Lễ kính Thánh Giacôbê tông đồ - thứ Năm tuần 16 Thường Niên (7/25)
Tin Mừng hôm nay thật sự là Lời ban sự
sống cho tất cả chúng ta. Thật vậy, Lời Chúa là con đường hướng dẫn
những Kitô hữu chúng ta đến sự sống đời đời . Như lời Chúa hôm này
đã dạy cho chúng ta là: Trước tiên là phải Phục vụ những nhu cầu của người
khác. Đó là một Lời trái ngược lại với tất cả những gì mà thế giới hôm nay đang
dạy mà muốn chúng ta làm. Chúng ta thường nghe người ta nói:.? những gì thế lực
hay sức mạnh mà chúng ta đang có trong tay?Ngày nay đa số chúng ta ai cũng ta muốn có chức vụ cao, có quyền hành trong cơ quan của chính phủ, trong các trường học, hay cả trong giáo hội, và trên thực tế là trong tất cả các lĩnh vực hoạt động của con người để hưởng lợi , để được sống vinh hoa, phú quý. . Cái tâm lý chung của thế giới là để thống trị người khác. Đó là sức mạnh của thế lực mà chúng ta có thể được hưởng lợi, được người khác cầu cạnh đút lót. Và cuối cùng chúng ta sẽ được người khác phục vụ chúng ta theo như những gì chúng ta muốn và cần.
Nhưng đối với những người Kitô giáo chân chính thực sự thì đấy là điều ngược lại! Để trở thành người Kitô giáo đích thực, người Kitô hữu phải có sự suy nghĩ như Chúa Kitô, phải cơ những hành động như Chúa Kitô. Có nghĩa là sống trong một cách triệt để theo như Chúa Kitô, đó là sống trái ngược lại với các giá trị của thế giới bên ngoài.
Tin Mừng hôm nay Chúa mời gọi chúng ta đến với hạnh phúc thật sự, đó là đến để phục vụ như Chúa đã phục vụ người khác chứ không phải là để được phục vụ. Và nếu chúng ta làm đuợc như lời Chúa thì phần thưởng của chúng ta sẽ nhận được là chúng ta sẽ được gọi là con cái của Thiên Chúa và sẽ được ngồi cùng một bàn bữa tiệc trên Thiên quốc với Chúa, có lẽ chúng ta sẽ không được ngồi ngay bên phải hoặc bên trái của Chúa, nhưng chắc chắn là chúng ta được một chỗ nào đó trên thiên đàng.
Hôm nay chúng ta mừng kính thánh Giacôbê Tông Đồ , chúng ta hãy nên bắt chước và học hỏi nơi thánh Giacôbê người đã biết lắng nghe và thực hành lời Chúa và phục vụ Chúa trong việc mang Chúa đến với người khác và phục vụ cho đến chết và Ông đã chết vì đem Tin Mừng cho tất cả.
REFLECTION
St James was the son of Zebedee and brother of John, Evangelist and Apostle. He was born at Bethsaida in Galilee. He was the first apostle to die, martyred by Herod Agrippa I.
Today's Gospel is truly a word of life for all of us. Indeed, it shows the path of life for Christians. It gives us as a guideline: "Serve first the needs of other people. It is a word that is contrary to what the world tells us today. We often hear people say: What are we in power for? Today this is said in government, in school, in the family, in the church and in practically all areas of human activity. The mentality of the world is to dominate people. It is to have power so that we may benefit from that power. And in the end we will be served.
REFLECTION
St. James was one of the apostles who accompanied Jesus on Mount Tabor where the Transfiguration took place. After receiving the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, he went out and began to preach the gospel so persuasively that he infuriated the Jewish leadership to such an extent that they killed him.
