Through His Wounds We Are Healed 祂的傷口治癒我們

Second Easter Sunday, Year C
Theme: Through His Wounds We Are Healed 祂的傷口治癒我們

Jews believed that only Yahweh, among all gods if they ever had existed, was almighty. Heavens and Earth were the works of His hand (Psalms 19:2). He puts to death and gives life (1 Samuel 2:6). He kills but He also heals our wounds (Jeremiah 30:17). However, the most wondrous and ineffable of all is that in the form of a Suffering Servant, He took on our wounds to heal them. “He was pierced for our sins, crushed for our iniquity. He bore the punishment that makes us whole, by his wounds we were healed.” (Isaiah 53:5). It has all been foretold through the prophets and was read aloud in the synagogues for centuries. But only a handful of people were able to see that the Messiah came to deliver us all in the form of, not a warrior king like David or Cyrus, but a Suffering Servant! Let’s explore and meditate on His wounds and their relations with us.

How did the wounds of this Suffering Servant heal us? Only in those cases where God is relevant can this Suffering Servant heal us. That is my opinion and there seem to be few such cases!
First of all, our wounds are different from His. Our wounds are on our bodies, not His.
Physiologically, God created our body in such a way that it is capable of healing itself, depending on how acute and fatal the wounds are. For minor injuries, we don’t need God’s healings, do we? For fatal ones, even surgeons would throw up their hands. Only in those fatal wounds is God relevant.
Psychologically, we are responsible for wounds which we regret and have ourselves to blame. We may be careless or error-prone; or the whole incident is a pure accident in which nobody is to blame. Again, they are none of God’s business. We should be responsible for cleaning up our own mess. There may probably be some traumas which we repress so much so that they are beyond our reach. In such cases, we may seek professional helps from counsellors, psychoanalysts or even psychiatrists to heal these traumas. Nowadays, we have more resources to handle them and we don’t have to bother God.
Socially, we sustain wounds through communication breakdowns. We may be immature in communication skills and harbour some unrealistic expectations on others. We may feel misunderstood, rejected and spent; or our dignity being slighted. Anyway, we should handle them ourselves and nobody can take our place to mend the fences. Otherwise, those wounds which we sustain in interpersonal relationships would never be properly cured.
What about some sociological situations in which it is beyond our control such as racial/sexual discriminations? Perhaps it is more appropriate to hand them over to politicians and activists to deal with them. We are indifferent whether they resort to piecemeal reforms or radical revolutions as long as the activists represent the will of the majority. On our part, if we want to steer these social actions along the line of the social teachings of the Catholic Church, we are free to get involved. Therefore, these sociological wounds do not belong to God to handle …

The list above is not meant to be exhaustive. But it seems that in the minds of most people, the Suffering Servant is rather irrelevant in healing their wounds.
However, allow me to try to look at the wounds from God’s perspective.

God created men in His own image. He knows very well that without freedom, human beings are not able to fully actualize their potentials to become god-like. Thus, most of the time, God remains hidden in order not to compromise our freedom. This gives most of us the impression that God is beyond our reach and irrelevant. It is necessary for God to be relevant. Otherwise He would not be able to redeem us from the mess we engendered. Here’s a dilemma. How could God be hidden but relevant at the same time?
In order to make Himself relevant to humanity, God revealed Himself to the Patriarchs and entered into covenants with them. The almighty God who is the Supreme law-giver restrains Himself, putting restrictions on Himself through the Torah which also serves as guidelines for daily interactions among men. To ensure that the Jews would attain redemption through observing the Torah, God sent prophets to teach and to remind them. Obviously, it didn’t work as expected. “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law to ransom those under the law, so that we might receive adoption.” (Galatians 4:4-5) Employing these terms, “born of a woman, born under the law”, Paul’s narration highlighted His humanity and His willingness to be restrained. God can be truly human and a genuine Jew. He came to honour His pledge.

