主題：要付出努力方能得救
在眾多的福音人物之中，匝凱給我很好的親切感。固然，我並沒有他的財富，沒有他的賺錢能力和他的領導才幹。但彼此都是「身材短小」（路19:3），而且對他那份鍥而不捨的態度，很有共鳴，可謂惺惺相惜。我佩服他的，還是那份慷慨疏財的氣概。
在耶穌時代，做稅吏不是一份受尊重的職業。羅馬政府是你的老闆，做稅吏的你要向同胞收稅，然後上繳中央。猶太人比香港的所謂「熱心公民」還要熱血，有些激進的更不惜使用暴力和暗殺，驅逐你的老闆。所以在你的老闆眼中，他們是「恐怖份子」。為了宣示主權，保障你的人身安全和保証稅收，你的老闆會派駐一些軍隊來保護你。因此你除了收稅外，還要供養老闆派來「保護」你的羅馬兵。在這種情形之下，你按規定徵收得來的稅款，又如何應付這麼龐大的支出呢？你惟有巧立名目，收取額外的稅收。你固然賺到很多的錢，但結果是民怨沸騰，增加了你的同胞對你的老闆的憎恨。在群眾的心目中，你是替外族統治同胞的漢奸走狗，是一個大罪人。耶穌時代的社會形態，與香港的情況相比，不遑多讓。
福音告訴我們，匝凱是個富有的人。看他後來能在餘下的一半財產中，竟然還可以向被他欺騙過的人賠償四倍，可以看到他賺錢的能力相當高。這樣的一個人，為甚麼會對耶穌發生興趣呢？【路加福音】並沒有交待，這樣就留下很大的想像空間給我們了。匝凱留意這位來自加里肋亞的木匠師傅的舉動，因為他會影響到你的生意。匝凱沒有機會聽過耶穌的言論和教訓，祗聽過他的行徑和神蹟，知道他樂意與罪人來往。這正是匝凱所需要的，當世人唾棄他的時候，耶穌可能會接受他。所以，如果能夠邀請耶穌到自己家中一聚，可以說是吐氣揚眉了。
路加的寫作特色，不但報導耶穌的故事，而且在字裡行間，提供很大的空間，幫助讀者默想自己與耶穌的關係。例如，在報導耶穌的誕生故事，他引領大家注意到連凱撒的決定，也在幫助應驗救世主在白冷出生的預言；作為救世主，耶穌的出生不為人所知，不為人所歡迎，這是值得作為門徒的我們，細心反省的。在「蕩子比喻」中，代表自以為是的長子，最後有沒有接受父親的邀請，進入天國，一起分享罪人悔改的喜樂，路加是留白的，讓每一個讀者，每一個信徒自己作出抉擇。
回到匝凱的故事。匝凱這樣努力攀上了一顆野桑樹上，福音說是為了「要看看耶穌」（19:4）。匝凱想看甚麼呢？當然是耶穌的真面目。看到了又如何呢？
各位，匝凱是怎樣得到這樣不堪當的恩典和榮譽呢？是他努力攀上野桑樹的成果。所以，我們是不得不付出努力去爭取救恩的。天主為我們預備了很豐富的恩寵，倘若我們懶得去尋寶，懶得去發掘，又怎能得到天主的恩寵呢？
不過，終日躲在聖堂祈禱、讀經和領聖事，也是無益的。且看耶穌對匝凱說甚麼？耶穌說：「匝凱！你快下來。」（19:5）在教會內，今天流行一個口頭禪，就是「堅離地」，用來諷刺神職人員的主日講道或者日常的處事態度，滿口高超的道理，但沒有照顧現實生活的需要。所以，耶穌提醒我們，攀上野桑樹之後，也要下來，纔能回家享受與主一起的喜樂。所以，飽讀聖經，了解天國之餘，也要返回現實世界，關心時事；虔誠唸經，為生者死者祈禱之餘，亦要進入社區，探訪獨居長者和為受工傷的工友清潔家居；勤領聖體、辦告解之餘，亦應主動向身邊的人，把你領受了的耶穌介紹給他們，與他們分享蒙恩得救的喜樂。
各位兄弟姊妹，匝凱的故事，有很豐富的默想素材。請大家在未來的一個星期，每天都撥出十分鐘，默想箇中的情節，邀請耶穌進入你們的內心，享受主賜的救恩。
一大群人擁著耶穌來，朝著耶路撒冷的方向走，他們的來意，大家心裡有數。倘若耶穌願意接受他的贊助，他日耶穌趕走了羅馬人之後，相信不會忘記他今天的奉獻。在懂得做生意的匝凱心中，買這份保險是必須的。以上是從俗世的眼光分析匝凱，是很容易的，但並不是路加寫作的原意。
路加的讀者，包括我們，全都是第二代以上的門徒，從來沒有親眼見過耶穌。我們祗能借助畫家的想像力，加上我們的虔誠，看到耶穌的面貎。請問，各位有沒有看過一幅以居高臨下的角度所描繪的耶穌呢？今天的福音，就是邀請大家以這樣的一個角度看耶穌，一個耶穌要「抬頭對你說話」（19:5）的角度。請大家回到家裡，默想這段故事，嘗試聽聽耶穌抬頭對你所說的話，「我今天必須住在你家中…今天救恩臨到了這一家。」（19:5, 9）
我們該怎樣努力呢？我主張首先做好「基本功」，就是培養讀經、祈禱和領聖事的習慣。聖經記載了天主的說話，記載了人回應天主的經驗。我們希望知道天主的旨意，並按天主的旨意行事。怎樣做纔能知道天主的旨意呢？莫非要跑上高山，或者在聖堂裡「閉關」，等待天主向你發言嗎？與其守株待兔，不如翻開聖經，細味天主寫給我們的書信吧！在那裡我們一定可以找到所需要的啟示！
天主保祐！
Thirty First Ordinary Sunday (Year C)
Theme: We need to work hard to earn salvation
Among the gospel characters, I feel identified with Zacchaeus. Of course, I am not as rich and don't have his earning power and leadership. But both of us are "small of stature" (Luke 19:3) and persevere in the pursuit of ideals. Moreover, I admire him of his generosity in letting go of his wealth.
