你是「平安之子」嗎？ Are you a Peaceful Person?

你是「平安之子」嗎？(路10:1-9)

耶穌基督不但派遣十二宗徒外出傳福音（瑪12，谷6:7-13，路9:1-6），今天還選派另外72人，賜給他們傳福音的機會，傳福音所需要的恩寵，和獲得傳福音的經驗！
雖然傳福音是教會存在的理據，但不要以為在天主的欽點下，傳福音是理所當然的事，可以一帆風順。在極權無神政府的統治下，根本沒有正常的傳福音機會。當然，世上沒有勢力可以阻止天主想完成的事業（路1:37）。所以即使在惡劣的環境下，仍然有傳福音的空間；而且，更能突顯出福音的珍貴，是值得「賣掉他所有的一切」好能買下的珠寶（瑪13:44-46）。

「工欲善其事，必先利其器」。傳福音就應該以精良的裝備出發，否則祇會畏首畏尾，事倍功半！無論是十二宗徒，還是七十二門徒，耶穌基督一律賜予治病和驅魔的權能（路9:1，10:19）。事實證明，即使是後世的傳教士， 同樣也能分沾到這些傳福音的恩寵。治病驅魔的第一個受益人是醫生和驅魔人自己，所以作為傳教士，我們便有機會優先獲得治療和驅除心中的魔障。傳教士其中一個心魔，就是感受到被拒絕。這種感覺告訴我們，我們沒有帶著平安的心傳福音。耶穌基督說：「那裡如有平安之子，你們的平安就停留在他身上；否則，仍歸於你們。」（10:6，瑪10:13）「福音」是甚麼好消息？就是天主主動提出和解，在基督內不再計較我們的過錯，不與我們算帳（格後5:19）。「平安之子」是何許人也？就是那些堪當領受福音的人，那些願意回頭悔改的人。的確，鐵石心腸，拒絕天主好意的人多的是；否則，天主不必借先知的口，揭示世人有換心的必要（則11:19；36:26）。天主憐憫我們沒有能力償還欠債，便一廂情願地把我們的罪債，一筆鉤銷；並差遣我們這些代表基督作修和大使的人（格後5:20），向世人傳佈這個免債的平安福音。

所以，各位兄弟姊妹！倘若世人不願意接受或者不堪當領受福音，我們應該仍然保持著這份平安。倘若我們受了挫折便灰心放棄，我們應該意識到，「時候要到，且現在就是」（若5:25）我們祈求天主，再次派人向我們傳福音的日子了。
聖史路加，請為我們祈禱。亞孟。
圖片鳴謝：Prince of Peace Lutheran Church
生命恩泉

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Are you a Peaceful Person? (Luke 10:1-9)

Not only did Jesus Christ send the Twelve to evangelize (Matthew 12, Mark 6:7-13, Luke 9:1-6), but He also sent 72 disciples, giving them opportunities to preach, the graces and authority needed and experiences they would gain!

Although evangelization is the raison d'être for the Church, don’t ever think that with this mandate from God, we can take things for granted and it should be a piece of cake ahead of us. Under atheist totalitarian governments, “normal” evangelization would find no place to rest its head. Of course, no power on earth can stop God from accomplishing His will (Luke 1:37). Even in adverse environments, there is still room for evangelization. Moreover, the gospel would become more precious, a treasure worthy of selling all to acquire (Matthew 13:44-16).

Preparation is essential for any project. Thus, we must be well equipped before we go evangelizing. Otherwise, we would be timid and inefficient. Whether the Twelve or the seven-two, Jesus Christ gave them the authority over all demons and to cure diseases (Luke 9:1, 10:19). In fact, missionaries of later ages also partake in this evangelization graces. The first beneficiaries of these healing and exorcism graces are the physicians and exorcists themselves. Therefore, as evangelists, we enjoy the priority of being healed and exorcized first. One of the complexes missionaries need to overcome is the sense of rejection. This feeling of being rejected is a signal telling us that we have not evangelized with a peaceful heart. Jesus says, “If a peaceful person lives there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you.” (10:6, Matthew 10:13). What sort of good news is the gospel? The good news is that God takes the initiative “reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting their trespasses against them” (2 Corinthians 5:19). And what is a peaceful person? He is someone who is worthy of receiving the gospel and those who are willing to repent. Indeed, many a man whose heart is so hardened that he rejects God’s good will. Otherwise, God would not have spoken through the prophet of the need to transplant hearts (Ezekiel 11:19, 36:26). Seeing our inability to repay our trespasses, God has compassion on us and writes off our debts. Moreover, He sends us as reconciliation ambassadors on behalf of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20) to proclaim this good news of debt annulment to the world.

Brethren! If people are reluctant or unworthy to accept the good news, we should keep our peace. If we’re frustrated and want to give up, we should know that “The hour is coming and is now here.” (John 5:25) It is high time we implored God to send missionaries to evangelize us.
St. Luke the Evangelist, pray for us. Amen.