Theme: Jesus' Wake Up Calls
Most of the time, life is peaceful and comfortable. In such times, it is easy for us to fall into the temptation of complacency. We take life for granted and forget what it means to be alive. Times and again, we wake up only when disasters strike! Seventeen years ago, an infectious disease SARS arrived at Hong Kong from the north. We were forced to wear masks and to pay greater attention to personal hygiene. When it was over, the government did not improve our medical system to cater for outbreaks of contagious diseases. Today, we are caught unprepared once again because we have not learnt from the lesson of SARS. Some people in the society genuinely believe that this time God sent this coronavirus to remind us to be good stewards of the environment. Whether you agree with such an interpretation or not, it is true that God cares for us and when we lose sight of Him, He would gently remind us that He is staying with us to go through all sorts of challenges.
In a similar manner, some of Jesus' teachings in the gospels are peaceful and comfortable and it is easy to obey and follow. For example, who would refuse to love each other (John 13:34)? Only callous people would not give alms to starving people or to leave wounded or sick people unattended (Matthew 25:44), right? Following such teachings of Jesus makes you feel good. How can you not obey? However, some of His teachings are more challenging. For example, love your enemies (5:44) or turn the other cheek to bullies (5:39) etc. Following such teachings is unpleasant! But such teachings are important to keep us alive, alive to our identity as God's children. Just think about it for a moment. You are God's children. Are your enemies not God's children as well? If you do not love them and do not pray for those who persecute you, you are not doing your job as your brothers' keeper (Genesis 4:9)! You are not different from Cain who killed his brother Abel out of jealousy and anger! Therefore, this teaching of loving your enemy is a reminder, a wakeup call to take up your obligation as your brothers' keeper. Our eye sights are easily blocked by our anger, jealousy, pride, prejudice and even laziness so that we fail to recognize the Jesus who is present in our "enemy"!
Just like the teaching of loving your enemies, the gospel teachings today are also wakeup calls from Jesus. When we love our parents and our children, we are doing the Ten Commandments. There should be nothing wrong doing the Ten Commandments, right? Right and wrong! It is true that nothing can be wrong when we are doing the Ten Commandments. Furthermore, Jesus did not come to abolish the Ten Commandments. He came to fulfil them (Matthew 5:17). Therefore, Jesus would never contradict the Ten Commandments and the laws of Moses.
Jesus came to fulfil them and to elevate them by highlighting the spirit of the law. What does that mean? It means it is not enough to obey the Ten Commandments and the laws of Moses. It is not enough to follow the letters of the law just like the Pharisees and the scribes did. It is more important to live up to the spirit of the law. Therefore, in the Sermon on the Mount, not only does Jesus teach us not to kill, but also not to be angry (5:22); not only not to commit adultery, but also to respect the physical body of the opposite sex (5:28); not only not to swear, but also to tell the truth, nothing but the whole truth (5:37)!
How is doing the Ten Commandments wrong? The teaching in the gospel today is a wakeup call to show us how doing the Ten Commandments can be wrong. "Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me." (10:37-38) Jesus repeats three times "is not worthy of me". So, it must be serious and important. Jesus really means it. What does Jesus mean?
First of all, does spending longer time with people mean loving them more? No! Jesus does not want you to spend more time with him than your parents or children. It is "quality time" that counts! Think of those pitiful students. They are forced to spend a lot of frustrating time doing things they hate to do. The time they are forced to study is not "quality time". It is only when they enjoy the subjects they study or things they do, they would be eager to spend time on. It is the eagerness that makes time a "quality time"! So, the question becomes whether you spend your time more eagerly with your parents, children than with Jesus!
Secondly, there are different types of love. There are husbands and wives, parents and children, friends and colleagues, classmates and team members etc. These relationships require different degrees of mutual understanding, mutual respect and loyalty etc. Therefore, different types of love are running within these relationships. Furthermore, we belong to a family, a working place, a society, a country and a world. They also demand different levels of loyalty and love. Of course all these are inter-related. Usually these relationships coexist peacefully without conflict. It would be meaningless to compare your love of parents with your love of your spouse. They are different. Only when conflicts arise does the problem of comparison appear! Do young people love their friends more than their parents? Do husbands love their wives more than their parents? Do we love parents more than our countries? Do we love parents more than God?
Here cultural elements have to be taken into consideration. It is known that some remote villages living in poverty have some miserable customs. For the good of the whole village, sons had to carry their aged parents to the top of the mountain, leaving them there to die! In China, Confucius teaches that it is a shame not to go into battles to defend the country because the lives of parents would be in danger. Defending the country is love of parents! Therefore, we see that loving your parents also means leaving them behind to achieve a greater good.
God is our Creator and Redeemer. He is our greatest good. In ordinary times, love of parents is also a love of God because we cannot see God, kiss Him or buy Him birthday cakes. It is through the love of parents and others that we love God. It is not meaningful to ask whether we love parents more than we love God because the more we love our parents, the more we love God. It is only when a greater good demands us to make the decision to leave our parents, children and comfort behind that the question becomes unpleasant!
