Vở kịch dài về ông Giuse ở Ai Cập đã kết thúc ở nơi mà mọi thứ đã bắt đầu; ở Canaan ông bị các anh bắt cóc, bán cho bọn người buôn làm nô lệ, rồi bị ở tù. Chuyện cuộc đời ban đầu ở Aicập của ông đầy dẫy những đau thươ và khổ nhục, nhưng đó chính là kế hoạch của Thiên Chúa đã thực hiện nhằm cứu vớt gia đình của ông Giacóp (tổ phụ 12 chi tộc Israel) và nhờ đó đã mà hậu thế của họ đã thoát khỏi những cảnh hạn hán đói khát….
Có lễ chúng ta chỉ thường hay chú trọng và tập trung vào những tình huống khó khăn hay đau khổ và lập tức bỏ qua những việc điều tra nghiên cứu để xét coi những điều này có phù hợp với 'bức tranh to với tất cả những chi tiết toàn vẹn. Điều quan trọng là chúng ta phải nhớ và biết trung thành với Thiên Chúa trong mỗi bước đi trong cuộc hành trình và trong mọi tình huống mà chúng ta gặp phải. Thiên Chúa sẽ luôn luôn ở với chúng ta Ngài hướng dẫn và nâng đỡ chúng ta.\
Sợ hãi là một sức mạnh cám dỗ, vì sự sợ hãi đã ngăn cấm con người chúng ta nói lên và thực hiện sự thật. Vì những sợ hãi, làm cho chúng ta nhụt chí và hoang mang, nhất là khi chúng ta gạp phải bắt bớ giam cầm, do dớ mà chúng ta đã chối bỏ Thiên Chúa và sự thật.
Qua bài Tin Mừng, Hôm nay Chúa Giêsu đã mời gọi những người theo Ngài là phải thét to lên lời Chúa, tin mừng của Ngài ngay trên những mái nhà; đừng sợ! Ngay cả những chú chim sẻ không đáng hai xu , không đáng kể, thê nhưng chúng không thể rơi xuống đất mà Chúa không biết, và chúng ta còn đáng giá hơn cà những con chim sẻ. Chúa Jêsus không nói rằng chúng ta sẽ không phải chịu đau khổ, chỉ có Thiên Chúa mới biết được điều, và quan trọng hơn, Thiên Chúa sẽ đặc biệt quan tâm đến chúng ta. Vì thế chúng ta đừng bao giờ phải sợ hãi để làm và nói nên những gì là sự thật hoặc nói lên sự tốt lành của Thiên Chúa.\
The long drama of Joseph in Egypt ended where it all began — in Canaan. His kidnapping and enslavement seemed terrible — and at the time it was — but it was all part of God’s plan to save Joseph’s entire family and ensure their posterity. Often, we focus on our immediate painful situation and neglect to consider how this might fit into the overall ‘big picture’. It is important for us to remember and be faithful to God every step of the journey and in every situation. God will be with us always.
In Old Testament times, disciples learned from rabbis, often becoming teachers themselves who would pass on and further develop the traditions they received. But in today’s Gospel, Jesus profoundly redefines this relationship. Unlike the other rabbis, Jesus is not another wise teacher in a long line of learned men. He is the definitive and perfect Teacher—Wisdom incarnate, the very Word of God made flesh.
Jesus’ disciples can never surpass nor even equal Him in wisdom, holiness, or understanding. Instead, their calling—and ours—is to become perfectly conformed to Christ, humbly imitating His life, sharing in His mission, and even suffering alongside Him. If Christ faced misunderstanding, slander, and rejection, His followers must expect no less.
Despite being Wisdom Incarnate, many religious leaders of Israel rejected Him, even accusing Him of acting by the power of Beelzebul. Jesus warned His disciples to expect similar treatment. If the Master was subjected to such unjust accusations, His disciples would inevitably face even greater opposition.
This sobering truth was not meant to discourage His Apostles but to prepare them spiritually. Jesus foresaw the fierce resistance and trials they would encounter after His Ascension. Indeed, following Pentecost, the Apostles faced precisely the persecution, misunderstanding, and martyrdom Christ foretold. Yet strengthened by the Holy Spirit, they courageously persevered, faithfully imitating their Master even unto death.
In our own lives, we must also accept that authentic fidelity to Christ often invites resistance, misunderstanding, and even suffering. When that happens, we must never despair nor feel abandoned. Christ Himself has walked this path before us. Instead, we are called to imitate our Teacher with humble courage, trusting that our conformity to Him is our greatest reward. By remaining steadfast, we bear witness as true disciples of Christ who find their deepest joy, not in surpassing Christ, but in becoming like Him in love, humility, and sacrifice. At times, we might mistakenly assume that greater faithfulness to Christ should lead to the removal of hardships. On an interior level, this is indeed true: The closer we draw to Christ, the deeper our inner peace becomes. However, externally, this is often not the case. The martyrdom the Apostles experienced was anything but peaceful on a bodily level.
