Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ Hai Tuần 31 Thường Niên

Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ Hai Tuần 31 Thường Niên
Qua bài Tin Mừng hôm nay, Chúa Giêsu dạy chúng ta ý nghĩa thực sự của lòng quảng đại Kitô giáo: Hãy học cách để cống hiến chính mình cho người khác. "Khi nào bạn đãi khách ăn trưa hay ăn tối, thì đừng kêu mời bạn bè, anh em, hay bà con, hoặc láng giềng giàu có, kẻo họ cũng mời lại bạn, và như thế bạn được đáp lễ rồi. ”(Lc 14:12). Kitô hữu chúng ta hài hoà sống trong thế giới này cũng như những bao nhiêu người nào khác, nhưng mục đích căn bản của chúng ta là đối phó với những người chung quanh, láng giềng không thể là phần thưởng nơi con người hoặc hư vinh, trên tất cả mọi thứ khác, chúng ta phải tìm kiếm sự vinh quang của Thiên Chúa  trước hết cũng như không hề nghĩ đến sự báo đáp trả ơn nào khác hơn là thiên đàng. " khi bạn đãi tiệc, hãy mời những người nghèo khó, tàn tật, què quặt, đui mù.  Vì họ không có gì đáp lễ, và như thế, bạn mới thật có phúc: vì bạn sẽ được đáp lễ trong ngày các kẻ lành sống lại". Lc 42:13-14).
Chúa mời gọi tất cả chúng ta cống hiến chính chúng ta cho mọi người và nhân loại một cách vô điều kiện , chỉ có tình yêu thương của chúng ta cho Thiên Chúa và anh em là động cơ thúc đẩy  chúng ta trong Chúa. "Nếu anh em cho vay mà hy vọng đòi lại được, thì còn gì là ân với nghĩa? Cả người tội lỗi cũng cho kẻ tội lỗi vay mượn để được trả lại sòng phẳng"(Lc 06:34).  Mọi thứ như thế bởi vì Chúa giúp chúng ta hiểu rằng, nếu chúng ta dâng hiến chính mình một cách không ích kỷ, không mong đón nhận lại một điều gì, Thiên Chúa sẽ đáp trả cho chúng ta một phần thưởng lớn hơn và sẽ xác nhận chúng ta là con cái yêu quý của Ngài. Đấy là lý do tại sao Chúa Giêsu nói với chúng ta: "Anh em hãy yêu kẻ thù, hãy làm ơn và cho vay mà chẳng hề hy vọng được đền trả. Như vậy, phần thưởng dành cho anh em sẽ lớn lao, và anh em sẽ là con Ðấng Tối Cao"(Lc 6:35).  Chúng ta hãy cầu xin của Đức mẹ là Mẹ Thiên Chúa cho chúng ta có đũ lòng rộng lượng đủ để chúng ta có thể trốn tránh tất cả những sự cám dỗ của sự ích kỷ, tham lam như Con của Mẹ đã làm.  
Comment: Fr. Austin Chukwuemeka IHEKWEME (Ikenanzizi, Nigeria)
When you give a feast, invite instead the poor (…). Fortunate are you then, because they can't repay you; you will be repaid at the Resurrection of the upright
            Today, the Lord teaches us the true meaning of Christian generosity: to learn how to devote ourselves to others. «When you give a lunch or a dinner, don't invite your friends, or your brothers and relatives and wealthy neighbors. For surely they will also invite you in return and you will be repaid» (Lk 14:12).
            Christians move about in this world as any other person; but the fundamental purpose to deal with our neighbor cannot be either humans rewards or the vainglory; over everything else, we have to seek the Glory of God pretending no other recompense than Heaven. «When you give a feast, invite instead the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind. Fortunate are you then, because they can't repay you; you will be repaid at the Resurrection of the upright» (Lk 42:13-14).
            The Lord invites all of us to give ourselves unconditionally to all men, motivated only by our love to God and to our brothers in the Lord. «And if you lend to them of whom you hope to receive, what thank have you? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again» (Lk 6:34).
