Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ Ba Tuần thứ 4 Phục Sinh
Chúa Giêsu đã bị những người Do Thái chối bỏ. Họ đã không thể nhận ra Ngài là Đấng Cứu Thế; do đó họ hỏi Ngài một câu hỏi nhớ ngẩn: có phải ông là Đấng Cứu Thế. Câu trả lời của Chúa Giêsu rất đơn giản, Ngài đã chỉ cho họ tới Thiên Chúa Cha, người mà gọi là Cha của Ngài, và tất cả những công trình mà Ngài đã làm là Ngài làm vì danh của Chúa Cha, thậm chí Ngài còn nói với họ rằng Ngài và Chúa Cha là một. Đây là thần bí của Kitô giáo. Đó là trung tâm của Kitô giáo.
Chúa Giê-su, là một con người hoàn toàn như chúng ta, và đã có thể tại sự kết hợp giữa Ngài với Thiên Chúa Cha là cha của Ngài qua sức mạnh của những lời cầu nguyện. Ngài trải qua những king nghiệm trong sự kết hợp này và đó là chính là nguồn gốc của lời nói và hành động của Ngài. Rút tỉa trong kinh nghiệm của sự kết hợp không thể phá vỡ giữa Chúa Cha và Chúa Con, chúng ta cũng được mời gọi để được kết họp và nên một với Thiên Chúa, cho dù chúng ta là giáo dân, tu sĩ hay giáo sĩ, ơn gọi này được dành cho tất cả mọi người chúng ta.
Chúng ta có rất nhiều gương sang và ví dụ như : Thánh Têrêsa Avila, Thánh Joan of Arc, Thánh Inhaxiô Loyola và nhiều người khác, những người đã cảm thấy được mời gọi một cách huyền bí để đưộc kết hợp với Thiên Chúa một cách lạ lung, khó hiểu. Và sự kết hợp này có thể có được chỉ qua việc cầu nguyện và qua sự nhạy cảm với sự thúc đẩy của Chúa Thánh Thần. Lạy Chúa Giêsu, xin cho chúng con, cũng như Chúa, cũng biết trau dồi và phát triển đời sống tinh thần của chúng con và ít nhất là có được một cái nhìn thoáng qua về sự kết hợp của chúng con trên trời với Chúa.
Reflection Tuesday 4th week of Easter
Jesus was rejected by the Jews. They were not able to recognize him as the Messiah; therefore they asked him a plain question whether he was the Messiah. Jesus’ reply was very simple, he referred to his Father, to the works that He did in his Father’s name. He even told them that he and the Father are one. This is the mysticism of Christianity. It is the heart of Christianity.
Jesus, being a fully human being like us, was able to establish his union with his Father through the power of prayer. He experienced this union and it was the source of his words and actions. Learning from this unbreakable union between the Father and the Son, we, too, are called to be one with God. Whether we are lay or religious or cleric, this call is for all of us.
We have many examples: St Teresa of Avila, St Joan of Arc, St Ignatius of Loyola and many others, who deeply felt invited to that mystical union with God. This union is possible only through prayer and being sensitive to the promptings of the Holy Spirit.
Lord Jesus, may we, like You, also grow in our spiritual life and have at least a glimpse of our heavenly union with You.
Reflection Tuesday 4th week of Easter 2024
Jesus walked about in the temple area on the Portico of Solomon. So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” Jesus answered them, “I told you and you do not believe.” John 10:24–25
Why is it that these people did not know that Jesus was the Christ? They wanted Jesus to speak “plainly” to them, but Jesus surprises them by saying that He already answered their question but they “do not believe.” This Gospel passage continues the beautiful teaching about Jesus being the Good Shepherd. It’s interesting that these people want Jesus to speak plainly about whether or not He is the Christ, but instead, Jesus speaks plainly about the fact that they do not believe in Him because they are not listening. They have missed what He has said and are left in confusion.
One thing this tells us is that God speaks to us in His own way, not necessarily in the way we would like Him to speak. He speaks a mystical, profound, gentle and hidden language. He reveals His deepest mysteries only to those who have come to learn His language. But to those who do not understand God’s language, confusion sets in.
