聖神如何滋潤我們？ How are We Given to Drink of One Spirit?

五旬節主日，甲年
主題：聖神如何滋潤我們？ How are We Given to Drink of One Spirit?

教會把天主拯救世人的工程，安排在一年之中周而復始地慶祝，加深我們對天主的感恩和虔敬。四部福音記載了耶穌基督的言行。於是教會用三年時間，在主日彌撒，每年集中讀一本『對觀福音』的選段。並且在適當的節日，選讀《若望福音》，使信友充分了解主耶穌的言行。今天是五旬節，教會慶祝聖神降臨，也就是教會的『生日』。三年的主日彌撒讀經，完全一樣！惟一不同的，是第二篇讀經。我們宣讀《格林多前書》三篇不同的選段。

感謝方濟會的神父們，他們參照希伯來文、希臘文及拉丁文各個權威版本，把【聖經】翻譯成為中文，幫助我們祈禱默想，讓我們更容易領會天主的旨意。因為文化上的差異，翻譯能夠做到『信、雅、達』，已經是難能可貴了。作為教友，倘若生活上尤有餘力，學習一點希伯來文或者希臘文是有益的。既可以減慢『腦退化』，更可以深刻地理解經文的意義。例如為今天講道而默想時，其中有一句特別觸動自己的經文，是這樣寫的：「又都為同一個聖神所滋潤」（格前12:13）。 聖神啊！祢想借助這句經文，告訴我甚麼呢？在聖神的督促之下，我開始查考希臘文原文，發現金句中的『所滋潤』，原文是『飲/喝』字的被動式。結果我喝醉了！

且讓我們重溫一點『天主聖三』的道理，我們把它濃縮到每個主日彌撒所唸的《信經》之中。關於『聖神』，我們是這樣唸的：「我信聖神，祂是主及賦予生命者，由聖父聖子所其發」。在宇宙存在之前，只有一個全能的天主。若望宗徒在他所寫的書信中，告訴我們：「天主是愛」（若一4:8）。愛是一股外向的力量，天主這股外向的全能力量，便『情不自禁』地創造了一個適合人類生活的宇宙。再次感謝若望宗徒，在他所寫的福音中，他告訴我們當天主發號司令創造的一刻，『祂』與『祂的命令』便成為我們所認知的『聖父』和『聖子』了。『聖父』是宇宙萬物的起源，『聖子』是祂的言語。祂們之間交流著的『愛情』，就是『聖神』，就是滿溢著生命力的『氣息』。《創世紀》告訴們，當上主天主用地上的灰土形成亞當的時候，「…在他鼻孔內吹了一口生氣， 人就成了一個有靈的生物」（創2:7）。何以見得這『一口生氣』就是『聖神』呢？在《創世紀》第五章所記載上古時代的人物，最短命的拉默客〔即諾厄的父親〕，也有777歲。為了解釋為甚麼當今大部份的人類都活不過120歲，《創世紀》的作者/編輯便作出了以下的解釋：「因為人既屬於血肉，我〔天主〕的神不能常在他內；他的壽數只可到120歲」（6:3）。在這兩段經文互相光照之下，我們可以放膽說：『聖神就是聖父聖子之間交流的氣息』。

『氣息/風』是肉眼所見不到的，只可以憑它的運動所引起的環境變化，來推斷它的存在。天主是永生的天主，所以祂的氣息，就是令萬物擁有生命的氣息。亞當的肉體是由塵土所造，最後還要歸於塵土（3:19）。是天主有生命的氣息，使亞當活起來。亞當的一言一行，便反映出聖神在運行中！以後，《舊約》還記載了『聖神』的一些事跡，例如：當「上主的神」降在民長三松身上時，他赤手空拳，把一隻向他咆哮的小獅子撕裂，有如撕裂小山羊一樣（民14:5-6）；當「天主的神」降在以色列第一任君王撒烏耳身上時，他邊行邊說妙語〔預言〕（撒上19:23）。在巴比倫，「至聖神明的精神」降在達尼爾身上，他為驕傲的拿步高王解夢，預言上主對他的懲罰（達4:6; 21-24）。天主聖神有如風，來無蹤、去無跡；祂讓我們看到千變萬化的形態。到了新約時代，耶穌在約但河受洗後，聖神有如鴿子降下，來到祂上面（瑪3:16）；在耶穌升天後的五旬期，聖神以巨響、暴風和散在各人頭上的火舌，使120個門徒說世界各地的不同語言，為復活了的耶穌作見證。憑此林林總總的表現，我們可以推測到『聖神』的臨在和祂的威力！