From another perspective, John says, “The Word became flesh.” (John 1:14) Now, God is no longer some intangible Other on the other side of the universe. He can be seen, heard, touched and felt (1 John 1:1). He walked among us, hungry, thirsty and in need of rest (John 4), showing that He is willing and is capable of taking up our burdens. His love is extraordinary for He embraces all: Jews and Gentiles, lepers and the rich, possessed and righteous, born blind as well as intelligent scribes etc. Of course, He has never imposed His wish upon anyone of us. He only invites and all of us are free not to accept Him. At last, He was betrayed, unfairly condemned, nakedly crucified to be humiliated, died, was pierced and buried in a tomb belonging to somebody else. Yes, none of His bones was broken, nor had he ever fallen sick during His life time. But wouldn’t His Passion be accursed enough? God makes Himself relevant by becoming one of us, even a down-trodden one.

On the other hand, it is not enough just to look at the wounds of victims only. Their wounds are more visible. Even psychological, interpersonal as well as political ones are all written on the victims’ faces. The Son God bears the victims’ wounds by covering the victims and bearing the full brunt of all the attacks on them. “The insults of those who insult you fall upon me.” (Romans 15:3, Psalms 69:10) This perhaps is one of the many miraculous ways God heals us of our wounds. Then why do victims still sustain wounds? These wounds are signs and evidence of the existence of evil as well as God’s love. That further explains why the risen Lord retains His wounds even though He is able to penetrate rocks and walls without leaving a trace after His resurrection. These Stigmata are evidence of His love for humanity.

But what about the abusers? God does not abandon the abusers because both victims and abusers were created in His image. When the abusers attack the victims, they are actually attacking the Son of God. So what! Most likely, the abusers do not believe in the existence of Yahweh, their own Creator. But what are the effects of attacking the Author of Life on the abusers themselves? Would every blow they strike boomerang back on them? Or would their life energy dribble away imperceptibly? Frankly speaking, I have not read enough to be able to answer this. Perhaps it is a secret which could not be revealed. Had people known the price to pay, nobody would want to be abusers anymore! I guess the price must be so high that the abusers could not be able to pay. That’s why the good Lord prayed for the abusers while He was hanging on the cross, “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34) The Lord is truly merciful. Being merciful is costly but God is willing to oblige.

Brethren! Perhaps the faith of Thomas was in short supply. But who isn’t? He looked for evidence of the resurrection of his Master to ensure that his faith would not be misplaced. That was commendable. Instead, he found more than he expected: the signs of God’s love. “So faith, hope, love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” (1 Corinthians 13:13) Among all manners of love, the greatest is to love your abusers!
God bless!
2019 Reflection
Picture Credit: artbible.info

Christ Has Risen. Have You? 主復活了，你呢？

Easter Sunday, Year C
Theme: Christ Has Risen. Have You? 主復活了，你呢？

Christ has risen. Alleluia.
Easter is supposed to be a joyful season. Christians have previously spent forty days in the Lenten Season fasting, praying and giving alms to prepare themselves for the celebration. The longer the preparation, the more joyous the celebration is supposed to be. Otherwise, why should we spend so many days performing such harsh tasks? Frankly speaking, despite all my efforts to pray, to abstain and to serve, I am not as joyful as I’m supposed to be. What has gone wrong? Does my mood indicate that I have not died and risen together with my merciful Lord? Though it is a terrible thought, it is NOT something from which I should run away. With the help of the merciful Lord, let me take the courage to face it down.

Has my mood been affected by external events such as the pandemic and the Russian-Ukraine war? Not at all. I know that viruses mutate much faster than their hosts. In order to survive, all viruses would evolve into less lethal and more infectious mutants. This strategy will ensure that they would not kill off their hosts and would increase their likelihood to reproduce because they would have more time to do so. Therefore, despite all the government’s efforts to manipulate the data of confirmed cases in the 5th wave, most citizens know that mandarins in air-conditioned offices have been crying wolves, further hampering their credibility. Whatever they do, it is impossible for them to overturn scientific laws. I might have officiated at more funerals but that doesn’t affect my mood much. On the contrary, as I have often mentioned in my funeral eulogies that funeral services have provided us with golden opportunities to examine once more the meaning of staying alive! Though it sounds weird, I truly enjoy officiating at funerals.

