Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ Hai Tuần thứ 8 TN

Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ Hai Tuần thứ 8 TN. - Mark 10:17-27 

Bài Tin Mừng hôm nay, Chúa Giêsu đã chỉ cho chàng trai trẻ biết rõ là lý do căn bản mà chúng ta phải có những luật đạo là vì bản chất con người yếu đuối của chúng ta là tội lỗi. Về thực chất, Chúa Giêsu nói với chàng trai trẻ là: không phải là Ngài, Đấng mà sẽ cứu chính mình nhưng Thiên Chúa, Người đã thực sự yêu thương Ngài.  Nhưng chàng trai trẻ  này không bao giờ có thể hiểu được điều này, Chúa Giêsu tiếp tục nói với chàng trai trẻ  ấy là hãy về bán đi tất cả các tài sản của mình để bố thí cho người nghèo.  Những anh ta buồn bã bỏ đi, vì anh ta rất giàu có. Điều này đã khiến Chúa Giêsu nói rằng con lạc đà đi qua lỗ kim còn dễ dàng hơn là một giàu có mà vào được Nước Thiên Đàng.  Không phải là trạng thái giàu có đó là vấn đề kó vài Thiên àng, nhưng là việc Người giàu có, nếu có đầu óc ích kỷ và tham lam, lúc nào cũng muốn giàu có hơn và không muốn chia sẽ những gì mình có với người thiếu thốn, đói khổ.

Thông thường khi một người có phương tiện, ý tưởng và niềm tin của họ được tập trung vào sự giàu có của họ là làm thế nào để giữ và làm cho giàu thêm, và thật đáng buồn vì mối bận tâm này mà họ đã quên Chúa, quên anh chị em khó nghèo. Như chàng trai trẻ nọ không nhìn thấy giá trị thực sự của mọi sự vật.

            Sự cứu rỗi của chúng ta không thể và sẽ không thể tìm thấy được trong các việc làm theo các quy tắc hoặc tin rằng chúng ta có thể tự cứu rỗi lấy chính mình. Ơn cứu độ là một hồng ân của Thiên Chúa, hồng ân này chỉ đến được với chúng ta qua việc kiến tạo một mối quan hệ giữa chúng ta với Thiên Chúa.

Và làm thế nào để chúng ta có thể kiến tạo được một mối quan hệ với Thiên Chúa? Bằng cách cầu nguyện và lắng nghe Lời Ngài, và sống theo lời Chúa biết tha thứ, biết chia sẻ những gì Chúa đãn ban cho chúng ta với những nguười kém may mắn. Đó là một trong những mối quan hệ thật sự của chúng ta với Thiên Chúa và dễ làm đẹp lòng Chúa. Chúng ta có sẵn sàng bỏ lại bất cứ những thứ gì đang làm trở ngại cho việc đạt được ơn cứu rỗi của chúng ta?

 

REFLECTION

Jesus pointed out to the young man that the basic reason why we have these laws is that by nature we are sinners. In essence, he was telling the man that it is not he who would save himself but God who truly loves him. As the man could not understand this, Jesus went on to tell the man to let go of all his wealth. The man chose not to, for he had great wealth. This prompted Jesus to say that it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich to enter the Kingdom of God. It is not the state of being wealthy that is the problem but the disposition and preoccupation one tends to have when one is wealthy. Often when one has means, his ideas and beliefs focus on his wealth, how to keep and make it grow, and sadly with this preoccupation, he fails to see the real value of things.

            Our salvation cannot and will not be found in following all the rules or believing that we alone can save ourselves. Salvation is a grace from God which comes only through our building a relationship with Him. And how do we build a relationship with God? By praying and listening to His Word, and living it. Have I taken time to ask how my relationship with God is lately? Am I willing to leave anything in my possession that may be an obstacle to the attainment of my salvation?

 

Monday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time

As Jesus was setting out on a journey, a man ran up, knelt down before him, and asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus answered him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments…” Mark 10:17–19

Jesus addresses different people in different ways. He chastised the proud and arrogant who came to trap Him. He was exceptionally gentle and kind to the repentant sinner who came in tears. He spoke in parables and figures of speech to those who were curious but had little faith. And to those who came with openness, sincerely seeking the truth, He spoke clearly, lovingly and directly.

Today’s Gospel presents us with the familiar story of the Rich Young Man. Notice how this young man came to Jesus. First, he “ran up” to Jesus. This suggests he was very desirous to speak with our Lord. He also knelt down before Jesus, which points to his humility and reverence. Then he asked Jesus a  direct and important question. He didn’t ask Jesus to heal someone. He wasn’t looking for a miracle or a personal favor. Instead, this young man asked the question we should all ask Jesus every day. “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Is this a question that you ponder and ask our Lord?

