主題：天上家鄉，福傳的訊息
現代人接受科學的教育，對宇宙認識多了，對事物的來龍去脈，要求科學化的解釋。因此，對古老的書籍，包括聖經，所描繪的事蹟，經常抱懷疑，甚至不屑的態度。這種對科學的迷信，完全疏忽了科學本身的限制。
另一方面，很多人嫌棄【創世紀】不科學，是迷信。殊不知【創世紀】是在歌頌天主，因為祂以大能，發出了命令，天地和世間的萬物便形成了。【創世紀】並沒有詳細地、科學化地說明天主用甚麼材料、甚麼設計藍圖、甚麼步驟，造成天地。這一切細節，就留待科學家去填補吧。
執事並不是怪責『十萬個為甚麼』，或者說科學不好，祗是說宗教與科學是有著不用的社會功能，不應混為一談，引起不必要的爭論。倘若天主讓人類由大猩猩進化而來，難道我們就可以推論出人類就沒有天主的尊嚴，人類就不是天主的肖像嗎？不過要小心，科學化的思維，間中亦會妨礙了我們對天主的認識。例如我們今天慶祝耶穌升天。「天」是指甚麼呢？
接受過科學教育洗禮的人，對所謂「天」，當然是指大氣層之外的太空了。太空的近處有我們的太陽系，而太陽亦祗不過是銀河系外圍的一顆普通的恆星，而銀河系也祗不過是億億萬萬個星團的其中一個…科學家在整個外太空的任何方向，都測量到「大爆炸」一刻所殘留的紅外線背景輻射，相信這就是整個宇宙的邊緣了，這個邊緣，正以光速向外擴展。那麼，耶穌升天，是升到那裡呢？正如若望福音所記載，斐理伯在最後晚餐時，問耶穌祂要去那裡。耶穌總應該留下一些蛛絲馬跡給我們，讓我們知道，祂在我們所認識的宇宙的那一點。又倘若耶穌以光速飛行，升到天上，祂現今距離地球，祗不過是二千光年，和整個宇宙的138億光年半徑規模比較，實在微不足道，用普通的天文望遠鏡也可以觀察得到。科學家之中有不少虔誠的基督徒，不過，並沒有科學家發現耶穌升到宇宙的那一點。因為我們找錯了地方。
執事嘗試揣測耶穌帶著人性的軀體升天的意義。在起初，天主創造人類的時候，人類是生活在地上的。人類是按天主的肖像，用地上的塵土所造。天主看得出人類終非池中物，他日必定一飛沖天。所以，天主有意提升他的層次，讓他脫去身上的泥土，把他帶回天上。因此，縱使亞當沒有違背天主的禁令，天主仍計劃由聖三的第二位聖子，降生成人，然後帶領人類，升到天上。魔鬼出於嫉妒，引誘人類犯罪，背叛天主，離間天主與人類的關係，加重了天主幫助人類升到天上的成本。的確，魔鬼是頗為成功的。很多人太忙碌，沒有時間讀經祈禱；有些人迷戀世俗的榮華富貴，權力和名譽。他們以為人類的真正歸宿就在世上，因此他們努力屯積世上的財富和權勢。所以，耶穌帶著人的軀體升天，在於提醒大家，上天纔是我們真正的歸宿。
可是，我們不像那些科幻片，乘太空船離開即將毀滅的地球。這是錯誤的。倘若人心沒有改變，人祗會帶著罪惡，去繼續污染和毀滅下一站，火星。然後下一站，再下一站。因此，我們必須把福音傳開，必須做個慈悲的使者，幫助世人與天父修和，獲得天父的寬恕，罪過的赦免。這就是今天所讀的路加福音的思想。我們必需以慈悲的態度去生活，解決全球的饑餓和貧窮的問題，使「老有所終，壯有所用，幼有所長，矜寡孤獨廢疾者，皆有所養」；使大地得到保育。這樣，我們就不再需要移民火星了。
小時候很喜歡閱讀一套科學普及的讀物，名叫『十萬個為甚麼』，是1934年從蘇聯的一本科普作品翻譯過來的，以後不斷增修。這套書以淺易的文字，解釋了很多大自然的現象，對提升人民科學化的思維，貢獻良多。其實，書名是有點兒誤導的。第一：並沒有「十萬個」問題。第一版有九百個，2013年第六版共十八卷亦祗有三千多個，連一萬個也沒有，何來十萬呢。第二：從前的答案是肯定的標準答案，但隨著科學的發展，從前以為是對的，現在已經証實是錯了。所以第六版的寫作筆觸，已不再是肯定的，而是開放的了。第三：科學的確可以解釋已有的現象如何運作，並按科學的理論推測事情的發展。例如，已經存在的日月如何運行，並且可以推測何時何日會發生日蝕和月蝕；或者發現了一具無頭無手的浮屍，我們可以運用科學鑒証，証明某某就是殺人凶手。不過，科學不能說明日月為了甚麼目的存在；法庭也不能正確無誤地証明某某為了甚麼目的殺人，須要疑犯親口承認。科學可以說明「如何、怎樣發生」，卻不能說明「為甚麼發生」。從以上三點，所以我說書名有點誤導，它應該稱為『十萬個怎麼樣』！
二千年或更早之前的人類所說的「天」，並不是指外太空，而是指天主和一眾天使居住的地方。所以，耶穌升天，不一定是指耶穌飛到外太空的某一點，而是表示耶穌返回天主的居所。天主聖三為了拯救世人，第二位天主子降生成為耶穌基督，完成任務之後，返回天上。祂出於愛，從天而降，現在重返天上。這是我們的信仰，我們的宗教，不是科學所能夠証明，所能夠清楚說明的。因為我們在宣講天主對人類的愛，解釋為甚麼耶穌要為我們受難。科學祗能解釋釘十字架如何能置人於死地，但解釋不到天主子死在十字架上的動機。另一方面，科學祗能說明138億光年範圍的宇宙空間的物理現象，但解釋不了耶穌為甚麼要帶著人性的身軀，返回天上，這樣做，包含了甚麼意義。
天主保祐
Ascension (Year C)
Theme: Evangelization message, "The Above is Our True Home"
Modern people receive science education. They know more about the universe and they demand scientific explanations for everything. Thus, they are always sceptical about stories told in ancient books, including the Bible. This superstition on science forgets the limitations of science itself.
