主題：如何報答天主的愛？
按創世紀的記載，人類是按天主的肖像所造，並且，天主委派人類去管理萬物（創1:26）。人類憑甚麼去管理比自己跑得更快，爪牙比人類更鋒利的猛獸呢？相信當初天主一定賜予人類特殊的恩寵，有能力統領萬物。可惜，原祖父母犯了罪，失去了這份原始的恩寵。整個世界受到罪惡的污染，人類的後代子孫從出生開始，便在一個失去了恩寵，受罪惡污染了的環境成長和生活。
梅瑟解放以色列人離開埃及，到達西乃山，與天主立約。天主賜下法律，教導以色列人成聖。天主說：「你們為我應成為司祭的國家，聖潔的國民。」（出19:6）天主賜下的法律共有613條，散佈在【梅瑟五書】之中。其中最有名的，就是「十誡」和上星期在福音中所記載的，舊約中最大的誡命，即是：「你當全心、全靈、全力，愛雅威你的天主。」（申6:5）和「應愛人如己。」（肋19:18）可惜，以色列人依照這些法律生活的時候，流於形式化，祇著重法律的條文，而忽略了法律的精神。這一切，天主是知道的。所以時期一滿，天主聖子降生成人，一方面澄清和教導法律的精神；另一方面，奉獻自己成為贖罪祭，償還一切罪債，建立新的盟約。梅瑟所建立的舊約，使以色列人成為司祭的國家，聖潔的國民。耶穌基督所建立的新約，更進一步，要使全人類成為天主的子女。這就是洗禮入教，成為天主教徒的意義。
在今天的福音故事裡，耶穌稱讚窮寡婦，說：「這個窮寡婦比所有向銀庫投錢的人，投的更多。」（谷12:43）請不要誤會，耶穌並不是給猶太人上一課數學堂，教授比例的概念。你月薪兩萬元，每星期捐二十元，是收入的百份之0.4。那窮寡婦祇有一文銅錢的四份之一，卻全部捐獻了，是百份之100。所以按比例，窮寡婦投的，比你投的更多！這樣解釋表面上是正確，其實是錯誤的，因為沒有留心經文！耶穌說：「眾人都拿他們所餘的來投」（12:44），是「所餘的」，是可有可無的。試問，在眾人的心目中，天主究竟有多重要？天主祇值得接受他們捐獻多餘的東西嗎？當年，天主沒有惠顧加音的祭品，是因為加音沒有做得好，他祇把多餘的東西，而不是他最珍惜的東西奉獻給天主（創4:5-7）！
另一方面，耶穌讚賞窮寡婦，因為耶穌竟然能在世上，找到一個做到了「全心、全靈、全力」地愛天主，做到了最大誡命的人！或者大家會替窮寡婦擔心，她把所有的都捐獻了，以後她如何生活呢？不用擔心，天主自會照料（22:8）！當年，天主考驗亞巴郎，要他祭獻他最珍惜的兒子。依撒格是他惟一的兒子，是亞巴郎將來能否成為萬民之父的惟一希望。雖然當時還沒有誡命，未有舊約，但是亞巴郎仍然按照吩咐做了，表達出他的確能「全心、全靈、全力」地愛天主，做到了最大的誡命。天主知道了亞巴郎的心意便心滿意足了，並不需要殺死依撒格來祭獻。結果亞巴郎繁華昌盛，兒孫滿堂，成為一個國家民族。所以，我們不用替窮寡婦擔心她以後的生活有甚麼著落！
從這幾個聖經人物的例子中，我們得到以下的教訓。
天主是愛，出於愛祂創造了天地給人類居住、生活和成長。人類是天主的傑作，天主又怎會捨棄人類不顧呢？天主是自由的，不受束縛的。所以，按祂肖像所造的人類，亦享有自由，連天主也要尊重人類的自由，不能強迫他們接受祂的拯救！所以，天主按部就班，以建立盟約的方法，邀請人類透過履行盟約，恢復天主肖像原有的光彩。
各位兄弟姊妹，窮寡婦的確是一個成聖的好榜樣，但我們不必耗費精力模仿她。讓我們按自己的生活中所提供的處境和機遇，依照真福八端的教導，活出全心、全靈、全力地愛天主的誡命。
天主保祐！
Thirty Second Ordinary Sunday, Year B
Theme: How to Return God's Love
According to Genesis, men were created in the image of God. Furthermore, they were assigned to manage the Creation (Genesis 1:26). But how then could men manage beasts whose teeth and crawl are sharp and which run faster than men? I believe that God must have given men special graces at the beginning so that they were able to become stewards. Unfortunately, our First Parents committed sin and lost those Original Graces. The whole world was contaminated by sin. Offspring of humanity were born without those Original Graces. They lived and grew up in a world contaminated by sins. God is love. Out of love, He created a world suitable for humanity to live and grow. We are the master piece of God. How would He abandon us? God is free and unrestrained. Thus, we who were created in the image of God enjoy freedom as well, so much so that even God has to respect our freedom. He would not force us to accept His salvation! Step by step, God made covenants with humanity, inviting us to restore the glory of the image of God through observing the covenants. Moses liberated the Israelites, left Egypt and established covenant with God at Mount Sinai. God gave them laws to teach them to be holy. God said, "You shall be to me a kingdom of priests, a holy nation." (Exodus 19:6). Scattered among the Pentateuch are 613 laws which God gave the Israelites. The most famous ones are the Ten Commandments and the greatest commandment we read last Sunday, i.e. "You shall love the Lord, your God, with your whole heart, and with your whole being and with your whole strength." (Deuteronomy 6:5) and "You shall love your neighbour as yourself." (Leviticus 19:18) Unfortunately, when the Israelites observed these laws, they paid attention to the letters only and forgot the spirit. God knew it all. So, when the time came, the Son of God incarnated to clarify and taught the spirit of the law on one hand and on the other, offered Himself as a redemptive sacrifice to establish a new covenant. The Old Testament established by Moses made the Israelites a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. The New Testament established by Jesus Christ takes us higher. All humanity is to become sons and daughters of God. This is the meaning of being baptised Catholics. In the gospel story today, Jesus praised the poor widow, "This poor widow put in more than all the other contributors to the treasury." (Mark 12:43) Don't be mistaken. Jesus did not give the Jews an arithmetic