赤裸裸的偽善 Naked Hypocrisy

赤裸裸的偽善

「你們就來補足你們祖先作惡的尺度吧！」（瑪23:32）

無論在甚麼時代，作為天主的代言人，「先知」是一份吃力不討好的使命。倘若你是一位在君王身邊工作的宮廷先知，例如納堂、達尼爾；正所謂「伴君如伴虎」，一不小心便人頭不保了！即使是「隨上主心意」的達味（撒上13:14），亦有犯姦淫、謀殺的時候。作為先知，如何進諫的確有賴天賜的智慧。倘若你為一位在天主眼中視為邪惡的君王服務，你真是進退兩難了！說真話，君王會懲罰你；說假預言，你要死在百姓手中（申18:20）。不在宮廷服務的先知的處境會好些嗎？例如厄里亞、依撒意亞、歐瑟亞等一眾大小先知，他們仍免不了要說一些君王或君王身邊的寵臣，不喜歡聽的說話。因此，在野的先知，例如耶肋米亞、洗者若翰，依然劫數難逃！

在以色列人的歷史中，自從君王從上主手中奪取了領導權之後（撒上8:7），先知成了監察君王的社會良心，幾乎成了君王的天敵。周邊的帝國成了鞭策以色列人悔改的棍棒，亡國後，經師和法利塞人便成了運用經典，解釋天主旨意的專家了。可惜，他們本末倒置，不按先知的教訓，勸誡以色列人履行「公義、仁愛與信義」（瑪23:23），反而憑藉專業知識以自肥，並以虛偽的虔誠掩飾（谷12:40）。即使他們表面上反對羅馬帝國的殖民管治，可是骨子裡仍然為當權者服務，與先知對抗。當權者毫不掩飾地殺害先知，他們卻站在道德高地上，粉飾那滅聲的行徑，「修建先知的墳，裝飾義人的墓」（瑪23:29）！耶穌基督要批評的，正是這種赤裸裸的偽善！

主啊！求祢淨化我們心中對財富榮譽的貪婪，本末倒置的愚昧。賜給我們良心和勇氣，維護弱小者的權益，消滅心中的偽善。祢是天主，永生永王。亞孟。

Naked Hypocrisy

“Now fill up what your ancestors measured out!” (Matthew 23:32)

Whatever ages one is in, being the spokesperson of God, a prophet is a thankless vocation. If you are a courtier prophet serving a king, such as Nathan and Daniel, you had better speak cautiously lest the head on your shoulders will not be secured. As the Chinese aphorism goes, “Serving a king is like dancing with a tiger”. Even if the king is somebody “after His own heart” (1 Samuel 13:14) such as David, he would also commit adultery and murder. As a prophet, it requires God’s bestowed wisdom to advise a king. If you were serving a king evil in the eyes of God, you would be in a dilemma! Speaking the truth, the king would punish you. Not speaking the truth, you would die in the hands of the people (Deuteronomy 18:20). Would prophets roaming in the wilderness, such as Elijah, Isaiah and Hosea etc. fare better? Sooner or later, they would speak things unpleasant to the ears of kings or courtiers after their hearts. Therefore, prophets in the wild, such as Jeremiah and John the Baptist, were to suffer martyrdom!

In the history of ancient Israel, ever since kings had usurped leadership of the people from the LORD God (1 Samuel 8:7), prophets became the social conscience overseeing kings and made themselves natural enemies of princes. Neighbouring empires became rods chastising Israel to repent. During the Babylonian Captivity, scribes and Pharisees became experts in explaining God’s will in the Scriptures. Regrettably, they sought quick successes and did not teach people to observe justice, charity and fidelity (Matthew 23:23). Instead, they fattened themselves by deploying their expertise and disguising themselves with hypocritical piety (Mark 12:40). Even though they opposed Roman colonial rule on the surface, they sided with the powerful to oppose prophets. People in power killed prophets without remorse. Pharisees stood on high moral ground to whitewash the silencing action of the powerful. “You build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the memorials of the righteous” (Matthew 23:29)! What Jesus Christ wants to criticize is this naked hypocrisy!

Lord! Purge our hearts of the greed of wealth and honour, the stupidity of turning the truth upside down. Bestow on us conscience and courage to defend the rights of the weak and extinguish the hypocrisy in our hearts. You are God, reigning forever and ever. Amen.

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《論盡神學》每日神糧

瞎眼的嚮導 Blind Guides

「瞎眼的嚮導！你們濾出蚊蚋，卻吞下了駱駝。」（瑪23:24）

「物有本末，事有終始，知所先後，則近道矣。」《禮記．大學》一語道破福音中法利塞人的毛病；與及在現代競爭劇烈的商業社會裡，大部份人容易犯的毛病：就是急功近利，捨本逐末。

即使法利塞人與耶穌為敵，但慈悲的主仍然耐心地教導他們。因為他們是「以色列的師傅」（若3:10），有賴他們指導以色列人，在沒有聖殿可供人民祭祀上主的的時候，如何敬拜天主。即使這裡記載了耶穌基督向法利塞人宣佈的「七禍哉」，用語比一向的言論嚴厲，但請注意，基督並沒有像舊約先知一樣，宣佈懲罰。例如：「看，我必懲罰他們：青年必死在刀下，子女必死於饑荒」（耶11:22）。耶穌基督一心想望他們「回心轉意，得到生存！」（則18:32）即使祂好像對法利塞人宣佈「懲罰」（瑪23:33），但這些都適用於每一個人身上，並沒有針對法利塞人！

法利塞人已成了「偽善」的同義詞，但他們的問題出自更深的層次。法律的條文可見，法律的精神不明顯。文字是死的，不能應付時代的進化。精神是生活的，掌握到了，即使是千變萬化的社會現象，也可以萬變不離其宗地處理！可惜條文容易掌握，精神需要長時間的浸淫，纔能心領神會。「十分之一的薄荷、茴香和蒔蘿」容易量度，「公義、仁愛與信義」（瑪23:23）免不了空泛虛浮。於是法利塞人走捷徑，追求容易見到成績的，卻把重要的生活態度，束諸高閣！他們又怎能履行「以色列師傅」的使命呢？耶穌稱他們為「瞎眼的嚮導」，非常貼切！法利塞人可以心思細密地過濾出不潔的蚊蚋，免得自己被沾污；到頭來卻吞下有如駱駝般的不潔：不為受欺凌的孤兒寡婦伸冤，反而成了欺負他們的罪人（谷12:40），教人如何不婉惜呢？

主啊！祢是不可見的天父可見的肖像，是可見的智慧。求祢不要嫌棄我們鄙陋，賜我們在紛亂的俗世中，能懂得選擇重要的，棄絕次要的，好能更親近祢。亞孟。

“Blind guides, who strain out the gnat and swallow the camel!” (Matthew 23:24)

“Things have their root and their branches. Affairs have their end and their beginning. To know what is first and what is last will lead near to what is taught in the Great Learning” (Liji, Da Xue) hits the bullseye in pointing out the fault of the Pharisees as well as the common mistake most people made in a modern competitive commercial society: in order to get results, people cut corners and consequently missing the essential.

Even though Pharisees took Jesus as their enemy, the merciful Lord still taught them patiently because they were “teachers of Israel” (John 3:10). When the Jews could no longer offer sacrifices to God, the Pharisees took up the mission to instruct them how to worship God after the Temple had been destroyed. Even though you find here that Jesus Christ pronounced “Seven Woes” against the Pharisees and the wording was more accusatory than previous discourses, notice that Christ did not pronounce punishment as prophets of the Old Testament did. For example, “I am going to punish them. The young men shall die by sword; their sons and daughters shall die by famine” (Jeremiah 11:22). Jesus Christ only desires that they “Turn back and live!” (Ezekiel 18:32). Even though He seemed to pronounce “punishment” (Matthew 23:33), it applies to everybody and not exclusively to the Pharisees!

