Con người chúng ta
thường như có vẻ thù nghịch với Thiên Chúa và với nhau; thật sự con người hay
xa lạ với nhau, như thư thánh gởi cho giáo đoàn Côlôxê đã mô tả. Sự thù địch và
ghẻ lạnh đã tạo ra thế giới chúng ta đang sống những sự lộn xộn, tàn bạo và
đáng sợ. Sự sợ hãi, bạo lực, hận thù được phát triển mạnh mẽ
hơn mỗi ngày như chúng ta đã thấy qua báo chí, internet, bao nhiêu cuộc tàn sát
dã man trong những tháng vừa qua. Nhưng mục đích cuộc sống của chúng ta không
phải là như thế. Chúa Giêsu xuống thế để hòa giải con người tội lỗi chúng ta với
Thiên Chúa và con người với nhau qua cái chết của Ngài trên thập tự giá. Việc
mà chúng ta chỉ cần phải làm là mở rộng tấm lòng của chúng ta với cuộc sống mới
mà Chúa Giêsu đã ban cho chúng ta. Đó là vấn đề trong xã hội ngày nay, nhiều
người, ngay cả những người đạo đức là không muốn thay đổi. Chúng ta có thể hạnh
phúc và bình an như chúng ta mong muốn, sự lựa chọn luôn luôn là ở nơi chúng ta
vì Thiên Chúa cho chúng ta tự do, Ngài không ép buộc chúng ta.
Qua bài Tin Mừng, Chúa Giêsu đã cho chúng ta thấy rằng, luật Sabbath
(kiêng việc ngày Chúa Nhật) đã được ban ra là để giúp đỡ con người, Chử không
phải là được ban ra để là chướng ngại vật cản trở cuộc sống con người chúng ta.
Với Thiên Chúa thì con người và niềm hạnh phúc của con người mới chính là điều
ưu tiên trước hết. Đây là điều chúng ta cần phải luôn nhớ. Chúa Giêsu là Chúa của
ngày Sa-bát; Chính Ngài đã trở thành quy luật của chúng ta, và Ngài đã cai trị
chúng ta với tình yêu thương và lòng thương xót. Chúng ta hãy nhận và coi đó là
luật và là nguyên tắc của chúng ta nữa!
Lạy
Chúa, xin biến đổi lòng trí và trái tim của chúng con.
Reflection
SG
Human beings often seem so hostile to God
and one another; truly estranged, as the author of Colossians describes it.
This hostility and estrangement has created the messy and frightening world we
live in. The fear, violence, and hatred seem to grow stronger daily. But it
doesn’t have to be that way. Jesus reconciled humanity to God and one another
through his death on the cross. All we have to do is open ourselves to this new
life that Jesus offers us. That is the problem — many people, even religious people,
simply do not want to change. We can be as happy and at peace as we want to be
— the choice is always ours. God does not force us.
Some who were sticklers for the rules were
angry that the disciples of Jesus had eaten some grain in the fields on the
Sabbath. This was forbidden. But Jesus pointed out a time when David and his
men were hungry and in great need. They entered the temple and ate the bread of
the Presence, which was forbidden to all but the priests. His point was that
Sabbath rules were made to help people, not set up obstacles to hinder their
journey. People and their well-being count first. This is something we need to
remember continually. Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath — he himself has become our
rule, and his rule is love and mercy. Let that be our rule too!
Saturday of the Twenty-second Week in
Ordinary Time 2026
While Jesus was going through a field of
grain on a sabbath, his disciples were picking the heads of grain, rubbing them
in their hands, and eating them. Some Pharisees said, “Why are you doing what
is unlawful on the sabbath?” Luke 6:1–2
Though Jesus’
public ministry was still in its early stages, confrontations with the
religious leaders had already become frequent. This episode marks the fourth
recorded instance of such tension. In the previous days, the Pharisees had
accused Jesus of blasphemy for forgiving the paralytic before healing him, of
scandal for eating with tax collectors and sinners after calling Levi, and of
impiety for neglecting the traditional practice of fasting. Now, He and His
disciples are accused of violating the Sabbath law by picking heads of grain,
rubbing them, and eating them.