在默想我們如何『暢飲』天主聖神，祂又如何『滋潤』我們之前，讓我們先從負面看天主聖神與我們的關係，對比出聖神的『滋潤』，為我們是多麼好。 當法利塞人毀謗耶穌基督仗賴魔王驅魔的時候，祂警告說：「凡出言干犯人子的，可得赦免；但出言干犯聖神的，在今世及來世，都不得赦免」（12:24; 32）。聖神是生命的氣息，所以干犯聖神，就是自尋死路，進入一種永遠的『死亡』之中了，應該是非常可怕的。 另一方面，保祿宗徒告訴我們，聖神停留在我們身上時，我們就會結出九個效果，散發出九種高尚的氣質，就是：「仁愛、喜樂、平安、忍耐、良善、溫和、忠信、柔和、節制」（迦5:22-23）。正如在起初，亞當的一言一行，反映出聖神的運行！同樣，我們說話，是聖神在說話（瑪10:20）；我們關愛身邊有困難的人，是聖神藉我們關愛需要幫助的人。這九個超性的效果，使我們容光煥發，心廣體胖，生活無憂無懼。

當人憂鬱的時候，人會暫時離開令他憂鬱的場合。同理，倘若在我們內的聖神憂鬱了，祂會離開我們，我們便會失去上述九種氣質，最終可能會陷入危險的抑鬱裡，以至痛苦萬分！所以，即使我們已經領了『堅振聖事』、領受了聖神，也不要掉以輕心。因為挽留聖神在心中，也要費點心力。倘若我們在靈修上、在祈禱和讀經上鬆懈了，開始不管制自己的口舌，搬弄是非，挑撥離間；發怒、偷竊、爭吵…保祿宗徒說，我們便會令天主的聖神憂鬱（弗4:25-31）。結果，我們自己也抑鬱了！

相反，不要少覷『喜樂』的重要性。假如信從耶穌基督的福音，沒有帶給你喜樂。信主之後，你的生活沒有變得更喜樂，沒有樂趣，沒有意義…這是一個危險的警號！當你覺得『信耶穌』與『不信耶穌』沒有任何分別時，何必每個主日參加彌撒領聖體呢？你的靈修開始鬆懈了…後果你是知道的。另一方面，喜樂的心情能支撐我們渡過人生中更沉重的痛苦；使我們不那麼拘謹，在祈禱時更容易進入『默觀』階段，享受那非筆墨所能形容的『神魂超拔』、『榮福直觀』；陶醉在天主的神聖愛情之中，好像喝醉了酒一樣！難怪在《舊約》，當「上主的神」降臨在先知們身上時，他們開始說『妙語』。在聽眾眼中，先知們看來好像喝醉了酒一樣！同樣在《新約》，當五旬節聖神降臨在120個門徒身上，為耶穌的復活作證時，群眾也誤會他們喝醉了酒（宗2:13），其實他們是陶醉在天主神聖的愛情中！原來傳福音，是可以好像享受醇醪美酒一樣舒暢的！

各位親愛的兄弟姊妹，基督君王在最後審判時說：「我渴了，你們給了我喝的」（瑪25:35），不是考驗我們有沒有幫助有困難的近人，而是邀請我們和近人一起參加聖神的『品酒大會』，在人世間彼此舉杯勸飲，彼此洗腳（若13:14）。因為我的渴望、你的渴望、全人類的渴望，只有天主聖神才能可以滿足，才能得到滋潤，才能得到完全的陶醉！亞孟。
天主保祐！

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2023反省
圖片鳴謝：doubao.com

上主是否在我們中間？ Is Our Lord In Our Midst?

四旬期第三主日，甲年
主題：上主是否在我們中間？ Is Our Lord In Our Midst?

