主題：耶穌基督的平安
今天，讓我們默想主耶穌基督的平安。
有人會選擇努力賺錢，並加以儲蓄。所謂「積穀防饑」，「無後顧之憂」。可惜在現實的世界中，貧富懸殊極度嚴重，祗有一少撮人，瓜分了全球十份之九的財富，您和我祗能艱苦經營，從那剩下的十分一財富，分一杯羹，恐怕連通貨膨脹也跑不贏。因此，賺錢儲蓄以求心中的平安，恐怕會令你心力交瘁，適得其反。
對於那些已經成功瓜分了全球十份之九財富的人，他們可以安心了嗎？絕對不能，他們距離安心尚遠，因為金錢令他們加添了煩惱。他們的煩惱就在於如何保障那些財富，不會被對手侵佔；除了必要的消費之外，辛苦積來的財富，怎樣能永遠保存在自己的手裡，並交到自己的後代子孫手上呢？在目前的社會制度之下，祗有一個辦法：就是運用賺到的財富，建立人際網絡，養一群政客，甚至自己參政。他們需要鞏固自己的勢力，製造一個有利自己賺錢的制度。最後，甚至要排除異己，消滅競爭對手，到達極權的地步。試問涉足於這樣一個爾虞我詐，鉤心鬥角的生活圈子，又如何能平安呢？
另一方面，那些對生活無奈，任人魚肉的百姓，很多人惟有選擇求神拜佛，祈求神靈保祐，風調雨順，出入平安。於是有很多「神棍」便應運而生，吹噓自己，神化自己，能替人消災解難，起死回生。其實最終的目的，祗是影響百姓，心甘情願獻上金錢，甚或滿足一己之私慾。
當然，世上亦有人追求合乎道德的生活，以獲得心安理得。很多的哲學家，倫理學家，甚至宗教家，提出了很多做人處世的意見，倡議一些幸福人生的目標。教人淡薄名利，樂天知命，安份守己等等。誠然，這些都是很好的智慧，減少了人生所遇到不如意事，對身心的傷害。但世上有多少人能按著這些智慧去生活呢？那麼，耶穌的教導，與其他倫理學家或其他宗教人士的意見，有多大分別，足以令耶穌說：「我所賜給你們的平安，不像世界所賜的一樣」（若14:27）？
首先我們必須承認，平安不是我們憑個人努力，便可以爭取到的。你住在火山口旁邊，又沒有辨法搬遷，日夜提心吊膽，沒有平安，但你能做甚麼呢？你暫時有一份正職，住在一個按揭的物業單位之中。對於公司的人事調動，或者按揭利息的變化，你又能做甚麼呢？因此，我們必須明白，無論你賺多少錢，無論控制了多少政府官員，無論你如何淡薄名利，無論你崇拜多少個神佛等等，平安真的不是我們可以憑一己的努力，可以獲得的。平安是天主所賞賜的。
猶太人相信憑一己的努力，嚴格遵守天主全部的誡命，例如行割損禮，守安息日等等，就能得救。因此，正如今天第一篇讀經所記載一樣，初期教會內，就有一些猶太信徒，教訓非猶太背景的基督徒，必須像他們一樣割損、一樣守安息日，否則不能得救。看，連相信天主的猶太教徒，也輕易捨本逐末，陷入法律主義的錯謬，相信憑一己的努力，就能獲得救恩。
天父的慈悲，天父對人的愛，纔是人類平安的保証。不過，所有關係都是雙向的，縱使天主願意賜予我們平安，也要我們願意接受，我們纔能得到天主的平安。關鍵在於我們有沒有天主的聖神。在我們的信仰中，我們對聖神比較陌生。一般我們把聖神理解成為天主的力量，真理之神。例如今天的福音，就提及到天主聖神會教訓我們一切，使我們記起耶穌的一切教訓。可能大家忽略了聖神其實是愛心之神。是天主聖神燃起我們對耶穌基督的愛，因著這份愛，我們樂意遵守耶穌督的話。倘若我們沒有聖神，缺乏了對耶穌基督的愛，我們那會遵守耶穌基督的話，得到天父所賜予的平安呢？
我們愛耶穌基督有多少，表現在我們遵守耶穌基督的話有多少。耶穌三番四次教導我們要信靠天父，把一切交託在天父的手中，相信天父為我們作了最好的安排。耶穌基督教訓我們，天父知道我們真正需要甚麼，在我們開始祈禱之前，已知道我們祈求甚麼。因為祂連我們的頭髮，也一一數過。耶穌基督教訓我們祗需要求天父賜給今天的食糧便足夠，不必為明天憂慮。我們有遵守耶穌基督的話嗎？抑或是努力賺錢，積穀防饑呢？耶穌基督曾讚美窮寡婦在聖殿裡捐獻了兩個銅錢，因為她從自己的不足之中，仍然全心全意愛慕天主。我們做得到嗎？抑或想辦法增加手中持有的資金，準備投資高回報率的樓盤呢？
請記住，平安不是個人努力就可以爭取到的，平安是天主所賞賜的。祗有當我們心中充滿聖神，熱愛耶穌，遵守耶穌基督的話，全心依賴天父的安排，慈悲的天父，又怎會不理會我們這些信靠祂的人，又怎會不賞賜我們人世間所沒有的平安呢？
我們都是平凡的人，世俗的人，每天都要應付和處理生活中林林總總的事。所謂「人無遠慮，必有近憂」。言下之意，人生在世，要面對煩惱，是無可避免的。做學生有做學生的煩惱：生暗瘡、選科考試、結交朋友等。上班一族有上班一族的煩惱：達標、供樓，還有辦公室政治等。無論是瑣碎的柴米油鹽，抑或是擇業結婚等人生大事，總不能永遠假手於人，由媽媽幫你決定一切。生活就是充滿那麼多煩惱；平安，即心境的平靜，又如何達到呢？
天主保祐。
Sixth Easter Sunday (Year C)
Theme: The Peace of Jesus Christ
Today, let us meditate on the peace of Jesus Christ.
