Suy Niệm Tin Mừng thứ Sáu Tuần 28 Thường Niên

Suy Niệm Tin Mừng thứ Sáu Tuần 28 Thường Niên
Qua bài Tin Mừng, Chúa Giêsu cho chúng ta biết là cuộc sống chúng ta đang sống hôm nay thật sự chỉ là cuộc sống tạm thời. Chúng ta không nên sợ cái chết ở trần thế, mà nên sợ cái chết đời đời. Đó là lý do tại sao chúng ta không nên chỉ chú ý đến cuộc sống trần gian, nhưng chúng ta phải chú ý đến sự sống vĩnh cửu đời đời ngày sau. Vĩnh cửu, đời đời là những chữ mà chúng ta thấy khó để liên kết với con người bởi vì tất cả mọi thứ ở đây không thể kéo dài mãi được. Tất cả mọi sự ỡ đời này đều có sự giới hạn. Vì tất cả mọi thứ, dù có bao bền lâu bao nhiêu, rồi cũng sẽ bị huỷ diệt. Ngay cả thế giới này cũng thế, rồi thì cũng qua đi. Và bất cứ điều gì chúng ta làm, đặc biệt là những điểu ẩn kín vẫn được Thiên Chúa nhìn thấy rất tỏ tường. Tất cả những hành động của chúng ta sẽ được phát hiện khi chúng trình diện mặt Chúa trong ngày sau hết của cuộc đời.
Chúng ta hãy bắt đầu ngay bây giờ, hãy bắt đầu làm việc cho những thứ cần thiết cho thiên đường, chứ không phải là chỉ để mắt của chúng ta hướng về những mối quan tâm trần thế, hữu hình. Hãy nhớ, Thiên Đàng thì tồn tại mãi mãi và có thật!
 
Reflection Friday 28^th Ordinary Time:
     It is clear that the life we live today is temporary. We are not to fear the earthly death, but rather the eternal death. That is why we should not just pay attention to the earthly life, but rather also to the eternal life. Because eternal life lasts forever. Forever is a word we find hard to relate with because all things here do not last. Warranties are limited and guarantees have a lifespan of its own, no matter the assurances we get, All things, no matter how durable get broken. Even this world is passing away slowly. And whatever we do, especially those hidden, are seen by God. All our actions will be uncovered and exposed at the end of time. Nothing will escape God's sight. Let us then start working then for the things of Heaven, rather than just fix our eyes always and only on tangible earthly concerns. Heaven exists. Forever is real!
 
Reflection Friday 28^th Ordinary Time:
     It is clear that the life we live today is temporary. We are not to fear the earthly death, but rather the eternal death. That is why we should not just pay attention to the earthly life, but rather also to the eternal life. Because eternal life lasts forever. Forever is a word we find hard to relate with because all things here do not last. Warranties are limited and guarantees have a lifespan of its own, no matter the assurances we get, All things, no matter how durable get broken. Even this world is passing away slowly. And whatever we do, especially those hidden, are seen by God. All our actions will be uncovered and exposed at the end of time. Nothing will escape God's sight. Let us then start working then for the things of Heaven, rather than just fix our eyes always and only on tangible earthly concerns. Heaven exists. Forever is real!
 
