主題：怎樣對惡人慈悲？
天主是愛（若一4:8）。祂以慈悲來表達祂對人類的愛，這慈悲具體地以聖子的降生、受難、復活來表達（伯前1:3），使凡信靠天主子主耶穌基督的人，「不至喪亡，反而獲得永生」（若3:16）。
雖然耶穌曾吩咐說：「你們若祇愛那愛你們的人，你們還有甚麼賞報呢？稅吏不是也這樣做嗎？」（瑪5:46）但從來，愛那些可愛的人容易，不可愛的難！對那些可憐的人慈悲容易，對邪惡的人慈悲，豈不是對與自己同一陣線的人殘忍嗎？很容易，我們會拿出公義來判斷誰值得我們對他慈悲，誰不值得！經過十個月的社會運動和疫情，讓我們看清楚很多人的真面目。即使主說：「你們不要判斷人，免得你們受判斷。」（7:1）可是，想不作出任何判斷，何其困難！今天正值救主慈悲主日，讓我們默想天主怎樣對十惡不赦的人慈悲！
從【出谷紀】，我們知道「天主是忌邪的天主」（出20:5），祂憎恨那些見過祂的大能，仍沒有戒除拜偶像陋習的以色列人。當他們拜金牛的時候，天主不惜消滅一個祂以大能解放的人民，要使梅瑟成為一個大民族（32:10）。當然祂絕對有能力，有理由這樣做！是以色列人自取其咎，死不足惜！最後，梅瑟並沒有為一己私利而支持天主的建議，他為以色列人轉求，引發起天主的慈悲，並沒有立即消滅他們，而讓他們在曠野流浪四十年，老死在曠野裡，不能進入福地。即使是這樣為以色列人的好處周章，梅瑟卻落得一個不能進入福地的下場，天主的慈悲去了哪？
另一方面，即使是那個惡名遠播，「受他妻子依則貝耳的引誘，出賣自己，行上主視為惡事」（列上21:25）的阿哈布，因為聽了厄里亞所預言的懲罰而做了「自卑自賤」的事，天主竟在他有生之日，不降懲罰！（21:27-29）連祂最憎恨的拜偶像行為，天主也寬恕！亞哈布不是個別例子，其他的君王，並不因為作了天主認為惡的事而減夀，反而統治期長，並死於自然。例如北國的雅洛貝罕第二為王四十一年（列下14:23-24），南國的默納舍為王五十五年（21:1-2）。難道天主不明白，「不仁者而在高位，是播其惡於眾也」（孟子‧離婁上）嗎？也不一定，在天主的計劃中，即使是強如羅馬的奧古斯都凱撒，也在不知不覺之中，履行了天主的救世計劃！縱使他是為了抽稅而進行人口調查，結果使默西亞在白冷誕生的預言，得以實現（路2:1）！天主讓那些行祂視為惡事的人，繼續生存下去，並讓他們高夀，想必有我們未及理解的道理。
各位兄弟姊妹，面對天主的慈悲，我祇能「收回所說過的話，坐在灰塵中懺悔。」（約42:6）並求上主指教我（42:4）！讓我們信靠主耶穌基督的慈悲，求祂賜下聖神到我們心中，引發喜樂、平安和慈悲，讓我們以慈悲，接待那些不可愛，甚至邪惡的近人。
慈悲不是感性的愛，而以對別人欠缺上的關顧，以舒緩他人的苦況。慈悲包括了治療、安慰、寬恕和減輕別人的痛苦。作為天主教徒，我們既白白地成為天主的子女，獲得了天主對我們的慈悲，總不可以把天主的慈悲，據為己有，拒絕與人分享。因此，為了報答天主的施恩，我們應對身邊的人慈悲，治療、安慰、寬恕和減輕他們的痛苦。
天主保祐！
又及：救主慈悲，今天是小弟從已故徐誠斌主教手中，領受堅振聖事的金禧。感謝讚美主，在祂的護翼下，我仍保持著這份信仰，仍在最小兄弟中尋找祂，服事祂。但願餘生仍能跟在主的後面，榮主救靈。亞孟。
2017年講道
圖片鳴謝：catholic-daily-reflections.com
Sunday of Divine Mercy, Year A
Theme: How To Be Merciful To Evil People?
God is love (1 John 4:8). He expresses His love of humanity with mercy. This mercy is concretely shown in the incarnation, passion and resurrection of the Son of God (1 Peter 1:3) so that whoever believe in the Son of God, Lord Jesus Christ, "Might not perish but might have eternal life." (John 3:16)
Although Jesus says, "For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have? Do not the tax collectors do the same?" (Matthew 5:46), all along it is easy to love the lovable and difficult to love the unlovable! It is easy to be merciful to pitiful people. If we are merciful to the evil ones, would we be cruel to our comrades? Naturally, we apply justice criteria to judge who deserve our mercy and who don't. After ten months of social unrest and plague, we are able to see clearly the true faces of many people. Even though the Lord says, "Stop judging, that you may not be judged" (7:1), how difficult it is to suspend our judgment! Today is the Sunday of Divine Mercy. Let us meditate how God shows His mercy to evil people!