This distinction is essential to understand as we strive to become authentic apostles ourselves, participating in Christ’s mission to proclaim the Gospel to the ends of the earth. Do we seek interior or exterior peace? Exterior peace—popularity, superficial relationships, and freedom from difficulties—is pleasant but does not encompass the fullness of the apostolic call. True fidelity in proclaiming the Gospel will, at times, inevitably provoke rejection, hostility, and suffering. Yet in faithfully enduring such trials, we experience the profound inner peace of Christ Himself, a peace which the world cannot give nor take away.
Reflect today on any trials that test your faith. Rather than praying for exterior peace, pray for interior strength to face every trial with grace and confidence. Nothing can steal away the deep and abiding interior peace Christ wants to bestow as we engage the world with apostolic zeal. Do not be discouraged by rejection or circumstances beyond your control. Jesus prophesied this. Imitate Jesus instead, laying down your life sacrificially with Him, knowing that if the Master was attacked, so will we, His disciples, be.
Teacher of all teachers, I am forever Your disciple, relying entirely upon Your wisdom and strength. Send me forth with the courage of the Apostles to fulfill Your divine mission. When I encounter difficulties, opposition, or persecution, grant me Your peace and confidence, knowing that I, Your disciple, should expect nothing more than You, my Master, lovingly endured. Jesus, I trust in You.
Encountering the Word of God
1. Human Dignity: In the Gospel, Jesus emphasizes how we are loved and cared for by God the Father. All the hairs of our head are counted, all the cells in our body are known and sustained in existence by God. Jesus declares, “So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” What is the value of a human being? Can a price be put upon a human life? What Jesus teaches in the Gospel and what the Church teaches down through the ages is that a human being is priceless. As spiritual creatures, made in the image and likeness of God, we possess an “infinite dignity.” What does this mean? Briefly, it means that we are absolute goods who should not be used as a means for another end. A steer, for example, does not have infinite dignity. It is a good, but only relatively good. It can be bought, sold, and slaughtered for food. A steer can be used as a means to sustain human life. Human life, by contrast, is sacred, priceless, dignified, and an absolute good.
2. Respecting the Dignity of Others: If we see the value of a human being as infinite and absolute, it raises the question of how we are treating others. For example, if I own a business, how am I treating my customers? Do I treat them as means to another end, as people who have money that I want for myself? Or do I see myself as providing a service for them and helping them flourish as human beings and children of God? We should reflect not just on how we are able to do good for others and promote the dignity of others, but also on how our sins are offenses against human dignity. For example, when a person views pornography, they are attempting to use other people as objects. They are violating their dignity, their absolute worth, as human beings. A businessperson who charges unjust prices or pays unjust wages violates the dignity of their customers and employees. Sin, then, is not only an abuse of our freedom and a wounding of our human nature, but almost always wounds and offends the dignity, the absolute good, of our brothers and sisters.
3. Holy Humility and Fear of the Lord: The Gospel reminds us twice, “Do not be afraid.” Jesus teaches that we should not fear those who can harm the body, nor should we hide our faith out of concern for human approval. Instead, we are to live with a holy reverence for God, whose love sustains us and whose judgment alone is eternal. This theme lies at the heart of the Rule of Saint Benedict (A.D. 480-547). In chapter 7 of his Rule, on the twelve degrees of humility, Saint Benedict explains that the spiritual life begins with "the fear of God"—not a servile fear of punishment, but the loving awe of a child who desires above all to please his heavenly Father. As we grow in humility, our desire for human praise gradually gives way to a deeper desire to belong entirely to Christ. The twelve degrees are structured as a ladder to heaven: 1. Fear of God; 2. Self-Denial (love not your will, but the will of God); 3. Obedience; 4. Perseverance (patiently endure hardship); 5. Repentance (humbly confess your sins); 6. Serenity (be content with ordinary tasks); 7. Self-Abasement; 8. Prudence; 9. Silence (restraint in speech); 10. Dignity (avoiding foolish laughter); 11. Discretion (speaking gently); 12. Reverence (embody humility). Even amid ridicule, rejection, or persecution, we can confess Jesus before others with confidence, trusting that the One who knows every hair of our head will never abandon those who faithfully acknowledge him.
“What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light; what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops.” Matthew 10:27
What is it that our Lord speaks to you in the “darkness” and what is it that you “hear whispered” by Him? This is an important question to consider, since whatever it is that is spoken that way must be spoken “in the light” and proclaimed “on the housetops.”
Recall that when people first came to Jesus, curious about Him, He would often speak in a veiled way, in figures of speech and in parables. This method of teaching is the first step in Jesus’ ongoing deepening revelation to us. His parables and various figures of speech are meant to draw the listener in so that they are attentive to the deeper message.
Recall, also, that Jesus said to His disciples, “I have told you this in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures but I will tell you clearly about the Father” (John 16:25). In which way does our Lord speak to you?
