Suy Niệm Tin Mừng thứ Sáu Tuần 29 Thường Niên

Suy Niệm Tin Mừng thứ Sáu Tuần 29 Thường Niên
Bài Tin Mừng hôm nay nhắc nhở chúng ta là những người Kitô hữu phải nên biết sáng suốt với những lời mời gọi của Chúa trong mọi lúc. Bất kể tuổi tác, tình trạng trong cuộc sống, hoặc tập quán, của chúng ta, chúng ta luôn luôn được mời gọi để mang niềm hòa bình và sư hiệp nhất trong chúng ta ngay trong gia đình, trong trường học, trong nơi làm việc, hay trong cộng đồng và xã hội chúng ta đang sống. Một cách chính xác, là chúng ta phải làm như thế nào?, Chúng ta không cần phải nhìn xa để tìm cho câu trả lời. Phản ứng của chúng để đáp lại lời mời gọi này có thể khác với những người khác và tùy thuộc vào hoàn cảnh của chúng ta và người đó. Nhưng tiêu chuẩn của Chúa thì luôn đơn giản giống nhau đó là sự khiêm tốn, nhân từ và kiên nhẫn. Hầu như chúng ta có thể tìm thấy những đặc điểm này là nên tự giúp đỡ nhau, hướng dẫn cho nhau để hoàn tất được công việc mà Chúa Trao phó thành công một cách mỹ mãn. Sự khiêm tốn, kiên nhẫn và lòng nhân từ chính là những công cụ không mất tiền mua, khá mạnh mẽ và sắc bén có thể giúp bồi dưỡng chúng ta cho mùa gặt lớn trong vườn nho của Thiên Chúa. Chúng ta là những hạt giống. Và Thiên Chúa sẽ giúp làm cho chúng ta nẩy mầm và phát triển đức tin của chúng ta.
 
REFLECTION
What is asked of us by the Lord to do now? It is a simple question but we may not have the answer to it all the time. We pray hard but we may not have understood the Lord's message. Maybe we did not listen enough. Or perhaps we understood what the Lord asked of us to do but we complicate it or make different excuses not to act on it. The gospel reminds us Christians to be discerning of the Lord's call at all times. Regardless of our age, status in life, or heritage, we are always called to bring peace and unity in our family, school, workplace, community, and society. How exactly can we make it happen? We need not look far for answer. Our response to this call may differ from one person to another and depending on the person's circumstances. But the Lord's standards are simple and always the same - be humble, gentle and patient. Hardly that we can find these traits recommended in self-help guide to get a fulfilling job or to establish a successful business. But it is a powerful inexpensive tool that we can nurture for a great harvest in the Lord's vineyard. We already have the seeds. And our dear Lord will help us make them grow and put to good use. We just need to act on our faith.
 
Friday of the Twenty-Ninth Week in Ordinary Time
“Why do you not judge for yourselves what is right? If you are to go with your opponent before a magistrate, make an effort to settle the matter on the way; otherwise your opponent will turn you over to the judge, and the judge hand you over to the constable, and the constable throw you into prison. I say to you, you will not be released until you have paid the last penny.” Luke 12:57–59
The Church Fathers offer many different interpretations of this passage. Among them, Saint Bede says that our “opponent” can be seen as the Word of God, in the sense that the Word of God makes war upon our weaknesses and sins. When we listen to the Word of God, our Lord will convict us of our faults so that we can reconcile our lives with the Truth of the Word of God Himself.
When you think about God’s holy Word, in its entirety, what most convicts you? Sometimes we try to downplay such personal convictions. We rationalize our actions and dismiss what God is saying to us. Are there any teachings of Jesus that you recall that have truly stung you to the heart? If so, this is a grace, and it’s an opportunity to fulfill the lesson from our Lord taught in the passage above. God does not convict our hearts so as to condemn us. Rather, He convicts us, as an opponent to our sin, so that we can “make an effort to settle the matter on the way.” The conscience is a wonderful gift from our Lord and can be likened to this passage above. It is a form of courtroom where our Lord desires not to have to issue punishment upon us. Instead, He desires that we engage His holy Word, listen to what He says, and settle our sin by repenting immediately.
Among the many lessons taught by our Lord, it is often the lesson that jumps out at us, even in a startling way, that we need to pay attention to the most. God often brings His most urgent teachings to us by causing us to feel a sense of guilt that cannot be denied. If we listen to these convictions, then we will not have any need to stand before the Judge. But if we do not, if we bury these convictions, downplay them and ignore them, then our Lord will find it necessary to keep at us. We will begin to experience His judgment, and we will see the effects of being out of His good graces. And in the end, if we fail to repent of the more serious sins in our lives, then we will even be held accountable for the smallest of sins. We will be required to “pay the last penny.”
Reflect, today, upon the idea that the Word of God, all that our Lord has taught us, is the opponent to the sin in your soul. This good and holy opponent wants only what is best for you. Commit yourself to an ongoing reading of God’s holy Word so that you will be continually disposed to hear all that God wants to say to you and so that you will be able to reconcile with our Lord before He is compelled to issue forth His judgments. 
My most merciful Judge, You desire that I listen to Your holy Word, revealed through Scripture, so as to receive Your most merciful conviction of my sin. I pray that I will be open to always hear all that You desire to say to me so that I can respond with generosity and trust, reconciling with You and others continually through my journey in life. Enliven my conscience with Your holy Word, dear Lord. Jesus, I trust in You.
 
