Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Chúa Nhật thứ Nhất Mùa Chay

Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Chúa Nhật thứ Nhất Mùa Chay (Matthew 4:1-11)

Cám dỗ là những sự kiện thường tình của cuộc sống hôm nay. Kể từ khi tổ tiên loài người là ông Adong và bà Evà đã không vâng lời mà còn phản nghịch cùng Thiên Chúa, thì loài nguời chúng ta lúc nào phải đối phó với xu hướng quay lưng phản lại với Thiên Chúa. Do đó mỗi năm Giáo Hội nhắc nhở chúng ta phải quay lưng trở lại quay về với Thiên Chúa. Thánh Phaolô nhắc nhở chúng ta trong bài đọc thứ hai đó là qua cái chết của Chúa Giêsu mà chúng ta đã được cứu chuộc. Mỗi năm chúng ta trở lại với Chúa để cam kết hứa với Chúa, để yêu mến Thiên Chúa và những người chung quang của chúng ta.

            Trong cuộc sống hiện tại, chúng ta cũng phải đối phó với một số những cám dỗ của chúng ta. Trước tiên, có những xu hướng làm cho chúng ta hoài nghi về bất cứ điều gì thiêng liêng và bất cứ điều gì mà liên quan đến việc phụng thờ Thiên Chúa. Những tiến bộ trong các lĩnh vực công nghiệp và y tế cũng như trong các lĩnh vực công nghệ khác truyền thống, vi tính phát triển qua nhanh, đôi khi làm cho chúng quên đi Thên Chúa hay đôi làm cho chúng ta nghĩ là chúng ta không còn cần đến Thiên Chúa nữa. Và chính các công ngệ mới nàyu làm cho ch1ung ta có cảm tưởng rằng, chúng ta tin vào Thiên Chúa là chúng ta qua lạc hậu, chúng ta đi lùi lại với thế giớ hiện tại và không còn phù hợp với thời hiện đại. Thời kỳ kỹ thật.... Nhưng hãy nhớ rằng Chúa là Đấng Tạo dựng ta vạn vật, là đấng tại ra cả vũ trụ . Vì thế chúng ta phải yhờ phượng chỉ một mình Thiên Chúa mà thôi, Vì chính ngài là làm nên tất cả, Nếu kgông có ngài chưa chắc chúng ta đã có những kỹ nghệ tân tiên như hôm nay.

            Sự cám dỗ thứ hai là chúng ta thường nghĩ rằng chúng ta có thể giải quyết tất cả các vấn đề với trí tuệ con người. Với bộ óc thông minh đầy sáng tạo con người hôm nat đã thành công rực rỡ trong nhiêu lãnh vực khoa học tân tiến mang lại những thay đổi sáng tạo vào thế giới hiện đại. Chúng ta có thể đi du lịch đến rất nhanh chóng và an toàn hơn bằng những phương tiệc phản lực cơ, (Từ Việt Nam qua Mỹ Châu trong vòng18 tiếng đồng), chúng ta nói chuyện trực tiếp với ngưới thân xa hơn nữa trái đất qua vệ vinh và hệ thống vễn liên tối tân và có thể còn thấy cả hình trực tiếp, chúng ta có thể liệt kê các tiện nghi hiện đại mà làm cho cuộc sống dễ dàng hơn. Sự cám dỗ đó là con người chúng ta nghĩ rràng không có thiên Chúa hay trí con người có thể chinh phục vụ trụ và có giải quyết tất cả các vấn đề trên thế giới qua những kỹ thuật vi tính hiện đại hôm nay.

            Sự cám dỗ thứ ba đó là sự bảo toàn quyền lực. Quyền lực có thể đến từ tiền hoay ngôi thứ, vị trí của một người trong xã hội. Các cán bộ, hy có khi có cả các linh mục. Tu sĩ và những người trong chính phủ có thể có quá nhiều quyền lực hơn những người khác và nếu như không được kiểm soát thì những người này có thể dẫn đến tình trạng lạm dụng và không tôn trọng quyền tự do của người khác. Chúng ta hãy nên nhớ rằng Chúa Kitô đến thế gian này là để phục vụ chứ không phải để được phục vụ và chúng ta nên dùng gương của Chúa Kitô như một nguyên tắc trong việc đối xử với anh chị em chung quanh của chúng ta, sau hết chúng ta có thể nhắc nhở chúng ta rằng chúng ta đang trên đường để trở nên thánh thánh. Ngoài ra đó là một loại thuốc giải độc tuyệt vời để diệt sự cám dỗ về sự bảo tồn quyền lực. Sức mạnh thực sự chính là sự phục vụ người khác trong Chúa Kitô. Vì vậy, trong khi chúng ta bắt đầu Mùa Chay thánh này, chúng ta xin Chúa Giêsu Kitô giải thoát chúng ta thoát khỏi tất cả những sự cám dỗ mà làm cho chúng ta tách lìa xa khỏi Chúa và xin ơn thứ tha và can đảm để luôn luôn biết trở về với Ngài vì Ngài lu6n luôn sẵn có và hoàn toàn giàu có sự dịu dàng và lòng từ bi.