Slowly, the
Pharisees are emerging as hardened opponents of Jesus, increasingly focused not
on the divine power and mercy He reveals, but on preserving their own rigid
interpretations of the Law. These confrontations reveal both their growing
hostility and Jesus’ authority as the true interpreter and fulfillment of the
Law.
Though the
Pharisees began going out of their way to confront Jesus, He was not
intimidated and confronted their opposition directly. Today, as we read the
Scriptures, we know well that many of the religious leaders at that time were
deeply misguided in their understanding of the Law and its purpose. Such
confrontations were shocking in a culture where ordinary Jews rarely challenged
religious leaders. While the leaders themselves often debated among one
another, it was almost unheard of for ordinary Jews to challenge them openly.
For that reason, many of Jesus’ disciples likely felt a sense of surprise and
tension as these encounters unfolded. At the same time, they may also have
experienced a sense of relief as they witnessed Jesus expose the rigidity and
oppressive practices that had long left many Jews feeling burdened,
discouraged, and spiritually exhausted.
Though Jesus’
confrontation was necessary, we too must learn from their negative example.
While we no longer encounter scribes, Pharisees, Sadducees, Herodians, or
elders in the same form as in first-century Israel, the underlying sins that
afflicted them remain just as present in our world today.
Those underlying
sins could be summed up as a misuse of authority for its own sake, a tendency
toward outward religious observance without inward transformation, and a
preference for human traditions over divine revelation. These tendencies
manifest themselves in every generation. They are found not only within the
Church but also in homes, businesses, governments, and every human institution.
Wherever pride overshadows humility or control stifles compassion, the spirit
of the Pharisees lives on. Therefore, as disciples of Christ, we must be
vigilant in our own lives—first examining our hearts for these tendencies, and
then responding with the same holy courage and divine clarity that our Lord
Himself displayed.
Do you experience
oppression from others? Are you the cause of that oppression? Misused
authority, whether by individuals or institutions, wounds hearts, stifles
freedom, and obscures the gentle call of grace. Before condemning such behavior
in others, we must honestly examine whether we, too, have clung to positions of
control or influence in ways that burden rather than bless.
Reflect today on
the fallen human tendency to love authority for its own sake. Do you struggle
with this? Power that is exercised without humility and without charity that
seeks only the good of others is dangerous and often abusive. Look for such
structures in your life—whether external or internal—and prayerfully surrender
them to Christ. Allow Him, the true Lord of the Sabbath, to reorder your heart
according to truth, love, and mercy, so that every exercise of authority in
your life becomes an act of service, modeled after His own.
My all-powerful
Lord, Your divine authority is absolute. You are the Source of all that is, the
Sustainer of creation, and the Holder of dominion over all things. Every
exercise of Your authority flows from perfect charity and infinite wisdom.
Please reign in my life with that same loving authority, and help me to
exercise any authority entrusted to me with humility, mercy, and the charity
that flows from Your Sacred Heart. Jesus, I trust in You.
Saturday 22nd Ordinary
Time 2026
Opening Prayer: Lord God, you created the Sabbath
as a covenant gift and sign, inviting humanity to rest from its labors and
delight in your presence. Through your Son, Jesus Christ, the Lord of the
Sabbath, bring me into the true rest for which I was created. Help me to
worship you with a joyful heart, receive Christ in the Eucharist with faith,
and allow the Lord’s Day to become a foretaste of the eternal Sabbath when I
will rest forever in your presence.
Encountering the Word of God
1. The Lord of the Sabbath: In Galilee, Jesus
establishes who he is subtly through his words and actions. In Nazareth, he
presented himself as the Messiah who inaugurates the Great Jubilee of God’s
mercy. In these first chapters dealing with his public ministry in Galilee,
Jesus has been called the Holy One of God and the Son of God. Simon Peter, the
fisherman, called him “master” at first, but came to believe in him and called
him “Lord.” Jesus has also referred to himself as the divine bridegroom. In
today’s Gospel, Jesus refers to himself as both “the Son of Man” and the “Lord
of the Sabbath.” These are all invitations to us to enter into the mystery of
Jesus’ identity and Person. Only God is Lord of the Sabbath. Only the true Son
of Man has both divine and human characteristics. The Lord of the Sabbath is
the one who brings the original Sabbath to its fulfillment. The Sabbath was the
sign of God’s covenant with creation and humanity. It was an invitation to rest
from the labors of the week and enjoy God’s presence in worship and family. It
became a remembrance of God’s deliverance. It was transformed by Christ into
the memorial of his passion, death, and resurrection. It is now a day that
looks forward in the Spirit to the glorious consummation of all things and our
eternal rest with God the Father in heaven.
