Trong bài Tin Mừng hôm Chúa Giêsu nhắc nhở các môn đệ về cái giá mà các môn đệ phải trả khi họ chấp nhận theo Chúa: Là họ sẽ bị ghét bỏ, bị bắt bớ, bị giam cần, bị bức hại và thậm chí còn phải chết vì tin theo Chúa Jêsus. Nhưng Chúa Jêsus bảo đảm với họ là Thiên Chúa Cha se sai Chúa Thánh Thần nâng đỡ và giúp sức cho họ để họ can đảm làm nhân chứng cho Chúa Kitô và sứ điệp của Ngài
Thật vậy ngay từ đầu các Tông đồ và những người Kitô hữu đã bị ghét bỏ, bị bắt bớ giam cầm và bị ngược đãi và họ đã bị giết, tử đạo chỉ vì họ là những người tin theo Chúa Giêsu..
Theo sách Tông Đồ Công Vụ (Công-vụ 6: 8- 15, 7: 1-60) chúng ta thấy Thánh Têphanô, đã bị ném đá cho đến chết và ngài là vị tử đạo đầu tiên của Chúa Kitô, vì ông đã chết vì làm chứng cho đức tin của ông nơi Chúa Jêsus. Từ tiếng Hy Lạp chữ (martyr) tử đạo có nghĩa là nhân chứng ngày hôm nay chúng ta gọi những vị tử đạo là những người bị bắt bớ, bị đau khổ hay những là người đã bị giết vì những gì họ đã tin và can đảm đứng lên để làm chứng và bênh vực sự thật.
Tất cả chúng ta đều được mời gọi để làm những nhân chứng cho Chúa Jêsus và để làm "Người tử vì đạo". Là nhân chứng của Chúa, chúng ta nên biết sẵn sàng để lãnh chịu những sự chế nhạo, phỉ báng vì Danh Chúa Kitô, và vì Sự Thật. Chúng ta sẽ bị ghét bỏ, bị bách hại và có khi còn bị giết hại: với ơn Chúa và sự trợ giúp của Chúa Thánh Thần, chúng ta có thể luôn biện kiên gian và trung thành với ơn gọi là làm chứng nhân cho Chúa Kitô.
REFLECTION
In the Gospel reading Jesus forewarn his disciples about the cost of discipleship: As followers of Jesus and witnesses to Christ and his message, they would be hated, arrested, brought to trial, persecuted and even put to death because they were followers of and believers in Jesus. Jesus assured them of God's help.
Indeed from the beginning the Apostles and the Christians were hated, arrested and persecuted and even put to death because they were Christians.
The Acts of the Apostles (Acts 6: 8- 15; 7: 1 -60) tells us about St. Stephen, the first martyr for Christ, who died in witness of his faith in the Lord Jesus. The Greek word martyr originally meant witness: today we call martyrs those who suffered or died for what they believed or stood for. All of us are called to be "martyrs," witnesses to Jesus. As witnesses we should be ready to be ridiculed and hated, persecuted and even put to death: with God's grace and the assistance of the Holy Spirit, may we remain faithful witnesses, "martyrs."
Friday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time
“When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say. You will be given at that moment what you are to say. For it will not be you who speak but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.” Matthew 10:19–20
This is an easy lesson to understand but very hard to live. This teaching of Jesus comes within the context of Him telling His Apostles that as they go forth to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom, they will be handed over to courts, scourged in synagogues, and led before governors and kings. They will be persecuted in one town after another for sharing the Gospel. Though such a “pep-talk” may not at first seem that encouraging, the Gospel passage quoted above should provide much encouragement. Encouragement, that is, if they can follow Jesus’ advice in faith.
When we are condemned, judged, misunderstood and the like, it is very common to begin mounting our defense within our minds right away. We justify our actions, set up a tribunal in our minds by which we act as judge and jury of the other, finding them guilty and issuing them punishments. The sin traditionally referred to as “self-love” is a sin that stems from pride and is not love at all. It tempts us to defend ourselves, using our own human wisdom and counsel.
