Suy Niệm thứ Bẩy tuần thứ Hai Thường Niên Mk 3:13-19
Chúa Giêsu cứ ngời là sẽ chỉ gặp những chống đối nơi các thầy thượng tết, tư tế, những Pharêsiu ở Jerusalem. Nhưng Ngài cũng phải gặp sự chống đối của những người thân cận của Ngài, sự kiện này thậm chí còn làm cho ngài bị khó khăn hơn. Khi chúng ta chọn để trở thành môn đệ của Chúa Giêsu và làm theo ý muốn của Ngài trong cuộc sống của chúng ta, chúng ta chắc chắn cũng có thể phải gặp những sự chống đối như thế nơi những người chống lại sứ điệp tình yêu của Thiên Chúa, Tin Mừng của Ngài, cũng như cuộc sống đạo của chúng ta. Nhưng người chống đối mà thực sự sẽ gây nhiếu khó khăn nhất cho chúng ta đó chính là những người gần gũi với chúng ta nhất, những người trong gia đình hoặc bạn bè thân thiết của chúng ta. Vì họ không muốn chúng ta phải bỏ mất nhiều thời giờ quá nghiêm trọng cho công việc rao truyền Tin Mừng ơn Cứu độ của Thiên Chúa. Chúa Giêsu đã gặp sự chống đối của những người trong gia đình, bạn bè, hay của kẻ thù, Nhưng với ân sủng và sự quyết tâm Ngài đã phải chấp nhận để thực hiện ý muốn của Thiên Chúa Cha. Chúng ta có sẵn sàng vâng lời và bắt chước làm theo Chúa Giêsu ngay cả khi những người khác, kể cà những người thân yêu trong gia đình đang chống lại việc làm của chúng ta như vậy?
`"Lạy Chúa Giêsu, xin cho chúng con luôn biệt đặt Chúa trước hết mọi sự và tìm được niềm vui trong việc làm theo ý muốn của Chúa. Xin cho tình yêu và đức bác ái của Chúa được lớn lên trong chúng con, đặc biệt là khi chúng con phải đối mặt với những sự chống đối và những nghịch cảnh"
Meditation Satursday 2nd in Ordinary Time
Is the Lord Jesus honored in your home? Why would Jesus' relatives be so upset with him when he began his public ministry? On one occasion Jesus remarked that a man's enemies will be the members of his own household (Matthew 10:36). The Gospel of Mark records the reaction of Jesus' relatives when he went home: they came to seize him. They, no doubt, thought that Jesus must have gone mad or become a religious fanatic. How could a good home-body from Nazareth leave his carpentry trade and go off to become a traveling preacher? To their way of thinking, Jesus had thrown away the security and safety of a quiet and respectable life close to his family and relatives.
Do not be afraid to follow Jesus all the way
Jesus probably expected to meet opposition from the highest religious authorities in Jerusalem. For him to meet opposition from his own relatives must have been even harder. When we choose to be disciples of the Lord Jesus and to follow his will for our lives, we can expect to meet opposition from those who are opposed to the Gospel message and Christian way of life. But the hardest opposition may actually come from someone close to us, a family member or close friend who doesn't want us to take the Gospel message too seriously. Jesus met opposition - whether from family, friend, or foe - with grace and determination to fulfill his Father's will. Are you ready to obey and follow the Lord Jesus even if others oppose your doing so?
Lord Jesus, may I always put you first and find joy in doing your will. May your love and charity grow in me, especially in the face of opposition and adversity.
Saturday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time
Jesus came with his disciples into the house. Again the crowd gathered, making it impossible for them even to eat. When his relatives heard of this they set out to seize him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.” Mark 3:20–21
When you consider the sufferings of Jesus, most likely your thoughts first turn to the crucifixion. From there, you may think about His scourging at the pillar, the carrying of the Cross and the other events that took place from the time of His arrest until His death. However, there were many other human sufferings that our Lord endured for our good and the good of all. The Gospel passage above presents us with one such experience.
Though physical pain is quite undesirable, there are other sufferings that can be just as difficult to endure, if not more difficult. One such suffering is being misunderstood and treated by your own family as if you were out of your mind. In Jesus’ case, it appears as if many of His extended family, not including His own mother of course, were quite vocally critical of Jesus. Perhaps they were jealous of Him and had some form of envy, or perhaps they were embarrassed by all the attention He was getting. Whatever the case may be, it’s clear that Jesus’ own relatives tried to prevent Him from ministering to the people who deeply longed to be with Him. Some of His extended family members made up the story that Jesus was “out of his mind” and sought to put an end to His popularity.
