Suy Niệm Tin Mừng thứ Ba tuần thứ
3 Mùa Chay.
Theo như kinh nghiệm của con người, chúng ta ai cũng biết rằng việc tha thứ không phải là chuyện dễ làm. Suy niệm về bài Tin Mừng hôm nay có thể giúp cho chúng ta có được ân sủng của sự thay đổi trong tâm hồn để chúng ta có thể loại bỏ tất cả những cảm giác bệnh hoạn đang nuôi dưỡng những sự thù hằn và chống lại những người đã gây thù oán, hay ra gây những nỗi đau khổ, những mất mát trong quá khứ. Việc mà chúng ta cần chú ý đến trước tiên là lòng thương xót vô biên của Thiên Chúa.
Trong dụ ngôn hôm nay, chúng ta thấy người đầy tớ mắc nợ ông chủ của mình, đã cầu xin ông chủ nợ cho anh ta hoãn số nợ trong một thời gian, trong khi anh ta cố gắng tìm cách hoàn trả lại nợ đó. Thế nhưng, ông chủ nợ đã xoá bỏ hoàn toàn số nợ của anh. Đó là tình yêu và lòng thương xót mà Cha của chúng ta đã dành cho chúng ta. "CHÚA là Ðấng từ bi nhân hậu, Người chậm giận và giàu tình thương, … Như đông đoài cách xa nhau ngàn dặm, tội ta đã phạm, Chúa cũng ném thật xa ta." (Ps 103: 8, 12)
Nhưng điểm thứ hai trong bài dụ ngôn cũng nhắc nhở chúng ta là: Lòng thương xót của Thiên Chúa không thể ban cho chúng ta một cách tự nhiên, nếu chúng ta không chịu tha thứ cho một người đã làm những điều sai trái với chúng ta. Thật vậy, tương tự như thế trong bài dụ ngôn, Ông chủ nợ sẽ thu hồi sự tha thứ, mà ông đã ban cho người tôi tớ không hề khoan nhượng, và không biết tha thứ cho bạn mình.
Mùa Chay là thời gian của sự ăn năn. Sám hối. Nhưng sự tha thứ không chỉ giới hạn trong tòa giải tội mà thôi. Nhưng sự tha thứ cần phải được rộng lượng và sẵn sàng tha thứ một cách tự do như chúng ta nhận được sự tha thứ nơi Thiên Chúa là đấng hằng thương xót chúng ta. Tình trạng tội lỗi của chúng ta thường là nhiều, và nặng hơn cái giá trị của sự tốt lành của chúng ta trên cán cân công lý của Thiên Chúa, nhưng Ngài đã cho chúng ta một bí quyết đó là dùng tình thương để cân bằng. Chúng ta sẽ làm được như thế? Chúng ta sẽ không bao giờ có thể đáp trả lại lòng thương xót của Ngài đã dành cho chúng ta, nhưng chúng ta luôn có thể đáp trả Tình Yêu của Chúa bằng những việc thương xót người khác, những người đã đi qua cuộc sống của chúng ta.
REFLECTION
Human experience has repeatedly taught us that forgiveness is never easy. Reflecting on today's Gospel reading may provide the grace of change of heart that will remove any ill feelings harbored against someone who inflicted the pain some time in the past. Consider first the infinite mercy of God.
In the parable, the servant who owed his master was only asking for some time to repay his debt. Instead, the master completely wrote off what the servant owed him. That is how much love and mercy our Father has for us. "Merciful and gracious is the Lord, slow to anger and abounding in kindness ... As far as the east is from the west, so far has he put our transgressions from us." (Ps 103: 8, 12).
But there is a second point in the parable. Divine mercy cannot flow freely to a sinner who refuses to forgive one who has wronged him. Indeed, in the same parable, the king revoked the forgiveness he granted to the unforgiving servant. When we consider the enormity of the distance between ourselves as ones being forgiven by God, how can we remain unforgiving?
Let’s borrow the prayer from saint Francis to make it our prayer "Lord, make us instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred let us sow love. Where there is injury let us sow pardon. Where there is doubt let us sow faith. Where there is despair let us give hope. Where there is darkness let us give light. Where there is sadness let us give joy." (Prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi)
Tuesday of the Third Week of Lent
Peter approached Jesus and asked him, “Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus answered, “I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times. Mat 18:21–22
Forgiveness of another is difficult. It’s much easier to remain angry. This line quoted above is the introduction to the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant. In that parable, Jesus makes it clear that if we want to receive forgiveness from God, then we must forgive others. If we withhold forgiveness, we can be certain that God will withhold it from us.
