Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ Ba Tuần thứ 5 Mùa Chay.
Bản chất của tội lỗi đã làm cho chúng ta xa lìa Thiên Chúa và quên đi cái mục đích thật sự của chúng ta trong cuộc sống. Nguồn gốc của tất cả mọi sự thật và những cái đẹp trong cuộc sống của chúng ta là chính nơi Thiên Chúa mà chúng ta có thể được hiệp nhất với Ngài trong niềm vui vĩnh cửu.
Khi Adong và Evà đã phạm tội bất tuân ngay lúc ban đầu, họ đã cố ẩn mình trốn tránh cái sự hiện diện của Thiên Chúa (Sáng thế 3: 8-10). Đó là những gì mà tội lỗi đã gây ra; nó ngăn cách chúng ta với Thiên Chúa, Đấng mà không những chỉ "thấy tất cả" và "luôn luôn hiện diện giữa nơi chúng ta", nhưng Ngài cũng là Đấng hằng "yêu thương" và "thương xót” tất cả loài người tội lỗi chúng ta, và Ngài sẵn sàng đón nhận chúng ta trở lại mỗi khi chúng ta biết tự nguyện và trở về với tình yêu thương của Ngài.
Khi Thiên Chúa kêu gọi chúng ta quay mặt về với Ngài, Có bao giờ chúng ta đang cố ẩn mình để trốn thoát cái sự hiện diện của Chúa như Adong, Evà bằng những thứ vật chất đang làm bận trí của chúng ta hay có thể vì những lý do nào khác đã khiến chúng ta không thể nhận ra Chúa hay nghe tiếng của Chúa đang nói với chúng ta?
Thập giá của Đức Kitô đã phá vỡ lời nguyền rủa của tội lỗi và sự chết do Adong và Evà đã đem đến cho nhân loại, và Thập Giá Chúa Kitô đã đưa con người chúng ta đến sự chiến thắng trong sự cứu chữa, tha thứ, và sự sống đời đời nếu chúng ta biết đặt niềm tin vào Chúa Giêsu, Con Thiên Chúa, đấng Cứu Chúa của nhân loại..
Reflection Tuesday 5th Week of Lent
The essence of sin is that it diverts us from God and from our true purpose in life - to know the source of all truth and beauty which is God himself and to be united with God in everlasting joy. When Adam and Eve yielded to their first sin of disobedience, they literally tried to hide themselves from God's presence (Genesis 3:8-10). That is what sin does; it separates us from the One who is not only "all-seeing" and "ever present", but who is also "all loving" and "merciful" and eager to receive us. When God calls you to turn your gaze and attention towards him, do you try to hide yourself from his presence with other distractions and excuses that keep you from seeking him and listening to his voice?
The cross of Christ broke the curse of sin and death and won pardon, healing, and everlasting life for all who believe in Jesus, the Son of God and Savior of the world.
Reflection on Tuesday 5th week of Lents 2022
Opening Prayer: Lord, I want to know you and follow you wherever you lead me. I thank you for your word that provides direction, and for your invitation to pray with the rest of your Church. Let your Holy Spirit help me better understand your word and more intimately meet you in this time of prayer.
Encountering Christ:
The Great Chasm: With penetrating clarity, Christ taught the stubborn Pharisees that remaining “of this world,” refusing to believe in the Christ or the Father who sent him, carries a death sentence. This delineation of two worlds, infinitely separated upon one’s death, was further clarified by Jesus in the parable of the doomed rich man, who should have been kinder to the beggar, Lazarus: “Between us and you a great chasm is established” (Luke 16:26). The only way to have life is to believe in Jesus. Lord, may we have the grace to believe always in your name, trusting your word: “...as many as received him–to those who believe in his name–he gave to them authority to become children of God” (John 1:12).
