Stay Awake! 你們要醒寤！

First Advent Sunday, Year A
Theme: Stay Awake! 你們要醒寤

Christians believe in a Creator-God and we are His creatures which are finite beings occupying some volume in space and existing in a span of time. For us, every story has a time line which has a beginning and an end. On the other hand, the Lord, in whom we believe, claims, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end” (Revelation 22:13). He exists beyond time. Thus, He encompasses the beginning and the end in eternity.
As finite beings, we are unable to know what will unfold in the future. But we believe that our actions have consequences which ripple to the future. Therefore, we do not sit idly and watch passively. We take actions. But we do not act blindly. There should be some sorts of blueprint to follow. Through His spokesmen, i.e. the prophets, the God in whom Christians believe leaves behind some clues of what the end looks like. Here comes the first reading of today. The Lord God gives us a peaceful prospect at the end. Here is the prophecy:

“He shall judge between the nations, and set terms for many peoples. They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. One nation shall not raise the sword against another, nor shall they train for war again.” (Isaiah 2:4) For our sake, He will bring justice and peace among nations and peoples. But at present, wars are raging in different parts of the globe, Ukraine, Syria and you name it. Not only are soldiers maimed and killed, but common people are also suffering as well. Not only do local peoples suffer but global supply chains are also disrupted. Such disruptions know no border! Natural gas pipes exploded. In short, the effects of local conflicts are spreading globally. In the meantime, powerful countries are sitting on the fence, sponsoring the conflicts with “military aids” to one side or the other. At the moment, the chances of any leaders in this world being able to bring these conflicts to a halt are extremely slim. No wonder, we need a God to take over the control, to judge between the nations, to settle disputes and to set terms for many peoples.

Therefore, the blueprint of the end of the world is a time and space of justice and peace. This blueprint gives us hope and directs our efforts to work towards to. Not only is seeing the end of the world the wish of Christians, but it is also the wish of any decent person. Don’t take us Christians wrong. We welcome, pray for and rejoice in the end of the world. Maranatha! But we won’t take violent actions to hasten it like those doomsday cults because our Lord tells us to stay awake only (Matthew 24:42)! Staying awake is not idle at all. It takes efforts to stay awake.

For example, in the gospel we read in the liturgical year A, Jesus says, “So too, you also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.” (24:44) In another Synoptic gospel, the Lord also mentions that nobody knows the day or the time, neither the angels nor the Son Himself (24:36; Mark 13:32). Therefore, don’t waste our time, energy and money to chase after those doomsday prophecies. Instead, stay awake and spend your energy in more fruitful ways because we’re convinced that our present actions count.
In fact, Jesus leaves us an enigma to provoke our minds to explore. He makes use of the story of Noah to remind the audience of the need to stay awake. The contemporaries of Noah were leading a “normal ordinary” life of “eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage” (Matthew 24:38). Notice that Jesus did not mention the wickedness and evil they were supposed to have committed (Genesis 6:5) but normal ordinary social activities! Jesus continues to mention normal ordinary economic activities, “Two men will be out in the field; one will be taken, and one will be left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken, and one will be left.” (Matthew 24:40-41). The logical question to ask is why the outcome is so different! The different outcomes also show that something other than actions is decisive. Actions in themselves are necessary but not sufficient to count. There is something more! Which means getting baptized; celebrating Sunday masses; receiving the sacraments; studying the Bible and visiting the homeless are necessary but not sufficient for you to be taken to heaven! We should focus on what makes the difference. Family members of Noah also ate, drank and married, didn’t they? So, how were they different from their contemporaries?

Genesis gives us a formula which is not informative at all. “But Noah found favour with the Lord.” (Genesis 6:8) The epistle of Peter may be able to shed some light on this vague formula. “And if He (God) did not spare the ancient world, even though He preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness …” (2 Peter 2:5). So it is leading an ordinary life in righteousness that won Noah the Lord’s favour. With righteousness, Noah was able to keep in touch with God while his contemporaries failed. With righteousness, one man out in the field and one woman grinding at the mill will be taken up to heaven while their counterparts fail. With righteousness, getting baptized; celebrating Sunday masses; receiving the sacraments; studying the Bible and visiting the homeless will win you the Lord’s favour. Otherwise, doing the same things is insufficient for a baptized Catholic to secure a place in heaven! Now then, what is righteousness? We may turn to the apostle whose lips always announce “righteousness”.

In the second reading today, Paul uses the same “awake” language as the Lord does. He says, “It is the hour now for you to awake from sleep. For our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed … Let us then throw off the works of darkness and put on the armour of light.” (Romans 13:11-12) What are the works of darkness which we need to throw off? Paul enumerates a few examples: orgies, drunkenness, promiscuity, licentiousness, rivalry, jealousy and desires of the flesh etc. (13:13-14). With his Pharisaic background, preaching to the Romans must have been a cultural shock for Paul. But remember Noah’s story. I’m afraid what the Romans had taken to be normal and ordinary must have been extremely evil and sinful according to Paul’s standard.
Let’s put away the righteousness vocabulary for time being and imagine the ways both Noah and his contemporaries ate. If Noah ate with gratitude towards the Lord while the others ate without self-control, the gratitude made a difference. If there is an element of self-giving and sharing instead of selfish gratification in marriage, the sharing of love makes a difference. If there is an intention to glorify God in our work instead of defeating our rivals, the glorification of God makes a difference! If there is the motive to edify and raise your team members up instead of blaming your comrades for failures, such a difference will build heaven on earth!

