Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ Hai Tuần 9 TN Mark 12:1-12 ,
Qua bài Tin Mừng hôm nay, chúng ta biết rằng nhờ Chúa Giêsu mà chúng ta có thể gọi Thiên Chúa trên trời là Cha. Và cũng là nhờ cái chết của Chúa Giêsu mà chúng ta được cứu khỏi mọi tội lỗi và thoát khỏi được những cơn giận của Thiên Chúa khi Ngài ngự đến trong ngày phán xét. Thánh Phêrô nhắc nhở chúng ta rằng là như sự công minh của Thiên Chúa và Chúa Giêsu Kitô là đấng Cứu Thế mà chúng ta có thể được thông phần trong bản tính của Thiên Chúa. Nhưng để đạt được điều này, chúng ta cần phải phấn đấu để sống một đời sống thánh thiện: phải sống phù hợp với những giáo huấn của Chúa Giêsu, và bước đi trong con đường của Chúa Kitô vì Ngài là Ngôi Lời của Thiên Chúa. Nếu như làm được như vậy, chúng ta có thể biến đổi được nội tâm và thậm chí cả bên ngoài, và vì vậy mà hình ảnh của Thiên Chúa có thể được thể hiện một cách đúng đắn qua danh tính của chúng ta là con cái của Ngài.
Điều này thật sự không phải là một việc làm dễ dàng cho chúng ta. Nhưng với sự thánh thiện mà chúng ta có thể đạt được nhờ ân sủng của Thiên Chúa và ân sũng này đã trở thành một động lực bên trong thúc đẩy chúng ta sống theo sự mặc khải của Thiên Chúa, là sống trong kiên nhẫn và cung kính theo ý muốn của Ngài, và biết phục vụ những người khác hết lòng mà không đắn đo.
Hôm nay, Chúa Giêsu nhắc nhở chúng ta một lần nữa là con cái của Thiên Chúa, chúng ta phải kiên quyết giữ gìn, bảo vệ và xây dựng Giáo Hội của Người. Chúng ta không thể để bị hư hỏng hoặc để những ngoại vật bên ngoài cản trở nhiệm vụ này. Nếu không, chúng ta sẽ sẽ bị kết thúc cuộc sống như những người thuê vườn nho tàn ác, tồi tệ. Thiên Chúa sẽ đuổi chúng ta ra khỏi vườn Nho của Ngài và đưa vào ngục tối đời đời.
Lạy Chúa, xin giúp chúng con biết củng cố đức tin của chúng ta trong Trong Lời Chúa..
REFLECTION
It is through Jesus that we can address God our heavenly Father. It is through Jesus’ death that we are saved from our sins and escape God’s anger at his coming in judgement. St Peter reminds us that it is through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ that we can share the divine nature. But in order to attain this we must strive to live a life of holiness: to live in accordance with Jesus’ teachings, and to walk in the path of the Word. In doing so, we can be transformed totally interiorly and even exteriorly, so that the image of God can be manifested rightly through our identity of being his children.
This is obviously not an easy task for us. But holiness can be achieved with God’s grace and become an interior driving force motivating us to follow God’s revelation, to live patiently and reverently according to his will, and to serve others wholeheartedly without reservation. Jesus’ parable of the tenants reminds us again that, being God’s children, we must steadfastly preserve, safeguard and build his Church. We must not be corrupted or hindered in this duty. Otherwise, we shall end up otherwise like the atrocious tenants paying for what we have done wrongfully. Lord, help me to strengthen my faith in the Word.
Monday
of the Ninth Week in Ordinary Time
Jesus began to speak to the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders in parables. “A man planted a vineyard, put a hedge around it, dug a wine press, and built a tower. Then he leased it to tenant farmers and left on a journey. At the proper time he sent a servant to the tenants to obtain from them some of the produce of the vineyard. But they seized him, beat him, and sent him away empty-handed.” Mark 12:1–3
This was the first of “many” servants the owner of the vineyard sent to the tenants to obtain some of the produce of the vineyard. Some of the servants were mistreated, some beaten and others were killed. In the end, the owner sent his son. The tenants killed him, thinking that they would inherit the vineyard if the son were dead.
