談情說愛 Let’s Talk About Love

聖體聖血節，甲年
主題：談情說愛 Let’s Talk About Love

聖保祿宗徒說：「現今存在的，有信、望、愛這三樣，但其中最大的是愛」（格前13:13）。原來『愛』是人類與生俱來的情緒，另外一種天生的情緒是『恐懼』。科學家想信，這兩種情緒幫助人類生存在這個地球上幾十萬年至今。倘若沒有『恐懼』，人類早已成了猛獸胃裡的食物；倘若沒有『愛』，人類早已絕種！當然，『智力』也幫助人類適應，並改善了外在的環境，幫助人類安居樂業！在信仰上，大部份偉大的神學家，例如聖奧思定、聖多瑪斯…在智慧上，都是『仰之彌高、鑽之彌堅』的楷模。但到了晚年，他們都慨嘆『愛天主愛得太遲』（《懺悔錄》卷十）！聖多瑪斯亦留下5首聖體歌，包括『虔誠朝拜 Adoro te devote』和『皇皇聖體 Pange Lingua Gloriosi』。足以證明聖保祿所說，『愛』是最大的超性之德。主耶穌在『最後晚餐』給門徒一條『彼此相愛』的新誡命時，曾這樣教訓說：「人若為自己的朋友捨掉性命，再沒有比這更大的愛情了」（若15:13）。

今天教會慶祝耶穌基督以聖體聖事，表達祂對人類至偉大，至完備的愛。自中世紀起，教會借用塘鵝在餓荒的時候，用自己的血肉養育幼鳥的傳說，來表達基督對世人的愛。例如：在粉嶺聖若瑟堂舊翼的聖體櫃，我們就可以找到這個塘鵝與幼鳥的圖像。但始終因着文化上的差異，我們很難產生共鳴。春秋時代，晉國太子重耳，在國外落難流浪了19年。一次病重時，他的一個追隨者介之推，曾割肉煮湯給他保命的事蹟，恐怕未到家傳戶曉的程度。執事我今天倒想借一首『我儂詞』，講『聖體聖事』所表達的愛。因為最適合談情說愛的方式，不是滴水不漏的神學邏輯，而是詩詞歌賦，或者浪漫的愛情故事，既可歌頌生命、戀愛的甜美，又可詠嘆失去了『愛』的愁苦。在舊約聖經就有《盧德傳》、《艾斯德爾傳》、《聖詠集》、《雅歌》、《哀歌》…等等，傳頌千古的傑作。可惜又是文化上的差異，讓我們讀起來很難產生共鳴。幸好在中國文化中，亦有刻骨銘心的佳作。

所謂『詩言志』，中國文化中的詩詞歌賦，除了寫景寄情之外，還可以用來表達詩人的心志和抱負。在香港，我們有『宋皇臺』，有『盆菜』，在大埔及元朗有文氏族人，相信大家對南宋末年，宰相文天祥抗元被俘時，在船上寫下的一首《過零丁洋》七言律詩，不會陌生。後半段寫道：『惶恐灘頭說惶恐，零丁洋裡嘆零丁。人生自古誰無死，留取丹心照汗青』，道盡精忠報國的抱負，那份救國救民的大愛，令人讀來慷慨激昂。後來在大都（即今天的北京）被囚三年裡，忽必烈大帝欣賞他，不斷游說他投降並為元朝做官的時候，文天祥竟然說服了忽必烈，學習和保留漢族文化，而不是依賴戰爭和暴力來鞏固元朝的統治。

那邊廂，一位名叫趙子昂的宋太祖十一世孫，是一位書畫家。南宋亡國之後，趙子昂帶同家眷，返回故鄉閑居。後來有前朝官員舉薦他出仕元朝，趙子昂便憑他的書畫，博得元朝皇帝的寵愛，累官至榮祿大夫，死後更晉封為魏國公。小他八歲的妻子管道昇，人稱『管夫人』，也是詩詞書畫的高手，真可謂天生一對。據說趙子昂50歲那年，官場得意，忽然想納妾來襯托自己的地位。於是他寫一首詞給妻子，探聽她的意向。管夫人很平淡地和了一首『我儂詞』，趙子昂讀後便打消了納妾的念頭！這首『我儂詞』只有71個字如下：「你儂我儂，忒煞情多；情多處，熱似火；把一塊泥，捻一個你，塑一個我。將咱兩個一齊打破，用水調和；再捻一個你，再塑一個我。我泥中有你，你泥中有我：我與你生同一個衾，死同一個槨。」1971年，音樂教育家李抱忱博士創作了現代版的《你儂我儂》，歌詞免不了加入『滄海可枯，堅石可爛，此愛此情永遠不變』的字眼。後來便成為了1976年一齣同名電影的主題曲，今天在 Youtube也可以找到。

兄弟姊妹們，讓我們反省默想這首《我儂詞》。請問上一次領聖體而有『熱似火』是感覺，是在甚麼時候，甚麼場合呢？是參加婚配彌撒嗎？還是平日彌撒呢？倘若從來沒有，請找神父做『個別靈修指導』，或者參加退省避靜之類的活動。主日講道的時間有限，很難給予協助！倘若有，恭喜你。因為在靈性生命的成長過程中，決不會是一帆風順的。這些『熱似火』的靈性安慰，是我們旅途上的補給品，支撐我們堅持至底，獲得圓滿的救贖（瑪10:22）。我們在成聖路上最大的敵人，不一定是魔鬼，但一定是『習以為常』，是『例行工事』！每個主日參加彌撒，你是為了履行作為教友的本份，還是懷著『與主相遇』的渴望呢？每次領聖體，你是因為在眾目睽睽下不去領聖體會尷尬，抑或是渴望『與主結合』呢？對！這一份想親近主耶穌的『渴望』，是古今中外，所有聖人聖女所共同擁有的！當我們習以為常地領聖體時，這份『熱似火』的感覺，就容易由熱變暖，由暖變涼，由涼變冷變冰…

兄弟姊妹們，不要害怕這熱情變冷！主耶穌絕對不會坐視不理，因為我們每一個都是「按天主〔聖三〕的肖像」所造成的（創1:26），我們都是祂手中的傑作。而且祂為了愛我們，便紆尊降貴，降生成人，與我們相聚。記得天主用甚麼材料創造亞當嗎？對了！正如歌詞所唱：『把一塊泥，捻一個你，塑一個我』。可是，大家都是獨立的個體，我行我素，互不相識，毫無關係。即使是坐在同一部巴士上，也只不過是萍水相逢的陌路人而已！所以主耶穌決定在『最後晚餐』時建立『聖體聖事』，留下了這個『永生的食糧』給我們。主耶穌在今天的福音選段說：「我是從天上降下的生活的食糧；誰若吃了這食糧，必要生活真到永遠」（若6:51）。祂更進一歩說：「誰吃我的肉，並喝我的血，便住在我內，我也住在他內」（6:56）。保祿宗徒在今天的第二篇讀經教訓我們說，在彌撒中所擘的餅，是基督的身體；所祝福的杯，是基督的血；而且，基督藉著這餅和酒，與我們結合在一起（格前10:16）。即是說，為了我們的益處，主耶穌建立了『聖體聖事』，一則讓我們可以與祂結合，二則讓我們藉著這個『我泥中有你，你泥中有我』，可以分享天主的永恆生命！太偉大的安排了！

歌詞中的一句『將咱兩個一齊打破』，就是『熱似火』的關鍵所在！兄弟姊妹們，為了拯救我們，主耶穌死在十字架上為我們贖罪，祂已打破了自己，我們呢？我們該如何『打破自己』，讓我們更透徹地住在主耶穌內，主耶穌也更完全地住在我們內呢？雖然我們每個人都是獨特的，但我們都有共通的人性。有甚麼會阻礙基督滲透我們呢？應該是我們的私慾偏情了。所以教會鼓勵我們勤領『修和聖事』，最少每年一次！在靈修方面，保祿宗徒也有實際的忠告。他說：「要讓基督的話充分地存在你們內，以各種智慧彼此教導規勸；以聖詠，詩詞和屬神的歌曲在你們心內，懷著感恩之情，歌頌天主」（哥3:16）。背誦聖經金句、分享所讀的經文、以感恩之心唱聖詩…都是具體可行的靈修步驟。兄弟姊妹們，實踐吧！亞孟。
天主保祐！

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2023年反省
視訊鳴謝：youtube.com

右盜是希望的傳承者 The Penitent Thief Is A Messenger of Hope

耶穌基督普世君王節（丙年）
主題：右盜是希望的傳承者

不同的文化會在不同的日子慶祝新年，作為國際大都會的香港，華洋雜處，市民大眾除了慶祝一月一日的西洋新年之外，也會慶祝華人的農曆新年！教會有她的曆法，圍繞著救主的降生、受難、復活和在末日重臨，來慶祝天主的救贖工程。今天我們慶祝主耶穌基督將會在末日時，以君臨天下的姿態，審判生者死者。作為天主教徒的我們，會在下一個主日，慶祝教會禮儀年的開始，就是「將臨期」。禮儀顏色用紫色，象徵了以悔改來預備迎接天主子的重臨。又為了照顧教友的神益，加深對【聖經】，尤其是對三部《對觀福音》的認識，用三年的時間閱讀【聖經】與我們的得救有密切啟示的章節：甲年讀《瑪竇福音》，乙年讀《馬爾谷福音》及丙年讀《路加福音》，從不同的角度，立體地敘述天主子的言行。

在記載耶穌釘十字架受難的敘述中，《瑪竇》和《馬爾谷》異口同聲地說「同祂一起被釘在十字架上的強盜，也這樣譏誚祂」（瑪27:44），「連與祂一起釘在十字架上的人也辱罵祂」（谷15:32）。但剛纔聽到《路加福音》的記載卻不一樣，一個譏誚同釘的耶穌，另一個卻承認耶穌為王。路加醫生的記載可信嗎？要知道三位聖史都不在現場，因為幾乎所有的門徒都為了自保而躲藏起來，只有「耶穌所愛的門徒」若望、耶穌的母親瑪利亞和一些跟隨耶穌的婦女，留在刑場守候。按教會的傳統記載，路加醫生在聖母的晚年，照顧她的健康。所以，路加醫生的釘十字架記載更可信！

《路加福音》是寫給外邦人讀的，告訴他們天父是慈悲的（路6:36）、天主子耶穌基督拯救被社會所拋棄的人（6:20-22）、天父樂意把聖神賜給求祂的人（11:13）。我們今天慶祝「耶穌基督普世君王節」，可是今天的福音選段所描述的，不是一個住在雕闌玉砌的宮殿裡，戴著皇冠，身穿龍袍，坐在龍椅上，左右有宮娥侍候的皇帝；而是一個頭戴茨冠，一絲不掛、以十字架為龍椅和左右有兩個罪犯護駕的「君王」！正如今天第二篇讀經所說，宇宙萬物都是源於祂，最後亦歸於祂（哥1:16-17）。祂不須要人世間的財富與權勢稱王，反而選擇了與窮人和被社會遺棄的人在一起。試問天主為了罪人的悔改，還有甚麼沒有做呢（依5:4）？讀到這裡，甚麼人會最感到安慰和鼓舞呢？恃財傲傲物的人，還是無權無勢的人呢？

現在讓我們默想釘在耶穌基督左右兩邊的罪犯。常言道：「人之將死，其言也善」，看來有點不正確。路加這樣記載說：「懸掛著的凶犯中，有一個侮辱耶穌說：你不是默西亞嗎？救救你自己和我們吧！」（23:39）為甚麼這個凶犯有這樣的行為呢？既然難逃一死，他說這番話可以讓他死得舒服些嗎？當然不會！我覺得當時這個凶犯仍有相當的生命力，於是心存僥倖，期望耶穌真是他心目中的「默西亞」，便慫恿耶穌從十字架上跳下，領導群眾驅逐羅馬人，推翻殖民統治，重建以色列國等等（宗1:6），這是他「得救」的最後機會！因此，他的說話也可算是「善」的。路加沒有說明他的相對位置，傳統上教會把天父所祝福的位置，即普世君王的右邊（瑪25:34），留給另一個凶犯，並稱他為「右盜」。