What about the war which has been waging on in Ukraine since February 24? I’m not numb and am able to feel the misery of the pitiful refugees, especially those women and children who have fallen victim into the hands of human traffickers. Their future is grim. What more can I do other than praying for God’s mercy. Wars are terrible and while most of the western media are focusing on this particular conflict, I’m sure there are many more wars of smaller scales taking place around the globe. This Russian-Ukraine war won’t be the last either. It’s a matter of how long it will last. Most likely, the politicians in the West would be happy to see it drag on and on in order to exhaust the Russian polar bear. In anticipation of more wars ahead, I will keep my composure and reduce unnecessary worries. Now, I must turn inward to examine my mood.

Traditional Chinese find joy in four things: raining in a long drought, meeting an old acquaintance in alien soil, consummating in wedlock and being nominated champion by the Emperor. These joys are physical as well as economical (thirst), relational (communion in friendship and marriage) and lastly about status and esteem. All of them agree with Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Some of these needs arise from deficiency such as food, security and community. It is painful when these needs are not gratified. There are other needs which belong to a sense of accomplishment. When those needs are not met, one does not feel pains but a feeling of being unfulfilled would keep nagging you day in and day out.

The Paschal Triduum have always been demanding and exhausting for the clergy without exception unless church attendance of that particular parish has always been low and nobody got baptized in that particular year. Otherwise, the Monday after Easter Sunday would feel like the evening of the Good Friday when the Lord was entombed. Thus, when we are able to deliver the liturgy without any hiccups, we have discharged our duty and the mission is accomplished. We should have felt relieved. “It’s finished.” (John 19:30) No, it is not a feeling of getting things done. That’s not what I have felt. No, Easter joy is something else. It should be some sorts of new/renewed vitality. My life has not been vibrant as a consequence of celebrating the good Lord’s resurrection. I must have stumbled over some obstacles which prevented me from renewing my spirit, my vitality. What happened?

My wife once told me that because of my status as a permanent deacon, nobody dares to frankly tell me that I have been singing out of tune! What’s more, I’m popular as a deacon. Many people enjoy my company. Without any deliberate effort, I’m able to surround myself with like-minded people so that I would be able to speak my mind free from constrain. I’m too busy to feel lonely. I’m even able to hush others up so that my train of thoughts would not be disrupted. I once even allowed my temper to flare up in order to make my point …
Poor me, I’m ageing. I’m losing control over my hearing and the sensitivity of other nerve endings. Perhaps it is a curse of being a diabetic. I start dropping crumbs of food on my pants, toppling flower pots which were decorating the altar and having trouble to maintain a straight path in my walking. My worst nightmare would be the toppling of the chalice of Christ’s blood on the altar … I’m literally not listening to other people’s suggestions.
My lack of empathy is worsening and I’m becoming more subjective and judgmental. For example, an elderly parishioner with a mental history insisted on not taking COVID vaccination because she believed in some questionable conspiracy theories that the government has deliberately laced the vaccines with HIV to write off the older generations to save money! As a Catholic, she believes in prophecies of false prophets on social media; and that Pope Francis is an anti-pope etc. It’s nothing new to me since I have visited Siu Lam Psychiatric Centre before and have met many cases worse than hers. It proves that I am not more wrong! Each case is unique. Failing to convince her, at last I blocked her WhatsApp account so that she wouldn’t be able to flood me with those fake news and rumours. In retrospect, she behaved as such because she skipped her mental medicines while I skipped my patience and peace. Our communication has collapsed and I have failed my duty as a shepherd of my parishioners … Consequently, I spent a lot of energy trying to find my peace and keep my peace to no avail. No wonder I’m not able to find joy in the resurrection of Jesus Christ who has risen from the dead, but I haven’t.
Don’t tell me that it’s alright and all I need to do is to take some rest. No, you’re actually telling me that I was wrong! It’s my fault …

I thank God for granting me my wife who loves me, is able to tell me the truth and continues to support me despite all my failings. God, have mercy on me for I’m a sinner (Luke 18:13). Forgive me my trespasses and grant me strength to forgive those who trespass against me. Amen.
2013 Reflection
p.s. I could only finish this reflection one week late after “confessing” to my wife.