God bless! 2017 Homily
Picture credit: zazzle.com
常年期第十三主日，甲年
主題：耶穌當頭棒喝
大部份時候，我們都生活在安樂和平中。這些日子，我們容易陷入因循的誘惑。幸福變得理所當然，以致我們忘記了生活的意義，直至災難從天而降，我們纔驚醒過來！十七年前，香港爆發SARS，市民被迫配戴口罩，注重個人衛生。疫症過後，政府沒有改善醫療系統，應付突發的傳染病。今天，我們又被冠狀病毒肺炎殺個措手不及，因為我們沒有汲取ARS的教訓。社會上有人認為今次是天主派來這個冠狀病毒，提醒世人要當好環境管家的職務。無論你認同這種見解與否，我們深信天主關愛世人，當世人忘記了祂的時候，祂會溫馨地提示我們，祂願意與我們共渡時艱。
與此類似，耶穌的教訓有些是安樂和平的，容易服從。例如，有誰與拒絕彼此相愛（若13:34）呢？祇有冷酷無情的人纔不會施捨饑民，或者見傷病者不救（瑪25:44）！履行耶穌這些教訓令人感覺良好，你怎會不服從呢？可是，祂的有些教訓卻是富挑戰性的。例如，愛你的仇人（5:44）或者把另一面也轉給欺凌者（5:39）等。遵行這些教訓是很難受的！但這些教訓是重要的，它使我們活潑地活出天主子女的身份。試想想，你是天主的兒女，你的「仇人」不也是天主的兒女嗎？倘若你不愛他們，不為那迫害你的人祈禱，你便沒有履行守護弟兄之職（創4:9）！你與出於嫉妒和憤怒而殺死弟弟亞伯爾的加音有何分別？因此，這愛仇的教訓是當頭棒喝，提醒我們守護兄弟。我們的視線很容易被憤怒、嫉妒、驕傲、偏見甚至懶惰所蒙蔽，以至看不到在我們仇人身上的耶穌！
與愛仇人的教訓一樣，今天福音的教訓也是耶穌的當頭棒喝。當我們愛護子女，孝愛父母時，我們在履行十誡。試問履行十誡有錯嗎？沒有錯，但亦有錯！履行十誡沒有錯。耶穌來不是為廢除法律，而是來成全它（瑪5:17）。因此，耶穌不會否定十誡和梅瑟的法律。 耶穌來成全和提昇法律的精神。是甚麼意思呢？就是說，按條文來遵守十誡和梅瑟法律是不足的，法利塞人和經師不也是這樣做嗎？按法律的精神守法更為重要。因此，在山中聖訓，耶穌不但命令人不可殺人，更不可發怒（5:22），不但不可姦淫，更要尊重異性的身體（5:28）；不但不可發虛誓，更要說真話，全部的真話（5:37）！
那麼，怎樣守十誡會變成錯呢？今天福音的教訓就指出可以怎樣錯：「誰愛父親或母親超過我，不配是我的；誰愛兒子或女兒超過我，不配是我的。誰不背起自己的十字架跟隨我，不配是我的。」（10:37-38）耶穌三次說「不配是我的」，可見是嚴肅重要的。耶穌是認真的。祂想表達甚麼？
首先，花多些時間與人一起就是愛他們嗎？不是！耶穌不是要求我們陪祂的時間比陪父母子女的時間多，有質素的時間纔有意思！試想想那些可憐的學童，他們被迫花大量令他們氣餒的時間做他們怨恨的事！被迫學習的時間不是優質時間啊！祇有當他們享受他們所學習的課程和喜歡做的事的時候，他們會非常樂意花時間做。這份「樂意」把時間變得優質！所以，問題變成你更樂意花時間與耶穌一起，還是與父母子女一起！
第二，愛有很多種類：夫妻之愛、父母子女之愛、朋友同事之愛、同窗隊員之愛等等。這些關係要求不同程度的互相體諒、互相尊重與忠誠。所以，不同的關係是浸淫在不同的愛中。更廣闊些，我們歸屬於家庭、工作間、一個社會、一個國家和一個世界。它們要求不同程度的愛與忠誠，而且彼此之間，互相緊鉤。在一般的情況下，這些不同的關係和平共存，沒有衝突。當衝突出現時，纔產生比較的問題！年青人愛朋友多於愛父母嗎？夫妻之愛比孝敬父母更大嗎？忠孝不能兩存嗎？愛父母多於愛天主嗎？
在這裡，我們要考慮文化因素。在一些偏遠的窮鄉僻壤流傳一個可憐的習俗，為了全村的利益，兒子要背負年邁的父母上山，留下他們在那裡等死！在中國，儒家思想指出「臨陣無勇非孝也」。所以，為了更大的公益，有時需要放棄照顧父母！
天主是我們的創造者和救贖者，祂是我們最大的善。在一般的情況下，愛父母就是愛天主。因為我們看不見天主，不能親吻祂，送生日禮物給祂。我們祇能透過愛父母和愛其他人去愛天主。所以問你是否愛父母多於愛天主，是沒有意義的。因為我們越愛父母，就是越愛天主。可是，當一個更大的善要求我們作出放棄父母、子女、安逸時，這個問題就會令我們不舒服！
各位兄弟姊妹，我們祇以嘴巴來遵守最大的誡命，就是「你當全心、全靈、全力愛上主你的天主」（申6：5）嗎？我不能替你回答這問題。讓我們祈求聖神，賜予我們真心誠意地全力愛慕上主我們的天主，在災難來臨前醒寤。
天主保祐！
No comments:
Post a Comment