現在讓我們把注意力集中到「右盜」的身上吧，他把「盜亦有道」表現得淋漓盡致！路加記載他「應聲責斥說：你既然受同樣的刑罰，連天主你都不怕嗎？…我們所受的，正配我們所行的；但是，這個人從未做過甚麼不正當的事」（路23:40-41）。和其他猶太人沒有分別，他相信天主賞善罰惡。但更重要的，是他害怕天主的懲罰！雖然出於害怕懲罰而不做壞事是低層次的道德，但總比那些天不怕地不怕，喪心病狂的惡人相對地好。這位「右盜」尚有公義之心，懂得辨別善惡。有能力辨別善惡，就有「悔改」的可能！願意悔改纔是得救的道路，「右盜」已踏出了第一步！接著他說：「耶穌，當你來為王時，請你紀念我！」（23:42）看，他知道自己難逃一死，但他並沒有心存僥倖，求耶穌救他離開這個死局。望著即將死去的耶穌，他竟然相信耶穌將會為王，這是何等的信德！他不知道耶穌過多少歲月之後為王，但他把一切希望，都寄託在耶穌身上，這是何等的望德！雖然我們找不到他有甚麼愛主愛人的善行，但耶穌已接納他到天堂去：「我實在告訴你：今天你就要與我一同在樂園裡」（23:43）。從這一個許諾開始，天主寬恕了「右盜」所有的罪過，賜給了他恩寵，「右盜」可以平安地、沒有半點恐怖地，等待羅馬兵來打斷他的腳，送他上路（若19:32）。

各位請注意，執事不是「撥冷水」，這個「今天」並不表示第一個「耶穌受難日」，因為「在天主前一日如千年，千年如一日」（伯後3:8; 詠90:4）。亞當吃了禁果當日沒有死（創2:17），而是活到930歲（5:5）便是一個好例子。「右盜」可能也要在煉獄，滿懷「望德」地度過若干歲月，纔可以升天堂！另一方面，執事我很想知道，耶穌怎樣拯救在左邊的凶犯！祂不是願意所有的人都得救（弟前2:4）嗎？是的，「在天主前沒有不能的事」（路1:37）。可能天主藉著「右盜」平安的面容，給了「左盜」一份安慰和鼓舞。「左盜」在痛定思痛，筋疲力竭之餘，放下自己的執著和妄想，把一切「得救的希望」，交託到一同被釘的耶穌手裡，亦未可知。

親愛的兄弟姊妹！不要小覷「右盜」的角色。即使是一個不堪的人物，亦能做一個「希望的傳承者」。在未來一年，讓我們向「右盜」學習，成為更出色的「希望的傳承者」，亞孟。
天主保祐！

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2022反省
圖片鳴謝：grok.com

The fruits of the Holy Spirit 聖神的效果

Fifth Easter Sunday, Year B
Theme: The fruits of the Holy Spirit 聖神的效果

After resurrection, Jesus spent forty days on earth to gather 120 dispersed disciples before He returned to the Father in heaven. During that time, He must have enlightened/opened their minds so that they could more fully understand the scriptures and His messages (Luke 24:45). The Church tries to recreate this experience in choosing the gospel readings during the Easter Season. For example, we read of the metaphor of the Good Shepherd and His sheep (John 10:11-18) last week. Today, we read of the metaphor of the True Vine and its branches (15:1-8). Both of them draw our attention to our needs to establish intimate relationships with the risen Lord. That the Good Shepherd is willing to lay down His life for His sheep signifies a one-off sacrifice to redeem the sheep. The metaphor of the True Vine covers another dimension. It signifies an on-going life supporting system comparable to the relationship between a pregnant woman and the foetus in her womb! It is understandable because Jesus told the disciples this parable of the Vine and its branches during the Last Supper in which He establishes two sacraments for us: the Holy Eucharist and the Holy Orders. The context enriches this powerful parable. There is no lack of plants for Jesus to choose from in order to convey this message of the need of abiding in Him. The choice of vine speaks volumes about the importance of Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist among the sacraments!

Human justice demands “Life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, and foot for foot” (Deuteronomy 19:21). In light of Jesus’ revelation of the merciful Father, the commandments in the book of Deuteronomy can at most be a “water-downed” version of God’s justice. God has spoken through the prophets that He does not want to see anyone perish and that He wants to see them repent and live (Ezekiel 18:32). Don’t forget. Among the books of the Pentateuch, Deuteronomy is already a more mature one. Its teachings are closer to those in the New Testament and yet, it still fails to pass the test of “serial killer”. Man can only die once. The life of a serial killer is not able to repay tens or hundreds of people he kills, not to mention thousands and even millions of people a tyrant kills. Thus, it takes the death of the Son of God on the cross to atone for all the sins which all human beings have committed throughout all the ages in the past as well as in the future! The value of Jesus’ death lies in the fact that “No one takes it [Jesus’ life] from me, but I lay it down on my own. I have power to lay it down, and power to take it up again” (John 10:18). That is why resurrection is the foundation stone of Christianity. Not only does His death uphold the “water-downed” justice of God the Father, but His resurrection also guarantees that the Son of God is the judge of the living and the dead (Acts 10:42c) and the first born from the dead (Colossians 1:18, Revelation 1:5) and thus the author/source of life. With the resurrection of Lord Jesus Christ, a new day is dawned when death is no longer the annihilation of life but a portal to eternal life.

The most prominent message in this short passage is “to bear fruit” which appears five times within these eight verses! What does Jesus mean by “remaining in Him to bear much fruit”? Naturally, we tend to quantify the message by counting the number of people baptized in a year, or the number of people attending Sunday masses, or the number of seminarians/priests etc. Alas! This is not the modus operandi of God. He does not count the numbers. For example, He chose 300 Israelites out of 32000 (Judges 7:3) in order to defeat 315000 Midianites (8:10), “lest Israel vaunt itself against me and say, ‘My own power saved me.’” (7:2) Obviously, God counts the quality of the hearts instead of the number of the hearts. So, Jesus is not looking for the number of people a Catholic has converted during his or her life time. Indeed, St. Thérèse of Lisieux has never ventured outside her convent and yet, the Church canonized her in 1925 and two years later named her to be the co-patron for missionaries. Therefore, what qualities are Jesus looking for in his disciples?

To look for a clue, let us take a step back. This parable of the True Vine begins with, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower” (John 15:1). We have the Father and the Son. But where is the Holy Spirit? Traditionally, we believe in the Holy Spirit as the love between the Father and the Son. When the Holy Spirit comes to us, He is the Spirit of Truth (14:17, 15:26, 16:13) and the Spirit of Love (Romans 5:5, 15:30). St. Paul teaches that as Christians, we should bear the following characteristics which he calls the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit, viz. love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23a). All these are also characteristics Jesus shows in His ministry. When we are branches which remain in Him, our words and deeds will show characteristics similar to His because the Holy Spirit is also known as the Spirit of Jesus (Acts 16:7, 1 John 4:3).

Now, we arrive at a deeper understanding of what Jesus means when He conjures up the images of True Vine and its branches. People will easily misunderstand that we will lose our freedom when we are branches that must be attached to the True Vine. Of course, no parable is able to convey Jesus’ teachings without limitations. In fact, not all bonds are visible. For example the bondage of sin. We do not see sinners connected to the Devil in bondage. We only see the dysfunctions and the inability to love among sinners. Then we know that the Devil is controlling them. On the contrary, the Holy Spirit is free like the wind just as Jesus says, “The wind blows where it wills, and you can hear the sound it makes, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes; so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit” (3:8). In this verse, Jesus plays with words where in Greek, “wind” and “spirit” is the same word! Therefore, even when we are branches grafted onto the True Vine, we do not lose our freedom. On the contrary, we become free as the Holy Spirit and love the needy and underprivileged appropriately without restrain.

Beloved brethren. Just as the beloved disciple says, “Let us love not in word or speech but in deed and truth” (1 John 3:18). Jesus Christ Himself is “the way and the true and the life” (John 14:6). Therefore, in the name of Jesus, let us serve the needy, comfort the sorrowful, give hope to those in despair and bear much fruit. Amen. God bless!

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2021 Reflection
Picture Credit: freerkset.live

Let’s Be Candid About Resurrection 且讓我們誠實地看待復活

Easter Sunday, Year B
Theme: Let’s Be Candid About Resurrection 且讓我們誠實地看待復活

We are historical animals and our understanding evolves with time. It is true in particular for us to fathom the infinite mystery of the Blessed Trinity, the presence of Christ in the Eucharist and that the Church as the Spouse of Christ etc. Therefore, modern Christians should not feel offended when they read of the testimony of Peter in the first reading today. Peter was testifying in the home of Cornelius, a Roman centurion and said; “This man God raised on the third day and granted that he be visible …” (Acts 10:40). Peter was not denying the divinity of Jesus Christ when he chose the term “This man”. On the contrary, we should not blame Peter for stressing too much about the humanity of Lord Jesus, the Son of God incarnate. It took the Church more than a few centuries to acknowledge the divinity of Jesus. We have our finite languages to blame only. Peter’s proclamation is simple. The God whom Cornelius worships is the God of all peoples. God accepts all who fear Him and act uprightly (10:35). Jesus Christ is the Lord of all (10:36) not just for all peoples on earth but also for all the living and the dead because God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and power (10:38). Though His own disciple betrayed Him and the Romans crucified Him, God raised Him on the third day, thus conquered death. This understanding does not come overnight. It takes time for us to unearth the mystery more deeply. Not only did Peter and John run with different speeds to the empty tomb, but their belief in the Risen Lord also came with different speeds too (John 20:8)!

Sometimes, the wording of Paul’s writings is not easy to follow probably because he was a deep-seated Pharisee before his conversion. We may not be able to appreciate some Jewish thinking that Paul had taken for granted while that Jewish worldview is alien to our cultural background. Take for an example the second reading today. Paul says, “For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3). What does Paul want to convey with the choice of “hidden”? In context, Paul was talking about baptism as a death of the old self in carnal desires and the birth of a new self in spirit and truth. Thus Paul says, “If then you were raised with Christ, seek what is above” (3:1). One literal meaning of “hidden” would then be “burial”. We bury our old self with Christ in baptismal immersion. On another level, some biblical scholars notice that the word “hidden” could probably a word play on “secret knowledge” which was popular among the Colossians. They were interested in angels, astral powers, cultic practices and ascetical disciplines etc. (2:15-18) Paul emphasizes that Christ alone is the reality and through knowing Christ and befriending Christ, we know the Truth!

However, I sense something else in the word “hidden”! In baptism, not only have we died and been buried with Christ, but we have also clothed ourselves with Christ (Galatians 3:27), “Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the desires of the flesh” (Romans 13:14)! By clothing ourselves with Christ, we may be energized by Him, like Elisha who received the spirit and power of Elijah by picking up the garment Elijah had left behind for him (2 Kings 2:13-14). Putting on clothes gives us power and authority to serve the needy. Perhaps this is what “putting on Christ” means.

On the other hand, clothes hide our nakedness, frailty and shame, thus giving us dignity. Indeed, this was how the Jews understood the forgiveness of sins by God. They thought of it as a covering of sins probably they believed that what had been done could not be undone. So, they believed that when God forgave, God did not remember and did not see their sins which still remained. For example, when the enemies of Jews mocked them for trying to rebuild the Temple, Nehemiah prayed to God, saying, “Do not hide their crime and do not let their sin be blotted out in your sight, for they insulted the builders to their faces!” (Nehemiah 3:37), “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered” (Psalms 32:1, 85:3; Romans 4:7). Not only Paul but some other authors of the New Testament also talk about covering a multitude of sins (James 5:20, 1 Peter 4:8).

What about the concept of cleansing of sins. In the Old Testament, only three Major Prophets spoke of it (Isaiah 1:16, 4:4; Jeremiah 4:14, Ezekiel 16:9). The NT authors advocate a lot about the cleansing of sins by the blood or the Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 6:11; Titus 2:14; 1 Peter 1:2; 1 John 1:7, Revelation 7:14 etc.). Therefore, it really challenges our imagination to read, “…These are the ones who have survived the time of great distress, they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (7:14b). Of course, it is not a chemical trick! We should not read it literally but should understand its symbolism instead. It is actually a fulfilment of the prophecy by Isaiah who says, “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow, though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool” (Isaiah 1:18).

We greet each other “Joyous Easter” today. But let’s be candid. Do sins bother us after baptism? How often do you seek help and growth through the Sacrament of Reconciliation? Or do you go into the confessional like going into a washing machine, coming out clean? Regret to say that if we don’t receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation, we are cheating ourselves. If we go too often, we are denying the saving power of Jesus’ sacrifice or the sanctifying ministry of the Spouse of Christ! It is truly a dilemma! The reality is we are branches in time and Jesus is the True Vine in eternity. It takes time for us to secure an enriching and empowering relation with the Lord. We cannot become a super-hero overnight because our sinfulness remains even after baptism!

