Lễ Chúa Giêsu biến Hình
(6 tháng 8)
Trong Thánh Kinh, những
ngọn núi thường là nơi các thánh đã gặp gỡ Thiên Chúa. Cũng trên những ngọn núi mà mọi người đã khám
phá rất nhiều về Thiên Chúa và chính họ. Như trong Tin Mừng hôm nay, vinh quang của
Chúa Giêsu đã được mạc khải cho các thánh Phêrô, Giacôbê và Gioan. Trong một chớp
nhoáng hào quang toả sáng, đã cho chng ta thấy rất rõ rang là Chúa Giêsu không
những chỉ là một con người như chúng ta; nhưng Ngàibcũng là Con Thiên Chúa.
Những Lề luật và những tiên tri đã được ứng nghiệm một cách sâu sắc trong Đức
Chúa Jêsus, Tuy nhiên, trong một thời gian ngắn vinh quang của sự Biến dạng này
đã biến đi. Điều gì sẽ xảy ra sau khi họ
xuống núi? Liệu các môn đệ có còn tin rằng Chúa Giêsu là Thiên Chúa? Và họ sẽ
làm theo như lời khuyên của Chúa Cha là phải nghe lời Chúa Giêsu? Chúa Giêsu
muốn họ luôn ghi nhớ những gì mà Thiên Chúa đã tỏ ra cho họ trên núi.
Có bao giờ chúng ta đã quá kinh ngạc bởi sự hiện diện của Chúa Kitô trong cuộc sống của chúng ta? Có bao giờ chúng ta cảm thấy Thiên Chúa rất gần gũi với chúng ta và có baongiờ chúng ta phát hiện ra rằng Thiên Chúa đang thực sự ảnh hưởng đến cuộc sống của chúng ta?
Trong một khoảnh khắc được gặp gỡ với Thiên Chúa như vậy có thể xảy ra bất cứ lúc nào và nơi nào. Thời điểm như thế thật là một hồng ân mà Chúa đã ban cho chúng ta, Chúng ta có thể trở lại với thời gian đó trong sự yên tĩnh của sự cầu nguyện, hãy nhớ đến dữ kiện đó, thưởng thức những giây phút đó, và vì thế mà chúng ta sẽ được chúc phúc. Khi chúng ta nhớ lại những giây phút như thế này, khi chúng ta dành thời gian để lắng nghe những lời Chúa Giêsu nói với chúng ta, hay khi chúng ta tận hưởng sự hiện diện của Chúa , chúng ta hãy cho phép Chúa Giêsu để biến đổi cuộc sống và tâm hồn của chúng ta.
Lạy Chúa, chúng con muốn được thấy Chúa, Chúng con mong muốn được nhìn thấy vinh quang của Chúa như ba Tông Chúa yêu mến đã được chứng kiến, nhìn thấy Vinh quang của Chúa..
6th Aug 2015- TRANSFIGURATION OF OUR LORD
Have you ever been struck by Christ’s presence in your life? Have you ever felt God very close to you or discovered that God is truly affecting your life?
Lord, I want to encounter You. I desire to see Your glory.
August
6: Transfiguration of the Lord—Feast
Then Peter said to Jesus in reply, “Rabbi, it is good that we are here! Let us make three tents: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” He hardly knew what to say, they were so terrified. Then a cloud came, casting a shadow over them; from the cloud came a voice, “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.” Mark 9:5–7
Just prior to the Transfiguration, Jesus began to reveal to His disciples that He would suffer greatly, be rejected by the elders, be killed and then rise on the third day. This caused much fear for the disciples as they grappled with this unsettling revelation from our Lord. And even though Jesus remained firm with them and even rebuked Peter for his fear, Jesus also gave three of His disciples a very precious gift.
After much traveling, preaching, miracle working and private conversations about His passion with the Twelve, Jesus invited Peter, James and John to go with Him up a high mountain to pray. These disciples most likely had no idea what they would soon encounter. As they made the difficult and arduous journey, their minds must have been pondering not only the mighty deeds done by Jesus in the previous months but also His words about the suffering to come. As they struggled with this, much to their amazement, Jesus “was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white.” Suddenly Moses and Elijah appeared before them, representing the Law and the prophets. These two Old Testament figures appeared as a way of saying to these disciples that everything that Jesus was telling them was to take place to fulfill all that had been foretold about Him from of old. Perhaps Jesus thought that if His disciples would not fully listen to Him, then seeing Moses and Elijah would help. But Jesus went even further. The Voice of the Father Himself thundered and said, “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.” Thus, if these disciples would not ultimately listen to Jesus alone, or if even Moses and Elijah failed to convince them, then the last hope was the Father Himself. And Jesus delivered such a grace.