The Stones Will Cry Out 喊叫的石頭

Passion Sunday, Year C
Theme: The Stones Will Cry Out 喊叫的石頭

We begin the Holy Week with the triumphant entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem. The timing was perfect. Jews all over the world would choose one of the three festivals to go pilgrimage to the holy Temple in Jerusalem so much so that, the pilgrim population could be bigger than the resident population in Jerusalem. The three festivals are: Passover, Pentecost and Tabernacles. Jesus chose to die at Passover to show that He is the true Paschal Lamb (1 Corinthians 5:7) whose blood redeems the whole Creation (Mark 16:15, Romans 8:22). The timing was perfect because many overseas Jews came to Jerusalem on pilgrimage and witnessed His Passion. The seed of gospel was planted in their hearts. Then the Holy Spirit descended at Pentecost and the Church, which is the Mystic Body of Christ, was born to accomplish the unfinished mission of reconciling the whole Creation with God. In one day, Church membership exploded from 120 to more than 3000 (Acts 1:15, 2:41)! Many of these new members were Greek-speaking Jews from overseas. Two factions were forming inside the early Church and a schism was brewing. That’s another story.

When the first Christians left Jerusalem as a consequence of persecution from the Sanhedrin, they went all over the Mediterranean region to awaken the seeds of gospel mentioned above among the overseas Jews. In the soil of Gentile culture, the first Christians started to embrace all peoples and the Church became genuinely catholic rather than a branch of Judaism. We should bear in mind that the early Christians were not running away from martyrdom with which they were able to demonstrate their unreserved love of Christ. Rather, their love of neighbour motivated them to share the reconciliation good news with all peoples (2 Corinthians 5:19). God wants everyone to be saved and to fully understand the truth (1 Timothy 2:4). Christians are His ambassadors of reconciliation. If they don’t die a martyrdom in Jerusalem, they will do so elsewhere.

In Year C, we read the Lucan narrative of Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem. There’s a verse peculiar to Luke which catches my attention. Jesus came with a multitude of disciples. Together with pilgrims visiting the Temple, the crowd was big. The disciples began to praise God aloud with joy and recounted the miracles they had seen. The crowd was incited. They continued to chant slogans which were alien to the Romans but the Pharisees understood. The Pharisees were worried because the slogans were politically provocative: “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord” (Luke 19:37-38a). Unlike other Evangelists, Luke did not put down “Hosanna” which in Hebrews means “Save us, Yahweh!”. Instead, he attenuated it down into something like, “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest” (19:38b). The Pharisees went to Jesus and told Him to rebuke His disciples. In reply, Jesus said, “I tell you, if they keep silent, the stones will cry out!” (19:40) What did Jesus mean by “the stones will cry out”? I search the Scriptures to locate other verses. I also pray over this verse and ask the Lord.

A similar verse is located in only one place among the minor prophets. It reads, “For the stone in the wall shall cry out, and the beam in the frame shall answer it!” (Habakkuk 2:11) Habakkuk was pronouncing the 2nd woe of five against the wicked and the greedy. The whole woe reads, “Woe to him who pursue evil gain for his household, setting his nest on high to escape the reach of misfortune! You have devised shame for your household, cutting off many peoples, forfeiting your own life; For the stone …” (2:9-11) Probably the prophet did not have the Pharisees in mind when he pronounced the woe. But Jesus saw the description apply to the Pharisees who abused their legal expertise to fatten themselves at the expense of widows and they stood on high moral ground in hypocrisy by accusing others of not observing the law etc. They thought they were secure but the prophet warned them that the stone on the wall would cry out against them! Perhaps one of the concerns of the Pharisees was the safety of the people. They did not want to see the Romans come to quash an incited crowd. But it couldn’t be denied that these self-righteous legal experts wanted to maintain the status quo in which they might continue to fatten themselves. Perhaps Jesus had mercy on them and mildly reminded them of their hypocrisy and a false sense of security by alluring to Habakkuk.

