P - Phục Vụ Hiến Thân Ch0 Tha Nhân - Nhận Được Nước Trời.

PHỤC VỤ, HIỀN THÂN CHO THA NHÂN - NHẬN ĐƯỢC NƯỚC TRỜI

Is 53: 10-11; Tv 33; Dt 4: 14-16; Mc 10: 35-45

Đáng lý thánh Mác-cô có thể biên tập lại phúc âm hôm nay cho êm dịu đi chứ? Anh chị em có thấy được hai môn đệ sống gần Chúa Giêsu nhất, là Gia-cô-bê và Gio-an, lại là là những kẻ cơ hội không? Mát-thêu viết phúc âm sau Mác-cô, cũng kể chuyện phúc âm ngày hôm nay, nhưng làm nhẹ đi bằng cách kể là mẹ của hai môn đệ này xin Chúa Giêsu những điều nói trên. (Thật là xấu hổ cho một người mẹ Do Thái… nhưng chuyện này sẽ bàn đến sau). Mác-cô không viết gì thêm để làm dịu bớt sự bon chen của hai môn đệ này. Ông viết cả hai cùng xin Chúa Giêsu ân huệ, và Chúa Giêsu như muốn nhận lời các ông. “Các anh muốn Thầy thực hiện cho các anh điều gì?” Rồi hai môn đệ đáp lại đầy bon chen. nhằm nắm chắc là họ sẽ được phần thưởng, là quyền uy và danh dự. “Xin cho hai anh em chúng con, một người được ngồi bên hữu, một người được ngồi bên tả Thầy, khi Thầy được vinh quang”. Những người theo Chúa Giêsu đầu tiên này có đáng làm gương cho đức tin của chúng ta không? Theo Mác-cô thì chắc là không.

Chúng ta hãy nhìn thẳng vào vấn đề. Nếu chuyện này xảy ra giới kinh doanh, hay trong giới quân sự khi đánh chiếm được một lãnh thổ hay một quốc gia, và nếu anh chị em quen biết trước với ông giám đốc, hay vị tướng lãnh chỉ huy, thì bạn cố gắng nói riêng với ông giám đốc hay vị chỉ huy để có được quyền uy trước nhất không? Nếu bạn ở trong giới kinh doanh, hay trong giới chính trị trong xã hội, thì việc nắm lấy uy quyền là việc phải làm. Có lẽ bạn sẽ được ca ngợi vì bạn đã biết đi trước.

Nhưng trong cộng đoàn đức tin và nước Trời mà Chúa Giêsu đến để thành lập là một điều hoàn toàn khác. Đó không phải là điều mà Chúa Giêsu đã dạy các môn đệ trên đường đi Giê-ru-sa-lem. Ngài dạy về việc phục vụ và hy sinh mạng sống mình cho kẻ khác. Hai môn đệ đó chẳng hiểu gì về lời dạy đó. Và thánh Mác-cô không e ngại kể lại là các ông đã không hiểu gì về lời Chúa Giêsu dạy. Mười môn đệ kia nghe hai ông xin Chúa Giêsu điều đó thì họ đâm ra “tức tối với ông Gia-cô-bê và ông Gio-an”. Theo Thánh Mác-cô, mười môn đệ kia cũng chẳng hiểu gì hơn. Họ “tức tối” vì Gia-cô-bê và Gio-an chiếm thế thượng phong. Như ta thường nói “ai tới trước thì được trước”, và mười môn đệ kia là kẻ đến sau.

Chúng ta không thể trách các môn đệ là họ không hiểu lời dạy của Chúa Giêsu. Thật ra không vị lãnh đạo một phong trào canh tân nào lại có thể nghĩ là các người theo họ sẽ trung thành khi chỉ hứa ban sự đau khổ, sống phục vụ, vâng phục, và nên chọn chỗ rốt hết; như Chúa Giêsu đã dạy các môn đệ Ngài? Có lẽ vì vậy mà Chúa Giêsu có ít môn đệ ở lại với Ngài, và phần đông họ đã bỏ chạy hết khi Chúa Giêsu chịu chết ở Giê-ru-sa-lem.

