Hôm nay, Chúa Giêsu đã đưa ra cho chúng ta ba lời khuyên: Lời khuyên đầu tiên, "Không đem vật thánh cho cho chó, hoặc ném ngọc trai trước mõn lợn.
Chúa Giêsu đã cho chúng ta thấy sự tương phản giữa vật hiếm quý như ngọc trai và của thánh, và những con vật dơ bẩn như chó và lợn. Ngọc trai là vật có giá trị rất lớn và thậm chí được coi là vô giá được đem ra so với sự thánh thiện bởi vì Thiên Chúa là đấng thánh, là tất cả, Ngài mời gọi chúng ta đến để chia sẻ sự thánh thiện vô cùng quý báu và vô giá, ở đây Chúa Giêsu muốn nói đến sự quan tâm của Ngài là Đức tin trong sự tinh khiết. Một đức tin mà đã được Thiên Chúa thánh hóa.
Theo các giáo huấn của Giáo hội đã dạy: Không ai được nhận lãnh Mình và Máu Thánh Chúa ngoại trừ những người đã được rửa tội và đã xưng tội, dọn mình sạch sẽ, vì thế mà Chúa đã nói: "Không cho chó những gì là vật thánh" Chúa Giêsu mời gọi chúng ta đến tham dự vào bàn tiệc Thánh với Người, nhưng chúng ta phải đến một cách xứng đáng.
Chúa Giêsu đã tóm lược giáo lý trong Cựu Ước "bất cứ điều gì bạn muốn người ta làm cho bạn, bạn hãy làm như vậy với họ" (Mt 7:12). Luật yêu thương không phải chỉ là đòi hỏi bạn tránh gây thương tích hoặc gây tổn hại cho người khác, Nhưng tình yêu tuyệt vời là một tình yêu đòi hỏi vô điều kiện và Tình yêu này phải được tỏ ra cho tất cả mọi người.
Nếu chúng ta có thể làm cả những gì điều trên, chúng ta đã đi đúng đường mà Chúa muốn. Con đường dẫn chúng ta đến cuộc sống đời đời. Chúa đã cho chúng ta sự tự do lựa chọn con đường mà chúng ta sẽ đi, Con đường rộng thênh thang hay con đường nhỏ hẹp gồ gề khó đi. Xin Chúa cho chúng ta được khôn ngoan để chọn con đường sẽ dẫn đến cuộc sống đời đời hơn là con đường dẫn đến cái chết và sự tiêu diệt..
Nếu chúng ta để tình yêu và sự khôn ngoan của Thiên Chúa cai trị tâm hồn chúng ta, chúng ta có thể tin tưởng vào sự hướng dẫn và ân sủng của Người để đi theo con đường của tình yêu và sự thánh thiện
Reflection Tuesday 12th Odinary Gospel Mt 7:6, 12-14
Jesus summed up the teaching of the Old Testament law “So whatever you wish that men would do to you, do so to them” (Matthew 7:12). The law of love requires more than simply avoiding injury or harm to one's neighbor. Perfect love, a love which is unconditional and which reaches out to all, always seeks the good of others for their sake and gives the best we can offer for their welfare. When we love our neighbors and treat them in the same way we wish to be treated. Loving God with all that we have and are and loving our neighbor as ourselves. How can we love our neighbor selflessly and show them kindness and concern for their welfare? If we empty our hearts of all unkind and unloving thoughts and sentiments, then there will only be room for kindness, goodness, charity, and mercy. Saint Paul reminds us in the letter to the Romans that "God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us" (Romans 5:5). It is the love of God that fuels our unconditional love for others, let the Holy Spirit transform our life with the purifying fire of God's love. If we can do both what recommends above, we are on the right track the way that leads to fulfillment and life versus the way that leads to destruction and death. The Lord gives us freedom to choose which way we will go. Ask him for the wisdom to know which way will lead to life rather than to death and destruction. In the book of Deuteronomy teach us: “See, I have set before you this day life and good, death and evil. ...Therefore choose life that you and your descendants may live (Deuteronomy 30:15-20). If we allow God's love and wisdom to rule our hearts, then we can trust in his guidance and grace to follow the path of love and holiness.
Tuesday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time
“Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and those who enter through it are many. How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life. And those who find it are few.” Matthew 7:13–14
Is fear helpful? That depends. It depends upon which form of fear we are speaking of. First, there is a form of fear that is contrary to faith. It’s a fear that leads us to doubt and even despair. It’s a fear that results from the attack of the evil one and others who may sin against us. This form of fear is unhealthy and must be overcome through a faith that turns to our Lord with the utmost confidence and hope.
