Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ Sáu Tuần 11 TN,

Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ Sáu Tuần 11 TN, Matthew 6:19-23,
Qua bài tin mừng hôm nay, Chúa Giêsu nói với chúng ta “đèn của thân thể là con mắt” (Mt 6:22). Thánh Tôma cho rằng khi nói về mắt Chúa Giêsu là đề cập đến ý định, lòng muốn của con người. Khi nào ý định của chúng ta ngay lành, thì lòng của chúng ta phát sáng hướng vào Thiên Chúa, tất cả các hành động của chúng ta là tươi sáng, rực rỡ, nhưng khi ý định của chúng ta trở nên mờ ám hay trở nên “tối tăm”, và không có cái đen tối nào sẽ tối bằng cái đen tối nhất trong lòng của chúng ta! (x. Mt 6:23)
            Nếu chúng ta giận dữ, ý định của chúng ta thường độc ác hay không được thẳng thắn, bởi chỉ vì chúng ta thiếu một số ý nghĩa tốt đẹp, Nhưng chúng ta sống chỉ nghĩ tới vật chất, như thể chúng ta được sinh ra để làm ra tiền, để gây dựng tài sản vật chất hay chồng chất cho sự giàu có mà chúng ta không lòng trí để có thể nghĩ đến sự tốt đạp khác nữa.
            Đó là những nguyên nhân làm cho chúng ta lừa dối nhau, làm chúng ta đau khổ, làm cho chúng ta lo lắng và đau đớn và không thể tìm thấy hạnh phúc như chúng ta mong muốn, Nhưng hôm nay, Chúa Giêsu đưa ra cho chúng ta một bài học, một đề nghị khác:” Hãy tích trữ cho mình những kho tàng trên trời, nơi mối mọt không làm hư nát, nơi trộm cắp không đào ngạch và lấy đi được (Mt 6:20).
            Thiên đàng là nhà kho nơi mà các việc làm (hành động) tốt được lưu trữ, và chắc chắn đây là một kho báu vĩnh viễn dài lâu, Chúng ta hãy chân thành và thành thật với chính mình: đâu là những nỗ lực mà chúng ta phải hướng đến? Đúng thế, những Kitô hữu tốt phải học và lao động một cách trung tín để kiếm sống, để nâng cao đời sống gia đình, để đảm bảo tương lai của họ và một cuộc sống yên bình khi đến tuổi già hưu, và họ cũng phải làm việc với mục đích để giúp đỡ những người khác nữa... Tất cả những điều này thực sự chính là một đặc trưng của một Kitô hữu chân chính, ngay lành. Nhưng nếu những gì mà chúng ta luôn luôn đang tìm kiếm, muốn có nhiều và có nhiều hơn nữa, thì chúng ta đang đặt tâm hồn và lòng của chúng ta trong những sự mong ước giàu có vật chất mà quên đi tất cả những việc làm phúc đức.
            Hãy tỉnh thức đừng để những thứ vật chất lôi kéo chúng ta vào khoảng trống rỗng mà thực tế chỉ là tạm bợ, bởi vì cuộc sống của chúng ta hôm nay chỉ qua là một chiếc bóng, có đúng là đó là sự thật không? “Nếu thế ánh sáng nơi chúng ta lại thành bóng tối, thì tối biết chừng nào!” (Mt 6:23).
 
Friday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time
“The lamp of the body is the eye. If your eye is sound, your whole body will be filled with light; but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be in darkness. And if the light in you is darkness, how great will the darkness be.” Matthew 6:22–23
Every Scripture passage, in a spiritual sense, can teach us many lessons. Saint Thomas Aquinas, in his commentary on Matthew’s Gospel, offers one interpretation to the passage quoted above by saying that the “eye” in this passage refers to your intention and “your whole body” refers to all of your actions that follow from your intention. Therefore, when your intentions are in line with God’s will, the actions that follow will be also. This is a very practical and useful lesson for your journey toward holiness.
With this insight from Saint Thomas, we must look at our intentions in an honest and complete way. What are your intentions in life? It’s easy for us to form various intentions that may seem good as well as some that are contrary to the will of God without even realizing it. We may intend to get a good night’s sleep on one occasion. Or intend to have fun with family and friends on a certain day. Or we may intend to cook a good meal, clean the house, do well at work, etc. There are many momentary intentions that are good and are a normal part of daily living. However, the most important intention to consider is that which is the deepest of them all. What is the most central, foundational, and fundamental intention by which your life is directed?
