主題：為甚麼要守法律？
請問大家可否記得「聖教會四規」呢？
說起基督徒的規條，大家一定會想到「十誡」。
天主之所以與人類立約，因為第一，人類是按天主的肖像所造（1:26），祇有人類纔有資格與天主立約。第二，天主與人類，強弱懸殊。一個強大的國家，為尊重一個弱小國家的自主，幫助它發展的最好辦法，就是訂立盟約。大國給小國很多的恩惠，展示自己的偉大；小國祇需做一些象徵式的行為，表示臣服就可以了。天主與人類立約，與此相類似。因此，以色列人奉「十誡」作為生活的指導，表示對天主的臣服。另一方面，「十誡」幫助了這群好像一盤散沙的埃及奴隸，成為了一個國家民族。從前，十二支派在埃及各地，信奉不同的神。今天，大家在同一個神的領導之下，團結合一，成為一個民族，一個國家。從前，他們是奴隸，沒有休息。今天，大家可以在安息日休息，慶祝自己是個自由人。其餘的誡命，指導以色列人孝敬父母，慎終追遠；尊重生命，保障家庭，尊重私有產權和維護真理。可見「十誡」實在是難能可貴的道德指標，指出做人應有的操守。
「十誡」是大原則，落實到生活上，便會因應不同的處境個案，引申出不同的規條。散見在「梅瑟五書」之中，一共有613條法律。今天的福音，記載了一個經師向耶穌基督的挑戰。耶穌基督從容不迫地，引述【申命紀】和【肋未紀】來回應，令經師口服心服。所以，「愛天主在萬有之上及愛人如己」，並不是耶穌基督教導的，而是祂引述梅瑟的教導。其實守誡命，祇不過做到舊約的要求而已。耶穌說，他來不是為廢除法律，而是去成全它（瑪5:17）。耶穌要求我們作為基督徒的，要做得更好！耶穌是這樣說的：「所以你們應當是成全的，如同你們的天父是成全的一樣。」（5:48）
「如同天父一樣成全」是甚麼意思呢？讓我們看看其他人是怎樣演繹的。聖史路加這樣記載：「你們應當慈悲，就像你們的父那樣慈悲。」（路6:36）聖保祿是路加的師傅，他從前是一個法利塞人，非常熟悉「梅瑟五書」。他一定銘記【肋未紀】的教訓：「你們應該是聖的，因為我，上主，你們的天主是聖的。」（肋19:2）所以，當保祿寫信給羅馬教會及格林多教會的時候，開宗明義地說：「我保祿，致書與一切住在羅馬，為天主所鍾愛，並蒙召為聖徒的人。」（羅1:7，格後1:1）因此，在聖保祿的心目中，領洗入教，就是被天主所鍾愛，召選成聖。可見，回應天主的召叫成聖，既滿全舊約的要求，更是新約的目標。因此，作為一個天主教徒，不應該甘心停留在做到規條的最低要求，祇奉行聖教會四規便滿足，這些都是舊約的態度。我們應該進取，追求成聖。問題是，基督徒如何成聖呢？
教宗方濟各在今年三月十九日，大聖若瑟瞻禮，頒布了《你們要歡喜踴躍》宗座勸諭，講論天主在當代世界，召叫基督徒成聖。他說：「真福八端就像基督徒的身分證…每個人都必須按各自的方式，實踐耶穌有關真福八端的教導。」（GE#63）大家可能覺得「真福八端」實在是太高超的理想，不是我們一般凡夫俗子，可以做到的。不用愁，做事應該按部就班。首先遵守誡命，養成良好習慣，作為日後建立德行的基礎。同時，學習真福八端的教訓，並付諸實行，邁向成聖。且看富少年的例子，富少年有高超的理想，尋求獲得永生的途徑；耶穌卻先問他有沒有守誡命，可見守誡命是獲得永生的基本功。今天福音中的經師，他所擁有的是知識，他所欠缺的，是把他所認知的付諸實踐。可見能遵守誡命，縱使尚未成聖，亦離天國不遠！
各位兄弟姊妹，守誡命是舊約的態度，也是必須的，因為它是邁向永生路上的基本功，不可荒廢！但我們也不應安於做到最低要求，應該進取，按各人自己的處境和生活方式，實踐真福八端的教導，走出新約成聖之路。
對！就是：
以上的四個規則，可以說是作為一個天主教徒的最低要求。例如第四規祇要求天主教徒「盡力幫助」教會，而沒有像一般基督教派一樣，硬性規定捐獻收入的十分之一。又例如第三規要求「妥當告解，善領聖體，至少每年一次」，更清楚明白顯示出，這些規條都是做天主教徒的最低要求！既然教會定的規條是最低要求，即是有很大的空間，可以做得更好！
對！當梅瑟解放了以色列人，離開埃及，到達西乃山，在那裡與天主訂立盟約時，是以「十誡」作為盟約的標記。天主高高在上，為甚麼要與祂所創造的受造物，先後多次訂立盟約呢？例如洪水滅世之後，天主與諾厄立約，以彩虹為標記，許諾以後不再以洪水，毀滅大地。（創9:12-16）後來與亞巴郎立約，以割損禮為標記，立亞巴郎為萬民之父，藉著他和他的後裔，使人類得到天主的祝福。（17:4-8）
天主保祐！
2012年反省
Thirty First Ordinary Sunday, Year B
Theme: Why Should We Obey Commandments?