Sự hiểu lầm của các môn đệ Chúa Giêsu trong việc thực hiện mọi đòi hỏi của Ngài không phải chỉ riêng cho những môn đồ đầu tiên mà còn cho cả chúng ta nữa. Với câu hỏi như đã hỏi Gia-cô-bê và Gio-an. “Các anh có uống nổi chén Thầy sắp chịu uống không?” Hai ông trả lời “Thưa được”, nhưng sự thật là họ không làm được. Và chúng ta cũng không làm được, vì Chúa Giêsu đòi hỏi chúng ta làm tôi tớ, làm nô lệ, phải sẵn sàng chấp nhật sự bất an, và sự đau khổ vì lời dạy của Chúa Giêsu. Trong đời sống chúng ta đã bị lệ thuộc rất nhiều, vì sao chúng ta lại muốn nhận thêm những bực mình đó? Vì sao chúng ta lại muốn dự phần vào sự đau khổ của Chúa Giêsu?

Chúng ta nên biết rằng Chúa Giêsu không đòi hỏi chúng ta chấp nhận bất kỳ loại đau khổ nào, và không phải những đau khổ đều tốt cho bản thân. Trái lại, việc Chúa Giêsu chữa những người đau ốm, tàn tật, là Ngài muốn họ không còn đau khổ và không bị tà thần bách hại. Thay vào đó, Ngài mời gọi các môn đệ hãy lãnh nhận thánh giá Ngài, uống chén đắng Ngài uống, và biết phó thác trong phép Thánh tẩy. Không phải phép Thánh tẩy ở sông Jordan, mà là phép thánh tẩy qua lửa mà Ngài sắp phải chịu.

Chúa Giêsu không là phần thưởng trao tay dịp cuối năm cho những thành quả tốt của công việc. Các môn đệ Chúa Giêsu không phải là thành thành viên của ban giám đốc một công ty đa quốc. Trái lại, họ được mời gọi theo Chúa Giêsu như một tôi tớ. Nếu các ông được chọn làm lãnh đạo, các ông trở nên như tôi tớ, và biết hy sinh mạng sống mình vì kẻ khác như Chúa Giêsu vậy. Nhờ vậy Thiên Chúa sẽ định cho phần thưởng tương xứng.

Thật ra chúng ta cũng đã có những người nói là họ đã được phần thưởng rồi. Một người với sự chấp thuận của vợ con đem người cha già đau bệnh Alzheimer về nhà để săn sóc đến khi người cha qua đời. Cử chỉ đó chứng tỏ tình thương và sự hy sinh của gia đình. Vì lối sống hàng ngày trong gia đình sẽ phải có nhiều thay đổi lớn lao. Sau khi ông nội mất, tất cả đều đồng ý là mặc dù chi phí cá nhân và gia đình tăng, nhưng họ không còn cách nào khác. Và họ cảm thấy được tràn đầy ơn Chúa vì họ được diễm phúc săn sóc ông nội cho đến giờ cuối cùng.

Còn có nhiều chuyện khác nói về sự hy sinh trong đời sống gia đình. Chúng ta có thể nói “Đúng vậy, đó là những chuyện mà gia đình phải làm”. Nhưng, nơi Chúa Giêsu, từ “gia đình” được mở rộng và vượt qua khỏi tình máu mủ. Nhờ đó chúng ta thấy tất cả mọi người là anh chị em của chúng ta. Và những gì họ cần giúp, chúng ta sẵn sàng hy sinh; như khi chúng ta uống chén đắng Chúa Giêsu đã trao. Vì vậy, tại sao chúng ta chấp nhận lời mời gọi đi theo Chúa Giêsu? Chúng ta có phải là những người thích chịu đau khổ không? Hay chịu ruồng bỏ, bị ngược đãi như người ngây ngô không? Có phải vì chúng ta nghe Chúa gọi chọn một đời sống viên mãn hơn và đầy đủ ý nghĩa hơn không? Có phải nhờ đó chúng ta khám phá được đời sống mới; khác hẳn với những tiêu chuẩn của thế gian đặt ra để đo lường sự thành công; nhờ vậy được dự phần vào đời sống của Thiên Chúa ngay từ bây giờ chăng?

Khi chúng ta đáp lại lời mời gọi của Chúa Giêsu, chúng ta khám phá ra rằng những gì gọi là “thành công” của thế gian không có giá trị bền vững. Chúa Giêsu nói với chúng ta là đường lối Ngài dẫn đến đời sống mới mà Ngài đã hứa cho chúng ta có nhiều dịp cho chúng ta phục vụ hay không; để cung cấp và tích góp cho cuộc sống; bỏ đi ý niệm chúng ta là trung tâm của vũ trụ, luôn quan tâm đến những anh em ở bên lề cuộc sống. Nói một cách khác là hy sinh đời sống mình cho một cách chết thế nào theo sự đòi hỏi của Chúa, để khi chúng ta chết đi là chúng ta được sống lại một đời sống mới. Bài phúc âm hôm nay, một lần nữa nhắc chúng ta được Chúa Kitô mời uống chén đắng mà Ngài đã uống, và chịu phép thánh tẩy bằng lửa của Ngài, và rồi sẽ lãnh nhận ơn thánh hóa đời sống mà Thiên Chúa ban tặng.