The primary intention that you should work to acquire is to give God the greatest glory possible in all that you do. Giving glory to God is accomplished when you choose Him and His holy will above everything else in life. When this is the deepest and most fundamental intention of your life, everything else will flow from it. All secondary intentions and actions will align with this central focus and work toward its accomplishment. But when there are other “first intentions” that you have on the most fundamental level, then all the rest of your intentions and actions will be misguided and directed in a disordered way.
Reflect, today, upon the most fundamental intention you have in life. Doing so will require a considerable amount of interior reflection and honesty. It will require that you sort through the many things that motivate you and the decisions you make each and every day. Reflect upon the primary purpose of your life, which must be to give God the greatest glory possible by choosing and living His perfect will. Do all of your daily actions align with this ultimate goal? Commit yourself to the holy work of examining all of your actions in this light so that you will more fully achieve the purpose for which you were created.
God of all glory, You and You alone are worthy of all my praise. Your will and Your will alone must become the foundation of all that I choose in life. Give me the spiritual insight I need to look deeply at all that motivates me and all of my most interior intentions in life. May all of my intentions and all of my actions have as their goal Your eternal glory. Jesus, I trust in You.
 
Friday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time 2024
Opening Prayer: Lord God, the things of this passing world often vie for my attention. I know that they cannot ultimately satisfy me or bring me ultimate happiness. You alone satisfy. Love alone will last for eternity. May I love you above all things and with all my heart, mind, soul, and strength.
Encountering the Word of God
1. Athaliah, the Usurper Queen: During the past few days, we have read about the prophet Elijah in the northern kingdom of Israel and how he led the efforts to combat paganism and the worship of Baal. Today, we read about the southern kingdom of Judah, the reigns of Queen Athaliah (842-837) and King Joash (837-796), and how the priest Jehoiada led the efforts against paganism and the worship of Baal. Our First Reading tells the story of the rise and fall of Athaliah, the usurper queen. Athaliah’s son, Ahaziah (the King of Judah), was killed by archers by order of Jehu, the King of Israel. Athaliah flew into a rage and began killing the members of the royal family of Judah. She wanted to exterminate the house of David. She almost succeeded, but thanks to Jehosheba, Joash (Athaliah's grandson) was taken away and hid in the temple for six years. On the one hand, Jehosheba's actions parallel those of Jochebed and Miriam who saved the baby Moses from the wrath of pharaoh. On the other, the story prefigures the wrath of King Herod who tried to kill Jesus, of the house of David. Not only did Queen Athaliah try to exterminate David’s house and line, but she also introduced the worship of the pagan god Baal into the Jerusalem temple.
2. Joash the King and Jehoiada the Priest: When six years had passed, in the seventh year, the priest Jehoiada prepared to show Joash to the people. After proclaiming Joash king, crowning him, and anointing him, Jehoiada commands that Queen Athaliah be put to death outside the temple of the Lord. Jehoiada then made a covenant between the Lord, the king, and the people. Led by King Joash and the priest Jehoiada, the people destroyed the altars and images of Baal throughout the land of Judah. Joash reigned for forty years in Jerusalem and he did what was right because Jehoiada the priest instructed and guided him. Nevertheless, although the altars and images of Baal were destroyed, the high places were not taken away and the people of Judah continued to sacrifice and burn incense on the high places. In response, King Joash began to collect money to repair the Temple, the house of the Lord. After the death of Jehoiada the priest, however, the princes of Judah came before the king and convinced him to forsake the house of the Lord and serve other gods and idols. In response, the Lord God sent prophets to Judah and Jerusalem to bring the people back to him. These prophets testified against the people, but the people would not give heed (2 Chronicles 24:17-20). Today’s psalm recalls the covenant made with David. God promised him that if his sons (his descendants) keep his covenant, their sons will forever sit upon his throne. “The covenant with David is a divine gift or ‘grant’: God binds himself by divine oath, swearing unwavering fidelity and promising unconditional blessings and everlasting kingship to David and his offspring. This covenant of grant seems to reward David’s single-minded dedication to restoring Israel as a priestly kingdom and building a house for the ark of the covenant” (Hahn, The Kingdom of God as Liturgical Empire, 70-71). The life of King Joash exemplifies the two teachings in today’s Gospel. Under the guidance of Jehoiada, Joash’s heart is in the right place and he sees clearly. He works to eliminate pagan worship and restore God’s Temple. Towards the end of his life, however, he allows himself to be swayed by the princes of Judah and permits the worship of idols. His heart was turned from God and reigned over the Kingdom of Judah in darkness. He became spiritually blind.