Pharisees have become synonymous with “hypocrites”, but their defects lie in a deeper level. Letters of the law are visible but the spirit of the law is less obvious. Letters are dead and are unable to catch up with the evolution of ages but the spirit is live. Once one acquires it, he is able to handle even ever-changing social phenomena with its principle! Regrettably, it is easy to master letters but it takes time to acquire the spirit through immersion. It is easy to measure “tithes of mint and dill and cumin”, but “judgment and mercy and fidelity” are nevertheless vague. So the Pharisees cut corners to get easily visible results and put aside the important and essential life-attitudes (Matthew 23:23)! How could they discharge the duty as “teachers of Israel”? It was appropriate for Jesus to call them “blind guides”! Pharisees could be meticulous in filtering out unclean gnats so that they themselves would not be declared unclean. However, they swallowed camel-size uncleanliness: instead of defending orphans and widows, the Pharisees cheated and exploited them (Mark 12:40). How pitiful it is!

Lord! You are the visible image of the invisible Father. You are our visible Wisdom. We pray that You do not despise our unworthiness. Grant us the wisdom to choose, in this confusing generation, the essential and abandon the secondary so that we may come closer to You. Amen.

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《論盡神學》每日神糧

Eternal Marriage In Yahweh 在上主內的永恆婚姻

Twenty-First Ordinary Sunday, Year B
Theme: Eternal Marriage In Yahweh 在上主內的永恆婚姻

We make a lot of choices throughout our life. Some choices are insignificant but others are fundamental whose effects are prolonged and probably permanent. For example, between our career and our spouse, as a Catholic, marital choices are more fundamental than career choices. We may change jobs relatively frequently according to the market fluctuations, but our marriages terminate only at death, no matter how rough our marital life has gone through. When we take eternal life into consideration, marriages on earth might continue forever and ever in eternity. Can we afford to choose casually? On the other hand, martyrs choose sacrificing their lives without reservation for their convictions, such as treasure hunting, defending doctrines, overthrowing tyrants and fighting for independence etc. These are examples of fundamental choices in which our lives are at stake. Considered in this light, do you agree that marriage is also a form of martyrdom, or vice versa?

Reflecting on the events in the Old Testament, we see that it took the Israelites a long time to choose worshiping Yahweh to the exclusion of other gods. They have never been a powerful kingdom nor an empire from which neighbouring countries would want to imitate. In order to live among resourceful and powerful neighbour, they were not eager to insist on their religious customs. In the first reading today, we may be able to take a glimpse of what religious life was like by the time they entered and occupied the Promised Land. In his parting speech, Joshua says, “If it is displeasing to you to serve the LORD, choose today whom you will serve, the gods your ancestors served beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose country you are dwelling. As for me and my household, we will serve the LORD” (Joshua 24:15). In other words, the Israelites began their existence in Mesopotamia [“beyond the River”], a polytheistic land, then settled in Egypt, another piece of polytheistic land for more than 400 years to breed and multiply and lastly settled in Canaan [“Amorites”], the Promised Land, yet another piece of polytheistic land. After conquering and dividing the Promised Land, Joshua made it clear his fundamental choice. He, his household and their future generations would serve only one God, Yahweh. Joshua’s choice was progressive because polytheism is conducive to the division of a community whereas, monotheism advocates solidarity!

We may think of the forty-year Exodus as a journey from shedding polytheism to embracing monotheism. Through His agents Moses and Aaron, Yahweh worked Ten Plagues to wreak havoc on the economy of Egypt and lastly to destroy the Egyptian military machine in the Red Sea. The Hebrew slaves were eye-witnesses to the power of Yahweh. However, they had previously spent more than four centuries in this polytheistic land. It was unrealistic to demand them to give polytheism up overnight. The Golden Calf incident illustrates the situation clearly. Seeing that Moses had been missing for too long on Mount Sinai, they resorted to building a Golden Calf to lead them back to Egypt, the house of slavery (Exodus 32:1). With the intercession of Moses, Yahweh did not destroy the Hebrew slaves immediately. They would wander in the wilderness for forty years to die out instead. Thus, those who conquered and settled in the Promised Land were second generation liberated Hebrew slaves to whom Joshua was speaking today. How did they answer Joshua? They say, “It was the LORD, our God, who brought us and our ancestors up out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. He performed those great signs before our very eyes and protected us along our entire journey and among all the peoples through whom we passed” (Joshua 24:17). The “our ancestors” refers to the Hebrew slaves who grew up in Egypt and subsequently liberated by Moses.

So what other miracles did this second generation liberated Hebrew slaves see? Moses struck the rock in Horeb to obtain water for the people to drink for the first time (Exodus 17:6). After establishing the Covenant with Yahweh on Mount Sinai and the Golden Calf incident, they continued their wandering until they reached Kadesh. People again complained about the lack of water supply. There, Moses struck the rock to obtain water for the second time (Numbers 20:11). Some first generation liberated Hebrew slaves had died for sure. Entering Canaan were second generation liberated Hebrew slaves. They saw Joshua separate the water of River Jordan for them to cross, like what Moses had done to the Red Sea (Joshua 3:14-17). They saw how the wall of Jericho collapse at their shout (6:20) and they butchered the city, how the sun and the moon obeyed Joshua’s order to stop moving until the Israelites defeated the Amorites (10:12-13). St. Paul was right when he comments, “For Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom” (1 Corinthians 1:22). And yet, the Israelites remained “stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears” (Acts 7:51) in the future generations! Therefore, miracles do not breed faith! Rather, it should be the other way around.

In patriarchal societies, marriage has become a contract rather than a covenant for life [“become one body” (Genesis 2:24)]. Women, whether they were wives or daughters, were men’s possession. Take a look at the Ten Commandments. “You shall not covet your neighbour’s house. You shall not covet your neighbour’s wife, his male or female slave, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbour” (Exodus 20:17). Thus wives and daughters were things among houses, slaves, oxen or donkeys that belonged to men, in the role of husbands or fathers! If you breach a contract, pay the compensation to settle the dispute! When people treat marriage as a contract, they will not treat it seriously as long as they are able to pay compensation. No wonder nowadays, people have less faith in marriage and in God. In the eyes of non-believers, Christians take marriage too seriously! Yes, we do because the Church is the Spouse of Christ (Ephesians 5:32)! Christian marriages reflect the relationship between Christ and the Church! God might not be dead but who cares when God is no longer relevant in modern societies. Since the Age of Enlightenment, people trust science and technology more than God. The ego of individuals has elated so much that scientists have no restrain to play God. They start editing human genes to make babies immunized against HIV. If the trend continues, wealthy people would rule the world.

Modern people dislike the word “subordination” because they opine that subordination takes away one’s dignity. They protest against Paul’s teaching on the relationship between husbands and wives. It is not fair to Paul because at the beginning, he has already stated clearly, “Be subordinate to one another out of reverence for Christ” (Ephesians 5:21). Modern people are offended by the next verse. “Wives should be subordinate to their husbands as to the Lord” (5:22) and further down, Paul did not write anything near “Husband should be subordinate to their wives as to the Queen” because no such image existed in patriarchal societies! To wrap up his discourse, Paul could only write in the end, “Each one of you should love his wife as himself, and the wife should respect her husband” (5:33). In the ears of modern people, “Love” and “Respect” do not command equal intensity. Therefore, Paul’s teaching is unfair! Alas! Modern people forget that in ancient times, people were willing to lay down their lives for their loved ones and to die, out of respect/loyalty of their kings! Subordination is only a mild form of martyrdom. If you think that subordination on earth deprives you of your dignity, think higher and longer! It is true that marital life on earth is too short, at most a century! But in eternity, the merciful Lord will definitely have sufficient time to sanctify them “in splendour, without spot or wrinkle … holy and without blemish” (5:27). Will you feel less offended to subordinate to a dignitary made perfect by the Lord beyond imagination?

Beloved brethren! You don’t have to agree with my speculation. The more important thing in life is your fundamental choice. Do you accept the teachings of Jesus Christ, the Son of God? If you do, probably you will receive wilder revelations beyond your imagination from the merciful Lord than my fantasies. Amen.
God bless!

