Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ Sáu Tuần thứ 5 Thường Niên.

 Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ Sáu Tuần thứ 5 Thường Niên.  (Mk 7:31-34)

Trong sứ vụ công khai của Ngài, Chúa Giêsu đã làm rất nhiều phép lạ, chữa khỏi bệnh tật cho biết bao nhiêu người. Tuy nhiên đây không phải là phần quan trọng nhất trong sứ mệnh của Ngài. Mục đích duy nhất của Chúa Giêsu là để rao giảng Tin Mừng về Nước Thiên Chúa. Tất cả những sự kiện kỳ diệu và phép lạ Ngài đã làm đó chỉ là phương tiện rao giảng của Ngài..
            Tin Mừng hôm nay đã mô tả một sự kiện rất đặc biệt, việc Chúa Giêsu chữa bệnh cho một người vừa bị điếc và câm. Đó là một sự đặc biệt, bởi vì Chúa Giêsu không những chỉ chữa lành cái không có khả năng  để nói  và nghe của người đàn ộng này,  Ngài không những chỉ làm cho một số thay đổi trong cơ thể của người đó, để các giác quan của ông ta đã có thể làm việc đúng cách. Ngài đã ra lệnh cho người đàn ông đó được mở ra. Và điều đó có ý nghĩa gì? Vấn đề ở đây là người đàn ông vừa điếc, vừa câm đó được chữa lành. Ông đã nghe được nhưng ông ta đã không thể nghe. Ông đã nói được, nhưng ông ta đã không thể rao giảng. Mặc dù Chúa Giêsu đã cấm ông ta không được nói với ai về việc Chúa đã chữa cho ông được lành. nhưng ông ta đã hoàn toàn phớt lờ lệnh cấm của Chúa Giêsu.          Chúa Giêsu đã tiến tới một bước đầu tiên và chữa lành cơ thể của người đàn ông đấy, nhưng người đàn ông này đã không chịu bước đến bước thứ hai: ông đã không chịu mở lòng mình. Ông trở thành một người theo Chúa Giêsu một cách nông cạn, những người chỉ biết chú ý vào sự kiện nhỏ nhen, để làm mất đi cái tầm nhìn vào bức ảnh lớn hơn, đó là  Nước Thiên Chúa.'
            Cuộc sống của chúng ta hôm nay được ắp đầy mọi thứ. Nhưng chúng ta đã được lấp đầy với những thứ ? Lam lũ làm ăn Kiếm sống và làm cho cho giàu có hơn?  được thành công và giàu có? Được xinh đẹp và được nổi tiếng? Chúng ta đang Sống một cuộc sống qua  đầy đủ, Nhưng Thiên Chúa ở đâu trong cuộc sống của chúng ta mỗi ngày? Có phải qua các hành động và việc làm của chúng ta, chúng ta đã không có suy nghĩ  hay  ý thức được là chúng ta đang chạy theo và thờ lạy các thần "khác"?  Có phải là những thành công, và tiền của đang thống trị tâm hồn, trái tim, và linh hồn của chúng ta?  Có phải những thứ đấy đã làm chúc trở nên câm và điếc với Tin Mừng và Phúc âm của Chúa? Hiện tại mối quan hệ quan trọng nhất trong cuộc sống của chúng ta là gì? Thiên Chúa? Gia đình của chúng ta? Bạn bè của chúng ta?  Có phải chúng ta rất hài lòng với hiện tại  của chúng ta bây giờ?      Lạy Chúa Giêsu, xin Chúa hãy mở tai, mở miệng, mở mắt, mở tâm trí, mở cửa tấm lòng của chúng con và cho chúng con, nghe,  thấy cảm nghiệm được ý nghĩa về sứ mệnh của Chúa và đem tin mừng Chúa cho mọi người chung quanh.
 