The Act of Faith: What would it take for these Pharisees whom Jesus encountered, whose fate was not yet sealed on the wrong side of the chasm, to find eternal life? Jesus plainly articulated the first step: an act of faith. Those who looked upon him when he was raised up on a cross would need to accept that this, indeed, was the Christ, the only one who could claim to be the great “I AM” from the Torah story of the burning bush (Exodus 3:14). Those of us with the benefit of sacred Scripture, sacred tradition, and the teaching authority of the church, must not be misled; we, too, must look to the cross and proclaim Christ, as “salvation is found in no one else.” (Acts 4:12)
Giving, Not Taking: How ironic that the Pharisees jumped to the strange conclusion that Jesus might be taking his own life. Only one thing might have surprised them more—if Jesus was contemplating giving his own life. Indeed, the King of Kings would ultimately give over his life. Following in his footsteps are others who history tells us literally laid down their lives, such as well-known martyrs St. Stephen, St. Maximillian Kolbe, and St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein). Today, our priests and consecrated souls are counter-cultural people who themselves generously give over their own lives for the sake of the Church. Let us pray for more laborers in the vineyard.
Conversing with Christ: I thank you, Lord, for your invitation to enter into prayer. You have the words of everlasting life, and you continually remind me of your willingness to meet me, whether it is in my sorrow, my doubts, my insecurity, or even in my joy. I look at you on the cross today and I recall the horrific day when my sins placed you on that hill at Golgotha. I also recall your words to the good thief, who looked to you with faith in your Kingship: “Today you will be with me in Paradise” (Luke 23:43).
Resolution: Lord, today by your grace I will pray the sorrowful mysteries of the rosary for friends or relatives who do not know Christ, and for more vocations to the priesthood and religious life.
Tuesday, March 23, 2021
Opening Prayer: Lord, your condemnation of the Pharisees reminds me that my actions have consequences. Prepare my heart to receive the message you have for me today and help me to rid myself of anything that keeps me from loving you.
Encountering Christ:
Harrowing Distinctions: Christ told the Pharisees that they would die in their sin and would not be joining him in heaven. “I have much to say about you in condemnation,” Jesus told them. Any of the believers listening to this exchange would likely have shuddered listening to the fate of the Pharisees. The Pharisees, however, seemed to miss the import of Christ’s words. “Who are you?” they asked. Living for the world, being of the world, belonging to the world truly blinds us to the presence of Christ in our lives. Faith in the great “I AM” raises us above worldly concerns and unveils the mysterious workings of Christ on our behalf. Lord, help me to believe!
Perfect Obedience: Christ looked to please his Father in all things. Whether in good times, such as at the wedding in Cana, or in difficult times, like in the Garden of Gethsemani, Jesus said, “I always do what is pleasing to him.” From Christ’s perspective, obedience was uniting his actions to his Father's desires. Christ’s obedience was an expression of his love for the Father.
Many Believed: Although the Lord condemned the Pharisees, he did so with absolute authority and a compassionate heart. He identified with the Father and claimed “I AM,” which the Jews of the day would interpret as either blasphemy or the truth. He seemed, by the force of his statements, to be pleading with his listeners to believe, and the Gospel tells us that many did indeed believe. How compelling the person of Christ must have been!
Conversing with Christ: You pleased God the Father in all you did. You knew that everything the Father asked was born of love and had love as its purpose. I want to see your obedience to the commands of your Father as signs and expressions of his love for me. Help me, likewise, to obey you in all things.
Resolution: Lord, today by your grace I will make an elongated visit to the Eucharist.
Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Lent
Because he spoke this way, many came to believe in him. John 8:30
Jesus had been teaching in veiled but deeply profound ways about Who He was. In prior passages, He referred to Himself as the “bread of life,” the “living water,” the “light of the world,” and He even took upon Himself the ancient title of God “I AM.” Furthermore, He continually identified Himself with the Father in Heaven as His Father with Whom He was perfectly united and by Whom He was sent into the world to do His will. For example, just prior to the line above, Jesus states clearly, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will realize that I AM, and that I do nothing on my own, but I say only what the Father taught me” (John 8:28). And it was because of this that many came to believe in Him. But why?
As John’s Gospel continues, Jesus’ teaching remains mysterious, deep and veiled. After Jesus speaks profound truths about Who He is, some listeners come to believe in Him, while others become hostile to Him. What is the difference between those who come to believe and those who ultimately kill Jesus? The simple answer is faith. Both those who came to believe in Jesus and those who orchestrated and supported His murder heard the same teaching of Jesus. Yet their reactions were so very different.