If we carefully consider Jesus’ teaching above, most people will realize that it is a very hard teaching to embrace. Essentially, when you are condemned or mistreated by another, remain silent in your heart. Do not immediately dwell on the wound they have inflicted. Do not become obsessed with the apparent injustice. Do not worry or become filled with anxiety at the perceived persecution. Instead, turn your eyes to Jesus, consider only His Voice and His Truth. And instead of looking at the wound that was inflicted upon you, look at the person inflicting it. And look at them with love. They are not the enemy, they are the battleground for Truth, and it is your mission to help them hear God’s truth. So how do you do that? Jesus’ answer is straightforward. “You will be given at that moment what you are to say.” Furthermore, Jesus makes it clear that it must be the “Spirit of your Father” who is to speak through you in such a case.
Living such a teaching especially requires two things: humility and trust. Humility will allow the temptation to self-love (pride) to be set aside. This is essential if you are to hear the Voice of God speaking to you and, ultimately, allow Him to speak through you. Second, it is essential that you trust that what Jesus says is true. You must trust that, if you are humble and open to His Voice, that He will give you His words when He wants them spoken. This is difficult, because we often want to say far more than God chooses to say. God often calls us to silence in the face of injustice. A silence that is also imbued with love for the persecutor. This requires much trust in the grace of God, which results in an abundance of charity on your part.
Reflect, today, upon this teaching of our Lord. Consider how you react when someone condemns or judges you. How do you respond to such persecutions? Begin with silence, turn your eyes to the other out of love for them, and then listen and wait on the Lord. Wait until He gives you the words to say. Doing so is not only good for the persecutor, it is also exceptionally good for your own soul and holiness of life.
My patient Lord, You, Who are the Savior of the World and the God of all, allowed Yourself to be falsely accused, judged and condemned. During it all, You remained silent and spoke only when the Father spoke through You. Help me to be freed of all pride, dear Lord, so that I will speak only Your holy words, think only the thoughts inspired by You and act only on Your holy command of love. Jesus, I trust in You.
Friday 14th Ordinary 2024
Opening Prayer: Lord God, may your Spirit always speak through me! Teach me truly to be shrewd as a serpent and as simple as a dove when I proclaim your Gospel in word and deed.
Encountering the Word of God
1. God Cares for Us: Like the Book of Amos, which we read last week, the Book of Hosea, which we have read this week, concludes on a positive note. Amos ended by foretelling the day when God would raise up the fallen hut of David, bring new wine to his people, and restore the fortunes of Israel (Amos 9:13-15). Hosea concludes with a plea for Israel to return to the Lord and ask for forgiveness. In response, God will heal the people and love them. Israel will flourish like a garden and blossom like a vine. Hosea tells Israel not to trust in Assyria to save them, nor in idols to protect them. Rather, God is the one who answers Israel’s prayers and cares for Israel. When we approach God, who is steadfast like a cypress tree, we shall blossom like the lily and take root like the poplar tree. God is the one who gives us life, nourishes us, and builds us up. The Psalmist today recognizes that God is the one who teaches us wisdom. The wise man understands the action of God in history and in the heart of man: on the one hand, God purifies us, wipes out our offense, washes us from our guilt, and cleanses us of our sin; on the other, God raises us up, giving us a new heart and a new spirit. This is the action of the grace won for us by Christ: it purifies us from sin and elevates us to divine life in the Spirit.
2. Hosea in the New Testament: Hosea’s symbolic use of marriage to describe the relationship between God and his people was used throughout the New Testament. Jesus is the bridegroom who, through his passion and death, weds himself to God’s people in the New Covenant. Paul develops Hosea’s image to symbolize the union between the Christian community and Jesus Christ achieved through word and sacrament. In his Letter to the Ephesians, Paul emphasizes the self-emptying love that Christ has revealed on the cross to manifest most completely the covenant love and affection (hesed) God has always had for his people. “By sharing in the love of Christ, husband and wife manifest the divine hesed to one another in their mutual self-giving. In the Book of Revelation, marriage symbolizes the union between the Lord and his people in the heavenly Jerusalem” (Duggan, The Consuming Fire, 255). Hosea foretold not only the exile of Israel into Egypt (Hosea 8:13) but also that God will call Israel out of Egypt (Hosea 11:1). Matthew quotes this same passage and shows how it is fulfilled in the sojourn of the Holy Family in Egypt (Matthew 2:13-21). Jesus identifies himself with God’s people by reliving their journey from Egypt to the Promised Land (see Duggan, The Consuming Fire, 255). As the New Moses, Jesus leads the new people of God on a New Exodus.