            Things are like that because the Lord helps us to understand that, if we give ourselves unselfishly, without expecting anything in return, God will repay us with a greater reward and will confirm us as his favorite children. This is why Jesus tells us: «But love you your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and you shall be the children of the Highest» (Lk 6:35).
            Let us beg from the Mother of God enough generosity so that we can elude any temptation of selfishness, as his Son did. «Selfish! You...always looking out for yourself. You seem unable to feel the brotherhood of Christ. In others you don't see brothers; you see stepping-stones. (...)» (St. Josemaria Escriva).
 
Monday of the Thirty-First Week in Ordinary Time
“When you hold a lunch or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or sisters or your relatives or your wealthy neighbors, in case they may invite you back and you have repayment. Rather, when you hold a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you.” Luke 14:12–14
Is Jesus telling us that it is sinful to invite friends and family to a dinner party? Certainly not. He is teaching us about something much deeper. Throwing a dinner party for others is good when our motive is love. But if the goal of the dinner, or any other act of charity, is vainglory, then the vanity we achieve from such an act is the payment we will receive. Sadly, the “payment” of vainglory is sought and obtained by many in various ways. Jesus’ lesson teaches us that our only motive for the good we do should be the humble and hidden motive of loving service.
As a result of the temptation to pride, we can easily find ourselves being inordinately concerned about what others think about us. Holding a lunch or dinner for friends, family, and your wealthy neighbors is simply an illustration of the sin of pride at work. Within this context, Jesus is speaking about a person who performs some act for the sole purpose of building up their self-image and obtaining praise and flattery from others. This form of “glory” is truly vain in that it is not only worthless to the good of the soul, it is also damaging.
Why do you do what you do? Are your good actions done so that others will see and praise them? Do you go out of your way to show people how good you are? Are you overly concerned about the opinions of others? If the answer to any of these questions is “yes,” then you might be struggling with pride more than you realize.
On the contrary, are you content with doing some good deed that is hidden from the eyes of others? Can you take delight solely in helping others, even if no one knows about it? Are you motivated to serve and give of yourself for the exclusive reason that you want to make a difference in the lives of others? This is what Jesus means when He says you should hold a banquet for the poor, crippled, lame, blind, and everyone who is unable to repay you. In other words, when you are not able to receive the “reward” of vainglory, that is good. That must be your goal.
Reflect, today, upon how strong your desire is for notoriety. Consider some scenario where you worked hard day and night for some time to do some good work. Imagine that the good work accomplished great benefits for others. Then imagine that no one knew you were behind that good work and, therefore, you received no gratitude or acknowledgment. How would you feel? Ideally, you would rejoice for two reasons. First, you would rejoice that you were able to serve and make a difference. Second, you would rejoice that God and God alone was aware of your act of charity. When God sees our goodness and selfless service, He puts Himself in debt to us in a certain sense. The “debt” that God takes on is His gratitude and love which are expressed to us through eternal rewards of His making. Seek to obtain these eternal rewards by striving to serve in the most hidden and humble ways possible. Those rewards infinitely surpass the fleeting rewards of vainglory.
Most glorious God, You came to earth to suffer and die. In that act of perfect love You brought about the greatest good ever known. You offered this holy service of love in the most hidden and humble of ways. As a result, You are now glorified forever. Help me to share in Your acts of humble and hidden service so that I, too, may one day share in the glory of Heaven. Jesus, I trust in You.
 
Monday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time 2024
Opening Prayer: Lord God, teach me the way of humility that leads to the heavenly banquet. Teach me the way of service and generosity that leads to union with you.
Encountering the Word of God
1. Invite the Poor: Throughout the Gospel of Luke, Jesus has warned the Pharisees about their hypocrisy (Luke 11:37-44; 12:1). Exteriorly, they presented themselves as righteous and meticulous in their fulfillment of God’s law, but interiorly, they neglected the love and righteousness of God. They did things only to be seen, honored, and thought well of by others. Jesus has just taught the guests at the dinner not to seek the places of honor (Luke 14:7-11). The path to true exaltation is found in humility. In today’s Gospel passage, he turns his attention to the host of the dinner. He tells him that he has been inviting his friends, relatives, and wealthy neighbors in the hopes of being invited back to their homes. Instead, the man should invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind to his banquets since they cannot return the favor. “God will repay those whom the poor cannot. Those who invite the poor into their banquets on earth – and by extension, help the poor in any way – will be admitted to the banquet in the kingdom of God” (Martin, Bringing the Gospel of Luke to Life, 401). Rather than seek earthly honors and earthly repayment, we should seek heavenly exaltation and heavenly repayment.