Brethren! While actions count, motive and attitude differentiate. Staying awake means to be aware of the motive and attitude of our actions. Some motives and attitudes help us keep in touch with God and in the end we will be taken up to heaven while others will imperceptibly lead us away from God and be left behind in hell. Therefore, stay awake!
God bless!
2019 Reflection
Picture Credit: wikimedia.org

Are You Not the Messiah? 你不是默西亞嗎？

Solemnity of Christ the King, Year C
Theme: Are You Not the Messiah? 你不是默西亞嗎？

All canonical gospels put into writing the Passion and Resurrection of Jesus Christ because this is the core of Christianity. Of course, the Evangelists are not omniscient. They could only be selective in their narratives and put down what they think is the most important for all believers. The Synoptic gospels mention that most people present at the crucifixion on Mount Calvary mock Jesus, including the two criminals crucified with Him (Matthew 27:44, Mark 15:32, Luke 23:39). But the Lucan version is different. He is able to record what the two criminals have actually said. We have to thank the Blessed Virgin Mary for retaining this precious piece of material for our meditation! This year for some unknown reason, when I meditated on the gospel text, the Holy Spirit drew my attention to the criminal who reviled Jesus, saying, “Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us.” (Luke 23:39) I feel that most of us act like him!

For any sensible person, there must be reasons behind his every action. Otherwise, there cannot be any basis to hold him morally responsible for his action. Just think about it, how can a court of law sentence a robot for any crime? The robot simply follows the instructions of a computer program without any “understanding”. In other words, no mental patients can be criminals. Of course, for the safety and security of ordinary citizens, a government may lock up psychopaths or other categories of people whom the government deems dangerous to the society! In the Passion narrative, the two criminals acted in diametrically different manners towards Jesus. There must be reasons behind and it is meaningful to speculate on their reasons and perhaps we’ll be able to learn from their mistakes and successes.

I feel that the criminal who reviled Jesus on the cross represented most of us. Like most of the contemporary Jews who cheered for Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem, this criminal was anticipating a Messiah who would drive out the Romans to restore the Kingdom to Israel. Jesus’ apostles thought likewise and even more confident in this prospect after seeing their Master defeating death and coming back to life (Acts 1:6)! How can we abhor this criminal for his thinking in this manner? Perhaps he was a comrade of Barabbas who, according to Luke, “had been imprisoned for a rebellion that had taken place in Jerusalem and for murder.” (Luke 23:19) Very likely this criminal had also been rounded up together with Barabbas in the rebellion. They took the deliverance of Israel in their hands, perhaps even believing that they were doing God’s will. The rebellion was suppressed. By crucifying Jesus, “the King of the Jews” (23:38), together with two rebels, Pilate was sending a strong message to all Zealots that the Roman Empire was determined to and was capable of crushing any rebellion now and in the future! Now that Jesus was crucified in Barabbas’ stead, to a certain extent has become a Messiah to liberate Barabbas, would it not be reasonable for this criminal to expect this Jesus Messiah to do the same for him? Jesus, what are you waiting for? Don’t you see that I’m dying? Save yourself! Jump down from the cross now and save us! Please … We pray to God in a similar manner! Jesus, don’t you see that I’m suffering injustice in this city? Why do you allow the law enforcers to beat up peaceful demonstrators? Why is the wicked prevailing over the righteous? Why did our Pope sign a secret treaty with atheists? Remove them to save us! Why do you allow the Covid-19 to kill millions of people for such a long time? People are suffering interpersonally and economically, not to mention politically. What are you waiting for? Do something. Wipe out the virus to save us! Please …

All Christians are expected to help actualize the Father’s kingdom (11:2) but most of us have different expectations of what we should do to bring about this kingdom. The criminal who reviled Jesus expected the Messiah to drive out the Romans. But God has a different plan. Take Abraham his ancestor as another example. While Abraham was childless, God promised him that his descendants would be as numerous as stars (Genesis 15:5). God even constrains Himself to honour His pledge by entering into a covenant with a mere mortal (15:18). Since Sarai was unable to bear Abraham any child, so she thought up a possible solution to make God’s promise come true. She told Abraham to have intercourse with her maid Hagar so that she would have sons through Hagar (16:2). They succeeded and Hagar gave birth to Ishmael when Abraham was 86 (16:16). But God has a different plan (17:19) which He revealed only 13 years later when Abraham was 99 (17:1)! Why didn’t God correct Sarai’s mistake immediately and allowed Ishmael to be born? Well you may say that it is because Ishmael was to father the Arabians in the future! But there have been so many battles and bloodsheds between Christians and Muslims ever since! Does God want to see these never-ending sibling rivalries? Brethren! God does not need my defence because His wisdom is unfathomable!

Two weeks ago God revealed His different plan to me. To show support of the newly baptized in the parish I’m serving, I intended to assist in a mass for the neophytes of 2022 at the Cathedral. Regrettably, I failed to catch a bus in time and I made a wrong turn on my way, wasting even more time. I prayed to God to help me arrive in time to the Cathedral … No. God didn’t hear my prayer and ignored my good intention. In the end, I was late and could not join the other deacons to assist mass at the altar. So, I stayed with the neophytes of my parish. During Gloria, my parish priest saw me and sent me to sit with 2 English-speaking neophytes to do simultaneous translation for them because the mass was in Chinese! During homily, the Bishop exhorted the neophytes to help build the kingdom of heaven on earth. They needed to surrender their wills to God’s will! This exhortation was tailor-made for me! Praise be to our merciful God because I didn’t have to wait for 13 years to know His plan!