Beloved brethren! Perhaps a little imperfection is essential for our growth and failures will synchronize our dancing trots with Christ. Whatever our stations in life, bear in mind that proclaiming the Lord’s Resurrection is our major concern because it shows our love and care for our neighbour. If we do not feel the urge to evangelize, our hope becomes dim and our love shall extinguish soon. Amen!
God bless!

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2010 Reflection
Picture Credit: kcmifm.com

Father! Deliver Us From Evil 父啊！救我們免於凶惡

Fifth Ordinary Sunday, Year B
Theme: Father! Deliver Us From Evil 父啊！救我們免於凶惡

Today in the first reading, we hear of Job’s lamentaion. He spoke for all the good and the innocent who suffered for no apparent purposes. Had the story of Job had not a happy ending, his story would have been a total tragedy offering no hope in the Bible. Still it is a challenge for all Christians to defend the omnipotence of God together with His righteousness and mercy. Since ancient times, people have been criticizing the idea of an almighty and righteous Christian God who loves and cares for humanity. If this God were loving and caring, He would not have allowed the good and innocent to suffer. If this God were loving but were not able to deliver the good and innocent from sufferings, He would not be omnipotent! If He were all powerful but still allowed the good and innocent to suffer, not to mention the wicked had always been prosperous and healthy, this Christian God would not be fair and righteous! In short, Job’s story forces us to meditate on the mystery of sufferings, especially the sufferings of the good and innocent.

Some Christians put together passages from the Bible to prove that after all the good and innocent are not good and innocent as they appear to be. St. Paul says, “All have sinned and are deprived of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Therefore, goodness and innocence of people are actually superficial. They can only fool the eyes of human beings but not God’s. Moreover, God says, “You shall not bow down before them or serve them. For I, the Lord, your God, am a jealous God, bringing punishment for their parents’ wickness on the children of those who hate me, down to the third and fourth generation” (Deuteronomy 5:9). Who in his right mind would “hate” God? In the context of this piece of proof-text, the word “hate” means “love less” because the Hebrew language does not have comparative syntax. The text is a warning against idolatry. God will punish down to the third and fourth generation those people who love idols more than Him. Alas! Humanity loves making different sorts of idols such as power, wealth, knowledge and even health, to secure their livelihood! Therefore, sufferings are God’s punishments for your sins or sins of your ancestors etc. This argument is extremely weak and is refuted by Jesus when He cured the man born blind. Jesus says, “Neither he nor his parents sinned; it is so that the works of God might be made visible through him” (John 9:3). Jesus is Christ and His words do not apply to this blind man only but are applicable universally. In fact, prophets in the Old Testament also refute the view that children should suffer for the sins of their parents (Ezekiel 18:20-21). Though it is not easy to pin down exactly what Jesus means by “the works of God might be made visible through him [the born blind]”, the argument that sufferings are God’s punishments has been proven wrong by the Son of God!

Some Christians put forth the argument that sufferings are good for us. If our lives had always been a bed of roses, our potentials would have been buried/stored away (Matthew 25:18; Luke 19:20) and would not have had the opportunity to emerge and grow. For example, take a look at the athletes who undergo hellish trainings. Of course they suffer more than any other ordinary people. But it is a price to pay in order to attain good results and to defeat rivals. This argument gives sufferings a purpose and the victims a hope. Bear the pains and tomorrow will be a better day! Obviously this argument is insufficient. Take a look at people who suffer illnesses or poverty until their last breath. Just as what Job laments, “My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle; they come to an end without hope” (Job 7:6). When the better tomorrow keeps receding from you and the situation shows no signs of improvement, how unbearably heavy and hopeless a suffering life is!

Some Christians console themselves to argue that sufferings make us “wounded-healers” so that in the future, we may be more capable of helping those who undergo similar sufferings because we have gone through the pains and survived. Just as what St. Paul says in the second reading today, “To the weak I became weak, to win over the weak. I have become all things to all, to save at least some” (1 Corinthians 9:22). Indeed the Son of God did not save humanity in an aloft manner from heavens above, but took flesh to become man; lived among us to undergo human sufferings. “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has similarly been tested in every way, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15). This argument is reasonable as long as the wounded-healers do not fall into the trap of thinking themselves Saviours. Healing comes from God, not from us. Even genuine faith-healers/exorcists are merely channels of God’s grace. However, this argument still fails when the wounded-healer dies and does not have the opportunity to heal others!

Lastly, some Christians suggest that we should not be myopic but should look from God’s long-term perspective. God has a grand plan. Be patient and let God’s plan unfold. Then we’ll understand. This argument brings to mind the famous aphorism of Tertullian “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church” (Apologeticus, L.13). In the spirit of the Parable of the Sower, sufferings of the good and the innocent are truly seeds of gospel messages which will touch the hearts of some people and the torch of God’s gospel will pass on! Though efficiency might not be high, as long as more of us generously respond to God’s call to become labourers, we are optimistic that the harvest will be abundant (Matthew 9:37b-38; Luke 10:2). Alas! We have been meditating God’s grand plan for two millenia but who has successfully scratched the surface of God’s grand plan? This seed metaphor has missed one crucial point. What makes the blood the seed? The Passion and Resurrection of Jesus Christ does! The Son of God is the True Pascal Lamb who takes away the sins of the world by bearing the brunt of all human evils. He retains the wounds after Resurrection to remind His followers that evils really hurt. St. Paul says, “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ on behalf of his body, which is the Church” (Colossians 1:24). St. Paul does not promise his readers a better tomorrow. Instead, he gives sufferings a new purpose, namely to take part in Christ’s effort to build the Kingdom of Heaven on earth!

What impresses me most in the gospel story today are the exorcisms. Though the exorcisms were mentioned in general terms (Mark 1:32, 34), together with the one mentioned in details on last Sunday, there are altogether three mentions in the first chapter of Mark. In New Testament times, Jews attributed sickness to either God’s punishment or demonic possession. Demonic possession was permitted by God as a punishment as well. Therefore, the sick bore all the blames and could not expect sympathy from fellow Jews. Following this logic, lepers and the possessed were typical sinners! Nowadays, thanks to Jesus’ exhortation on the Last Judgment, “Ill and you cared for me” (Matthew 25:36b), modern people treat the sick more humanely. Of course, there is still room for improvement because not all the sick are treated equally. Some are more equal than the others. Today, there are still many things we are ignorant about some illnesses, in particular mental illnesses. Ignorance breeds fears and prejudices. Therefore, mental patients do not receive the dignity due them. Even worse, totalitarian states lock up dissidents not only in correctional institutions but also mental institutions! I am concerned because the good and the innocent will easily fall prey to such injustice and sufferings.

Alas beloved brethren! Life is really a complex phenomenon. The case of totalitarianism points to the fact that it is unfair to put all the blame on God. Humanity has a share of blame to bear. Take a look at the global climate crisis today. The faults of some people make the rest victims. It follows that we should take up the responsibility to clean up the mess we create. In short, not only does Jesus heal, but we Christians are also sent out to heal the world as channels of the Father’s grace.
Heavenly Father! Deliver us from evil. Amen.

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2021 Reflection
Picture Credit: valleyofsprings.com

What’s the Right Thing To Seek? 該尋求甚麼正確的事？

Eighteenth Ordinary Sunday, Year C

Theme: What’s the Right Thing To Seek? 該尋求甚麼正確的事？

In the gospel story today, a man asked Jesus to help him get his due. “Teacher, tell my brother to share the inheritance with me” (Luke 12:13). My first impression of Jesus’ response was that He evaded the issue of justice to talk about something less crucial. In so doing, I felt that Jesus was not doing justice to the man, was He?

When the issue of inheritance arose, the parable of the Prodigal Son immediately came to mind. In the present case, most probably the man’s brother was the elder son who was in control of the inheritance left behind after their father’s demise. For some reasons, this elder brother seemed to be reluctant to share the inheritance with him. Therefore, this man came to seek Jesus’ help because Jesus was not as the scribes. “He taught them as one that had authority.” (Mark 1:22) Hopefully, Jesus’ authority would bend his brother. This was a rather civilized approach. Had this man been a thug, he would have chosen a more violent path and resorted to murder! But Jesus declined to exercise His authority to settle their dispute and turned to the crowd to talk about greed. Would teaching about greed settle injustice?

We have only heard one side of the story and don’t know why the elder brother did not share the inheritance. An obvious explanation is that the elder brother was greedy. But there might be other possibilities. Again the Parable of the Prodigal Son could be helpful. What happened after the younger brother acquired his share of inheritance in the Parable? Probably the elder brother knew that his younger brother would “squander his inheritance on a life of dissipation” (Luke 15:13b) So, the elder brother could be right in not sharing the inheritance! Had Jesus helped the younger brother, He would have engendered an injustice! Of course, it could have been both: the elder brother was really greedy while the younger brother was but a scumbag! Therefore, in teaching against greed, Jesus was not evading responsibility but went directly to the root of issue.

What does Jesus teach? He teaches us to focus on the most essential things in life. He reminds us, “For though one may be rich, one’s life does not consist of possessions” (Luke 12:15). Then Jesus tells the Parable of the Rich Fool to elaborate. “You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you; and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?” (12:20) This line echoes the same sentiment shown in the first reading today. It is a perennial truth all parents must acknowledge. “For here is one who has toiled with wisdom and knowledge and skill, and that one’s legacy must be left to another who has not toiled for it. This also is vanity and a great evil” (Ecclesiastes 2:21).

Let’s put aside those who accumulate wealth for themselves to the exclusion of all other people. St. Paul has already condemned those people, “For the love of money is the root of all evils, and some people in their desire for it have stayed from their faith and have pierced themselves with many pains” (1 Timothy 6:10). The love of money is an intrinsic evil because money makes people feel secure. Money emboldens people to the extent that they would harden their hearts towards the needy, such as the anonymous rich man in the Parable of The Rich Man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31), and the rich begin not to feel the need of God. With greater wealth and power, they even start playing God themselves.
Am I exaggerating? No! Take a look at the second reading today. When Paul exhorts the faithful to renounce evil, he says, “Put to death, then, the parts of you that are earthly: immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and the greed that is idolatry” (Colossians 3:5). Why did Paul equate greed with idolatry? It is because idols offer people shortcuts to get rich and to acquire whatever they desire through magic/witchcraft. The worship of Yahweh gave the Israelites freedom from slavery. But fertility cult in Canaan appealed more directly to our needs in the lower hierarchy. It was hard to resist for the Israelites and for humanity in general. Freedom is too abstract to feed the belly!

It is a consolation that not many people can be as rich and as powerful as Messrs. Bill Gates and Li Ka-shing. Yet, it is undeniable that the modern secular world is run by wealth. We can’t live in this city without this resource. We need to prepare for projects in the future and parents need to reserve resources for their children’s consumption though they know all too well that their children might not be able to handle the inheritance properly. As a Chinese aphorism goes, “Wealth never lasts more than three generations”. Thus, the accumulation of wealth is not necessarily evil as long as we take the others into consideration. The key point is how to management our wealth properly. So, what’s the best strategy a Christian should deploy in their investment?

Christ teaches us a philosophy of financial management, “Thus will it be (foolish) for the one who stores up treasure for himself but is not rich in what matters to God” (Luke 12:21). What does it mean by “to be rich in what matters to God”? To a certain extent, Luke was paraphrasing Paul’s teaching. Paul says, “Tell the rich in the present age not to be proud and not to rely on so uncertain a thing as wealth but rather on God … Tell them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous, ready to share, thus accumulating as treasure a good foundation for the future, so as to win the life that is true life” (1 Timothy 6:17-19) In telling the rich “not to be proud”, Paul warns against the illusionary empowerment of money which tempts us to play God. “To do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share” are concrete and practical actions to accumulate treasure in heaven. Why do these actions “matter to God”? It is because in loving our neighbour, we love God (Matthew 25:40). “For whoever does not love a brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen” (1 John 4:20). Thus, our acts of charity or the lack of them is linked with God.

