Suy Niệm thứ Tư Tuần 28 Thường niên

Suy Niệm thứ Tư Tuần 28 Thường niên
Công lý và hòa bình
Qua Tin Mừng hôm nay, chúng ta thấy trong cuộc tranh cãi với những người Pharisêu, Chúa Giê Su đã đặt nặng vấn đề công lý và tình yêu của Thiên Chúa như là lõi cốt chính của cuộc sống chung trong xã hội trên hơn tất cả bất cứ quan điểm cá nhân nào. Hòa bình và Pháp luật, Công lý và Hoà bình được kết nối không thể tách rời. Khi Luật Pháp bị chà đạp và sự bất công nổi lên nắm quyền, thì hòa bình luôn bị đe dọa.
Những tiêu chí chính trị phải dựa trên những giá trị đạo đức, chứ không phải là do con người chúng ta tạo ra, nhưng chúng phải được công nhận trên sự bình đẳng cho tất cả mọi người. Nếu không có sự bình đẳng thì Luật pháp có thể được áp dụng theo hình thức của những người có quyền theo kiểu cường hào ác bá bởi vì luật pháp được lập ra vì những lợi ích của phe phái hay phe nhóm có quyền.
Hai yếu tố sau đã làm nổi bật vì chúng biến công lý không còn có ý nghĩa mà là công cụ̣ bất chính cho kẻ cầm quyền. Thứ nhất, "chủ nghĩa hoài nghi của hệ tư tưởng", làm cho lương tâm trở nên tồi tệ hơn khi tìm mọi cách để biện minh cho những việc làm bất lương của kẻ cầm quyền bằng bất kỳ phương tiện nào để đạt được những mục tiêu và quyền lợi phe nhóm. Thứ hai, "chủ nghĩa hoài nghi cùa trong việc kinh doanh (khai thác vô nguyên tắc các nguồn tài nguyên thiên nhiên), khi con người lợi dụng những tài nguyên thiên nhiên dùng quyền lực để thay thế Luật pháp.
Lạy Chúa, đạo giáo của Chúa Kitô không làm cho  lý trí của chúng con ra mù quáng, nhưng xin Chúa hãy soi sáng cho chúng con biết dùng lý trí để mang lại sự hoà bình và xin đức tin của chúng con có thể lấy lại sự bình tĩnh cho lý trí bởi vì cuộc sống hiện tại luôn có sự bóp méo sự thật và kìm chế tư tưởng của chúng con..
 
Justice and Peace
Today, in controversy with the Pharisees, Jesus Christ places justice and God’s love, as axes of social coexistence by setting them above personal viewpoints. Peace and Law, Justice and Peace are inseparably connected. When Law is trampled on and injustice comes to power, peace is always threatened.
            Political criteria should be based on those moral values, not created by us, but recognized and equal for all men. Without them Law can be criminally used with factional purposes. Two factors of justice dilution stand out. First, the “cynicism of ideology”, which obfuscates consciences by justifying any means to achieve factional objectives. Second, the “cynicism of business” (unscrupulous exploitation of natural resources), where the useful also takes the place of the good and power displaces Law.
              O Lord, Christianity do not lead us far from reason, but illuminates it instead: make that to achieve peace, faith may calm down reason, often distorted by ideological tyranny.
 
Wednesday of the Twenty-Eighth Week in Ordinary Time
Then one of the scholars of the law said to him in reply, “Teacher, by saying this you are insulting us too.” And he said, “Woe also to you scholars of the law! You impose on people burdens hard to carry, but you yourselves do not lift one finger to touch them.”  Luke 11:45–46
This scholar of the law had been listening to Jesus firmly rebuke the Pharisees. As he listened, his own conscience was pricked, and he challenged our Lord. What does Jesus do? He quickly and firmly rebukes the scholar of the law, pointing out that the scholar uses the law to impose heavy burdens on people. Jesus did not back down in this rebuke of love. Instead, He directed it to the very place that His rebuke was bearing fruit: in the conscience of this scholar of the law.