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Christ Is Our Wisdom 基督是我們的智慧

Twentieth Ordinary Sunday, Year B
Theme: Christ Is Our Wisdom 基督是我們的智慧

The first reading today is taken from the book of Proverbs which is one of the books in the Wisdom Literature in the Old Testament. King Solomon is an embodiment of wisdom and scholars believe that he wrote the book of Proverbs which is a collection of so called proverbs, couplets, poems and even proses of wisdom. They are different from modern day one-liner proverbs such as “Actions speak louder than words”, “Beauty is only skin deep” and “Practice makes perfect” etc. because most proverbs are culturally conditioned and we exist in history. Time changes and what was once significant may no longer be relevant nowadays. For example, when the Temple in Jerusalem still existed, Jews followed the precepts of the Hebrew Scriptures to offer sacrifices there. Now that the Temple no longer exists, Jews can no longer follow the Hebrew Scriptures completely to practise their faith. Those precepts related to oblations and sacrifices have become irrelevant today. Naturally we would ask what about the “wisdom” we find encapsulated in the Wisdom Literature. Is such ancient wisdom able to withstand the test of time and remains relevant today? The answer depends on to what extent we accept the authority of the Church’s interpretations of the Bible.

Nowadays, few people buy the authority of the Catholic Church, not even Catholics themselves. This has been a trend since the Age of Enlightenment when people wanted to get away from the grip of the Church. The Church has her share to blame because she was able to wedge huge authority over the people, including princes and kings. As a proverb goes, “Authority corrupts and absolute authority corrupts absolutely”. The actions of the corrupted clergy disappointed a lot of people. Who wants to be treated unfairly? However, philosophers in the Age of Enlightenment were not exempted from the flaws of human nature wounded by the “Original Sin”. To be persuasive, sophists put forth an oversimplified world view which is easier to understand. It is too mentally challenging to accommodate the existence of a plurality of causes and a plurality of consequences. Black and white is easier to understand than fifty shades of grey than a spectrum of luminosity! “Believing in a Creator God is superstitious. Nobody in his right mind believes in a Creator”. On the other hand, Catholics believe that out of love, God created the known universe suitable for the existence of self-aware beings. “If God is almighty and merciful, why does He allow the good to suffer? He cannot be almighty and merciful at the same time!” On the other hand, Catholics believe that God’s power is best shown in His mercy to forgive. “Read history! Religions are violent. They force people to convert lest they kill them”. On the other hand, Jesus teaches us to be poor in spirit, mournful, meek and be peacemakers in the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-10). To be candid, the secular reasoning is simpler and more easily understandable than the complex logic of theology! The secular reasoning has won the day up until now and only a few people are able to insist on the theological reasoning of the Catholic Church.

Let’s not complicate the matter. For Catholics who accept the teaching authority of the Church, we do not question her interpretation of the Bible. We believe that the Bible contains God’s revelation and truth related to our salvation. As a spokesperson of God, prophet Isaiah says, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways --- oracle of the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, my thoughts higher than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8-9). Therefore, no matter how much progress we have achieved since the Age of Enlightenment, our logic and reasoning will never attain God’s level. Thus, no matter how foolish ancient wisdom encapsulated in the Wisdom Literature may sound to the ears of modern people, it conveys a certain amount of truth related to our salvation, our final destination and our return to our Creator! In Paul’s words, “For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength” (1 Corinthians 1:25).

The first thing that catches our eyes is the gender of Wisdom. Why, as a product of a patriarchal society, is Wisdom feminine? This is particularly acute in the eyes of Chinese because the Chinese language treats objects, especially abstract concepts as neutral. The moon is not feminine, nor a ship nor the Church, nor freedom nor democracy etc. It is good of you to have noticed this oddity because it betrays our bias towards the Bible and perhaps the Western civilization as well. We should appreciate the revolutionary nature of Biblical messages which turns our world upside down. The patriarchal mentality is obvious in the Bible because all the authors were men. For example, it was Eve who fell into the Serpent’s temptation (Genesis 3:6), it was Bathsheba who caused the holy king, King David to commit evil things in the sight of the Lord (2 Samuel 11:27). To be true children of Adam, men put the blame on women and God, “The woman whom You put here with me --- she gave me fruit from the tree, so I ate it” (Genesis 3:12). Alas! While God created Adam out of the dust of the ground (2:7), the woman came from the bone of Adam’s bones and flesh of Adam’s flesh (2:23). Won’t you agree that the woman is an improved version of the man? While men tend to be rational, women are more capable of moving the hearts of men, thus more effective in getting things done in their ways! The case of Bathsheba is even more challenging because she would give birth to King Solomon in the future (2 Samuel 12:24)! Thus, we should avoid categorizing events into black and white only! A cultural explanation is in place as well. The pursuit of Wisdom should be a virtue or at least a good thing. Were Wisdom a man, it would be repugnant for a man to ask for the hand of another man, at least in the Jewish culture!

People naturally ask what benefits we would gain when we pursue wisdom. The book of Proverbs portrays an enviable picture for us. People with secular mentality want power to control people. Wisdom has her maidservants at her disposal (Proverbs 9:3). People want wealth to enjoy life. Wisdom has a house with seven columns (9:1). It must be a palace and she would treat her guests with meat and wine (9:2) which were no ordinary food of subsistence. Wisdom must be very wealthy as well. So wisdom is worth pursuing as much as power and wealth, if not more. But here comes the twist. Who should pursue wisdom? “Let whoever is naïve turn in here; to any who lack sense I say, Come, eat of my food and drink of the wine I have mixed!” (9:4-5). Wait! In a competitive commercial society like Hong Kong, who want to admit that they are naïve or they lack sense or to show frailties and vulnerabilities in front of the others? Alas! Let’s face it. Who is invincible? Who has no Achilles’ heels? The philosophical maxim “Know thyself” is always right. Let us be humble in order to have a genuine assessment of our mental and spiritual situation. Only then can we lead an authentic life. In Wisdom’s word, “Forsake foolishness that you may live; advance in the way of understanding” (9:6).

I used the term “authentic life” instead of “eternal life” above because “eternal life” is a concept found in the New Testament only. It needs another treatise to trace its development in the Old Testament because it is impossible for Jesus to talk about “eternal life” out of thin air. In hindsight, we Catholics understand what Jesus meant when He says, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world” (John 6:51). Jesus was teaching us the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. It is more than establishing personal relationship with our Saviour. It is a global relationship. In receiving the Holy Eucharist, all humanity will be in communion in Christ, including those whom you like or you hate.
I pity the contemporary audience of Jesus because Jesus’ claim was beyond their understanding. Even though the Jewish society at that time was not as competitive as Hong Kong today, at least doubting Jesus’ claim was in the majority. It was common sense that the Galilean carpenter rabbi would be unable to give his flesh for people to eat. Who could afford to be an odd man out?

Beloved brethren! In hindsight, we interpret the Wisdom in the book of Proverbs as a personification of the Lord God. In the light of the Trinity theology, we understand that Jesus Christ, the Son of God is the visible sign of the invisible Father. Therefore, Jesus Christ is the invisible Wisdom made visible. Moreover, wisdom is the first gift of the Holy Spirit Catholic received in the Sacrament of Confirmation. In fact, the seven Sacraments of the Catholic Church manifest more fully the role of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believers. The last gift of the Holy Spirit is “The fear of the Lord”. In the Wisdom Literature, we find that “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom” (Job 28:28; Psalms 111:10; Proverbs 1:7; Sirach 1:16). So the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit come in a full circle and are intimately linked. It is a topic worth meditating in yet another treatise.
God bless!