As the story unfolds, Jesus gives two answers. First, He gives the young man the fundamental answer to his question. Eternal life is obtained by keeping away from serious sin, out of love and obedience to the will of God. But after the young man inquires further, Jesus gives him a much deeper answer. This second answer was one based on a deep love for this young man because it presented the key to perfection. “You are lacking in one thing. Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.”

Many people go through life fulfilling the most fundamental precepts of holiness. They avoid serious sin so as to remain in a state of grace. And this is good. But Jesus wants so much more: He wants perfection. When we sincerely seek out perfection, Jesus will answer us as He answered the Rich Young Man. Perfection requires the deepest purification from our unhealthy attachments. Most people have many attachments that hinder perfection. Those attachments might not be mortal sins, but they are venial sins, or spiritual imperfections. Therefore, it’s important to know that if you want perfection, and if you humble yourself before our Lord and sincerely ask how to obtain it, He will lovingly invite you to detach from everything but God and His holy will for your life. What that means practically for you must be prayerfully discerned.

Reflect, today, upon whether or not you could join this rich young man in his humble questions posed to Jesus. Do you want to know how to be perfect? If so, are you ready to respond to Jesus’ answer? Are you willing to abandon everything that is a hindrance to the will of God so that you can follow Him and fulfill His perfect will? Ponder this question and commit yourself to the full embrace of Jesus’ answer and you will become richer in what matters than you could ever imagine.

My generous Lord, You call me to perfection. You call me to turn from everything that hinders my perfect love of You and my full embrace of Your will. Please help me to sincerely turn to You every day, seeking only Your full will in all things. As I do, please set me free from all that keeps me from the life of perfection to which I am called. Jesus, I trust in You.

 

Monday on 8^th week of Ordinary Time 2024

Opening Prayer: Lord God, you are all-knowing and all-powerful. You can do all things and are the author of my salvation. Take what I offer up to you in humility and transform it into a pleasing and acceptable sacrifice. I only desire to enter your Kingdom and inherit eternal life.

Encountering the Word of God

1. The Gift of Salvation: In the Gospel, salvation is presented as “inheriting eternal life” and as “entering the Kingdom of God.” The man with many possessions realizes that Jesus is a good teacher who can teach him how to inherit eternal life. He has been faithfully following the Old Law and the Ten Commandments, but Jesus teaches him that it is not enough. The man still lacks something important. The man is too attached to his earthly possessions and to the things of this passing world. He prefers treasure on earth to treasure in heaven. He prefers to keep his things and greedily hold on to them rather than use them for the good of others. When the man turns away from Jesus and returns to his many things, Jesus declares that it is hard for the wealthy to enter the Kingdom of God. Salvation is impossible from a merely human or natural point of view. But it is possible for God. Salvation and entry into God’s Kingdom depend primarily on the goodness of God who freely offers it to us as a gift (Healy, The Gospel of Mark, 205). God is so generous and takes the little we do, and we are moved by the help of grace – such as giving to the poor – and repays us beyond what we deserve. The Psalm gives us the hope that if we follow the commandments, detach ourselves from this world, and serve the poor, then we will rejoice in songs of divine praise and thanksgiving as our feet cross the threshold of the New Jerusalem.

2. Divine Benefits: In the First Reading, we begin our sequential reading of the First Letter of Peter. The Letter was written not to a particular Church, but to Christians living in the five provinces of Asia Minor. The Letter opens with “a Trinitarian description of how the Christian people are called and redeemed” (Keating, First and Second Peter, Jude, 28). We have been chosen by the Father who knew us from all eternity, we have been sprinkled with the blood of Jesus Christ, and sanctified by the Spirit. In the passage we read today, Peter praises God the Father for the two benefits we have received. First, for our new birth through the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Second, for an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading. This inheritance is eternal life.

3. Which Inheritance will we choose? We could say that this inheritance is at the heart of today’s Gospel: Will we choose an earthly inheritance or a heavenly one? It should be pointed out that even though the rich young man is living according to the basic commands of God; he still lacks one thing – detachment from material things. This detachment is the condition for following Jesus. The rich young man went away sad because he knew that he was choosing the wrong path. Those, however, who choose Christ over possessions, rejoice because they are on the way to attaining salvation, which is the goal of faith. We are sojourners walking by the light of faith. Faith, however, is only the beginning of the vision of God that awaits us.

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, you are able to point out what I still lack. You invite me each day to sell what I have and give to the poor and store up treasure in heaven with the Father. Enlighten my mind to know what I need to give up and give me the courage and strength to follow through.

Living the Word of God: When I examine my conscience before the Sacrament of Reconciliation, do I only review the Ten Commandments? Or do I also look at my attachments to the things of this world, how I am serving the poor, and how I am following Jesus? What attachments do I have that are keeping me from entering more fully into God’s Kingdom?