Suy Niệm thứ Hai Tuần 33 thường Niên

Suy Niệm thứ Hai Tuần 33 thường Niên

Trong cuôc sống con người của chúng ta, đôi khi chúng ta cảm thấy là rất khó để trung thành với con đường của Thiên Chúa hướng cho chúng ta đặc biệt là khi chúng ta đang phải đối diện với nhiều thử thách và cám dỗ trong một xã hội với nền văn hóa chủ chủ trương cá nhân, sống buông thả, ích kỷ. Con người chúng ta có vẻ thú vị, và luôn luôn có sự thôi thúc mãnh liệt để làm sao có thể được giống như mọi người khác.

Như dân Israel đã phải đối mặt với những thách thức này qua sự đô hô và ảnh hưởng nền văn hoá của người Hy Lạp, và nhiều người đã xuôi tay. Đế vương Antioches Epiphanes đã làm hết sức mình để tiêu diệt đạo Do Thái và văn hóa của người Do thái, nhưng hầu hết dân Do thái vẫn luôn biết cương quyết và trung thành với Thiên Chúa của họ. Cuối cùng họ đã thắng.

Qua bài Tin Mừng chúng ta đã chứng kiến cảnh một người mù và tàn tật thường xuyên bị xã hội kinh bỉ. Nhưng anh đã có cái nhận thức và nhìn sâu sắc vào Chúa Giêsu. anh chào đón Chúa bằng một danh hiệu là Đấng Kitô, Chúa cứu thế, con vua David - và viớ long tin anh ta đã xin Chúa cứu chữa cho anh ta, Anh ta đã kiên trì và đầy đức tin, vì vậy Chúa Giêsu chữa cho anh ta được sáng mắt., không phải chỉ sáng mắt nhìn được cảnh vật bên ngoài, mà anh còn sáng cả đôi mắt tâm hồn nữa.

 Chúng ta không thể cho phép người khác hoặc xã hội của chúng ta bịt miệng, ngăn cản và dập tắt ngọn lửa đức tin của chúng ta để đến với Chúa như anh mù. Sự trung tín, và kiên trì là đức tính mà chúng ta cần phải có trong cuộc sống đạo của chúng ta, chúng ta sẽ không bao giờ hối tiếc vì nhờ các đức tính đó mà chúng ta sẽ được ân sủng và cái nhìn sâu sắc trong đức tin hơn.

Lạy Chúa, giúp chúng con biết kiên trì và trung thành với con đường của Chúa.

 

Reflection (SG)

Sometimes it is difficult to remain faithful to the path of the Lord when we are faced with the many temptations present in our culture. They seem exciting, and there is always the strong urge to be just like everyone else. The people of Israel faced this challenge from their Greek rulers, and many gave in. Antioches Epiphanes did his best to wipe out Jewish religion and culture, but most of the people remained firm and faithful. In the end they were victorious. Today it is so important not to be seduced by the many possibilities that are offered to us, nor to be bullied by those who would force us to abandon our spiritual path. We will never lose by being faithful to God. Today it is so important not to be seduced by the many possibilities that are offered to us, nor to be bullied by those who would force us to abandon our spiritual path. We will never lose by being faithful to God.

The blind and disabled were often looked down upon in ancient society. The blind beggar by the side of the road had no status or honour. His requests to see Jesus were met with stern rebukes and orders to keep quiet. But despite being blind, he had insight into the identity of Jesus.  He greeted him with a Messianic title — son of David — and asked for help. He was persistent and faith-filled, so Jesus restored his sight. We cannot allow other people or our society to silence us and snuff out the flame of faith. Fidelity and persistence are virtues that we will never regret. We will be given grace and insight.

Lord, help me to be faithful to Your path.