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Remain Poor To Do God’s Will 貧窮行主旨

Nineteenth Ordinary Sunday, Year B
Theme: Remain Poor To Do God’s Will 貧窮行主旨

Something must have happened to the confident Elijah to make him flee for his life. When he emerged on stage to begin his prophetic career, he proclaimed a drought in this manner, “As the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, during these years there shall be no dew or rain except at my word” (1 Kings 17:1). True to being a prophet, a spokesman for God, Elijah arrogantly passed on God’s message. He had had strong backup from God and was able to defy kings and soldiers. Elijah was able to raise the dead child of a Gentile widow (17:22). After proving to Israelites that Yahweh was the one true God on Mount Carmel, Elijah was able to outrun Ahab’s chariot before the long awaited downpour could them up in Jezreel which is some 34 km from Mount Carmel¹(18:46). Therefore, it puzzles me why when queen Jezebel, who brought in the worship of Baal and those false prophets, threatened to kill him, “Elijah was afraid and fled for his life” (19:3a). What made Elijah feel that God no longer supported him so that he prayed to God for death, “Enough, LORD! Take my life, for I am no better than my ancestors” (19:4b)? “My ancestors” might refer to King Saul who lost God’s favour and support and died an inglorious death (1 Samuel 31:9-10). Indeed, meeting God on Mount Horeb, Elijah’s ego must have further been shattered. He had always thought that “the Israelites have forsaken Your covenant. They have destroyed Your altars and murdered Your prophets by the sword. I alone remain” (1 Kings 19:10b, 14b). But the LORD corrected him after giving him his last missions, “Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him” (19:18). Perhaps after seeing the truth, Elijah regained his confidence and later even called fire down to consume 50 soldiers and their captain sent by king Ahaziah twice (2 Kings 1:10, 12)! But his manners were different. This transition from being over-confident to despair and back is worth meditating.

We can detect a sense of inflated ego in Elijah when he started his prophetic ministry. For example, in announcing the drought to Ahab, he says, “… during these years there shall be no dew or rain except at my word” (1 Kings 17:1). Should he not say, “… until I pronounce God’s forgiveness”? When he wanted to challenge the false prophets of Baal to show the Israelites who the true God is, he told Ahab, “Now summon all Israel to me on Mount Carmel, as well as the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal…” (18:19). Why not simply, “Now summon all Israel on Mount Carmel”? In front of the Israelites on Mount Carmel, Elijah still insisted, “I am the only remaining prophet of the LORD” (18:22a) though earlier on, Obadiah, the master of Ahab’s palace had told him that “When Jezebel was murdering the prophets of the LORD --- that I hid a hundred of the prophets of the LORD, fifty each in caves, and supplied them with food and water” (18:13b). Such a narration shows an Elijah with a big ego. Elijah had always been obedient to God’s instruction. However, his inflated ego might probably prompt him to overdo what God told him to do. For example, after demonstrating that Yahweh is God, Elijah incited the people to seize the prophets of Baal and to bring them down to the Wadi Kishon where he slaughtered them (18:40). How long would it take for Elijah to kill 450 false prophets single-handedly? He must be a very strong and athletic person because later, Elijah was able to outrun Ahab’s chariot! No wonder he was so abrasive!

Wait! Had Elijah been too overzealous in executing the justice of God? Had God instructed him to kill all the Baal prophets? Look at King Ahab at a later time. God sent Elijah to announce His punishment on Ahab’s murder of Naboth and taking possession of Naboth’s vineyard, Ahab humbled himself and showed remorse (21:27). God suspended His punishment until after Ahab’s death. Unlike the Israelites who had a covenant with God, meaning it was justifiable for the Levites to follow Moses’ command to kill 3,000 worshippers of the Golden Calf (Exodus 32:28), those Baal prophets were brought in by queen Jezebel and had not entered into any meaningful relationship with Yahweh. Would God not want to give them an opportunity to repent and live (Ezekiel 18:32) like Ahab? Perhaps that night, God showed His displeasure of Elijah’s massacre and consequently, Elijah felt that he had lost favour and support from God. Though on the previous day he was able to outrun Ahab’s chariot, Elijah was afraid that he would not be able to outrun again Jezebel’s assassins and had to flee for his life.

After meeting God on Mount Horeb, Elijah had become a mild person and less imposing. When he made Elisha his successor, he went over to the ploughing Elisha and threw his cloak on him (19:19). When Elisha wanted to return home to kiss his parent good-bye, unlike Jesus (Luke 9:61-62), Elijah did not dissuade him. He did not insist but simply says, “What have I done to you?” (19:20). Later, when the two captains of king Ahaziah passed on the king’s command, saying “Man of God, the king commands you, ‘Come down’” (2 Kings 1:9, 11), Elijah replied, “If I am a man of God, may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men” (1:10, 12). Elijah did not force God to bring fire down from heaven to destroy the soldiers. Finally, he was able to acknowledge God’s supremacy. It was Yahweh who restored the breath of life of the dead child, withheld and showered rain, sent fire down to consume the altar and the soldiers. What can we learn from Elijah’s coaster roaster journey of life?

The second reading today is able to shed lights on how we should discharge our prophetic ministry received from our baptism. Paul says, “All bitterness, fury, anger, shouting and reviling must be removed from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another as God has forgiven you in Christ” (Ephesians 4:31-32). Was Elijah not an embodiment of these two verses, turning from a bitter, angry and arrogant man to a compassionate and forgiving prophet? Being Christians, we should go beyond what Elijah has achieved. Paul continues, “As beloved children of God, live in love, as Christ … as a sacrificial offering to God for a fragrant aroma” (5:1-2). To do God’s will, Christ obeyed and suffered a shameful death on the cross as a fragrant sacrificial offering. Thus, in discharging our prophetic ministry as God’s spokesmen to proclaim God’s love, we Christians should be prepared to suffer blasphemy, defeat, disappointment, rejection and ridicules etc. as a fragrant sacrifice to please God, instead of imposing our superior morality upon others, forcing them to be Good Samaritans. Our intentions are insufficient to justify our means!

Beloved brethren! We are our own greatest enemies and obstacles. Our ambitions, greed, jealousy, pride and vanity tend to push us to overdo God’s will while sloth and lust tend to pull our legs to aim at lower targets. Jesus has already told us how to accomplish God’s work, namely to believe in Him (John 6:29). The Jews demanded miracles from heaven. We do not. Yet, how difficult it is to believe in Jesus in modern societies! Besides overcoming the prevalent scientific superstition in modern times, we need to remove our ambitions, greed, jealousy, lust, pride, sloth and vanity as well. In short, we need to renounce ourselves and remain in poverty financially, emotionally, intellectually and spiritually in order to do the will of God authentically. Otherwise, we will be doing evil in God’s name.
God bless!

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¹https://www.distancesfrom.com/how-far-is-mt-carmel-Israel-from-Jezreel-Valley/HowFarHistory/5962533.aspx
Picture Credit: aiimagegenerator.is

以貧窮悅樂天主 To Please God In Poverty

【神貧系列（VI）】
以貧窮悅樂天主（若12:24-26）

歷史上，有不少人為了堅持某些信念，竟然願意賠上自己的性命，我們尊稱他們為「烈士、殉道者」。究竟這些信念，有甚麼值得以性命來交換的價值呢？例如：「啟蒙時代」倡議的「與生俱來的人權」與「人人平等」的思想，鼓舞著在北美洲的殖民，反抗大英帝國殖民地政府不公平的苛政。美國獨立戰爭的成功，鼓舞了受君主與貴族壓榨的法國平民，喊著「自由、平等、博愛」的口號，為了這些信念戰死，推翻帝制，進入共和；整個世界開始步入「革命時代」了。看來這些信念，即使為不相信天主存在的人，的確具有值得以性命來交換的價值，更何況，這些價值並沒有否定福音的「真福精神」（瑪5:3-10），所以是值得支持，是與無神論者相遇和合作的契機。而且，在與他們合作時，基督徒更應身先士卒，樂意首先成為殉道者。

雖然我們樂意與無神論者並肩作戰，為受壓迫的人爭取應得的權利和平等的待遇。但基督徒參與俗世的社會運動時，必須跟隨福音的「真福精神」，以貧為先。即是說，當俗世的人選擇把資源投放在爭取其他的人權時，身為基督徒的我們別無選擇，必須繼續以具體的行動，照顧和服侍臨在窮人身上的耶穌基督（25:40）。