Friday 29th in Ordinary Time2025
Opening Prayer: Lord God, enlighten my mind to discern the signs of the times. I do not want to remain in ignorance or dedicate my life to unimportant things. Human life is so short, barely the blink of an eye. And yet, how I live this short life on earth will determine how I will live for all eternity.
Encountering the Word of God
1. Interpreting the Present: In the Gospel, Jesus has just referred to the prophecy of Micah about inter-familial strife. This was understood as a prophecy about a time of great tribulation that would precede and inaugurate the time of messianic salvation. In today’s Gospel, Jesus calls out the people for not recognizing what is happening. They are hypocrites because while they are good at interpreting the signs of an upcoming weather change, they are ignorant of the upcoming fulfillment of prophetic signs. The age of salvation is approaching, and so Jesus teaches that his disciples need to be reconciled with their brothers and sisters before the time of judgment.
2. I Take Delight in the Law of God: In the First Reading, Paul refers to his own struggle against sin. The Law of God transmitted through Moses was not sinful. It gave knowledge about what was sinful, yet it did not empower the people of Israel to resist sin. God’s law is holy because it promotes virtue and prohibits vice. Here, Paul points to our common experience. We know what is good and right and just, and yet we often choose what is evil. “I do not do the good I want, but I do the evil I do not want.” Paul even says that he delights in the law of God within himself. And yet, there is a second law – the law of sin – that tugs at his heart. In our fallen state, we are unable to do the good prescribed by the law. We are in a miserable state! Who will deliver us? Paul is not despairing here, but asking for Jesus, the redeemer, to save us. It is a cry of hope and trust that God will answer his prayer. He moves quickly from lament to thanksgiving: “Paul expresses gratitude to God through Jesus Christ our Lord … The Lord, in sending his Messiah, has accomplished a deliverance that will bring about a renewal of all things, including “the redemption of our bodies” (8:23). Paul’s prayer has already been answered; his problem has already been met with a solution. In the meantime, he is caught in the middle, between serving the law of God with the mind, and the law of sin in the flesh” (Hahn and Mitch, Romans, 124).
3. Teach Me Your Statutes: Psalm 119 complements the First Reading. It praises God’s wisdom, knowledge, statutes, and commandments. If the Old Testament Laws of Moses were worthy of such praise, how much more is the New Testament Law of Jesus. This New Law is not an abstract commandment written on stone, but is the grace and power of the Holy Spirit, poured into our hearts. We still struggle to overcome sin and evil, as Paul teaches, but we possess a tremendous divine gift: “At the present stage of salvation history, we possess the flesh of Adam, even as we are filled with the Spirit of Christ. We have come to possess eternal life, even as we inhabit a body that is doomed to perish and that still throbs with sinful desire. Understanding this readies us for Paul’s teaching on the Spirit in the next chapter” (Hahn and Mitch, Romans, 124). The gift of the Spirit is a cause of true joy and delight. And so, when we pray, “Lord, teach me your statutes,” we are asking for the gift and guidance of the Holy Spirit to be poured into our hearts.
Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, I take delight in your law and Spirit. I will strive with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength to love the Father above all things. I will not neglect my brothers and sisters in their material and spiritual needs. I will love my neighbor as I love myself.