Peter may have thought that he was being quite generous in his question to Jesus. Clearly Peter had been considering Jesus’ teachings about forgiveness and was ready to take the next step of offering that forgiveness freely. But Jesus’ answer to Peter makes it clear that Peter’s concept of forgiveness greatly paled in comparison to the forgiveness demanded by our Lord.
The parable that Jesus then tells presents us with a man who was forgiven a huge debt. Subsequently, when that man encountered a person who owed him a small debt, he failed to offer the same forgiveness that was given to him. As a result, the master of that man who was forgiven the huge debt becomes outraged and requires once again a full payment of the debt. And then Jesus ends the parable with a shocking statement. He says, “Then in anger his master handed him over to the torturers until he should pay back the whole debt. So will my heavenly Father do to you, unless each of you forgives your brother from your heart.”
Note that the forgiveness God expects us to offer others is one that comes from the heart. And note that a lack of forgiveness on our part will result in us being handed “over to the torturers.” These are serious words. By “torturers,” we should understand that the sin of not forgiving another brings with it much interior pain. When we hold on to anger, this act “tortures” us in a certain way. Sin always has this effect upon us, and it is for our good. It’s a way in which God constantly challenges us to change. Thus, the only way to freedom from this interior form of torture by our sin is to overcome that sin, and in this case, to overcome the sin of withholding forgiveness.
Reflect, today, upon the calling God has given to you to forgive to the fullest extent. If you still sense anger in your heart toward another, keep working at it. Forgive over and over. Pray for that person. Refrain from judging them or condemning them. Forgive, forgive, forgive, and God’s abundant mercy will also be given to you.
My forgiving Lord, I thank You for the unfathomable depths of Your mercy. I thank You for Your willingness to forgive me over and over again. Please give me a heart worthy of that forgiveness by helping me to forgive all people to the same extent that You have forgiven me. I forgive all who have sinned against me, dear Lord. Help me to continue to do so from the depths of my heart. Jesus, I trust in You
Tuesday
Third Week of Lent 2024
1. Azariah’s Petition for Mercy: Azariah and his two companions were exiles from Judah in Babylon during the Babylonian exile in the sixth century B.C. They refused to worship the statue of King Nebuchadnezzar and, because of this, they were condemned to die in a fiery furnace. Amid the flames, Azariah offered up the prayer we heard in the First Reading. Azariah praises God for his fidelity, kindness, and great mercy. He acknowledges that God is faithful to his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He knows that God is and remains merciful even though the people of Israel and Judah were unfaithful. Azariah recalls that Judah had no king to lead them, no prophet to communicate God’s word to them, and no temple to offer sacrifices, burn incense, and offer prayers of thanksgiving. The only thing the people could do in exile was offer their contrite and humble hearts to God and beg for his mercy. The offerings of animal sacrifices in the Temple were replaced by the offering of repentant hearts in exile. The sacrifice acceptable to God is a humbled spirit: “a contrite spirit, a contrite, humbled heart, O God, you will not scorn.” Azariah is in exile and, like the end of Psalm 51, looks forward to the day when God will rebuild the walls of Jerusalem and when sacrifices will once again be offered on God’s altar (Psalm 51:20-21).
Tuesday
Third Week of Lent
Opening Prayer: Oh my Jesus, this teaching can be difficult. I want to forgive endlessly, from my heart, but truly forgiving is hard. Lord, help me encounter your love and mercy in this Gospel reflection and then pour your love and mercy out to others.
Imitating God’s Mercy: The theme for all the Mass readings today is mercy—God’s mercy towards us, and our mercy toward others. In the first reading, Azariah (Abednego) prayed to God in the midst of the fiery furnace, imploring God to “deal with us in your kindness and great mercy” (Daniel 3:42). He called upon God’s mercy and God delivered them from the fire. We are called to imitate God’s mercy with our brothers and sisters. “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if one has a grievance against another; as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do” (Colossians 3:13).
Powerful Mercy: St. Thomas Aquinas wrote about the power that is demonstrated in God’s mercy: "the justification of the ungodly...is greater than the creation of heaven and earth" (Summa Theologica I-II.113.9). Imagine that God’s act of forgiving a person’s sins is even greater than the work of creation itself! In forgiving people for their sins, God shows that his love is more powerful than evil or sin. We do not have the power that God has to forgive others’ sins, but we do have the power to forgive the sins that have been committed against us. This is the power of mercy. It takes strength and grace to truly forgive someone from the heart. Forgiveness is an act of the will, and we can choose it, thereby imitating God’s powerful mercy.