2. The New Priests: In his dispute with the Pharisees,
Jesus challenges them to look beyond the narrow letter of the Law and their
burdensome human traditions and to embrace the new life that he brings. Jesus
compares himself to David and his disciples to David’s companions. He refers to
an episode in the Old Testament, when King Saul was seeking to destroy David,
and when Ahimelech, the priest of Nob, gave the Bread of the Presence to David
and his men to eat. Among the people of Nob, there was also a servant of King
Saul, Doeg the Edomite. He was the chief of Saul’s shepherds. Doeg acted as a
spy and told Saul where David was and who helped him. Saul then killed
Ahimelech, Ahimelech’s family, over 80 priests of the Lord, and the men, women,
children, and animals in the priestly city of Nob. What Jesus hints at is that
the Pharisees were acting like the wicked spy Doeg and were trying to trap
Jesus and his disciples. Jesus is telling them that their religious authority
over Israel is ending and a new priesthood, gathered around the new David, is
beginning. Just as David and his men were not guilty because they ate the Bread
of the Presence that only the priests could eat, so also Jesus and his
disciples are not guilty because they picked heads of grain, rubbed them, and
ate them on the Sabbath. Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath, and his disciples will
soon replace the Pharisees as the religious authorities over Israel.
3. The Eucharistic Sabbath: The episode of David
and the Bread of the Presence points us toward an even greater fulfillment. The
bread that was placed before the Lord in the Temple was a sign of Israel’s
communion with God. It was sacred bread associated with the presence of God and
ordinarily reserved for the priests. Yet David and his hungry companions were
permitted to eat it in a moment of necessity. Jesus now presents himself as the
greater David, surrounded by his disciples, and identifies himself as Lord of
the Sabbath. The old signs are giving way to their fulfillment in Christ. The
Sabbath and the Bread of the Presence find their deepest fulfillment in the
Eucharist. In the Eucharist, Christ himself becomes our food. He is not merely
a sign pointing toward God’s presence; he is God-with-us, giving himself to us
as the Bread of Life. The Eucharist therefore unites the two great themes of
today’s Gospel: the Sabbath rest of communion with God and the sacred bread of
God’s presence. When we participate in Sunday Mass, we enter into the worship
of heaven and receive a foretaste of the eternal rest that awaits us. The
Lord’s Day, then, is not simply a day on which Christians are required to
attend Mass. It is a gift from Christ, the Lord of the Sabbath. It gives us
permission to stop, to worship, to receive, to rejoice, and to remember that
our ultimate purpose is not found in our work but in communion with God. The
labors of this earthly life will eventually come to an end. The Eucharist
prepares us for that final Sabbath when Christ will gather his people into the
fullness of his Kingdom, and we will rest eternally in the presence of God.
Saturday 22nd Ordinary
Time
“The Son of Man is lord of the sabbath.” Luke 6:5
This short yet powerful statement by Jesus was spoken in response
to the Pharisees who questioned Jesus as to why His disciples were apparently
doing what was unlawful on the sabbath. They were walking through a field of
grain, picking grain as they walked, and eating it for nourishment on their
journey from one town to another.
This challenge from the Pharisees highlights their scrupulous
approach to the moral law. Recall the Third Commandment given through Moses:
“Remember the sabbath day—keep it holy. Six days you may labor and do all your
work, but the seventh day is a sabbath of the LORD your God. You shall not do
any work…” (Exodus 20:8–10).
From this Commandment, the Pharisees had developed a complex commentary which
went into great detail about what kind of work was forbidden on the Sabbath in
their view. One such regulation was to pick and mill grain. Thus, they judged
that this was what the disciples were doing and were, therefore, violating the
Third Commandment.
