主題：與耶穌基督做朋友
死亡究意是甚麼一回事呢？
耶穌在處理他的好朋友拉匝祿死亡的問題上，啟示給我們不少有關永生的教訓。首先，不要奢望做了耶穌的朋友，便會獲得天主保祐，以後無憂無慮，無災無難，無病無痛。且看拉匝祿生病了，耶穌並沒有立刻治好他，反而要等他經歷死亡之後，纔復活他。耶穌這樣對待朋友，以致旁人也要問：「這個開了瞎子眼睛的，豈不能使這人不死麼？」（11:37）這問題反映了很多人對宗教信仰的誤解，以為宗教信仰祗是導人向善，給予心靈的安慰，甚至是當權者借來荼毒人民的鴉片！毫無疑問，耶穌導人向善，耶穌安慰憂苦的心靈，但不止於此。耶穌來幫助我們與天父修好，使我們可以重新做人，做天父所鍾愛的子女。與天父修好的過程中，受苦是免不了的。所以，信仰耶穌並不保証無風無浪，無病無痛。不過，不用失望氣餒，一如耶穌所啟示的，受苦是為了「看到天主的光榮」（11:40），是叫群眾相信是天主派遣了耶穌（11:42）。
第二，死亡並不是好像人類幻想的可怕的事。創世紀說人吃了禁果，把罪惡和死亡引入了世界；聖保祿宗徒把罪惡和死亡貫串在一起說：「罪惡的薪俸是死亡。」（羅6:23）給讀者的印象，死亡好像是一種對罪惡的懲罰。然而，耶穌卻以自己的復活，從墳墓裡出來，啟示我們死亡是一個逾越的過程，讓我們進入另一個層次的生命。從耶穌復活顯現給門徒的記載之中，我們知道復活後的肉身，是不受時空的約束，不會損壞。而且，義人的肉身，更會是光芒燦爛的。
第三，耶穌說：「凡活著而信從我的人，必永遠不死。」（若11:26）是不可以按字面理解的！試想想，受過耶穌恩惠的人，當然信從耶穌。耶穌曾行過不少治病的神蹟，那些痊癒了的病人，後來不是一樣死去嗎？當然，耶穌從來沒有承諾這些被治好的人不會死。但今次不同了，耶穌在復活拉匝祿之前，便許下信從祂的人不死的承諾。耶穌復活了拉匝祿，後來拉匝祿和他的兩個姊妹一樣死去。而且，按字面理解耶穌的啟示，日後就不會有殉道者，今天世界上仍活著一些兩千歲的基督徒了。這樣的世界，合理嗎？公平嗎？
第四，那麼，應如何理解「信從耶穌基督便不會死」的承諾呢？讀聖經是不可以斷章取義的，所以必須與上文下理一起讀。耶穌說：「我就是復活，就是生命。」（11:25）這句又應如何理解呢？首先，倘若祗有復活而沒有生命，這樣的復活與殭屍喪屍無異，相當恐怖。所以，耶穌所說的這句話是復活與生命一併理解的。祂是生命的泉源，是生命的本身。耶穌基督所要賜予的復活，是充滿生命的復活，是經過死亡進入另一個層次生命的復活。信從耶穌基督，便是與耶穌基督建立關係。試問生前拒絕信從耶穌的人，如當代的法利塞人，死後又如何能信從耶穌，與他建立關係呢？所以，「信從耶穌基督」是指在生前與耶穌基督建立了關係的人。與耶穌基督建立了關係，就是接通了生命。所以，生前信從耶穌基督的人，即使死了，仍是活著的，因為耶穌基督能起死回生，而且是回到更高層次的生命。耶穌基督藉著復活拉匝祿，展示出天主的光榮，展示出是不可見的天父，派遣祂來到世上啟示天父的慈悲，展示出天父是造物主，是生命的主宰。藉著信仰耶穌基督，我們返回生命的根源。
各位兄弟姊妹，友誼是需要以時間，以真誠栽培的。讓我們在日常的生活中，拿出誠意和時間，與耶穌基督發展深厚的友誼。
從大自然所見，花草樹木會凋謝，動物會給別的動物，包括人類吃掉；那些沒有被吃掉的，停了呼吸和脈搏之後，便會漸漸腐化，回歸塵土。人類有文化，會埋葬和悼念死者。可是，從來沒有人從墳墓回來，告訴我們死亡之後是甚麼一回事；而且，人類對陌生的，不明白的事物，懷有戒心，卻又喜歡以幻想來填補那些空白。結果，人類想像了很多死後可怕的景象，從而對死亡產生了恐懼。為甚麼不想像美好的景象呢？因為所見到的死亡，大都是伴隨著腐爛和發臭。正如今天的福音所說：「主，已經臭了！」（若11:39）
有些文明，把屍首，尤其是元首的屍首，進行防腐，加上香料辟臭。對屍體防腐的手段，表達出人類，尤其是擁有龐大權力的人，對永生、永恆的一種渴求。我們這些平民百姓，「塵歸塵，土歸土」便了事。有些文明比較民主，把屍首進行天葬，不論帝皇將相或是平民百姓，都讓飛鳥把亡者帶到天堂去。現代社會的文化追求健康、青春，減慢衰老，甚至發展出把死於不治之症的屍體冷凍的技術，希望有朝一日，發明了醫治絕症的方法，便可以把屍首解凍來醫治。有些人並不戀棧這可朽腐的軀殼，希望引用電腦科技，把一生人的記憶甚至感情儲存起來，希望將來可以灌入新一代的仿真機械人之中，把「我」這個人，永遠保存下去。近年來不少科幻電影，也有這些橋段。這些都是人類對永生、永恆渴求的新一代的形式。所以在處理死亡問題的同時，讓我們有機會反省永生的課題。
天主保祐！
The Fifth Sunday of Lent (Year A)
Theme: To befriend Jesus Christ
What is death?
