Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ Tư tuần 32 Thường Niên

Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ Tư tuần 32 Thường Niên
Bài Tin Mừng hôm nay Thánh Luca kể lại cho chúng ta câu chuyện với rất nhiều ý nghĩa thần học, nhưng hôm nay chúng ta chỉ có thể chú trọng đến một vài điểm để suy ngẫm.
Những phép lạ chữa bệnh của Chúa Giêsu biểu hiện cho chúng ta biết được ơn cứu độ. Vào thời Chúa Giêsu, bệnh phong cùi là một căn bệnh khủng khiếp dễ lây, không có loại thuốc nào để chữa hết, vì vậy nếu chữa được  một người khỏi hết căn bệnh này chẳng khác gì việc làm cho người chết được sống lại.
Chúng ta có thể không phải chịu đau khổ và bị bệnh nan y như những người phong cùi trong câu chuyện hôm nay,  nhưng dù vậy, chúng ta cũng đang ở trong một tình trạng giống như những người phong cùi này. Giống như họ, chúng ta đang cần sự cứu rỗi, sự an ủi, sự chữa lành và hy vọng mà Chúa Giêsu mang lại. Mỗi phần của câu chuyện  hôm nay rất thích hợp với đời sống tâm linh và đức tin mà chúng ta hôm đang cố gắng sống.
Thánh Luca diễn kể về câu chuyện này một cách  rất giản dị, không có gì gợi cảm cho sự hấp dẫn, ngoạn mục.  Nhưng quyền năng và sự khôn ngoan của Thiên Chúa không cần đến những điều ngoạn mục, hấp dẫn  hay tuyệt vời để giới thiệu nó. Cũng vậy, trong cuộc sống của chúng ta, Thiên Chúa đã làm việc theo một cách đơn sơ, giản dị và với sự khôn ngoan của Ngài đã chữa lành và cứu khỏi chúng ta. Tin tưởng là chữa được bệnh: tất cả những gì Chúa Giêsu đã đòi hỏi những người phong cùi phải làm những gì họ phải làm theo như luật định một khi họ đã được chữa lành. Như thế chúng ta cũng vậy, nếu Chúa Giêsu nói với chúng : "Hãy tin rằng chúng ta đã được chữa lành, và hãy hành động một cách cho tương ứng." Tất cả, Chúa Giêsu chỉ đòi hỏi nơi chúng ta là niềm tin và hy vọng.
Lạy Chúa, xin giúp chúng con tin tưởng nơi Chúa và xin giúp củng cố lòng tin yếu đuối của chúng con.
Reflection:
In this story of the Ten Lepers, Luke has included much theology: we can only select a few points for reflection.
The healing miracles of Jesus signify salvation. At the time of Jesus, leprosy was such a terrible disease that curing a person from it was equivalent to raising him from the dead. We may not suffer as the people in the miracle stories of the Gospel suffer, but we are nevertheless in the same situation as they are. Like them, we are in need of the salvation and the comfort, the healing and the hope which Jesus brings. Every part of the story of the Ten Lepers is very pertinent to our own spiritual lives and the faith we try to live.
Luke tells the story very simply: nothing spectacular or strange happens. God’s power and wisdom do not need anything spectacular or wonderful to recommend it. So, too, in our own lives, God works in simple and wise ways to heal and save us. Believing is healing: all that Jesus demands of the lepers is to do what they had to do once they have been cured. It is almost as if Jesus had said: “Believe that you have already been healed and act accordingly.” All Jesus demands of them is faith and hope.
Lord, I believe: help my unbelief.
 