The laws of God, as they are given by God, must be followed
perfectly. His divine Law refreshes us, enlivens us and enables us to live in
union with Him. The Pharisees, however, deeply struggled with a need to control
the lives of the people through their human interpretation of the divine Law.
By saying that “The Son of Man is lord of the sabbath,” Jesus made it clear
that this scrupulous interpretation of the Third Commandment taught by the
Pharisees did not align with the truths of that divine Law.
One lesson to learn from this encounter is that each one of us can
easily fall into a similar trap. It’s easy to replace God’s true Law with our
perception of faith and morality. We are weak human beings, and there are many
things that affect our thinking and our convictions in life. Emotions, habits,
family relationships, friendships, media and so many other things affect us in
powerful ways. Sometimes for good and sometimes for ill. We can easily arrive
at certain judgments of faith and morality that are slightly erroneous, being
based on subtle errors. As a result, we can easily begin to get off track in
our thinking and convictions and, over time, can find that we have deviated far
from the truths of God. When this happens, it can be difficult to humbly admit
it and change our convictions.
Reflect, today, upon the humble truth that Jesus and Jesus alone
is Lord of the divine Law. This means that we must perpetually remain open to
changing our opinions when we hear our Lord speak to us. Ponder any way in
which you have become overly attached to your own opinions. If they bring forth
peace, joy, charity and the like, then they are most likely in union with God.
If they are burdensome, a cause of confusion, contention or frustration, then
you may need to step back and humbly reexamine the convictions you hold, so
that He Who is Lord of all will be able to speak His divine Law to you more
clearly.
Lord of all Truth, You and You alone are the guide of my life. You
and You alone are the Truth. Help me to be humble, dear Lord, so that I can
recognize any error in my convictions and turn to You and Your divine Law as
the one and only guide for my life. Jesus, I trust in You.
Saturday 22nd Ordinary
Time 2025
Opening Prayer: Lord God, you have invited me to
share in your divine life. Only in union with your Son and filled with your
Spirit can I attain this life. Thank you for the gift of the Eucharist, which
sustains me on my journey to you.
Encountering the Word of God
1. The Lord of the Sabbath: In Galilee, Jesus
establishes who he is subtly through his words and actions. In Nazareth, he
presented himself as the Messiah who inaugurates the Great Jubilee of God’s
mercy. In these first chapters dealing with his public ministry in Galilee,
Jesus has been called the Holy One of God and the Son of God. Simon Peter, the
fisherman, called him “master” at first, but came to believe in him and called
him “Lord.” Jesus has also referred to himself as the divine bridegroom. In
today’s Gospel, Jesus refers to himself as both “the Son of Man” and the “Lord
of the Sabbath.” These are all invitations to us to enter into the mystery of
Jesus’ identity and Person. Only God is Lord of the Sabbath. Only the true Son
of Man has both divine and human characteristics. The Lord of the Sabbath is
the one who brings the original Sabbath to its fulfillment. The Sabbath was the
sign of God’s covenant with creation and humanity. It was an invitation to rest
from the labors of the week and enjoy God’s presence in worship and family. It
became a remembrance of God’s deliverance. It was transformed by Christ into
the memorial of his passion, death, and resurrection. It is now a day that
looks forward in the Spirit to the glorious consummation of all things and our
eternal rest with God the Father in heaven.
2. The New Priests: In his dispute with the Pharisees,
Jesus challenges them to look beyond the narrow letter of the Law and their
burdensome human traditions and to embrace the new life that he brings. Jesus
compares himself to David and his disciples to David’s companions. He refers to
an episode in the Old Testament, when King Saul was seeking to destroy David,
and when Ahimelech, the priest of Nob, gave the Bread of the Presence to David
and his men to eat. Among the people of Nob, there was also a servant of King
Saul, Doeg the Edomite. He was the chief of Saul’s shepherds. Doeg acted as a
spy and told Saul where David was and who helped him. Saul then killed
Ahimelech, Ahimelech’s family, over 80 priests of the Lord, and the men, women,
children, and animals in the priestly city of Nob. What Jesus hints at is that
the Pharisees were acting like the wicked spy Doeg and were trying to trap
Jesus and his disciples. Jesus is telling them that their religious authority
over Israel is ending and a new priesthood, gathered around the new David, is
beginning. Just as David and his men were not guilty because they ate the Bread
of the Presence that only the priests could eat, so also Jesus and his
disciples are not guilty because they picked heads of grain, rubbed them, and
ate them on the Sabbath. Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath, and his disciples will
soon replace the Pharisees as the religious authorities over Israel.