lesson, teaching them proportion. You offer $20 per week while your monthly income is $20,000. That makes 0.4%. The poor widow had two small coins worth a few cents and she gave all. That was 100%. By proportion, the poor widow put in more! This explanation looks correct by is actually wrong because it does not pay attention to the scripture! Jesus said, "They have all contributed from their surplus wealth." (12:44). It is surplus, spare and dispensable. Think about it, in the hearts of those people, how important is God? Does God deserve dispensable offerings? In Genesis, God did not look with favour the offering of Cain because Cain did not act rightly. Perhaps he offered up spare dispensable vegetables and not the most precious things to God (Genesis 4:5-7). On the other hand, Jesus praised the poor widow because Jesus was able to find on earth somebody who could love God "with all her heart, and with all her being and all her strength". She had done the greatest commandment! Perhaps you might worry about the future of the poor widow. How would she survive after offering all? Don't worry, "God will provide" (22:8). In Genesis, God tested Abraham, asking him to offer his beloved son. Isaac was the only son and only hope to make Abraham the father of many nations. Although at that time, there was no commandment, no Old Testament, Abraham did as instructed. It showed that he was able to love God with all his heart, all his being and all his strength. God was satisfied that Abraham obeyed. He did not need Isaac to be killed. Consequently, Abraham became fruitful and his descendants became a people, a nation. Thus we don't need to worry about the poor widow! From these biblical figures, we learn the following lessons: First of all, God calls each and every one of us to be sanctified because we were made in the image of God who is holy. To be sanctified is to return God's love. How well we are sanctified indicates how genuinely we love God. Secondly, our ways of sanctification are different. Cain was a farmer, Abel a shepherd. Abraham was a wealthy patriarch. Peter was a fisherman, Matthew a tax-collector and Luke a physician. The poor widow was a poor widow. Thus, in his latest apostolic exhortation "Gaudete & Exsultate", Pope Francis reminds us that the exemplar of saints may prove helpful and inspiring, but we are not meant to copy because that could lead us astray from the one specific path that the Lord has in mind for us. (GE#11) The poor widow did not have a son like Abraham's to offer. Matthew did not have a flock of sheep to choose the best and first born to offer God. Each one of us can only observe the commandment to love God with all our heart, and with all our being and all our strength in our own way. Thirdly, Pope Francis pointed out that the Beatitudes are like a Christian's identity card. We have to do, each in our own way, what Jesus told us in the Sermon on the Mount. (#63) After meditating on each beatitude, the Pope concludes with "That is holiness". Look at the poor widow, was she poor in spirit? Not only was she poor in spirit, she was poor according to the demand of the gospel of Luke! She was exploited by the social system. No scribe helped her get what she deserved. She was mournful. Did she resist the institution? No, she followed the requirement to contribute her only two coins to the treasury. She was meek. Did she hunger for God's salvation? Of course she did. Did she seek God alone? She did and her heart was pure. She had at least achieved five beatitudes. On her way to sanctification, she had attained five strains of holiness! Brethren, the poor widow was truly an exemplar of sanctification. But we do not need to copy her. Let us follow the teaching of the Beatitudes, each in our own situation and opportunities, to live up the commandment to love God with all our hearts, and with all our being and with all our strength. God bless.
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