主題：禮服是天主供應的
聖經的確是一座寶山，內裡有很多寶藏，有待發掘。
天主怎樣愛罪人呢？像耶穌所說，天父「使太陽上升，光照惡人，也光照善人；降雨給義人，也給不義的人」（瑪5:45）嗎？即是說，天主泛愛世人，一視同仁地照顧他們的日常需要。天主對罪人的愛，當然不祇於此！撒羅滿王和聖詠的作者，在祈禱中這樣說：「上主天主，願祢的司祭身披救援，願祢的聖徒在幸福中歡樂」（編下6:40，詠132:9）！除了天主外，還有誰可以給司祭披上救援呢？原來，天主給亞當和他的妻子穿上皮衣，是表示天主沒有放棄犯了罪的人類，決意賜給全人類救恩的意思。聖經另一處，指出天主給人穿上的，不是別的，而是救恩。「祂給我穿上救恩的衣服，給我披上義德的外衣，使我有如頭戴花冠的新郎，有如佩帶珍珠的新娘」（依61:10）。所以，執事沒有添加個人臆說，每當聖經記載天主給人穿上衣服時，是表示天主以救恩，覆蓋人類。且看！婚宴的形象漸漸顯露出來了！
今天的比喻，告訴我們天主在天上，為人類預備了豐盛的宴會。首先被邀請的人，就是在人類歷史中，被天主所揀選的民族，即以色列人。天主計劃使他們成為萬民的「福源」（創12:3），借助他們，使全人類獲得救恩。天主沒有從人類中，揀選一個順服的民族，偏偏挑選一個極其執拗的民族，作為選民（申9:6, 13），擔當這個「福源」的角色。天主的確喜歡挑戰，捨易行難！另一方面，天主是公平的，以色列人並沒有「贏在起跑線」，沒有獲得先手之利。的確，「被召的人多，被選的人少」（瑪22:14），人人都有蒙召的機會，可是，每個人的價值觀都不一樣。有些人思念天上的事（哥3:1），要知道，第一代基督徒中，絕大部份是猶太人。有些人卻注重眼前的事業（瑪22:5），極端的甚至覺得天主的代言人，是他們事業上的障礙，除之而後快（22:6）！結果，他們招來天主的復仇，在公元七十年，聖城被圍，聖殿被毀（申32:35，瑪22:7）。結果，救恩的大門，直接開放給外邦人了！
說也奇怪，天主好像沒有設定參加婚宴的條件，沒有選擇某類人可以成為賓客，而是「無論壞人好人」（22:10），祇要肯回應召叫的人，便可以加入。那麼，後來巡視參加者有沒有穿著禮服（22:11），冷不提防國王使「穿著禮服」成了參加婚宴的條件，是否矛盾，是否不合理呢？倘若參加婚宴的人是窮人，沒有錢買禮服，要求他穿禮服出席婚宴，豈不是不公義嗎？
昨天本堂在疫情下舉行入門聖事，今天新教友穿著白衣參加主日彌撒。阮金山神父在今天的講道中，提醒所有人，領洗的時候，穿上了基督！應該保持這新生命，末日可以向天主交代！這樣的話，有禮服而不穿，不穿而受罰，客人便無從抵賴了；有基督而不穿，生活不肖似基督而受罰，基督徒無從抵賴！這禮服/白衣是甚麼？就是愛的能力！天主是愛，天主按自己的肖像做了人，即是人有愛的能力。可惜，人濫用了天主恩賜的自由，讓罪惡染污了世界，埋沒了愛的能力，有禮服而不穿。最後受罰，咎由自取。
筆者好奇在想，天主喜歡給人類穿上救恩，那麼，平日祂自己穿甚麼呢？聖詠的作者說：「上主為王，以尊威作衣冠，上主身著德能，腰束大權」（詠93:1）「祢以尊貴威嚴作祢的衣冠，身披光明，好像外氅」（104:1-2）行動時，天主穿甚麼？先知說：「祂身穿正義作鎧甲，頭戴救恩作鋼盔，身佩復仇作衣服，外披妒恨作外氅」（依59:17）。相信保祿宗徒從先知的話取得靈感，為基督徒訂造了全副武裝：「用真理作帶，…穿上正義作甲，以和平的福音作準備走路的鞋…拿起信德作盾牌…戴上救恩作盔，拿著聖神作利劍」（弗6:14-17）。
相信大家一定記得《創世紀》原祖犯罪的故事，當他們被逐出樂園的時候，「上主天主為亞當和他的妻子做了件皮衣，給他們穿上。」（創3:21）給犯了罪的原祖穿上皮衣，是一個天主憐愛罪人的鮮明形象！人憑自己的能力，祇能「用無花果樹葉，編了個裙子圍身」（3:7），算不上甚麼衣服！這裡，包含了很豐富的默想材料，最特出的，就是人類憑一己的努力，絕不能拯救自己，不能改善自己。是否執事想多了嗎？在釋經的時候，有意無意地添加了個人的臆斷？
聖奧思定在解釋禮服時，祇憑信德就可以受洗，加人教會。所以，無論壞人好人，祇要對耶穌基督懷有信德，同樣可以得救，同樣可以參加天國的婚宴（羅8:22）。即是說，不要妄想教會的成員，個個都是好人，教會內一定有「壞蘋果」，一定有令人失望的人！聖奧思定進一步解釋，禮服象徵「愛德」。祇有信德，而沒有愛德的行為配合，是死的信德（雅2:26），以愛德行事的信德纔算數（迦5:6）！所以，沒有穿禮服參加婚宴的人，是指那些憑信德領了洗，以為因信可以稱義，不必履行愛德的行為，結果在末日被抽出來，「丟在外面的黑暗中」（瑪22:13）！這個解釋，仍然美中不足。原來祇是表面上沒有條件，事實上有條件！有點「搬龍門」的感覺，令人難以信服。我倒認為，天主給亞當披上救恩，其實已經為每個亞當的後裔披上了救恩。即是說，國王把邀請和禮服，一拼送上！
天主保祐！
2017年講道
圖片鳴謝：medium.com/@stevenliew
Twenty Eighth Ordinary Sunday, Year A
Theme: God Provides the Wedding Garment
The Bible is a treasure trove. There are many treasures yet to be dug up.