The criminal who reviled Jesus definitely did not know whom he was speaking to and what he was doing. Like many of us, his complaints were his prayers. But Jesus had already prayed for his being forgiven (Luke 23:34) even before he complained. Perhaps he repented after hearing the repentant thief and started suffering his own punishment patiently for the reconciliation with God, with himself and for the actualization of the righteous kingdom of heaven on earth. He might not go into paradise with Jesus immediately like the repentant thief (23:43) but I’m sure the merciful Father had already forgiven him and would find ways to bring him consolation. After all, he did not have to wait for 13 years before God revealed His plan to him. The merciful Lord came back to life on the third day according to the Scriptures.

Brethren! I would be doing the repentant thief injustice if I ignored his merits. Do you remember his famous “remember me” prayer (23:42)? To be fair, the first person to pray “remember me” to God was Samson (Judges 16:28). Not only did God answer both of them immediately, they have become immortalized by this prayer and all readers of the Bible remember them as well. Did both of them always put their faith in God? Not at all! Both of them are successful because they have not lost their faith in God towards the end of their lives. How consoling their stories are!
God bless!
2019 Reflection
Picture Credit: sammlung.staedelmuseum.de

By Perseverance You Will Secure Your Lives 憑著堅忍保全靈魂

Thirty Third Ordinary Sunday, Year C
Theme: By Perseverance You Will Secure Your Lives 憑著堅忍保全靈魂

In the gospels, Jesus has made it crystal clear that nobody knows the day or time of the end of the world, “But of that day or hour, no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” (Mark 13:32). Jesus also warns, “See that you not be deceived, for many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he,’ and ‘The time has come.’ Do not follow them!” (Luke 21:8) Yet, that doesn’t dissuade people from speculating and making money from doomsday prophecies. Even though all past prophecies have failed, perhaps this one will hit the jackpot! Actually, most of the prophecies were shrouded in ambiguities. Thanks to those doomsday prophets who made the apocalyptic dates specific and failed. We should not blame Jesus for refusing to reveal the day or time of the Last Judgment. Perhaps by its very nature, the very End should be open-ended like Lucan parables.

Some people take a complacent attitude towards life. After all, all men are mortal. Whatever we do, we’ll end up in dust (Genesis 3:19). Why should we worry and busy ourselves? In the second reading today, St. Paul rebukes such an attitude of those who believe that Jesus Christ would return soon. “We hear that some are conducting themselves among you in a disorderly way, by not keeping busy but minding the business of others.” (2 Thessalonians 3:11) Since we Christians are free people, we are not slaves and are free to keep ourselves busy or otherwise. I suspect what offended St. Paul most was that some people overstep and busy themselves minding the business of others! Yes, such people are truly annoying. So, St. Paul continues, “Such people we instruct and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to work quietly and to eat their own food.” (3:12) Work quietly and don’t disturb the others. How appropriate it is and yet how difficult it is to work quietly for most of us! It is all too easy to lose focus and go after distractors. The same applies to reading Jesus’ messages in the gospels and biblical messages in general.

Take a look at the first reading today which is taken from Malachi 3. Beware of reading it out of context! To be fair, the whole chapter talks about God’s mercy but it is easier to read punishments than mercy. For example, in prophesizing the witness of John the Baptist, Malachi says, “But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand firm when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire, like fullers’ lye. He will sit refining and purifying silver, and he will purify the Levites, refining them like gold or silver, that they may bring offerings to the Lord in righteousness. Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will please the Lord, as in ancient days, as in years gone by.” (Malachi 3:2-4) Anyone reading this text would be distracted by words like “refiner’s fire” and “fullers’ lye” but has anybody endured any harm due to the Baptist’s witness? Not that I know of. Similarly, the very first sentence of the first reading today is eye-catching and will conjure up the image of the end of the world. “For the day is coming, blazing like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble, and the day that is coming will set them on fire, leaving them neither root nor branch” (3:19) and we’ll easily miss “But for you who fear my name, there will arise the sun of justice with its healing rays” (3:20a) and the healing that follows! Remember what we read last week. Our God is not a God of the dead but God of the living. He purifies and heals and has no intention to destroy and kill!

Let’s read again the gospel text. Again people will easily be distracted by descriptions of false Messiahs (Luke 21:8), wars and insurrections (21:9-10), earthquakes, famines and plagues, near miss of asteroids (21:11), religious and political persecutions (21:12), betrayals as well as deaths (21:16) and hate speeches (21:17) etc. Come on, give me a break. Human history is littered with innumerable events such as these and I’m 100% sure that more will continue to be served! Instead let’s not lose sight of the focus! God is accompanying us in all these tribulations. He’ll defend us against accusations (21:14-15), He assures us that “not a hair on your head will be destroyed” (21:18). What we need to do is to persevere, “By your perseverance you will secure your lives” (21:19). In what should we persevere? That’s the right question to ask! Of course, we should not persevere in decoding the doomsday! Instead, we should keep pace with the Lord. When we claim that God is accompanying us, people would ask “where is your God?” (Psalms 42:3) That’s a very good question! Lord Jesus Christ our God is among the poor, the disadvantaged and the socially marginalized.

