主題：承行天主的旨意
在乙年的常年期，我們主要讀馬爾谷福音，它有一個寫作的特色，非常有趣，而且有效。馬爾谷講故事的時候，很喜歡以「三文治」的方式敘述，來加強教訓的力度。例如：在復活雅依洛女兒的故事中，加插了治好患了十二年血漏病的婦人的故事，加強了「信德是引發神蹟的鎖匙」的教訓（谷5:21-43）。今天的福音，耶穌的家人找耶穌，中間加插了有關毀謗耶穌的故事，加強了「承行天主旨意」的教訓（3:35）。又例如耶穌顯聖容的故事與跟著為附魔兒童驅魔的故事，也是一份「三文治」：耶穌帶了三個愛徒上山顯聖容，山下的九個門徒不能驅魔，中間加插了耶穌為那兒童驅魔，最後教訓門徒驅魔的秘訣。馬爾谷這樣寫，加強了「要聽從耶穌說話」的教訓（9:7）。這種分析的方法，幫助我們理解福音的教訓，有助我們體會耶穌的心意。
今天的故事，以耶穌廢寢忘餐地傳福音作引子，耶穌的家人擔心耶穌過勞，想從祂教訓人的地點，接祂回家。然後話題一轉，說另一個毀謗耶穌的故事。大家讀福音時應注意一件事，福音雖然是一部耶穌傳，但不是一部日記或者新聞報導。福音的作者是一位編輯，他挑選了材料，不一定按時間順序平鋪直敘。他會安排他手上的材料，達到自己寫作的目的。例如，瑪竇和路加，他們把毀謗耶穌的故事獨立敘述，並沒有和耶穌的親人尋找耶穌的故事放在一起了。
至於毀謗耶穌的人是誰呢，三部對觀福音有不同的敘述：路加說是「其中有人」（路11:15）；瑪竇說是法利塞人（瑪12:24）。馬爾谷卻說：「從耶路撒冷下來的經師們。」（谷3:22）為甚麼有分別呢？是因為故事情節上的發展。在馬爾谷福音中，整個第二章和第三章一至六節，馬爾谷一口氣記載了耶穌與猶太權貴愈來愈劇烈的五個衝突，與耶穌為敵的人，愈來愈高級。來到這部份，與耶穌為敵的不是普通的法利塞人和經師，而是來自耶路撒冷的經師。即是說，不是本地聖神修院的教授，而是來自羅馬教廷信理部的總主教！可想而知，他們是以極大的權威，來對付耶穌基督。雖然耶穌基督被毀謗，但祂並沒有發怒，祂仍然苦口婆心地向他們解釋，他們所犯的毛病，並警告他們已接近「萬劫不復」的邊緣。耶穌說：「世人的一切罪惡，連所說的任何褻瀆的話，都可得赦免；但誰若褻瀆了聖神，永遠不得赦免，而是永久罪惡的犯人。」（3:28-29）這個警告是甚麼意思呢？做甚麼事纔是「褻瀆了聖神」呢？耶路撒冷的經師毀謗耶穌基督的話，是否褻瀆了聖神呢？
有意見認為耶穌基督驅魔的能力，是來自聖神。現在，耶路撒冷的經師把這聖神的能力，說成是邪魔的能力，是褻瀆了聖神！這個意見表面看來合理，但犯了三個毛病！
在起初，耶路撒冷教會過著一種原始的共產主義生活，加入教會的人都變賣了家產，交給宗徒，按各人的需要分配。其中有阿納尼雅夫婦，也變賣了家產加入教會，不過，他們扣起部份價錢，但訛稱交出了全部。當時，伯多祿很心痛地說：「阿納尼雅！為甚麼撒殫充滿了你的心，使你欺騙聖神，扣留了田地的價錢呢？」（宗5:3）結果阿納尼雅當場暴斃！由此可見，耶路撒冷經師並未干犯褻瀆聖神的罪。他們毀謗耶穌基督的罪，耶穌是樂意寛恕的，讓他們將來有機會承行天父的旨意，獲得永生。
各位兄弟姊妹，倘若我們能承行天父的旨意，那會褻瀆聖神呢？怎樣認識到天父的旨意呢？惟有每日讀經祈禱、勤領聖體，並且把耶穌基督帶到社區裡去，祝福渴望認識福音的居民。這就是承行天父旨意的基本功了，大家努力修練罷！
馬爾谷為讀者塑造一個行動型的天主子耶穌基督，因此他敘述了很多的神蹟，相對地敘述了很少的教訓。今天，馬爾谷把毀謗耶穌的故事，放到尋找耶穌的故事之中，為的是突顯出耶穌真親屬的教訓：「誰是我的母親和我的兄弟…誰奉行天主的旨意，他就是我的兄弟、姊妹和母親。」（3:33，35）成為耶穌的親人，不在於血統，而在於奉行天主的旨意。
天主保祐！
The Tenth Ordinary Sunday, Year B
Theme: Doing the Will of God
On Ordinary Sundays of Year B, we read the gospel of Mark in which we find an interesting and effective writing style. When Mark tells stories, he likes to do it in a "sandwich" way to increase the intensity of the moral. For example, in the story of raising Jairus' daughter, he inserts the healing of the woman with a haemorrhage to add weight to the teaching that "faith is the key to unlock miracles" (Mark 5:21-43). In the passage today, Jesus' relatives set out to look for him. The story of defaming Jesus is inserted to emphasize the moral of "doing God's will" (3:35). In yet another example, the Transfiguration and the healing of a possessed child is also a "sandwich": Jesus brought three disciples up a mountain to show his glory while the other nine were unable to exorcize down the mountain. The exorcism narrative is inserted and at the end, Jesus taught the disciples the techniques of exorcism. Mark wrote in this way to emphasize the moral of "listening to him" (9:7). This method of analysis helps us understand the teaching of the gospel and know Jesus' mind.