Family life should be a community of love, but for some it becomes a source of sorrow and hurt. Why did Jesus allow Himself to endure this form of suffering? In part, to be able to relate with any and every suffering you endure as a result of your own family. Additionally, His endurance of it also redeemed this form of suffering, making it possible for your family hurt to share in that redemption and grace. Thus, when you turn to God in prayer with your family struggles, you will be consoled to know that the Second Person of the Most Holy Trinity, Jesus, the Eternal Son of God, understands your suffering from His own human experience. He knows the pain so many family members feel from first-hand experience. And He is able to look at every family suffering with the utmost compassion so as to give each person who asks the grace they need to not only endure that suffering but also to use it for good and for God’s glory.
Reflect, today, upon any way that you need to surrender some hurt within your own family over to God. Turn to our Lord Who fully understands your struggles and invite His powerful and compassionate presence into your life so that He can transform all that you endure into His grace and mercy.
My compassionate Lord, You endured much in this world, including the rejection and ridicule of those in Your own family. I offer to You my own family and especially the hurt that has been present. Please come and redeem all family struggles and bring healing and hope to me and to all those who need it the most. Jesus, I trust in You.
Satursday 2nd in Ordinary Time 2024
Opening Prayer: Father, you are always ready to listen to my prayer. You are so patient with me and look tenderly upon me. Help me today as I contemplate your servant, David, and your Son, Jesus. I want to eradicate evil from my life and flourish with the gift of your divine grace.
1. David’s Reaction to the Death of Saul: The Second Book of Samuel opens with the announcement of King Saul’s death by an Amalekite man. Instead of telling David the truth that Saul committed suicide (1 Samuel 31:4), the Amalekite fabricates a lie and says to David that Saul asked him to kill him before the enemy chariots and horsemen got to him and that he acquiesced to Saul’s request. In response, David rends his garments and commands that the Amalekite be put to death for slaying Saul, the Lord’s anointed. The reading conveniently skips over this and concentrates on David mourning the deaths of Saul and Jonathan.
2. David as a New Adam: The deeper meaning of the story is that David is a New Adam figure. Like Adam, David is both a king and a priest. When David kills the Amalekite, he is acting like a righteous king. First, the Amalekite said that he was the one who killed Saul, the Lord’s anointed, and David exacts justice for this killing. Second, the Amalekites, according to the Law of Moses, were under the ban of destruction and were to be eradicated. And David faithfully carries out this command of Moses. Third, David’s actions were similar to those of Samuel, who killed King Agag the Amalekite when Saul refused to do it. Lastly, by eradicating the evil personified in the Amalekite, David did what Adam should have done to the serpent in the garden. There is a true contrast in the two books of Samuel between the disobedient and unrepentant Saul and the obedient and repentant David. David was not perfect, but when he sinned, he acknowledged it and humbly begged for forgiveness. Saul dies by his own hand, surrounded by his enemies, and abandoned by the Lord. Saul was rejected as king because after defeating the Amalekites he did not carry out the command of Samuel in its fullness.
3. Jesus is misunderstood by his family: The Psalm reflects the situation of Israel. The king has been slain and it seems as if God has abandoned Israel. And yet, despite this situation, Israel prays to God: Rouse your power and come to save us. Israel is called to trust in God, who will raise up David as King of Israel and who will one day send his Son to establish the eternal Kingdom. As Jesus announces and establishes the Kingdom of God throughout Galilee, he meets with opposition from the religious authorities who are now plotting to kill him. As well, the crowds gathered around Jesus at the house in Capernaum made it impossible for him and his disciples to eat. Jesus’ relatives try to take charge and want to seize him. They probably wanted to protect him. Whatever the case may be, it shows that even Jesus’ relatives do not understand who Jesus truly is and what his mission is.
Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, your closest relatives, your disciples, and your Apostles, all struggled in different ways to understand who you are and what your mission is. Help me to overcome my own misunderstandings and grow in my faith that you are the Christ and the Son of God, who came to redeem me by dying on the Cross and rising to new life.
Resolution: We can often fall into the temptation to complain about suffering in our lives or think that things should be different than they are. The wrong thing to do in the face of suffering is to complain and accuse God of wrongdoing or not listening to us. The right thing to do is lament to God in prayer and humbly seek strength, patience, and guidance. In fact, many of the Psalms, which are a model of prayer for us, are prayers of lament that begin with a cry for help in a desperate situation and end in the hope that God will act on our behalf. How can I model my prayer on the Psalms of Lament?
Satursday 2nd in Ordinary Time
Opening Prayer:
Here I am, Lord, I come to do your will. In today's Gospel I see your commitment and self-giving. You are so generous with your time and your life. You are always present to all who need you. Help me to see and understand that the way you sacrifice and give yourself to the crowd is the way you sacrifice and give yourself to me.
1. Total Self-Giving: Jesus went home, but even there he was not able to rest or eat. Jesus was human just like us and had the same human needs that we do, but here we see how he was ready to give up everything. His family members thought he was crazy. But this was God’s answer to man’s need. God gives us everything. Sometimes there are so many demands in our lives that it seems like following Christ is crazy. Yet, as his disciples, we willingly follow his example and give everything we have.
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