Jesus knows us and will only call a few to the honor of imitating him so closely…"laying down your life for your friends" as St. James did. And while the vast majority of us will never come close to being a martyr in the physical sense, the Church gives us St. James' example of wholeheartedly following Jesus wherever he may take us. What Jesus asks of us is to try to discern what he wills for us and then try our very best to do that and to accept where it will lead us. This can sometimes be very difficult and the decision to accept it is sometimes as difficult a decision as the one that a martyr may have to make.
The idea that Jesus insists on: the desire to be great or `the first of all' must include being willing to be considered as a servant. In other words, in performing any act of service to others, it is best to remain anonymous; otherwise, as Jesus said, `they have already received their reward."
Thursday Feast of Saint James, Apostle
“You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the chalice that I am going to drink?” They said to him, “We can.” He replied, “My chalice you will indeed drink, but to sit at my right and at my left, this is not mine to give but is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.” Matthew 20:22–23
Saint James was the brother of the beloved disciple John and the son of Zebedee and Salome. Jesus called both James and John while they were working with their father, mending their fishing nets in their boat. Their response to Jesus’ call was immediate: “…they left their father Zebedee in the boat along with the hired men and followed him” (Mark 1:20). James was present at the raising of Jarius’ daughter, the Transfiguration, and is mentioned a few other times in the Gospels. In the Acts of the Apostles, James is identified as the first of the Apostles to give his life as a martyr, being beheaded by Herod in Jerusalem in the year 44 AD (See Acts 12:2).
Among the other references to Saint James in the Gospels is the passage quoted above in which Salome, the mother of James and John, asks Jesus for the unique favor of allowing her two sons to sit at His left and right in His Kingdom. Upon her request on behalf of her two sons, Jesus turns to them and asks if they can drink the chalice that He is going to drink, to which they respond, “We can.” And though this is a bold request on their parts and that of their mother, there is also something courageous and holy about their request.
Just prior to this passage, as Jesus journeyed to Jerusalem with the Twelve, He explained to them the fate that awaited Him. “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death, and hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and scourged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day” (Matthew 20:18–19). This was the third time that Jesus explained this to the Twelve and, therefore, it must have started to truly sink in. It is within this context that James and John ask to remain close to Jesus in His mission of establishing His Kingdom, even though Jesus explained that the path to that Kingdom was His suffering and death.
Each of us should learn from James and John. Though their request might have had some selfishness mixed in with it, it was also courageous. It showed they did not fear Jesus’ prediction of His passion. Instead, they wanted to be part of it and were willing to endure whatever was necessary so as to share in the glory of the Kingdom to come.
Reflect, today, upon making a similar request to our Lord. Say to Him that you desire to be close to Him in His Kingdom, and do so with the full knowledge that the path to this glory is by drinking the chalice of selfless sacrifice that Christ drank. It is obtained by courageously following Him, no matter what that requires of you. If that means suffering and persecution, so be it. If that means great sacrifice, so be it. If that means abandoning certain hopes and dreams, so be it. See yourself walking with these disciples and Jesus on the road to Jerusalem where our Lord would offer His life in sacrifice. Saint James would soon follow, dying by the sword of Herod. Say “Yes” to whatever our Lord asks of you and commit yourself to the drinking of the chalice of selfless sacrificial love. Doing so will enable you to share in the glory of the Kingdom of Heaven.
My glorious King, You invite all people to share in Your glorious Kingdom to come. May I enter that Kingdom with all the saints and fully share in its glory. I choose that path that leads to that Kingdom and willingly offer my life in sacrifice to You and for others. Jesus, I trust in You.
Feast of Saint James, Apostle 2024
Opening Prayer: Lord God, your Son spent a night in prayer with you before calling James to become one of his Apostles. You know our hearts and can see us clearly as we are. Help me to know myself better and my mission so that I may serve you and your Kingdom and reign with your Son.