Thánh Mác-cô không che đậy những yếu điểm của các môn đệ Chúa Giêsu. Ông cũng không trình bày Chúa Giêsu xua đuổi các ông ra để tìm những môn đệ khác xứng đáng hơn để theo Ngài. Các ông vẫn tiếp tục không hiểu Ngài, ngay cả khi Thầy các ông cần đến họ nhất. Khi Chúa Giêsu sống lại, Ngài tha thứ các ông và cho Thánh Linh Ngài xuống trên các ông, để gọi các ông đi khắp thế gian kêu gọi người khác, Chúa Giêsu gọi các ông là những kẻ lưới người.

Câu chuyện các môn đệ cho chúng ta niềm hy vọng. Ai trong chúng ta đã có lần thất bại khi phải uống chén đắng Chúa Giêsu đã trao? Ai trong chúng ta lại không có thái độ tranh giành; sử dụng quyền uy; hay thiếu khiêm nhường và thiếu tin cậy vào Thiên Chúa; hay không hy sinh mình đúng nghĩa vì tin mừng phúc âm, hay bị lạc hướng tích góp của cải chung; và không thành thật theo lời Chúa Giêsu dạy? Dù chúng ta giữ địa vị nào trong gia đình, trong cộng đoàn, chúng ta tất cả đều có lần không nghe lời Chúa dạy về việc theo Ngài như các môn đệ đầu tiên xưa đã làm trong câu chuyện phúc âm thánh Mác-cô ngày hôm nay.

Nhưng, cũng như các môn đệ, chúng ta đều được hưởng ơn tha thứ. Cùng Thánh Linh Chúa cho chúng ta thêm sức mạnh như đã cho các môn đệ. Chúng ta nghe lời dạy của Chúa Giêsu, chúng ta chấp nhận sự thất bại của chúng ta vì không sống theo lời dạy đó. Và chúng ta ngạc nhiên vì chúng ta lại được gọi đi để làm tôi tớ cho thế gian, là nơi mà chúng ta được nghe là Nước Trời của Chúa Giêsu dành cho những ai biết phục vụ và hiến mình cho kẻ khác.

Lm. Jude Siciliano, OP
Chuyển ngữ FX Trọng Yên, OP

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29th SUNDAY (B) - October 18, 2009

Isaiah 53: 10-11; Psalm 33; Hebrews 4: 14-16;

Mark 10: 35-45

Really! Couldn’t Mark have edited today’s gospel and softened its blatant tones? Can you imagine depicting two of Jesus’ closest disciples, James and John, as brazen and opportunistic? Matthew, who wrote after Mark, also tells today’s gospel story, but dilutes James and John’s raw ambition by having their mother make the same request; thus deflecting possible scorn away from the sons to their mother. (What a shame, to risk making a stereotype out of a Jewish mother – but that’s for another discussion!) Mark does nothing to put the disciples in a better light. He has both James and John asking in unison for a favor and Jesus seems prepared to cede to their request, "What do you wish me to do for you?" Then comes the ambitious request from the two disciples, who must have felt they were on the inside track for rewards, power and fame. "Grant that in your glory we may sit one at your right and the other at your left." Were these first followers of Jesus supposed to be our models of faith? Not as Mark portrays them!

Let’s face it, if this were the business world or a conquering army ready to take control of a country or territory and you felt you had an "in" with the chief executive or conquering hero, wouldn’t you be tempted to pull him or her aside and put your request for status and power in early? If you’re going to get ahead in the business or political world such a move, a grab for power, would make perfect sense. You would even be lauded for your initiative and foresight.

But that’s not the way of the reign, the new community, Jesus came to establish. That’s not what he had been teaching his disciples, as they traveled to Jerusalem, about service and giving one’s life for others. The disciples miss the point entirely and Mark doesn’t shrink from exposing how far off they were from the message Jesus was preaching. The other ten heard what the two had asked and they "became indignant at James and John." Judging from the way Mark has also been describing all the disciples, as dense and spiritually blind, the others were probably "indignant" because James and John beat them to the punch. "First come, first served" – and they weren’t first!