The Transfiguration was a true mercy. These disciples had never seen anything like it before. But it was most likely this act of mercy that ultimately helped them to accept the hard truth that Jesus was trying to teach them about His coming suffering and death. If the Father in Heaven Personally gave witness to Jesus, then everything that Jesus had said was trustworthy.
As we read through the Gospels and the many teachings God has given us through the Church, think about whether there are some teachings with which you struggle? Or in your own life, on a personal level, are there some things you know God wants of you but you find it difficult to accept? When confusion sets in, that means we are not listening, are not fully hearing what God is saying to us or are not understanding. And though we will not see the Transfigured Lord with our eyes and hear the Voice of the Father with our ears as these three disciples did, we must choose to believe all that God has said as if it were the Transfigured Lord, with Moses and Elijah, and the Father Himself speaking clearly and directly to us. “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.” Those words were not only spoken for the good of the disciples, they are also spoken to us.
Reflect, today, upon this powerful experience given to these disciples by our Lord. Try to place yourself in the scene so as to witness Jesus transfigured in the most glorious way, with Moses and Elijah and with the thundering Voice of the Father. Allow the Father to speak also to you, telling you that all He has spoken through the Scriptures, the Church and within your own conscience is true. Allow this revelation to convince you on the deepest level to acknowledge not only the divinity of Jesus but also to “Listen to Him” in every way.
My transfigured Lord, You are glorious beyond imagination, and You revealed a small glimpse of this glory to Your disciples to help them trust You more fully. May I also trust in You more completely, knowing that all You have spoken to me is true. Please remove any doubt and fear in my life so that nothing keeps me from embracing Your holy will. Jesus, I trust in You.
August
6: Transfiguration of the Lord—Feast 2024
Reflection Tuesday 18th Ordinary2024
Opening Prayer: Lord God, it is good that I am here with you. I will listen to your beloved Son and follow him. I believe that he rose from the dead, sits at your right hand, and will come again in glory to judge all the living and the dead. He is the King over all creation and I am a member of your Kingdom.
1. The Son of Man in Daniel: The prophecy from Daniel in the First Reading is one of the most important in the Old Testament. We see two divine figures. The first is the “Ancient One” or “Ancient of Days.” In the light of the New Testament, we know that this is God the Father who grants kingship, authority, and power to another divine figure, “one like a son of man.” “Son of Man” was the title that Jesus most often used to refer to himself. On the one hand, the title emphasizes Jesus’ human nature and the humility of assuming our human nature through his Incarnation. On the other, it identifies him as the divine Savior figure that Daniel prophesied would come at the end of the age (Bergsma, The Word of the Lord: Solemnities and Feasts, 338).
Có bao giờ chúng ta đã quá kinh ngạc bởi sự hiện diện của Chúa Kitô trong cuộc sống của chúng ta? Có bao giờ chúng ta cảm thấy Thiên Chúa rất gần gũi với chúng ta và có baongiờ chúng ta phát hiện ra rằng Thiên Chúa đang thực sự ảnh hưởng đến cuộc sống của chúng ta?
Trong một khoảnh khắc được gặp gỡ với Thiên Chúa như vậy có thể xảy ra bất cứ lúc nào và nơi nào. Thời điểm như thế thật là một hồng ân mà Chúa đã ban cho chúng ta, Chúng ta có thể trở lại với thời gian đó trong sự yên tĩnh của sự cầu nguyện, hãy nhớ đến dữ kiện đó, thưởng thức những giây phút đó, và vì thế mà chúng ta sẽ được chúc phúc. Khi chúng ta nhớ lại những giây phút như thế này, khi chúng ta dành thời gian để lắng nghe những lời Chúa Giêsu nói với chúng ta, hay khi chúng ta tận hưởng sự hiện diện của Chúa , chúng ta hãy cho phép Chúa Giêsu để biến đổi cuộc sống và tâm hồn của chúng ta.
Lạy Chúa, chúng con muốn được thấy Chúa, Chúng con mong muốn được nhìn thấy vinh quang của Chúa như ba Tông Chúa yêu mến đã được chứng kiến, nhìn thấy Vinh quang của Chúa..