3. A Deacon of the Gospel: In his Letter to the Colossians, Paul
refers to himself as a “minister (diakonos: deacon) of the Gospel.” He
moves from the big picture of God’s creation of the world and reconciliation of
all things in Christ to the Christian community in Colossae. To drive home the
transformation that Christ has brought about in their lives, he employs the
strongest possible language: “you who once were alienated and hostile in mind
because of evil deeds” (see Hamm, Philippians, Colossians, Philemon,
180). They have been brought from lives of sin in a sinful Gentile culture to a
life of holiness through reconciliation in Christ’s body. “They have been made
holy by their baptism, and God’s purpose is to bring that holiness to
perfection. The goal of being presented to God fully perfected requires a
Christian response to God’s initiatives of creation and redemption, celebrated
in verses 15-20 applied to the Colossians in verses 21-22” (Hamm, Philippians,
Colossians, Philemon, 181). Paul and Epaphras have been “deacons” of the
Gospel and seek to share in the Church’s mission of preaching the Gospel to the
entire world, to all human beings everywhere.
Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, lead me to imitate you
and truly share in your life. I am a member of the New People of God and need
to bring the Gospel to others so that they can fully live as members of God’s
People.
Saturday 22nd Ordinary
Time 2024
Opening Prayer: Lord God, you have invited me to
share in your divine life. Only in union with your Son and filled with your
Spirit can I attain this life. Thank you for the gift of the Eucharist which
sustains me on my journey to you.
Encountering the Word of God
1. Jesus’ Response to the Pharisees: The observance of the
Sabbath rest is one of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:8-11; Deuteronomy
5:12-15). The Sabbath rest enabled the people of Israel to worship God without
the distractions of work and recalled God’s original plan of creation: to have
human beings enter into communion with God and share in his rest. The Sabbath
expressed the covenant between God and Israel and was a way for Israel to
imitate God and share in his holy rest. The Pharisees accused Jesus’ disciples
of violating the Sabbath since they were gathering crops (Exodus 34:21). Jesus
responded to the Pharisees’ accusation in three ways. He first points out that
his disciples were hungry and that, because of their need, their actions of
gathering grain on the Sabbath and eating it did not violate the Sabbath rest.
Second, Jesus also revealed himself as the new David. The exception made for
David and his men should also be made for Jesus and his disciples. Jesus and
his disciples are like the priests in the Temple, who were allowed to break the
Sabbath when they replaced the Bread of the Presence on the Sabbath. Third,
Jesus called himself the “Lord of the Sabbath.” He placed himself above the
Sabbath and, in doing so, proclaimed his divinity. Jesus, with his community of
disciples, formed the origin and center of a New Israel (Benedict XVI, Jesus
of Nazareth, vol. 1, 114). Jesus’ disciples will ultimately find the rest
they seek in him. The new family of God is formed not by adherence to the Old
Law of the Torah, but by adherence to Jesus himself and his New Law.
2. Bringing the God of Israel to All Nations: Jesus is God and was
able to bring the Old Law (the Torah) to fulfillment in the New Law. In this
way, Israel will be able to fulfill its vocation to be a light to all the
nations. What Jesus does in his teaching is bring the God of Israel to the
nations, so that all the nations can now pray to God and recognize Israel’s
Scriptures as the word of the living God. Jesus “has brought the gift of
universality, which was the one great definitive promise to Israel and the
world. This universality, this faith in the one God of Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob – extended now in Jesus’ new family to all nations over and above the
bonds of descent according to the flesh – is the fruit of Jesus’ work. It is
what proves him to be the Messiah. It signals a new interpretation of the
messianic promise that is based on Moses and the Prophets, but also opens them
up in a completely new way” (Benedict XVI, Jesus of Nazareth, vol. 1,
116-117). The Apostles are servants of Christ and trustworthy stewards of the
mysteries of God and will bring these mysteries – the sacraments – to all the
nations.