If Habakkuk was a bit remote so that the Pharisees might have forgotten, they should be familiar with a more recent prophet, John the Baptist who shouted at them saying, “And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you, God can raise up children to Abraham from these stones.” (Matthew 3:9, Luke 3:8) Even stones could be better children of Abraham than the Pharisees who had been national heroes defending the Jewish culture during the Babylonian Captivity! Now, only a handful of them remained “awaiting the kingdom of God” (23:51). If we base our interpretation of “the stones” in this way, Jesus was defending His disciples. They were genuine children to Abraham while the status of the Pharisees who tried stopping them for whatever motives was questionable!

Of course, stones could be lethal weapons (1 Samuel 17:48-50) and capital punishment (Joshua 7:25) In the examples mentioned, these stones symbolized God’s righteousness. Yet in the hand of God, these lifeless objects can be children of Abraham, echoing the same sentiment of Ezekiel’s vision of dry bones (Ezekiel 37:1-14). God is merciful. He is able to breathe life into the dried bones of the Pharisees and all those whose hearts have been hardened by wealth, power and the cares of life! What distinguishes Jesus’ disciples from the Pharisees? Jesus says in authority, “I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:20)

What’s the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees? The Pharisees were self-righteous and observed the letters of the law. Not only were they rigid in the application of the law, but they also had forgotten the spirit, the original intention of the law --- to help and guide people to do God’s will and be saved. What’s the spirit of the law? Charity, altruistic love of the needy and the marginalized. If we enforce the law in the spirit of love to edify and raise people up, we would not go around to collect evidence to incriminate Jesus as the Pharisees did. In other words, righteousness and mercy go hand in hand. Lacking either one of them is detrimental to our well-being, not only as the children of God but also as ordinary citizens.

Brethren! We are more valuable than sparrows (Matthew 10:31, Luke 12:7) and stones. Jesus exhorts us to seek the righteousness of the kingdom of heaven and not our righteousness. Only then can we be truly righteous stones which God raises as children to Abraham.
God bless!
2016 Reflection
Picture Credit: li-mac.org

Becoming A Child in Old Age 反老還童

Fifth Lenten Season, Year C
Theme: Becoming A Child in Old Age 反老還童

The gospel story today reminds me of a well-known Chinese opera 《感天動地竇娥冤 Heaven and Earth are moved by Dou E’s tragedy》in which a lady was framed for murder. In one version, she was delivered by a righteous magistrate who happened to be her husband. This version echoes the story of redemption of the adulteress in the text today by Jesus. However, the original opera was tragic as well as moralistic. It was written in 13th century as a criticism of the corruption and oppression of the generation. The heroine was beheaded in June. The earth refused to receive her blood, the heavens snowed immediately and a famine followed for three years to prove her innocence. In the end, her father came as a circuit judge to retry the case and rectified her innocence. It’s tragic because justice prevailed too little too late.

You might complain that the adulteress in the gospel story was not innocent, was she? At least the adulteress also accepted herself to be guilty. She had not declared her innocence before Jesus like Susanna did (Daniel 13:42-43). Furthermore, Jesus says, “From now on do not sin anymore.” (John 8:11) Therefore, it is meaningless to dispute anymore whether the adulteress was a victim of structural sins or not. It is also meaningless to speculate that this story should be located in the gospel of Luke and had been misplaced here by accident in John because mercy is one of the main themes of Luke. I opine that Jesus’ words and deeds are full of mercy. Whichever gospel narrates the stories of Jesus, the readers should be able to see mercy. The gospel of Luke does not have the monopoly of mercy! When we read or study the gospel, we only need to ask, “Dear Jesus! What do you want to tell me?” In this story, we need to humbly acknowledge that all of us, including the adulteress, the scribes, the Pharisees, and all the bystanders etc., have sinned and deprived of the glory of God (Romans 8:23).

In the beginning, God says, “It is not good for the man to be alone.” (Genesis 2:18) Thus, men should live together in a community in which conflicts and disputes are inevitable. Law was given to us as a guideline to our living in order to maintain fairness and peace. In order to enforce the law, sanction and punishment are instituted. God sanctioned death as a punishment is a mystery but it could be understood as a containment to prevent further spread of crimes/sins (2:17). Stoning has been one such punishment widely practised in the Middle East up to these days. It was carried out and recorded in the Scriptures in cases of blasphemy only. The Bible does not have any record of adultery cases punished by stoning though the law is there. Of course that doesn’t mean it has never been carried out. Punishments in public could also be a deterrence so as to discourage others from committing the same crime/sin. Punishment is a necessary evil!