Friday - 5th Week in Ordinary Time
During his public ministry Jesus performed many miracles, healed many people. However, this was not the most important part of Jesus’ mission.  His sole purpose was to preach the Kingdom of God. All of these miraculous events were only meaning of this preaching.
            Today’s gospel describes a very special event — the healing of a deaf man. It is special, because Jesus healed not only his inability to hear and speak. He did not only make some changes in his body, so that his senses were able to work properly. He asked that the man be opened. What does that mean?
            The point is, this healed man was able to hear but he was not able to listen. He was able to speak, but he was not able to preach. Although Jesus ordered him to tell no one about it, he completely ignored Jesus’ command. Jesus took a first step and healed the man’s body, but this man did not take the second step: he did open himself. He became a shallow follower of Jesus, one who focused on this small event, losing sight of the bigger picture  the Kingdom of God.  Lord Jesus, open our eyes, open our mind, open our heart and show us the sense and the meaning of Your mission.
 
Friday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time
They were exceedingly astonished and they said, “He has done all things well. He makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.” Mark 7:37
This line is the conclusion to the story of Jesus healing a deaf man who also had a speech impediment. The man was brought to Jesus, Jesus took him off by himself, cried out “Ephphatha!” (that is, “Be opened!”), and the man was cured. And though this was an incredible gift to this man and an act of great mercy toward him, it also reveals that God wants to use us to draw others to Himself.
On a natural level, we all lack the ability to hear the voice of God when He speaks. We need the gift of grace for this. As a result, on a natural level, we are also incapable of speaking the many truths that God wants us to speak. This story teaches us that God also desires to heal our ears so as to hear His gentle voice and to loosen our tongues so that we can become His mouthpiece.
But this story is not only about God speaking to each one of us; it also reveals our duty to bring others to Christ who do not know Him. The friends of this man brought him to Jesus. And Jesus took the man off by himself. This gives us insight into how we help others to come to know our Lord’s voice. Oftentimes when we want to share the Gospel with another, we tend to talk to them and try to rationally convince them to turn their lives to Christ. And though this can bear good fruit at times, the real goal we must have is to help them to go off with our Lord by themselves for a while so that Jesus can do the healing.
If your ears have truly been opened by our Lord, then your tongue will also be loosened. And only if your tongue is loosened will God be able to draw others to Himself through you. Otherwise your act of evangelizing will only be based on your effort alone. Therefore, if you have people in your life who do not appear to be listening to the voice of God and following His holy will, then first and foremost commit yourself to listening to our Lord yourself. Let your ears hear Him. And when you do hear Him, it will be His voice that, in turn, speaks through you in the way He desires to reach out to others.
Reflect, today, upon this Gospel scene. Ponder, especially, the friends of this man as they are inspired to bring him to Jesus. Ask our Lord to use you in a similar way. Prayerfully ponder those in your life whom God wants to call to Himself through your mediation and place yourself at the service of our Lord so that His voice can speak through you in the way He chooses.
My good Jesus, please open my ears to hear all that You wish to say to me and please loosen my tongue so that I will become a mouthpiece of Your holy word to others. I offer myself to You for Your glory and pray that You will use me in accord with Your holy will. Jesus, I fully trust in You.
 