How does God love sinners? Like what Jesus says, our heavenly Father, "makes His sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust."(Matthew 5:45)? That is to say, God loves all men and takes care of their daily needs indiscriminately. Of course more than that! King Solomon and the Psalmist say in their prayers, "Your priests, Lord God, will be clothed with salvation, your faithful ones rejoice in good things."(2 Chronicles 6:41, Psalm 132:9)! Who else could clothe the priests with salvation if not God? Thus, when God clothed Adam and his wife with garments, it indicates that God shall not abandon mankind and is determined to save them all. In yet another piece of text in the Bible, we find that God clothes all men with salvation. "For He has clothed me with garments of salvation, and wrapped me in a robe of justice, like a bridegroom adorned with a diadem, as a bride adorns herself with her jewels" (Isaiah 61:10). Thus I did not read too much into the text because whenever the Bible says God clothes men with garments, it means God covers men with salvation. See? The image of a wedding banquet is emerging!
The parable today tells us that God has prepared a lavish wedding banquet for all men. The first people to be invited were historically God's Chosen People, the Israelites. God intended to make them a source of blessing for all peoples on earth (Genesis 12:3). Through them, all peoples shall be saved. God did not choose an obedient people but a stiff necked people (Deuteronomy 9:16, 13) to play the role of a source of blessing. God is truly adventurous, taking a difficult path! On the other hand, God is fair. The Israelites had not taken up the advantages and privileges of being the Chosen People. Indeed, "Many are invited, but few are chosen" (Matthew 22:14). All are given the opportunity and called. Yet different people have different value systems. Some "seek what is above." (Colossians 3:1) Remember, most of the first generation Christians were Jews. But some focus on worldly achievements (Matthew 22:5). The more extreme ones even treated the spokesmen of God as obstacles to their success. They took action to remove them (22:6)! In the end, they invited the vengeance of God and in 70 A.D., Jerusalem was sieged and the Temple was burned down (Deuteronomy 32:35, Matthew 22:7). Consequently, the door of salvation is open wide to Gentiles!