In 2016 at the closing of the Jubilee of Mercy, Pope Francis announced to make the Thirty-third Ordinary Sunday the “World Day of the Poor”. This year, the theme is “For your sakes Christ became poor” (2 Corinthians 8:9). Jesus Christ the Son of God is infinitely wealthy and yet for our sakes He chose to become flesh (John 1:14), was born in a manger (Luke 2:7), crucified like a criminal and was buried in someone else’s tomb! Truly, the Son of Man has no place to rest his head (9:58). He defeated death, came back to life and returned to the Father. And yet, He chose to remain on earth to accompany believers until the end of the age (Matthew 28:20) in the humble species of unleavened bread and grape wine. Moreover, to give us easy access to Him, He is present among the hungry, the thirsty, the naked, the homeless, the sick and the imprisoned (25:35-36). He is not aloft and unreachable. Jesus invites us to be in solidarity with Him by “sharing the little we have with those who have nothing, so that no one will go without.” (2022 World Day of the Poor Message) To make life easy, many people prefer ganging up with the wealthy and the powerful. Unfortunately, the Son of God prefers the ricked to the rich, the meek to the mighty! Thus, His Bride the Church opts for the poor since Vatican II.

Brethren! The End is open-ended. The only certainty we have in hand is the unambiguous advice the Son of God gives us, “By your perseverance you will secure your lives.” (Luke 21:19) Let us never grow tired of sharing the little we have with those who have not.
God bless!
5^th World Day of the Poor
Picture Credit: caritasbrentwood.org

God of the Living 活人的天主

Thirty Second Ordinary Sunday, Year C
Theme: God of the Living 活人的天主

It is a tautology to say that the theologies of different denominations are not the same. Christians have to uphold two articles of faith in order to claim to be orthodox Christians. Otherwise, they are only heretics or at best unorthodox! The two articles are namely the Blessed Trinity and Jesus Christ is truly divine and human. There are denominations which are fluent in quoting the Bible but are unable to uphold the belief that their God is three-in-one or that the Blessed Virgin Mary is the Mother of God! By denying the Blessed Virgin Mary the title of the Mother of God, they deny the divinity of Jesus at the same time! Somehow, these denominations set up extra-constrains on the practice of their faith in order to ensure the “purity” of their beliefs. Regrettably, many of those extra-constrains are politically motivated and their theological ground is shaky. For example, the iconoclasm, that is the destruction of religious icons, images and monuments, which erupted in different eras and regions is mostly political rather than theological. Therefore, whether those extra-constrains are appropriate or not is debatable. Open-mindedness is in short supply. Very few are able to come together, talk and listen to each other, agreeing to disagree. Instead controversies and even blood-sheds are widespread!

“What has been, that will be; what has been done, that will be done. Nothing is new under the sun!” (Ecclesiastes 1:9). Religious arguments are nothing new. While Christians of different denominations argue over the real presence of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist, centuries ago, two Jewish sects, the Sadducees and the Pharisees, were arguing over the question of resurrection. I suspect such disagreements reflect a lot about their political inclinations and are also shown in their definition of scriptural canons. The Sadducees belonged to the priestly class. They were rich, powerful and were happy to cooperate with the Roman colonial government in order to maintain the status quo. They only accepted the Torah as canonical. On the other hand, Pharisees arose as the defender of national identity during the Babylonian Captivity. They anticipated the Messiah to liberate them from oppressors and to restore their identity as God’s Chosen People over the Gentiles. For them, the Prophets and Holy Writings such as Psalms, Job, Ruth and Daniel were also canonical.

The question of resurrection is not a simple theological controversy. It is both moral and political. For those who do not find justice in the present political situation, they put their hope in the resurrection of the dead and the Final Judgment, without which leading a moralistic life on earth was futile and martyrdom to defend the faith of their fathers would be meaningless. All the hard work of the scribes and teachers of the law during Babylonian Captivity would come to null ... Therefore, the Pharisees defended the belief in resurrection. On the other hand, the priestly class upheld that offering sacrifices to appease God was of paramount importance for a happy life on earth. Death is a great Equalizer! All men were mortal whether you’re righteous or wicked. Since nobody had come back to life to tell people a different story, therefore, seize the moment and make the best out of whatever had been given you. Forget about resurrection and the Final Judgment! I suspect that the story of the seven brothers was a trump card devised by the Sadducees. Resurrection would result in adultery which God forbids. God would not contradict Himself, would He? The logic was so water-tight that the Pharisees had not yet come up with an adequate rebuke. In the eyes of the Sadducees, Jesus was just a never-heard-of rabbi from the good-for-nothing Galilee. Defeating this carpenter rabbi with the “seven-brother story” was just a piece of cake for them.

