may be beyond my understanding. Yet, if I am willing to accept them on faith, they will fill my heart. Perhaps with time, it will be possible for me to understand something of them as well, but the greatness of faith lies in my trust in you.
Resolution: What spiritual gift I am most in need of? Faith? Charity? Humility? Something else? Today I will set aside some time to ask God in prayer to grant me that gift.
 
Friday of the Third Week of Easter
“Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink his Blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my Flesh and drinks my Blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my Flesh is true food, and my Blood is true drink. John 6:53–55
On a philosophical level, it’s useful to consider various things that appear to be “competing forces.” Good appears to be the opposite of evil. Light the opposite of dark. Heat the opposite of cold. And life the opposite of death. But are they truly opposites in the sense of being competing forces? When considered carefully, it is clear that good and evil, light and dark, heat and cold, and life and death are not actually “competing forces;” rather, evil is simply the absence of good, darkness the absence of light, cold the absence of heat, and death the loss of life. And though this philosophical distinction may not seem that interesting to some, and confusing to others, it is a helpful truth to ponder in light of today’s Gospel.
Today’s Gospel tells us that failure to “eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink his Blood” results in death. Death is the loss of life, and the Eucharist is the source of life. Jesus says that if you fail to eat His Flesh and drink His Blood, “you do not have life within you.”
This bold teaching of Jesus should cause us to stop and examine our approach to the Most Holy Eucharist. Sometimes we can fall into the trap of thinking that going to Mass and receiving Communion is something we do as a “favor” to our Lord. But in truth, it’s God’s most profound favor to us, because the Eucharist is the gateway to eternal life. And without it, we have no life within us. Our spirits die because we lose the presence of God.
Looking at the negative effect of not receiving the Most Holy Eucharist can be very useful. Sometimes we need to consider the consequences of our actions as a way of motivating us to greater fidelity. For that reason, considering the fact that failure to eat the Flesh of the Son of God results in death should be very motivating. It should fill us with a holy fear of the loss of the life-giving presence of God within us. This “holy fear” is a true gift from God and is, in fact, one of the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit.
Reflect, today, upon your interior attitude toward the Most Holy Eucharist. Do you see your participation in the Holy Mass more as a favor you offer to our Lord? Or do you see it as it is: the life-giving source of eternal life? Reflect upon how important this precious gift truly is and recommit yourself to a faithful and devout participation in this most holy Gift.
My Eucharistic Lord, Your Flesh and Blood are truly the source of eternal life for all who receive You in faith. I thank You, dear Lord, for this most precious Gift of the Most Holy Eucharist, and I pray that I will be filled with a deep hunger and thirst for You always. Jesus, I trust in You.
 
3^rd Friday of Easter: 2025
Opening Prayer: Lord God, you have generously bestowed the beginning of eternal life upon me. I did nothing to merit this grace and initial share in your life. Help me to collaborate with your grace so that I may attain the consummation of heavenly glory.
Encountering the Word of God
1. How Can This Man Give Us His Flesh to Eat? It is understandable that many of the Judeans who heard Jesus preach in the synagogue at Capernaum about the need to eat his flesh and drink his blood did not fully understand or grasp what Jesus was saying. Naturally, they quarreled and fought one another about the meaning of Jesus’ words. In response to their question, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?,” Jesus repeats three times that they need to eat his flesh and drink his blood. The first time, he says that those who do not do this will not have life. The second time, he promises the gift of eternal life and resurrection to those who eat his flesh and drink his blood. The third time, he says that this will cause a mutual indwelling: “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood, remains in me and I in him” (John 6:56). 
2. Eating the Flesh of the Son of Man: There is a nuance in the Greek text of John’s Gospel that we can miss in our English translation. When the Judeans ask how this man can give us his flesh to eat, they use the verb “phagein,” which refers to eating in general. And Jesus uses the same verb the first time he says: “Unless you eat (phagete) the Flesh of the Son of Man … you do not have life within you.” But the second and third time Jesus refers to this action, he uses the verb “trogon,” which was much more graphic and meant something more like “to gnaw, crunch, or chew.” Greek literature used the verb to describe the feeding of animals and, in some cases, for human eating. By doing this, Jesus doesn’t want the crowds to think he was just using a metaphor comparing welcoming his message in faith to eating bread. “The change in vocabulary marks a change of focus and emphasis, from the necessity of faith to the consumption of the Eucharist. The graphic and almost crude connotation of this verb thus adds greater force to the repetition of his words: he demands we express our faith by eating, in a real and physical way, his life-giving flesh in the sacrament” (Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: Old and New Testament, 1901).
3. Drinking the Blood of the Son of Man: Just as Jesus’ command to eat his flesh was scandalous to some of the Judeans, Jesus’ command to drink his blood was also a possible cause of scandal. The Old Law prohibited the drinking of animal blood and explained that life was in the blood (Leviticus 17:13-14). This law symbolized how human beings were not made to share more deeply in animal life, but were made for something else, namely, to share in divine life. Thus, when Jesus commands that we drink his blood, he is bringing the Old Law of Moses to fulfillment. We share in Jesus’ divine life by drinking from the chalice of his blood, the Blood of the New and Eternal Covenant, the blood that was shed for us, for the remission of sins.
Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, I am a member of your Body. Help me to know my place and my role in that Body. Help me to work to build up the Church and spread the seed of the Kingdom of God throughout the world so that it may grow in justice, peace, and charity.
 