Friday 5th Sunday of Ordinary Time 2025
Opening Prayer: Lord God, lead me not into temptation. Subject me not to the test. Help me overcome the temptations of everyday life so that I may be your faithful child and be docile to the inspirations of your Spirit.
Encountering the Word of God
1. The Meaning of the Healing of a Deaf Man: One of the main themes in the “Bread Section” of Mark’s Gospel (Mark 6:33-8:26) is the lack of understanding of Jesus’ disciples. The healing of the deaf man and later of a blind man (Mark 8:22-26) have a symbolic meaning: the healings symbolize the opening of the spiritually deaf ears and blind eyes of Jesus’ disciples: Do you have eyes and not see, ears and not hear?” (Mark 8:18). The healings Jesus performs means that the prophecy of Isaiah 35:5-6 is fulfilled: “Then will the eyes of the blind be opened, the ears of the deaf be cleared; Then will the lame leap like a stag, then the tongue of the dumb will sing.” Originally, Isaiah’s prophecy refers to the joyful return of the Judeans from the exile in Babylon. By placing the healing of a Gentile between the two bread miracles, “Mark is hinting that the Gentiles too are now heirs to these blessings. Previously deaf to God and mute concerning his saving deeds, now, in response to his mighty works of healing, they are able to hear his voice and sing his praises” (Healy, The Gospel of Mark, 147).
2. The Sacramental Dimension of the Healings: The healings of the deaf man and the blind man are both very graphic and physical. In the first, Jesus spits on his fingers and places them in the man’s ears and touches his tongue. In the second, Jesus spits on his fingers and hands and puts the spittle on the man’s eyes. Jesus could have healed without these gestures and by his word alone. In the healing of the deaf man, there is a combination of a physical gesture, saliva and touching the ears, and a powerful word: “Ephphatha! Be opened!” This combination anticipates the sacraments of the Church, which often combine something physical, such as cleansing water, the laying on of hands, bread and wine, or anointing oil, with words to attain their spiritual effect.
3. The Sin of our First Parents: In the First Reading, we hear that Adam failed in his priestly duty to protect and guard the garden. He allows the serpent to enter in and tempt his wife, Eve. The devil tempts Eve to doubt God’s fatherly care. He tempts her to be suspicious about God’s commandments about which trees they may eat from. When Eve responds to the devil that if they eat from the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they will die. The devil then lies to Eve and says that not only will she and her husband not die when they eat the fruit, but that she and Adam will be like gods and be able to determine for themselves what is good and what is evil. Eve looks at the fruit and succumbs to the threefold temptation: “good for food” refers to the temptation of and disordered desire for pleasure; “pleasing to the eyes” refers to the temptation of and disordered desire for possessions; and “desirable for gaining wisdom” refers to temptation of pride and power. When Eve and Adam ate of the fruit, their eyes were opened, they realized that they were naked, and they covered themselves with fig leaves. When they sinned, they wanted to hide themselves from the penetrating gaze of the Lord God and his truth.
Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, open my ears to hear your words of everlasting life. Open my eyes to see all things with the eyes of faith. Loosen my tongue to sing and proclaim your glory and your salvation to all nations.
 
Friday 5th Sunday of Ordinary Time
Opening Prayer: Jesus, I want my life to be opened up to you. I want to open the ears of my heart, to be able to listen to your voice, now that I am here alone with you. Give me the grace to focus my eyes on you, and to have the patience to wait while you act. Let me not be too rushed to stop and be with you. Remove what holds me back from receiving all you have to give me.
Encountering Christ:
1.      Away by Himself: Many of Christ’s miracles were done in public, some in the middle of a crowd, sometimes while everyone was walking and people were pressing on him. But for this man, Jesus needed time alone. We may have been touched by Christ in the middle of a crowd, supported by others, able to rejoice with those present. And then there are times when he wants us all to himself, or rather, he wants us to have him all to ourselves. We need this kind of encounter with Christ, the one that happens in secret, away from the crowd. He uses these moments to open our minds and hearts so that we can better receive his love.
2.      Be Opened!: The man’s ears and mouth were opened at Jesus’ command. What in our life needs to be opened? There are many ways that our soul can be closed: by anger or bitterness that I cling to, some lack of trust in God that leaves me anxious, or unforgiveness in a relationship. When we sense a lack of peace interiorly, we don’t need to resolve it alone. We don’t need to be discouraged about not being perfect. We just need to be before Christ as we really are and let him into the area that is closed. We need to exercise enough trust to let go and invite him in.
3.      Tell No One: Jesus wanted the people not to tell others about him, but they ignored him. He must have known that they would proclaim him anyway. What a mystery! Jesus has room in his plan even for those who refuse to follow his commands, those who do things their own way. His providential will can’t be foiled. “The truth that God is at work in all the actions of his creatures is inseparable from faith in God the Creator. God is the first cause who operates in and through secondary causes: ‘For God is at work in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.’ Far from diminishing the creature's dignity, this truth enhances it. Drawn from nothingness by God's power, wisdom, and goodness, it can do nothing if it is cut off from its origin, for ‘without a Creator, the creature vanishes.’ Still less can a creature attain its ultimate end without the help of God's grace” (CCC 308).
Conversing with Christ: Jesus I trust in your providence, believing that your will for me is always better than my own. Please give me the grace to surrender, to open up my heart and soul, to give over my will so that I can obey you more completely. 
Resolution: Lord, today by your grace I will spend a few moments taking note of the areas where there is a lack