作為執事的主保，聖老楞佐清楚展示了真福的精神，不惜為了維護窮人的權益，慷慨就義。他不但棄絕財富、名譽地位、性格和學問，更不惜以身殉道，把整個生命，毫無保留地完全奉獻。一如保祿宗徒所教導的：「所以弟兄們！我以天主的仁慈請求你們，獻上你們的身體當作生活、聖潔和悅樂天主的祭品：這纔是你們合理的敬禮」（羅12:1）。

聖老楞佐，請為我們轉求，使我們也能成為悅樂天主的祭品。亞孟。
天主保祐！

Poverty Series (VI)
To Please God In Poverty (John 12:24-26)

In history, many people uphold their convictions at the expenses of their lives. We honour them with the title of “Martyr”. What values do those convictions have so that people are willing to exchange with their lives? For example, during the “Age of Enlightenment”, people advocated the ideas of “natural human rights” and “everybody is born equal”. Those ideas animated the North American colonists to rebel against the unfair exploitation of the British colonial government. The success of the American War of Independence inspired the French commoners to overthrow the oppressive monarch and aristocrats. They chanted the “Liberty, Equality and Fraternity” slogan, took up arms to overthrew the French monarchy and died for the establishment of the Republic. The whole world entered the “Age of Revolution”. Those convictions, even for people who don’t believe in the existence of God, possess values worth sacrificing their lives for. Not to mention that those values do not contradict the beatific spirit of the gospels (Matthew 5:3-10). These convictions are worth supporting and they provide an opportunity for us Christians to encounter and to cooperate with atheists. Moreover, when we work with them, Christians should enter the front line and be happy to become martyrs first.

Although we are happy to march shoulder to shoulder to fight for the equal treatments of the natural rights of the oppressed, we should follow the beatific spirit of the gospel to opt for the poor when we Catholics participate in secular social movements. That is to say, when worldly people choose to invest their resources to fight for other human rights, Christians have no choice but to continue in concrete actions to care for and serve Jesus Christ present in the poor (25:40).

As the patron saint of deacons, St. Lawrence clearly demonstrated the spirit of the Beatitudes. He defended the rights of the poor without reservation to the point of surrendering his life. Not only did he abandon wealth, fame, status, personality and knowledge, but he also offered up his life to bear witness. Just as St. Paul has taught, “I urge you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, your spiritual worship” (Romans 12:1).

St Lawrence! Pray for us that we may become pleasing sacrifice to God. Amen.
God bless!

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生命恩泉
Picture Credit: artrenewal.org

「棄絕自己」是可能的 It Is Possible To Deny Self

【神貧系列（V）】
「棄絕自己」是可能的（瑪16:24-28）

不知不覺，整個星期的默想都是圍繞著「軟弱」、「無依無靠」、「貧窮」和「不可自以為是」等的思想，今天耶穌基督更變本加厲，要求門徒「棄絕自己」，太難了！

所謂「錢財身外物」。我們赤裸裸的來到世上，死後一分錢也不能帶走。所以捨棄財富並不難。小額的財富我們有本領處理，捨棄它倒可能令人大傷腦筋；但億兆的財產令人摸不著頭腦，即使放棄也不會有任何感覺，棄絕它並不難！

所謂「面係人哋畀，架係自己丢」。名譽和身份地位是別人、是社會大眾賞賜給你的，即使是你辛苦經營而來，是應得的，但也不是永恆的，因為是來自他人及社會。社會正在不斷變化，人亦在宦海浮沉；今天你仍有利用的價值，明天就說不定了！例如，詩人在古代，備受達官貴人賞識，為他們的臉貼金。時移世易，今天寫詩自娛尚可，寫詩維生則免問了！但寫C的人，又當別論。因此捨棄名譽和身份地位也並不難。

「自己」是甚麼？除了與生俱來的遺傳基因外，就是自小在家人、師長和朋友薰陶下所形成的性格、學問和價值觀，指導著我所有的言行舉止和選擇。我之所以是「我」，大部份來自這些信念。「棄絕自己」表示以後不再是「從前的我」，而是另一個人，一個「新受造物」（格後5:17）。「棄絕自己」，談何容易！困難是肯定的，卻是可能的。歷史上俯拾皆是，不能盡錄！例如掃祿在前往大馬士革路上所獲得的經驗，使他在基督內，脫胎換骨，成了一個新受造物，並改名為保祿，為天主子作見證。

親愛的讀者，願你的生命，能觸及基督，產生變化。亞孟。
天主保祐！

Poverty Series (V)
It Is Possible To Deny Self (Matthew 16:24-28)

Imperceptibly, I have meditated around the thoughts of inadequacy, lack of support, poverty and the harm of self-righteousness. Today Jesus Christ demands even more. He requires whoever wants to become His disciples must deny themselves. Alas! It is next to impossible!

Wealth is outside our body. We were born naked into this world and will leave it without carrying a penny away. Thus, denying wealth is not difficult. We have the knowledge to handle small amounts of money. Giving it up is a headache. But trillions and even zillions of inheritance is simply mind-boggling. We are unable to feel anything when we give it away. Giving it up is not difficult.

Fame, identity and status are given us by others in the society. Even if we have worked hard to earn them, they are not eternal because they come from others and the society. Societies are evolving and people in power are rising and sinking in the hierarchy. Today you are still marketable but tomorrow who knows! For example, poets were popular among aristocrats and nobles because bards were capable of singing praises for them. Time changes. Today, you may write poems to entertain yourselves but not to earn a living. To earn a living, you had better write C programs. Thus, giving up fame and status is not too difficult too.

But what is “Self”? On top of our DNA’s, it is the personality, knowledge and values we have attained from interacting with our family members, friends and teachers. Those characteristics guide our words, deeds and choices. What make I the “me” comes mostly from those convictions. “Denying self” means the negation of the “old-self” to become another person, a “new creation” (2 Corinthians 5:17). It is easier talked than done! There are surely difficulties but it is possible! We are able to find many instances in history. For example, the encounter of Saul with the Lord on his way to Damascus transformed him in Christ. He became a “new creation”, picked up a new name Paul to become a witness/martyr of the Son of God.

Beloved brethren! May your life be touched and be transformed by Christ. Amen.
God bless!

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生命恩泉
Picture Credit: creator.nightcafe.studio

「自以為是」之害 The Harm of Self-Righteousness

【神貧系列（IV）】
「自以為是」之害（瑪16:13-23）

猶太人自恃是「天主的選民」，因而自視過高，民族主義濃厚，卑視外邦人。終於在公元136年第三次（有學者名之為第二次）反抗羅馬帝國的叛亂遭受鎮壓後，被帝國驅逐出境，在沒有任何政權/國家保護之下，在世界各地流離失所達十九個世紀之久，到第二次世界大戰之後，纔有機會重返巴勒斯坦立國。直到今天，有關土地的主權問題上，仍然與居住了十九個世紀的巴勒斯坦人，不斷兵戎相見。

回顧教會的歷史，亦不乏「自以為是」的毛病。教會自第四世紀君士坦丁凱撒登基後，得到帝國的撐腰，壯大地來。教會成了說拉丁語的「天主之城」，凌駕世上（歐洲）所有的國度。固然，在羅馬帝國沒落之時，教會亦義無反顧地負起捍衛歐陸文明的艱巨使命，抗拒野蠻民族的入侵，同化他們成為信仰天主的子民。過了第一個千年，說拉丁語的西方教會與說希臘語的東方教會分裂了。當大家都覺得自己是正確的時候，試問怎可能不分裂呢？

