Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ Tư Tuần 26 Thường Niên

Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ Tư Tuần 26 Thường Niên
Trong bài đọc Tin Mừng hôm nay, chúng ta thấy những người muốn theo Chúa Kitô, Họ đã có được sự cảm xúc và sự thúc đẩy qua những lời giáo huấn và chính cuộc sống của Chúa Giêsu và họ đã theo Ngài và làm môn đệ của Ngài. Thật không may, trong khi họ muốn theo Chúa Kitô, những họ vẫn còn có điều kiện: "Trước hết, tôi phải chôn cha tôi"; "trước tiên, hãy để tôi nói lời vài tạm biệt chia tay với gia đình tôi." Ý chí của Họ đã bị cản trở bởi thứ vật chất, tình cảm bên ngoài đã dính liền mà không thể dứt khoát, hoặc là những nghĩa vụ mà họ nghĩ là quan trọng hơn. Chúa Kitô đã cho chúng ta thấy rằng đã thực sự theo Chúa Kitô thì không có gì quan trọng hơn nữa, và không thể để cho bất cứ một điều kiện nào được tiên quyết, "Hãy để kẻ chết chôn kẻ chết; Còn anh, anh hãy đi loan báo triều đại của (Nước) Thiên Chúa"; "Ai đã ra tay cầm cày, mà còn ngoái lại phía sau, thì không thích hợp với Nước Thiên Chúa."
            Chúng ta hãy cầu nguyện để xin Chúa Giêsu, người anh em của chúng ta, ban cho chúng ta những ân sủng này qua lòng rộng lượng chủa Chúa để chúng ta có can đảm để đáp lại ơn gọi này. Xin Chúa có thể soi sáng cho chúng ta biết ơn, trân trọng những hồng ân mà Chúa đã ban cho chúng ta và để cúng ta luôn biết tìm kiếm kho báu vĩnh viễn trong Nước Chúa.
 
Reflection:
     In the Gospel reading we see people who wished to follow Christ. They were touched and moved by Jesus' preaching and life to follow him and be his disciples. Unfortunately, while they wished to follow Christ, they were willing to do so under certain conditions: "first, I want to bury my father"; "first, let me say goodbye to my family." They were hindered by other attachments or by what to them were more important obligations.
     Christ points out that the following of Christ was truly demanding and allowed no pre-conditions, "Let the dead bury the dead; as for you, leave them and proclaim the kingdom of God"; "Whoever puts his hand on the plow and looks back is not fit for the kingdom of God."
     The Church has declared 2014 as the "Year of the Laity." The Church reminds and encourages the laity who make up the great majority of the Church to fully live out their vocations as members of Christ's Church and followers of Christ. The Church reminds all of the primacy of our call to be "Christians" and to be "Christ-like."
     Let us pray to Jesus, our brother, for the gift of generosity and courage to answer this call. May he enlighten us to gratefully appreciate the many gifts given to us and to always seek for treasures which last forever. May we learn to use and value whatever we have always looking forward to the kingdom of heaven. May we learn to be generous in our response to Christ.
 