3. Imitating Jesus and Paul: The Corinthians can
learn humility from Paul and Apollos, who stay within the limits set out by
what is written in Sacred Scripture. “Paul reprimands self-righteous Christians
for their egotism and unfair criticisms. Although he describes them as wise and
prosperous, his rhetorical irony implies the opposite, i.e., they are ignorant
and impoverished. Their refusal to embrace the foolishness of Christ exposes
their pride and reveals how petty their problems look compared to the humiliation
of the apostles” (Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: New Testament, 289). On
account of Christ, Paul and the other Apostles have become like publicly
disgraced criminals, fools in the eyes of the world, weak; they are held in
disrepute, hungry and thirsty, poorly clad, roughly treated, homeless; and they
have to work and toil to sustain themselves. They are ridiculed and persecuted,
slandered, and treated like rubbish and scum. Paul admonishes the Christians in
Corinth, not to shame them, but to lead them to Christ through the Gospel. Paul
considers himself a father to the Corinthians, having brought them new life
through the Gospel (2 Corinthians 12:14). Jesus is the way, the truth, and the
life. No one comes to the Father except through him. Through the calling of the
twelve Apostles, Jesus forms the new Israel as the New People of God. As
Christians, we are called to imitate Jesus’ humility and meekness of heart.
Throughout the centuries many saints, like Paul, offer to Christians models
worthy of imitation.
Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, lead me to imitate you
and truly share in your life. I am a member of the New People of God and need
to bring the Gospel to others so that they can fully live as members of God’s
People.
Saturday 22nd Ordinary
Time 2023
Opening
Prayer: Dear Lord Jesus, thank
you for the honor of praying before you. I need you in my life. You are my foundation,
my strength, and my joy. Please increase my faith, hope, and love so that I may
cling ever more to you in all that I do.
Encountering
Christ:
Simplicity
of Heart: There is a strong
contrast between the Pharisees' hypocrisy and the apostles' simplicity. The
problem was not the Pharisees’ zeal for the law. In another passage, Jesus
defended their authority to teach: “The scribes and the Pharisees have taken their
seat on the chair of Moses. Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever
they tell you” (Matthew 23:2-3a). The problem was their disposition. Our Lord
continued, “but do not follow their example. For they preach but do not
practice. They tie up heavy burdens… and lay them on people’s shoulders, but
they will not lift a finger to move them” (Matthew 23:3b-4). The Pharisees
seemed to exercise their authority in a controlling and oppressive manner
towards others while allowing themselves much leeway (Matthew 15:3-6). Again,
this passage shows their heavy-handed criticism of the apostles. For their
part, the hungry apostles simply reached for some food. While the apostles
struggled with ambition and vanity (Mark 9:34), there remained in them a
childlike simplicity born from sincerity (John 1:47).
Defending
His Own: The Pharisees and
scribes frequently attacked Jesus, accusing him of being possessed or mad,
setting verbal traps for him, and the like (Matthew 12:24; Mark 12:14). In such
instances, he bore it with great patience, although he would correct their errors
and call out their hypocrisy. However, when the Pharisees attacked his
apostles, Jesus never failed to come quickly and firmly to their rescue. Here,
he defended their simply satiating their hunger. In another passage, Jesus
quickly clarified Peter’s confusion about Jesus’s payment of the temple tax by
working a miracle (Matthew 17:24-26). When Judas brought the temple guard to
arrest Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, Our Lord said that he was the one for
whom they came so that they should let the apostles go (John 18:8). Jesus will
allow us to suffer in following him, but he will also protect and strengthen us
on our journey. Our Lord looks after his own.
Lord
of the Sabbath: “The Son of Man
is lord of the Sabbath.” Throughout his public life, Jesus frequently affirmed
his authority. More than once, Jesus said or implied this: “Moses said… but I
say to you” (Matthew 5:21-22; Matthew 5:27-28; Matthew 19:7-9). He unambiguously
declared that he is a greater authority than Moses. So,
too, in this passage, Jesus’s ultimate argument in defense of his apostles was
his own authority. The same relationship holds between Jesus and his Church.