Why is doing good work such an essential step? Let’s take a look from another perspective. Doing good work has to do with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit a spirit of charity. It was the Holy Spirit who inspired us to love the needy and to love the unlovable. On the other hand, Paul likens the Holy Spirit as God’s down payment of our inheritance in heaven (2 Corinthians 1:22; 5:5, Ephesians 1:13-14). Last week, we read that our Father in heaven is eager to “give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him” (Luke 11:13). But don’t forget, God would also take the Holy Spirit away from us (1 Samuel 16:14, Psalms 51:13). Thus, not only should we aim at the possession of the Holy Spirit, but we should also take care to preserve the Holy Spirit given to us. The BVM is an excellent exemplar. She is full of the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:35) and as a carrier of the Holy Spirit, she moves around to extend a helping hand to whoever is in need (1:39-40, John 2:3)! That explains why doing good work is an essential step in the preservation of the Holy Spirit in us, thus ensuring that we’ll get rich in heaven.

Brethren! Don’t be short-sighted when we handle worldly business which would easily occupy our full attention. Take time off to seek the right thing! Seek not immediate fairness because it might not last long. Instead, set our sight to eternal richness and seek it! Amen.
God bless!
2016 Reflection
Picture Credit: wikipedia

一個不對稱的關係 An Unequal Relationship

復活期第六主日，乙年
主題：一個不對稱的關係

當我們說「天主是一個奧秘」的時候，是指憑著理性，人類無法完全明白天主是甚麼一回事，是甚麼樣的道理。經過幾十年的反省，若望領悟出一點頭緒，他說：「天主是愛。」（若一4:8）這是探索天主的一個很好的起步點，是神學上的一個突破點，但問題並未得到簡化。因為「愛」本身也是一個奧秘，雖然愛是一個比較容易理解的現實，但又是一個未能完全破解的現象。不是嗎，人與人之間的關係，很多都展示出愛是甚麼？且看夫妻之間、父母子女之間、兄弟姊妹、老師同學、朋友同事甚至政府與人民之間的關係。誠然，有很多的關係是剝削性的，甚至是兩敗俱傷的。但也有更多是互相補助，讓彼此增長的。愛之所以是奧秘，在於它是怎樣「發生」。剛好今天是母親節，在今天反省這份不對等的愛，真是蠻有意思。

毫無疑問，母愛是偉大的。那種忘我的犧牲，不但令人歌頌，更是其他形式的愛所追求的典範。是甚麼讓母愛「發生」的呢？不問還可以，問了反而是一個費解的疑團。是賀爾蒙作祟嗎？是進化的結果嗎？是未雨綢繆嗎？是責任感嗎？每一種解釋都不能令人滿意，可見母愛，甚至是更廣義的愛，的確是一個奧秘。把天主說成是愛，是若望的創見。他把素來高不可攀的天主帶到人間，讓人可以稍為領悟。

當然，是天主首先願意親近人類，纔主動把自己啟示給我們（若15:16a）。否則，我們根本沒有能力去認識祂。三位一體的天主，選擇了降生成為人，從不可見的境界進入可見的世界：「就是我們聽見過，我們親眼看見過，瞻仰過，以及我們親手摸過的生命的聖言」（若一1:1）。即使是可見的，但我們仍沒有能力把它放在顯微鏡下，觀察研究！即使是看見過復活的基督，也祇能驚訝，甚至朝拜，而沒有辦法明瞭祂為甚麼要替我們受難！倘若我們說：「因為天主比我們大，所以我們沒有辦法明白祂」，肯定有很多人不會同意。比我們大的事物多的是，人類憑著有創意的心志，有系統的研究精神，正在把人類對宇宙間萬事萬物的無知，逐一掃除和解決。所以，倘若天主祇是比我們大，更準確地說「天主比我們的心大」（3:20）人類的神學研究，很有信心能明瞭天主的奧秘，我們且走著瞧！

但若望說這句話時，不是指著理性層面說的，而是指著倫理層面說，執事我祇是斷章取義而已。全文是「…在祂面前可以安心；縱然我們的心責備我們，我們還可以安心，因為天主比我們的心大，祂原知道一切。」（3:19-20）若望說的「心」是「良心」，是倫理層次上的良知，而不是理性上的心智。為甚麼我們犯了罪，受到良心的責備，我們還可以安心呢？因為天主是全知的，認識和明白一切；而且祂是愛，祂犧牲自己，造就我們，讓我們可以得到成長，成聖！我們憑人世間的母愛，那份不惜為了子女而自我犧牲的愛，領悟到天父的行動，不是愛，還可以是甚麼呢？在這一種不對等的關係中，愛表現在強者照顧弱者的事實；弱者佔據了「優勢」，強者反而佔據了劣勢，真是矛盾！強者之所以是強，就在於他們在劣勢之下，仍然有能力屹立不倒。看來，這就是天主喜歡用的行為模式了。祂喜歡挑選軟弱的人替祂做事，以小勝多。祂顯現給厄里亞時，不在山崩地裂和烈火的威儀之中，而在「輕微細弱的風聲」中（列上19:12）。祂決定擊敗魔鬼，消滅罪惡和死亡，並不用驚天動地的神蹟，而是用十字架上的苦難。祂渴望所有人得救，但從不強迫所有人相信天主子耶穌。所以保祿得到以下的結論：「天主偏召選了世上愚妄的，為羞辱那有智慧的…那些一無所有的，為消滅那些有的」（格前1:27-28）。

耶穌說：「如果你們遵守我的命令，便存在我的愛內」（若15:10）既然真愛不是一廂情願的，那麼，我們可否反過來向耶穌說：「如果祢遵守我的命令，便存在我的愛內」呢？這樣問，好像有點大逆不道，挑戰造物主至高無上的權威。對不起，這真是人類犯罪後的「本性」，不願意服從權威！但當天主子耶穌基督降生，成為人類大家庭的一份子的時候，祂已預備了服從天父的旨意，並樂意遵守「彼此相愛」的誡命，互相造就成聖。
細心想想，耶穌基督是真理，祂的命令也就是真理，令人獲得自由發展的真理，因為萬物是出於祂，並憑祂維系（哥1:16-17）。所以，祂的命令絕不會矛盾，不會造成破壞。祂的命令是公平的，不會偏袒個別成員。即使部份人「先富起來」，也是因為他們肩負重任，幫助其他人富起來。至於我們，我們會發出怎麼樣的命令呢？恕我愚昧，我暫時還沒想到有甚麼可以必須補充的命令，遑論更好、更高的命令了。

各位兄弟姊妹，顯然，在基督的愛內，我們擁有優勢，不斷地獲得主的助佑，邁向成聖的境界。讓我們安心存留在主的愛內，彼此相愛，結出更豐盛的果實吧（若15:16）！
天主保祐。
2018年講道
圖片鳴謝：DailyVerses.net

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Sixth Easter Sunday, Year B
Theme: An Unequal Relationship

When we say “God is a mystery”, we mean to say that with rationality, men are unable to completely understand what God is and what principles God follows. After decades of reflection, John came up with a clue. He says, “God is love” (1 John 4:8). This is a good starting point to explore God and a breakthrough in theology but the problem is not simplified. It is because love in itself is also a mystery. Although love is a more easily understandable reality, we have not yet completely cracked the enigma of this phenomenon. Don’t many interpersonal relationships show love? Take a look at the relations between spouses, parents and children, siblings, teachers and disciples, friends and colleagues, even between the government and the people. There is no doubt that some relationships are exploitative and even destructive for both parties, but many more are complementary and edifying to each other. The mystery of love lies in its genesis. It’s Mother’s Day today. How meaningful it is to reflect on this unequal love!

Nobody questions the greatness of motherly love. We sing praises to its altruistic sacrifice and it becomes a paradigm for other forms of love. How does motherly love come about? Asking this question reveals an enigma. Is it a hormonal effect? A consequence of evolution? A preparation for the future? Or a sense of responsibility? No attempted explanation is satisfactory. Thus, motherly love in particular, and love in general, is truly a mystery. John is creative when he describes God as love. He brings the lofty God down to earth and accessible to men such that we may understand a little bit more.

Of course, it must be God who is willing to approach men first and thus takes the initiative to reveal Himself to us (John 15:16a). Otherwise, men don’t have the ability to know Him. The trinite God chose to incarnate as a man, coming down from the invisible realm to the visible world, “What we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we looked upon and touched with our hands concerns the Word of life…” (1 John 1:1) Even when He becomes visible, we are still unable to examine and study Him under the microscope! Even when they saw the risen Christ, the disciples could only be amazed and even adore and yet nobody was able to understand why He suffered for us! If we say, “God is greater than us. Thus we are unable to understand Him”, I’m sure many people would disagree. There are many things greater than us. With a creative mind and a systematic as well as determined spirit, humanity is wiping out ignorance of and solving puzzles found in the known universe. Thus, if God is greater than us, or more accurately “God is greater than our hearts” (3:20), we are confident that our theological studies would help us understand God’s mystery. Let’s wait and see!

But when John spoke the statement mentioned above, he did not mean the rational level but the moral level. I just took the liberty to quote it out of context. The full text is “… reassures our hearts before Him in whatever our hearts condemn, for God is greater than our hearts and knows everything.” (3:19-20) The “hearts” John talks about is our conscience in the moral sense, not the intellect in the rational sense. How can our hearts be reassured when we have sinned and our conscience condemns us? It is because God knows everything. Moreover, He is love. He sacrifices Himself to build us up, to help us grow up and be sanctified! With the motherly love on earth, that altruistic love, we understand the Father’s action. If it is not love, what is? In this unequal relation, love is revealed in the care the strong shows the weak. The weak is in advantage while the strong is in disadvantage. How paradoxical! The strength of the strong is shown in their capability to remain standing even in disadvantage. This seems to be the modus operandi of God. He likes to choose the weak to accomplish His will, the minority to defeat the majority. He revealed Himself to Elijah not in the majesty of earthquakes or fires, but in “a light silent sound” (1 Kings 19:12). When He decides to defeat Satan, to wipe out sins and death, He did not work earth-shattering miracles but the passion on the cross. He desires all to be saved but does not force people to believe in His Son Jesus. Thus Paul comes to this conclusion, “God chose the foolish of the world to shame the wise … to reduce to nothing those who are something.”(1 Corinthians 1:27-28)

Jesus says, “If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love.” (John 15:10) Since it takes two to tangle, can we turn the table and say to Jesus, “If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love”? Such a retort seems rebellious, challenging the supreme authority of the Creator. I’m sorry, ever since our fall, it’s our second nature to disobey authority! But when Jesus Christ, the Son of God incarnated to become a member of humanity, He’s prepared to obey the Father’s will and the commandment to “love each other”, to help each other to attain sanctification.
Jesus Christ is the truth. His commandments are truth which helps us develop in freedom. It is because “All things were created through Him and for Him … and in Him all things hold together.”(Colossians 1:16-17) Thus, His commandments won’t be contradictory and do no damage. His commandments are fair and won’t be partial to individual members. Even though some members prosper first, they shoulder responsibility to help others prosper. As for us, what commandments would we give? Forgive my ignorance. At the moment, I can’t think of any necessity to supplement His commandments, not to mention better or higher commandments.

Brethren! Obviously, in Christ’s love we are in an advantaged position, unceasingly receiving grace to move ahead towards sanctification. Let us remain and stay assured in His love, love each other and bear fruit that will remain (John 15:16)!
God bless.

