Theme: We Become Bread of Life
Brethren, how are you? How did you spend the days during this pandemic? Has this pandemic affected your livelihood such that you earn less money? Have you lost your job, or any relatives, friends or even family members? But the most important of all, have you lost contact with God?
Against my will, I was labelled "high-risk" because among the early deaths of this pandemic in Hong Kong, two were diabetics. For the sake of my family, I had to undergo a self-imposed quarantine. This means, I went outdoors twice a week only to handle necessary business and meet people. I don't know whether I am an invisible virus carrier or not. For the sake of Christian charity, I had to suspend my prison visits and limited myself to delivering the Sunday Examiner to inmates at the main gate of the prisons only. I discover that "out of sight, out of mind" is not true. The more I cannot meet the people, the more I miss them. The case of prison inmates is more meaningful because during the self-imposed quarantine, I understood better what it feels to lose one's freedom! Like many of them, I have more solitary time to bring to mind my Lord and my God.
One day I met a friend of mine who is very intuitive and she told me that I was as excited as an inmate discharged from hospitals or prisons. Suddenly, I realized that Jesus Christ was "imprisoned" in the Tabernacle as well. How happy and excited it would be for Him to be received by us and carried by us to the world outside!
Compared with the teachings of Jesus, Moses' are milder and more easily acceptable. For example, in the first reading today, instead of telling people to eat him like Jesus did, Moses says, "He therefore let you be afflicted with hunger, and then fed you with manna, a food unknown to you and your ancestors, so you might know that it is not by bread alone that people live, but by all that comes from the mouth of the Lord." (Deuteronomy 8:3) In itself, this teaching is excellent because Jesus made use of it to fight back the first temptation of Satan in the wilderness. Times and again we too fall into the temptation of doubting the love of God and complain like the Israelites in the wilderness! "God, you drove Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden because You were afraid that they would eat from the tree of life and live forever (Genesis 3:22). You don't love us!" or "God, You are love (1 John 4:8). How can You allow us be afflicted with hunger, sickness, pandemic and sufferings?" etc. Moses reminds us that for our good, for a better goodness of many people, God allows us to suffer so that we who have gone astray might repent and return to God. Not only do we live by bread to nourish our bodies, but we also live by the Word of God to nourish our souls. Very often, we are too busy earning our bread and have forgotten the needs of our souls. Moses's teachings are easier to understand and follow. What about Jesus' teachings?
Don't blame the Jews. Even for us modern people, cannibalism is an offensive idea! In fact, Jesus' teachings, as always have been, are very revolutionary and more difficult to accept. Just think about the Beatitudes: blessed are the poor, the mournful, the meek, when you are persecuted, turn your other cheek to the evil people and love your enemies etc. Perhaps you may think that Jesus does not mean them to be accepted literally. They are just hyperboles, just to make an impression! Come on. What is Jesus? Jesus is our God. Of course He means what He says! How can we accept His teachings selectively, taking those we accept and rejecting those we find hard to swallow?
But Jesus is very considerate and He understands our weaknesses and inadequacy. Therefore, during the Last Supper, He consecrated bread and wine into His Body and Blood to make it easier for us to eat His Body and drink His blood in order to have eternal life (John 6:54). Therefore, out of love, God drove Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden to prevent them from eating from the tree of life and live forever because God did not want them to lead a miserable life of darkness, of the ignorance of God's love forever. Now that all of us have free access to the Sacrament of Eucharist and eternal life, therefore, it is wrong to doubt God's love for us.
What else did Jesus say? He says, "Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him." (6:56) In short, after receiving the Holy Communion, we carry Jesus within us. We carry Him around wherever we go. We become, in short, walking Tabernacles in the community. Not just Tabernacles, but we become Jesus Christ Himself. Jesus Christ always prays. We too should always find time to pray to the Father. Jesus Christ teaches the ignorant. We too should teach the ignorant and help them know that the Father loves them. Jesus Christ forgives those who crucified Him. We too should forgive those who make us suffer to help them reconcile with God. Jesus heals the sick and tells us to take care of the sick (Matthew 25:36). Jesus drives out demons which take away our freedom. Shall we not fight against all sorts of human bondages such as pornography, gambling, drug abuses and domestic violence etc.? In doing so, we are obeying the new commandment Jesus gave us during the Last Supper, "I give you a new commandment: love one another as I have loved you." (John 13:34)
Brethren, on this Solemnity of Corpus Christi, let us celebrate how merciful the Father is and how much Jesus Christ loves us. Let us receive Him with a humble heart and carry Him around in the community to bring blessings to the people we encounter.
God bless!