On the other hand, people complain that Genesis is unscientific. It is superstitious. They don't know that Genesis is actually singing praises to God because with His might, God gave the command, heavens and earth and all the things within were created. Genesis does not tell us what materials God used, what blueprints and procedures He followed to create heavens and earth. Genesis leaves all these details for scientists to fill up.
I have no intention to blame "100,000 Why's" or science. I am trying to say that religion and science serve different social purposes. They should not overstep to stir up unnecessary arguments. If God allows chimpanzees to evolve into human beings, can be deduce that human beings do not possess the dignity of God, that human beings are not images of God? Be careful, scientific mentality can somehow hinder our knowing of God. For example, we celebrate the Ascension of the Lord today. What does "the heaven" mean?
For those who were brought up in science education, "heaven" means the space beyond the atmosphere. The space near us is occupied by the solar system. The sun is only an ordinary star in the outskirt of the Milky Way and the Milky Way is only one of the billions of galaxies … In whichever direction we observe, we are able to detect a background radiation which is what remains of the Big Bang. Scientists believe that this is the edge of the universe which is expanding at the speed of light. Thus, to where did Jesus ascend? Just as what is written in the gospel of John, at the Last Supper, Philip asked Jesus where he was going. Jesus should have left us some clues of his whereabouts in the universe. Suppose Jesus travelled at the speed of light during his ascension. At this moment, he would only be two thousand light-years away. Comparing to the magnitude of a radius of 13.8 billion light years, Jesus' distance is insignificant. We might even be able to observe this distance with an ordinary astronomical telescope. There are many pious Christians among scientists but none has discovered the whereabouts of Jesus in the universe, because they would be looking into the wrong places.