Theo như kinh nghiệm của con người, chúng ta ai cũng biết rằng việc tha thứ không phải là chuyện dễ làm. Suy niệm về bài Tin Mừng hôm nay có thể giúp cho chúng ta có được ân sủng của sự thay đổi trong tâm hồn để chúng ta có thể loại bỏ tất cả những cảm giác bệnh hoạn đang nuôi dưỡng những sự thù hằn và chống lại những người đã gây thù oán, hay ra gây những nỗi đau khổ, những mất mát trong quá khứ. Việc mà chúng ta cần chú ý đến trước tiên là lòng thương xót vô biên của Thiên Chúa.
Trong dụ ngôn hôm nay, chúng ta thấy người đầy tớ mắc nợ ông chủ của mình, đã cầu xin ông chủ nợ cho anh ta hoãn số nợ trong một thời gian, trong khi anh ta cố gắng tìm cách hoàn trả lại nợ đó. Thế nhưng, ông chủ nợ đã xoá bỏ hoàn toàn số nợ của anh. Đó là tình yêu và lòng thương xót mà Cha của chúng ta đã dành cho chúng ta. "CHÚA là Ðấng từ bi nhân hậu, Người chậm giận và giàu tình thương, … Như đông đoài cách xa nhau ngàn dặm, tội ta đã phạm, Chúa cũng ném thật xa ta." (Ps 103: 8, 12)
Nhưng điểm thứ hai trong bài dụ ngôn cũng nhắc nhở chúng ta là: Lòng thương xót của Thiên Chúa không thể ban cho chúng ta một cách tự nhiên, nếu chúng ta không chịu tha thứ cho một người đã làm những điều sai trái với chúng ta. Thật vậy, tương tự như thế trong bài dụ ngôn, Ông chủ nợ sẽ thu hồi sự tha thứ, mà ông đã ban cho người tôi tớ không hề khoan nhượng, và không biết tha thứ cho bạn mình.
Mùa Chay là thời gian của sự ăn năn. Sám hối. Nhưng sự tha thứ không chỉ giới hạn trong tòa giải tội mà thôi. Nhưng sự tha thứ cần phải được rộng lượng và sẵn sàng tha thứ một cách tự do như chúng ta nhận được sự tha thứ nơi Thiên Chúa là đấng hằng thương xót chúng ta. Tình trạng tội lỗi của chúng ta thường là nhiều, và nặng hơn cái giá trị của sự tốt lành của chúng ta trên cán cân công lý của Thiên Chúa, nhưng Ngài đã cho chúng ta một bí quyết đó là dùng tình thương để cân bằng. Chúng ta sẽ làm được như thế? Chúng ta sẽ không bao giờ có thể đáp trả lại lòng thương xót của Ngài đã dành cho chúng ta, nhưng chúng ta luôn có thể đáp trả Tình Yêu của Chúa bằng những việc thương xót người khác, những người đã đi qua cuộc sống của chúng ta.
Human experience has repeatedly taught us that forgiveness is never easy. Reflecting on today's Gospel reading may provide the grace of change of heart that will remove any ill feelings harbored against someone who inflicted the pain some time in the past. Consider first the infinite mercy of God.
In the parable, the servant who owed his master was only asking for some time to repay his debt. Instead, the master completely wrote off what the servant owed him. That is how much love and mercy our Father has for us. "Merciful and gracious is the Lord, slow to anger and abounding in kindness ... As far as the east is from the west, so far has he put our transgressions from us." (Ps 103: 8, 12).
But there is a second point in the parable. Divine mercy cannot flow freely to a sinner who refuses to forgive one who has wronged him. Indeed, in the same parable, the king revoked the forgiveness he granted to the unforgiving servant. When we consider the enormity of the distance between ourselves as ones being forgiven by God, how can we remain unforgiving?
Let’s borrow the prayer from saint Francis to make it our prayer "Lord, make us instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred let us sow love. Where there is injury let us sow pardon. Where there is doubt let us sow faith. Where there is despair let us give hope. Where there is darkness let us give light. Where there is sadness let us give joy." (Prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi)
Peter approached Jesus and asked him, “Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus answered, “I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times. Mat 18:21–22
Forgiveness of another is difficult. It’s much easier to remain angry. This line quoted above is the introduction to the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant. In that parable, Jesus makes it clear that if we want to receive forgiveness from God, then we must forgive others. If we withhold forgiveness, we can be certain that God will withhold it from us.