3^rd Friday of Easter: 2024
Opening Prayer: Lord God, you have generously bestowed the beginning of eternal life upon me. I did nothing to merit this grace and initial share in your life. Help me to collaborate with your grace so that I may attain the consummation of heavenly glory.
Encountering the Word of God
1. Jesus Responds to Questions about the Eucharist: In the Gospel, Jesus is finishing his discourse in the synagogue in Capernaum. He has just alluded to the great truth of the Eucharist and, in response, the crowds begin to quarrel among themselves since they don’t understand how Jesus can give them his Flesh to eat. Jesus responds to their question by reiterating three things. First, he says to the crowds that unless they eat the Flesh of the Son of Man, they will not have life. This is because Jesus’ Flesh and Blood bestow eternal life on those who partake of them. Second, when we eat the Flesh of Christ and drink his Blood, we enter into communion with him: Jesus remains in us and we remain in Jesus. “Life in Christ has its foundation in the Eucharistic banquet” (CCC, 1391). Communion with the Flesh of the risen Christ “preserves, increases, and renews the life of grace received at Baptism” (CCC, 1392). Third, Jesus is able to give eternal life to us because he has received life from the Father. John alludes to this in his prologue: “In him was life and the life was the light of men” (John 1:4). Jesus himself proclaims to his Apostles that he is “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). The life we are called to share in, through Jesus Christ, is divine life.
2. The Church as the Body of Christ: Through the Eucharist, we are united to Christ and are united in one body, the Church. As Communion, the Eucharist “renews, strengthens, and deepens this incorporation into the Church, already achieved by Baptism” (CCC, 1396). These truths are implied in the first reading. Saul is persecuting the early Church, called the Way, yet Jesus does not ask him, “Why are you persecuting my followers?,” but rather: “Why are you persecuting me?.” The Church is truly the Mystical Body of Christ. Jesus proclaimed a mysterious and real communion between his own body and ours. “In the Body of Christ, the life of Christ is communicated to those who believe, and who, through the sacraments, are united in a hidden and real way to Christ in his Passion and glorification” (CCC, 790). The unity of the Body of Christ does not take away the diversity of its members. Christ is the head of the body, the Church. The unity of Christ and the Church, head and members of one Body, implies their distinction and this is often expressed by the image of bridegroom and bride. “Christ loved the Church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her” (Ephesians 5:25-26). He has joined the Church with himself in an everlasting covenant and never stops caring for her as for his own body (Ephesians 5:29). “Christ purified her by his blood and made her the fruitful mother of all God's children” (CCC, 808).
3. The Incorporation of Saul into the Body of Christ: Saul is called to form part of the Body of Christ. Saul is passionate by temperament, learned in Sacred Scripture, and a man of conviction. God wants all these talents to be placed at the service of the Gospel. Saul is an instrument chosen by God and will carry the name of the Lord to the Gentiles and the children of Israel. Saul will “open the eyes of the people so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may obtain forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been consecrated by faith” (Acts 26:18). Saul was baptized by Ananias. This was his incorporation into the suffering, death, and resurrection of Christ. Saul will suffer for the name of Jesus: he was stoned, beaten, and imprisoned on account of the Gospel. He will ultimately give his life for Christ through martyrdom. He encountered the risen Christ and now shares in Christ’s resurrection. A few days after his baptism, Saul began at once to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. This is the grace of Christ at work. Saul used to go from synagogue to synagogue persecuting the Body of Christ, now he goes from synagogue to synagogue building up the Body of Christ.
Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, I am a member of your Body. Help me to know my place and my role in that Body. Help me to work to build up the Church and spread the seed of the Kingdom of God throughout the world so that it may grow in justice, peace, and charity.