Have you ever been struck by Christ’s presence in your life? Have you ever felt God very close to you or discovered that God is truly affecting your life?
Lord, I want to encounter You. I desire to see Your glory.
Then Peter said to Jesus in reply, “Rabbi, it is good that we are here! Let us make three tents: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” He hardly knew what to say, they were so terrified. Then a cloud came, casting a shadow over them; from the cloud came a voice, “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.” Mark 9:5–7
Just prior to the Transfiguration, Jesus began to reveal to His disciples that He would suffer greatly, be rejected by the elders, be killed and then rise on the third day. This caused much fear for the disciples as they grappled with this unsettling revelation from our Lord. And even though Jesus remained firm with them and even rebuked Peter for his fear, Jesus also gave three of His disciples a very precious gift.
After much traveling, preaching, miracle working and private conversations about His passion with the Twelve, Jesus invited Peter, James and John to go with Him up a high mountain to pray. These disciples most likely had no idea what they would soon encounter. As they made the difficult and arduous journey, their minds must have been pondering not only the mighty deeds done by Jesus in the previous months but also His words about the suffering to come. As they struggled with this, much to their amazement, Jesus “was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white.” Suddenly Moses and Elijah appeared before them, representing the Law and the prophets. These two Old Testament figures appeared as a way of saying to these disciples that everything that Jesus was telling them was to take place to fulfill all that had been foretold about Him from of old. Perhaps Jesus thought that if His disciples would not fully listen to Him, then seeing Moses and Elijah would help. But Jesus went even further. The Voice of the Father Himself thundered and said, “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.” Thus, if these disciples would not ultimately listen to Jesus alone, or if even Moses and Elijah failed to convince them, then the last hope was the Father Himself. And Jesus delivered such a grace.
The Transfiguration was a true mercy. These disciples had never seen anything like it before. But it was most likely this act of mercy that ultimately helped them to accept the hard truth that Jesus was trying to teach them about His coming suffering and death. If the Father in Heaven Personally gave witness to Jesus, then everything that Jesus had said was trustworthy.
As we read through the Gospels and the many teachings God has given us through the Church, think about whether there are some teachings with which you struggle? Or in your own life, on a personal level, are there some things you know God wants of you but you find it difficult to accept? When confusion sets in, that means we are not listening, are not fully hearing what God is saying to us or are not understanding. And though we will not see the Transfigured Lord with our eyes and hear the Voice of the Father with our ears as these three disciples did, we must choose to believe all that God has said as if it were the Transfigured Lord, with Moses and Elijah, and the Father Himself speaking clearly and directly to us. “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.” Those words were not only spoken for the good of the disciples, they are also spoken to us.
Reflect, today, upon this powerful experience given to these disciples by our Lord. Try to place yourself in the scene so as to witness Jesus transfigured in the most glorious way, with Moses and Elijah and with the thundering Voice of the Father. Allow the Father to speak also to you, telling you that all He has spoken through the Scriptures, the Church and within your own conscience is true. Allow this revelation to convince you on the deepest level to acknowledge not only the divinity of Jesus but also to “Listen to Him” in every way.
My transfigured Lord, You are glorious beyond imagination, and You revealed a small glimpse of this glory to Your disciples to help them trust You more fully. May I also trust in You more completely, knowing that all You have spoken to me is true. Please remove any doubt and fear in my life so that nothing keeps me from embracing Your holy will. Jesus, I trust in You.
Reflection Tuesday 18th Ordinary2024
Opening Prayer: Lord God, it is good that I am here with you. I will listen to your beloved Son and follow him. I believe that he rose from the dead, sits at your right hand, and will come again in glory to judge all the living and the dead. He is the King over all creation and I am a member of your Kingdom.
1. The Son of Man in Daniel: The prophecy from Daniel in the First Reading is one of the most important in the Old Testament. We see two divine figures. The first is the “Ancient One” or “Ancient of Days.” In the light of the New Testament, we know that this is God the Father who grants kingship, authority, and power to another divine figure, “one like a son of man.” “Son of Man” was the title that Jesus most often used to refer to himself. On the one hand, the title emphasizes Jesus’ human nature and the humility of assuming our human nature through his Incarnation. On the other, it identifies him as the divine Savior figure that Daniel prophesied would come at the end of the age (Bergsma, The Word of the Lord: Solemnities and Feasts, 338).
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