不怕失敗纔能更新 Embrace Failures To Renew

復活期第三主日，乙年
主題：不怕失敗纔能更新

為響應教廷的號召，香港教區在未來三年的牧民方向，是「堂區更新」，即是以傳福音為堂區的首要目標。堂區將要成為一個「團體中的團體」，一個以傳福音為存在目標的團體。堂區內的成員、架構和所有的活動，將要因應個別堂區的特殊環境，彰顯出天主聖三那包容一切的共融。所以更新將會是全面的，包括成員個人的更新，與整個堂區團體的更新，讓四周的人能更容易被福音所吸引，加入天主聖三的共融之中。
香港教區每年都在一月，連續三日舉行「聖職人員學習營」，集思廣益，就來年的牧民方向，達成某程度的共識和調整，然後返回堂區落實。今年因為疫症的影響，押後到四月纔舉行。疫症使以往慣常的禮儀生活，起了不少的適應，例如祇能在網上舉行公開彌撒，教友在一段頗長的時間內，祇能神領聖體而未能實領聖體等。剛好在聖周前恢復了公開彌撒，但為了減少互相感染的風險，政府限制了聖堂的可容納人數，在坐位的三份一之內。為了滿足教友的需要，不少堂區要加開彌撒，以疏導人群！另一方面，可能教友長時間適應了參加網上的彌撒，返回聖堂參加彌撒的人數，並沒有預期的多。究竟是因為人數有限制的緣故，還是參加實體彌撒的意欲降低了，尚未有定論。由此引申，在可見的未來，倘若有甚麼堂區更新的措施，要量度其成果並不是一件容易的事！

今天的答唱詠唸來頗為諷刺，「上主，請祢向我們顯示祢光的儀容。」（詠4:7）福音卻告訴我們，耶穌基督顯現給門徒時，「眾人害怕起來，想是見了鬼神」（路24:37），主耶穌要出盡九年二虎之力，纔能令門徒接受祂復活了的喜訊！也難怪，人始終是「習慣的動物」，要花一段時間，辛辛苦苦地建立起一套習慣，可以是行為上的習慣，或者是思想上的習慣。要改變這些習慣真的不容易。 耶穌基督在公開傳道的最後階段，曾三次透露給門徒知道祂的救世大計，就是受難後復活，目的是徹底地摧毀罪惡和死亡。可惜，「人死不能復生」的觀念，實在牢不可破。雖然舊約曾有厄里亞和厄里叟復活過死人，但這些都是極罕有的個案；雖然耶穌基督的一少撮門徒，也曾經在三個不同的場合，見證過祂復活死人，但不足以保證耶穌基督死後可以復活。正如厄里叟雖然生前曾復活死人，但他死後，並沒有復活一樣！在描述耶穌復活後顯現的故事中，路加不同於馬爾谷，他所記述的耶穌基督，並沒有怪責門徒的無信，而是耶穌基督憐憫門徒的軟弱，想盡辦法幫助他們相信。

首先，耶穌基督復活後保留了祂的五傷，這五個傷痕是獨一無二的，是耶穌基督所獨有的。第一，因為祇有耶穌基督從死裡復活過來，其他人是一去不返的。第二，即使是捱過釘十字架酷刑而沒有死的人，亦祇有四個傷口而不是五個。第五個傷口，即使不是致命的一擊，也是為了保證祂一定是死去的一擊（若19:34）！耶穌基督向門徒展示祂保留的五傷，證明門徒所見的，不是妖魔鬼怪，而是曾被釘在十字架上的耶穌基督！「你們看看我的手，我的腳，分明是我自己」（路24:39a）。
跟著，耶穌基督為了證明祂不是一個天使或者鬼靈般的純粹靈體，是有骨有肉的，便邀請他們觸摸祂（24:39b）。結果門徒仍然是不敢相信（24:41），因為喜出望外，現實完全超出了他們可以接受的程度！我可以用甚麼相比呢？有點兒像粵劇的橋段，一個婢女與另一個認識多年的僕役結婚，後來纔發現這位男僕竟然是流落民間的太子，這個婢女一夜之間成為了皇后吧！
最後，復活了的主在門徒前吃了一片烤魚，證明了復活後的祂，並沒有放棄人性，仍願意與一眾罪人，甘苦與共。甘，因為祂已戰勝了死亡，祂願意與我們分享這份復活的光榮。苦，因為人間仍然存在著很多尚未清理的罪惡所帶來的罪苦，很多人仍然生活在不公義的制度下，仍然捱受著結構性罪惡的奴役。復活了的耶穌基督願意不離不棄，擔起全人類的苦況！

所以，堂區的更新，堂區教友的更新，有如門徒們所接受的挑戰。就是打破舊有的因循思維，向天主開放。天主經常使我們喜出望外，賜給我們不敢想像的恩寵和喜樂。保祿說得好：「天主為愛祂的人所準備的，是眼所未見，耳所未聞，人心所未想到的。」（格前2:9；依64:3）當基督徒相信復活是理所當然的時候，容易忘記了初期教會接受死後復活，原來可以是十分困難的。倘若是容易接受，人就不會怕痛苦，怕失敗了。這也是在「聖職人員學習營」中提出的其中一個重點！有誰願意擁抱痛苦，擁抱失敗呢？更新的人，更新的堂區要有這種心理質素！
保祿說得好：「如今我在為你們受苦，反覺高興，因為這樣我可在我的肉身上，為基督的身體─教會，補充基督苦難所欠缺的。」（哥1:24）祇有不怕痛苦，不怕失敗，纔可以更新，纔可以傳福音！至於我們，我們「因祂的名向萬邦宣講悔改，以得罪之赦。你們就是這些事的見證人。」（路24:47-48）。一如保祿所說，我們就是「代基督作大使了，好像是天主藉著我們來勸勉世人…與天主和好罷」（格後5:20）

主內的兄弟姊妹！我們願意成為修和大使嗎？願意幫助世界與天主修和嗎？那麼，我們要不怕苦，不怕失敗，更新自己，承擔福傳的使命！
天主保祐！
2018年講道
圖片鳴謝：freebibleimages.org

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Third Easter Sunday, Year B
Theme: Embrace Failures To Renew

In response to the instruction of the Roman Curia, Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong makes “Pastoral Conversion of the Parish Community” the focus of diocesan actions in the coming three years. That is to say, evangelization shall be the primary aim of all parishes. A parish shall be “a community among communities”, a community whose raison d'être shall be evangelization. All the members, structures and activities shall manifest the all-inclusive communion of the Blessed Trinity according to the particular circumstances parishes find themselves in. This conversion shall be total, including personal conversion of all members and the whole community so as to make the gospel more attractive to all the people around and help them join the communion of the Blessed Trinity.

Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong holds a three-day Clergy Study Camp usually in January to pool all the brains together to come up with some sorts of consensus and adjustments for pastoral care to be implemented in the parishes in the coming year. This year, the study camp was postponed to April because of the pandemic which has disrupted the routine liturgical life of the faithful. For example, masses could only be publicly celebrated online. For a rather long time, the faithful could only receive the Holy Communion spiritually. Just before the Holy Week, public masses would be publicly celebrated but in order to reduce the risk of infection, the government limits the seating capacity to 30%. In order to meet the spiritual needs of the faithful, many parishes celebrate extra masses in order to thin out the congestion! On the other hand, probably the faithful have got used to attending online masses, physical church attendance is found to be less than expected! So far, we can’t tell whether it is because of the limitation of seating capacity or that the desire to physically join mass has decreased. Interpolating from here, in the foreseeable future, it is not easy to measure how effective the implementation of pastoral conversion of the parish communities shall be!

The Responsorial Psalm we read today was a bit paradoxical, “Lord, show us the light of your face!” (Psalm 4:7) But the gospel tells us that when Jesus Christ appeared to the disciples, “But they were startled and terrified and thought that they were seeing a ghost.” (Luke 24:37) Lord Jesus worked hard to help them accept the joy of resurrection! Well, what else could we do? After all, men are “animals of habits”. They spend a lot time to develop a set of habits, be they habits of operations or habits of thoughts. It’s not easy to modify these habits. During the last days of the public ministry of Jesus Christ, He revealed to the disciples the action plan of salvation, viz. to die and then come back to life in order to conquer sins and death. Unfortunately, that nobody is able to come back to life after death is casted hard in people’s mind. Even though Elijah and Elisha had raised some dead people, those cases were rare. Although Jesus Christ had raised the dead in three different occasions in the presence of a small group of disciples, that did not guarantee that Jesus would come back to life after death, just as Elisha did not come back to life despite the fact that he had raised the dead! The apparition narratives of Luke are less harsh than those of Mark. Jesus did not blame the disciples for their disbelief. Instead Jesus Christ shows mercy towards the weaknesses of the disciples, helping them believe by all means.

First of all, Jesus Christ keeps His stigmata after resurrection. These stigmata were unique. They belong to Jesus Christ only. Only Jesus Christ has come back to life. The others are gone for good. Even if people survived crucifixion, they only had 4 wounds and not five. Even though the fifth wound might not be mortal, it made sure that Jesus had to die (John 19:34)! Jesus Christ showed the disciples the stigmata He kept to convince them that they were not seeing a ghost but the Jesus Christ who had been crucified! “Look at my hands and my feet, that it is I myself” (Luke 24:39a) Then, in order to prove that He is not an angel-like spirit or ghost, that He had flesh and bone, Jesus Christ invited them to touch Him (24:39b). The disciples “were still incredulous for joy and were amazed” (24:41) because it was too good to be true! It went beyond their expectations! What can I compare their reaction with? It was like a Cantonese opera in which a handmaid married a man servant whom she had known for many years. It turned out that the man servant was a prince in exile for many years. Now, he ascended the throne and she became a queen overnight! Too good to be true!
Lastly, the risen Lord ate a piece of baked fish in front of them to show them that He has not forsaken His humanity after resurrection. He’s still willing to rejoice and suffer with all sinners. Rejoice because He has defeated death and is will to share the glory of resurrection with us. Suffer because there are still a lot of sufferings brought about by sins which have not yet been wiped out completely. Many people are still living in unrighteous institutions, still living in the bondage of structural sins. The risen Jesus Christ is willing to embrace the painful situations of all humanity!

Therefore, renewal of the parish and the parishioners is as challenging as that encounter of the disciples. It is to break away from complacent mind sets and open up to God who is always a God of surprises. He is delighted to give us grace and joy which we dare not to imagine. Paul says well, “What eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, and what has not entered the human heart, what God has prepared for those who love him.” (1 Corinthians 2:9, Isaiah 54:3) When Christians have taken resurrection for granted, they will easily forget how difficult it was for the early Church to accept resurrection after death. Had it been easy to accept, men would not have feared pains and failures. That was also one of the key points brought up in the Clergy Study Camp! Who is willing to embrace pains and failures? Parishes and parishioners who want to renew must possess this psychological characteristic!
Paul says well, “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ on behalf of His body, which is the Church” (Colossians 1:24) Only when we are not afraid of pains and failures can we evangelize! “That repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in His name to all the nations …You are witnesses of these things.” (Luke 24:47-48) Yes, we are witnesses of these things. In Paul’s word, “We are ambassadors for Christ, as if God were appealing though us … be reconciled to God.” (2 Corinthians 5:20)

Brethren! Are we willing to be ambassadors of reconciliation? Are we willing to help the world reconcile to God? Then, don’t be afraid of pains and failures. Renew ourselves to take up the mission of evangelization.
God bless!

道不可離 We Can’t Depart From the Way

道不可離（若6:16-21）

人的確非常軟弱，叫天主怎能安心哩！且看，門徒們剛見證完五餅二魚神蹟；吃飽了，有氣力在翻騰的海上，划過五千米的路程，卻不能認出步行海面上的主，竟然害怕起來（若6:19）！倘若五餅二魚神蹟，是最後晚餐的演習，那麼，山園祈禱的場面，不用想像也知道不容樂觀了！

天主子就是聖言，「萬物是藉著祂而造成」（1:3），是倚賴祂而存在（哥1:17）。新教把這聖言翻譯成「道」，不無道理。所謂「道也者，不可須臾離也；可離，非道也。」（中庸），與哥羅森書的教訓吻合。

在施行五餅二魚神蹟後，耶穌基督為了避開群眾，便放下門徒一會兒，「獨自又退避到山裡去了」（若6:15）沒有想到門徒是如此不堪一擊。也難怪，離開了真理，心靈被枷鎖封閉，失去了自由，還可以做甚麼呢？

這事蹟告訴我們一個事實，群眾在五餅二魚神蹟中吃的餅，即使是耶穌基督拿起、祝謝、擘開，始終不是聖體聖事，不是耶穌基督的身體！因此，即使門徒們在海上如何努力，但在心中沒有主相伴，費盡氣力都祇會是徒勞無功！耶穌基督被捕後，受難後，在復活前，主基督藉著聖體聖事，支撐著驚弓之鳥一樣的門徒，直到祂復活！這三天，比海上的五千米，不知難捱多少倍！都捱過了！這是聖體聖事的效力、威力。

在這疫情期間，沒有公開彌撒的歲月，沒有實領聖體的日子，實在不好受。但我們深信天主子耶穌基督是真道、是真理、是真生命。祂總不會離開我們。捨棄我們的，就不是道，不是主耶穌基督了。
天父啊！感謝祢的慈悲，真理不再是抽象的原則，而是有血有肉，不離不棄的天主子。我們是多麼幸福。請繼續派遣，強化我們的腳步，走遍天涯海角，為主作見證。亞孟。
生命恩泉
圖片鳴謝：newswithnaylors.blogspot.com

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We Can’t Depart From the Way（John 6:16-21）

Men are truly fragile. How could God not worry? Look, after witnessing the miracle of 5 loaves and 2 fish, the disciples had had their full and strength to row more than 5 Km over rough waters, but were unable to recognize the Lord walking on the water and began to be afraid (John 6:19)! If the miracle of 5 loaves and 2 fish was a rehearsal for the Last Supper, the expected outcomes in the Agony in the Garden would not be optimistic!

