Trong bài đọc Tin Mừng hôm nay, chúng ta thấy cách mà người thẩm phán bất công đã bị buộc phải làm rõ công lý chỉ vì sự kiên trì và bền bỉ của một bà góa phụ, bởi vậy, không lẽ Thiên Chúa chẳng nhìn thấy được sự công lý, và lẽ phải được thực hiện giữa con cái của Ngài, những người đang khóc than đêm ngài với Ngài, ngay cả khi Ngài đã trì hoãn việc giúp họ? (Lk.18: 7) Các môn đệ và những người Do thái đương thời đã sống trong một thời gian đã muộn màng; vì vậy cuộc sống chúng ta hôm nay cũng thế.
Chúa Giêsu đã bảo các môn đệ của Ngài là hãy duy trì niềm tin vào Thiên Chúa, Vì sự công lý và lòng trung thành của chúng ta đối với Thiên Chúa không phải là chỉ là một cú gọi điện thoại hay một lời nhắn tin qua điện thoại di động trong là đủ. Câu hỏi thực sự vế lòng trung tín của con người chúng ta hôm nay là một trong những yêu cầu của Chúa Giêsu như trong bài Tin mừng của Thánh Luca: "khi Con Người ngự đến, liệu Người còn thấy lòng tin trên mặt đất nữa chăng? " (Lk.18: 8).
Vậy trong những lúc Thiên Chúa luôn trung thành với chúng ta, chúng ta có trung thành với Thiên Chúa như Thiên Chúa đã luôn trung thành với chúng ta? Khi Thiên Chúa muốn công lý được thực hiện, vậy khi nào thì chúng ta mới biết nghe và giữ lời của Chúa?. Chúng ta có sẽ trở thành người môn đệ thật sự của Chúa Giêsu và sẵn sằng là những khí cụ của lòng từ bi và công lý của Ngài chăng?
Đó là những câu hỏi đã thách thức chúng ta để đi theo Chúa Kitô trong cuộc sống hàng ngày của chúng ta. Một cách cụ thể hơn là tinh thần hiếu khách và tình yêu thương được coi như là một biểu hiện của đức tin và tình yêu như đã được nhắc đến trong bài đọc thứ nhất hôm nay.
"Lạy Chúa, xin giúp cho chúng con biết sống một cuộc sống của Chúa Kitô trong thực tế của cuộc sống mỗi hàng ngày của chúng ta."
In the Gospel reading, we see how an unjust judge can be forced to do justice by the persistence of a widow, so will not God see justice done to His children who cry to Him day and night, even when he delays to help them? (Lk.18: 7)The disciples and the community, for whom Luke was writing, were living in a time of delay; so we are too. Jesus asked His disciples to maintain their faith in God. It is not the justice and fidelity to God that we should call to question. The real question is the one asked by Jesus: “When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” (Lk.18:8)
While God is always faithful, will we be the same?
When God wants justice done, when will we hear God’s word and keep it?
Will we become Jesus’ disciples and be His instruments of Compassion and Justice? these questions challenge us in the following of Christ in our daily living. One specific way is the spirit of hospitality and love as an expression of faith and love as reiterated in the first reading. “Lord, help us live the life of Christ in our daily realities.”
The Lord said, “Pay attention to what the dishonest judge says. Will not God then secure the rights of his chosen ones who call out to him day and night? Will he be slow to answer them? I tell you, he will see to it that justice is done for them speedily.” Luke 18:6–8
It’s interesting that Jesus uses the example of a dishonest judge to illustrate the importance of praying to God, calling out to Him day and night for justice. As the parable goes, this judge cared little about a widow in his town who continually came to him asking for a just decision. He felt as though she was continually bothering him. Because she was so persistent, the judge thought to himself, “…because this widow keeps bothering me I shall deliver a just decision for her lest she finally come and strike me.” Jesus’ conclusion from this parable is quoted above.
The simple lesson we ought to learn from this parable is that we must be persistent in prayer. God will always answer our prayers, seeing to it that “justice is done” speedily. But many people have prayed and prayed and prayed for some situation, prayed even for justice, and it appeared that God did not answer their prayer. Thus, some may question the promise of Jesus that persistent prayer will always be answered and justice always be rendered.
If this is your experience, it is essential that you remind yourself of two things. First, Jesus’ words are true. When we persevere in prayer and trust in God, He hears us and answers. This is our Lord’s unwavering promise. But secondly, the “justice” that God delivers may often be different than the justice we expect. It may be that we want someone to pay for a wrong they did to us, but after praying fervently, our expectation is not met by our Lord. For this reason, it is essential that we know that God answers every prayer we pray, but in accord with His perfect will and wisdom. Therefore, God’s view of justice at times may be very different than ours. At times, His justice is satisfied by His invitation to us to show mercy in abundance. True mercy always satisfies justice.
Take, for example, the case of someone speaking in a rude manner to you. If you offer that situation to our Lord, He will enter in and provide His grace for you to deal with it in accord with His will. Perhaps He will soften the other person’s heart so that they apologize, or perhaps, if they don’t apologize and their heart is not softened, then God’s answer to your prayer will be to give you the grace of humility so that you can love that person despite their unrepentance. Regardless of the way our Lord intervenes, the fact remains that He will intervene and enable you to fulfill His perfect will. If, however, your prayer is that the person be held accountable and condemned, then you are trying to tell God what to do, and He will not accede to your request. All of our prayer must ultimately be for the fulfillment of God’s perfect will in accord with His wisdom.