The Sadducees were able to defeat the Pharisees with the Mosaic law of Levirate marriage because the Pharisees could never deny any law of Moses. But Jesus was not a Pharisee and He transcends Moses. He was telling all peoples a different story at the moment and would come back to life to vindicate His words. Here is Jesus’ story: Since all men were mortal whether they’re righteous or wicked, they got married to beget children in order to pass on their inheritance and whatever unfinished projects. But with resurrection, “they can no longer die” (Luke 20:36). Even if their hearts and their breath stop they would come back to life and breathe again to continue their unfinished projects! Therefore, men do not need to get married in order to beget children to inherit their wealth/projects any more. Without marriage, there can no longer be adultery because no woman would be owned by any man and vice versa. God does not contradict Himself with resurrection, does He? If death is a great Equalizer, resurrection is an even greater Equalizer!

Jesus does not stop there. He goes deeper and returns to the very beginning. Why do men die? In the story of the Original Sin, death was a containment measure to stop sins from spreading out of control. It was a temporary measure and was not God’s original intention in the Creation. It was temporary because it started its existence after Creation. It is never meant to be eternal! What would be the point of creating the known universe and letting life flourish in it if life ended in death? God would not contradict Himself, would He? So Jesus quoted Moses’ words to show that the Lord is “not God of the dead, but of the living, for to Him all are alive” (20:38). Not only does Jesus claim sovereignty over all the living and dead, but He also grants them eternal life in so doing!

Some Pharisees must have been watching the debate and applauded Jesus’ wits (20:39). No! Jesus did not simply want to win an argument. He wants to strengthen the faith of all of us in Him. I’m not God of the dead but God of the living. Don’t be scared by the death which stands between you and Me. Trust in Me and I’ll deliver you and help you transcend death to enjoy “the fruit from the tree of life” (Genesis 3:22)! Had Jesus not come back to life all the brilliant arguments above would have been mere witty sophism. Therefore, the arguments about resurrection must be understood in the light of the Resurrection of the Lord. Furthermore, it is unwise to impose extra-constrains on our faith since God wants us to return to Him with our free-will. The lesser the constrains the better when it comes to approaching and embracing God’s mercy.

Let us follow Peter’s example and confess, “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” (John 6:68) Since resurrection is both moral and political, let us lead a righteous life compatible with resurrection: to love God and to defend the welfare of the marginalized.
God bless!
2019 Reflection
Picture Credit: happenings.xrysostom.com/

別人的財物 Other People's Money

別人的財物（路16:9-15）

基督宗教信仰是非常理性的，所以少了迷信和宗教狂熱的機會。今天所讀的福音片段，它的邏輯簡直滴水不漏！基督宗教信仰就是這樣附合理性，怎可能是不合時宜呢？

「小事上忠信的，在大事上也忠信；在小事上不義的，在大事上也不義。」（路16:10）你能找到破綻嗎？你能列舉相反的例子嗎？你能找到一個在雞毛蒜皮的事上不義的人，例如貪小便宜的人，委任他做政府的財相嗎？

從這個基礎上，耶穌進一步推論：「如果你們在不義的錢財上不忠信，誰還把真實的錢財委託給你們呢？」（16:11）「不義的錢財」是甚麼？我們立刻聯想到不勞而獲的「橫財」，例如賭博贏到的錢，甚至「賊贓」！處理「賊贓」不忠信，即私吞「賊贓」，恐怕我們沒有這樣的膽量；但享受賭博贏到的錢，有甚麼不對？對不起，賭場內祇有「莊家」是贏家，最後你祇會得到傾家蕩產的下場，沒有享用「不義的錢財」的機會！所以，「在不義的錢財上不忠信」祇能有靈性的解釋，是指我們由天主白白得來的恩賜，但我們浪費了這些恩寵。即是祇顧享受這些恩寵帶來的利益，而沒有用這些恩寵來服務有需要的人！這是人之常情嘛，何罪之有？如果這樣是有罪，這位天主的要求太高了！但甚麼是「真實的錢財」呢？是黃金？還是永生？

且看耶穌的終極教訓：「如果你們在別人的財物上不忠信，誰還把屬於你們的交給你們呢？」（16:12）「別人的財物」指甚麼？基金經理的客戶？不是！是天主賜給各人的恩寵，是天主的，不是你的。「你們的」應該是指為我們預備了的「天堂留位」！如果我們沒有善用天主的恩寵，誰還會把天堂的一席位，交給我們呢？

信耶穌基督絕不迷信。
天主保祐！
生命恩泉
圖片鳴謝：washingtonpost.com

---

Other People's Money (Luke 16:9-15)

Christianity is very rational, thus reducing opportunities for superstitions or freneticism. The logic of the gospel passage we read today is air-tight! Christianity is so reasonable that it is impossible for it to be irrelevant today!

Are you able to point out the flaw in this statement, “The person who is trustworthy in very small matters is also trustworthy in great ones; and the person who is dishonest in very small matters is also dishonest in great ones” (Luke 16:10)? Are you able to give counter-examples? Are you able to name a dishonest person in small matters, such as somebody who has been greedy in small conveniences or advantages appointed the Financial Secretary in the government?

Upon this foundation, Jesus argues one step forwards, “If, therefore, you are not trustworthy with dishonest wealth, who will trust you with true wealth?” (16:11) What is “dishonest wealth”? Immediately come to mind are fortunes such as payoff from a casino or even robbery loots! I’m afraid we don’t have the guts to handle loots dishonestly. But what’s wrong with enjoying payoff from a casino? I’m sorry, bankers are the only winners and you’ll end up losing your last cent and have no chance to enjoy this dishonest wealth! Thus, being “not trustworthy with dishonest wealth” can only have a spiritual interpretation. It means God freely gives us graces but we squander them. That is to say, we enjoy the benefits which come along with those graces but fail to make use of them to serve the needy! Isn’t enjoying benefits a natural human tendency. What’s wrong with it? If that counts a sin, perhaps this God is too demanding! But what is “true wealth”, gold or eternal life?