Regrettably, like the corrupt officials in the tragic opera mentioned above, the scribes and the Pharisees were not eager to see justice done. Here is an example of how they used the law not for the good of the community but abused it to trap Jesus, the Supreme Law-Giver Himself. How sarcastic it is! Of course, Jesus came not to abolish the law but to fulfil it (Matthew 5:17). He did not come to abolish the practice of stoning or other forms of capital punishments but neither did He come to strike abusers and sinners dead with thunderbolts though He is absolutely entitled to (Romans 12:19)! No! He did not come to abuse His might but to show us the power of mercy. It is easy for us to see Jesus’ mercy towards the adulteress. But today, I would like to invite you to see mercy done to all the bystanders, the Pharisees and the scribes.

All readers are curious about what Jesus was writing on the ground with His finger (John 8:6, 8). Some speculate that Jesus was writing the Ten Commandments because the Lord gave Moses the two tablets of the covenant inscribed by God’s own finger (Exodus 31:18). This speculation shows the role of Jesus as the Supreme Law-Giver. But this is not satisfactory because the Lord prefers to write His laws upon our hearts (Jeremiah 31:33), not on stones or on the ground! Others suggest that Jesus was writing the sins of all the people present. This suggestion explains well why the people left one by one, beginning with the elders (John 8:9) But this is incompatible with the role of Jesus as the Supreme Law-Giver who is not the accuser. Satan is (Revelation 12:10). A parishioner has a very good sharing of this piece of text. She said that it didn’t matter what Jesus was writing on the ground. The crucial point is that Jesus gave all the accusers sufficient time to reflect and repent! When the accusers grew impatient and pressed Him further, Jesus gave these self-appointed law-enforcers clear and concise instruction, “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” (John 8:7)

It’s a miracle that none of the bystanders took a stone to throw at the adulteress. God be praised! Wouldn’t it be possible that some “die-hard” sinners happened to be on the spot? I’m sure there must be! But Jesus is truly powerful and merciful. “Where sin increased, grace overflowed all the more!” (Romans 5:20) All the defences of die-hard sinners melted away. They were able to know their iniquities which they had repressed. They walked away not only because they felt guilty and unworthy to throw a stone but I believe that love began to sprout also in their hearts. Without love, there can be no repentance.
It was a miracle because instantly, Jesus had performed dozens of “heart transplant surgeries” on the spot (Ezekiel 11:19, 36:26), beginning from the elderly whose hearts would fail sooner because they had undergone heart-hardening for too long. Now with a heart of flesh, these elderly had become children again. When they returned home, they were justified and were able to enter the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 18:3, Luke 18:13b-14a) because their plan to trap the Supreme Law-Giver had been frustrated. They could have “departed from him for a time” (4:13) and looked for another occasion to come back again! I pray that they repented instead.

Brethren! We are approaching the Passion Sunday. Let’s trust in the mercy of the Lord and repent so that on Easter Vigil, we may die and rise with the Lord. Amen.
2019 Reflection
Picture Credit:medium.com

五十步笑百步 The Pot Calling The Kettle Black

五十步笑百步（若7:40-53）

米該亞先知記載了默西亞出自白冷的預言，瑪竇也曾引用過來證明耶穌是默西亞（瑪2:4-6；9:27，米5:1）。雖然事實證明相信默西亞是達味之子的觀點是正確的（若7:42），但這預言祇是真相的一部份，並不是真相的全部。因為聖家得知繼承大黑落德為猶太王的阿爾赫勞，同樣是個殘暴的君主時，便避居到北方的加里肋亞（瑪2:22）。因此，默西亞在白冷出生，並沒有否定默西亞出自加里肋亞的事實。可見，即使自己已經是正確，也應懷抱開放的胸襟，接受新的理據，因為真理是相當複雜，絕不能簡單化！