3. Store Up Treasure in Heaven: Up to this point, Jesus's Sermon on the Mount has dealt with the paths to true beatitude (5:3-12), the mission of his disciples (5:13-16), and the fulfillment of the law (5:17-48), and has given indications about almsgiving, prayer, and fasting in secret (6:1-18). Now, in the next section of his sermon, Jesus teaches his disciples how they should use their material possessions in this world and trust in divine providence (6:19-34). What matters ultimately is not earthly treasure, but heavenly treasure. Earthly treasures pass away and we can’t take them with us when we die. We can store up heavenly treasure, that lasts forever, through righteous deeds, done not out of vanity or for show, but out of love. Almsgiving, prayer, and fasting are done not to be seen by others, but for God alone. The difference between building up earthly treasure and building up heavenly treasure is paralleled by the difference between spiritual blindness (darkness) and walking by the light of Christ. “Christ's teaching here shows that the way one approaches wealth affects the entire self. The sound, generous eye illumines like a lamp; the selfish, greedy evil eye leaves a person in darkness” (Mitch and Sri, The Gospel of Matthew, 109).
Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, you are my treasure. There is nothing more that I want. With you, all is right and bathed in divine light. Without you, chaos and darkness reign. I choose you and your Kingdom today.
Living the Word of God: Are we blinded by wealth and the pursuit of things that do not last? Or do we seek to be poor in spirit and trustworthy administrators of the gifts and talents we have received from God? Are there any “idols” I keep hidden in my life, but secretly worship? Have I allowed God to reign fully in my heart or are there some places where I deny God entry? What is it that keeps me from the light of Christ? We pray, then, that God enlighten our hearts so that we may see this world as it really is. We pray that the idols of earthly wealth, power, and pleasure gain no foothold in our hearts. We ask God today to keep us on the narrow path that leads to eternal life. “There is one thing I ask of the Lord, only this do I seek: to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life” (Psalm 27(26):4).
 
Friday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time
Introductory Prayer: Lord, I believe in you. I believe that you love me, that you are close by my side, and that you will be walking with me throughout this day. I trust in you, Lord. I trust you more than I trust myself because you are infinitely good and all-powerful. I love you, Jesus. I love you because you died on the cross for me, to save me.
Petition: Lord, help me to discover where you are most calling me to store up treasures in heaven.
1. Temporal or Eternal Treasures: Who does not long to discover a hidden treasure? The human heart was made for the happiness and security treasure promises, for the joy it brings. But one fundamental problem presents itself: to what kind of treasure should we entrust our heart, our inmost being, our very self? Christ alerts us to the false treasures which tug at our heart each day — earthly treasures of fine clothes, or possessions, or wealth. Each of these treasures can and will be taken from us. At the moment, we most need help, the time of our passing to eternity, material belongings will betray us. As the realistic Spanish proverb puts it: “There are no pockets in a shroud.”
2. The Deep Longings of the Heart: Christ offers us the one treasure worthy of the human heart, the one treasure that will not betray us, the only one that can accompany us through the grave and across the threshold to eternal life. What is that treasure? It is the person of Christ himself and all of the good actions we do for his sake. Living for Christ alone, loving him above all else, giving up our lives, our very selves for him constitutes the only treasure rich enough to satisfy the human heart — the only one capable of fulfilling our deepest aspirations. Only this treasure will remain for all eternity, immersing us in a joy that is ever beginning, ever new. “For where your treasure is, there also your heart will be.”
3. “The Lamp of the Body”: Christ’s teaching about the eye as the lamp of the body might at first glance seem obscure, unrelated to his previous exhortation to store up treasures in heaven. But a second look reveals an inner link. Exegetes have viewed the eye as the intentions which lie behind our actions. Christ exhorts us to childlike simplicity in all that we do, and even in the way we view events and others. If we see Christ in others, if we can perceive the Father’s providential hand behind everything that happens to us in life, if all we do is done out of love for Christ, then truly our whole body will be flooded with light.
Conversation with Christ: Thank you, Lord, for the clear message of your Gospel. Thank you for showing me how to live my life with eternity ever in view. Thank you for being the one treasure that alone can satisfy the longings of my heart.
Resolution: I will do everything this day out of love for Christ, and to help establish his Kingdom, renewing my conscious efforts to store up treasures in heaven.