But there is also a holy fear that is most useful and one of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. Recall the Proverb that says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom…” (Proverbs 9:10). At a minimal level, this holy fear makes you aware of your sins and the consequences of those sins, especially serious sin. And this holy fear leads you to fear the punishment that results from sin, leading you to avoid serious sin. But the ideal form of “fear of the Lord” we must strive for is “filial fear,” which is the holy fear of a son or daughter of God. This fear is one that is grounded in a profound love of God and leaves you so filled with a wonder and awe of the glory, goodness and majesty of God that you are filled with a desire to please Him and give Him great glory with your life. Thus, this “fear” leads you to a desire to avoid even the smallest of sin, because, in your love of God, you not only want to avoid offending Him, you also want to honor Him to the greatest extent possible.
The Scripture passage above should lead us to, at a minimum, a fear of not entering the gate to the “road that leads to life.” It is useful to consider Jesus’ teaching in a very straightforward way. Jesus essentially says that it is quite easy to walk through the gate that is “wide” and down the road that is “broad” in this life. In other words, it’s exceptionally easy to embrace a life of sin and head toward “destruction.” Jesus further says that those who walk through this wide gate and down this broad road are “many.” This fact should be the cause of our honest daily examination. If this broad road is so easy, then we should honestly admit that we can easily find ourselves walking it.
The “narrow gate” and the “constricted” road are found and walked by only a “few,” according to Jesus’ words. Again, we should take notice of this and take it seriously. Jesus would not say this if it were not true. Therefore, if the gift of the fear of the Lord is alive in your life, and if you truly are a son or daughter of God, then you will daily strive to be one of those “few” who find this narrow way to holiness. And, ideally, you will do so out of your love for God and your desire to give Him the greatest glory you can.
Reflect, today, upon this challenging teaching of our Lord. Take Him at His word and evaluate your life in light of this teaching. What are you doing in life to be certain that you are one of those few who have begun to walk through this narrow gate? Does your love for God leave you with such a wonder and awe of the greatness of God that your deepest desire is to not only please Him but to glorify Him fully with your actions? Strive to enter the narrow gate and the constricted road and do not turn back. Though this requires much determination, sacrifice and love, the goal and end of the road are worth it.
My most magnificent Lord, You and You alone are worthy of all glory, honor and praise. May everything I do in life lead to Your glory and may I avoid everything that harms my relationship with You. I love You, dear Lord. Help me to love You and glorify You with all my heart. Jesus, I trust in You.
Opening Prayer: Lord God, you have entrusted me with awesome gifts. I am a steward of the sacred. I have received the natural gift of life and the supernatural gift of eternal life. I receive the Body and Blood of your Son in the Eucharist and your mercy in Reconciliation. Do not let me cast these gifts away but guide me to use them as I journey on the narrow path to you.
Encountering the Word of God
1. Bringing the Sermon to a Close with the Golden Rule: In Matthew 7, Jesus begins to conclude the Sermon on the Mount with a series of insights into how we should live in the Kingdom of God. The Gospel Jesus preached and the Kingdom he established are holy and are like pearls that have been entrusted to us. We are commanded by Jesus to not misuse these gifts or waste them. We should not profane what is sacred. Jesus summarizes his teaching in the Sermon on the Mount with the golden rule: “Do to others whatever you would have them do to you.” Ultimately, what we desire is love – to be in a loving relationship with God and with our brothers and sisters. We want God and others to be merciful toward us, and so we are called to practice mercy. We want to be forgiven by God and by others, and so we are called to forgive. We want God and others to be truthful, faithful, and just, and so we are called to be truthful, faithful, and just. We want others to use their material wealth for the good of society and the poor, and so we are called to use our material goods properly.
2. The Narrow Gate: Human life is often presented in the Bible as a choice between two ways. For example, the story of Adam and Eve was a choice between loving and obeying God and eating from the Tree of Life and rejecting and disobeying God and eating from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. In the Book of Deuteronomy, Moses placed before the People of Israel death and misery, life and happiness (Deuteronomy 30:1-5). He urged them to choose life! Jesus also uses the image of two different paths that lead to two different outcomes. There is the wide gate and road that many choose that lead to destruction and death. There is also the narrow gate and road that few find that lead to flourishing and life.