 

Reflection First Sunday of Lent.

Temptations are facts of life. Since the time our first parents rebelled against the Lord we always have to deal with the tendency to turn away from God. That is why every year the Church reminds us to turn away from our ways and to turn back to God. Paul reminds us in the second reading that it is through the death of Jesus that we all have been saved. Each year we come back to the Lord to renew our commitment to love him and our brothers and sisters.

      The gospel briefly described the three scenarios that Satan attempted to tempt Jesus to fulfill his Father's will. First, the devil asked Jesus to turn the stone to bread. Jesus dismissed the devil by saying that one does not need bread alone but every word that comes from the mouth of God. In the second temptation the devil tells Jesus to hurl himself down the cliff because God would send his angels to protect him, but Jesus tells the devil not to put the Lord to the test. In the third test the devil promises Jesus all kingdoms of the earth on condition that Jesus adores the devil. But Jesus tells the devil to go away and that he should adore only God and no one else.

      What are some of the temptations that we moderns have to deal with today? First, there is the trend towards disbelief in anything spiritual and anything that deals with God. The advancements in the industrial and medical fields as well as in other technological fields sometimes make it look like we no longer need God today. It makes believers out of place and inconsistent with the modern age. But keep in mind that the Lord is the Creator of the Universe and the gospel points out to us today that we should adore Him alone, not technology, nor technocrats nor anyone else.     

The second temptation is to think that we can solve all problems with our human minds. Brilliant minds have succeeded in bringing about innovated changes into the modern world.  We can travel to various parts of the world quickly and safely, we communicate with our loved ones instantly, we can cook our meals instantly and we can go on and on enumerating the modern conveniences that make life easier to live. The temptation is that we can solve all the problems in the world.

      The third temptation is to hold on to power. Power can come from money or one's position in society or one's status. The clergy or people in government can wield so much power over others and if unchecked may lead to abuse and disrespect of authority. If we keep in mind that Christ came to serve and not to be served and use that as a principle in our dealing with our brothers and sisters, then we can safely say that we are on the way to holiness. Also it is an excellent antidote to the temptation to hold on to power. Real power is ultimately serving others in the Lord.

      So as we begin Lent, we ask Jesus to free us from any temptation that leads us away from him and to ask for the grace to always come back to him because he is full of gentleness and compassion.

 

First Sunday of Lent

The Spirit drove Jesus out into the desert, and he remained in the desert for forty days, tempted by Satan. He was among wild beasts, and the angels ministered to him.  Mark 1:12–13

What an amazing event we reflect upon today. Jesus, the Son of God, the Second Person of the Most Holy Trinity humbled Himself in two ways in the passage quoted above. First, He allowed Himself to endure the temptations of satan. Second, He permitted His very own creation, the good angels, to minister to Him in His human form.

First of all, recall that satan is a fallen angel. He was created by God and was created good. But the Book of Revelation (12:4) indicates that one-third of the created angels were cast out of Heaven to roam the earth. These demons act under the direction of the highest fallen angel, satan. Thus, according to the passage above, it was satan himself who tempted Jesus in the desert. Additionally, Jesus permitted the good angels to minister to Him in His human nature. These acts reveal the perfection of the virtue of humility within the humanity of our Lord.

According to Saint Thomas Aquinas, angels were created for three primary reasons. The first is for the purpose of worship. Worship of God brings about communion with God and enables perfect love to flow back and forth from God to each angelic being. Second, angels enact the will of God in all things. This includes the implementation of the laws of nature and the imparting of the grace that Christ won on the Cross. Third, God uses angels as messengers. Scripture records various ways that the angels spoke to the prophets, to our Blessed Mother, to Saint Joseph and to others. Saint Thomas Aquinas also believed that each of us is given a particular guardian angel whose role is not only to protect us but also to communicate the will of God to us.

As God, Jesus was the Creator of all angelic beings with the Father and the Holy Spirit. As man, Jesus was the recipient of both the ministry of the good angels and the attacks of the fallen angels. By humbly subjecting Himself to the natural powers of these angelic creatures, Jesus was also teaching us that we must do the same.