今天是『三八婦女節』，感激各位女士對人類大家庭的貢獻。小弟覺得用『撐起大半邊天』不足以讚賞各位的功勞，我比較喜歡《創世紀》的原文。「上主天主說：『人單獨不好，我要給他造個與他相稱的助手』」（創2:18）。在父系社會，中外的翻譯都有意無意地不忠於原著。其實『我要給他做個救命恩人』是更忠實的翻譯！所以在『三八婦女節』，我要感激婦女們不斷地保衛著男人，做他們的『救命恩人』！

中國文化素來講究務實，即使有『治國、平天下』的理想，也必先『修身、齊家』。作為仁人君子，欲成家立室，娶妻應『求淑女』！《詩經》的第一篇，相信大家不會陌生。所謂「窈窕淑女，君子好逑」就是這個意思。男人應該追求的理想配偶，不是美貌或富貴的黃花閨女，而是賢良淑德的婦女。當然，自己條件低的時候，惟有降低要求，退而求其次了。

《舊約》有三個「井旁相遇」的求偶故事，有著同一脈絡：一個從外地來身份高貴的男士，在井旁與一位少女相遇；少女款待他到家中與她的家人相識，最後那位高貴的男士迎娶了這位在井旁遇到的少女，大團圓結局。這三位身份高貴的男士分別是依撒格（由亞巴郎的僕人做代表）、雅各伯和梅瑟。聖經學者普遍認為這三位《舊約》人物都是耶穌基督的預像，在他們的生平事蹟中，可以找到天主子的身影。今天的福音記述了耶穌基督在井旁把自己啟示給一個撒瑪黎雅婦人，且讓我們默想這個在井旁「求偶」故事的真諦罷。

福音中的撒瑪黎雅婦人是一個「公開的罪人」，她遇人不淑，先後嫁給五個男人，最後和第六個男人同居（若4:18）。她在烈日當空的時間來打水（4:6-7），很明顯是在逃避別人的閒言閒語！雖然她明知自己有罪，但她沒有尋求幫助，沒有想辦法解決問題；卻選擇了逃避，這可能是在當時的社會制度下，她惟一可以做的事罷。她逃避面對自己、逃避面對別人、逃避面對天主！無論在理論上或者道義上，這位撒瑪黎雅婦人，絕對不會是正人君子的求偶對像。但身份高貴的天主子明白罪人的困難，祂偏偏主動向婦人伸出援手，「追求」她，有如《舊約》中三個「井旁相遇」求偶的故事一樣！為甚麼會這樣呢？保祿宗徒在今天的第二篇讀經寫得好，他說：「為義人死，是罕有的事；為善人，或許有敢死的；但是，基督在我們還是罪人的時候，就為我們死了，這證明了天主怎樣愛我們」（羅5:7-8）。在《舊約》，只要相信天主和遵守盟約的人，便是『天主的子民』。到了《新約》，相信耶穌基督和愛祂的團體─教會─便是『基督的新娘』！天主教非常重視婚姻是有原因的，婚姻不但是「七件聖事」之一，而且婚姻標誌著基督對教會的愛。保祿宗徒在論述婚姻的神聖時說：「你們作丈夫的，應該愛妻子，如同基督愛了教會，並為她捨棄了自己，以水洗，藉言語，來潔淨她，聖化她，好使她在自己面前呈現為一個光耀的教會，沒有瑕疵，沒有皺紋，或其他類似的缺陷；而使她成為聖潔和沒有污點的」（弗5:25-27）。耶穌基督深愛全人類：相信的、不信的；善良的、邪惡的；有用的、無用的…祂願意為所有人捨棄了自己，並且有耐性地教化他們、使他們成為聖潔。人類又如何回應呢？且看這位撒瑪黎雅婦人！

一開始她以種族和性別作盾牌，劃清界線（若4:9），有如現代的無神論者指摘信耶穌的人迷信、落伍和不科學一樣！耶穌針對她的需要，也是全人類的需要，就是對『水』，即『生命』的渴求。耶穌以『活水』吸引她：有了這『自來水』，她就不須要再來打水，不用再遇上她不想接觸的人…撒瑪黎雅婦人卻聰明地質疑耶穌誇大其辭，沒有能力給她『活水』（4:11），有如無信的人挑戰基督徒，『你們的天主在哪？叫祂出來，我便信祂。』不少信徒在遇上不如意事、挫折、長期病患或者世局動盪等等…時，也不知不覺地和無信的人一樣，懷疑天主對他們的愛，有如今天的第一篇讀經所說：「上主是否在我們中間？」（出17:7）他們希望天主立刻行神跡，解決他們的尷尬、困難和不便。在這方面，撒殫是成功的，『原罪』對人類本性的傷害實在大，以至信徒洗禮後，仍然戒除不了『舊我』的惡習！

