Suy Niệm Tin Mừng thứ Ba Tuần thứ 2 Thường Niên
"Vì Chúa không thấy
những
gì mà như là con đã người nhìn thấy." Cả hai bài đọc hôm nay nói cho chúng ta biết về những khía cạnh khác nhau về góc độ nhìn của Chúa. Quan điểm của chúng ta là rất hạn chế và thường bị ô nhiễm độc bởi tất cả các loại tội lỗi. Kết quả là chúng ta không thể nhìn thấy xa hơn những gì mà chúng ta có thể thấy.
“For the Lord does not see as mortals see.” Today's readings both speak of looking at each other from the Lord’s perspective. Our perspective is very limited and often tainted by all kinds of sin. As a consequence, we do not see beyond what we see.
Therefore, we miss the life-giving and life-creating perspective of God. Most of the time without looking into the hearts of the others, we judge them by their outward appearances, forgetting that these outward appearances can be deceptive.
After having created the world in six days the Lord rested on the seventh day and consecrated it as the Sabbath. The true spirit behind the Sabbath was to continue to do unceasingly what is good for others. In the Gospel, Jesus invites us to return to the true inner spirit behind all of our spiritual practices and not get stuck with outward practices. The greatest commandment that Jesus has given us is of love. “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another” (John-13:34). He teaches us a very simple law, namely “the law of love.” We should always follow the spirit rather than the letter of the law.
Lord Jesus, grant that, like Yours, our lives may be governed by love.
The Pharisees were greatly concerned about many things that were distortions of the law of God. The Third Commandment calls us to “Keep holy the Sabbath Day.” Furthermore, we read in Exodus 20:8–10 that we are not to do any work on the Sabbath but are to use that day for rest. From this Commandment, the Pharisees developed extensive commentary on what was permitted and what was forbidden to do on the Sabbath. They determined that picking the heads of grain was one of the forbidden actions.
In many countries today, the Sabbath rest has all but disappeared. Sadly, Sunday is rarely set aside any longer for a day of worship and rest with family and friends. For that reason, this hypercritical condemnation of the disciples by the Pharisees is hard to relate to. The deeper spiritual issue seems to be the hyper “nitpicky” approach taken by the Pharisees. They were not so much concerned about honoring God on the Sabbath as they were interested in being judgmental and condemning. And though it may be rare today to find people overly scrupulous and nitpicky about the Sabbath rest, it’s often easy to find ourselves becoming nitpicky about many other things in life.
Consider your family and those who are closest to you. Are there things they do and habits they have formed that leave you constantly criticizing them? Sometimes we criticize others for actions that are clearly contrary to the laws of God. At different times, we criticize others on account of some exaggeration of fact on our part. Though it is important to speak charitably against violations of the external law of God, we must be very careful not to set ourselves up as the judge and jury of others, especially when our criticism is based on a distortion of the truth or an exaggeration of something minor. In other words, we must be careful not to become nitpicky ourselves.
Reflect, today, upon any tendency you have in your relationships with those closest to you toward being excessive and distorted in your criticism. Do you find yourself obsessing over the apparent minor faults of others on a regular basis? Try to step back from criticism today and renew, instead, your practice of mercy toward all. If you do, you may actually discover that your judgments of others do not fully reflect the truth of God’s law.
My merciful Judge, give me a heart of compassion and mercy toward all. Remove from my heart all judgmentalness and criticalness. I leave all judgment to You, dear Lord, and seek only to be an instrument of Your love and mercy. Jesus, I trust in You.
1. The Old Sabbath and the New: In the fourth conflict between Jesus and the religious authorities, the Pharisees seem to be on the watch. They want to accuse Jesus and his disciples of violating the Law of Moses in some way. When they see Jesus’ disciples picking heads of gain on the Sabbath and Jesus does not correct his disciples, the Pharisees think that this proves that Jesus is a false prophet. What they are ignorant of, is the original meaning and purpose of the Sabbath rest. On the one hand, it recalled the creation of the world (Exodus 20:8-11), how God rested from his work on the seventh day, and how humanity was invited to commemorate God’s work of creation weekly and share in divine rest and eternal life. On the other, the Sabbath recalled the redemption of Israel from slavery in Egypt (Deuteronomy 5:12-15). The Sabbath rest, then, was a sign that pointed to the reason why God created the world: so that human beings can share in his eternal life. It was a sign that pointed to our passage from the slavery of sin to the freedom of the children of God. The Sabbath was made for us to be able to set aside time to worship God, thank him, and enter into communion with him. Human beings were not made for the Sabbath, in the sense that obeying the Sabbath rest should not be a cause of unnecessary suffering. In other Gospel passages, Jesus will speak about how one could save an animal in distress on the Sabbath. Here, he alludes to the work of the Levites and priests in the Temple who prepared the bread of the presence on the Sabbath without violating the Sabbath rest.
1. David is Anointed King: King Saul was prideful and disobedient and separated himself from God’s friendship through his sins. Because of Saul’s disobedience, the Lord commanded Samuel to anoint a new king for Israel in the town of Bethlehem. God saw the heart of Saul and judged him unworthy to lead his people. As well, God saw the heart of David and sent his Spirit upon the young boy. David was tending the sheep before he was anointed. This foreshadows his future service as king. Authority is not given by God for earthly gain and privilege. Those in authority are called to serve and dedicate their life to others.
Opening Prayer: Heavenly Father, you give me gifts that I need before I know that I need them. Thank you for the gift of the Sabbath. Open my heart that I may savor this gift and use it wisely.
1. The Letter of the Law: In their attempts to follow the will of the Lord, the Jewish people added many rules to the Ten Commandments. This was evident in their requirements for the Sabbath. The Third Commandment reads: “Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God.” In the Catechism of the Catholic Church 2184, we are reminded that “Just as God rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had done, human life has a rhythm of work and rest. The institution of the Lord’s Day helps everyone enjoy adequate rest and leisure to cultivate their familial, cultural, social, and religious lives.” The observance of the Sabbath was a gift to us, a chance to replenish and rest. The Pharisees turned it into a holy contest, an outward observation so stringent that clearing a path during a restful walk was considered “work” and violated the commandment. They followed the letter of the law and completely missed God’s intentions.
Jesus is a non-conformist. He places persons in need above religious observances.
The religious leaders of his time were more pre-occupied with any actions that led to a threat to established religion, of their day and of their “making!”
It is true we ought to worship God! But it can never be a substitute for service to the needy. Any religion that gives priority to rules practices and traditions over the basic needs of human beings, is an aberration.
“Pure unspoilt religion, in the eyes of God the Father, is this: coming to the help of the orphans and widows in their hardships and keeping oneself uncontaminated from the world.” (James 1:27) To be concerned only with what one must avoid on Sunday amounts to Pharisaic religion which Jesus opposes. How we can celebrate Sunday as a call to engage ourselves in life-saving, life-promoting activities on behalf of those who suffer, should be our fundamental concern.
Lord, may Your Kingdom come within our hearts to reach out to my neighbour in need
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