五百年前，說拉丁語的西方教會聖職班，仍生活在「天主之城」內，與「文藝復興時代」、「大航海時代」脫節了；同時各國諸侯不服教宗的權威，百姓不滿主教神父的貪污腐敗，「宗教改革」一觸即發；隨之而來的，是此起彼落，長達190年的宗教戰爭（公元 1522-1712年），信奉天主教的統治者迫害國內的新教徒，新教國家則血腥鎮壓效忠羅馬教宗的人民…有誰會覺得自己是錯的呢？《聖詠集》不是這樣教訓君王嗎？「詭詐欺騙的人，不得住在我的宮中，說謊不實的人，不得在我眼前存在。我每日清早要滅絕在國內所有的罪人，我要由上主的城內剷除所有作惡的人」（詠101:7-8）。原來「自以為是」要付出沉重的流血代價！

有新教學者認為伯多祿的希臘文是陰性的「石頭」（瑪16:18），祇不過是一塊普通的石頭而已，並不是甚麼「磐石」，我覺得頗有道理。西滿伯多祿始終是一個有缺點的人，把他吹奉為「磐石」，祇會給教會一份虛假的安全感，更容易犯上「自以為是」的毛病！耶穌基督給西滿改名，的確用心良苦！

親愛的讀者，耶穌基督是大能的天主子，在祂手上，即使是一塊並不光彩的廢石，亦足以建立萬世的基業（詠118:22）！我們信靠的，不是有破綻的制度，有缺陷的聖人，而是一位大智大能和大愛的天主子耶穌基督。亞孟。
天主保祐！

Poverty Series (IV)
The Harm of Self-Righteousness (Matthew 16:13-23)

Jews are proud of being “God’s Chosen People”. Their inflated ego bred a strong nationalism as well as prejudice against Gentiles. At last, they were crushed by the Roman Empire in 136 A.D. in their third (some scholars say second) revolt and were driven out of the Empire. Without the protection of states or governments, Jews became fugitives all over the world for some nineteen centuries until after WWII were they able to return to Palestine to rebuild their country. As of this writing, the dispute between Israelites and Palestinians over the sovereignty of the land continues with no ending in sight, leading to unceasing military conflicts.

Looking back at the history of the Church, we may easily find similar self-righteous problems. When Constantine Caesar ascended the throne, the Church was allowed to practise her faith in public and was growing from strength to strength. She became the Latin-speaking “City of God” excelling above all kingdoms on earth (Europe). Without hesitation, when the Roman Empire began to decline, the Church shouldered the tremendous burden of defending and preserving European civilization against barbarian invasions. She managed to convert them to become members of the People of God. After the first millennium, the Latin-speaking Roman Church split with the Greek-speaking Byzantine Church. When everybody thought that he was in the right, how would schism NOT happen?

Five centuries ago the clergy of the Latin-speaking Roman Church were still living inside the “City of God”. They lost touch with the Age of Renaissance and the Age of Exploration. At the same time, princes respected Papal authority no more while commoners hated the corruption of priests and bishops. “Reformation” was an arrow on a fully-drawn bow! Once ignited, 190 years of religious wars (1522-1712 AD) followed. Catholic rulers persecuted Protestants subjects while Protestant countries oppressed bloodily people loyal to the Roman Pontiff … Who would feel that they were in the wrong? Doesn’t the Psalms teach kings, “No one who practises deceit can remain within my house. No one who speaks falsely can last in my presence. Morning after morning I clear all the wicked from the land, to rid the city of the LORD of all doers of evil” (Psalms 101:7-8). “Self-righteousness” carries a heavy price tag of blood-shed!

Some Protestant scholars opine that Peter in Greek, πέτρα, a feminine noun (Matthew 16:18), is just an ordinary stone, not a bed-rock. I quite agree with this interpretation. After all, the personality of Simon Peter was flawed and boasting him as the “Rock” would give the Church a false sense of security, leading her to commit “self-righteousness” errors more easily! How wise and merciful Jesus Christ was in giving Simon this new name!

Beloved brethren! Jesus Christ is the mighty Son of God. In His hand, even an inglorious, rejected stone is sufficient to build an everlasting kingdom (Psalm 118:22)! We trust not in and rely not on flawed institutions and blemished saints but the Wise, Mighty and Merciful Son of God Jesus Christ. Amen.
God bless!

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生命恩泉
Picture Credit: pensamientopentecostalarminiano.org

達味之子，可憐我罷！ Son of David! Have Mercy On Me!

【神貧系列（III）】
達味之子，可憐我罷！（瑪15:21-28）

「達味之子」在對觀福音中出現過17次，其中9次在《瑪竇》；《馬爾谷》和《路加》各4次。這是合理的，因為《瑪竇》的讀者是猶太基督徒，主旨是證明耶穌基督是猶太人所期待的默西亞。固然，先知曾稱呼波斯王居魯士為「受傅者」（依45:1），但當居魯士解放猶太人，並遣返他們回國重建聖殿後，猶太人漸漸把希望放在「達味之子」身上，希望達味後裔中的一個，能成為他們的「受傅者」，以滿全當年天主向達味許下的「納堂神諭」：「你的家室和王權，在我前永遠存在，你的王位也永遠堅定不移」（撒下7:16）。

撇除有關耶穌誕生的兩節（瑪1:1, 20）和榮進耶路撒冷，喊叫口號的兩節（21:9, 15）外，其餘5節「達味之子」都與瞎子復明和驅魔的神跡有關，而惟獨今天所讀的這一節，是出自外邦人的口！
雖然《瑪竇》的讀者是猶太基督徒，但狹隘的民族主義始終不能壟斷天主對萬民的救贖（9:17），所以在福音最後一章，復活的主對十一宗徒有「往訓萬民」的遺令（28:19）！今天的驅魔故事，也批評了狹隘的民族主義。

在今天的驅魔故事中，有兩組人求耶穌：一個客納罕婦人和耶穌的門徒。一個母親從後面求耶穌說：「主，達味之子，可憐我罷！我的女兒…」（15:22）；耶穌的門徒就上前求祂說：「打發她走罷！【因為她帶給我們麻煩，】在我們後面不停地喊叫」（15:23）。倘若我是耶穌，高下立見：前者為了別人的益處，後者為了自己的方便。但耶穌並沒有對門徒失望，直斥其非，反而耐心地向他們指出，自恃是天主的選民，祇會「自食其果」：看，倘若我祇照顧亞巴郎的後裔（15:24），你們將會承受怎樣的不方便！再看外邦人的信德罷，他們沒有天主的許諾可以依恃，祇憑自己一無所有的信靠，反而蒙受天主的眷顧。

親愛的讀者，認真地看待自己的貧乏和不是之處，信靠耶穌基督罷！
天主保祐！

Poverty Series (III)
Son of David! Have Mercy On Me! (Matthew 15:21-28)

“Son of David” appears 17 times in the Synoptic gospels, 9 times in Matthew and 4 times each in Mark and Luke. This is reasonable because Matthew’s readers were Jewish Christians and it aimed at proving that Jesus Christ was the Messiah anticipated by the Jews. Of course, Isaiah also called Cyrus the Persian king the “anointed” (Isaiah 45:1). But after Cyrus had liberated the Jews and sent them home to rebuild the Temple, they gradually put their hope on the “Son of David”, one of the descendants of David to become the Messiah in order to fulfil the “Nathan Oracle” God promised David, “Your house and your kingdom are firm forever before me; your throne shall be firmly established forever” (2 Samuel 7:16).

Not counting the 2 verses in Jesus’ nativity (Matthew 1:1, 20) and the 2 slogan-chanting during Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem (21:9, 15), the remaining five “Son of David” appeared in miracles of healing the blind and exorcisms. The verse we read today is the only verse that came from a Gentile!
Although Matthew wrote for Jewish Christian, narrow-minded nationalism cannot monopolize God’s redemption of all peoples (9:17). Thus, in the last chapter of the gospel, the risen Lord commissioned the Eleven apostles to “make disciples of all nations” (28:19)! The exorcism story today also criticizes narrow-minded nationalism.