不要以為領洗入教便解決了所有問題，且看那個撒瑪黎雅婦人，當耶穌透露了她的過去，令她信服之後，她又提出一個信仰上的問題（若4:19-20），為撒瑪黎雅人爭一口氣。我們何嘗不是一樣嗎？當我們以為自己是信耶穌的時候，我們也會為一些禮儀上的小節：『口領聖體更虔誠』；『離開聖堂不用再蘸聖水』；『唸耶穌基督時要鞠躬』；『已婚的執事不可束聖索象徵貞潔』等等…或神學上的爭論點：『耶穌真實臨在聖體內』；『聖母瑪利亞死後，靈魂肉身蒙召升天』；『信者得救，洗禮只不過是繁文縟節，不洗禮也可得救』；『聖經怎能沒有錯？科學證明了宇宙在一億三千萬年前的大爆炸誕生，所以用六日創造天地萬物是錯的』；『教宗主教也只不過是人，有甚麼重要？』等等…而喋喋不休地與人一決雌雄！贏了又如何呢？何必傷了共融呢？最後，福音大團圓結局，撒瑪黎雅婦人成了希望的傳承者，向她所逃避的同鄉傳福音（4:29-30）。

親愛的兄弟姊妹，向身邊的人傳福音無疑是困難的。他們會好像撒瑪黎雅婦人當初一樣，用不同的方法，逃避自己，逃避我們，甚至拒絕天主，把我們拒諸門外。他們可能會劃清界線、可能挑戰我們的信念、可能自暴自棄，變得不可接近，甚至傷害關心他們的人等等…憐憫他們罷，求天主也憐憫他們罷。要知道上主天主是言出必行的，祂曾藉先知說：「同樣，從我口中發出的言語，不能空空地回到我這裡來；反之，祂必實行我的旨意，完成我派遣祂的使命」（依55:11）！耶穌基督就是從上主天主口中發出的言語（若1:1; 14），祂給全人類展示了天父的慈悲，和怎樣履行天父的旨意。先知說：「趁上主可找到的時 ，你們應尋找祂；趁祂在近處的時候，你們應呼求祂」（55:6）！「上主在我們中間」（民11:10; 耶42:5），傳福音又有何難呢？
天主保祐！

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2023反省
圖片鳴謝：grok.com, copilot.microsoft.com, ideogram.ai

起來，不要害怕！ Rise, Be not Afraid

四旬期第二主日，甲年
主題：起來，不要害怕！

今天的福音選讀『耶穌顯聖容』片段，讓我們先了解這件事跡的上文。話說耶穌基督傳福音、召選門徒已有一段時間。既然祂快要前往耶路撒冷受難，耶穌便在跟隨祂的人當中，選定一個領袖來團結和帶領那些蒙恩得救者所建立的團體─『教會』。於是祂在斐理伯凱撒勒雅揀選了西滿伯多祿作為教會的磐石（瑪16:18），並首次透露祂的受難復活計劃（16:21）。可惜門徒們未有充份的心理準備，承受不了這訊息所帶來這麼大的衝擊。伯多祿直諫耶穌，結果被耶穌當眾痛斥（16:23）。耶穌明白門徒們的困難，於是六日後，祂帶著三名「入室弟子」，上了一座高山，把自己天主性本體的光榮，呈現給他們，加強他們的信德（17:1-3）。後來伯多祿在他的書信中，作了見證（伯後1:16-21）。

讓我們繼續澄清一些疑問。首先，猶太法律嚴禁製造雕像偶像。那麼，門徒憑甚麼知道與他們師傅談論的是梅瑟和厄里亞呢？解釋這個並不難，門徒可能聽到他們與耶穌交談的內容，只是沒有記載下來而已。但不可不知，考古學家估計，梅瑟是公元前1300年的人物，而厄里亞是公元前900年的人物。耶穌可能是用公元前1000年（即達味為王的時候）的希伯來文與他們交談，門徒未必聽得懂！所以最有可能是一些視覺上的標記，例如用刻了十誡的石版來象徵梅瑟；用火或其他事物象徵厄里亞。