且看，那些佔領道德高位的偽君子，目中無人地說：「這些不明白法律的群眾，是可詛咒的」（若7:49）。難道他們這些精通法律，利用法律犯罪，殘民以自肥的人，反而是蒙受天主所祝福的嗎？尼苛德摩應該是少有的，胸襟開放的法利塞人。即使他不認同他同僚的態度和立場，仍然能夠保持客觀、留有餘地地提出他的法律意見。那些偽善人自知理虧，便提出了一個難題，「你去查考，你就能知道：從加里肋亞不會出先知的」（7:52），作為下台階脫身，「就各自回家去了」（7:53）！先有結論，再去搜證，這種「確認偏誤」的方法，這種未審先判的法治，真是俯拾皆是！

舊約時代的加里肋亞，真的沒有出過先知嗎？在互聯網上可以找到一些文章，聲稱有五、六位舊約先知來自加里肋亞。他們是厄里亞、厄里叟、歐瑟亞、約納、米該亞和納鴻。要驗證這幾位先知是否出自加里肋亞，要費相當功夫，因為舊約的人名和地名，並不統一。如有興趣，可以一試。但小心，倘若是為了證明法利塞人錯而進行研究，我們便掉進了同一個「確認偏誤」了！主耶穌並不要求我們的聖經知識超過他們的知識，而是要求我們的義德，超過法利塞人的義德（瑪5:20）！
父啊！請賜給我們謙卑的心，保持對祢的依靠，有如赤子乳兒一樣（詠131）。亞孟。
加里肋亞先知網頁： https://christianity.stackexchange.com/questions/68048/what-prophets-came-from-galilee
生命恩泉
圖片鳴謝：quotesgram.com

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The Pot Calling The Kettle Black (John 7:40-53)

Micah prophecized that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. Matthew made use of this prophecy to prove that Jesus was the Messiah (Matthew 2:4-6, 9:27; Micah 5:1). Although the expectation of the Messiah coming out of the house of David is right (John 7:42), the prophecy is only part of the truth but not the whole truth! When the Holy Family returned from Egypt, hearing that Archelaus the ruler of Judea was as brutal as Herod the Great, they decided to settle in Galilee in the north (Matthew 2:22). Thus, that the Messiah was born in Bethlehem does not negate the fact that the Messiah came from Galilee. Even if we’re right, we should keep our heart open to accept new evidence because the truth is very complicated and should never be simplified!

Look at the hypocrites on moral high ground. They shamelessly assert, “This crowd, which does not know the law, is accursed.” (John 7:49) If the crowd is accursed, would those legal experts who fattened themselves at the expanse of the commoners be blessed by God? Nicodemus was a rarity among Pharisees who was open-minded enough. Even when he disagreed with the attitude and stance of his colleagues, he was able to maintain his objectivity and reservedly put forth his legal opinions. Those hypocrites knew that they were on the wrong. In order to step down in dignity, they put up a challenge, “Look and see that no prophet arises from Galilee” (John 7:52) and went home! Having drawn the conclusion and then they start collecting evidence. This typical confirmation bias can be found everywhere!

Is it true that in the Old Testament, no prophet could be found in Galilee? From the Internet, we’re able to locate articles claiming that 5 to 6 prophets came from Galilee, viz. Elijah, Elisa, Hosea, Jonah, Micah and Naum. To prove that these prophets came from Galilee is exhausting because the names of people and places are not consistent. Interested readers may try. But beware, if we want to prove that the Pharisees were wrong and start the investigation, we fall into the same “confirmation bias”! Lord Jesus Christ does not want our knowledge to be more abundant than the Pharisees’. Rather, He wants our righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees. (Matthew 5:20)!
Heavenly Father! Grant us a humble heart to keep relying on You like a waned child (Psalm 131). Amen.

接受真理，談何容易！ It’s Easy To Say I Accept The Truth!