In the exorcism narrative today, two groups of people begged Jesus: The Canaanite woman and Jesus’ disciples. A mother begged Jesus from behind, “Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter …” (15:22). Jesus’ disciples came and asked the Master, “Send her away! For [she brought us inconvenience] she keeps calling out after us” (15:22). If I were Jesus, the contrast was crystal clear: the former begged for the good of the needy while the latter begged for their own convenience. But Jesus did not show disappointment and scold them. On the contrary, He patiently pointed out to them the price to pay for being proud of the identity of God’s Chosen People. Look! If I only take care of the descendants of Abraham (15:24), you would suffer a great deal of inconvenience! Take a look at the Gentiles who did not have God’s promise to rely on. With nothing to rely on but their faith, God provided for them as well.

Beloved brethren! Take seriously our poverty and inadequacies. Have faith in Jesus Christ!
God bless!

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生命恩泉
Picture Credit: creator.nightcafe.studio

上高山的經驗 Experiences On High Mountains

【神貧系列（II）】
上高山的經驗（谷9:2-10）

梅瑟攀登西乃山，花了40天的時間領受十誡。可惜山下的以色列人沒有耐性，迫亞郎給他們做一隻金牛，帶領他們返回埃及（出32:1-4）。梅瑟下山看見以色列人在金牛像前歌舞，便大怒並摔碎手上兩塊「約版」，懲罰了那些拜金牛的人。後來梅瑟按上主的吩咐，再帶兩塊石版上山，再過了40天的時間領受十誡。今次下山，因為同上主說過話，面部發光，從此梅瑟要用首帕蒙面（34:29, 35）。這個在高山上與上主相遇的經驗，改變了這位八十歲在埃及長大的王子，在往後的四十年，領導那一盤散沙般的以色列12支派，邁向上主所應許的「福地」。

厄里亞在加爾默耳山，與450個崇拜巴耳的假先知比試求雨（列上18:19），在以色列子民面前證明了雅威纔是天主，並鼓動群眾捉了所有假先知到山下斬殺了（18:40）。這可謂是厄里亞履行天主代言人職務的顛峰。可惜這比試觸怒了依則貝耳皇后，她下達追殺令，厄里亞不得不逃亡了40日，來到曷勒布山避難（19:8）。在那裡，天主在輕微細弱的風聲中，委派了他三個任務（19:15-16）；厄里亞亦改變了以往目空一切的性格，繼續履行他先知的角色。

梅瑟和厄里亞分別代表法律和先知，可以說代表了整部【舊約】。他倆在高山上所遭遇的經驗，在他們身上起了戲劇性的變化，從此他們以一個全新的面貎，履行天主委派給他們的使命。

今天我們慶祝主耶穌在高山上向三位宗徒展露祂的天主性，讓他們認識復活的光榮，加強他們的信德，在主復活後鞏固其他兄弟的信德（路22:32）。這是難能可貴的經驗，今天我們的信德，都是靠他們傳授下來的，彌足珍貴。親愛的讀者，我們可有這上高山與主相遇的經驗呢？我們的信仰，是否與昨天、與去年甚至十年前一樣，依然故我，沒有改進？我們的信仰內容，仍然停留在不到慕道時期的30%水平嗎？是檢討自己的靈性修煉的時候了。
天主保祐！

Poverty Series (II)
Experiences On High Mountains (Mark 9:2-10)

Moses scaled Mount Sinai and spent forty days to receive the Ten Commandments. Regrettably the Israelites were impatient down below and forced Aaron to make them a golden calf to bring them back to Egypt (Exodus 32:1-4). When Moses came down and saw the Israelites dancing before the golden calf, he was furious and smashed the two tablets of covenant and punished those who worshipped the idol. Later, following God’s instruction, Moses brought 2 stone tablets and scaled forty more days to receive the Ten Commandments again. This time when Moses came down with the two tablets of covenant, his face became radiant while he spoke with the LORD. From then on, Moses had to put a veil over his face (34:29, 35). This encounter with the LORD on a high mountain transformed this eighty-year-old prince of Egypt. In the following four decades, he led the disorganized twelve tribes of Israel to enter the land promised by the LORD.

On Mount Carmel, Elijah challenged 450 false prophets of Baal to pray for rain (1 Kings 18:19), to demonstrate before the Israelites that Yahweh was the true God. Subsequently, he incited the crowd to seize all the false prophets and killed them down the Mount (18:40). This was the zenith of Elijah’s ministry as a spokesman of God. Regrettably, Queen Jezebel was furious and declared an order to execute Elijah who fled for forty days for his life to hide in Mount Horeb (19:8). There, in a light silent sound, the LORD commissioned him three missions (19:15-16). Consequently, Elijah also transformed his arrogant personality in discharging his mission as a prophet.

As representatives of Law and Prophet, Moses and Elijah represented the whole of the Old Covenant. Their experiences on high mountains effected dramatic transformations on them. From then on, they put on “a new face” in discharging the missions the LORD gave them.

Today, we celebrate the Transfiguration of Lord Jesus on a high mountain, manifesting His divinity to the three apostles to assure them of the glory of resurrection and to strengthen their faith so that after His resurrection, they might strengthen other brothers (Luke 22:32). This was an invaluable treasure because the faith we cherish today came from them. Beloved brethren! Do we have this experience of encountering the Lord on a high mountain? Is our faith the same like yesterday, yester-year or even a decade before, without showing any progress? Does the faith we practise remain at a 30% level of what we learnt in catechumen class? It is high time we evaluated our spiritual life.
God bless!

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生命恩泉
Picture Credit: communio.stblogs.org, creator.nightcafe.studio, create.pixelcut.ai/magic-eraser

The Weakness of Christ Is Stronger Than Men’s Strength 基督的軟弱比人強

【神貧系列（I）】
基督的軟弱比人強（瑪14:13-21）

今天的福音以「耶穌一聽說這消息」（瑪14:13a）開始，『這消息』是甚麼消息呢？三部對觀福音都把後來發生的「五餅二魚」神跡，緊接洗者若翰殉道和十二宗徒第一次傳福音之後，回來向耶穌匯報（谷6:30，路9:10）事件，惟有《瑪竇》暗示耶穌基督因著洗者若翰的殉道，需要「私下退到荒野地方」，停下來默觀前路。

耶穌基督是真人真天主，以納匝肋人耶穌的人性位格，他對這位表親的殉道，怎可能沒有「唇亡齒寒」的感觸呢？不要小覷這表面上人性的「軟弱」，它在我們得意忘形的時候，發揮著一種有益的制約作用！

且看，自己一手栽培的十二人，竟然能吸引並聚集了成千上萬的群眾；作為師父的，怎會不心花怒放呢？但在耶穌基督心裡湧出來的，不是「榮耀」或者「心滿意足」，而是「憐憫的心，治好了他們的病人」（瑪14:14）。忙了一整天，門徒請求基督遣散群眾，好讓自己也可以休息回氣，這是最自然不過的事。但主耶穌反而吩咐他們給群眾提供食物（14:16），作為門徒會有甚麼感想呢？「主！難道我們忙了一整天，還做得不夠好嗎？」「主！我們已經累了，不應該休息一晚，明天再努力嗎？」「主！我們不是祢，沒有祢的神力，恐怕不能再堅持下去了！」…「主！我們這裡甚麼也沒有，祇有五個餅和兩條魚，連我們自己也不夠分配，怎能給群眾提供食物呢…」（14:17）。跟著發生的神跡，就不用贅述了。

親愛的讀者，「勞苦、疲倦」並不是羞恥的事，兩個多星期前，耶穌基督曾邀請勞累的我們投靠祂 （11:28-30）。「軟弱」不一定是缺點，「軟弱」讓我們清楚明白自己的不足之處，謙遜地、誠實地把面對的困難，呈奉到基督的面前，讓祂按天父的旨意處理！正如保祿宗徒所說：「天主為愛祂的人所準備的，是眼所未見，耳所未聞，人心所未想到的」（格前2:9；依64:3）；又說：「我為基督的緣故，喜歡在軟弱中…因為我幾時軟弱，正是我有能力的時候」（格後12:10）。
天主保祐！

Poverty Series (I)
The Weakness of Christ Is Stronger Than Men’s Strength (Matthew 14:13-21)

Today’s gospel begins with “When Jesus heard of it” (Matthew 14:13a). One wonders what the “it” is. The Synoptic gospels put the miracle of 5 loaves and 2 fish immediately after the martyrdom of the Baptist and the return of the Twelve (Mark 6:30, Luke 9:10). Only Matthew hints at the martyrdom of the Baptist affecting Jesus and He needed to withdraw, “in a boat to a deserted place by Himself” to meditate the mission ahead.