3. Good King Hezekiah: The story of Israel’s and Judah’s kings is often tragic. None of Israel’s 19 kings are good and only a few of the 19 kings of Judah are good. One of the good kings was Hezekiah, who reigned from 729-686 B.C. Hezekiah trusted in the Lord and did what was right in the eyes of the Lord (2 Kings 18:3). He was a reformer who destroyed the idols being worshipped in Judah. When threatened with invasion by Sennacherib and the Assyrians, Hezekiah at first sought the military support of the Egyptians even though the prophet Isaiah counseled against it (Isaiah 30:1-5; 31:1-3). The First Reading tells us that Hezekiah went to the Temple of the Lord and humbly prayed to be delivered from Sennacherib. “Hezekiah rends his garments in mourning because of the Assyrians’ mockery of Yahweh and goes immediately to the Temple to pray for the Lord’s help. There he addresses God as the creator of heaven and earth, enthroned above the cherubim and king over all the kingdoms of the world. This confession of the ultimate kingship of Yahweh is a remarkable renewal of Israel’s ancient faith in God as their true king and deliverer” (Gray and Cavins, Walking with God, 192). Isaiah delivered God’s reply to Hezekiah, pronouncing judgment on the arrogant Assyrians and words of comfort for Jerusalem. Sennacherib’s army will lay siege to Jerusalem but be mysteriously vanquished by a plague. Hezekiah composed a song of thanksgiving for his deliverance, promising to sin of God’s salvation all the days of his life. “He recounts how God has ‘cast all my sins behind [God’s] back’ (Isaiah 38:17), signaling his understanding that the heart of redemption is not physical well-being but the forgiveness of sins” (Gray and Cavins, Walking with God, 193). Hezekiah did not cast the pearl of the kingdom before the swine of the Assyrians. He walked through the narrow gate in humility and attained life.
Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, the narrow gate and road are the path you took. I want to follow you on that path and carry my cross each day. Strengthen my resolve to continue on the way that leads to eternal life with the Father and the Church in glory.
Living the Word of God: Which gate and road have you chosen? If you are on the wide path, ask God to show you the narrow path and place you on it. If you are already on the narrow path, who can you invite to join you as you journey toward eternal life? Ask God to enlighten you in prayer as to why the path is narrow.
Tuesday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time
Opening Prayer:
Lord, these are sobering words. Enlighten me and help me to draw the lessons from this reflection that you have for me on this day.
Encountering Christ:
1. Pearls to Swine: What a vivid description Our Lord used to show us how he wants us to evangelize! When we speak of the beauty of knowing Christ to others, love demands that we first prayerfully assess their receptivity. It takes mature discernment to know what to say, how to say it, and when it will be well received. If we’re overly enthusiastic, too forceful, or speak in a churchy tone (i.e., quoting line-and-verse of the latest encyclical to someone who doesn’t even know Jesus), our listener may “tear us to pieces.” Additionally, if we overshare or proffer books, website links, etc., too much too soon, we may fail as the Lord’s emissary. Jesus wants his disciples to communicate first and foremost his love. For this purpose, he sent his Spirit to teach us what to say (Luke 12:12).
2. The Golden Rule: What a world we would live in if people abided by the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do to you. Our workplaces, our homes, and our communities would be a little slice of heaven on earth. This rule of life applies equally to Christians and non-Christians because the point of reference for behavior is not Christ, per se, but ourselves. However, Christ told us later in the Gospel of John to do what he has done (John 13:15). In this case, the model for our behavior is Christ himself. Not only are we to do for others what we would have them do to us, but we are called to imitate Christ’s love for others: “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13). We can fulfill this lofty command only by relying on the Lord’s grace.
3. The Narrow Gate: We can certainly surmise, looking around at our current culture, that there are many broad roads leading to destruction. But, as faithful followers of Christ, how are we expected to respond to Our Lord’s description of the narrow and constricted gate that leads to life? Only a few find it. How many is “a few”? Would this “few” include me, my family members, those I pray for, my grandparents, my future grandchildren? The best response to Jesus’s warning is to practice the sometimes elusive virtue of hope. “Hope is the theological virtue by which we desire the kingdom of heaven and eternal life as our happiness, placing our trust in Christ’s promises and relying not on our own strength, but on the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit” (CCC 1817). Full of hope, we emanate peace in our dealings with others, reflecting the love of Christ in our countenance.
Conversing with Christ: Lord, in these short lines of Scripture your admonitions are very challenging. I need to be discerning before I speak about you, to love others as you love them, and to enter through the narrow gate. And of course, I want to bring my loved ones with me. Without your grace, I can truly do none of these things. You make it very clear that I am to love you, depend on you, and trust you with everything and everyone I care about. Please send your Holy Spirit to bring me peace and confidence so that I may radiate not anxiety of any kind, but only your joy.
Resolution: Lord, today by your grace I will pray ardently for those you place on my heart and have hope that you will bring them through the narrow gate to heaven
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