 

Monday 33^rd Ordinary Time 2

As Jesus approached Jericho a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging, and hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what was happening. They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” He shouted, “Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me!” The people walking in front rebuked him, telling him to be silent, but he kept calling out all the more, “Son of David, have pity on me!” Luke 18:35–39

This beautiful story of the healing of this blind man, named Bartimaeus in the Gospel of Luke, sets for us a model of how we must come to Jesus in prayer. Bartimaeus and his encounter with Christ is an icon upon which we must meditate so as to imitate him in his weakness, openness, confidence and perseverance.

To begin, this “blind man was sitting by the roadside begging.” We must see this as an ideal image of how to begin our prayer. When we start to pray, we must see our littleness, weakness and extreme poverty in our spiritual life. We come to God with nothing. Unable to see. A beggar. And one who is incapable of meeting our own spiritual needs. This is Bartimaeus, and this must be the way we come to our Lord in prayer. Sometimes we can fall into the illusion that our prayers are so elevated and pious that God must be very impressed. If that’s your struggle, then you are more like the Pharisees. This blind man, however, is the ideal to aim for. So when you begin your prayer, come to our Lord as a spiritually poor and needy beggar.

In this state of humility, just as it happened in this Gospel story, you can be certain that “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” So as you sit in your humble and needy state, wait and be attentive to Jesus passing by. Wait upon His gentle voice, His quiet inspiration, His calming and unmistakable presence. 

If you can humble yourself this way and then sense our Lord’s divine presence touching you in some way, then further imitate Bartimaeus by calling out interiorly, “Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me!” The cry from the depths of your heart in prayer must come as a result of Jesus “passing by.” It must be a response to Him coming to you on His own. As Jesus passes by, spiritually speaking, He waits for you to call to Him. He desires that you call to Him. And He desires that you do it with firm confidence and perseverance.

Notice that as this blind beggar cried out, there were obstacles put in his way. The people “rebuked him, telling him to be silent.” But even this was a gift, because it enabled Bartimaeus to cry out all the more. So also with us, when obstacles arise in our prayer, such as distractions, temptations, a lack of consolation, or any other challenge to our prayer, we must see these obstacles as hurdles that must be overcome. Doing so will deepen our union with Jesus, turning that apparent obstacle into a source of blessing.

Reflect, today, upon these four aspects of a deep prayer life that are presented to us through the witness of this blind beggar. First, ponder your weakness and poverty as you turn to God in prayer. Second, be attentive to the presence of God as He passes by, waiting for you to call to Him. Third, cry out to Him and beg Him to come closer. And fourth, work to overcome every obstacle to prayer and see those obstacles as opportunities to call out to God all the more.

My compassionate Lord, I come to You in my weakness and poverty, I come in need of Your divine touch and healing. As You do pass by, I acknowledge Your presence and call to You. Jesus, please do come to me, have pity on me. Help me to overcome every obstacle to Your love and to trust in You always, never wavering from my commitment to You. Jesus, I trust in You.

 

Monday 33^rd Ordinary Time 2025

Opening Prayer: Lord God, as you pass by before me, take pity on me. Let me see with the spiritual eyes of faith. Cure the blindness caused by sin. Fill me with your Spirit so that I may praise you, thank you, and give you glory.

Encountering the Word of God

1. Your Faith has Saved You: The Gospel of Luke records two stories in Jericho, one involving a poor man (Luke 18:35-43) and another involving a rich man (Luke 19:1-10). There are many parallels between the two stories, and they mutually illuminate each other. In both stories, Jesus, like the Lord God in the Old Testament, is said to be “passing by.” The poor man was blind and was begging for alms “as Jesus was passing by.” The rich man was a chief tax collector and climbed a sycamore tree “as Jesus was passing by.” Both stories are about salvation. Both stories show that Jesus seeks out what was lost. In the first story, faith saves the poor man. He begs the Son of David for mercy, and he receives not only physical sight but also the spiritual vision of faith. Once he was cured, he followed Jesus on the way to Jerusalem. In the second story, which we will hear tomorrow, repentance, faith, and works of charity lead the rich man to salvation. In both stories, we see the beginnings and seeds of salvation. The poor man, having made an act of faith in Jesus, needs to follow Jesus on the way to Jerusalem; the rich man, having welcomed Jesus into his home, needs to be reconciled with those he has possibly extorted unjustly.