It seems a bit strange. God seems not to have set down any condition for people to join the wedding banquet. He did not choose His guests. The servants "gathered all they found, bad and good alike" (22:10). So, everybody is welcomed. Later, the King came in to meet the guests and saw a man without wedding garment (22:11). Suddenly, the King made "wearing wedding garments" a criterion to join the banquet. Isn't it contradictory and unreasonable? What if a poor man attends this banquet? He can't afford a wedding garment. Isn't it unfair?
Yesterday, our Parish celebrated the rites of Christian initiation during the pandemic. Today, the newly baptized wore their baptismal garments to join the Sunday mass. Fr. Paul Nguyen reminded the congregation that after baptism, we put on Christ! We should preserve this new life and be accountable on the Last Day! Thus, you have the wedding garment but failed to wear it. You are punished for not wearing it. Who is to blame? Christians do not put on Christ. Christians are punished for being unchristian. Who is to blame? What is this wedding/baptismal garment? It is the ability to love! God is love. God created men in His image. Thus, men are able to love. Regrettably, men abused the freedom God gave and contaminated the world with sins, smothering the capacity of charity, not wearing the wedding garments. At last, they shall be punished for what they deserve.
The author is curious. God enjoys clothing men with salvation. What does God wear in ordinary times? The Psalmist says, "The Lord is king, robed with majesty, the Lord is robed, girded with might" (Psalm 93:1) "You are clothed with majesty and splendour, robed in light as with a cloak" (104:1-2). What does He wear in action? The prophet says, "He put on justice as His breastplate, victory as a helmet on His head; He clothed Himself with garments of vengeance, wrapped Himself in a mantle of zeal" (Isaiah 59:17). I think Paul was inspired by the prophet and created the full armour of a Christian, "… loins girded in truth, clothed with righteousness as a breastplate … shod in readiness for the gospel of peace … faith as a shield … helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit" (Ephesians 6:14-17)
Brethren, we don't wear armour to attend wedding banquet. But the path to the banquet is full of perils. The armour is necessary. But when you put on Christ, do you need to wear armour?
I trust all of you remember the story of the fall of our First Parents in Genesis. When they were driven out of the Paradise, "The Lord God made for the man and his wife garments of skin with which He clothed them"(Genesis 3:21). Clothing the fallen First Parent with garments is a clear sign of God's mercy on sinners! With their own power, men could only "sew fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves" (3:7), not even garments! Here is much material for meditation but the most glaring one is that it is beyond human capacity to save themselves or to improve their situations. Am I reading too much into the Bible?
When St. Augustine explained this wedding garment, he said that faith is enough for baptism, and admission into the Church. Thus, as long as you believe in Jesus Christ, all can be saved and join the heavenly banquet, bad and good alike (Romans 8:22). In other words, don't fancy that all Church members are good people. There must be "rotten apples" and frustrating people. St. Augustine continues to explain that "wedding garments" symbolizes charity. Faith is dead without accompanying charity (James 2:26), "only faith working through charity counts" (Galatians 5:6)! Thus, people who attend the banquet without wedding garments are those who were baptized with faith, thinking that faith alone justifies and there's no need to do charitable works. Consequently, they would be singled out on Judgment Day, "cast into the darkness outside" (Matthew 22:13)! This explanation is still inadequate. Superficially there is no string attached but actually there is! The goal keeps moving and thus unconvincing. Rather, I'm of opinion that God clothed Adam with salvation. In fact, God has clothed all the offspring of Adam with salvation. That is to say, God sends the invitation and wedding garments together!
God bless!
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