Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Luke 6:39-42. Thứ Sáu Tuần 23 TN

Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Luke 6:39-42. Thứ Sáu Tuần 23 TN
Trong Tin Mừng ngày hôm nay, Chúa Giêsu dạy chúng ta phải biết cách sống trong mối liên hệ với những người khác. Nhiều người trong chúng ta có xu hướng là thích phán xét người khác, thích tỉm kiếm những lỗi lầm hoặc thiếu sót của người khác để sửa sai họ, những không chịu nhận ra những cái sai lầm của chính mình. Có những lần hoặc nhiều lần chúng ta có thể đã muốn sửa sai người khác trong âm thầm, nhưng cũng có lúc bốc đồng, có những người trong chúng ta có thể đã thể hiện sự phán xét và phán đoán người khác một cách công khai để gây sự chú ý cho mọi người biết tới những giới hạn của những người khác và hay để tỏ cho họ thấy sự thông minh của mình.
            Hôm nay Chúa Giêsu kêu gọi chúng ta nên phải biết sống khiêm nhượng,  từ tâm và bác ái hơn. Chúng ta phải luôn luôn nhớ rằng chúng ta không thể biết được những gì đang xảy ra trong lòng hay trong trí tuởng của người khác, nên chúng ta không thể biết và hiểu được họ, và biết đâu họ có thể có những sự giải thích, hợp lý và thích đáng đằng sau cho những cái hành động của họ. Chúng ta không nên vội xét đoán và làm nô lệ cho những cái phản ứng bốc đồng của chúng ta. Thay vào đó, chúng ta cần thông cảm, hiệp thông với những người khác trong tình yêu thương và lòng nhân hậu của Chúa Giêsu, người mà hằng mong muốn được thu hút tất cả chúng ta vào nơi chính Ngài.
 
REFLECTION
In today's gospel Jesus is teaching us a way of living in relation to others. Perhaps we all have the experience of teaching others well because we have learned something ourselves. We cannot teach others what we have not learned ourselves. When we do have something to teach others, we still have to exercise caution. Many of us have a very human tendency to judge others, noticing their faults, mistakes, or shortcomings. We may have time and again did this in our hearts, but those of us who are impulsive may express this judgment by openly calling attention to the limitations of others.
            Today Jesus asks us to be more charitable. We must always remember that we do not know what is going on in another person's heart, that we often do not have complete information, and that there may be a good explanation behind another person's actions. Let us not be slaves to our impulsive reactions. Instead, let us relate to others with the loving kindness and mercy of Jesus, who desires to draw all of us into himself.
 
Friday of the Twenty-Third Week in Ordinary Time
“Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own?”  Luke 6:41
Saint Teresa of Ávila, one of the greatest spiritual writers and doctors of the Church, explains in her spiritual masterpiece “Interior Castles,” that one of the first steps on the path to holiness is self-knowledge. Self-knowledge produces humility, because humility is simply having a true opinion about yourself. When a person fails to know themself from the true perspective of the mind of God, then they open themselves up to many errors of judgment. One such error is that they can easily become fixated upon their perceived sins of others.
The Gospel passage quoted above depicts a person who gravely lacks self-knowledge. Why? Because they “do not perceive the wooden beam” in their own eye, meaning, they do not see their own sin. As a result, Jesus explains that this person also becomes fixated upon the “splinter” in their brother’s eye.
When you consider your own thoughts, what do you dwell upon the most all day long? Do you honestly look inward, seeking to know yourself as God knows you? Or do you spend excessive time thinking about others, analyzing and judging their actions? This is an important question to ask yourself and to answer with honesty.
The best way to know yourself is to gaze upon Jesus. When He becomes the focus of your attention throughout the day, you will not only come to know Him, but you will also come to know yourself more honestly. Gazing at the beauty and perfection of our Lord will have the double effect of knowing Him and knowing yourself through His eyes. It will also help you to know others as He sees them.
How does Jesus look at those around you? He looks at them with perpetual mercy. True, at the end of every life, when we pass from this world to the next, we will encounter our particular judgment from our Lord. But while here on earth, God continually gazes upon us with mercy. For that reason, mercy must become our daily mission, and we must build a habit of gazing upon everyone in our life with the eyes of mercy.
Reflect, today, upon our Lord. Look at Him, gaze upon Him, seek to know Him and make Him the focus of your attention. As you do, try to dismiss from your thinking process your own perceived judgments of others. Allow your gaze upon our Lord to help you to not only see Him but to also see others through His eyes. Build this habit and you will be on the fast track to the path to holiness.
My merciful Jesus, may I build a humble and true habit of gazing upon You in Your splendor and beauty. As I see You, day in and day out, please also help me to see myself through Your eyes of mercy so that I will also grow in humility. Please remove all judgment from my heart so that I will be free to know and love all people as You know and love them. Jesus, I trust in You.
 