You can’t blame the disciples for not understanding what Jesus was saying. After all, what leader of a movement for total change can expect followers to stay with him or her by promising suffering, a life of service and obedience – and asking them to choose the last place – as Jesus has been instructing his disciples? No wonder he had so few and no wonder they were practically all gone when he met his death in Jerusalem.

Misunderstanding about what discipleship asks was not limited to just those initial travelers with Jesus. Jesus asks us the same question he asked James and John, "Can you drink the cup that I will drink....?" They respond, "We can..." – but they couldn’t. Nor can we, not on our own. Jesus is asking us to be servants and slaves; to be willing to put up with inconvenience and even pain for the sake of his message. Our lives already ask too much of us; why would we want to take on more? Why would we want to participate in Jesus’ own suffering?

Notice that Jesus is not asking us to accept just any kind of pain and suffering; nor that pain and suffering are good in themselves. Quite the contrary. It’s clear from his healing ministry that he wanted to relieve people of their pain and free them from oppressive forces. Instead, he is inviting his disciples to accept his cross; to drink the cup he drank and be immersed in his baptism. Not the one at the Jordan, but the same baptism of fire he was about to undergo.

Jesus isn’t handing out rewards and end-of-the-year bonuses for jobs well done. His disciples aren’t on the board of a multi-national corporation. Instead they are being called to follow Jesus in the servant’s way. If they are to be leaders, it will be as servant-leaders, giving their lives for others as Jesus did. Then it will be up to God to determine who gets the rewards and what kind.

Indeed, don’t we know people who claim to have begun to receive their rewards already! A man, with the consent of his family and children, takes his father, who is suffering from Alzheimer’s, into their home and they care for him till he dies. This loving gesture calls for sacrifice on the family’s part. The pattern of the daily home life shifts enormously. After grandpa dies they all agree that, despite the costs to their individual and family lives, they wouldn’t have had it any other way. They feel blessed by the privilege of accompanying their beloved grandfather on his final journey.

There are many other familial stories which require freely-assumed sacrifices. We would say, "Well, that’s what families are supposed to do!" But, in Jesus, our "family" has expanded infinitely beyond the blood boundaries. Now we see all humans as our sisters and brothers and their need calls us to sacrifice; to drink the cup Jesus is offering us. So, why choose to accept Jesus’ invitation to follow him? Are we masochists who just love the thought of suffering, being neglected and treated as unimportant, naive believers? Isn’t it because we hear God calling us to a richer, more meaningful life? Are we drawn to discover a new life right now, one that might fail other criteria the world uses to measure success – but which gives us a share in God’s life already?

In responding to Jesus’ call we have come to discover that what the world calls "success," yields little of lasting value. Jesus tells us the path to the life he promises us is paved with many opportunities to serve–or not; to offer our lives or hoard them; to let go of the notion that we are the center of the universe and cast our eyes to those on the borders of life and make them our focus and concern. In other words, to give our lives to whatever form of death our particular discipleship calls us to, so that in dying we might rise to new life. We hear in today’s gospel once again the invitation to drink the cup Christ has drunk and be baptized with the fire he was – and then to receive the gift of life God is always offering us.

Mark doesn’t soften the flaws of the disciples. Nor does he show Jesus casting them off and trying again to find more suitable candidates to follow him. They will go on to fail and misunderstand him even when he needs them the most. But when he rises from the dead he will forgive them and anoint them with his Spirit, sending them out to call others, as he called them, to be fishers of humans.

The tale of the disciples gives us hope. Who among us has not failed to fully drink the cup Jesus has offered? Who cannot confess to attitudes of competition; the misuse of power; a lack of humility and dependence on God; lukewarm self-denial for the sake of the Gospel; misdirected focus on possessions in place of people and a hardness of heart to Jesus’ words? Whatever our positions in family, Church and community we all, at one time or another, have been as deaf to Jesus’ teachings about discipleship as the first disciples Mark tells us about today.

But the same forgiveness offered me them is also given to us. The same spirit of renewed vigor that came upon them is also our gift again today. We hear Jesus’ teachings, we admit our failure to live up to them, we are forgiven and, to our surprise, sent out again to be his servants to the world, where we learn again that real prominence in Jesus’ kingdom is through service and self-offering.

Fr. Jude Siciliano, OP