Reflect, today, upon how completely you trust in God. Do you know, with certainty, that He will answer every prayer that you fervently pray with faith in accord with His divine will? Believing this is freeing and enables you to live more fully in union with Him. If there is some issue with which you struggle right now, even some apparent injustice, then entrust it to our Lord, day and night without ceasing, and know that His grace will guide you as He answers you in accord with His will.
My all-wise Lord, Your will is perfect in all things, and You always bestow Your grace upon me when I pray without ceasing. Please give me a trusting Heart, dear Lord, so that I will never waver in my hope that You will always answer my prayers in accord with Your will. Jesus, I trust in You.
1. Pray Always and Without Becoming Weary: During the third part of his journey to Jerusalem, Jesus teaches his disciples about their life of prayer. The first teaching is about the need to pray continually. The second teaching is to pray with humility (Luke 18:9-14). Both teachings about prayer take place in the context of Jesus’ teaching about the coming of judgment, the arrival of the Kingdom, and the advent of the Son of Man. Prayer is conversation with God (CCC, 2559). Praying continually or always means being in communion and communication with God (CCC, 2565). In the parable, Jesus teaches us to pray without becoming weary. He wants us to persevere in prayer. This tireless fervor can come only from love. We need to unite our prayer to all our works and unite our good works to prayer (CCC, 2745). The parable invites us to see that if a corrupt judge will answer the continual prayer of a widow, then how much more will our Father in heaven, who is good, merciful, and just, answer our continual prayer. Just as the widow does not grow weary in her pursuit of justice, we should not grow weary as we request good things from God. From our point of view, it can seem like God is slow to answer. But Jesus tells us that this is not the case: The Father knows exactly what we need and when we need it.
Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, teach me to pray, to enter into deep conversation with you as a friend. Open my ears to hear your voice, open my eyes to see things as you do, and open my mind to embrace your word.
Encountering the Word of God
1. Pray Always and Without Becoming Weary: During the third part of his journey to Jerusalem, Jesus teaches his disciples about their life of prayer. The first teaching is about the need to pray continually. The second teaching is to pray with humility (Luke 18:9-14). Both teachings about prayer take place in the context of Jesus’ teaching about the coming of judgment, the arrival of the Kingdom, and the advent of the Son of Man. Prayer is conversation with God (CCC, 2559). Praying continually or always means being in communion and communication with God (CCC, 2565). In the parable, Jesus teaches us to pray without becoming weary. He wants us to persevere in prayer. This tireless fervor can come only from love. We need to unite our prayer to all our works and unite our good works to prayer (CCC, 2745). The parable invites us to see that if a corrupt judge will answer the continual prayer of a widow, then how much more will our Father in heaven, who is good, merciful, and just, answer our continual prayer. Just as the widow does not grow weary in her pursuit of justice, we should not grow weary as we request good things from God. From our point of view, it can seem like God is slow to answer. But Jesus tells us that this is not the case: The Father knows exactly what we need and when we need it.
2. The First Five Exodus Antitheses: In the third part of the Book of Wisdom, the author uses a series of seven antitheses to bring out how God uses created things to both punish the wicked and bless his faithful ones. Each antithesis is drawn from the Exodus story of Israel. The first antithesis contrasts the water that the people of Israel drank from the rock in the desert with the defiled Nile River of blood that they left behind in Egypt (Wisdom 11:1-14). The second antithesis alludes to the pagan worship of animals in Egypt. The Egyptians were tormented by a multitude of animals (plagues of frogs, gnats, flies, and locusts) because they worshipped animals. By contrast, the Lord provided the Israelites in the desert with delicious quail. The third antithesis once again invokes the animals that harmed the Egyptians during the plagues and contrasts them with the bronze serpent that was an instrument of salvation for Israel (Wisdom 16:5-14). The bronze serpent had no magical power in itself, but it was God’s Word “which heals all men” (Wisdom 16:12). The fourth antithesis contrasts two phenomena that come from the sky: “the heaven-sent storms that plagued Egypt and the heaven-sent bread that blessed Israel”. The fifth antithesis contrasts the plague of darkness with the pillar of fire that guided Israel in the desert. All of these old Exodus antitheses are brought to fulfillment in the New Exodus: We have been given the water of the Spirit, the flesh of the Son of God, the saving blood from the cross, the Bread from Heaven, and the guiding Holy Spirit of fire.
3. Sixth and Seventh Exodus Antitheses: Today, we read the sixth and seventh Exodus Antitheses. The sixth contrasts the death of the Egyptian firstborn at the hand of the destroying angel on the first Passover with Israel’s deliverance from death through the mediation of the high priest Aaron (see Wisdom 18:5-25). The Lord struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt (see Exodus 12:29).
The author of Wisdom envisions God’s all-powerful Word leaping from heaven’s royal throne into Egypt. This divine Word wields the sharp sword of divine judgment against the Egyptians. The destroying messenger “links heaven and earth by bringing down divine wrath”.The seventh and final antithesis contrasts the watery destruction of the Egyptians with the miraculous salvation of the Israelites by means of the same Red Sea (Wisdom 19:1-9). When we contemplate the old Exodus, we need to discern how it applies to us, who are on the New Exodus with Jesus. The sixth antithesis teaches us that we are saved from death through the mediation of our eternal and merciful high priest, Jesus Christ.
The seventh looks forward to the waters of the Sacrament of Baptism, which purifies us and saves us from eternal death. The waters of Baptism swallow up our sin, just like the Red Sea swallowed up Pharaoh’s army.
Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, teach me to pray, to enter into deep conversation with you as a friend.
Open my ears to hear your voice, open my eyes to see things as you do, and open my mind to embrace your word.
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