One of the primary natural powers of both the good and bad angels is the power of influence and suggestive thought. Angelic beings have the ability to put before your imagination ideas meant to either influence you for the good (the good angels) or to deceive you and lead you into sin (the bad angels). These communications are real, and we should be aware of them. In his book, The Spiritual Exercises, Saint Ignatius of Loyola devotes much time and energy to the ministry of angels. He teaches how to distinguish the lies and deceptions of the fallen angels from the consoling direction communicated by the good angels. In many ways, our Gospel passage today, by which Jesus submitted Himself to the temptations and ministry of the angels, lends much support to the importance of trying to understand how these angelic creatures influence us. For more on this, see the book Probing the Depths: Ignatian Lessons and Meditations Arranged According to the Liturgical Year.

Reflect, today, upon the amazing truth that both angels and demons are constantly active in your life, seeking to influence you. As you ponder their spiritual role in your life, consider the various ways you can learn more about them. Speak to your guardian angel. Ask for the intercession of the highest of angels. Try to join them in their divine worship. Pray for their protection. Ask them to communicate to you the highest of truths from God. Seek to be attentive to these holy angels so that as you learn to discern their voices, you will be ready to follow the direction they give to you from God.

My Lord and Creator of All, You created the angelic order for the glorious purpose of love and worship. You also gave them the mission of enacting Your holy will and communicating to us on earth. Please help me to be more aware of the deceptions of the fallen angels and the direction of the good angels. Angels of God, pray for me, protect me and guide me into God’s perfect will. Jesus, I trust in You.

 

First Sunday of Lent 2024

Opening Prayer: Lord God, when your people sinned, you did not abandon them. You reestablished the first covenant and blessed the family of Noah. You created me to share in your divine life. Help me today to choose the path that leads to life with you.

 Encountering the Word of God

 1. Noah and the History of Salvation: During the season of Lent, the first readings guide us through the important moments of the history of salvation in the Old Testament. This year, we start our journey through that history with Noah and the renewal of the covenant of creation. In many ways, Noah appears in the Book of Genesis as a new Adam figure. Just as Adam dwelled in peace with the animals in the Garden of Eden and named them, Noah was surrounded by the animals of creation in the Ark. Just as water covered the earth before God brought forth the land on the third day, Noah saw the waters cover the earth and the land reemerge after the flood. Just as God gave Adam the Sabbath as the sign of the covenant of creation, God gave Noah the rainbow as the sign of the renewed covenant of creation. The goal of the first covenant of creation was to offer humanity a path to share in divine life. The goal of the renewed covenant of creation was the promise of salvation from sin through water.

 2. Jesus as a New Adam in the Desert: While Noah is one of many new Adam figures in the Old Testament, Jesus is revealed to us as the ultimate New Adam. Just as the old Adam was surrounded by animals when he was tempted by the serpent in the Garden, Jesus, the new Adam, was surrounded by “wild beasts” when he was tempted by the devil in the desert (Mark 1:13). The old Adam succumbed to three temptations of the fruit of the Tree of knowledge of good and evil. Genesis tells us that when our first parents looked at the fruit of the tree, they saw that it was “good for food.” This symbolizes the disordered desire for pleasure. Second, they were tempted because the fruit was a “delight to the eyes.” This symbolizes the disordered desire for possessions. Third, they were tempted because the fruit was desirable to make one wise. This symbolizes the disordered desire for worldly power. Instead of seeing wisdom as a gift given to those who lead as servants of the community, wisdom is used and abused for one’s selfish gain. While the Gospel of Mark does not detail the temptations Jesus faced in the desert, the Gospels of Matthew and Luke do. Jesus was tempted by the pleasure of eating, adoring Satan to gain the wealth of the nations, and testing God to gain the admiration of others. Unlike the old Adam who gave into the three temptations of the serpent, the New Adam was victorious over the temptations of the devil.

 3. Peter’s Reflection on the Story of Noah: In his Letter to the Christian communities in Asia Minor, Peter brings up the story of Noah and points out how it prefigures the sacrament of Baptism. Just as the family of Noah was “saved through water,” the members of the family of God are saved through the waters of Baptism. The waters of the flood cleansed the world of corruption and wickedness. The waters of Baptism cleanse the believer of the corruption and wickedness of sin. Noah and his family built the Ark in faith and passed through the waters of judgment (1 Peter 3:20) into a new life and a renewed covenant with God (Genesis 9:8:17). “So, too, Baptism, is the sacrament of faith (Mark 16:16) that brings us new life (Romans 6:4) and makes us members of the New Covenant (CCC, 1219)” (Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: New Testament, p. 455).

 Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, you were victorious during your forty days in the desert. You did not give in to the temptations of the serpent. You chose the word of your Father over the voice of the devil. Help me to listen to your Word, share in your victory, and conquer sin during these forty days of Lent. 

 Resolution: What is my number one temptation? How can I, with God’s grace, do better in my battle against sin?