Do you remember the Precepts of the Church?
Talking about Christian laws and regulations brings to mind the Ten Commandments.
God establishes covenants with humanity because firstly, men were created in the image of God (1:26). Among all creatures, men alone are qualified to establish covenants with God. Secondly, God is too strong for men. The best strategy for a strong nation to respect the autonomy of a small nation and help it develop is to establish covenants. The strong nation showers the small nation with a lot of favours to demonstrate its strength while the small nation performs some symbolic ceremonies to show her submission. The covenants between God and men are similar. Thus, the Israelites followed the Ten Commandments as guidelines of their daily life to express their submission to God. On the other hand, the Ten Commandments help these Egyptian slaves unite into a people and a nation. Previously, the twelves tribes worshipped different deities in different locations of Egypt. Now, they were united and led by one God to form one people, one nation. Previously, they were slaves and had no rest. Now, they could rest on Sabbath to celebrate their identity as a free man. The rest of the Commandments teach them to honour their parents, to respect life, to safeguard families, to enforce the right to private property and defend the truth. Thus the Ten Commandments are excellent moral guideposts, setting norms for human interactions.
The Ten Commandments are high level principles. When they are applied to concrete daily situations and cases, new regulations are developed. In total, 613 laws can be isolated among the Pentateuch. In the gospel passage today, a scribe challenged Jesus Christ who in a leisurely manner answered the challenge by quoting the Deuteronomy and Leviticus. The scribe surrendered in awe. Therefore, "loving God above all and loving one's neighbour as oneself" was not invented by Jesus who only quoted from the teachings of Moses. Indeed, obeying the Commandments fulfils the demands of the Old Testament only. Jesus once said that He did not come to abolish the laws but to fulfil them (Matthew 5:17). Jesus demands us Christians to do better! Jesus says in this way, "So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect." (5:48)
What does it mean "to be perfect as the heavenly Father"? Let us see how the other people interpret this. St. Luke the Evangelist says, "Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful." (Luke 6:36) St. Paul was the teacher of St. Luke. He had been a Pharisee and was very familiar with the Torah. He must know by heart the teaching of Leviticus which says, "Be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy." (Leviticus 19:2) Thus, when Paul wrote to the churches of Rome and Corinth, he wrote at the beginning, "To all the beloved of God in Rome, called to be holy." (Romans 1:7, 2 Corinthians 1:1). Thus, in the mind of St. Paul, when a believer was baptized, he was the beloved of God and was called to be holy. Answering God's call to be holy fulfils not only the demands of the Old Testament, but also the target of the New Testament. Thus, as Catholics, we should not be contented with doing the minimum requirements and be satisfied with fulfilling the 4 precepts of the Church. This is an Old Testament mentality. We should be more ambitious to excel in sanctification. The question is, how do Christians become sanctified?
On March 19, the Feast of St. Joseph, Pope Francis promulgated the latest apostolic exhortation "Gaudete et Exsultate" to speak about the call to holiness in today's world. He says, "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." (GE#63) Perhaps you may feel that it is impossible for us, common mortals, to put into practice the Beatitudes which are too idealistic for us. Don't worry, we can take one step at a time. First of all, obey the commandments to build up good habits which shall become the basis of virtues we cultivate later. At the same time, we study the teachings of the Beatitudes and put them into practice to attain sanctification. Take a look at the case of the Rich Young Man. He was idealistic and sought ways to inherit eternal life. However, Jesus asked him first whether he had observed the Commandments. Thus, we see that observing the Commandments is the foundamental exercise of inheriting eternal life. Take another look at the scribe mentioned in today's gospel. What he had was knowledge and what he lacked was practice. Thus, we see that obeying the Commandment, even if we have not achieved sanctification, puts us not far away from the Kingdom of Heaven!
Brethren, although obeying the Commandments is an Old Testament mentality, it is essential because it is the foundamental exercise to attain eternal life. It should not be abolished! However, we should not be contented with minium requirements. We should aim higher, each in our own ways, to put the Beatitudes into practice to walk the way of New Testament sanctification.
Yes! They are:
The above precepts can be regarded as the minimum requirements to be a Catholic. For example, the fourth precept asks Catholics to provide for the needs of the Church but does not stipulate a tithe. And the second precept requires Catholics to confess sins and receive the Holy Communion at least once a year. This clearly shows that it is a minimum requirement on Catholics. Since they are minimum requirements, there is a large room for improvement!
Right! After Moses had liberated the Israelites from the slavery in Egypt, he brought them to Mount Sinai to enter into a covenant with God. The Ten Commandments are a symbol of covenant. You may wonder why the lofty God should enter into a covenant with lowly creatures. For example, after the Great Deluge, God established a covenant with Noah, using the rainbow as a symbol to pledge that there shall not be another flood to devastate the earth (Genesis 9:12-16). Later, God established another covenant with Abraham, using circumcision as a symbol to make him the father of a multitude of nations. Through his descendants, humanity will be blessed. (17:4-8)
God bless!
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