This experience of the scholar of the law teaches us two important lessons. First, we learn from him the importance of paying attention to our conscience when it is “pricked.” Second, it teaches us that when this happens, it is very easy to become defensive.
What is it that pricks your own conscience? Think back over the past month and reflect upon anything that you became defensive about. Did something someone said bother you? If so, pay attention to this. Sometimes we are bothered for reasons other than our own sin. But oftentimes, what actually bothers us is that we come face-to-face with some sin with which we struggle, and we do not want to admit it.
What if this scholar of the law would have listened to Jesus and, instead of being offended, became grateful for Jesus’ words? What if he would have humbly looked at his own life and realized that he was also guilty of the very things that Jesus was condemning the Pharisees for? If he would have done that, he would have been put in a position to sincerely examine his actions and begin a process of change. But this is hard to do.
Reflect, today, upon anything that has recently offended you. Be honest and admit that it is often the case that when God presents you with your sin through some means such as the loving rebuke of another, you must work diligently to overcome any pride. And when you feel defensive, you must immediately see that as an indication that there is something in your life that you need to change. A pricked conscience is a gift from God. Rejoice when that happens, rather than being offended, and you will discover one of the best ways by which you can grow in holiness of life by becoming free of the very sin our Lord is presenting to you.
My challenging Lord, You are constantly speaking to me in various ways. Sometimes You are gentle, and at other times You lovingly rebuke me. Please help me to see my sin. As I do, I pray that I will not become defensive or dismissive, rationalizing my erroneous actions. May I learn to rejoice in all that You say to me, especially when You speak Your rebukes of love. Jesus, I trust in You.
 
Wednesday 28^th Ordinary Time 2024
Opening Prayer: Lord God, enlighten my heart to know how I am responding to your gracious love. I hear the warning your Son gave to the Pharisees and the Scholars of the Law. Help me to know if I have unknowingly fallen into hypocrisy and sinful ways. May I help your people attain salvation!
 Encountering the Word of God
1. The Three Woes Pronounced upon the Pharisees: Earlier in Luke’s Gospel, Jesus pronounced a series of four covenant blessings and four covenant curses or “woes” (Luke 6:20-26). A “woe” is a cry of warning of coming judgment. Jesus taught that the poor, the hungry, those who weep, and those who are reviled on account of him enjoy God’s blessing. The rich, those who are full, those who laugh, and those who are spoken well of are given a warning. Jesus voices this cry “to warn that disaster awaits the comfortable of the world whose prosperity and notoriety have turned them away from God and the demands of his covenant” (Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: New Testament, 118). In today’s Gospel, Jesus warns the Pharisees with three “woes” that judgment is coming upon them. They are first warned about their religious hypocrisy. This means that they present themselves as righteous because of their detailed exterior fulfillment of lesser matters of the Law, and yet, interiorly, they are full of wickedness. They are two-faced: exteriorly and superficially, they give the appearance of holiness while, at the same time, they are interiorly and deeply wicked. Second, they are then warned about how they strive to attain temporal earthly honors instead of eternal heavenly glory. Third, Jesus warns them that they have become like unseen sources of defilement. Instead of bringing the people to God, they keep the people from entering the Kingdom of God. In short, Jesus warns the Pharisees that they are hypocrites, that they are full of evil, and that they have failed in their religious duties. For this, they are judged by Jesus and given a covenant warning of woe.