Peter may have thought that he was being quite generous in his question to Jesus. Clearly Peter had been considering Jesus’ teachings about forgiveness and was ready to take the next step of offering that forgiveness freely. But Jesus’ answer to Peter makes it clear that Peter’s concept of forgiveness greatly paled in comparison to the forgiveness demanded by our Lord.
The parable that Jesus then tells presents us with a man who was forgiven a huge debt. Subsequently, when that man encountered a person who owed him a small debt, he failed to offer the same forgiveness that was given to him. As a result, the master of that man who was forgiven the huge debt becomes outraged and requires once again a full payment of the debt. And then Jesus ends the parable with a shocking statement. He says, “Then in anger his master handed him over to the torturers until he should pay back the whole debt. So will my heavenly Father do to you, unless each of you forgives your brother from your heart.”
Note that the forgiveness God expects us to offer others is one that comes from the heart. And note that a lack of forgiveness on our part will result in us being handed “over to the torturers.” These are serious words. By “torturers,” we should understand that the sin of not forgiving another brings with it much interior pain. When we hold on to anger, this act “tortures” us in a certain way. Sin always has this effect upon us, and it is for our good. It’s a way in which God constantly challenges us to change. Thus, the only way to freedom from this interior form of torture by our sin is to overcome that sin, and in this case, to overcome the sin of withholding forgiveness.
Reflect, today, upon the calling God has given to you to forgive to the fullest extent. If you still sense anger in your heart toward another, keep working at it. Forgive over and over. Pray for that person. Refrain from judging them or condemning them. Forgive, forgive, forgive, and God’s abundant mercy will also be given to you.
My forgiving Lord, I thank You for the unfathomable depths of Your mercy. I thank You for Your willingness to forgive me over and over again. Please give me a heart worthy of that forgiveness by helping me to forgive all people to the same extent that You have forgiven me. I forgive all who have sinned against me, dear Lord. Help me to continue to do so from the depths of my heart. Jesus, I trust in You
1. Azariah’s Petition for Mercy: Azariah and his two companions were exiles from Judah in Babylon during the Babylonian exile in the sixth century B.C. They refused to worship the statue of King Nebuchadnezzar and, because of this, they were condemned to die in a fiery furnace. Amid the flames, Azariah offered up the prayer we heard in the First Reading. Azariah praises God for his fidelity, kindness, and great mercy. He acknowledges that God is faithful to his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He knows that God is and remains merciful even though the people of Israel and Judah were unfaithful. Azariah recalls that Judah had no king to lead them, no prophet to communicate God’s word to them, and no temple to offer sacrifices, burn incense, and offer prayers of thanksgiving. The only thing the people could do in exile was offer their contrite and humble hearts to God and beg for his mercy. The offerings of animal sacrifices in the Temple were replaced by the offering of repentant hearts in exile. The sacrifice acceptable to God is a humbled spirit: “a contrite spirit, a contrite, humbled heart, O God, you will not scorn.” Azariah is in exile and, like the end of Psalm 51, looks forward to the day when God will rebuild the walls of Jerusalem and when sacrifices will once again be offered on God’s altar (Psalm 51:20-21).
Opening Prayer: Oh my Jesus, this teaching can be difficult. I want to forgive endlessly, from my heart, but truly forgiving is hard. Lord, help me encounter your love and mercy in this Gospel reflection and then pour your love and mercy out to others.
Imitating God’s Mercy: The theme for all the Mass readings today is mercy—God’s mercy towards us, and our mercy toward others. In the first reading, Azariah (Abednego) prayed to God in the midst of the fiery furnace, imploring God to “deal with us in your kindness and great mercy” (Daniel 3:42). He called upon God’s mercy and God delivered them from the fire. We are called to imitate God’s mercy with our brothers and sisters. “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if one has a grievance against another; as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do” (Colossians 3:13).
Powerful Mercy: St. Thomas Aquinas wrote about the power that is demonstrated in God’s mercy: "the justification of the ungodly...is greater than the creation of heaven and earth" (Summa Theologica I-II.113.9). Imagine that God’s act of forgiving a person’s sins is even greater than the work of creation itself! In forgiving people for their sins, God shows that his love is more powerful than evil or sin. We do not have the power that God has to forgive others’ sins, but we do have the power to forgive the sins that have been committed against us. This is the power of mercy. It takes strength and grace to truly forgive someone from the heart. Forgiveness is an act of the will, and we can choose it, thereby imitating God’s powerful mercy.
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