Wednesday of the Thirty-Second Week in Ordinary Time
Jesus said in reply, “Ten were cleansed, were they not? Where are the other nine? Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God?” Then he said to him, “Stand up and go; your faith has saved you.” Luke 17:17–19
This reply from our Lord came in response to the one leper who returned to Jesus to thank Him. Ten lepers had come to Jesus, stood at a distance, cried out, “Jesus, Master! Have pity on us!” And with that, Jesus healed them all. But the heart of this healing is not as much the healing itself as it is the gratitude expressed by only one of the ten. This Gospel relates to us that this one leper did five things to profoundly express his gratitude. He returned, glorified God, did so in a loud voice, fell at the feet of Jesus, and thanked him. What a wonderful witness for us all!
By analogy, children often take the loving care of their parents for granted. That’s why many good parents regularly remind their children to say “thank you.” In our relationship with God, we can also easily take God’s saving actions for granted. We can easily see all the grace we receive as something we deserve rather than as an infinitely merciful gift. When that happens, we become more like the other nine who failed to properly express their gratitude to Jesus.
First of all, it must be noted that expressing gratitude to God is not done because God needs these accolades. He does not depend upon our gratitude to affirm His self-worth. This is obvious. God is God, and He does not need our praise in any way. However, giving profound praise and glory to God is essential. It is essential because we need this virtue of gratitude so as to daily be reminded that all we receive from God is an unmerited gift. We cannot earn His love and grace. We do not deserve it. But He chooses to bestow it anyway out of mercy. And the only appropriate response to mercy is gratitude. Profound gratitude.
Gratitude is essential because it is the truth. We should always return to our Lord after He has graced us. We should glorify Him with much fervor, crying out to Him with passion. We should, literally and interiorly, fall on our face before Him, at His feet, and thank Him, over and over and over again. Doing so will always help us to remember the truth that everything we have and everything we are is a gift from God. An unmerited and undeserved gift of grace.
Reflect, today, upon the depth of gratitude in your own heart. Do you often act more like a spoiled and selfish child, or do you regularly perceive the graciousness of God? If you lack in any way this fullness of gratitude, then ponder this one leper. His gratitude, expressed with the fullness of passion, is the most important part of this story. In the end, he was graced far more than the other nine because his healing produced faith; and it was that faith that saved not only his body but his soul. Seek to save your soul by imitating the faith of this one holy and healed leper.
My gracious Lord, You bestow Your mercy upon me in superabundance. Without You, Jesus, I have nothing; but with You, I receive everything. May I always know and understand my need for Your grace. And as I am gifted with it, may I respond with the deepest gratitude, thus, saving my soul through faith. Jesus, I trust in You.
 
Wednesday 32nd in Ordinary Time 2025
Opening Prayer: Lord God, I thank you today for your abundant mercy. I have been healed through your grace. I have returned to your house, and I will continue to glorify you with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength. I joyfully sing of your mercies today and give you thanks and praise.
Encountering the Word of God
1. The Exodus Journey: Jesus is on his final journey to Jerusalem. Today, we begin reading the third section of this journey (Luke 17:11-18:30). The section focuses on Jesus preparing his disciples for life in the Kingdom of God. The scene opens with a geographical reference to how Galilean pilgrims often traveled to Jerusalem. They would walk along the border between Galilee and Samaria and into the Decapolis. They would cross the Jordan River near Salim and cross once again near Jericho. Crossing the river gave the pilgrim an Exodus-like dimension. Just as the ancient Israelites crossed the Red Sea and the Jordan River to enter the Promised Land, so too the people in Jesus’ day crossed the river into the land of Judea as they made their way to the city of Jerusalem. We also pass through the waters of Baptism and enter into the Kingdom of God and the New Jerusalem. Like the Samaritan leper, we are cleansed by Jesus. Our attitude in the Kingdom, which we enter into by faith, needs to be one of perpetual gratitude. Entry into the Kingdom is not based on ethnicity, but is universally open to all who approach Jesus with faith.
2. Hear, O Kings: In the First Reading, the Wisdom of Solomon concludes its reflection on life and death and exhorts kings and judges to seek wisdom. Those who wield power and authority in this passing world can be tempted to misuse it for their own benefit. True authority comes from God, and those who exercise authority will be judged by God: He will probe their works and scrutinize their counsels (Wisdom 6:3). This is echoed by Jesus, who teaches that “those to whom much is given, much will be required” (Luke 12:48). The Lord shows no partiality. The lowly may be pardoned out of mercy, but the mighty shall be mightily put to the test (see Wisdom 6:6). Solomon invites such kings, judges, and princes to learn wisdom from his words.
3. Desire for Wisdom Leads to a Kingdom: Although we do not read Wisdom 6:12-21 in today’s Liturgy, it is a good complement to the Gospel and the First Reading. It declares to the kings and judges that the desire for divine wisdom will lead to a kingdom. Those who seek wisdom make good rulers. God originally granted dominion over creation to Adam and Eve. They foolishly chose to sin. In the centuries that followed, there were promises of a kingdom made to Abraham and a realization of that kingdom under David. The prophets promised a new and restored kingdom. Their promises would find fulfillment in Jesus, who promised “twelve thrones” to his disciples. “St. Paul teaches that believers will ‘reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ’ (Rom 5:17) and that they ‘sit with him in the heavenly places’ (Eph 2:6). Revelation promises that the redeemed will be ‘a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on earth’ (Rev 5:10). The Bible thus consistently depicts salvation in terms of participating in God’s righteous rule. The Wisdom of Solomon does not encourage the powerless to seek to dominate others, but to humble themselves to seek wisdom and so come to share in God’s reign” (Giszczak, Wisdom of Solomon, 78).
Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, you have washed me clean by having me share in your death and resurrection. I want to live the new life you have given me to the full. I want my faith in you to flourish in works of love, charity, and mercy.