接受真理，談何容易！（若7:1-2, 10, 25-30）

今天的福音再次印證了「確認偏誤」對人類的害處。反對耶穌的人為了證明自己的見解正確，便不斷尋找證明自己是正確的證據，即耶穌的「犯罪證據」；並以不合理的準則否定證明自己錯誤的事實。對於不足以定奪，模稜兩可的證據，他們便牽強地歸納為證明自己正確的證據…在耶穌治好胎生瞎子的神蹟中，他們的偏誤，表露無遺（若9）。在做學問方面，這些人是不學無術；在處世做人方面，這些人就是站在道德高位上的偽君子！不幸地，有「確認偏誤」的人，容納不了指出他們偏誤的人，並想盡辦法消滅那些說「皇帝沒有穿衣」的人！

我們今天知道耶穌基督是默西亞，但當代的人對默西亞有不同的期望，便對默西亞的身份，眾說紛紜。有人緬懷達味王朝的輝煌，便期望默西亞是達味的後裔，來應驗納堂的神諭（撒下7:12-16）。有些人祇期望一個好像波斯王居魯士一樣，能解放他們的默西亞（依45:1）。他們不會計較這位受傅者，有沒有達味的血統。所以，在今天的福音，我們讀到後者的見解，「當默西亞來時，卻沒有人知道他是那裡的。」（若7:27）

耶穌基督很努力地解釋給那些不知道默西亞是從那裡來的人，讓他們知道，是否達味的後裔並不重要，因為重要的，是預許的默西亞，其實是天主子，是出於天父，是天父所派遣來的：「是那真實者派遣我來的…我是出於祂，是祂派遣了我。」（7:28-29）所以不知道默西亞從那裡來的意見，可以說是正確的。可惜，正確的見解並沒有帶給他們救恩，何況是那些錯誤的，似是而非的見解呢？

耶穌基督又一次失敗了，因為祂的話，為那些陷入「確認偏誤」的群眾，並不能用來證明他們是正確的。所以這些群眾拒絕了耶穌，並且想捉住祂（7:30），消滅祂。
父啊！求祢幫助我們認識祢，唯一的真天主，和祢所派遣來的耶穌基督（17:3）。亞孟。
生命恩泉
圖片鳴謝：theguardian.com

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It’s Easy To Say I Accept The Truth! (John 7:1-2, 10, 25-30)

The gospel passage today shows once more how much harm “confirmation bias” can do to humanity. In order to prove themselves right, people who opposed Jesus searched tirelessly for evidence to prove themselves right. That is to say, they collected evidences which incriminated Jesus. Furthermore, they set up unreasonable criteria to refute evidences that proved them wrong. For ambiguous evidences, they interpreted them as supportive … All of these characteristics are clearly shown in the story of Jesus healing a born-blind (John 9). In academic circles, they are undisciplined. In daily life, they are hypocrites standing on moral high ground! Regrettably, those confirmation biased people are intolerant towards people who dare to point out their mistakes. They would try their best to silence those who dared to say that “the emperor is naked”!

Today, we know that Jesus Christ is the Messiah. But contemporary Jews had different expectations and they disagreed on what made a person the Messiah. Some were nostalgic about the glory of Davidic dynasty and anticipated the Messiah to be an offspring of David to fulfil Nathan’s oracle (2 Samuel 7:12-16). Others expected a liberator like the Persian King Cyrus (Isaiah 45:1). It didn’t bother them whether the Messiah came from the Davidic blood-line or not. Today, we read of the opinions of the latter case. “When the Messiah comes, no one will know where he is from.” (John 7:27)

Jesus Christ tried very hard to explain to those who didn’t know where the Messiah would come that it was not essential for the Messiah to be an offspring of David. What’s important is to know that the Messiah is the Son of God sent by the Father, “The one who sent me … is true … I am from Him, and He sent me.” (7:28-29). Therefore, they were right in not knowing from where the Messiah came. Unfortunately, a correct opinion did not bring them salvation. What would happen to contradictions or fallacies?

Jesus failed once more because His words, fallen on the deaf ears of people with confirmation bias, could not prove them right. These people who rejected Jesus would only want to arrest Him (7:30) and neutralize Him.
Heavenly Father! Help us know You, the only true God, and the one whom You sent, Jesus Christ (17:3). Amen.