Wednesday of the Twenty-Sixth Week in Ordinary Time
As Jesus and his disciples were proceeding on their journey, someone said to him,  “I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus answered him, “Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head.” Luke 9:57–58
At first, this appears to be an unusual response from our Lord. This person appeared to be committing himself to follow Jesus wherever Jesus led. But rather than complimenting the would-be follower, Jesus indicates that there is nowhere for this man to follow Him. Instead, he would have to follow Him into the unknown. Why would Jesus say this? Did He not want the man to follow Him?
One thing that this passage teaches us is that Jesus was able to read the souls and the intentions of those whom He encountered. Apparently, what the man said was not exactly his true intention. In commenting upon this passage, several Church Fathers point out that the man said what he said not out of a deep desire to follow Christ, but so that he would look good in the eyes of those around Jesus. Jesus knew his true intention, and therefore told the man that if he wanted to follow Him, he would have to follow Him into the unknown. Jesus then spoke to two others about following Him, and each time He challenged them to follow Him without reservation.
The call to follow our Lord is absolute. We cannot halfheartedly follow Him. We cannot follow Him for selfish reasons. The choice to follow our Lord begins with Him calling to us interiorly. We must hear His clear voice and invitation. The invitation we will receive will be one that asks everything of us. Jesus will never call us to give half of our lives to Him, or even most of our lives to Him. His call is one that demands everything. By demanding everything from us, our Lord is actually giving everything to us. We are only made whole when we give everything to Him and follow Him without reserve. This is the starting point.
The choice to follow Jesus will also be done in a certain secrecy. It’s not that we try to hide our choice to follow Him; rather, we must follow Him with the right intentions. We do not do so because we want others to praise us, admire us, or look up to us. We do not do so to boost our spiritual ego. We follow Him because we have heard Him call and have chosen to respond to that call in the way we are called. Therefore, every choice to follow Jesus must begin in the secrecy of our interior life of prayer. Once our commitment is firmly established, it will often become visible to others, but that must never be a motivating factor.
Once we are firmly committed to follow Christ, there must be no turning back. Jesus concludes today’s Gospel by saying, “No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the Kingdom of God.” The choice to follow Christ requires a death to certain things in our lives. As our journey moves forward, there will be temptations to return to our old ways.
We will remember the delights of past sins, feel the draw to other paths, and might even experience the demand of absolute fidelity to be too much. These experiences must be continuously rejected as temptations and lies. We must never look back to what we gave up and must always look forward to that which our Lord is calling us. Second-guessing our choice to follow Jesus will be a very real temptation at times; therefore, our resolve must never waver.
Reflect, today, upon the depth of your own decision to follow Jesus. First, consider whether or not you have heard this radical and absolute call echo within the depths of your soul. Only there, in the secrecy of your interior life, will you hear God speak. Second, consider your motivations for following Jesus. Do you do so to look good in the eyes of others? Or do you do so out of love of God? Third, consider whether your commitment is total. It is not enough to give most of your life to Christ; He demands everything. Finally, ponder also the fact that there will be many temptations along the way to return to your former sinful way of life. Allow your resolve to eliminate those temptations and continuously recommit yourself to the journey to which you have been called.
My demanding Lord, You have called me to a radical commitment of my entire life to follow You. I hear Your voice and choose to say “yes” to Your invitation. Please free me from all selfish motives in life, and give me the resolve I need to follow You wherever You lead. Jesus, I trust in You.
 
Wenesday 26th Sunday Ordinary Time 2025
Opening Prayer: Lord God, I choose this day to follow your Son wherever he goes. I will proclaim your Kingdom in my words and actions. I will continue to work in your vineyard without looking back and produce the good fruit of love, joy, peace, and mercy.
Encountering the Word of God
1. Following Jesus on the Way: In the Gospel, Jesus has begun his final journey to Jerusalem, where he will accomplish his new exodus. As the disciples journey with Jesus along the way, Jesus encounters three different people and teaches on discipleship three times. “The individuals’ final responses are not given, leaving the dialogues open-ended. The effect is to invite readers – other (potential) followers – to apply the sayings to their lives” (Gadenz, The Gospel of Luke, 196). The first encounter leads to the teaching that following Jesus as a disciple involves sacrifice and enduring hardships, including the renunciation of a comfortable home life. The second encounter teaches that we cannot delay our response to God’s call through Jesus. “Even family obligations have to be put in proper perspective and at times set aside” (Gadenz, The Gospel of Luke, 197). The third encounter teaches that the commitment to Jesus is greater than any other commitment. “Those who follow him must do so unconditionally” (Gadenz, The Gospel of Luke, 198). Just as the plowing of a field demands the farmer’s full attention, so also entering into God’s reign demands our full attention and absolute commitment (see Martin, Bringing the Gospel of Luke to Life, 282).
2. The Figure of Nehemiah: The First Reading introduces us to the figure of Nehemiah. He was the “cup-bearer,” and trusted advisor to the Persian ruler Artaxerxes. The Book of Nehemiah, chapters 1-7, describes the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem. Chapters 8-13recount the covenant renewal led by the priest-scribe Ezra and the cup-bearer Nehemiah. The First Reading tells us that, in 445 B.C., Nehemiah approached Artaxerxes and asked for his blessing to return to his people in Jerusalem and help restore the city. Artaxerxes readily agreed and sent official letters with him to ensure safe passage back to Judea. Artaxerxes not only sent a supply of lumber with Nehemiah but also appointed him as the governor of the Persian province of Judea (Nehemiah 5:14), a position he would hold for 12 years, from 445 to 433 B.C. The work of Nehemiah in Judea and Jerusalem began thirteen years after Ezra’s initial reform. “Nehemiah himself was a leader of the first rank. He was a strong and wise personality who knew how to mobilize those around him into swift and determined action” (Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, 694). Nehemiah is also a man of God. His life was characterized by prayer and humility. Unlike Ezra, who was a priest, Nehemiah was a layman and civil administrator. “Still this did not prevent God from using him as an effective instrument to bring his people into closer alignment with his will. Nehemiah used his political position for the great advantage of God’s people by enculturating the Torah and applying its standards to Jewish life. It is a testimony to his religious and patriotic zeal that he achieved so much in a community that was slouching toward apathy and growing weak in its faith” (Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, 694).
3. The Little Way of Saint Thérèse: Our saint, today, is Saint Thérèse. She is a Doctor of the Church who advocated the “little way” as a path to holiness. It means trusting in God’s love and abandoning oneself to God’s care like a small child. It emphasizes recognizing and accepting one's own weaknesses and imperfections, not as obstacles, but as ways to be open to God's grace. The Little Way involves doing ordinary, everyday tasks with great love and attention to God, serving others, and practicing virtues like humility and gratitude. The core of Thérèse’s message is the mystery of God as merciful Love. She experienced being the Father’s adoptive child in Jesus. “Through spiritual childhood, one experiences that everything comes from God, returns to him and abides in him, for the salvation of all, in a mystery of merciful love. Such is the doctrinal message taught and lived by this Saint” (Francis, Divini amoris scientia, 8). In addition to spiritual childhood, some key principles of the “Little way” are: 1) embracing your weakness, imperfection, and failings, trusting that God’s love is still present and working through these imperfections; 2) trusting that God’s merciful love will fulfill your desire for holiness and union with God; 3) understanding that true holiness depends not on your worthiness, but on God’s infinite love and desire to work through you; and 4) finding joy in the ordinary, simple, everyday actions by performing them with great care, attention, and love.
Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, teach me the little way to holiness. I have tried so many paths to grow in holiness. When I see progress, I am tempted to fall into pride. When I advance, I am tempted to compare myself to others. Teach me to imitate you and become meek and humble of heart.
 