We are ordinary people, secular people. We need to deal with all sorts of chores every day. As the idiom goes, "Even if you have no long term uncertainties, there must be short term concerns". That is to say, worries are inevitable in life. Students have students' share of worries: e.g. acnes, exams, course registration and peers etc. Office workers have their share of worries: quotas, mortgage and office politics etc. Whether it be trivial daily necessities or crucial decisions such as careers or mates, we cannot always rely on others and let mummy decide them all for us. Life is full of worries. How do we attain inner peace?
Some decide to work hard to earn enough money and save a portion, so called "save for a rainy day" or "stockpile grains to avoid famine". Unfortunately, polarization of incomes is serious in real world. Nine tenths of the global wealth is controlled by a handful of individuals while you and me have to work really hard to make ends meet from the remaining one tenth, perhaps unable to catch up with inflation. Therefore, gaining inner peace by making and saving money probably will exhaust you physically as well as mentally, resulting in the very opposite state.
For those few people who have successfully controlled the nine tenths of global wealth, can they attain a peace of mind? Categorically negative. It is because money adds up to their worries. They have to worry about how to protect their wealth from their rivals. Besides necessary spendings, how can they keep their hard earned wealth forever and to hand it down to their offspring? Under the present social system, there is only one solution: to make use of their wealth to build up personal networks, to buy a bunch of politicians and even to play politics themselves. They need to consolidate their position, to create a system favourable for them to make money. At last, they may even have to oust dissidents, to eliminate their rivals completely and become totalitarian. Living in such a dog eat dog environment, how can you attain inner peace?
On the other hand, many of those helpless crowds who are at the mercy of the powerful can only resort to religion. They pray to deities for good fortune and security. Such a situation will breed many false messiahs, boasting and mystifying their abilities to avert misfortunes and raising the dead. Their aim is to make the crowds offer them gold willingly or even to satisfy their lust.
Of course, some people will lead a moral life to gain inner peace. Many philosophers, moralists and even religious people offer different targets for a good life such as slighting fame and wealth, being contented or staying within your confines etc. Truly, these are good advice and wisdom, reducing the harm done to the body and mind when disasters strike. But how many people are able to lead their lives according to these guidelines? Then, what makes Jesus' teachings differ from those moralists' or religious so that Jesus can say, "... not as the world gives do I give to you." (John 14:27)?
We have to admit that inner peace cannot be attained with personal efforts. You live next to a live volcano and you cannot move away. Day and night you are worried and have no peace. But what can you do? At the moment, you have a steady job and live in a mortgaged flat. What can you do to influence the personnel mobility in your office or the mortgage rate? Therefore, we have to understand that no matter how much money you earn, how many government officials you control, how carefree you are with fame and wealth or how many deities you worship, inner peace cannot be attained with your effort. Inner peace is a gift from God.
Jews always believed that they would be saved if they somehow managed to observe all the commandments of God, e.g. circumcision and keeping Sabbaths etc. Thus, in the first reading today, we find some Jewish disciples in the early Church teaching Gentile disciples to follow them to circumcise and observe Sabbaths in order to be saved. Look, even Jews who believed in God could put the cart before the horse and fell into the fallacy of legalism, thinking that they could attain salvation through personal effort.
In truth, the guarantee of inner peace comes from the mercy of the Father who loves humanity. But all relations are bidirectional. Even if God is willing to give us peace, we must be willing to accept it so that we can receive the peace of God. The Holy Spirit holds the key. Many of us are rather unfamiliar with the Holy Spirit. We usually take Him as God's power, as the Spirit of truth. For example, in the gospel reading today, it mentions that the Holy Spirit will teach us all things, and bring to our remembrance all that Jesus has said to us. Perhaps we have forgotten that the Holy Spirit is in fact the Spirit of Love. It is the Holy Spirit who inflames our love of Jesus Christ. With this love, we are willing to keep the word of Jesus. If the Holy Spirit is not in us, we lack this love of Jesus. Then how can we keep the word of Jesus and receive the peace from the Father?
How much we love Jesus is shown by how much we keep his word. Jesus teaches us many times that we should trust in the Father and leave everything in His hand, believing that the Father has the best arrangement for us. Jesus teaches us that the Father knows what the best for us is. Before we pray, He already knows what we ask for because even the hairs of our head are all numbered. Jesus teaches us that it is enough for us to ask the Father for our daily bread. There is no need to worry about tomorrow. Have we kept Jesus' word? Or do we work hard to stockpile grains to avoid famine? Once Jesus praised a poor widow who offered up two brass coins in the Temple treasury because out of her poverty, she offered up all she had to love God with all her heart and soul. Can we do the same? Or do we increase our cash in hand to invest on apartments of high returns?
Remember, inner peace cannot be attained through personal efforts. It is a gift of God. When our heart is filled with the Holy Spirit, when we love Jesus fervently, keep his word and completely rely on the Father's arrangement, how can the merciful Father fail to care for those who trust in Him and how can He not grant us peace which the world cannot give?
God bless.
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