Let’s read the ultimate teaching, “If you are not trustworthy with what belongs to another, who will give you what is yours?” (16:12) What is this “what belongs to another”? Clients of fund managers? No! It is the graces God gives you. They belong to God, not to you. “Yours” must refer to “your reserved place in heaven”! If we do not make good use of God’s graces, who will give us the place reserved for us in heaven?

Believing in Jesus Christ is absolutely not superstitious!
God bless!

結局由讀者決定 The End Is Decided By Readers

結局由讀者決定（路16:1-8）

比喻包含令聽眾「意外」的元素，這個「不義管家比喻」，更為突出。這管家確實不義，他既揮霍了主人的財物（路16:1），又在被撤職前，以權謀私，繼續損害主人的利益，為自己留下後路（16:4）。主人竟然會稱讚這樣的管家辦事精明（16:8），聽眾一定會感到意外，很想找出原因！但身為中國人的我們，聽了這個類似「狡兔三窟」的故事，一點也不會感到意外。能在自己的困境中想出一個「三贏方案」，這位管家確實「辦事精明」，令人佩服。我們反而很想知道，這個管家最後可以復職嗎？和「蕩子比喻」一樣，「不義管家比喻」的結局同樣是開放的，取決於管家以後的選擇。

從前，管家並不認識主人原來是「全知」的，便肆無忌憚地「揮霍」──這個字與蕩子「耗費」他的資財（15:13）是同一個字──拿主人的財物給自己享受。被揭後又認識到自己的無能（16:3），卻想到了出路，而且主人還稱讚他。管家可以選擇：

1. 懷疑主人的稱讚，不敢相信「全知」的主人是慈悲的，便決定離開主人。恐怕這管家便會步猶達斯的後塵了。
2. 相信主人真心稱讚他，相信他是慈悲的，便向主人認錯，並許諾從今以後憑自己新發現的潛能，忠誠地服事他，求主人賜給他一次機會。

的確，因循安逸的生活，容易蒙蔽了人對真我的認識。即使發掘到自己真正的潛能，也需要一位慈悲的主人給他翻身的機會。天主就是那位連罪人也稱讚的慈悲上主，祂希望一切都可以大團圓結局。
各位朋友，你相信天主是慈悲的嗎？
生命恩泉
圖片鳴謝：wikimedia.org

---

The End Is Decided By Readers (Luke 16:1-8)

Parables contain surprise elements for readers. This is especially conspicuous in the Parable of the Dishonest Steward. This steward is truly dishonest because he squandered his master’s property (Luke 16:1). Before he was removed from his stewardship, he prepared for his exit by making use of his remaining days to continue embezzling his master’s property (16:4). Unexpectedly, the master commended this dishonest steward for acting prudently (16:8). The audience must be surprised and very much want to know why. As for us Chinese, we won’t be surprised because the plot is similar to the historical background of a well-known idiom, “A prudent hare prepares three lairs”. This steward was commendable because he was able to come up with a three-win solution in an adverse situation. We are more interested to know if the master would appoint him the steward again. Like the Parable of the Prodigal Son, this Parable of Dishonest Steward is also open-ended and the end is decided by the subsequent choices the steward makes.

Previously, the steward did not know that the master is all-knowing. He would fearlessly squander his master’s property --- the same word used in the Parable of the Prodigal Son (15:13) --- that is, wasting his master’s property on his personal enjoyment! Yet, after being reported and knowing his own incompetency (16:3), he was able to come up with a solution and received praises from the master. The steward could choose:

1. Doubting the commendation of the master and daring not to believe that the all-knowing master is merciful, he decides to leave the master. I’m afraid he would follow the footstep of Judas.
2. Trusting that the master’s praises are genuine and believe that the master is merciful. He apologizes to the master and promises to make good use of the newly discovered potential to serve the master loyally. He begs the master to give him a second chance.

Indeed, a complacent life can easily hinder us from knowing our genuine self. Even if we are able to discover our true potentials, we need a merciful master to give us a second chance. God is this merciful Lord who even praises sinners. He wishes us to have a happy ending.
Brethren! Do you believe in God’s mercy?

天主不計較風險 God Doesn’t Count Risks

天主不計較風險（路15:1-10）

「亡羊比喻」很清楚告訴我們，天主子耶穌基督並不信奉「功利主義」。即使祂偶爾運用功利主義的邏輯，也是為了遷就聽眾的道德水平，最終還是希望我們認識天父的慈悲。比喻中的「那個人」，無論他是牧場的主人或是一個普通的牧羊人，為了一隻亡羊而「把九十九隻丟在荒野，去尋覓那遺失的一隻」（路15:4），有得不償失的風險，合化算嗎？要知道在「荒野」中的九十九隻羊，會被狼群侵襲，或者在缺乏照顧之下流失了！「那個人」不計較風險的行動，並不符合「功利主義」的邏輯。