2. The First Woe Pronounced upon the Scholars of the Law: When the Scholars of the Law object that Jesus, by calling out the religious hypocrisy of the Pharisees, is insulting them too, Jesus does not apologize to them. He doubles down, so to speak, and pronounces three “woes” upon the Scholars of the Law. We hear the first one in the Gospel today and will hear the second and third warnings tomorrow. The first warning that Jesus gives concerns their interpretation of the Law of Moses. Jesus accuses them of burdening the people and not helping to ease the load. This means that they have added their human traditions to God’s Law and made it even harder to bear. In contrast to the Scholars of the Old Law, when Jesus gives us the New Law, he also gives the strength and power to fulfill it: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). Although the New Law is a higher standard than the Old Law, we are empowered to fulfill it through the gift of the Holy Spirit and the merits and grace of Jesus Christ.
3. Works of the Flesh vs. the Fruit of the Spirit: In the Letter to the Galatians, Paul speaks about what it means to enjoy freedom in Christ. This is not freedom to choose between and to do good or evil, but a freedom to do good and serve one’s brothers and sisters in love (Galatians 5:13-14). Instead of having to submit to the Old Law, we are guided and empowered by the Spirit to live according to the New Law. We need to walk by the Spirit in this freedom Christ has given us (Galatians 5:15-17). “The works of the flesh are obvious, and [Paul] has warned [the Galatians] before of the judgment coming against them. But avoiding them is a matter not of the law but the Spirit, who produces good fruit in those joined to Christ. So live by the Spirit” (Prothro, The Apostle Paul and His Letters, 156). Paul lists fifteen works of the flesh, including immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, strife, selfishness, rivalry, dissension, division, envy, and drunkenness (see ESV-CE translation). He then lists nine fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, you truly lived according to the Spirit. You loved, were full of joy, brought peace, were patient and kind, were generous beyond measure, were faithful to your Father’s will, were gentle, and manifested self-control in everything. Help me to imitate you in all that I do today.
 
Wednesday 28^th Ordinary Time 2023
Introductory Prayer: Lord, I believe that you are present here as I turn to you in prayer. I trust and have confidence in your desire to give me every grace I need to receive today. Thank you for your love, thank you for your immense generosity toward me. I give you my life and my love in return.
Petition: I want to see my heart as you see it, Lord, make my heart more like yours.
Encountering Christ:
1. Falling into the Same Trap: Do we ever find ourselves rooting for Jesus in this Gospel passage? “Give it to ’em hard, Lord! They deserve it!” We imagine ourselves there in the scene—our arms sternly crossed, our heads shaking in disapproval of those oh-so hypocritical Pharisees. Soon our thoughts turn to someone we know who “should also receive a good verbal lashing!” Even a priest or a bishop might be the subject of our mental reprimand. In this second scene, however, Christ has faded or disappeared altogether, and we are the ones telling it like it is. Yet we now find ourselves right in the shoes of the very Pharisees we so deplore: Our hearts are embittered and dry. Although we are able to condemn with the Lord, we do not love with the Lord. We forget that Christ would lay down his life for these Pharisees he is calling to conversion—even if they were the only ones who needed to be saved. We’ve become like the lawyers who bind up loads of criticism, yet won’t offer a prayer of help. Pointing the finger is easy, but a call to conversion can come only from a heart that loves. 
2. The Grumpy Catholics Guild: Is there anyone who can’t find at least one thing wrong in their parish or diocese? As long as the Church is made of human beings there will always be aspects to improve. One thing is to see, pray for, and help resolve these difficulties. Another matter is to dwell on them. That is what the members of the “Grumpy Catholics Guild” (GCG) do. They could be in the most thriving diocese in the country, in the most fervent and engaging parish, yet they have only negative things to say. This Gospel passage is the one exclusive lens through which they view everything. For the Rosary, members of the GCG pray the “Vengeful Mysteries”: Jesus curses the fig tree, Jesus clears the temple, Jesus condemns the scribes and Pharisees, Jesus separates the sheep from the goats and sends the goats to “you know where”. Might I be an anonymous member—or at least a supporter—of the GCG? Christ used hard words, but they were only fruit of an intense love and longing for the scribes’ and Pharisees’ salvation, not an intense bitterness toward them. If I have any bitterness in my heart, I need to ask Christ for the grace to forgive and to forgive as Christ forgives. 