Cain who murdered his brother should be number one chronologically and morally. It so happened that Cain and Abel offered sacrifices to God. God looked with favour on Abel and his offering but on Cain and his offering, He did not look with favour. So Cain was very angry and dejected (Genesis 4:4-5). Cain's anger and dejection was unreasonable because there would be many more occasions of offerings. When he persevered, one day God would look with favour on him and his offering. Then God reminded Cain to manage his anger well. Obviously, Cain did not listen and subsequently killed his brother. When God asked Cain the whereabouts of his brother, Cain retorted, "Am I my brother's keeper?" (4:9) Of course you are. Otherwise, who else is? Look at how lightly God punishes him, not a life for a life but only a constant wanderer on the earth! When Cain complained that anybody would kill him at sight, God put a mark on Cain so that no one would kill him at sight (4:15). How God protect such disobedient wicked people! On the other hand, Onan the second son of Judah wasted his seed on the ground to avoid giving offspring to his brother. God was offended and took his life (38:9-10). Is murder less serious a sin than coitus interruptus or homosexuality (19:5)? Pharaoh who killed innocent male babies died an old age (Exodus 2:23) while Herod the Great in the gospel lived until seventy. Were kings allowed a larger quota of killings? Of course, we are not God. It is not right for us to grumble about God's judgment. God is able to raise the dead. Even if the righteous die at the hands of the wicked, God is able to raise them back to life. On the other hand, human sexual acts actualize God's creation of life on earth (Genesis 4:1). Behold, God is able to empower infertile women such as Sarah and Hannah, the mother of Samuel to bear children, thus demonstrating His status as the giver of life. Therefore, sexual acts that are not open to life are abominable to God. Is death an adequate restitution for abominations to God?
From Exodus, we know that God is a jealous God (Exodus 20:5). He hates those who have seen His might and yet continue to worship idols. When the Israelites worshipped a golden calf, God did not hesitate to consume them and made of Moses a great nation (32:10). Of course God is absolutely capable and reasonable to do that! The Israelites were heaping coals on their own heads! In the end, Moses did not support God's proposal out of selfishness. Instead, he interceded for the Israelites and triggered God's mercy. God did not destroy them immediately but let them off wandering for forty years in the wilderness where they naturally died and did not enter the Promised Land. Moses who had diligently working for the good of Israelites was sealed the same fate, barred from the Promised Land. Where has God's mercy gone?
On the other hand, the notorious Ahab who "Gave himself up to the doing of evil in the sight of the Lord, urged on by his wife Jezebel" (1 Kings 21:24) was spared punishments all the days of his life after he had heard the pronouncement of punishment by Elijah and humbled himself before the Lord (21:27-29). Even the sin of idolatry which God hates so much could be forgiven! Ahab is not a special case. There were other kings who did not have their lives reduced for committing abominations to the Lord. They even reigned long and died a natural death. For example, Jeroboam II ruled for forty-one years as king of Israel (2 Kings 14:23-24) while Manasseh king of Judah for fifty-five years (21:1-2). Doesn't God know that "When a man destitute of benevolence is in a high station, he thereby disseminates his wickedness among the multitudes" (Mencius, Le Low I)? Perhaps God knows. Even the powerful Augustus Caesar inadvertently helped fulfil God's grand plan! Even if it was out of greed that Augustus ordered a census, he made the prophecy that the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem come true (Luke 2:1)! There must be reasons which are beyond our understanding why God allows those who do abominations to continue living to old ages.
Brethren! Before God's mercy, I can only "disown what I have said, and repent in dust and ashes" (Job 42:6) and plead God to tell me the answers (42:4)! Let us fully trust in the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, beg Him to grant us the Holy Spirit in our heart to trigger joy, peace and mercy. Let us be merciful to those unlovable and even evil neighbour.
Mercy is not affective love but a loving care for the deprivation and suffering of the others, to relieve them of their plights. To be merciful is to heal, console, forgive and soothe the sufferings of the others. As Catholics, we become God’s children and obtain His mercy for free. We can’t keep God's mercy for ourselves and refuse to share with the others. Thus, in order to repay God's mercy, we should be merciful to people around us. We should heal, console, forgive and soothe their sufferings.
God bless!
p.s. Today is the golden jubilee of my Confirmation at the hands of the late Bishop Francis Hsu. The Lord be praised. Under the shadow of His wings, I have preserved my faith and been able to seek and serve Him among the least of His brothers continually. May on my remaining days, I be able to follow behind Him, glorifying Him and saving souls. Amen.
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