If you ever find yourself confused in life, or confused about the plan God has for you, then perhaps it’s time to examine how carefully you listen to the way God speaks. We could beg God, day and night, to “speak plainly” to us, but He will only speak in the way He has always spoken. And what is that language? On the deepest level, it’s the language of infused prayer.
Prayer, of course, is different than only saying prayers. Prayer is ultimately a relationship of love with God. It’s a communication on the deepest level. Prayer is an act of God within our soul by which God invites us to believe in Him, to follow Him, and to love Him. This invitation is continually offered to us, but too often we fail to hear it because we fail to truly pray.
Much of John’s Gospel, including Chapter Ten from which we are reading today, speaks in a mystical way. It’s not possible to simply read it like a novel and comprehend all that Jesus says with one read. Jesus’ teaching must be heard in your soul, prayerfully, pondered, and heard. This approach will open the ears of your heart to the certitude of the voice of God.
Reflect, today, upon the mysterious ways in which God communicates to you. If you do not understand how He speaks, then that is a good starting point. Spend time with this Gospel, prayerfully pondering it. Meditate upon Jesus’ words, listening for His voice. Learn His language through silent prayer and allow His holy words to draw you to Himself.
My mysterious and hidden Lord, You speak to me day and night and continually reveal Your love to me. Help me to learn to listen to You so that I may grow deep in faith and may truly become Your follower in every way. Jesus, I trust in You.
Tuesday 4th week of Easter 2024
Opening Prayer: Lord God, as I contemplate the work of your Son and the work of the early Christians, I witness the power of faith in your Son, Jesus Christ. Your Son constantly invited the people to believe in him and the disciples of Jesus did the same. You invite me each day to renew and deepen my faith in your Son. I believe, Lord, help my unbelief!
Encountering the Word of God
1. Is Jesus the Christ? In the Gospel of John, it is the winter before Jesus’ passion and crucifixion. Jesus is in Jerusalem celebrating the Feast of the Dedication of the Temple (also known as Hannukah). The Feast celebrated the rededication of the Temple during the Maccabean revolt. As Jesus walks in the Temple under the Portico of Solomon, the Jews ask him to tell them openly whether or not he is the Christ (Messiah). In response, Jesus refers them to the signs and works that he has done in his Father’s name during the past two and a half years. These signs and works are a testimony that he is the eternal Son of God, the Word made flesh, the prophet-like-Moses, the Anointed One (the Christ) who has been sent by the Father. Jesus does not and will not force the people to believe in him, this is because faith is a free act we do insofar as we are first moved by and collaborate with God’s grace. Faith is a free assent to the whole truth that God has revealed. It is our personal adherence to God. But it cannot be forced. Through faith in Jesus and through Baptism in his name, we are welcomed into God’s flock and gathered under the one Shepherd, Jesus Christ.
2. Faith as the Beginning of Eternal Life: The sheep of God’s flock who hear Jesus’ voice obey and follow him. To obey “in faith is to submit freely to the word that has been heard, because its truth is guaranteed by God, who is Truth itself” (CCC, 144). The virtue of faith is the beginning of eternal life in us and, in heaven, it gives way to the vision of God, just as the virtue of hope gives way, in heaven, to the enjoyment and possession of God. We cannot believe in God the Father and in his Jesus Christ without sharing in the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit who reveals to human beings who Jesus is. No one can say Jesus is Lord, except by the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:3).
3. Barnabas and the Christians in Antioch: In the First Reading Barnabas proclaims the Lord Jesus because he is “filled with the Holy Spirit and with faith.” Proclaiming that Jesus is Lord is a proclamation that God the Father and Jesus Christ are one. This proclamation, confessed in our creed, is one of the marks of a true Christian and follower of Jesus Christ. The Acts of the Apostles recounts some of the difficulties that the early Church faced. The persecution that followed Stephen’s martyrdom spread the Hellenistic (Greek-speaking) Christian Jews to Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch. They chose to preach the word of God exclusively to Jews, yet some from Cyprus and Cyrene decided to proclaim the word of God to Greek-speaking Jews and to the Gentile Greeks as well. Since many Greeks believed and converted to the Lord, the Church in Jerusalem sent the Greek speaker Barnabas, who was from the Island of Cyprus, to Antioch. Like Peter in the house of the Gentile Cornelius, Barnabas saw the grace of God at work in the Gentiles. During his ministry in Antioch, a large number of people were added to the Lord. During his ministry, Barnabas decided to seek out another Greek-speaking Christian, Saul, who had fled persecution in Jerusalem and had settled in his hometown of Tarsus, some 150 miles from Antioch. Barnabas brought Paul to Antioch and they taught there for a whole year (sometime around A.D. 43).
Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, like Barnabas and Saul, I want to boldly proclaim the Gospel in my family, my workplace, and in my community. Enlighten my mind and heart to know how and when to proclaim you as the Son of God and Savior of the world.
Living the Word of God: Today’s readings invite us to renew our faith in Jesus Christ as Lord. With God’s grace we can grow in our faith. This faith finds expression in love, service, and self-sacrifice. It is strengthened by the gifts of the Holy Spirit. It influences our decisions and actions in such a way that we can act as true disciples of Jesus. How is my faith expressing itself in love and charity?
Reflection Tuesday 4th week of Easter
Opening Prayer: Jesus, reveal the Father to me. I want to draw closer to you. I know only through you am I able to know the father. Lead me, Good Shepherd, to our heavenly home.
Encountering Christ:
It Was Winter: “The feast of the Dedication was taking place in Jerusalem. It was winter.” John’s Gospel is rich in providing signs to direct minds and hearts. Every word has meaning. Winter symbolizes many things: cold, waiting, end, death, a precursor to spring and its new life. In these lines of Scripture, “It was winter” means that the long wait for the Messiah was coming to an end. Death would soon be defeated. The winter of Satan’s reign would soon pass into the spring of Jesus’ Kingdom. Those who were not Jesus’ sheep were there to do battle. Those opposed to Jesus gathered around to debate him and cause confusion among the crowds.
And Jesus Walked About: “And Jesus walked about in the temple area on the Portico of Solomon.” The Portico of Solomon was on the east side of the Temple and offered protection from the cold winds of the desert, once again referencing winter. It was a feast day, so many Jews from distant lands were arriving and Jesus was “walking about” them. Psalm 87, today’s responsorial psalm, encouraged the dispersed Jews of 6 B.C. who were living in foreign lands to remain children of Zion, God’s people. Jesus was doing the same here. We can imagine Jesus’ walking about looking in the hearts of those who had come from far away, acknowledging their hopes and desires. And none of them realized that their God was looking lovingly upon them first. Where are the areas of waiting in our life? Places of winter cold or death? God is at this moment walking about those places in our souls. Pope Francis offers us this encouragement: “The Word bec ame flesh and dwelt among us. ‘Dwell’ is the verb […] to signify this reality: It expresses a total sharing, a great intimacy. And this is what God wants: He wants to dwell with us; he wants to dwell in us, not to remain distant.”
But You Do Not Believe: “But you do not believe, because you are not among my sheep. My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” How hurt Jesus must have felt to be among his own people and not be recognized. Every person desire to be acknowledged, affirmed, and appreciated for who he or she is. Our usual response is to self-protect by putting on masks to hide our vulnerability. Jesus wanted to be known and loved, but his response was completely different. God who is Love remained vulnerable and open. Jesus, which means “God Saves,” continued to seek his lost sheep. Jesus, who is Emmanuel, continued to dwell among them even when they failed to recognize him. When it feels like a long winter has settled in our souls, we remember that we are not alone. Jesus, the Good Shepherd, is walking about in us. We welcome him.
Conversing with Christ: Lord, where do I fail to see you? Help me to acknowledge your presence in my life. Help me to see and help me to respond. I want to be found by you, Lord.
Resolution: Lord, today by your grace I will take at least twenty minutes to imagine myself coming into the Temple at the Portico of Solomon. I will look at you and remember that you are already looking at me. I will ask you to walk about with me and bring light and warmth to the cold and dark places in my soul.
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