The story today begins with Jesus' preaching busily with no time to eat. His relatives worry about his overwork and want to take him home. Abruptly the narrative turns to the story of defaming Jesus. Readers should understand that although gospels are biographies of Jesus, it is not a diary or a news report. The Evangelist is an editor. He selects the materials to work on and does not necessarily narrate them in chronological order. He arranges them to achieve his purpose. For example, Matthew and Luke tell the defamation story in an independent way. They do not put it together with the fetching of Jesus by His relatives.
As for those defamers, who were they? The Synoptic gospels have different narrations: Luke simply says, "Some of them" (Luke 11:15); Matthew says Pharisees (Matthew 12:24). Mark says, "The scribes who had come from Jerusalem" (Mark 3:22). Why are they different? It is because of the development of the plot. The whole Chapter 2 and the first 6 verses of Chapter 3 in Mark tell five increasingly severe conflicts between Jesus and the Jewish authority. The enemies came from higher and higher level. When the story reaches here, the nemesis of Jesus were no longer ordinary Pharisees and scribes but scribes from Jerusalem. That is to say, they are not professors of the local Holy Spirit Seminary, but archbishops from the Congregation of Faith of the Roman Curia! You can imagine what authority they were engineering to suppress Jesus. Although Jesus was defamed, he was not angry. He patiently explained to them the flaws in their argument and warned them that they were not far from the brim of damnation. Jesus says, "All sins and all blasphemies that people utter will be forgiven them. But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an everlasting sin." (3:28-29) What is the meaning of this warning? What amounts to "blasphemy against the Holy Spirit"? Was the defamation of Jesus a blasphemy against the Holy Spirit?
Some scholars opine that the power of Jesus' exorcism came from the Holy Spirit. Now that the scribes from Jerusalem attributed this power to Beelzebul, it was a blasphemy!
Superficially, it sounds reasonable. But it makes three mistakes!
On the other hand, after the birth of the Church, the Holy Spirit abides in the Church, like the Holy Spirit abiding in those who have received the Sacrament of Confirmation. According to the teaching of St. Paul, after joining the Church through the Rites of Initiation, we become the temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19). Therefore, we should not do anything immoral to blaspheme the Holy Spirit within us. That is to say, humanity has the opportunity to blaspheme the Holy Spirit only after Pentecost. Therefore, Jesus' warning was directed against believers in subsequent ages, not the scribes from Jerusalem. For example, Acts 5 mentions such a case!
At the beginning, the Church in Jerusalem led a primitive communist way of life. Those who joined the Church sold all they had, handed the proceeds to the Apostles to distribute according each one's needs. Ananias and his wife sold their property to join the Church. However, they retained part of the price of the land but claimed that they had handed in all. At that time, Peter sorrowfully says, "Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart so that you lied to the Holy Spirit and retained part of the price of the land?" (Acts 5:3) Consequently, Ananias dropped dead! From this, we may conclude that the scribes from Jerusalem have not blasphemed against the Holy Spirit. They defamed Jesus Christ who is all too willing to forgive them, giving them a chance to do the will of the Father and attain eternal life.
Brethren, if we keep doing the Father's will, how can we blaspheme the Holy Spirit? Then how do we know the Father's will? We should study the Bible and pray daily. Diligently receive the Holy Communion to bring Jesus Christ out to the neighbourhood to bless those who desire to know the good news. This is the foundation of doing the Father's will. Let's work hard on it.
Mark portrays a dynamic Son of God, Jesus Christ. He includes a lot of miracles and relatively fewer teachings. In the passage today, Mark inserts the defamation fragment in the fetching story to highlight the teaching of the True Family of Jesus: "Who are my mother and my brothers ... Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother." (3:33, 35) Being family members of Jesus does not depend on sanguinity, but on doing the will of God.
God bless!
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