2017年講道
圖片鳴謝：http://en.abouna.org
聖體聖血節，甲年
主題：我們成為生命之糧
各位兄弟姊妹，大家好嗎？各位怎樣度過疫情下的日子呢？疫情有沒有影響到你們的生計？你們有失業，或者失去親朋或至家人嗎？但最重要的，大家有沒有失去了天主的聯絡呢？
在香港，疫症爆發初期，死於新型肺炎的其中兩名患者是糖尿病人。結果我被列入「高危」一族！為了減少家人的擔憂，我惟有進行自我隔離，每星期祇出門兩天，處理必要的事務和接觸人。我不知道自己是不是「隱形」的帶病毒者，出於基督徒的愛德，惟有停止探監的工作，每星期祇能在監獄大閘遞送《公教報》給囚友。我漸漸明白「一日不見，如隔三秋」的道理，並不誇張。愈見不了面，心裡愈掛念他們。在這自我隔離的情況下，心中更明瞭失去自由的滋味！和他們相似，我有更多獨處的時間，與我的主天主相聚。
有一天，一位很直覺的朋友告訴我，我的興奮有如放監一樣。忽然，我意識到耶穌基督其實是「被囚禁」在聖體櫃內。我們領受聖體，並帶著祂走出外面的世界時，耶穌基督是何等興奮和喜樂！
與耶穌的教訓相比，梅瑟的教訓溫柔得多，容易接受得多。例如，在今天的第一篇讀經中，梅瑟並不像耶穌那樣生硬，告訴人吃他的肉。梅瑟說：「祂磨難了你，使你感到饑餓，卻以你和你祖先所不認識的『瑪納』養育了你，叫你知道人生活不但靠食物，而且也靠上主口中所發的一切言語生活。」（申8:3）這教訓是超卓的，因為連耶穌也引用它來對抗魔鬼在曠野中的第一個試探！我們好像以色列人在曠野裡一樣，經常懷疑天主對我們的愛，並經常投訴！「天主，祢把原祖父母趕出樂園，因為祢怕他們吃了生命樹上的果子，活到永遠。祢不愛我們！」或者，「天主，祢既然是愛（若一4:8），祢怎可以磨難我們，讓我們感到饑餓，染病和受痛苦呢？」等等… 梅瑟提醒我們，為了我們的益處，或者為了很多人更大的好處，天主容許我們受苦，使誤入歧途的人類，可以回頭悔改。我們不但依賴食物滋養我們的身體，也要倚靠天主的說話，滋潤我們的靈魂。很多時候，我們忙於賺錢，忘記了我們靈魂上的需要。梅瑟教訓比較容易明白，容易跟從。耶穌的教訓呢？
不要怪責猶太人，即使現代人對「食人肉」同樣嘔心！事實上，耶穌的教訓，很多都是很革命性，很難接受的。試想想「山中聖訓」的教導：貧窮的人是有福的、哀慟的、溫良的、受迫害的等是有福的；把你另一面也轉給惡人打，愛你們的仇人等。或者你以為耶穌的心意，不須要你按字面的意思做；耶穌祇是語出驚人，留下深刻印象而已！拜託！耶穌是誰？耶穌是我們的天主，祂的說話當然是認真的！我們豈可選擇性地實行祂的教訓，按我們能接受的去做，難接受的就掉在一邊呢？
可幸耶穌是非常體諒，祂明白我們的軟弱不足。因此，祂在最後晚餐時，祝聖了麵餅和葡萄酒，使它們成為了祂的體血，讓我們容易地吃祂的肉，喝祂的血，獲得永生（若6:54）。因此，天主出於愛，把原祖父母趕出伊甸園，因為天主不願意他們永遠生活在悲慘的黑暗世界中，對天主的愛一無所知！現在我們可以自由地領受聖體聖事，獲得永生。因此，懷疑天主對我們的愛，真是大錯特錯。除了這些永生言論之外，耶穌還說了些甚麼？祂說：「誰吃我的肉，並喝我的血，便住在我內，我也住在他內。」（6:56）一言以蔽之，領聖體後，我們負載著耶穌，無論在何處，我們總帶著祂。我們變成了流動聖體櫃。不單是聖體櫃，我們更成為了耶穌基督自己。耶穌基督經常祈禱，我們也應該經常向天父禱告；耶穌基督教導無知的人，我們也應教訓愚蒙，幫助他們認識天父是愛他們的；耶穌基督寬恕釘死祂的人，我們也應寬恕傷害我們的人，幫助他們與天主修和；耶穌治好病人，並吩咐我們照顧病人（瑪25:36）；耶穌驅逐那些奪去我們自由的邪魔，我們豈不應該打擊色情、賭博、濫藥和家暴等人性的束縛嗎？我們這樣做，是履行耶穌在最後晚餐給予我們的新誡命：「我給你們一條新命令：你們該彼此相愛，如同我愛了你們。」（若13:34）
各位兄弟姊妹，在這聖體聖血節，讓我們慶祝天父對我們是何等慈悲，耶穌基督是怎樣愛了我們。讓我們以謙卑的心領受祂，把祂帶進社區，帶給我們所接觸的人祝福。
天主保祐！
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