Friday 28^th Ordinary Time 2024
“There is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have said in the darkness will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered behind closed doors will be proclaimed on the housetops.” Luke 12:2–3
Immediately prior to this passage quoted above, Jesus told His disciples: “Beware of the leaven—that is, the hypocrisy—of the Pharisees.” This comes after Jesus gives a long and very direct series of condemnations of these leaders in the previous chapter. Jesus is quite serious about their destructive actions. So, after directly confronting them, He then turns to His disciples to warn them of the consequences of these hypocritical leaders.
A hypocrite is one who pretends to have some moral virtues but, in truth, is only deceiving himself and attempting to deceive others. For that reason, Jesus assists His disciples by sharing with them the fact that all truth will eventually come to light. Thus, every good deed will eventually be seen by all for its goodness, and every evil intent, no matter how hidden, will eventually come to light. 
Though the immediate temptation for many in hearing this passage will be to think about others who they think fall into the sin of hypocrisy, it may be far more useful to ponder these truths for oneself. The simple message that Jesus preaches is that we must be people who are truthful in every way. We must be honest with ourselves and make sure that we are fully aware of our inner life, seeing ourselves only in the way that God sees us. This act of honesty and integrity is one of the best ways by which we prepare ourselves for eternal life. How sad it would be if we went through life pretending, on the surface, to be something we were not, only to have the full truth divulged at our final judgment when it is too late to change.
Being honest with ourselves can be difficult. It’s normal for us to want to be good, to want to be holy, and to want others to think this way about us. For that reason, it is very common for us to put forth only the best image of ourselves, hiding many other things that may embarrass us and even humiliate us. And though we do not have any moral obligation to tell everyone about every sin we struggle with interiorly, it is morally essential that we face it ourselves and do so with the grace of God.
One practical way to do this is to ponder the above Scripture passage. Jesus makes it clear that at some time, in some way, everything within us in our hearts and minds will come to light. For some this will happen, by God’s grace, during this life as a way for them to change. For others, these secrets will only come to light at their final judgment. The truth, however, is that all that we are, all that we think, and all that we do in a hidden way will come to light. And if that frightens you in some way, that is good. Sometimes we need a holy fear to encourage us to look inward and to deal with all that we keep hidden from others.
Reflect, today, upon the importance of striving for a life of true transparency and integrity. The best way to do this is to live every day as if everything within your heart were visible for all to see. If that means you need to change in some way so as to be at peace with what will eventually come to light, then work diligently on making that change here and now. The opposite of hypocrisy, for which the Pharisees were firmly condemned, is honesty and sincerity. Spend time reflecting upon these beautiful virtues and pray that the Lord will gift you with them so that you can live a life of true integrity here and now in preparation for that glorious day of judgment, when all will be “known” and “proclaimed on the housetops.”
My revealing Lord, You see all things. You know my heart in every way. Please grace me with the ability to see myself as You see me and to know my inner heart as You know me. As the deepest truths of who I am come to light for me to see, I pray that I will also have the grace to sincerely change so that I may truly glorify You with my actions and become a source of authentic inspiration to all. Jesus, I trust in You.
 
Reflection Friday 28^th Ordinary Time: 2025
Opening Prayer: Lord God, you lovingly care for me as my Heavenly Father. Help me to experience this truth more deeply in my life. I am tempted to trust in myself and my abilities rather than you. Do not let me fall into this temptation. May I see all good things as coming from you.
Encountering the Word of God
1. Pharisaical Hypocrisy: In the Gospel, Jesus has just left the Pharisee’s house, where he delivered a blistering warning. Now, with his disciples gathered around him, he focuses in on the heart of the matter and also how it applies to his disciples. This prevents his disciples from getting puffed up with pride and thinking that they were better than the Pharisees and scholars of the law. In just a few words, Jesus identifies a real danger for those steeped in religious practice – the sin of hypocrisy. He compares it to leaven or yeast that inflates dough. A person can easily become inflated about how good they are and how pious they are and how they are better than everyone else because of their pious practices. The Father, Jesus teaches, sees everything. Nothing is hidden from God, especially the real intentions driving our actions. God the Father is not fooled by the hypocrite. The Gospel concludes not with another condemnation of Pharisaical hypocrisy, but with how to overcome it – filial trust in God’s loving care for us.
2. The Justifying Faith of Abraham: In the First Reading, Paul is going to show from the Old Testament that we are justified and made right with God, not through the works of the old law, but through faith. His prime example is Abraham. Paul alludes to the fact that Genesis 15 says that Abraham was made righteous through his belief in God. And it is only in Genesis 17 that Abraham was circumcised. This means that Abraham was justified by faith apart from one of the works of the law – that of circumcision, which incorporated a man into God’s covenant family. If Abraham was justified by faith and not by such works, then the same would apply to us. Paul emphasizes that our initial faith and grace of justification are a gift of God and not something we earn like a wage. We do need to build up spiritual and heavenly treasure, but we cannot do this without the initial empowerment and continual sustenance of divine grace. 
3. The Psalms of David on Blessedness and Righteousness: After referring to how Abraham was justified by faith, Paul then quotes the Book of Psalms to show that it teaches the same doctrine. Paul refers to David as the author of Psalm 32 and says, “So also David declares the blessedness of the person to whom God credits righteousness apart from works: ‘Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord does not record’” (Romans 4:7-8; Psalm 32:1-2). The one who is forgiven is the recipient of God’s mercy. Paul here teaches that the Psalm means that justification includes divine forgiveness and that our transgressions are no longer held against us. What is more, this initial justification and forgiveness is an unmerited gift and not a wage that we earn by our human efforts. God’s actions in justifying us include crediting righteousness, forgiving iniquities, and covering and not recording our sins. God truly cleanses us through justification, but the sins we commit cannot be undone and remain forever as events of history. “God can remove the guilt of our sins; likewise, God can without the punishment that our sins deserve. But their occurrence remains forever inscribed in the annals of past time. This is something that God’s mercy must simply overlook” (Hahn and Mitch, Romans, 62).
Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, thank you for warning me about the danger of hypocrisy. I only seek to be a humble servant and child in your vineyard. May I attribute any success in extending your kingdom to the power of your grace and the work of the Holy Spirit. I am a poor vessel of your divine grace.
 