The Church has authority and power from its union with the Lord, and Jesus
promised to uphold that union until the end of time (Matthew 28:20). Our
confidence in the Church is rooted in our confidence in Jesus and in his
promises.
Conversing
with Christ: Dear Lord Jesus, I
thank you for your protective and provident love. You never allow me to be
tempted beyond my ability to resist. You have frequently come to my aid. Please
help me to grow in simplicity of heart so that I may avoid the pitfalls of
hypocrisy and insincerity. I realize that I need purification and will entrust
myself to your loving hands.
Reflection
Introductory Prayer: Lord, I worship you because I came from you. I
long for you because you made me for yourself. I praise you as my ever-present
helper. I call on you as my powerful protector. (Universal Prayer of Pope
Clement XI)
Petition: Lord, purify my heart.
1. The Pharisees’ Heart: Sometimes a short phrase reveals so much about
what is happening inside a person’s mind and heart. One can get a glimpse into
Hitler’s corrupt heart with his famous phrase: “I do not see why man should not
be just as cruel as nature.” His actions were of the cruelest. Thirty years
ago, when Saint John Paul II was elected pope, the simple phrase, “Be not
afraid,” indicated the attitude he would have for the following 26 fearless
years of his papacy. In this passage, the Pharisees say so much about the state
of their own hearts by saying so little: “Why are you doing what is unlawful on
the Sabbath?” The Pharisees are all caught up in the externals of the law and
miss the big picture that Christ came to bring: complete love for God and
heroic love of neighbor. As Christians, we are not called to have a heart that
calculates the cost, but rather one filled with unconditional love.
2. A King’s Heart: Another character in this passage is King
David, whom Christ hails for having chosen to feed his starving army over
scrupulously following some norms of the law regarding eating. From the story
of David and Goliath, we learn that David had a brave heart from his youth and
that he trusted in God over his limitations. Young David’s heart was honest and
humble: King Saul was trying to kill him, yet when David had the chance to kill
Saul in a cave, he relented and later made amends with Saul. David’s heart was
weak when he fell in love with Uriah’s wife and then had Uriah killed.
Nevertheless, David’s heart did not grow cold from this sin; instead, he
repented sincerely: “Have mercy on me, God in your goodness blot out my
offenses, wash away all my guilt, from my sin cleanse me” (Psalm 51). With time
and patience, David formed a remarkable heart that loved God and neighbor.
3. The Sacred Heart: What love the Heart of Christ shows his
apostles in this passage. Imagine the scene: Christ walking through a ripe
field of grain with his closest friends, laughing, joking, talking about the
town they just visited, speaking of their dreams, and also snacking on the ripe
harvest. Christ’s heart was so immersed with love for these men who would be
the pillars of the Church and who would bring his message to the whole world.
How far his thoughts were from the littleness and pettiness of the empty
details of the worn out laws! His law is the new law of love: “Behold the heart
that has so loved men.” Christ looks at us the same way he looked at his
apostles in the field – as friends who are called to be the pillars of the new
evangelization, as apostles who are to bring his words to the end of the earth.
He needs us to say “yes” to this call!
Conversation with Christ: Lord Jesus, thank you for the unconditional
love of your heart. I want to repay your love for me by loving you back with
the same intensity. I know I always fall short of this, but you know my heart,
and you know I want to be close to you until the day I meet you face-to-face in
eternity.
Resolution: With a repentant heart, I will go to
confession today.
‘Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Luke 6:1-5 - Thứ Bẩy Tuần 22 Thường Niên
Luật pháp được ban hành
bởi vì chúng ta cần có kỷ luật và trật tự chung. Luật pháp cũng được ban hành để
hướng dẫn cho nhân dân biết những gì nên và không
nên làm. Đó là những
nguyên nhân căn bản và lý do tại sao
pháp luật đã được viết ra. Khi người Do Thái rời khỏi đất Ai Cập về miền đất hứa, họ đã luôn phàn nàn về cuộc sống rất khó khăn
trên đường về đất Hứa, Vì họ
đã sống cuộc đời nô lệ
đã quen nên họ gặp những khó khăn, rồi bướng bỉnh khi được sống một cuộc sống tự do.