另一方面，用「荒野」來形容教會的處境，非常恰當。今天的教會絕對不是安全地藏身在堅固的堡壘內（詠48:13-14），而是在現世「荒野」中朝聖的、邁向天國的天主子民。她不能保證那九十九隻在「荒野」有牧者照顧的羊，不會被世俗的錯謬思想衝擊，不會對教會失望而離開教會等等，這些的確是教會的現況！

要知道比喻的特點在於故事中的「意外」元素，它令聽眾驚訝而引起反思！違反一般人的「功利主義」思維，正是這個比喻的意外元素。當有限的人計較成本效益時，天主是不計成本地對罪人慈悲。耶穌基督要我們注意的，正是天父的慈悲，祂樂意看見罪人悔改（則18:23），就是這樣簡單！

最後，還有兩個值得默想的課題，留給大家「享受」吧！第一，「無須悔改的義人」帶給天主的喜樂，真的不及「罪人悔改」的喜樂嗎？第二，世上真的有那麼多（九十九比一）「無須悔改的義人」嗎？
天主保祐！
生命恩泉
圖片鳴謝：behance.net

---

God Doesn’t Count Risks (Luke 15:1-10)

The Parable of the Lost Sheep clearly tells us that Jesus Christ the Son of God does not buy utilitarianism. Even if sometimes He makes use of the utilitarian language, He is adapting to the moral level of the audience. In the end, He wishes all of us to know the mercy of the Father. The action of the man in the parable, it doesn’t matter whether he is the owner of the farm or just a hired shepherd, “leaves the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the lost one until he finds it” (Luke 15:3) is totally anti-utilitarian. The benefit would never justify the risks! The ninety nine sheep in the desert would fall prey easily to packs of wolves. They might even get lost due to a lack of pastors. The risky action of the man does not follow utilitarian logic.

On the other hand, using “wilderness” to describe the situation of the Church is very appropriate. Today, the Church is no longer hiding herself inside citadels or bulwarks (Psalms 48:13-14), but is a People of God on pilgrimage towards the Kingdom of Heaven. She is not able to guarantee that there are pastors shepherding the sheep in the wilderness and be able to withstand attacks from fallacies, or that they wouldn’t be disappointed with the Church and leave etc. This is truly the present situation of our Church!

Bear in mind that in parables there are surprise elements which trigger reflections of the audience! The surprise element of this parable is how the man acted against the utilitarian mindset ordinary people took for granted. When finite humanity does cost-benefit-analysis, God continues to be merciful towards sinners without counting the costs. Jesus Christ wants us to focus on the mercy of the Father who rejoices when the wicked turn from their evil way and live (Ezekiel 18:23). It is as simple as such!

Lastly, I leave all of you two more topics for your meditation! Firstly, do righteous people bring less joy to God than sinners who repent? Secondly, are there so many righteous people who have no need of repentance, 99 times of number of sinners?
God bless!

信耶穌真不容易 It’s Truly Not Easy to Believe in Jesus

信耶穌真不容易（若6:37-40）

雖然當今教宗不斷地勉勵我們成聖，並安慰我們平凡的生活，也足以讓我們問鼎天堂；但不竟我們都是營營役役，終日奔波勞碌的平信徒，而且生活在這個偽資訊爆炸的世代，相信耶穌已經不容易，「成聖」更是遙不可及！

「相信耶穌」有甚麼難呢？祇是要求你「口裡承認耶穌為主、心裡相信天主使祂從死者中復活起來了」（羅10:9），又不是要你赴湯蹈火（格前13:3），試問難在那裡呢？

姑且不須要你經常把「主耶穌」掛在嘴邊（瑪7:21），要知道「心裡相信」，絕對不是一件輕而易舉的事！今天，人民的知識水平普遍高了，又受過科技教育的洗禮，凡事講求真憑實據。你能拿出憑據，使現代人「相信天主使耶穌從死者中復活起來」嗎？即使今天在耶路撒冷有很多與耶穌受難有關的朝聖點，例如「苦路」、「聖墓大殿」等，讓信徒們緬懷天主子為罪人所付出的沉重代價，懺悔己罪；但對於研究了超過一個世紀的「都靈聖殮布」，教會仍然沒有公開宣認它就是福音記載包裹耶穌遺體的裹屍布；因為教會不願意把她的信仰，全部押在一幅布的真偽之上！教會相信的，是歷代信徒的見證，即各式各樣的「殉道」。現代人會接受這套法則嗎？

相信你有領聖體吧！你向在你心中的耶穌祈禱，祂有多次回應你呢？你看見過其他人辦告解吧！告解後的人有改善嗎？可惜，我們所見的負面見證多，正面的寥寥無幾！所以你愛耶穌，你愛祂的奧體，但你不愛制度化的教會，對嗎？

的確，倘若沒有天主聖神的感動，單憑信徒的努力，聽眾的理智，市民大眾是不會信耶穌的。朋友，你相信耶穌真的可以「凡祂交給我的，叫我連一個也不失掉，而且在末日，我要使他復活」（若6:39）嗎？如果你相信，你憑甚麼相信呢？
天主保祐！
生命恩泉
圖片鳴謝：shroud.com

---

It’s Truly Not Easy to Believe in Jesus (John 6:37-40)

Though the Pope continually encourages us on our path to sanctification and affirms us that even ordinary daily life is sufficient to reserve a place in heaven, after all we the laity are busy earning our livelihood like bees. Moreover, we’re living in an age of fake information explosion. It’s truly not easy to believe in Jesus and “sanctification” is rather beyond reach!

