Theme: How to show God before people
I'm sure somewhere somehow, you must have met such non-believers as the following. They are your good friends, relatives or your employers. They are not bad people but they do not believe in God and challenge you, saying, "If your God appears right now in front of me, then I will believe in him! Now show me your God." Of course, it is very unlikely that God would really appear in front of such non-believers. But this challenge is real. How do we present a convincing proof of the existence of God in front of non-believers? Before answering this question, let us look at what happened when God really appeared to believers. Today, let us meditate on the story of Transfiguration.
The gospel today begins with "After six days ..." (Matthew 17:1) So, what happened six days before? Well, it was the famous story of Peter's Declaration in which Jesus was doing an opinion poll, asking his disciples what they thought he was. Then representing his fellow apostles, Simon Peter declared that Jesus was Christ, the Son of the living God (16:16) As a reward, Jesus gave Simon a new name, Peter, making him the rock on which he would build his Church. Afterwards, Jesus began telling his disciples how he would die and three days later would come back to life. The disciples were shocked and Peter tried to persuade Jesus not to save the world with his crucifixion! Jesus rebuked Peter and called him Satan ... Jesus found that his disciples were unable to imagine what resurrection is all about. So after six days, Jesus transfigured in front of them to show them the glory of resurrection to assure them.
Several questions arose. First of all, why didn't Jesus show his glory to all the disciples but to only three? This comes back to the original challenge. Why does our God not show up to all peoples but chooses to reveal Himself to only a few? Wouldn't it be more efficient for Him to reveal to all peoples once and for all? Why did God choose a handful of men and take more than two thousand years to spread the gospel and still the end of evangelization is nowhere in sight? Why did God take such an inefficient approach? We Christians are the chosen few on earth and our mission is to bear witness to God.
Secondly, among so many Old Testament characters, why did Moses and Elijah show up in Jesus' Transfiguration? In particular, why did King David not show up? His appearance would show that Jesus was his descendant, thus proving that Jesus was the Messiah-king. Or why did Abraham not show up? All monotheistic religions treat him as the Father of their faith, the ancestor of all these religions. This is a significant question because it shows that Christianity is a universal religion.
Lastly, how does the gospel describe the glory of Jesus? "His face shone like the sun, and his garments became white as light." (17:2) Of course, Jesus is God and light radiates from him. But we are only mortals. Can we shine like him? The answer is a "Yes" because God is love (1 John 4:8, 16). Therefore, the bright light Jesus radiated was his great love. That is to say, love makes us shine. Remember that Jesus told us to be the "light of the world" (Matthew 5:14) and he told us, "to let your light shine before men so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven." (5:16) The light Jesus shone was his love. His love is great because he loves us until it hurts, until it kills him on the cross. We are capable of loving people though to a lesser extent. Our light may not be as bright but still, it is through our actions as Catholics, as God's people that people may see the work of God, may see God and glorify Him. Now, we have the answer to the question at the beginning of the homily. How do we present a convincing proof of the existence of God in front of non-believers? It is through the good work we do.
What work are we good at doing as Catholics? What work do we do in Lent? Fasting, prayers and almsgiving! In fasting, we empty ourselves so that we may receive more grace from God. In prayers, we open ourselves to welcome God into our hearts, listen to God and receive His consolation. In almsgiving, we reach out to the needy in whom we may find God because Jesus promised us that we may be able to serve him in the hungry, the thirsty, the naked, the homeless, the sick and the imprisoned (25:35-36, 40).
Last year, we recited the Jubilee of Mercy prayer which read "Jesus is the visible face of the invisible Father." Brethren, we were baptized and made adopted children of God. Ask ourselves. How do we show up the face of God, like Jesus did? Lent is the right time to repent and return to our Heavenly Father. How do we manifest the glory of the Father, like Jesus did in the gospel today? It is through fasting, prayers and almsgiving. Start from now. We will be able to shine a little bit and glow brighter each day. In Easter Vigil, I am sure our lights will shine brightly when all the lights of the Church are switched off.
Well, the time will come when Jesus Christ shall reveal His glory to all peoples on earth. That will happen at the end of the world. But before that, it is the mission of us all to bear witness to the merciful face of God. But if you continue to ask why me and not him, I am afraid only God knows.
Unlike some religions which are closely related to their ethnicity, their races and blood lines, we Catholics accept people from all over the world. That is why we are called Catholics. Had David shown up, Jesus became a Messiah-king who would drive away the Romans to gain Jewish independence. Had Abraham shown up, our religion would only be a branch of Judaism or monotheistic and would not accept atheists or pantheists. Moses and Elijah showed up because Moses represented the liberator who cemented a covenant between God and a law-abiding people. Moses was the law-giver. As long as we keep God's commandments, we are God's people wherever we came from. Elijah represented all prophets who were spokesmen of God. As long as we listen to and believe in God's words, we are God's people whatever our blood lines are.
God bless!