Reflection Friday 23^rd Ordinary Time 2025
Opening Prayer: Lord God, I once again ask that you enlighten me so that I can eradicate all hypocrisy from my life. Show me where I profess one thing and do another. Show me where I judge the faults of others and am blind to my own faults. Grant me your grace and soften the hardness of my heart.
Encountering the Word of God
1. Spiritual Blindness and Sight: Jesus’ Sermon on the Plain in the Gospel of Luke includes a parable. The images of the parable build on one another quickly. Jesus asks: “Can a blind person guide a blind person? Will not both fall into a pit?” This image puts us on guard against being overconfident that we see everything clearly. Jesus has just commanded his hearers to stop judging and to be merciful. When we are patient and gentle in our judgments, it is largely because we realize we don’t have all the information. We do not know easily what is in another person’s heart or what things led up to their decision to act or not to act, to sin or to do good. It is by recognizing our spiritual blindness that we can humbly ask in prayer for the light of faith and divine wisdom. In fact, wisdom is the gift that enables us to judge and order things from God’s perspective.
2. Disciples and Teachers: The second image in the parable contrasts a disciple at the beginning of their training and a “fully trained” disciple. Once again, this is an invitation to humility and patience. The arrogant disciple thinks highly of themselves and thinks they know more than their teacher. The proper attitude of a disciple, especially when the teacher is the Lord Jesus, is always one of humility. Humility is not self-deprecation. It is having a true image and assessment of oneself. A disciple of Jesus can always learn more. Even when “fully trained,” the disciple will not surpass Jesus the teacher, but only be like Jesus. We can always be more conformed to Jesus in our way of thinking, in our sentiments and emotions, and in our actions. The third image builds on the two we have considered. Only with the spiritual light of faith can we see clearly enough to guide others. Only having been fully trained by Jesus can we see things as Jesus does. Only by removing the wooden beam of sin and vice from our eyes can we see clearly enough to help our brothers and sisters remove the bothersome splinter from their eyes. 
3. Grace, Mercy, and Peace: Yesterday, we finished reading Paul’s Letter to the Colossians. Today, we begin to read First Timothy, one of Paul’s three “Pastoral Epistles.” These were letters Paul sent to his coworkers, Timothy and Titus. They gave advice on how they were to set up and lead the pastoral governance of the Churches of Crete and Ephesus. In First Timothy, we learn that Paul wrote from prison and knew that he was nearing the end of his life. Thus, the three letters have the tone of a last will and testament. In the First Reading, Paul reflects on his past life and how Jesus has changed his life. Paul was “once a blasphemer and a persecutor and an arrogant man.” When he persecuted the followers of Jesus, he acted out of ignorance in his unbelief. All of that changed when he encountered the risen Lord on the way to Damascus. Now, Paul is grateful to Christ, who has strengthened him with his abundant grace and the virtues of faith and charity. Paul is humbled by the fact that he has been mercifully treated by God. Paul now approaches his death with peace and is filled with hope because of the Lord Jesus. One lesson we can learn from these opening paragraphs is how Paul is not complaining about his lot. He is not discouraged by being in prison or having suffered so much. His thoughts are not self-centered, but concerned for his coworkers ministering in the newly-founded Churches.
Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, help me remove the wooden beam from my eye and see clearly. I want to contemplate all things with the help of divine wisdom. I want to see my own faults and sins clearly so that I can truly help others on the path to salvation.
 
Reflection Friday 23^rd Ordinary Time 2024
Opening Prayer: Lord God, I once again ask that you enlighten me so that I can eradicate all hypocrisy from my life. Show me where I profess one thing and do another. Show me where I judge the faults of others and am blind to my own faults. Grant me your grace and soften the hardness of my heart.
Encountering the Word of God
1. Walking in the Light of Christ: Saint Paul worked tirelessly to preach the Gospel to all the nations. It was his vocation, his response to God’s calling, an obligation imposed on him out of love. Today’s Gospel message asks us to walk in the light of Christ. If we are spiritually blinded by sin, we will stumble and cannot lead others along the path to holiness. In the Gospel, we see Jesus accuse the Pharisees of being blind guides. Instead of teaching people the heart of the law, the Pharisees concentrated on the minor aspects of the Law. Instead of leading the people into the Kingdom of God, they made it more difficult for them to enter. 
2. The Blinding Effect of Sin: Sin has a blinding effect because it darkens our reason. It makes us ignorant. Grace, on the other hand, enlightens our reason and makes us wise. The spiritually blind cannot open their own eyes. The Lord is the only one who can open our eyes (Psalm 146:8). When Jesus cures a blind man, it is a sign that points to something greater. Curing spiritual blindness is actually greater than curing physical blindness. When Jesus heals the paralyzed man, it testifies to his ability to forgive sins. To receive God’s mercy we must admit our faults. Blindness is not the only effect of sin. Sin also enslaves us. Saint Paul enjoys the freedom of the children of God. A child of God, though, serves and is a slave to all. A child of God does not come to be served, but to serve.
3. The Crown of Glory: Paul compares our life to a race. We are like runners in a stadium who run not for a laurel crown or an Olympic medal but for an imperishable crown. To get the crown of glory, though, we need to accept the crown of thorns. When we work to uproot sin and vice, we imitate athletes who drive their bodies and train them. We do not do this alone, because our ascetic efforts ought to be sustained by God’s grace. Part of our effort in the race of our life involves removing the wooden beams of sin in our lives. What is my wooden beam? Am I blinded by pride or lust or greed or anger? The first step toward sight is simple: turn to Jesus the Divine Physician. He can remove the wooden beam and cure us.
Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, help me remove the wooden beam from my eye and see clearly. I want to contemplate all things with the help of divine wisdom. I want to see my own faults and sins clearly so that I can truly help others on the path to salvation.