其次，要解釋厄里亞的出現，沒有甚麼疑難。因為聖經記載，天主派了一輛火馬拉的火車接了厄里亞升天（列下2:11），有如「與天主往來，然後就不見了，因為天主將他提去」的哈諾客（創5:24）一樣。所以猶太人認為厄里亞是沒有死去的。但聖經記載梅瑟死時120歲，由天主將他埋葬，並且沒有人知道埋葬地點（申34:6-7）。可能天主用心良苦，不希望梅瑟有如他做的『銅蛇』一樣，在後世淪為偶像（列下18:4），便隱藏了埋葬梅瑟的地點。但怎樣解釋梅瑟在『耶穌顯聖容』出現呢？要知道在猶太人的心目中，梅瑟這位解放者，雖死猶生。這也解釋了為甚麼伯多祿想「在這裡搭三個帳棚」，供奉耶穌、梅瑟和厄里亞三人（瑪17:4）！更重要是梅瑟在『耶穌顯聖容』的出現，印證了後來耶穌有關天主「不是死人的，而是活人的天主」（22:32）的教訓！
最後，為甚麼三個門徒在光耀的雲彩中聽到聲音，就「俯伏在地，非常害怕」（17:6）呢？猶太人素來相信天主隱藏在光耀的雲彩中（出16:10），所以三個門徒覺得自己正在近距離接觸天主。現代人普遍接受了科技的洗禮，很難想像猶太人對天主敬畏的地步。以色列人覺得自己不潔，所以害怕直接接觸天主，認為凡聽到祂的聲音（20:19），或者看見祂或祂的面，必死無疑（民13:22; 出10:28） ，所以三個門徒是害怕死亡！

害怕死亡是人之常情，如何消除這種情緒，不外乎『逃跑』便是『對決』。在強弱懸殊的情況下，『對決』必死無疑，除非為了更高尚的理想或者犧牲自己以換取其他人的存活；更何況誰有本領與天主對決呢？但門徒的反應又不是逃跑，是甚麼呢？其實『逃跑』不一定要『跑』，可以不做任何動作，貌似死亡的『詐死』；倘若對方是有理性的話，還可以求情！天主是全知的，『詐死』是行不通的，所以門徒們是向天主求情！明白了這些以後，我們便可以更好地默想這神跡對今天的我們，有甚麼啟示。

今天的世代，一切都在急促變化。以往行之有效的方法和程序，已再不管用！在各式各樣的人際關係、經濟關係和社會關係中，產生了不少焦慮、無奈、不安、失望、憤怒和害怕。它們糾結在一起，形成了一種說也說也不清的精神狀態，束縛著我們心靈。領洗加入教會讓我們享受到天父恩賜的平安，有如伯多祿所說：「主啊！我們在這裡真好！」（瑪17:4）但當天父啟示祂的聖意，邀請我們有如亞巴郎一樣，成為「萬民的福源」時（創12:3），我們卻又有如門徒一樣，怕得要死（瑪17:6）。我們會找到很多藉口，婉拒天父的邀請：「吾主，請原諒！我不是個有口才的人…」（出4:10）、「我主，請原諒我！我憑甚麼拯救以色列…」（民6:11）「哎呀！我主上主，我太年輕…」（耶1:6）…等等。好像依撒意亞那樣慷慨地說：「我在這裡，請派遣我」（依6:8）的，實在鳳毛麟角。這些『詐死』技倆，能逃過天父的法眼嗎？相信天父心裡，必定啼笑皆非！

各位親愛的兄弟姊妹，從經學角度看，「不要害怕」在《瑪竇福音》出現過6次：天使在耶穌復活後對婦女說了一次（瑪28:5），耶穌用其餘的5次，在不同場合安慰、鼓勵和教訓傳福音的門徒和婦女，這為我們才有意義！
首先，天父不需要，也不希罕我們為祂搭帳棚或建造宏偉的聖殿、聖堂（依66:1）。相反，祂「尋找那些以心神以真理朝拜祂的人」（若4:23）。耶穌基督曾說：「我是道理，真理和生命」（14:6），比拉多卻在真理面前問：「甚麼是真理？」（18:38）聖葉理諾曾說：「不認識聖經，就不認識基督」。因此，勤讀聖經，認識耶穌的言行，有助我們把祂「默存在心，反覆思想」（路2:19; 51）。有耶穌在心中，我們更有動力履行愛德，讓這點光、這點善行，在人前照耀，使他們光榮我們在天之父（瑪5:16）！
其次，我們應該有怎樣的『心神』呢？『心神』即現代語『生活態度』。耶穌基督在『山中聖訓』教導的『真福八端』：神貧、哀慟、溫良、飢渴慕義、憐憫別人、心裡潔淨、締造和平、為義而受迫害等，就是基督徒應有的生活態度，先教宗方濟各稱『真福八端』為『基督徒的身份證』。賴天父的助祐，有缺陷的我們是有希望做到的，也有能力倡議這些價值！