四旬期第二主日（甲年）
我相信大家一定會遇上過之下的人物。他們都是你的好朋友、親戚或者僱主。他們不是壞人，但他們不相信天主，而且挑戰你說：「假如你的天主在我面前顯現，我便會相信祂。現在，請祂顯現吧！」當然，天主真的現身給這些無信的人的機會，微乎其微。可是，對於這個挑戰，我們不應置之不理。它是一個認真的挑戰。我們應如何在無信者的面前，給予一個令他們口服心服的天主真實存在的證明呢？在回答這個問題之前，且看天主真的顯現時，究竟會發生甚麼事。今天，讓我們默想「耶穌顯聖容」的故事。
今天的福音以「六天以後…」（瑪17:1）開始。那麼，六天之前發生了甚麼事？就是有名的「伯多祿宣認耶穌為默西亞」的故事。故事中，耶穌做一個簡單的民意調查，詢問門徒在他們的心目中他是誰。西滿伯多祿代表門徒說：「你是默西亞，永生天主之子。」（16:16）為此，耶穌給西滿一個新名字，伯多祿，在這磐石上，耶穌要建立祂的教會。之後，耶穌告訴門徒祂的救世大計。祂要被殺，三天後祂要復活。門徒聽了，簡直是晴天霹靂。伯多祿亦嘗試勸諫耶穌不要用這個方法救贖世界。結果耶穌罵他是撒殫…耶穌發覺門徒未能想像復活是甚麼一回事，於是六天後，耶穌在他們面前顯聖容，以復活的光輝加強他們的信心。
問題來了。首先，為甚麼耶穌祗顯聖容給這三個門徒而不是所有的門徒呢？這又回到原本的問題來。為甚麼天主不顯現給全人類，卻祗把自己啟示給一小撮人呢？一次過顯現給所有人不是更有效率嗎？且看，祂挑選了幾個人，花了二千年傳福音，直到今天，福傳的工作仍沒完沒了！為甚麼天主採取這個沒有效率的方法呢？我們天主教徒，就是被挑選的幾個在世上為天主作證的人。
第二，在眾多的舊約人物之中，為何出現在耶穌顯聖容的是梅瑟和厄里亞？尤有甚者，為何不是達味聖王？倘若他出現，便彰顯出耶穌達味的後裔，是默西亞的身份。或者為何不是亞巴郎？世上所有一神宗教皆奉他為「信德之父」，是這些一神宗教的共同祖先。
最後，福音如何表達耶穌的榮耀呢？「他的面貎發光有如太陽，他的衣服潔白如光。」（17:2）耶穌是天主，他當然能發光。那麼，我們也能發光嗎？能！因為「天主是愛」（若一4:8，16）。因此，耶穌發出的光是他偉大的愛。即是說，愛使我們發光。請記住，耶穌說：「你們是世界的光。」（瑪5:14）還說：「你們的光也當在人前照耀，好使他們看見你們的善行，光耀你們在天之父。」（5:16）耶穌發出的光是祂的愛。祂的愛是偉大的，因為祂愛到受傷，愛到死在十字架上。雖然我們的愛不及耶穌，但我們總有能力去愛。我們的光輝不及耶穌，但我們總可以藉我們作為教徒，作為天主子民的善行，令世人可以看見天主的工作，看見天主，從而光耀。現在，我們已經回答了起初所提出的問題了。我們如何在無信者面前，令他們口服心服地証明天主的存在呢？就是透過我們的善行。
天主教徒擅長做甚麼呢？在四旬期我們做甚麼呢？禁食、祈禱和施捨！透過禁食，我們空虛自己，好能承能天主更多的恩寵。藉著祈禱，我們敞開我們的心扉，迎接天主進入我們的內心，聽從天主的說話，接受祂的安慰。慷慨地施捨，我們向有困難的人伸出援手，因為耶穌基督曾許諾，當我們「饑者食之，渴者飲之，裸者衣之，收留旅人，照顧病人，探望囚者。」時，我們在服事耶穌。（25:35-36，40）
去年我們誦唸「慈悲禧年禱文」時，我們唸：「耶穌是不可見的天父可見的面容。」各位兄弟姊妹，我們領洗成為天主的義子，我們自問：「我們怎樣有如耶穌一樣，彰顯天父的面容呢？四旬期正是悔改，回歸父家的好時機。我們如何彰顯天父的光榮，有如耶穌今天在福音所描述的一樣？是透過禁食、祈禱和施捨。從現在開始，我們就能發出一點光，它日復一日地更光亮。到了復活前夕，縱使關掉整座聖堂的燈光，我們的光足以照亮四周。
主題：如何把天主展示人前
放心，總有一天耶穌基督會向地上所有的民族顯示祂的榮耀，到時將會是世界的末日。但在末日前，我們的任務就是為天主的慈顏作見証。如果你問我為何天主偏偏選中我，恐怕我祗能說：「天曉得！」
要知道，不像世上的某些宗教，它們祗接納某些族裔、種族和血統的人為教徒，我們天主教是「至公」的教會，我們接納世上所有的人為教徒。所以我們稱為「公教」，我們的周刋稱為「公教報」。倘若達味聖王出現，耶穌祗是一個驅逐羅馬人，爭取猶太獨立的默西亞；倘若亞巴郎出現，我們的宗教祗會是猶太教的分支或不能接納無神論馭泛神論的人一神宗教。梅瑟和厄里亞出現，因為梅瑟作為一個解放者，撮合了天主與守誡命的民眾之間的盟約。他頒佈天主的法律。無論你來自何方，祗要你遵守天主的法律，你就是天主的子民。厄里亞代表了先知，他們是天主的代言人。不論你的血統如何，祗要你聽從和實行天主的教訓，你就是天主的子民。
天主保祐！
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