The Son of God is the Word of God, “All things came to be through Him” (1:3) “And in Him all things hold together” (Colossians 1:17) Protestant bibles render “the Word” “the Way” and this translation is reasonable. Chinese classics says similar things “One cannot depart from the Way for a moment. If you can, it is not the Way.” (The Golden Mean) It agrees with the teachings in Colossians.

After performing the 5 loaves and 2 fish miracle, in order to evade the crowd, Jesus left the disciples behind for a while, “withdrew again to the mountain alone.” (John 6:15) The disciples were unexpectedly fragile at that moment. Perhaps it was because they had departed from the Truth, their hearts were locked and they had lost their autonomy. What else could they do?

` This incident tells us a piece of truth. Even though Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks and distributed to the crowd to consume, the loaves in that miracle were not the body of Christ! Thus, no matter how hard the disciples laboured over the seas, their efforts were futile because the Lord had not accompanied them in their hearts! After Jesus Christ had been arrested, had suffered the passion and before He came back to life, He was able to support the caged disciples through the Holy Eucharist until His Resurrection! These three days were much harder than the 5 Km on sea! So be it! This is the power of the Sacrament of the Eucharist.

Life was hard during this pandemic when there was no public masses and no holy communion. But we firmly believe that Jesus Christ, the Son of God is the Way and the Truth and the Life. He shall never abandon us. Deserting us, He would not be the Logos, not Lord Jesus Christ.
Father! Thank you for Your mercy. The Truth is no longer abstract principles but the Son of God who takes up our flesh and shall never abandon us. How blessed we are! Send us forth. Strengthen our legs to trot the globe and bear witness for the Lord. Amen.

領洗就是重新做人嗎？ Is Baptism Turning A New Leaf?

復活主日，乙年
主題：領洗就是重新做人嗎？

梵二的禮儀改革，是為了突顯出很多信仰上的意義。「祈禱律就是信仰律」，你的祈禱反映出你相信甚麼。例如，以往慕道者祇要完成了慕道課程，見過神父，便可以領洗。小編我在中學時代學習要理，有幸在「聖母領報瞻禮」受洗。但經過梵二禮儀改革後，大部份的成人入門聖事，都在復活前夕的守夜禮儀中進行。大家可否注意到，在用詞上的不同呢？從前說「聖母領報瞻禮」，今天稱為「預報救主降生節」；從前說「領洗」，今天說「領受入門聖事」，把三件聖事，即聖洗、堅振和聖體聖事，連成一體，展現三件聖事之間的關係！而且，入門聖事不再是隨時隨地進行，而是選擇盡量在復活前夕進行，突顯出領洗者與基督同死同生的意義（羅6:8）。這些改革是好的，因為現代人的教育水平高了，除了虔誠之外，也要滿足他們理性上的需要。

今天小編想澄清兩個容易產生誤會的觀念，希望對慕道者有所幫助。
首先，「永生」就是「不死」嗎？
驟眼看來，二者沒有分別。死亡就是生命的結束，不死就是生命不會結束，生命永遠保持下去。那不就是永生嗎？真的不是！一個每年考第一的學生，不能保證永遠考第一；一個從沒有患病的人，也不能保證永遠不會生病；一個練得全身刀槍不入的武僧，也不保證沒有死穴；即使千萬年來太陽每天都在東方升起，亦不能保證明天太陽會在東方升起！「不死」祇反映過往的紀錄，並不保證以後不會死，不保證以後生命不會結束！而且，老而不死，絕對不是現代發達國家人民所追求的！沒有不老不病的保證，是沒有人願意「不死」的！「永生」卻有永遠的保證！耶穌基督在福音中宣講的，是「永生」而不是「不死」（若3:15）。

從另一個方向想，為甚麼要追求「不死」呢？很多統治者手執大權之後，下一步便想盡辦法追求「長生不老」。既健康，又不會衰老，這不是現代人夢寐以求的「不死」嗎？那麼，「長生不老」可以算是「永生」嗎？可惜「長生不老」同樣是過往的業績，「長生」沒有永遠的保證，並不保證將來有同樣的成就。況且，肉體上的不衰老，並不保證心靈上沒有痛苦！試想想祇有你一個人長生不老，看著心愛的人衰老死去，這份心靈上的孤獨不痛苦嗎？其實，追求「不死」 或者「長生不老」所表現的，都是一種逃避現實的懦弱消極心態，而不是一種面對死亡的勇敢積極心態！
「無敵」祇是暫時的！所謂「強中自有強中手」，你總會遇上一個比你更強的對手！但戰敗後能重整旗鼓，捲土重來，一雪前恥，纔是「無敵」的保證！讓我拿象棋作一個比喻，對奕雙方總會犯錯，輸家是犯最後一個錯誤的一位！世上沒有不犯錯的人，所以勝利者不是不犯錯的那一位，而是犯錯後能夠翻身，倒地後能夠爬起來繼續戰鬥的那個人！即是說，真正的「不死」不是不會死，而是「復活」。即使死了，仍可擺脫死亡，再次活起來。這纔是不死的真正保證！

其次，領洗就是重新做人嗎？
也不是！因為「失去了原始恩寵」（俗稱「原罪」）的緣故，犯錯成為了人的本性。犯錯必須賠償，在獲得寬恕，或者滿全補償後，便可以重新做人！很多時候，喪失自由是補償的辦法之一。所以罪犯出獄後，重獲自由，重投社會，開始人生新的一頁。但生活迫人，很多釋囚會再次犯案，多次出入監獄…當然亦有出獄後，成功地在社會找到立足點，甚至飛黃騰達的。
人在信主前是罪的奴隸，信主受洗後，信靠主耶穌基督的復活，不再做罪惡的奴隸，獲得解放。雖然領洗獲得自由與出獄相似，但絕對不是出獄。人可以多次出入監獄，但祇會領受一次洗禮！出獄是重新做人，但領洗是成為一個「新造的人」（格後5:17）！

今天的第二篇讀經說得非常好，容許我節錄一大段：「你們既然與基督一同復活了，就該追求天上的事…因為你們已經死了，你們的生命已與基督一同藏在天主內了；當基督，我們的生命顯現時，那時，們們也要與他一同出現在光榮之中。」（哥3:1，3-4）

領受洗禮是與基督同死同葬，而基督真的復活了。所以我們倚靠祂，便得以復活，即享有永生。所以領受洗禮是獲得永生的保證。領受洗禮不是重新做人，而是「穿上新人」，因為舊我帶有很多缺點，障礙我們過永生的生活，過與天主聖三合一的生活。
怎樣的生活纔不會障礙永生呢？保祿繼續說：「為此，你們該如天主所揀選的，所愛的聖者，穿上憐憫的心腸、仁慈、謙卑、良善和含忍…要彼此擔待…在這一切之上，尤該有愛德，因為愛德是全德的聯繫。還要叫基督的平安，在你們心中作主…你們該有感恩之心。要讓基督的話充分地存在你們内，以各種智慧彼此教導規勸，以聖詠、詩詞和屬神的歌曲在你們心內，懷著感恩之情，歌頌天主。你們無論作甚麼，在言語上或在行為上，一切都該因主耶穌的名而作，藉著他感謝天主聖父。」（3:12-17）真的，領洗不是重新做人，而是成為一個新造的人！

各位兄弟姊妹！沒有人見過耶穌基督復活的一刻，祇有人見過復活後的基督！耶穌基督沒有留在世上，祇憑這批軟弱的罪人為祂的復活作見證。這批天主所揀選的，軟弱的罪人都因著主的復活已成為了新造的人，可以沒有障礙地享受永生。憑著在入門聖事中所領受的聖神，我們已獲得了永生的保證（格後5:5）。我們既已選擇了永生，就不要獨享，請與心愛的人，關心的人分享吧。
天主保祐！
圖片鳴謝：天水圍聖葉理諾堂

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Easter Sunday, Year B
Theme: Is Baptism Turning A New Leaf?

Liturgical reforms of Vatican II aim at highlighting the meanings of our articles of faith. “Lex orandi, lex credendi” --- How you pray shows what you believe. For example, in previous generations, after finishing catechetical instructions and seeing the parish priests, catechumens could receive baptism. I myself was instructed during secondary school and was blessed enough to be baptized at the Feast of Annunciation. After reforms in Vatican II, most of the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults would take place during Easter Vigil. Have you noticed the changes in vocabulary? Previously, it was called the “Feast of Annunciation”, now the “Solemnity of Annunciation”. Previously, it was simply called baptism. Nowadays it is the “Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults”, viz. Baptism, Confirmation & Eucharist form one unit, manifesting their relation! Moreover, the rite is not performed any time in the year, but mostly during Easter Vigil to highlight the meaning of dying and rising with Christ (Romans 6:8). These reforms are good because modern people are literate. Besides piety, they need to meet their rational needs.

Today, I would like to help the catechumens clarify two easily mixed-up concepts.
First of all, is eternal life equivalent to immortality?
Superficially, there is no difference between the two. Death is the end of life. Immortality means life doesn’t end. It keeps going on. Isn’t it eternal life? No! A candidate who comes first in every examination is not able to guarantee to come first forever. A person who never falls sick cannot guarantee that he’ll never fall sick. There can be an Achilles’ heel in a bullet-proof monk. Even though the sun has risen everyday in the east for trillions of years, there is no guarantee that it will rise in the east tomorrow! Immortality is only a past record. It doesn’t guarantee life to have no end. Moreover, ageing without dying is absolutely not what people in developed countries want! Without the guarantee of ageing and sickness free, nobody wants to be immortal! But eternal life guarantees eternity. Thus, Jesus Christ proclaims eternal life and not immortality (John 3:15).

Let’s think along another line. Why do people pursue immortality? After securing total control of a country, many tyrants sought longevity without ageing. Aren’t being healthy without ageing the immortality sought by modern people? Then, is longevity without ageing eternal life? It’s a pity that longevity without ageing is also a past record without guarantee of good performance into the future. Moreover, no ageing physically does not guarantee no pains mentally! Just think about it, leading a healthy and long life, you see your beloved ones die one by one. Isn’t this loneliness painful? In fact, seeking immortality or longevity without ageing shows a negative attitude of a coward who runs away from reality and not a courageous and positive attitude towards death!
Invincibility is temporary. Sooner or later, you will meet a stronger rival! But the ability to recoup to make a comeback to win makes one invincible! Let me take an example from chess. Both sides make mistakes. The loser is the one who makes the last blunder! To err is human. So, the victor is not somebody who makes no mistake but the one who is able to recover from the blunder and continue to fight! That is to say, genuine immortality is not that one never dies, but one who comes back to life again after death. This and this alone is the genuine guarantee of immortality!

Secondly, is baptism turning a new leaf?
Again no! Because of the effect of losing the original graces (aka Original Sin), it is human nature to make mistakes. One must repay or compensate the mistakes one makes. Only after being forgiven or satisfying compensation can one turn a new leaf and starts once again! In most situations, losing one’s freedom is part of the compensation or one of the many ways to compensate. Thus after a prisoner is discharged, he regains freedom and returns to the society to turn a new leaf in life. But life is harsh, many discharged prisoners commit crimes again, in and out of prisons many times … Of course, some may gain a foothold successfully and even become prominent in the society.
Before a person believes in the Lord, he is a slave of sins. After believing in the Lord and getting baptized, relying on the resurrection of Lord Jesus Christ, he is no longer a slave of sins and is liberated. Although freedom is regained in both baptism and discharge from prison, baptism is not same as discharge from prison. Prisoners may be in and out of prisons many times but one is baptized only once. A prison discharged from prison turns a new leaf in life. But baptism makes the baptized a new creature (2 Corinthians 5:17)!