Encountering the Word of God
1. The Call of James the Greater: James was the son of Zebedee and the brother of John the Apostle. He was a fisherman and, as he was in the boat mending the nets with his brother and father, was called by Jesus. Both James and John immediately left the boat and their father and followed Jesus (Matthew 4:21-22). They put their hand to the plow and did not look back. James was chosen from among Jesus’ many disciples to be one of the twelve apostles. He was appointed to be with Jesus and to be sent out to preach and have authority to cast out demons (Mark 3:13-19). Among the Apostles, James was one of three chosen to witness the restoration of Jairus’ daughter to life (Mark 5:37). After this, Jesus sent out the Apostles two by two and gave them authority over the unclean spirits and the authority to heal every disease and every infirmity (Matthew 10:1-2). As an Apostle, James preached repentance to the towns and villages of Galilee, cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many that were sick and healed them (Mark 6:7-13). James was also one of three chosen to witness Jesus’ transfiguration on the mountain. He beheld the glory of the Son and heard Jesus speak with Moses and Elijah about his exodus from this world. He heard the voice of the Father declare: “This is my beloved Son, my Chosen, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him!” (Matthew 17:1-8; Mark 9:2-8; Luke 9:28-36).
2. James and Jesus’ Passion: After the Transfiguration, Jesus set his face to go to Jerusalem. When the people of the Samaritan villages refused to receive Jesus on his journey to Jerusalem, James and John asked Jesus: “Lord, do you want us to bid fire come down from heaven and consume them?” But Jesus turned and rebuked them and they went on to another village (Luke 9:51-56). This gives us some idea of why Jesus called the two sons of Zebedee “sons of thunder” (Mark 3:17). Before Jesus entered Jerusalem, the mother of James and John (possibly named Salome), approached Jesus and asked him to command that her two sons may sit at Jesus' right and left hand in his kingdom. Jesus turns and asks the two Apostles: “Are you able to drink the chalice that I am to drink?;” “Are you able to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” That day they accepted Jesus’ chalice and baptism. They learned not only that they will suffer for Jesus, but that greatness in the kingdom is linked to service: whoever would be great must be a servant, and whoever would be first must be a slave (Matthew 20:20-28). After the Last Supper, after being sanctified in the truth by Jesus (John 17:17), James was one of the three Apostles who witnessed Jesus’ Agony in the Garden (Matthew 26:36-46; Mark 14:32-42). He had seen and experienced Jesus’ glory on Mount Tabor; he now experiences Jesus’ suffering and humility on the Mount of Olives. This, Pope Benedict XVI said, was an opportunity for him to grow in faith and adjust any triumphalist interpretation of the Transfiguration. James had to learn that the Messiah was not only surrounded by honor and glory, but also by suffering and weakness. “Christ’s glory was fulfilled precisely on the Cross, in his sharing in our sufferings” (Benedict XVI, June 21, 2006).
3. The Martyrdom of James: In the Garden, James heard Jesus speak to his Father about the chalice that Jesus would drink and that he would share. James, in fact, would be the first martyr among the Apostles: “About that time Herod the king laid violent hands upon some who belonged to the Church. He killed James the brother of John with the sword; and when he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. This was during the days of Unleavened Bread” (Acts 12:1-3). In his life and his death, James bore fruit that would last. His confession of faith and the shedding of his blood strengthened the early Church. Now, in heaven, he intercedes for the Church on earth and sustains her by his protection (Collect). Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians speaks about carrying in our bodies the dying of Jesus and manifesting in them the life of Jesus. James did this; he believed in Jesus, suffered for his name, and knew that the one who raised the Lord Jesus would also raise him with Jesus and place him in his heavenly presence. By drinking the chalice of the Lord, he became a friend of God (Communion Antiphon). Today we ask the Father to cleanse us by the saving baptism of Christ’s passion so that purified on this Feast of Saint James, we may offer a sacrifice pleasing to him (Prayer over the Offerings).
Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, you desire your friends to share in your life, death, and resurrection. You do not promise an easy life, but rather one filled with joy, love, service, suffering, and sacrifice. Help me, as you helped James, to follow each day in your footsteps.
