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