3. Jesus and Hosea: Jesus quotes the Book of Hosea in his confrontation with the Pharisees. The Lord God desires merciful love, not empty sacrifices. Hosea exhorted Israel to act with integrity toward God and neighbor and avoid any worship connected with the pagan god Baal. When the Pharisees criticize Jesus’ fellowship with sinners and actions on the Sabbath, Jesus teaches them that “compassion toward others must override self-concerned legalism” (Duggan, The Consuming Fire, 255). Through the New Covenant, what Israel lost through their unfaithfulness to the old covenant, Gentiles and Jews are granted through Jesus Christ: “Now that [the Gentiles] have received the preaching of the Gospel and have been justified by faith in Christ, the Gentiles along with Jews in the Christian community are ‘children of the living God’ (Hosea 2:1) and can rejoice in the Lord calling them ‘my people’ through the new covenant (Romans 9:25-10:13)” (Duggan, The Consuming Fire, 256). In appointing the Apostles and sending them out, Jesus is gathering the tribes together and restoring Israel. On their mission to the lost sheep of Israel, the Apostles are themselves like sheep amid wolves: they are told that they will encounter opposition from Jews, Gentile rulers, and even their own families. Jesus’ statement about not finishing their mission to the towns of Israel before the coming of the Son of Man can be interpreted in at least three ways. It could mean that the Apostles will not finish visiting all of the towns before Jesus’ passion and death in A.D. 30. It could also mean that they will not finish before the judgment of the Temple in A.D. 70. Or it could mean that the mission to Israel will continue until Jesus comes again in glory at the end of time (see Mitch and Sri, The Gospel of Matthew, 146).
Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, you have restored the kingdom of David and inaugurated the Kingdom of Heaven. Allow me to see how the Kingdom has transformed the world around me so that I may be encouraged and filled with hope as I work on your behalf.
Living the Word of God: Let us thank God today for his faithful and merciful love toward us. We need to ask for forgiveness for all the evil we have committed and ask God to purify us and grant us eternal life. We need to ask him for the courage to preach the Gospel in our words and through our actions. We should rejoice that we are part of his people and we look forward to his coming in glory and to sharing in the wedding feast of the Lamb.
Friday 14th Ordinary 2023
Opening Prayer: Lord, I thank you for this moment of quiet prayer. Draw me close to your heart, and inflame my heart with faith, hope, and charity. Help me to see what you want me to see, and hear what you want me to hear, in this moment of prayer. Stir up the Holy Spirit in me, Lord Jesus!
Encountering Christ:
1. Shrewd as Serpents, Simple as Doves: At times, the world certainly seems as though it is entirely opposed to the Church and deaf to the Gospel message. While this may not always be the case, Christ exhorts us to be prudent and discerning (“shrewd as serpents”) in our dealings with the secular world. We need to be armed, but with what? Jesus tells us that childlike simplicity, being “simple as doves,” will keep us safe from the world’s wolves. This simplicity requires strong faith and docility so that we are able to submit to what God has asked of us, placing ourselves in the capable arms of the Father.
2. Wisdom of the Spirit: Christ promised his disciples that the Spirit of God would speak through them when they were persecuted and questioned about their faith. He promises the same to us today. This doesn't mean, however, that we shouldn’t prepare ourselves through study and prayer. Indeed, the most effective preparation we can make for ourselves is prayer, where we first encounter and come to know the voice of the Holy Spirit dwelling within us. It is from this encounter that we can draw the strength and wisdom of the Spirit to defend our faith in the public square.