Feast of Saint James, Apostle
Opening Prayer: Jesus, you are all-powerful and yet perfectly humble. Please open my mind to hear the Word and let it convert my pride into humility.
Encountering Christ:
1. “My Kingdom Is Not Here”: The mother of James and John, the sons of Zebedee, did not understand what Jesus’s kingdom would be like. Many of his disciples also misunderstood. They thought that Jesus would come to destroy the Romans’ political power and reign as king. But, as Jesus told Pontius Pilate during the Passion, “My Kingdom does not belong to this world. If my Kingdom did belong to this world, my attendants [would] be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my Kingdom is not here” (John 18:36). Jesus’s Kingdom is so much more than earthly power. He holds the keys to the infinite universe! And he has invited us to join him in heaven one day. Thy Kingdom come, Lord Jesus.
2. Driven for Greatness: Society tells us to strive to be successful and hold positions of power. The world recognizes success as having a great career and plenty of money to live comfortably. But God’s economy is different, even paradoxical. Jesus told the people, “The greatest among you must be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted” (Matthew 23:11-12). Spiritual director and author Fr. Jacque Philippe wrote, “Humility is truth. I am what I am in God’s eyes: a poor child who possesses absolutely nothing, who receives everything, infinitely loved and totally free.” When our sense of self is firmly rooted in the truth–that we are beloved children of God–we do not need to puff ourselves up, or rely on anything worldly to make us “great.”
3. Jesus, Our Servant?: Jesus told us, “...the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve...” He gave us a vivid illustration of what he meant when he washed the disciples’ feet at the Last Supper. Yet, all of his life was, in fact, an act of service. He was born for us; lived as a human being for our sakes; suffered, died, and was buried; instituted the Church; and is preparing a place for us in heaven one day (John 14:2-3). What will we do for him today?
Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, I cannot do away with my pride on my own. Please walk with me so that I might learn to walk humbly with you. You washed the Apostles’ feet on Holy Thursday (John 13:1-17). Thank you for showing us how we are to care for our brothers and sisters by choosing the most humble jobs and doing them for the glory of God. Help me to always make a humble choice, and so imitate you.
Resolution: Lord, today by your grace, I will choose a humble job without complaint or seeking to be recognized for it.
Nhưng đối với những người Kitô giáo chân chính thực sự thì đấy là điều ngược lại! Để trở thành người Kitô giáo đích thực, người Kitô hữu phải có sự suy nghĩ như Chúa Kitô, phải cơ những hành động như Chúa Kitô. Có nghĩa là sống trong một cách triệt để theo như Chúa Kitô, đó là sống trái ngược lại với các giá trị của thế giới bên ngoài.
Tin Mừng hôm nay Chúa mời gọi chúng ta đến với hạnh phúc thật sự, đó là đến để phục vụ như Chúa đã phục vụ người khác chứ không phải là để được phục vụ. Và nếu chúng ta làm đuợc như lời Chúa thì phần thưởng của chúng ta sẽ nhận được là chúng ta sẽ được gọi là con cái của Thiên Chúa và sẽ được ngồi cùng một bàn bữa tiệc trên Thiên quốc với Chúa, có lẽ chúng ta sẽ không được ngồi ngay bên phải hoặc bên trái của Chúa, nhưng chắc chắn là chúng ta được một chỗ nào đó trên thiên đàng.
Hôm nay chúng ta mừng kính thánh Giacôbê Tông Đồ , chúng ta hãy nên bắt chước và học hỏi nơi thánh Giacôbê người đã biết lắng nghe và thực hành lời Chúa và phục vụ Chúa trong việc mang Chúa đến với người khác và phục vụ cho đến chết và Ông đã chết vì đem Tin Mừng cho tất cả.