Do đó, Thiên Chúa đã
cho Môisen viết
ra mười
điều răn để dậy dỗ và làm cho cuộc sống của họ được trật
tự hơn. Nhưng sau này các kinh sư, luật sĩ và
ngưới Biệt Phái đã vẽ thêm nhiều luật
lệ rừng vô lỳ khác để cai trị và bốc lột dân
Do Thái trong
những thời điểm này
chẳng khác gì như đảng đảng Cộng Sản VN hiện tại. Cũng như CSVN, Người Biệt Phái và các kinh sư,
luật sĩ thực hành nghiêm túc các luật
này để thể hiện sự thống trị, hà hiếp và tạo ưu thế riêng cho họ. Nhưng hôm nay, Chúa Giêsu đã nhìn
thấy tất cả những mưu đồ xấu của những người Biệt
Phái. "giúp người ngày
Sa-bát là bất hợp
pháp là có tội?" Trong tình hình hiện nay
của chúng ta, có phải
chúng ta sẽ lãnh đạm với những
gì đang xảy ra xung quanh chúng ta, vì pháp luật không
cho phép chúng ta phải làm gì?. Đó là tự do???
Nền tảng cho tất cả mọi thứ trong cuộc sống của chúng ta phải là tình yêu của Thiên Chúa. Công lý và lòng nhân
từ phải được rộng ban cho tất cả mọi người. Tất cả các luật lệ, hay pháp lệnh phải theo
các điều căn bản, không nên nhỏ mọn, không được qua
khắt khe, luật lệ cũng
không phải là để thống trị. Các
nhà lãnh đạo, bất cứ ở
trong một chế độ
chính trị nào, cần phải
cân nhắc và phát thảo một luật pháp đựa trên căn bản bằng tình yêu Thiên Chúa. luật pháp không nên quá
mang nặng tính pháp lý, nên đơn giản. Chúa
Giêsu đã đưa bàn tay của Ngài để chữa trị các bệnh nhân trong ngày Sa-bát. David đã vào nhà Chúa đưa bàn tay lấy bánh ăn. Điều quan trọng là hành động của họ đã làm tốt
cho người khác. Chúa Giêsu làm cho một người bệnh được chữa
lành, David đã có thể dẫn binh
ra chiến trận và chiến
thắng. Vì thế trong tinh thần này mà chúng ta nên áp dụng
cho sống cuộc sống của
chúng ta. Tuân
theo luật pháp vì chúng được ban ra cho chúng ta với
phúc lành của Thiên Chúa. Nhưng,
chúng ta cũng nên nhìn vào những cơ bản và lý do tại sao những
luật này đã được
ban hành.
REFLECTION
Laws are enacted because we need order.
They are also enacted to spell out to the people what should and shouldn't be
done. There are bases and reasons why laws are written. When the Israelites
left Egypt for the Promised Land, they were always griping how life was so
hard. Since they had lived a lifetime of bondage, they had difficulty adjusting
to a life of freedom. Thus, Moses wrote down laws to make it easier for them.
Later on it was these Mosaic Laws that governed the
Israelites to the point that their lives were constricted by them. The
Pharisees and the Scribes strictly enforced these laws to show their dominance
and superiority. But Jesus saw through
the motives of the Pharisees. "Is it unlawful to help people on the
Sabbath?" In our present situation, are we going to be indifferent to what
is happening around us because the law disallows us to do something?
The
basis for everything in our life should be God's love. Justice and mercy are ex
tended to everyone. All laws and ordinances follow these bases, not pettiness,
not superiority, nor dominance. Rulers, whatever their political systems are,
should craft laws with God's love wrapped in it. They should not be too
legalistic; they should be simple. Jesus
lifts his hand to cure the sick on the Sabbath. David picks up grains across a
field of wheat. What matters is that their action has done good for others. Jesus
makes a sick man well, David is able to lead his men to victory against a
despotic ruler.
It is in this spirit that we
should live our lives. Follow the laws for they were given to us with God's
blessings. But, look to the bases and reasons why they were enacted.
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