3. Helping Hand: Our Lord was the greatest teacher, the great pedagogue of the fullness of life: the love of the Father. He knew how to bring souls along little by little, at their pace and to the extent they were capable. The way he dealt with the Samaritan woman is exemplary (cf. John 4:5-29). If anyone’s life could have been used by Christ as the occasion for a series of ‘woes to you’, hers could have served well. But that is not how Christ dealt with her. He didn’t heap opprobrium on her; rather, he gently brought her to recognize her own desire for the goodness and love of God. The same can be said of Christ’s treatment of the woman caught in adultery (cf. John 8:3-11). Because of his love, he forgave her and set her back on her feet. The opposite is true of the lawyers at the end of this Gospel passage. They would load restrictions, unwieldy responsibilities and weighty sacrifices upon the people, but would not reach out a helping hand to assist the people in carrying the weight. As Christians we are called to help illuminate the consciences of those around us so that they might have a closer relationship with God. However, if illuminating their consciences is merely our euphemism for “throwing the book at them”, we need to stop and see if Christ’s words don’t apply to us as well: “You impose on people burdens hard to carry, but you yourselves do not lift one finger to touch them.”
Conversation with Christ: Lord Jesus, at times I look at my heart and see that it is hard and bitter. It is ready to jump self-righteously at the first opportunity self-righteously to condemn someone else, but only so as to assure myself of my own moral superiority. Grant me a heart, meek and humble like yours.
Resolution: If I find myself thinking critically about someone today, I will pray for them and look for two good qualities in them.
 
Wednesday 28^th Ordinary Time (October 17): 
Suy niệm lời Chúa Thứ Tư 28 thuờng niên (Luke 11:42-46)
Điểm chính của bài học mà Chúa Giêsu dạy chúng ta hôm nay là  cốt lõi của giới răn Thiên Chúa đó là tình yêu thương, yêu thương là giới răn quan trong nhất, và yêu mến Thiên Chúa và thương yêu những người chung quanh là những người được tạo dựng nên theo giống hình ảnh Thiên Chúa. Thiên Chúa là tình yêu (1 Gioan 4:8) và tất cả mọi thứ Ngài dựng nên đuộc phát sinh ra từ tình yêu của Ngài cho chúng ta. Tình yêu Thiên Chúa là Tình yêu vô điều kiện và hoàn toàn hướng tới những lợi ích cho người khác. Tình yêu thương chân thật đều biết chia xẻ và nâng đỡ những gánh nặng của người khác. Thánh Phaolô đã nhắc nhở chúng ta như trong thư gửi tín hữu Rôma rằng "Thiên Chúa đã đổ tình yêu của Ngài vào lòng chúng ta, nhờ Thánh Thần mà Người ban cho chúng ta." (Rô-ma 5:5). Mỗi ngày trong cuộc sống của chúng ta, Thiên Chúa đã ban cho mỗi người chúng ta những hồng ân của Ngài hầu giúp chúng ta có đủ sức mạnh để chúng ta yêu thương nhau như Ngài đã yêu thương chúng ta và giúp chúng ta dỡ bỏ những gánh nặng của người khác để họ cũng có thể trải nghiệm được ân sủng và tình yêu của Chúa Giêsu Kitô.
Reflection Luke 11:42-46
The point of  lesson Jesus teach us today  is the essence of God's commandments is love; love of the supreme good ; and Love God himself and love of our neighbor who is made in the image and likeness of God. God is love (1 John 4:8) and everything he does flows from his love for us. God's love is unconditional and is wholly directed towards the good of others. True love both embraces and lifts the burdens of others. Saint Paul reminds us in the letter to the Romans that "God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given us" (Romans 5:5). 
Each day in our lives, God gives each of us sufficient grace in order for us to love as he loves and to lift the burdens of others that they, too, may experience the grace and love of Jesus Christ.