REFLECTION
St James was the son of Zebedee and brother of John, Evangelist and Apostle. He was born at Bethsaida in Galilee. He was the first apostle to die, martyred by Herod Agrippa I.
Today's Gospel is truly a word of life for all of us. Indeed, it shows the path of life for Christians. It gives us as a guideline: "Serve first the needs of other people. It is a word that is contrary to what the world tells us today. We often hear people say: What are we in power for? Today this is said in government, in school, in the family, in the church and in practically all areas of human activity. The mentality of the world is to dominate people. It is to have power so that we may benefit from that power. And in the end we will be served.
REFLECTION
St. James was one of the apostles who accompanied Jesus on Mount Tabor where the Transfiguration took place. After receiving the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, he went out and began to preach the gospel so persuasively that he infuriated the Jewish leadership to such an extent that they killed him.
Jesus knows us and will only call a few to the honor of imitating him so closely…"laying down your life for your friends" as St. James did. And while the vast majority of us will never come close to being a martyr in the physical sense, the Church gives us St. James' example of wholeheartedly following Jesus wherever he may take us. What Jesus asks of us is to try to discern what he wills for us and then try our very best to do that and to accept where it will lead us. This can sometimes be very difficult and the decision to accept it is sometimes as difficult a decision as the one that a martyr may have to make.
The idea that Jesus insists on: the desire to be great or `the first of all' must include being willing to be considered as a servant. In other words, in performing any act of service to others, it is best to remain anonymous; otherwise, as Jesus said, `they have already received their reward."
Thursday Feast of Saint James, Apostle
“You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the chalice that I am going to drink?” They said to him, “We can.” He replied, “My chalice you will indeed drink, but to sit at my right and at my left, this is not mine to give but is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.” Matthew 20:22–23
Saint James was the brother of the beloved disciple John and the son of Zebedee and Salome. Jesus called both James and John while they were working with their father, mending their fishing nets in their boat. Their response to Jesus’ call was immediate: “…they left their father Zebedee in the boat along with the hired men and followed him” (Mark 1:20). James was present at the raising of Jarius’ daughter, the Transfiguration, and is mentioned a few other times in the Gospels. In the Acts of the Apostles, James is identified as the first of the Apostles to give his life as a martyr, being beheaded by Herod in Jerusalem in the year 44 AD (See Acts 12:2).
Among the other references to Saint James in the Gospels is the passage quoted above in which Salome, the mother of James and John, asks Jesus for the unique favor of allowing her two sons to sit at His left and right in His Kingdom. Upon her request on behalf of her two sons, Jesus turns to them and asks if they can drink the chalice that He is going to drink, to which they respond, “We can.” And though this is a bold request on their parts and that of their mother, there is also something courageous and holy about their request.
Just prior to this passage, as Jesus journeyed to Jerusalem with the Twelve, He explained to them the fate that awaited Him. “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death, and hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and scourged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day” (Matthew 20:18–19). This was the third time that Jesus explained this to the Twelve and, therefore, it must have started to truly sink in. It is within this context that James and John ask to remain close to Jesus in His mission of establishing His Kingdom, even though Jesus explained that the path to that Kingdom was His suffering and death.
Each of us should learn from James and John. Though their request might have had some selfishness mixed in with it, it was also courageous. It showed they did not fear Jesus’ prediction of His passion. Instead, they wanted to be part of it and were willing to endure whatever was necessary so as to share in the glory of the Kingdom to come.
Reflect, today, upon making a similar request to our Lord. Say to Him that you desire to be close to Him in His Kingdom, and do so with the full knowledge that the path to this glory is by drinking the chalice of selfless sacrifice that Christ drank. It is obtained by courageously following Him, no matter what that requires of you. If that means suffering and persecution, so be it. If that means great sacrifice, so be it. If that means abandoning certain hopes and dreams, so be it. See yourself walking with these disciples and Jesus on the road to Jerusalem where our Lord would offer His life in sacrifice. Saint James would soon follow, dying by the sword of Herod. Say “Yes” to whatever our Lord asks of you and commit yourself to the drinking of the chalice of selfless sacrificial love. Doing so will enable you to share in the glory of the Kingdom of Heaven.