During Jesus' time, a tax-collector was not a respectable profession. The Roman Empire was your boss. Your job was to collect tax from your own people and handed it to the Central Government. Jews were even more hot-blooded than the "Civic Passion" in Hong Kong. Some extremists even resorted to violence and assassination to drive out your boss. In the eyes of your boss, they were terrorists. In order to assert sovereignty, to protect your safety and to guarantee tax income, your boss would station a garrison to 'protect' you. Thus, besides handing over the required tax, you needed to feed the Roman soldiers whom your boss sent to protect you. Under such a situation, how could you handle such a huge expenditure if you collected tax according to the book? You had to think up new ways to collect tax. Of course, you made money but at the same time, you increased the resentment of the people against the Romans. In the eyes of your own people, you were the running dog of the oppressors, a public sinner. The social situation in Jesus' time was not much different from that of Hong Kong today.
The gospel tells us that Zacchaeus was a rich man. See how after setting aside half of his goods for the poor, he would restore fourfold to whomsoever he had defrauded. His earning power must have been good. Why was such a man interested in Jesus? The gospel did not explain why. This leaves us a lot of room for imagination. Zacchaeus paid attention to the movement of this Galilean carpenter preacher because he would affect his business. Zacchaeus had not heard of Jesus' words or teachings, only his behaviours and miracles and knew that Jesus was willing to accept sinners. This was what he needed. When the whole world condemned him, Jesus might accept him. Thus, if he was able to invite Jesus home, he would walk tall among those who despised him.
Jesus was moving to Jerusalem thronged by a huge following. His intention was clear. If Jesus was willing to receive his sponsorship and after the Romans were driven out, he betted that Jesus would remember his offer today. In the mind of 'Zacchaeus, the businessman', this insurance was not optional. Beware of this secular way of interpretation. This was not what Luke had in mind.
Luke does not simply report the Jesus story. Between the lines, he provides a lot of space to help readers meditate their relation with Jesus. For example, in the nativity narrative, he draws our attention to the fact that even Caesar's decision helped the prophecy of the birth of the Messiah in Bethlehem. As his followers, we should ponder why Jesus' birth was known by nobody and why his birth was not welcomed. In the parable of the Prodigal Son, whether the elder son, who represents the self-righteous, accepted the Father's invitation to enter the Kingdom of Heaven to share the joy of sinners' repentance is left open. It is up for the readers to decide.
Let us return to Zacchaeus' story. The gospel tells us that Zacchaeus climbed up a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus (19:4). What did he want to see? Of course he wanted to see the face of Jesus. What then?
Brethren, how did Zacchaeus obtain these undeserved grace and honour? It was because he strove to climb up the sycamore tree. Thus, we cannot but strive to obtain salvation. God has prepared abundant grace for us. If we are too lazy to explore and to excavate, how can we obtain God's grace?
But let me tell you. It is not good to stay inside the Church all the day to pray, to study scriptures and to receive sacraments. Let's take a look at what Jesus said to Zacchaeus. Jesus said, "Zacchaeus, make haste and come down." (19:5) Today, it is a cliché to say "Kennedy" (in Chinese, it sounds like "insistently leaving the ground") in the Church as a criticism of clergy whose homilies and attitude to life are not down-to-earth enough. They preach high-sounding theology without touching on the necessities of daily life. Therefore, Jesus reminds us that we must come down from the sycamore tree. Otherwise, we cannot return home to share the joy with the Lord. Thus, as we study the scriptures and know a lot about the Kingdom of Heaven, we need to come back to our daily life and pay attention to current affairs. As we piously say prayers for the living and the dead, we should go into our community to visit senior citizens who live alone, or help those who suffer from occupational injuries clean up their houses. As we piously receive the sacraments of Holy Communion and Reconciliation, we should tell our neighbour the Jesus you have just received and share with them the joy of salvation.
Brethren, the story of Zacchaeus is full of meditational food. For the coming week, let us spend 10 minutes a day to meditate the details. Invite Jesus into our heart and enjoy the salvation granted by the Lord.
Luke's readers, including us, are second or latter generation disciples. We have never seen Jesus with our own eyes. We rely on the imagination of artists, together with our own piety to see the face of Jesus. Have you ever seen a picture of Jesus from an angle of depression? The passage today invites us to see Jesus from this angle, a Jesus who "looked up and said to you" (19:5) When you go home, meditate on this passage and try to hear Jesus looking up saying "for I must stay at your house today … Today, salvation has come to this house." (19:5, 9)
Then, what should we do in order to be saved? I always stress the fundamentals. That is, we should build up good habits of scripture studies, prayers and receiving sacraments. We can find God's words in the scripture and the stories of how people have responded to God. We want to know God's will and follow. How do we know God's will? Shall we climb to the top of mountains, or lock ourselves up inside the monastery to wait for God to speak out? Rather than waiting passively for God's revelation, why don't we open the Bible to read the letters written to us by God? There we will definitely find the revelation we need.
God bless.
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