The same is true for us today. Just like those who heard these teachings for the first time from Jesus’ own lips, we also are presented with the same teaching. We are given the same opportunity to listen to His words and either receive them with faith or reject them or be indifferent. Are you one of the many who came to believe in Jesus because of these words?
Reading these veiled, mysterious and deep teachings of Jesus as they are presented in the Gospel of John requires a special gift from God if these words will have any impact upon our lives whatsoever. Faith is a gift. It’s not just a blind choice to believe. It’s a choice based on seeing. But it’s a seeing made possible only by an interior revelation from God to which we give our assent. Thus, Jesus as the Living Water, the Bread of Life, the great I AM, the Light of the World, and the Son of the Father will only make sense to us and will only have an effect upon us when we are open to and receive the interior light of the gift of faith. Without that openness and reception, we will remain either hostile or indifferent.
Reflect, today, upon the deep, veiled and mysterious language of God. When you read this language, especially in the Gospel of John, what is your reaction? Ponder your reaction carefully; and, if you find you are any less than one who has come to understand and believe, then seek the grace of faith this day so that our Lord’s words will powerfully transform your life.
My mysterious Lord, Your teaching about Who You are is beyond human reason alone. It is deep, mysterious and glorious beyond all understanding. Please give me the gift of faith so that I may come to know Who You are as I ponder the richness of Your holy Word. I believe in You, dear Lord. Help my unbelief. Jesus, I trust in You.
REFLECTION 2018
In the first reading God tells Moses to mount a bronze serpent so that those who looked at it were healed from deadly serpent bites.
In the Gospel reading we see Jesus in a dispute with the Jews. His listeners refused to listen to his message: they especially could not understand him when he talked about his Father in heaven. He warns them that those who persist in their sins will die and that, to be freed from sin, they must believe in him. Indeed sin and salvation are the story of our lives: we see both elements at play in our personal narratives. But it is our salvation that God desires the most: it is for our salvation that Christ came.
Jesus alludes to the bronze serpent in the desert which cured those bitten by the serpents sent by God to punish the Israelites for their lack of trust: "When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He." Just as the Israelites were saved from the serpent bites by looking at the bronze serpent, we are saved by looking at and believing in the crucified Chris.
Tuesday 5th Week of Lent "When you have lifted up the Son of man"
During the exodus, when the people of Israel were afflicted with serpents in the wilderness because of their sin, God instructed Moses: "Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live" (Numbers 21:8). The visible sign of the "bronze serpent" being lifted up in the sight of the people, reminded them of two important facts: Sin leads to death and repentance leads to God's mercy and healing.
The lifting up of the bronze serpent on a wooden pole points to Jesus Christ being lifted up on the wooden cross at Calvary, where he took our sins upon himself to make atonement to the Father on our behalf. The cross of Christ broke the curse of sin and death and won pardon, healing, and everlasting life for all who believe in Jesus, the Son of God and Savior of the world. While many believed in Jesus and his message, but, many others, including the religious leaders, opposed him. Some openly mocked him when he warned them about their sin of unbelief.
It's impossible to be indifferent to Jesus' word and his judgments. We are either for him or against him. There are no middle ground or neutral parties. The words of Jesus echoed the prophetic warning given to Ezekiel (Ezekiel 3:18 and 18:18) when God warned his people to heed his word before the time is too late. God gives us time to turn to him and to receive his grace and pardon, but that time is right now.
The essence of sin is that it diverts us from God and from our true purpose in life. When Adam and Eve yielded to their first sin of disobedience, they literally tried to hide themselves from God's presence (Genesis 3:8-10). That is what sin does; it separates us from God, who is "all loving" and "merciful" and eager to receive us. When God calls us to turn our gaze and attention towards him, do we try to hide ourselves from his presence with other distractions and excuses that keep us from seeking him and listening to his voice?
If we could not recognize his voice when we heard his word, we would have the opportunity to recognize him when he is "lifted up" on the cross. Jesus pointed to the atoning sacrifice of his life on the cross as the true source of healing and victory over sin and reconciliation with God. The sacrifice of Jesus' life on the cross is the ultimate proof of God's love for us. Jesus invites each one of us to accept him as the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Our time here in this present world is very limited and short, but how we live it today has consequences not only for the present moment but for our eternal destiny as well. Which direction is our life headed in right now? Think about it !