My glorious King, You invite all people to share in Your glorious Kingdom to come. May I enter that Kingdom with all the saints and fully share in its glory. I choose that path that leads to that Kingdom and willingly offer my life in sacrifice to You and for others. Jesus, I trust in You.
Feast of Saint James, Apostle 2024
Opening Prayer: Lord God, your Son spent a night in prayer with you before calling James to become one of his Apostles. You know our hearts and can see us clearly as we are. Help me to know myself better and my mission so that I may serve you and your Kingdom and reign with your Son.
Encountering the Word of God
1. The Call of James the Greater: James was the son of Zebedee and the brother of John the Apostle. He was a fisherman and, as he was in the boat mending the nets with his brother and father, was called by Jesus. Both James and John immediately left the boat and their father and followed Jesus (Matthew 4:21-22). They put their hand to the plow and did not look back. James was chosen from among Jesus’ many disciples to be one of the twelve apostles. He was appointed to be with Jesus and to be sent out to preach and have authority to cast out demons (Mark 3:13-19). Among the Apostles, James was one of three chosen to witness the restoration of Jairus’ daughter to life (Mark 5:37). After this, Jesus sent out the Apostles two by two and gave them authority over the unclean spirits and the authority to heal every disease and every infirmity (Matthew 10:1-2). As an Apostle, James preached repentance to the towns and villages of Galilee, cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many that were sick and healed them (Mark 6:7-13). James was also one of three chosen to witness Jesus’ transfiguration on the mountain. He beheld the glory of the Son and heard Jesus speak with Moses and Elijah about his exodus from this world. He heard the voice of the Father declare: “This is my beloved Son, my Chosen, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him!” (Matthew 17:1-8; Mark 9:2-8; Luke 9:28-36).
2. James and Jesus’ Passion: After the Transfiguration, Jesus set his face to go to Jerusalem. When the people of the Samaritan villages refused to receive Jesus on his journey to Jerusalem, James and John asked Jesus: “Lord, do you want us to bid fire come down from heaven and consume them?” But Jesus turned and rebuked them and they went on to another village (Luke 9:51-56). This gives us some idea of why Jesus called the two sons of Zebedee “sons of thunder” (Mark 3:17). Before Jesus entered Jerusalem, the mother of James and John (possibly named Salome), approached Jesus and asked him to command that her two sons may sit at Jesus' right and left hand in his kingdom. Jesus turns and asks the two Apostles: “Are you able to drink the chalice that I am to drink?;” “Are you able to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” That day they accepted Jesus’ chalice and baptism. They learned not only that they will suffer for Jesus, but that greatness in the kingdom is linked to service: whoever would be great must be a servant, and whoever would be first must be a slave (Matthew 20:20-28). After the Last Supper, after being sanctified in the truth by Jesus (John 17:17), James was one of the three Apostles who witnessed Jesus’ Agony in the Garden (Matthew 26:36-46; Mark 14:32-42). He had seen and experienced Jesus’ glory on Mount Tabor; he now experiences Jesus’ suffering and humility on the Mount of Olives. This, Pope Benedict XVI said, was an opportunity for him to grow in faith and adjust any triumphalist interpretation of the Transfiguration. James had to learn that the Messiah was not only surrounded by honor and glory, but also by suffering and weakness. “Christ’s glory was fulfilled precisely on the Cross, in his sharing in our sufferings” (Benedict XVI, June 21, 2006).