2. First and Second Maccabees: The first readings during weekday mass will be taken this week from First and Second Maccabees and next week from the Book of Daniel. First and Second Maccabees record the history of the Jewish people during the second century B.C. The Book of Daniel has prophecies about the unfolding of history from the time of the Babylonian Exile to the coming of the Son of Man and Messiah, who will establish the Kingdom of God. First Maccabees was written between 104 and 63 B.C. and emphasizes how God chose the Hasmonean family to save Israel. It records the revolt led by Mattathias against Antiochus (1:1-2:70) and then the successive campaigns and leadership of Judas “the Hammer” (3:1-9:22), Jonathan (9:23-12), and Simon (13:1-16:24). It also records the succession of Simon’s son, John Hyrcanus. “Beginning with John, the Hasmonean dynasty acquired the features of a Hellenistic regime. This could already be seen in John’s taking of a Greek regnal name, Hyrcanus (Hykanos). With the gradual Hellenization under John and his successors, Jews who were zealous for Torah observance fell out of favor with the Hasmonean priest-kings. Tensions began to mount between the Pharisaic movement, made up of precisely this kind of Jewish believer, and the Hasmonean rulers, who favored a movement of Hellenizing Jews known as the Sadducees” (Gray and Cavins, Walking with God, 241). By reading First and Second Maccabees at the end of the liturgical year, we are preparing ourselves for Advent and Christmas, in which we remember the first coming of the Messiah at the fullness of time in humility and look forward to his second coming at the end of time in glory. 

3. The Abomination of Antiochus IV: The First Reading, from First Maccabees, opens with a reference to Alexander the Great (356-323 B.C.). Alexander defeated Darius III, the King of Persia, in 331 B.C., and this brought Palestine under Greek rule. When Alexander died, his empire was divided among his four generals. The region of Judea became an area of conflict between the rulers of the Euphrates (Seleucid dynasty) and the rulers of the Nile valley (Ptolemaic empire). Eventually, in 198 B.C., the Seleucids gained control of Judea. Under the rule of the Ptolemaic empire, the Jews in Palestine were free to continue their religious practices. But under the Seleucids, things changed: “The Seleucid king [Antiochus IV] desecrated the Temple and demanded that the Jews forsake their belief in the one true God, worship pagan gods, and eat foods forbidden by the Torah” (Gray and Cavins, Walking with God, 232). When Antiochus Epiphanes desecrated the Temple, he plundered its silver and gold and erected an altar to the god Zeus in its precincts. This was the “horrible abomination” mentioned in the First Reading. Antiochus also destroyed any copies of the Torah and put to death anyone who had a copy of the Torah. Anyone who observed the Sabbath rest was put to death (2 Maccabees 6:11). Antiochus also tore down the walls of Jerusalem. “In doing these things the Seleucid king attacked the three central symbols of Judah’s return to the land: the Temple that had been rebuilt under Zerubbabel, the Torah that had been the focus of Ezra’s ministry, and the walls that had been reconstructed under Nehemiah. All this was part of the king’s program to obliterate Jewish distinctiveness and assimilate the people of Judah into the unified dynasty for which Antiochus Epiphanes longed. Thus, the considerable religious freedom the Jews found under the Ptolemies disappeared under the Seleucid’s aggressive promotion of Hellenistic culture as a means of unifying their diverse subjects. The resulting clash with the traditional symbols of Jewish identity created a volatile atmosphere ripe for revolt” (Gray and Cavins, Walking with God, 235-236).

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, by the gift of your grace, I am a temple of the Holy Spirit. Do not let me profane this temple through sin. You have given me the New Torah of Charity. Empower me with your Spirit to fulfill this new law. May I be an evangelizer of my culture!