The second reading today is written well. Allow me to quote a big chunk, “If then you were raised with Christ, seek what is above … For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ our life appears, then you too will appear with him in glory.” (Colossians 3:1, 3-4)

Receiving baptism is to die and bury with Christ who is truly risen. Thus, relying on Him enables us to be raised and thus to attain eternal life. Thus receiving baptism guarantees eternal life. Receiving baptism is not to turn a new leaf in life, but to put on a new-self because there are many defects in the old-self which hinder us from leading an eternal life, a life in union with the Triune God.
What short of life will not hinder eternal life? Paul continues, “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another … And over all these put on love, that is the bond of perfection … And let the peace of Christ control your hearts … And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, as in all wisdom you teach and admonish one another, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father.” (3:12-17) Truly, one does not turn a new leaf through baptism, but becomes a new creature!

Brethren! Nobody was present the moment Jesus Christ came back to life. There were only people who saw the risen Christ who did not remain on earth. He relies on this bunch of fragile sinners to be the witnesses of His resurrection. They were chosen by God, had become new creatures through the resurrection of the Lord. They didn’t have any obstacles in attaining eternal life. During the Rite of Christian Initiation, we were given “the Spirit as a first installment” (2 Corinthians 5:5). Since we have chosen eternal life, let us not enjoy it alone. Share it with people we love and care.
God bless!

憐愛猶達斯 Have Compassion On Judas

四旬期第五主日，乙年
主題：憐愛猶達斯

這段沒有公開彌撒的日子，有很多慣常的工作都不能做，都生疏了，例如在彌撒中襄禮、講道和歌詠。於是趁不用在講壇上講道，每主日彌撒讀經的反省，可以毫無顧忌地試探神學的底線，可以想多一點福音的教訓與社會時事的關係…
甚麼是我的信仰呢？

第一，天主憐憫罪人，祂派遣聖子救贖世界，並沒有走捷徑，而是用釘十字架的方式。「當我從地上被舉起來時，便要吸引眾人來歸向我。」（若12:32）耶穌基督不但為了我這個罪人釘十字架，為我所關心愛護的人，也為傷害我的人和我不喜歡的人釘十字架。因此，我不能排斥那些我不喜歡的人，包括我的仇人。
第二，耶穌基督不單死在十字架上，祂以言以行，示範了祂的教訓。祂的教訓就是「你們該彼此相愛，如同我愛了你們。」（13:34）所以祂愛那個想盡辦法置祂於死地的大司祭、那些與他作對的法利塞人、宗教權貴、政治權貴…還包括猶達斯。作為耶穌基督的門徒，我也要愛那些對我不利的人。

耶穌憐愛罪人的例子俯拾皆是，例如在十字架上，祂求天父寬恕殺害祂的人（路23:34）。至於猶達斯，耶穌怎樣具體地憐愛他呢？
今天讀的福音章節的前段，講述耶穌復活拉匝祿之後，在伯達尼的晚宴上，拉匝祿的姊妹瑪利亞用香液敷抹耶穌的腳，並用自己的頭髮擦乾（若12:3）。看見這個情景，猶達斯表示不滿，覺得不如賣了香液，把所得的錢賙濟窮人（12:5）。可惜在若望的筆下，猶達斯「是個賊，掌管錢囊，常偷取其中所存放的」（12:6）。死無對證，我們不能排除若望的描述，感情用事，影響了描述的客觀性。但毫無疑問，他這樣寫，完全可以代表當時所有信徒對猶達斯的印象。與現代人不同，在當時，同情一個賣主求榮的叛徒，是一件不可想像的事！

但耶穌的反應呢？耶穌素來知道人心裡想甚麼（2:25），祂怎會不知道猶達斯的虛偽呢？但耶穌並沒有直斥其非，因為這樣做反而會激發猶達斯出賣他的決心。所以耶穌選擇婉轉地提醒猶達斯，「至於我，你們卻不常有」（12:8）。祂不說「你」，而是說「你們」，絕無針對性。耶穌既為瑪利亞辯護，又維護著猶達斯的自尊心。祂對所有的人，展示了「真福八端」中溫良的態度。
此外，按瑪竇福音的記載，耶穌在被捕的一刻，還稱呼猶達斯為朋友，對他說：「朋友，你來做的事，就做吧！」（瑪26:50）真奇怪，猶達斯還有甚麼事未做呢？他已口親耶穌，不是已經完成了任務嗎（26:48-49）？的確，出賣的任務是完成了，但猶達斯還沒有做的事，餘下兩件：退還三十塊銀錢，然後自殺！耶穌的話，好像鼓勵自己的隊員分頭行事，無論如何，也要徹底地完成來到世上的任務一樣！

可是，耶穌怎可以鼓勵他人自殺呢？豈不違反基本的倫理立場嗎？耶穌基督是天主子，雖然祂的行為是殉道的行為，與自殺無異，但祂死了可以復活。祂是生命的主宰，對於自己的生命，祂「有權捨掉它，也有權再取回它來」（若10:18）。但猶達斯不是天主子，沒有能力自我復活。鼓勵他去徹底完成任務，並不保證他「有權」復活。這「鼓勵」若不是為了一個高超的目的，不能滿足道德的要求，所以用「鼓勵」來理解這句經文，是有問題的！

且慢，耶穌基督的教訓，不是鼓勵我們「捨生取義」嗎？「愛惜自己性命的，必要喪失性命；在現世憎恨自己性命的，必要保存性命入於永生」（12:25）以功利主義的角度作長遠想，犧牲小我，完成大我是值得的。在造福大多數人的前題下，自殺是符合倫理的要求。可是，這祇是功利主義的立場，並不保證真的是符合倫理或真理的要求！而且，耶穌基督行事的模式，並不著意效益最大化。例如，倘若祂選擇過了安息日纔治病，如枯手人、胎生瞎子，既能解困，又避免了法利塞人的指摘，可謂兩全其美！但耶穌並沒有這樣做，可見耶穌不是功利主義者！不應採用功利主義解釋上述經文。

我們讀經不可以斷章取義。在之前的章節，耶穌談到「一粒麥子如果不落在地裡死了，仍祇是一粒；如果死了，纔結出許多子粒來。」（12:24）同樣，倘若以功利主義解釋，以一粒麥子比較許多子粒，恐怕又失去了耶穌基督的本意了。不如這樣考慮吧：「結出許多子粒」是潛質，祇有通過死亡，纔有機會發揮出來。沒有惡劣的環境，沒有失敗/死亡的磨練，這些潛質是發揮不來的。這就是「生於憂患，死於安樂」的正解。
我們很容易以「對比」的方式來解釋12章25節。但大家有沒有留意到「愛惜自己性命的」一句，並沒有冠之以「在現世」？所以前句後句是不對稱，不足以對比的。「愛惜自己性命的」是通用的，不但指現世，甚至包括永生！這樣的話，「必要喪失性命」不是結果，而是獲取永生的步驟！

那句「在現世憎恨自己生命的」，是否包括那些受情緒困擾而自殘的人呢？如果包括，那麼自殘，甚至自殺的人，可以「保存性命入於永生」嗎？
且讓我們退一步想。在正常的情況下，有誰願意自殘自殺呢？「因為從來沒有人恨過自己的肉身，反而培養撫育它」（弗5:29）誠然，很多時候，肉身是親近主的障礙，基督徒更情願出離肉身，與主同住（格後5:6-8）。但保祿對肉身的態度，絕對不是消極的，因為憑肉身，可以獲得工作的效果，對其他信徒是重要的（斐1:22-24）；肉身的受苦，甚至「補充基督的苦難所欠缺的」（哥1:24）。可見，這「在現世憎恨自己生命的」對基督徒的教訓，並不指需要心理輔導的自殘自殺，而是出於愛德的殉道精神！

各位兄弟姊妹，不要判斷猶達斯，也不必為猶達斯辯護，這樣做違反了與宗徒們的共融。若要辯護，主基督已經做了，不需要我們出手。倘若可以，學習怎樣憐愛猶達斯吧。
天主保祐！
2018年講道
圖片鳴謝：fineartamerica.com

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Fifth Lent Sunday, Year B
Theme: Have Compassion On Judas

During these days without public masses, many of my routines have turned rusty, for example, assisting mass, delivering homilies and singing hymns etc. Taking the opportunity of not needing to deliver homilies on the pulpit, I may be able to test theological baselines and comment more on social issues in my weekly reflections on Sunday readings …
What do I believe in?

First of all, God is merciful towards sinners. He sent His Son to redeem the world, not taking any shortcut but through crucifixion. “When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself” (John 12:32). Not only was Jesus Christ crucified for me, a sinner and those I love and care, but He was also crucified for those who do me harm and those I hate. Thus, I can’t reject those I don’t like, including my enemies.
Secondly, not only did Jesus die on the cross, He manifested His teaching through His words and deeds. His teaching is “Love one another as I have loved you” (13:34). Thus, He loved the High Priest who took every opportunity to kill Him, those Pharisees, religious heavyweights and politicians who opposed Him … including Judas. As a disciple of Jesus Christ, I have to love those who threaten me.

There are many examples showing Jesus’ compassion on sinners. For example, He begged the Father to forgive those who killed Him (Luke 23:34). As for Judas, how did Jesus show compassion on him?
The passage before the one we read today talks about what happened to Jesus in a banquet at Bethany after raising Lazarus whose sister Mary anointed Jesus’ feet with expensive perfume and dried them with her hair (John 12:3). Seeing this, Judas complained why not selling the perfume and giving the proceeds to the poor (12:5). Unfortunately, John describes Judas as “a thief and held the money bag and used to steal the contributions” (12:6). We have no evidence and cannot exclude the possibility that John’s emotion has coloured the objectivity of his narration. Without doubt, John’s narration represents the impression all contemporary believers had towards Judas. Unlike the modern, it was unthinkable for disciples at that time to sympathize a traitor!

But what was Jesus’ reaction? Jesus understands the human nature well (2:25). How could He fail to know the hypocrisy of Judas? But Jesus did not expose him point-blank because doing so would trigger his determination to betray Him. Thus Jesus chose to mildly remind Judas, “You do not always have me” (12:8). The “you” in Greek is plural, not singular. It was not directed against one person. On one hand, Jesus defended Mary. On the other, He defended Judas’ face. Jesus shows the Beatific meekness to all.
Moreover, according to the Matthean account, the moment Jesus was arrested, He still called Judas friend. Jesus says, “Friend, do what you have come for.” (Matthew 26:50) Isn’t it strange? What had Judas not done? He had already kissed Jesus, finishing his mission (26:48-49)! Indeed, the betrayal mission had done. But two more things needed to be done: to return the 30 silver coins and to commit suicide! Jesus’ words seem to encourage His team member to clean up what they were sent to accomplish on earth!

But how could Jesus encourage people to kill themselves? Doesn’t it go against basic morality? Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Although His martyrdom did not differ much from suicide, He was able to come back to life because He is the Author of Life. As for His own life, He has “power to lay it down, and power to take it up again.” (John 10:18) But Judas is not the Son of God. He does not have the power to take back his life. Encouraging him to thoroughly accomplish his mission does not guarantee that he has the power to resurrect. If this “encouragement” does not fulfil a noble course, it does not meet moral requirements. Thus it is problematic to interpret the text in terms of “encouragement”.

Wait! Doesn’t Jesus’ teaching encourage us to forsake our lives for the sake of righteousness? “Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life.” (12:25) From a utilitarianism perspective, in the long run, there is more benefit than cost for altruistic sacrifice for a bigger cause. With the premise of contributing benefit to the majority, suicide (of the minority) meets moral requirements. But meeting the utilitarian requirements does not guarantee that it meets the requirements of morality and truth. Furthermore, the modus operandi of Jesus Christ does not maximize utility. For example, had He chosen to heal after Sabbath, like the man with a withered hand and the born bland, He would have done the best of both worlds, healing the sick without receiving complaints from the Pharisees. Yet, Jesus didn’t. He is not a utilitarian! We should not interpret the text from a utilitarian perspective.

We should also not read text out of context. Before this verse, Jesus says, “Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit.” (12:24) Again, if we take a utilitarian approach to interpret, comparing one grain with much fruit, I’m afraid we would miss Jesus’ intention. Why don’t we try to think along this line: “produces much fruit” is a potential. Only through death could this potential have the opportunity to manifest. Without adversity, without failures and death, this potential would have no chance to develop/manifest. This should be the proper understanding of “living in adversity and die in comfort”.
We’ll easily take a comparison approach to interpret verse 25 of chapter 12. But have you ever noticed that the “whoever loves his life” does not have the “in this world” tag? The two parts are not symmetric and does not guarantee a meaningful comparison. “Whoever loves his life” is universal. Not only does it refer to life in this world but it even includes eternal life! In this way, “loses it” is not a consequence but the procedure to attain eternal life!