3. Whoever Endures “to the End”: This phrase of Jesus sounds strange. Is he saying that if we white-knuckle through life’s trials, we’ll make it to Heaven? The Greek word for end, telos, gives us a different view of what Jesus means here. The common meaning of the word telos refers to the finish line in a race. Here we've been immediately reminded of St. Paul’s words to the Corinthians about running the race so as to win. We are not exhorted to perseverance merely to push ourselves for suffering’s sake; rather, Christ wants us to endure life’s trials as he did, relying on his grace so that he can bring us to where he is in heaven.
Conversing with Christ: Lord, it sometimes feels like the world is growing more hostile to your message. Help me fan the flame of the Holy Spirit that I received in baptism so that you may melt frozen hearts through me! I know difficulties will come, Lord. I trust in you. Forgive me when I lack trust and allow me to cling even more strongly to you.
Resolution: Lord, today, by your grace, I will recite the simple prayer “Jesus, I trust in you” when I experience difficulty.
Friday 14th Ordinary 2022
Opening Prayer: Lord, you promise that your Spirit will speak through me at the moments when I testify on your behalf. Help me to grow in faith and to hear your promptings so that I might be a better witness to your healing love. Help me to grow in the courage of faith, knowing that whatever is endured for your sake has eternal value. Amen.
Encountering Christ:
Sheep Among Wolves: Jesus was very clear in speaking with his disciples: the work ahead of them would not be easy, nor would everyone welcome them with open arms. In fact, there were those who would use the legal system and other legitimate authorities in a twisted or unjust way, so as to punish those who witnessed to the faith. As Christians, we should expect some level of persecution when we’re trying to extend the Kingdom of God. There are several contemporary examples of legal protests against Christians standing up for the Gospel in the public square. We know, however, that by prayer and the power of the Holy Spirit, we can be given the grace to become “as shrewd as serpents” to continue the work of evangelization.
Do Not Worry: Again and again, in the Gospels, Jesus tells us not to be afraid, to trust, not to worry. Yet, for many, doubts persist. So often we turn to what the world offers to calm our anxieties. A sure cure for worldly anxieties is to remember that the Lord does not abandon his faithful ones. The Holy Spirit gives us the right words in times of trial. “Who except God can give you peace? Has the world ever been able to satisfy the heart?” (St. Gerard Majella).
Enduring to the End: Jesus does not want our efforts at evangelization, however narrow we think they may be, to be a one-off. He calls us to make our entire life a positive witness to the Gospel. We are invited to look for opportunities, however small, in our daily lives to bear witness to the Good News. “What toil we must endure, what fatigue, while we are attempting to climb hills and the summits of mountains! What, that we may ascend to Heaven! If you consider the promised reward, what you endure is less. Immortality is given to the one who perseveres; everlasting life is offered; the Lord promises his Kingdom” (St. Cyprian of Carthage).
Conversing with Christ: Lord, I know I sometimes allow even the smallest discomfort to deter me from being a witness to your love. Help me to overcome my timidity and fear of rejection to proclaim your word through whatever trials you choose for me. Instill in me the courage to listen to your truth and the courage to speak it, even to those who do not want to hear your words. May I always persevere, for your glory.
Resolution: Lord, today by your grace I resolve to bear witness to your truth wherever I go. Knowing that the best way to show your love is first to receive it, I resolve to take every opportunity to receive you in the Blessed Sacrament and to spend time in prayer, bathed in your light and love.
REFLECTION
The first reading depicts the reconciliation of sinful Israel with God. After God punished Israel for her unfaithfulness, He restores her and gives her His grace to follow Him again. It is God who destroys and who builds up Israel. We, too, after a period of disobeying and offending God, should turn back to Him for healing. Whomever God chastises, He can also heal. There is no sin that God cannot erase if we only ask for His mercy with sincerity.
The Gospel depicts the persecution of the missionaries and disciples of Jesus. It tells us that if we are true followers of Jesus, we may one day also be persecuted for our faith. But we should not be afraid because God will give us the courage and wisdom to speak the right words in the name of Jesus. Let us lead Christian lives so that, when confronted with challenges, we will, through the grace of the Holy Spirit, have the courage to proclaim our faith in Jesus.
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