「在審判的日子，索多瑪地所受的懲罰也要比你們容易忍受。」（瑪11：24）
原來不單「聆聽」需要勇氣，而且連「看見」也需要勇氣，就是悔改的勇氣！缺乏勇氣，就祇會視而不見，聽而不聞了（瑪13:14）！難怪今天社會上，有很多活在平行時空的人！
最明顯的答案，就是他們不覺得有悔改的必要。像大部份自以為是的法利塞人和經師一樣，他們不覺得自己有罪。沒有罪，何需悔改呢？即使察覺到自己有不足之處，仍覺得自己比其他人優勝，墮入了「有人墊底」的陷阱中。於是覺得用不著改過遷善，甚至斗膽地在天主面前，炫耀一番（路18：11-12）！
他們真的看不見自己的不善之處嗎？應該是看見的，卻沒有勇氣承認，自己與那些他所鄙視的人，竟然同樣需要天主的寬恕！尤有甚者，他們會把責任推到別人身上，或者找代罪羔羊，自己永遠不會錯。那些道貎岸然的經師和法利塞，祇會按法律指摘替羅馬人服務的稅吏，又怎能接受自己竟然與稅吏一樣歛財（20：45-47）呢？同樣道理，貪污的人，祇會怪責大企業家剝削窮人，又怎會原諒潛入他家中搜刧的盜賊呢？使用暴力的人，又怎能容忍受害人的反抗呢？的確，缺乏了勇氣，又怎能動手術，拿去眼中的大樑呢（瑪7：5）？的確，經師與稅吏、兩者都需要極大的勇氣，承認自己是錯了！
天主不是免去索多瑪的懲罰，而是那些懲罰，是可以忍受的。為甚麼可以忍受呢？可能是有限期的懲罰，例如在煉獄。其餘的，甭用多說了。
主啊！請賜我們勇氣，認清自己的不是，好能悔改，獲得天父的寬恕。亞孟。
圖片鳴謝：cinema.ne.jp
論盡神學
Courage Series#3:
It will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom on the day of judgment than for you. (Matthew 11:24)
Not only does listening need courage, but seeing also needs courage, the courage to repent! Lacking courage, people will look and look and yet not see, listen and listen and yet not hear (Matthew 13:14)! No wonder there are so many people living in parallel universes today!
In the gospel passage today, Jesus "began to reproach the towns where most of his mighty deeds had been done, since they had not repented" (11:20). Why didn't they repent even after seeing miracles?
The obvious answer is that they did not feel the need to repent. Like most self-righteous Pharisees and scribes, they did not think they were sinners. Without sins, why needed they to repent? Even if they found inadequacies in themselves, they still deemed themselves superior to others and fell into the temptation of "Not me! Somebody else is worse". Then, they did not need to repent and even dared to boast of themselves before God (Luke 18:11-12)!
Don't they see their inadequacies? Surely they see but they don't have the courage to admit that they and those they despise need the same forgiveness from God! Even worse, they put the blame on others or look for scapegoats. Never can they be wrong. Those decent-looking scribes and Pharisees would apply the laws to reproach tax-collectors who served Romans. How could they acknowledge they plundered people like tax-collectors did (20:45-47)? Similarly, people who take bribes only blame entrepreneurs for exploiting the poor. How can they forgive burglars who break into their houses? And how can abusers tolerate victims who fight back? Indeed, lacking courage, how can they approach the operation table to remove the wooden beam from their eyes (Matthew 7:5)? Indeed, both scribes and tax-collectors need extremely huge courage to admit their sins!
God does not remove Sodom's punishments but makes them tolerable. Why are the punishments tolerable? Perhaps they are limited in time, e.g. in the Purgatory. The rest? You know.
Lord! Grant us courage to see clearly our faults so that we may repent and be forgiven by our heavenly Father. Amen.
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