The context of this parable is important. Jesus had just entered Jerusalem for the beginning of the first Holy Week, which would ultimately end with His death and resurrection. The day before, Jesus had cleansed the Temple of the money changers. The chief priests, scribes and elders were outraged and began to plot His death. Jesus especially addressed this parable to them.
To understand this parable, you need to understand who represents whom. The religious leaders of Israel were the tenants, the vineyard was the Jewish nation, God the Father was the man who planted the vineyard, the many servants sent to gather the produce were the prophets of old, and Jesus was the Beloved Son Who was killed. The parable concludes by saying that the owner of the vineyard (God the Father) will put the tenants to death and give the vineyard to others. In other words, the scribes, Pharisees, chief priests and elders would soon have their religious authority taken away from them, and it would be given to the Apostles and their successors. This parable, therefore, presents us with a summary of the way the Church was formed.
It’s helpful to note that the religious leaders of the time knew that Jesus addressed this parable to them, but they failed to heed the lesson. Ideally, if they were open to the gift of faith, they would have realized that they were attempting to steal the “vineyard” from God. They were attempting to control and manipulate the Kingdom of Israel, to make it into their own image, and to disregard the will of God Who established it.
This parable is especially important for anyone who exercises some form of holy authority. Parents exercise authority within the home. Bishops and priests exercise authority within the Church. And we all exercise a certain spiritual authority when we seek to fulfill our unique mission in life. The lesson from this parable is simple: don’t abuse your authority. Don’t exercise authority according to your own will; exercise it with humility only in accord with God’s will. Every leader, always and everywhere, must lead according to the mind and will of God. If they fail, they will suffer the consequences.
Reflect, today, upon any way that God has entrusted you with a spiritual duty to fulfill His mission in this world. When a duty of leadership is entrusted to a person, the leader is also entrusted with the spiritual authority to fulfill that duty in accord with the mind and will of God. This requires constant humility so that it is only God’s will that is fulfilled. Seek to exercise all authority in accord with the mind and will of God, and the vineyard entrusted to your care will bear an abundance of good fruit.
Loving Father, You have chosen to send me, as a tenant of Your Kingdom, to bear good fruit for eternal life. Please help me to always exercise the authority and duty entrusted to me with humility so that I will seek to fulfill Your will and Your will alone. Jesus, I trust in You.
Monday
of the Ninth Week in Ordinary Time 2024
Opening Prayer: Lord God, help me to welcome messengers and your Son. I want to conform my life to your Word. Inspire me to know what to teach my family, to produce good fruit for the Kingdom, and to love my neighbor.
1. The Parable of the Wicked Tenants: In the Gospel, Jesus refuses to speak directly to the religious leaders about the nature and origin of his authority. He chooses, rather, to speak to them about his divine authority through parables, which hide the divine mysteries from the proud and reveal them to the humble. On the one hand, the Parable of the Wicked Tenants gives a powerful account of Jesus’ authority and, on the other, discredits the authority of his opponents. Earlier, Jesus hinted that his authority was from heaven. Now, he tells the parable to reveal that he has authority because he is the Son of God. He is God’s unique and most privileged agent. He has the right to pronounce judgment on the Temple because he is the son of the true owner of Mount Zion (Tim Gray, The Temple in the Gospel of Mark, 61).
Monday
of the Ninth Week in Ordinary Time 2023
REFLECTION
God chose to use the tragic death of his own Son to give new life to his people. He chose to outdo the hatred of his people through his generous outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon them. Yes, when his own Son was crucified, God chose the way of unconditional love, and he is still doing it today. No matter how far we may we from him like lost sheep, he gently seeks us out and brings us back to himself. No matter how foolish or how wasteful we have been with our lives, he is always ready to give us a new start in life. No matter how hopeless or desperate situation might become, he has already prepared a way out for us. Moreover, what God does for us is an example of what we should do for one another.
Often we have wounds in our lives that can either cause bitterness and hatred, or become occasions for generous self-giving. We can also love unconditionally an alcoholic in our family or among our friends; a spouse whose affection has become cold; a teenager who rejects our family values; a neighbor or fellow worker who tells lies about us. By allowing Christ's own example to inspire us, we can feel beyond our own personal wounds, and reach out with compassion to heal the wounds of another who may be hurting more than we. By following God's way of unconditional love, we can use each dying of a part of ourselves as a means of passing on new life to another person.