Jesus Christ is both human and divine. As a human in the person of Jesus of Nazareth, how could he not be affected by the martyrdom of his cousin? Don’t overlook this superficial human “frailty” which inhibits us when successes blind us! Imagine.
“Behold, the Twelve whom I have instructed are able to attract and gather thousands of people. As their Master, how can I not be elated?” But what overflowed from the heart of Jesus Christ was not glory or contentment but “His heart was moved with pity for them, and He cured their sick” (Matthew 14:14).

After a busy day, it was natural for the disciples to request the Lord to dismiss the crowd so that they themselves might take a break. But Lord Jesus told them to feed the crowd (14:16). If you were among the disciples, what would you feel?
“Lord! Are we not good enough to have worked the whole day?” “Lord! We are exhausted. Shouldn’t we take a rest after evening so as to work harder tomorrow?” “Lord! We are not you. We don’t have your divine power. We can no longer persevere!” … “Lord! Five loaves and two fish are all we have here. We don’t have enough even for ourselves. How can we feed the crowd? …” (14:17) The rest was history.

Beloved brethren! Being tired is nothing to be ashamed of. Two weeks ago, Jesus Christ invited all who labour and are burdened to come to Him to take rest (11:28-30). “Frailty” is not necessarily a defect. Frailty allows us to know our inadequacies, to face our difficulties humbly as well as honestly and to offer them before Christ. Let Him handle them according to the Father’s will! Just as St. Paul says, “What eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, and what has not entered the human heart, what God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Corinthians 2:9; Isaiah 64:3); and, “Therefore, I am content with weaknesses … for when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10).
God bless!

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生命恩泉
Picture Credit: readingacts.com, creator.nightcafe.studio

Citius, Altius, Fortius - Communiter 一起更快、更高、更強

Eighteenth Ordinary Sunday, Year B
Theme: Citius, Altius, Fortius - Communiter 一起更快、更高、更強

Though created in the image of God, human beings are creatures in history. We are confined to a definite time and space and are unable to occupy two different locations at the same moment. As images of God, human beings were born with a strong desire to become God; and failing this, to play God as the second best. Regrettably, nothing on earth is able to satisfy this desire and in order to cope with the anxiety created by the frustration of the desire we crave for objects from lower levels as substitutes, which would never be able to fill the void, prompting us to crave for more. A vicious cycle of addiction/obsession is thus created. You may call it idolatry!

Food meets the physiological need for survival. Thus, after the miracle of five loaves and two fish, some people quickly sensed that if they made Jesus king (John 6:15), they would have no more worries about food because their king would provide. No wonder when they found Jesus the other day, Jesus who is able to read their minds says, “Amen, amen, I say to you, you are looking for me not because you saw signs but because you ate the loaves and were filled” (6:26). In other words, the crowd should have aimed higher and sought something more fulfilling than satiating their hunger. Instead of seeing a miracle of God’s mercy, they paid their attention to filling up their stomach! As of this writing, the Paris 2024 Olympics is in full momentum. One century ago, France was the first to feature an Olympic motto. At that time, they coined “Citius, Altius, Fortius”, meaning “Faster, Higher, Stronger” for Paris 1924 Olympics. This motto is still valid even to date. For us Christians, we should also aim at being faster in obeying God’s will, aiming higher in our aspirations and being spiritually stronger. Therefore, we should seek what lessons we have learned from this miracle.

First of all, in order to be stronger, we should not evade difficulty. During the last century when science and technology brought economic prosperity after the two world wars, many evangelists dismissed Jesus’ miracles and tried to explain them away in a scientifically acceptable manner. Jesus has already affirmed that this is a miracle, a sign of God’s presence among us (6:26). In 1960’s, I heard one evangelist on the radio explain that the generosity of the boy, who gave up the 5 loaves and 2 fish, had touched the hearts of the crowd of 5000. They voluntarily took out their own food and shared among all. So, it was not a miracle but a moral lesson! What a pity! The evangelist as well as all who bought his interpretation gave up eternal life in exchange for crowd-cheering! Though it is difficult to explain miracles scientifically, please stand firm and accept that the Son of God is able to multiply the 5 loaves and 2 fish, say by converting some energy from other locations in the known universe into bread to feed the 5000 crowd, using Einstein’s famous mcc formula!

During the public ministry of Jesus, the Pharisees challenged Jesus to work a sign from heaven, probably out of jealousy of Jesus’ popularity (Mark 8:11). What was that “sign from heaven”? Most likely, it referred to the manna God rained down from heaven to feed the 600,000 Israelites for 40 years in the wilderness (Exodus 16:15, Joshua 5:12). Reading of this challenge today amazes us because it was so similar to modern mentality. The Pharisees demanded evidence which met their standards. They set the rules and told the Son of God to follow! Notice that the Pharisees demanded another miracle after the 5 loaves and 2 fish miracle. Which means, even if they accepted that the 5 loaves and 2 fish incident was a miracle, they would not accept it as a sign from heaven because the loaves did not come down from heaven! Had Jesus rained barley loaves down from heaven, the Pharisees would have argued that there were only 5000 and not 600,000 people etc. I am not trying to smear the Pharisees but to point out the pitfall that prevents us from seeing miracles of what they actually are. Out of prejudice or perhaps even pride, we set up unreasonable scientific standards to disqualify the signs God works. God works miracles not simply to show His power and His presence. He works miracles to show His love and care for us, unworthy sinners. If we set rules to rule love/mercy out because natural sciences do not need the hypothesis of love to explain phenomena, what else can God say to convince us? To work miracles, which do not violate the limited scientific knowledge humanity, has acquired so far? God smiles, musing, “Pretty challenging indeed!”

Why should people with a scientific mentality be lenient to Jesus? Are His teachings unable to undergo scrutiny? What can we say? To begin with, Jesus is definitely revolutionary. He brought the Yahweh of Judaism down by calling Him “the Father”! The proof? See the miracles He has worked (John 10:32), such as turning water into wine, cleansing lepers, restoring sight of the blind, driving out demons, raising the dead, curing diseases, calming the sea and multiplying the loaves etc. All these had been similarly done before in the Old Covenant. In performing similar signs, Jesus wants people, then and in future generations, to know that it was the God of the Old Covenant who had sent Him. “For on Him the Father, God, has set His seal” (6:27c). During the Last Supper, Philip asked Jesus to show them the Father. Jesus answered, “Have I been with you for so long a time and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father” (14:9). After spending nearly three years, living and receiving formation from Jesus Christ, even the Twelve were not able to recognize the Father in Jesus. It took the Descent of the Holy Spirit, the spirit of love and truth; as well as sufficient amount of time for their faith to mature. How can we blame modern scientifically minded people for not recognizing the Son of God? Without the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit to enkindle their love of God and neighbour, they cannot but demanding in order to contain probable losses and damages.

Beloved brethren! The logic of “Pascal’s wager” may not be airtight. Yet it is intuitive enough and buying it does not cost people harm. People do not lose by assuming the existence of God. It follows that eternal life is possible. Therefore, buying Jesus’ advice to work for food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man would give (6:27b), makes sense. The last obstacle is “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst” (6:35). Of course, nobody, scientists or theologians or even Yahweh, is able to force anybody to accept it. The choice is all personal and individual. Everybody has a history on his back. It counts. Take a look at the winners on the podium, saints canonized by the Catholic Church. Perhaps their histories would cheer us up. Amen.
God bless!

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