2. Humble and United in Heart: In Paul’s Letter to the Philippians, he asks them to contemplate Jesus’ humility. He wants the members of the Church in Philippi to be united in mind and heart. They should be encouraged since they belong to Christ. They should find solace and comfort in their mutual love, sharing in God’s Spirit, and the gift of divine mercy. A Christian should not act in a selfish way or out of vanity. The mark of a true Christian is humility and service, not pride and self-seeking. Paul’s encouragement to humility was contrary to the Roman culture of Philippi, “where one’s place in the imperial pecking order was a matter of great concern and where upper-class men were expected to ambitiously pursue honor” (Hamm, Philippians, Colossians, Philemon, 94). The model of humility is Jesus, who put our interests – our dire need of salvation – ahead of his own.
3. Finding Peace in the Lord: The Responsorial Psalm reminds us that true peace is found in the Lord. It is a psalm of trust. “It advocates humility as the proper spirit of prayer and the way to inner peace. The Psalmist renounces pride (131:1), compares himself to a small child feeling safe in his mother’s lap (131:2), and encourages the people of Israel to draw close to God in the same way (131:3)” (Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: The Book of the Psalms, 130). In our relationship with God, we should not assert ourselves or try to venture beyond the limits of our knowledge. Many things – like the permission of evil and suffering in the world – go beyond our limited comprehension and remain mysteries. The Psalmist envisions himself as a weaned toddler who is content to be in his mother’s arms. We are invited, in this prayer, to trust in God just as such a child trusts in their mother (see Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: The Book of the Psalms, 130).
Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, you are meek and humble of heart. I am called to learn from you and be united to you. You sought to please your heavenly Father in all things. May I do the same and be content to dwell in the Father’s house.
 
Monday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time - Luke 14: 12-14
Introductory Prayer: Oh God, thank you for allowing me to come into your presence. Your love enlarges my soul. I long to see your face! I happen to this prayer with a thirst to be in your presence, to relax under your loving gaze. May my presence here be an expression of my love for you.
Petition: Lord, grant me the grace to put your interests before my self-interest.
1. “You Scratch My Back…” “… And I’ll scratch yours.” Unique is the individual who doesn’t keep at least one eye on his self-interest at all times. For many, life is about leverage, and good deeds are investments that will reap future profits. In this parable, Jesus invites us to think outside that human box and more in the divine one. God derives no personal benefits by showing us immeasurable love. We can’t, after all, give him anything that he doesn’t already have. Maybe we should be expanding our list of dinner invitations?
2. The Poor, the Crippled, the Lame, the Blind: Blessed Mother Teresa lived this Gospel verse in exemplary fashion. The story is told of a dying man, found lying in the street and brought to the Missionaries of Charity’s House of the Dying. They gave him the dignity that he had never known: “I have lived like a dog all my life. But now I will die like an angel.” Sometimes we also have opportunities to help others in dire need. Sometimes, more often, we can come to the aid of the person who is spiritually poor or crippled. Perhaps it is that person who is always in a foul mood or that other who once spread a rumor about me. “Blessed will you be because of their inability to repay you.”
3. Self-interest vs. Resurrection: Fr. Joe always used to say this about his priesthood: “The pay is lousy, but the retirement benefits are out of this world.” Self-interest is about getting a positive payback here and now. True love and charity do not keep a scorecard to make sure that “it’s worth it.” No, we are living for eternity. Let’s ask the Lord to give us a better sense of the big picture to see that those unrequited good deeds are the best ones. So you parents of the world, take heart! Your sacrifices will indeed find their reward, “in the resurrection of the righteous.”
Conversation with Christ: Dear Lord, how often I am thinking, “What’s in it for me?” Help me to reach out to others beyond the limits of my group. Help me to see that you are in every soul, not just the ones that in some way gratify me.