What’s so difficult in having faith in Jesus? You’re only required to “confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9), not to give your body to be burnt (1 Corinthians 13:3), where comes the difficulty?

Even if you’re not required to say “Lord, Lord” (Matthew 7:21) all the day, believing Jesus in your heart in not an easy task! Today, people are literate and have been baptized in education of science and technology. They demand evidence in everything. Can you put forth evidence to convince modern people that “God raised Him from the dead”? Though there’re in Jerusalem many pilgrimage points, such as the Via Dolorosa and the Shrine of the Holy Sepulchre etc. to allow believers to remember the heavy price the Son of God has paid for sinners so that they might feel sorry for their sins, the Church still refuses to recognize the Shroud of Turin, which has been scrutinized scientifically for more than a century, to be the shroud mentioned in the gospels that wrapped the corpse of Jesus. She does not want our faith to bank on the authenticity of a piece of cloth! Instead, the Church puts her trust in the witnesses of the faithful throughout the ages, i.e. all manners of martyrdom. Will modern people accept this paradigm?

You have received the Holy Communion, haven’t you? How many times has Jesus answered when you pray to Him in your heart? You have seen people go to confession, haven’t you? Have they improved afterwards? Regrettably, we have seen many negative witnesses and are able to count positive ones with our fingers! Thus, you love Jesus. You love His Mystical Body but you don’t love the institutionalized Church, do you?

Indeed, without the moving of the Holy Spirit, people will not believe in Jesus, not with their rationality or our efforts. Brethren! Do you truly believe that Jesus is able to honour His pledge, that “I should not lose anything of what He gave me, but that I should raise it on the last day” (John 6:39)? If you do, what’s your evidence?
God bless!

問鼎天堂 Reserving A Place In Heaven

問鼎天堂（瑪5:1-12a）

四年前，教宗方濟各頒布【你們要歡喜踴躍】宗座勸諭，論述「於當代世界成聖的召叫」，並指出「真福八端」是基督徒的身份證（#63）。基督徒在世蒙召成聖，進入天堂分享上主的永恆生命。領洗證明書不是天堂的「入場券」，能活出真福精神纔是！祇要活出八福之一，便足以問鼎天堂！（#64-95）

初期教會經歷幾個世紀教難的洗禮，逐漸茁壯成長，殉道者成為教會所宣認的聖人，信徒們的楷模。到了中世紀，信仰得到深化，傑出的靈修大師輩出，各個修會冒出了不少神魂超拔、奉獻一生服事天主的聖人聖女。時移世易，教友再沒有那麼多殉道的機會或者神魂超拔的恩寵，但把自己的身心完全奉獻給天主的宏願，依然可能實踐。君不見二十世紀雖然經歷過兩次世界大戰，教會仍宣認了不少的聖人。即是說，天主所創造的世界是多采多姿的，纔足以歌頌祂的偉大；同樣，成聖之路不是單一的，圍繞在天主身邊的，應該是形形色色的聖人與天使，日夜不停地讚頌上主。

各位兄弟姊妹，你喜歡度刻苦簡樸的生活嗎？你能完全寄望於上主嗎？你有勇氣體會他人的痛苦嗎？你喜歡與勝利者同流合污，還是站在窮人弱者的一邊嗎？你有寬恕傷害你的人的胸襟嗎？你祇服事一個天主，還是漁翁撒網地東拜龍王，西拜皇母嗎？你有平安的心，靈活的創意，化解矛盾，讓不同的人共融的妙計嗎？你有唾面自乾、堅毅不屈的殉道精神嗎？

各位兄弟姊妹，上述那一款真福適合你呢？
天主保祐！
生命恩泉
圖片鳴謝：denvercatholic.org

---

Reserving A Place In Heaven (Matthew 5:1-12a)

Four years ago, Pope Francis gave the “Gaudete et Exsultate” apostolic exhortation on the call to holiness in today’s world and pointed out that the Beatitudes are like the identity card of Christians (GE #63). They are called to sanctification here and now in order to partake in the Lord’s eternal life in heaven. Baptismal certificates are not admission tickets to heaven. Leading a life of Beatitudes is! We may secure a place in heaven if we are able to live up to one of the Beatitudes! (#64-95).

The early Church had endured several centuries of persecutions and grew. Martyrs were canonized to be exemplars for the faithful. In the Middle Ages, faith deepened and many spirituality masters emerged. Religious orders gave us mystics, consecrated monks and nuns by the scores. Time changes and nowadays, not many martyrdom opportunities or ecstatic graces are available. Still it is possible to dedicate one’s whole soul and whole heart to God. Don’t you see that the Church is able to canonize many saints after the two world wars in the previous century? That is to say, the world God created must be multi-facet in order to sing praises to the majesty of God. Similarly, the path to sanctification is NOT unique. There should be saints and angels of all spots and stripes singing praises ceaselessly to God days and nights.

Brethren! Do you enjoy a simple life? Do you put your hope totally in God? Do you have the courage to empathize others’ sufferings? Do you opt for the winners or the poor? Are you able to embrace those who hurt you? Do you serve God alone, or prepare for other contingency plans with other deities? Do you have a peaceful heart and a nimble creativity to resolve conflicts and build up fellowship? Are you ever ready for martyrdom?

Brethren! Which beatitude suits you?
God bless!