As we grow in faith, and become more and more familiar with our Lord, He will begin to “lift the veil,” so to speak, and will begin to whisper His deepest truths to us within the depths of our souls. He will communicate to us in ways that go far beyond the veiled message of His parables and figures of speech and will communicate His very self to us, in ways that are beyond words.
The Gospel passage above, when taken by itself, seems to clearly indicate that there is much God wants to say to us in a clear way. But He wants to speak it to us in the “darkness” of our interior life and with gentle whispers that can only be heard when we give Him our full attention. Saint John of the Cross, for example, speaks much of the “darkness of faith” by which the deepest communications from our Lord are received. These communications are beyond words, concepts and images and can only be communicated in a direct and spiritual way through infused prayer. Infused prayer is not something you can accomplish on your own; it is a gift by which God continually draws you deeper, you respond and are called even deeper, and you continue to respond.
The Gospel passage above also clearly indicates that God wants us to share this most pure faith with others. To share it in the light and to proclaim it on the housetops. This is first done by the witness of our lives, by allowing the transforming grace of God to shine forth through us in ways that He can only do. It is also done by being attentive to those moments when God wants to use you to share His deeper and often veiled truths with others. God must first speak them to you, and then at the promptings of His grace, He will, at times, use you to share Him with others.
Reflect, today, upon this twofold action commanded by our Lord. First listen to Him. Listen to Him in the “darkness of faith.” Let Him draw you into the deepest and most certain convictions about His love and mercy and His very Self. Then, as you savor these hidden and holy communications from our Lord, look for ways by which He wants to speak to others through you. You do not have to initiate this proclamation, you only need to respond when He directs you. By building a deep level of prayer in this way, you will not only come to know our Lord in ways that are beyond words, you will also know how and when He wants to speak to others through you.
My good Jesus, You desire to speak to me and all Your children in ways that are deep, profound and beyond words. Please do draw me deeper into these communications of Your love so that I may see beyond the veil and come to know You as You are. Please also use me, dear Lord, to speak to others as You choose. Jesus, I trust in You.
Opening Prayer: Lord, I’m here with you again in spirit to have a heart-to-heart conversation. Help me to open myself up to you so that you can inflame my faith, hope, and charity. Help me to see that everything I am is in your hands and that nothing I do or happens to me goes unnoticed by you. Lord, increase my trust!
1. Disciples like the Master: “No disciple is above his teacher,” Our Lord says in today’s Gospel. However, he does make a qualification: “It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher.” For the Apostles and for us, this is the essence of our Christian lives—transformation into other Christs. We are transformed when we go about doing good, suffering, loving, and blessing as he did despite obstacles. Our Lord had many enemies, so we might also, right? Christ simply tells us, “Therefore do not be afraid of them.” Instead, we pray, “Jesus I trust in you.”
Opening Prayer: Lord, help me to be more and more like you with each passing day. Help me to see in others the worth you see in me. Most of all, go before me—I will follow and will lead others to your perfect love.
More and More like the Master: An up-and-coming actor agreed to play the biographical role of a very famous actor, now deceased. To prepare for the role, this actor listened every morning to recordings of the famous actor’s voice. In this way, he was able to train himself to be more and more like his master. Jesus invites us to be more and more like him and to do that we need to listen to his word, reflect on it deeply, and receive him in the sacraments frequently. The more we hear, the more we meditate, the more we try to live his word, and the more like him we will become.
- Jesus cure of the woman with the suffering hemorrhages severely by just touching His cloth.
Is our faith ever as strong as the faith of the woman's who believed that by just touching the cloak of Jesus and she would be cured? And she was cured.
This woman had a great faith in Jesus. She did not express it in words. Rather, she expressed it in a deed, by discreetly touching Jesus' cloak.
Do we take our troubles to the Lord Jesus with our expectant faith and confidence in His help? What did the elderly woman who had suffered with the diseases greatly for twelve years expect Jesus to do for her?
Jesus gave hope where there seems to be no human cause for it because His hope was directed to God. He spoke words of hope to the woman “Take heart, daughter!” and he encourage he faith “your faith has made you well!”.
And he also gave divine hope to a father who had just lost a beloved daughter. It took considerable courage and risk for the official of a synagogue to openly go to Jesus and to invite the scorn of his neighbors and relative. Even the hired mourners laughed at him in scorn. Their grief was devoid of any hope. Nonetheless, Jesus took the girl by the hand and delivered her from the grasp of death. In both instances we see Jesus' personal concern for the needs of others and his readiness to heal and restore life.
Do we have such confidence when we approach Jesus in prayer? Is our faith strong enough to ask him for something extraordinary? God understands our human nature and realizes that our problems are very personal.
In Jesus we see the infinite love of God extending to each and every individual as he gives freely and wholly of himself to each person He meets.
Let’s ask our Lord Jesus to touch our life with His saving power, in order to heal and restore us to the fullness of life. And help us to give ourselves in loving service to others.
No comments:
Post a Comment