Does the phrase “whoever hates his life in this world” include those who mutilate themselves under mental stresses? If it does, would self-mutilation and even suicide “preserve it for eternal life”?
Let’s take a step back and meditate. Under normal circumstances, who want to mutilate themselves or kill themselves? “For no one hates his own flesh but rather nourishes and cherishes it” (Ephesians 5:29). To be candid, most of the time, our flesh is an obstacle that prevents us from approaching the Lord. Christians would rather leave the body and go home to the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:6-8). But Paul’s attitude towards the body is absolutely not negative at all. Living in the flesh means fruitful labour and more necessary for the benefit of the faithful (Philippians 1:22-24). Sufferings in flesh would be filling up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ. (Colossians 1:24) Thus, for Christians, this “whoever hates his life in this world” does not refer to self-mutilations which need counselling or to suicides but martyrdom out of love!

Brethren! Don’t judge Judas nor to defend him lest you breach the communion with the apostles. Had there been such a need to defend Judas, the Lord would have done it already. It’s none of your business. If you care, learn to have compassion on Judas.
God bless!

我在這裡，請派遣我！ Here I Am, Send Me!

傳教節，甲年
主題：我在這裡，請派遣我！

雖然說，每個人都是天主獨特的創造，所以每個人成聖的道路不一樣；但萬變不離其宗，成聖就是看每個人對天主的愛有多深。天主所想念的，成了我們所想念的；天主所鍾愛的，成了我們所鍾愛的，還不成聖嗎？當人類生活在被罪惡污染了的環境下，愛天主的心志受到了障礙，走成聖的路變得艱難。天主對我們不離不棄，大發慈悲，主動派遣聖子來到世上，拯救我們，幫助我們。耶穌基督在約旦河受洗的時候，天父親自作證耶穌基督是祂所喜悅的愛子（瑪3:17）。所以，愛慕耶穌基督，服從祂的命令行事，應該離奉行天父的旨意不遠（6:10）。

我們有幸領受洗禮，加入教會，在這個得救的大家庭裡共融生活，互相扶持，體現天主聖三的內在共融生命。在波濤汹湧的人海中，教會有如一艘救生艇，給予遇溺者一線生機。時日久遠，這救生艇變成了一艘豪華郵輪，船上的人過著舒適安全的生活，令人羨慕，但另一方面，亦令部份人自慚形穢，不敢加入！

在他們眼中，信教的人很虔誠，而且高不可攀。論社會地位，教徒多是賺錢能力高的成功人士，佔據了社會的中上層。談吐間，教徒常把耶穌掛在嘴邊，能說高超瀟灑的理論；他們經常在神聖而寧靜的教堂內祈禱，和出席名人的慈善籌款晚會。現在手機大行其道，在群組中經常收到不少他們轉發的短訊，內容多是寫得很漂亮的哲理！教徒就是這樣愛他們的天主嗎？

福音告訴我們，天主是主動的，有如善牧。祂知道亡羊不懂得如何返回安全的羊棧，便放下九十九隻羊，跑出去尋找牠（18:12）。但是大部份的教徒，放不下身處的安樂窩。他們祇做一些慣性的事務，不思進取，不回應時局的變化，十年如一日，依然故我地虔誠！多年來他們為聖召祈禱，卻不會鼓勵自己的子女加入獻身生活的行列；他們會捐助傳教活動經費，卻不會在現場出現，頂多遠距離「報佳音」、派傳單，卻不願意走入人群中，與人交談，分享得救蒙恩的喜樂。

天主是慷慨的，祂不會吝惜自己所付出的一切，不會計較人類是否堪當，祇要他們肯相信祂所派遣的天主子，便毫無保留地賜予恩寵！信徒呢？和大部份沒有信仰的人一樣，斤斤計較別人對他們有沒有益處。倘若沒有，便置諸不理。向教外人講耶穌？我沒有神學訓練，我不善辭令…我還是把精力放到其他更有可為的事業去罷！保祿宗徒不是說：「眾人能都作宗徒？豈能都做先知？豈能都做教師？」（格前12:29）各司其職便是好！多漂亮的辭令，多熟悉的經文啊！

的確，我們不是天主，不可能像天主一樣慷慨、像天主一樣主動，但最低限度，我們也應該有主動，有慷慨的意志吧！我們總不應以便宜的，不假思索的轉發來歷不明短訊的行為，取代與人分享蒙恩得救經驗的機會；不應盤算成敗得失之後，纔向「有機會」信主的人游說。是的，被拒絕是掉臉的，不好受的。可是，沒有經過磨難，我們又怎可能成長，怎可能完美呢？不經過奮鬥得來的成就，又怎會珍惜呢？他日在天主的審判台前，我們又可以拿甚麼來交代呢？

我們領受入門聖事時，不是從堅振聖事領受了聖神嗎？我們的聖神七恩去了哪？我們選擇安逸，而不是思念天上的事（哥3:2），怕增添煩惱。聖神的智慧去了哪？跟隨世俗的一般見識，不知道「磨難生忍耐…」（羅5:3），不知道「天主的國…在於義德、平安以及在聖神內的喜樂」（14:17）聖神的聰敏去了哪？貪圖虛榮，彼此挑撥、互相嫉妒，而不是隨從聖神的引導行事（迦5:25-26），聖神的超見去了哪？明哲保身，臨危退縮（弟後4:16），聖神的剛毅去了哪？依附權貴，堅持一己學識，輕視聖經和教會的教導（3:16），聖神的明達去了哪？沉迷於世俗和老婦的無稽傳說，忘記了虔敬上的操練（弟前4:7），聖神的孝愛去了哪？出於懼怕而屈服於那殺害肉身，而不能殺害靈魂的政權，而不害怕那能使靈魂和肉身陷於地獄中的（瑪10:28），聖神的敬畏上主去了哪？「敬畏上主是智慧的肇基」（箴9:10），難怪連聖神的智慧也失掉了！聖神有如活水，失去了聖神，我們的心靈有如一塊在震怒之日無雨無水之地（則22:24），有如枯骨（37:11-14），沒有半點生命氣息！

各位兄弟姊妹，倘若我們的信仰生活變得慣性，死氣沉沉，好像找不到出路的話，我們又怎能服從耶穌基督的命令，使萬民成為門徒（瑪28:19）呢？不服從救主的命令，又怎樣承行天父的旨意呢？不要氣餒，因為天主是主動的，祂對我們不離不棄。求祂罷！天父很樂意慷慨地將聖神賜與求祂的人（路11:13）。讓我們充滿聖神，滿溢仁愛，關懷未信主的人的安危、與他們分享得救的喜樂、獲得聖神的平安和安慰。縱使世人視而不見，聽而不聞，讓我們仍能放心大膽地向天父說：「我在這裡，請派遣我」（依6:8）。
天主保祐！
2017年講道
圖片鳴謝：freebibleimages.org

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Mission Sunday, Year A
Theme: Here I Am, Send Me!

Although each one of us is unique as a creature of God and our path of sanctification is not the same, sanctification is nothing but how much we love God. Think what God thinks and love what God loves. Isn't it sanctification? When we are living in a sin infested world, our will to love God is hindered and the path of sanctification becomes demanding. But God does not forsake us. Out of mercy, the Father sent His beloved Son to deliver us and to help us. When Jesus Christ was baptized in the River Jordan, the Father bore witness that Christ is His beloved Son with whom He is well pleased (Matthew 3:17). Thus, loving Jesus Christ and obeying His commandment should not be far from doing the will of the Father (6:10).

We are blessed to have been baptized into the Church. In this big family of the redeemed, we lead a life of communion, supporting each other and actualizing the inner communion life of the Blessed Trinity. In this turbulent world, the Church is like a lift boat, giving the drowning people a ray of hope. As time goes by, this lift boat has become a luxury ocean liner in which passengers are leading a life of comfort and safety. It is admirable but some would feel too ashamed to join.

In their eyes, church-goers are pious and lofty. As for their social status, church-goers are successful people with high earning power, occupying the middle and upper classes of the society. In their high-sounding talks, Jesus' name is always invoked. They pray in sacred and tranquil churches and appear in celebrity charity shows. Now that mobile phones have become a necessity, church-goers always forward short message of poetically written philosophies. Are these ways of loving their God?

The gospels tell us that God takes the initiative like a good shepherd. He knows that the lost sheep does not know the way back to the fold. Thus, He leaves behind the ninety-nine other sheep and goes in search of the stray (18:12). But most church-goers do not get out of their comfort zones. They do routines only, not proactive, do not respond to social changes and are as pious as they have always been for decades! Year after year, they pray for vocation but never encourage their children to join the consecrated. They donate to evangelical activities but do not appear on the ground. At most, they sing carols from a distance and do not go into the crowd to engage in dialogues to share the joy of salvation.

God is generous. He does not count the costs and does not screen for the qualified. Whoever believes in the Son He sent, He shall grant them grace without reservation! How are the church-goers? Like most unbelievers, they calculate to see if they would gain any benefit before they act. If there is no benefit, they don't bother. How can I tell the story of Jesus to non-believers? I have no theological training and I am not fluent … Better put my energy elsewhere! Paul says, "Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers?" (1 Corinthians 12:29) We had better occupy our proper positions! How beautiful such excuses are and how knowledgeable the scriptures!

Truly, we are not God. We are not as generous and take the initiative like God. But at least, we should have the will to be generous and the will to take the initiative! We should never forward messages from unknown sources without a thought to replace the opportunity to share our joy of deliverance. Nor should we assess the costs and only after that do we begin persuading "potentially successful candidates" to believe in Jesus! It is true that we lose face when we are rejected. We feel bad about it. However, if we do not go through hardship, shall we grow up and shall we become perfect? Will we treasure achievements which come without challenge? On Judgment Day, what could we put before God to account for the talents He gave us?

Didn't we receive the Holy Spirit through the Sacrament of Confirmation in the Rites of Christian Initiation? Where have the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit gone? We don't want to get into troubles. We choose comfort and security instead of thinking of what is above (Colossians 3:2). Where has our Wisdom of the Holy Spirit gone? We follow the crowd and know not that "affliction produces endurance …" (Romans 5:3), not knowing that "the Kingdom of God is … righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit." (14:17). Where has our Understanding of the Holy Spirit gone? Being conceited, we provoke one another. We are envious of one another and follow not the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:25-26). Where has our Counsel of the Holy Spirit gone? Concerned with self-preservation and dare not to put up a fight in view of adversity (2 Timothy 4:16), Where has our Fortitude of the Holy Spirit gone? Bending our knees to people in power, insist on our knowledge and ignore the teachings of the Bible and of the Church (3:16), Where has our Knowledge of the Holy Spirit gone? Indulging in profane and silly myths and forget training in devotion (1 Timothy 4:7), Where has our Piety of the Holy Spirit gone? Bending our knees to "those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul" out of fear but are not afraid of "the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna" (Matthew 10:28), Where has our Fear of the Lord gone? "The beginning of wisdom is fear of the Lord." (Proverbs 9:10) No wonder the Wisdom of the Holy Spirit has vanished. The Holy Spirit is like a living water losing which, our soul is like "an unclean land receiving no rain at the time of God's fury" (Ezekiel 22:24), like dry and lifeless bones (37:1-4)!

Brethren! If our spiritual life has become routine, dry and lifeless, and we fail to see any exit ahead, how can we obey Jesus Christ's commandment to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19)? Not obeying the commandment of the Saviour, how can we do the Father's will? Don't be discouraged because God is happy to take the initiative. He will never forsake us. Ask! The Father in heaven is very much happy to give generously the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him (Luke 11:13). Be filled with the Holy Spirit, overflowing with love to care about the safety of those who have not yet believed. Share with them the joy of salvation so that they may receive the peace and consolation of the Holy Spirit. Even if people look but not see and listen but not hear, let us be bold to say to the Father, "Here I am! Send me!" (Isaiah 6:8)
God bless!

禮服是天主供應的 God Provides the Wedding Garment

常年期第廿八主日，甲年
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。
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？

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？
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！

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）。

各位兄弟姊妹，參加婚宴，用不著穿上全副武裝。但前往婚宴路上，旅途凶險，全副武裝是必須的。但當你穿上基督的話，你還需要穿上全副武裝嗎？
天主保祐！
2017年講道
圖片鳴謝：medium.com/@stevenliew

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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.
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?

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?
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!

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?
God bless!