3. The Martyrdom of James: In the Garden, James heard Jesus speak to his Father about the chalice that Jesus would drink and that he would share. James, in fact, would be the first martyr among the Apostles: “About that time Herod the king laid violent hands upon some who belonged to the Church. He killed James the brother of John with the sword; and when he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. This was during the days of Unleavened Bread” (Acts 12:1-3). In his life and his death, James bore fruit that would last. His confession of faith and the shedding of his blood strengthened the early Church. Now, in heaven, he intercedes for the Church on earth and sustains her by his protection (Collect). Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians speaks about carrying in our bodies the dying of Jesus and manifesting in them the life of Jesus. James did this; he believed in Jesus, suffered for his name, and knew that the one who raised the Lord Jesus would also raise him with Jesus and place him in his heavenly presence. By drinking the chalice of the Lord, he became a friend of God (Communion Antiphon). Today we ask the Father to cleanse us by the saving baptism of Christ’s passion so that purified on this Feast of Saint James, we may offer a sacrifice pleasing to him (Prayer over the Offerings).
Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, you desire your friends to share in your life, death, and resurrection. You do not promise an easy life, but rather one filled with joy, love, service, suffering, and sacrifice. Help me, as you helped James, to follow each day in your footsteps.
Feast of Saint James, Apostle
Opening Prayer: Jesus, you are all-powerful and yet perfectly humble. Please open my mind to hear the Word and let it convert my pride into humility.
Encountering Christ:
1. “My Kingdom Is Not Here”: The mother of James and John, the sons of Zebedee, did not understand what Jesus’s kingdom would be like. Many of his disciples also misunderstood. They thought that Jesus would come to destroy the Romans’ political power and reign as king. But, as Jesus told Pontius Pilate during the Passion, “My Kingdom does not belong to this world. If my Kingdom did belong to this world, my attendants [would] be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my Kingdom is not here” (John 18:36). Jesus’s Kingdom is so much more than earthly power. He holds the keys to the infinite universe! And he has invited us to join him in heaven one day. Thy Kingdom come, Lord Jesus.
2. Driven for Greatness: Society tells us to strive to be successful and hold positions of power. The world recognizes success as having a great career and plenty of money to live comfortably. But God’s economy is different, even paradoxical. Jesus told the people, “The greatest among you must be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted” (Matthew 23:11-12). Spiritual director and author Fr. Jacque Philippe wrote, “Humility is truth. I am what I am in God’s eyes: a poor child who possesses absolutely nothing, who receives everything, infinitely loved and totally free.” When our sense of self is firmly rooted in the truth–that we are beloved children of God–we do not need to puff ourselves up, or rely on anything worldly to make us “great.”
3. Jesus, Our Servant?: Jesus told us, “...the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve...” He gave us a vivid illustration of what he meant when he washed the disciples’ feet at the Last Supper. Yet, all of his life was, in fact, an act of service. He was born for us; lived as a human being for our sakes; suffered, died, and was buried; instituted the Church; and is preparing a place for us in heaven one day (John 14:2-3). What will we do for him today?
Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, I cannot do away with my pride on my own. Please walk with me so that I might learn to walk humbly with you. You washed the Apostles’ feet on Holy Thursday (John 13:1-17). Thank you for showing us how we are to care for our brothers and sisters by choosing the most humble jobs and doing them for the glory of God. Help me to always make a humble choice, and so imitate you.
Resolution: Lord, today by your grace, I will choose a humble job without complaint or seeking to be recognized for it.
Tin Mừng hôm nay thật sự là Lời ban sự sống cho tất cả chúng ta. Thật vậy, Lời Chúa là con đường hướng dẫn những Kitô hữu chúng ta đến sự sống đời đời . Như lời Chúa hôm này đã dạy cho chúng ta là: Trước tiên là phải Phục vụ những nhu cầu của người khác. Đó là một Lời trái ngược lại với tất cả những gì mà thế giới hôm nay đang dạy mà muốn chúng ta làm. Chúng ta thường nghe người ta nói:.? những gì thế lực hay sức mạnh mà chúng ta đang có trong tay?
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