When Jesus handled the death of his good friend Lazarus, he revealed to us many teachings about eternal life. First of all, don't ever think that being a friend of Jesus, we would be exempted from worries, disasters and suffering. Take a look at Lazarus. Jesus did not cure his illness immediately but waited until his death to resuscitate him! Jesus treated his friend in such a way that people asked, "Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?" (11:37) In fact, this shows a very common misunderstanding of religion among people. They think that religions only teach people to be moral, give consolation to the distressed and even are made used of by people in power as the opium of the subjects. Doubtless, Jesus teaches us to do good, consoles the distressed but he does not stop there. Jesus came to reconcile sinners and the Father, to help us turn a new leaf and become beloved children of the Father. In the process of reconciliation, suffering is inevitable. Therefore, believing in Jesus does not guarantee a smooth and painless life. But don't be discouraged. Just as revealed by Jesus, suffering is the time "to see the glory of God" (11:40) and to make the people standing by believe that God sent Jesus (11:42).
Secondly, death is not as horrible as men imagine. Genesis tells us that our First Parents ate the forbidden fruit and brought sins and death into this world. St. Paul joins the two together by saying, "The wage of sin is death." (Romans 6:23) This gives the readers an impression that death is a punishment for committing sins. However, with his resurrection, Jesus came back from the grave to reveal to us that death is a Passover. Through death, we pass over to another level of life. From the narratives of Jesus' apparitions to the disciples, we know that after resurrection, the body is not restricted by time and space and it is imperishable. Moreover, the righteous' bodies shine in glory.
Thirdly, we cannot interpret literally Jesus' words, "whoever lives and believes in me shall never die." (John 11:26) Think about it. Those Jesus cured must have believed in Jesus who had worked many healings and those cured died subsequently, didn't they? Of course, Jesus had never promised that those who were cured would not die. But this time it was different. Before Jesus raised Lazarus, he promised that those who believe in him would never die. Jesus raised Lazarus. Subsequently, he and his sisters died. Moreover, if we interpret Jesus' revelation literally, there would not be martyrs and today there would be many Christians who had lived nearly two thousand years. Would such a world be reasonable or fair?
Fourthly, how should we understand the promise that those who believe in Jesus Christ would never die? We cannot read Bible passages out of context. Earlier, Jesus said, "I am the resurrection and the life." (11:25) How shall we understand this? First of all, if there were resurrection without life, Jesus would produce zombies which would be horrible! Therefore, resurrection and life must go together. Jesus is the source of life. He is Life itself. Therefore, the resurrection Jesus gives is a resurrection full of life. It is a passage from death to another level of life. Believing in Jesus Christ is building up a relation with Jesus Christ. Imagine some people who refused to believe in Jesus while they were alive, such as some contemporary Pharisees. How could they believe in Jesus, build up a relation with Jesus after death? Therefore, "believing in Jesus Christ" means those who have built up their relation with Jesus Christ while alive. Building up a relation with Jesus Christ gets you connected with Life. Therefore, those who believed in Jesus Christ while alive are still living even after death through which Jesus shall give them a higher level of life. Through raising Lazarus, Jesus manifested the glory of God, that the invisible Father had sent Jesus to reveal His mercy, that the Father is the Creator, the Author of Life. With the belief in Jesus Christ, we return to the source of life.
Brethren, we need time and sincerity to cultivate a friendship. Let us take out our sincerity and time to develop a deep friendship with Jesus Christ.
We observe from nature that flowers and plants wither. Animals are eaten by other animals which include human beings. Those which are not eaten decay and return to dust after their breath and pulses stop. Humans are civilized. We bury and remember the dead. However, nobody has ever return from the grave to tell us what it is like after death. Furthermore, we are cautious about unfamiliar things and things we don't understand. We like to fill up the "gaps" with our imagination. Consequently, we imagine many terrifying scenes after death and develop a fear of death. Why don't we imagine good scenes after death? It is because death is accompanied by decay and stench. Just as the gospel today says, "Lord, by this time there will be an odour." (John 11:39)
Some civilizations would preserve the corpses, especially corpses of leaders and embalmed them to cover up the stench. This preservation of corpses shows that men, especially those who possessed great authority desired eternity. We are only common people. To dust we return. Some civilizations are more democratic. They expose corpses, be they royals or commoners, in high places for the birds to carry them to heavens. Modern culture chases after health, youthfulness, retardation of ageing. Scientists even develop cryonics to preserve the corpses of people who die of incurable diseases of contemporary medicine with the hope that they can be revived and cured in the future. Some people do not bother with the body. They hope to make use of Information Technology to save all their memories and even feelings and reload them onto newer generations of robots. In doing so, they hope to preserve this "I" person forever. Many movies these days make use of this story line. All these are new expressions of the human desire for eternity. Therefore, in handling the issues of death, we have an opportunity to reflect at the same time on the topic of eternal life.
God bless!
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