Qua bài Tin Mừng hôm nay, chúng ta biết rằng nhờ Chúa Giêsu mà chúng ta có thể gọi Thiên Chúa trên trời là Cha. Và cũng là nhờ cái chết của Chúa Giêsu mà chúng ta được cứu khỏi mọi tội lỗi và thoát khỏi được những cơn giận của Thiên Chúa khi Ngài ngự đến trong ngày phán xét. Thánh Phêrô nhắc nhở chúng ta rằng là như sự công minh của Thiên Chúa và Chúa Giêsu Kitô là đấng Cứu Thế mà chúng ta có thể được thông phần trong bản tính của Thiên Chúa. Nhưng để đạt được điều này, chúng ta cần phải phấn đấu để sống một đời sống thánh thiện: phải sống phù hợp với những giáo huấn của Chúa Giêsu, và bước đi trong con đường của Chúa Kitô vì Ngài là Ngôi Lời của Thiên Chúa. Nếu như làm được như vậy, chúng ta có thể biến đổi được nội tâm và thậm chí cả bên ngoài, và vì vậy mà hình ảnh của Thiên Chúa có thể được thể hiện một cách đúng đắn qua danh tính của chúng ta là con cái của Ngài.
Điều này thật sự không phải là một việc làm dễ dàng cho chúng ta. Nhưng với sự thánh thiện mà chúng ta có thể đạt được nhờ ân sủng của Thiên Chúa và ân sũng này đã trở thành một động lực bên trong thúc đẩy chúng ta sống theo sự mặc khải của Thiên Chúa, là sống trong kiên nhẫn và cung kính theo ý muốn của Ngài, và biết phục vụ những người khác hết lòng mà không đắn đo.
Hôm nay, Chúa Giêsu nhắc nhở chúng ta một lần nữa là con cái của Thiên Chúa, chúng ta phải kiên quyết giữ gìn, bảo vệ và xây dựng Giáo Hội của Người. Chúng ta không thể để bị hư hỏng hoặc để những ngoại vật bên ngoài cản trở nhiệm vụ này. Nếu không, chúng ta sẽ sẽ bị kết thúc cuộc sống như những người thuê vườn nho tàn ác, tồi tệ. Thiên Chúa sẽ đuổi chúng ta ra khỏi vườn Nho của Ngài và đưa vào ngục tối đời đời.
Lạy Chúa, xin giúp chúng con biết củng cố đức tin của chúng ta trong Trong Lời Chúa..
It is through Jesus that we can address God our heavenly Father. It is through Jesus’ death that we are saved from our sins and escape God’s anger at his coming in judgement. St Peter reminds us that it is through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ that we can share the divine nature. But in order to attain this we must strive to live a life of holiness: to live in accordance with Jesus’ teachings, and to walk in the path of the Word. In doing so, we can be transformed totally interiorly and even exteriorly, so that the image of God can be manifested rightly through our identity of being his children.
This is obviously not an easy task for us. But holiness can be achieved with God’s grace and become an interior driving force motivating us to follow God’s revelation, to live patiently and reverently according to his will, and to serve others wholeheartedly without reservation. Jesus’ parable of the tenants reminds us again that, being God’s children, we must steadfastly preserve, safeguard and build his Church. We must not be corrupted or hindered in this duty. Otherwise, we shall end up otherwise like the atrocious tenants paying for what we have done wrongfully. Lord, help me to strengthen my faith in the Word.
Jesus began to speak to the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders in parables. “A man planted a vineyard, put a hedge around it, dug a wine press, and built a tower. Then he leased it to tenant farmers and left on a journey. At the proper time he sent a servant to the tenants to obtain from them some of the produce of the vineyard. But they seized him, beat him, and sent him away empty-handed.” Mark 12:1–3
This was the first of “many” servants the owner of the vineyard sent to the tenants to obtain some of the produce of the vineyard. Some of the servants were mistreated, some beaten and others were killed. In the end, the owner sent his son. The tenants killed him, thinking that they would inherit the vineyard if the son were dead.
