善用天主的慈悲 Make Good Use of God’s Mercy

善用天主的慈悲（路14:12-14）

設宴非同小可，並不簡單。倘若你沒有充足的財富或者地位，你何來設宴的本錢呢？未過中年的受薪層級而能設宴，真是絕無僅有！要知道人過中年，每一天都是天主額外的賞報。原來天主時時刻刻都在賞報我們，用不著等到義人復活的時候。所以，你幾時設宴，請誰都可以。請親戚朋友和富有的鄰人可以，請貧窮的殘廢的瞎眼的更加可以。因為天主不會因為你宴請富有者而拒絕賞報你。但天主會因你宴請富有者而給你小一點的賞報嗎？當然不會！倘若天主與人斤斤計較，有誰還能站得住呢(詠130:3)？

要注意，天主子耶穌基督正在運用著有局限的人類語言，向我們演說天父上智的真理，難免引起我們很多的誤解。例如，耶穌基督勸勉我們行善，便運用了「功利主義」的邏輯。這樣做可以讓大部份人容易明白，但自命清高的人是不願接受的！

要知道天主絕對不會附和「功利主義」的邏輯。天父把惟一的獨生子交給人類釘十字架，替人類贖罪，可見祂做事是不會計較成本的！因此，即使耶穌基督運用「功利主義」的口吻，但祂的心意依然是慈悲的。
為甚麼祂祇說：「但在義人復活的時候」(路14:14)而沒有提及「惡人復活」呢？難道惡人不會復活嗎？要知道聖經沒有提及的事物，並不表示這些事物不存在。天主子不在這裡說「惡人復活的時候」，是不想對惡人過早宣判，祂一再展示了對罪人的慈悲。
慈悲的主，不要讓我們浪費祢的一番好意，請幫助我們善用恩賜，把祢的慈悲廣傳。亞孟。
生命恩泉
圖片鳴謝：johnsanidopoulos.com

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Make Good Use of God’s Mercy (Luke 14:12-14)

Organizing a banquet is a big deal. If you’re not sufficiently wealthy or highly esteemed, how are you able to afford organizing one? Rarely can a middle-aged salaried worker do it! Indeed, each day is an extra gift from God once you survive past the middle-age. It turns out that God doesn’t wait until the resurrection of the righteous to repay us. He is rewarding us all the time! Thus, you may invite anybody in mind when you plan a banquet. Relatives, friends and wealthy neighbour are welcome. The poor, the maimed and the blind are even better. God will not refuse to repay you because you invite the rich. But will God repay me less if I invite the rich? Of course not! If the Lord keeps account of sins, who can stand (Psalms 130:3)?

Bear in mind that the Son of God Jesus Christ is deploying the limited human language to express the Father’s wisdom from on high. Misunderstanding is inevitable. For example, Jesus Christ exhorts us to do good with a utilitarian logic. Many people find it easy to understand but the moral elitists would definitely reject!

Be assured that God does not buy the logic of utilitarianism. The Father handed His only begotten Son over to be crucified to redeem our sins. It shows that God does not count costs! Thus, though Jesus Christ uses utilitarian languages, His intention is still merciful!
Why did He say “at the resurrection of the righteous” (Luke 14:4) and not mention “the resurrection of the wicked”? Would the wicked not resurrect? We should remember that in the Bible, an absence of evidence is NOT the evidence of absence. The Son of God does not mention here the resurrection of the wicked because He does not want to pass judgment on the wicked pre-maturely. It demonstrates once again His mercy towards sinners.
Merciful Lord! Let us not waste Your good will towards us. Help us make good use of Your grace to pass on Your mercy. Amen.