Wenesday 26th Sunday Ordinary Time 2023
Introductory Prayer: In you, Lord, I find all my joy and happiness. How could I offend you by chasing after fleeting success and lifeless trophies? I believe in you because you are truth itself. I hope in you because you are faithful to your promises. I love you because you have loved me first. I am a sinner; nevertheless, you have given me so many blessings. I humbly thank you.
Petition: Let me willingly accept the cost of following in your footsteps
1. Hidden Expenses: A would-be disciple of Jesus' boasts that he will follow Our Lord anywhere, whatever the sacrifice. Jesus' response makes us wonder whether the fellow understood what he would be getting into. Following Christ is demanding — and not always glamorous. We might dream of doing great things for Christ, but then find the day-to-day struggle distasteful ("the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head"). Unglamorous challenges take many forms. A new wife might discover, to her chagrin, that her husband can't handle finances. Or a parent with high hopes learns that a child has a learning disability that will limit her ability to excel. Or a husband takes a higher-paying job to support his family, only to find his new boss is a tyrant. Or a teen suffers ridicule at public school for her modest clothes. All these trials can be the cost of following Christ. What price am I willing to pay?
2. Family Ties: Christ tries to dissuade another would-be follower from "burying his father." The man was probably settling his father's estate and getting too involved in family finances. Our Lord wanted him to cut with all that immediately and get on with the work of the Kingdom. Too often, money matters distract us from doing what Christ wants. No wonder St. Paul warns, "The love of money is the root of all evils" (1 Timothy 6:10). Is money holding me back in my relationship with Christ? Am I working longer hours than I need to just for money?
3. Long Goodbye: The moment of decision had arrived. But instead of joining Jesus' camp, the would-be disciple felt the tug of family ties. As followers of Christ, we have to be willing to make a fundamental option for Christ — an option that by necessity excludes other paths. Does this sound hard? It should sound familiar. Think of the young woman who says yes to a proposal of marriage. She does so assuming that her beloved has long broken off other romantic relationships. Or take the student who decides to go out for the soccer team at school. He rules out spending hours of practice on the basketball court. By extension, if we want to follow Christ, why do we fritter away hours in activities that have nothing to do with our faith or the Church? Are there things I need to weed out of my life?
Conversation with Christ: Lord, help me focus my energies better on you and what you are asking of me. Let me not be distracted by activities or material possessions or even relationships that aren't helping my spiritual life.