Friday 28^th Ordinary Time
Introductory Prayer: Lord, I believe that you are present here as I turn to you in prayer. I trust and have confidence in your desire to give me every grace I need to receive today. Thank you for your love, thank you for your immense generosity toward me. I give you my life and my love in return.
Petition: Lord, give me courage to keepnot to shy away from following you even in the face ofwhen I am faced with anytemptation.
11. Lion Food: St. Ignatius, bishop of Antioch, was arrested and then transported to Rome, where death by lions awaited him. During the journey he wrote letters to some of the Christian communities he passed through, most notably the Christian community in Rome. In thea letter, he urges the Romansthem to do him no “untimely charity” of interceding with the emperor to spare him from execution. He writes to them, “I beseech of you not to show an unseasonable goodwill towards me. Suffer me to become food for the wild beasts, through whose instrumentality it will be granted me to attain to God” (Letter to the Romans). When Christ speaks of having no fear of those who kill the body but after that can do no more, he means it quite literally. If we encounter a situation in which we must either be faithful to Christ or cave in to pressure and abandon the path of the Lord, we should never hesitate. Follow Christ. Do not fear those who might “kill” by their criticism or disapproval of our rectitude of conscience. Do not be afraid.
2. Becoming Eucharist: St. Ignatius continues, “I am the wheat of God, and am ground by the teeth of the wild beasts, that I may be found the pure bread of God” (Letter to the Romans). He is drawing a connection between his own coming martyrdom—wheat ground by the teeth of wild beasts—and the Eucharist—the pure bread of God. These words are not just grisly yet pious analogy; rather, they touch on the most profound meaning of the mystery of the Eucharist and our participation in it. The Eucharist is the most complete worship given to God the Father: It is the Incarnation of God among us, it is Christ’s sacrifice of his body on the Cross, and it is his Resurrection from death to eternal life. Through the EucharistChrist’s incarnation, sacrificial death, and resurrection are not merely examples we are called to imitate in the way an amateur athlete might imitate a professional. The Eucharist is much more profound than that. In receiving the Eucharist, we are united to Christ’s humanity (the Incarnation), his suffering to fulfill the Father’s loving will, his death to sin and his resurrection (our life in grace here and eternal life in the next). In this union we become the “pure bread of God”, as St. Ignatius writes. Wwe become an acceptable sacrifice to the Lord. We need to offer the struggles and challenges of each day in order to remain united with Christ in the Eucharist.
3. More than Birds: In our daily life we take many small things for granted because they seem to have little import in the grand scheme of things. “What were the high and low temperatures a year ago today?” “What does it matter now?” we might as well respond. “Where will the four sparrows I saw in the park two weeks ago get food to eat?” It’s not even a question that occurs to us. We have many other things of immediate importance that require our attention and action. Yet such a question is important enough to occur to God. Christ tells us in Luke 12:24, “They do not sow or reap; they have no storehouses and no barns; yet God feeds them.” He continues, “And how much more are you worth than the birds!” If God would make time to think about something so insignificant among all the goings-on in the world, how much more will he be taking care of our needs!
Conversation with Christ: Lord, when I look at the difficulties and rough spots I know I will be facing today, I worry about the sacrifices I’ll have to make. Maybe I won’t be as patient or generous as I ought. Maybe events won’t turn out as I hope. Help me to have confidence and trust in you like St. Ignatius. Help me realize that you have taken care of every minute detail of all that will occur today.