Let me speculate what it means for Jesus to ascend with human nature. In the beginning, God created men and put them on earth. Men were created in the image of God with the dust of the earth. God saw that in the end, humanity will not be confined to earth. One day, they will soar high. Therefore, God intended to raise their level, allow them to shed their earthly nature and bring them to heavens. That is to say, even if Adam had not disobeyed God, the Second Person would have incarnated the same to bring humanity to heavens. But out of jealousy, Satan tempted humanity to rebel against God and to pitch humanity against God, thus increasing the cost, which God bears, of bringing humanity to heavens. Indeed, Satan has been quite successful. Many people are too busy to read the scriptures and to pray. Some desire riches, authority and fame. They think that earth is our final destiny. Thus, they work hard to hoard riches and authority. Therefore, when Jesus ascended in human flesh, he tried to remind us that the above is our true home.
However, unlike science fiction movies, we are not leaving behind a doomed planet. This mentality is wrong. If human hearts remain unchanged, men will only carry sins to contaminate and destroy our next station, Mars, and the next station and the next. Therefore, we need to evangelize, to become an ambassador of mercy to help fellow men reconcile with the Father, to obtain His mercy and receive the forgiveness of sins. This is the theme of the gospel we read today. We lead a life of mercy and solve the global problems of hunger and poverty. We make "the elderly have a good end, the strong find themselves useful, the young grow and the widowers, widows, orphans, lonely seniors, crippled and sick find support". We conserve the Mother Nature. Then, we don't have to migrate to Mars.
When I was young, I loved reading a science populariser called "100,000 Why's" which was translated from Soviet Union in 1934. It has undergone many updates. The authors use simple languages to explain natural phenomena. The series have contributed to the bringing up of scientific reasoning of the population. However, the title of the series is rather misleading. First of all, you will not find answers to one hundred thousand questions in the series. There were about 900 questions in the first edition. In the 18 volumes of the 6th edition published in 2013, there are some 3000 questions, not even ten thousands. Thus, how can it be called "100,000 Why's"? Secondly, in the earlier editions, the series provided standard model answers to the questions. However, with the advances of science, what used to be correct was proved to be wrong nowadays. Therefore, the tone of the languages becomes less certain and more open. Thirdly, science can indeed explain how things work, and by applying scientific theories, science can predict the course of events. For example, science is able to explain how the sun and the moon move. Science can even predict when solar/lunar eclipses will happen. Or after discovering a headless, limbless corpse floating in the harbour, we may make use of forensic sciences to prove who has done it. However, science cannot explain the purposes, the why's. Science cannot explain why the sun and the moon exist; the court cannot prove beyond doubts the motive of a murderer. The court needs confession from the suspect. Science can explain the how's, but not the why's. Therefore, the book had better be called "100,000 how's"!
Two thousand years ago or even earlier, "heavens" did not mean the outer space, but the dwelling place of God and the angels. So, Jesus might not have ascended to a certain point in the universe. Rather, his ascension means he returns to the dwelling place of God. To redeem humanity, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity took up flesh to become Jesus Christ. After accomplishing his mission, he returned to heaven. Out of love, he descended from heaven. Now he ascended and returned to heaven. This is our faith, our religion which science cannot explain satisfactorily. It is because we proclaim God's love towards humanity. We explain why Jesus died for us. Science can only explain how crucifixion kills but cannot explain why the Son of God died on the cross for us. Furthermore, science can explain the physical phenomena within the radius of 13.8 billion light-years but cannot explain why Jesus carried with him humanity during his ascension. What does it mean?
God bless.
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