The context of this parable is important. Jesus had just entered Jerusalem for the beginning of the first Holy Week, which would ultimately end with His death and resurrection. The day before, Jesus had cleansed the Temple of the money changers. The chief priests, scribes and elders were outraged and began to plot His death. Jesus especially addressed this parable to them.
To understand this parable, you need to understand who represents whom. The religious leaders of Israel were the tenants, the vineyard was the Jewish nation, God the Father was the man who planted the vineyard, the many servants sent to gather the produce were the prophets of old, and Jesus was the Beloved Son Who was killed. The parable concludes by saying that the owner of the vineyard (God the Father) will put the tenants to death and give the vineyard to others. In other words, the scribes, Pharisees, chief priests and elders would soon have their religious authority taken away from them, and it would be given to the Apostles and their successors. This parable, therefore, presents us with a summary of the way the Church was formed.
It’s helpful to note that the religious leaders of the time knew that Jesus addressed this parable to them, but they failed to heed the lesson. Ideally, if they were open to the gift of faith, they would have realized that they were attempting to steal the “vineyard” from God. They were attempting to control and manipulate the Kingdom of Israel, to make it into their own image, and to disregard the will of God Who established it.
This parable is especially important for anyone who exercises some form of holy authority. Parents exercise authority within the home. Bishops and priests exercise authority within the Church. And we all exercise a certain spiritual authority when we seek to fulfill our unique mission in life. The lesson from this parable is simple: don’t abuse your authority. Don’t exercise authority according to your own will; exercise it with humility only in accord with God’s will. Every leader, always and everywhere, must lead according to the mind and will of God. If they fail, they will suffer the consequences.
Reflect, today, upon any way that God has entrusted you with a spiritual duty to fulfill His mission in this world. When a duty of leadership is entrusted to a person, the leader is also entrusted with the spiritual authority to fulfill that duty in accord with the mind and will of God. This requires constant humility so that it is only God’s will that is fulfilled. Seek to exercise all authority in accord with the mind and will of God, and the vineyard entrusted to your care will bear an abundance of good fruit.
Loving Father, You have chosen to send me, as a tenant of Your Kingdom, to bear good fruit for eternal life. Please help me to always exercise the authority and duty entrusted to me with humility so that I will seek to fulfill Your will and Your will alone. Jesus, I trust in You.
Opening Prayer: Lord God, help me to welcome messengers and your Son. I want to conform my life to your Word. Inspire me to know what to teach my family, to produce good fruit for the Kingdom, and to love my neighbor.
1. The Parable of the Wicked Tenants: In the Gospel, Jesus refuses to speak directly to the religious leaders about the nature and origin of his authority. He chooses, rather, to speak to them about his divine authority through parables, which hide the divine mysteries from the proud and reveal them to the humble. On the one hand, the Parable of the Wicked Tenants gives a powerful account of Jesus’ authority and, on the other, discredits the authority of his opponents. Earlier, Jesus hinted that his authority was from heaven. Now, he tells the parable to reveal that he has authority because he is the Son of God. He is God’s unique and most privileged agent. He has the right to pronounce judgment on the Temple because he is the son of the true owner of Mount Zion (Tim Gray, The Temple in the Gospel of Mark, 61).
God chose to use the tragic death of his own Son to give new life to his people. He chose to outdo the hatred of his people through his generous outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon them. Yes, when his own Son was crucified, God chose the way of unconditional love, and he is still doing it today. No matter how far we may we from him like lost sheep, he gently seeks us out and brings us back to himself. No matter how foolish or how wasteful we have been with our lives, he is always ready to give us a new start in life. No matter how hopeless or desperate situation might become, he has already prepared a way out for us. Moreover, what God does for us is an example of what we should do for one another.
Often we have wounds in our lives that can either cause bitterness and hatred, or become occasions for generous self-giving. We can also love unconditionally an alcoholic in our family or among our friends; a spouse whose affection has become cold; a teenager who rejects our family values; a neighbor or fellow worker who tells lies about us. By allowing Christ's own example to inspire us, we can feel beyond our own personal wounds, and reach out with compassion to heal the wounds of another who may be hurting more than we. By following God's way of unconditional love, we can use each dying of a part of ourselves as a means of passing on new life to another person.
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