各位親愛的兄弟姊妹，耶穌說：「起來，不要害怕」（17:7）。後來祂在最後晚餐說：「我實實在在告訴你們：凡信我的，我所做的事業，他也要做，並且還要作比這些更大的事業，因為我往父那裡去」（若14:12）。祂做到的，我們也可以做到。祂現在天父的右邊，不斷地為我們轉求（羅8:34），所以我們能無懼撒殫的破壞，做更大的事業了！我們還有畏首畏尾的餘地嗎？『起來』，我們不再『詐死』，長留在安樂窩之中。我們應該好像門徒們一樣，不要害怕，『下山』去做更大的事業，做『希望的傳承者』。亞孟。
天主保祐！

2023年反省
圖片鳴謝：grok.com
視訊片段：新蜀山劍俠（1983）

天主與我們同在 God Is With Us

將臨期第四主日，甲年
主題：天主與我們同在 God Is With Us

我們已經來到將臨期的第四主日，讓我們重溫；並檢討過去三個星期，作為「希望的傳承者」所做的準備功夫，做得有多妥當。我們在上主的光明中行走（依2:6）嗎？我們恢復了天主創造之初的美好，獅子與牛一樣吃草（11:7）嗎？我們有幫助人認識真理，不再瞎眼和聾啞（35:5-6）嗎？倘若成績強差人意也不用失望，今天的教訓會給予我們所需要的鼓舞。

今天第一篇讀經的背景是這樣的。阿哈次是南國猶大的君王，是達味王朝的正統。北方的亞述帝國崛起，威脅到阿蘭〔敘利亞〕和以色列國。他們想與猶大國結盟一起反抗亞述，可是阿哈次有其他的盤算而謝絕了。這個決定激怒了敘利亞和以色列，他們便組成聯軍攻打猶大，迫猶大就範。在此兵臨城下，猶大快要失守之際，上主派遣依撒意亞先知覲見阿哈次，勸君王信賴上主為猶大作戰，擊退聯軍。這就是今天第一篇讀經的上文。

「徵兆」即是「神跡」。上一個主日提及耶穌基督行神跡的時候，已經解釋了「神跡」是天主臨在的「標記」，當代的術語是「徵兆」。要求一個來自陰府、來自諸天的徵兆，是表示要求一個超自然的神跡的意思，例如分開紅海、停止太陽運行等等。¹
回到阿哈次的答覆，他說：「我不要求，我不願試探上主」（依7:12）。聽來冠冕堂皇，耶穌也是這回答撒殫的試探，阿哈次的答覆有何不妥？為甚麼依撒意亞這樣嚴厲批評他，是否過份了呢？「達味的家族，你們聽著罷！你們使人厭惡還不夠，還要使我的天主厭惡嗎？」（7:13） 「我的天主」？難道依撒意亞的天主，不是阿哈次的天主嗎？莫非還有別的天主嗎？當然只有一個天主，但阿哈次是一個拜偶像，甚至把自己的兒女祭神的邪惡君王（列下16:1-4）！他說的漂亮話又豈能掩蓋天主的慧眼呢？就在這樣的背景之下，天主許下與我們同在的諾言：「因此，吾主要親自給你們一個徵兆：看，有位貞女要懷孕生子，給他起名叫厄瑪奴耳」（依7:14）。天主就是這樣行事，祂不用威權強迫我們信服祂。所以祂沒有行驚天動地的神跡，只是一些最普通不過 的事物─「一位貞女要懷孕生子」。一個已婚少婦的第一胎便生了個男嬰，有甚麼希奇？

要知道先知的預言不但在短期、在聽到預言的人有生之年應驗，而且還會在遙遠的未來，在時機成熟時，更完滿切實地應驗！首先，邪惡的阿哈次王後來的確生了希則克雅。這個希則克雅在阿哈次死後繼位成為猶大王，史書稱讚他：「信賴上主以色列的天主；在他前後的猶大列王中，沒有一個可與他相比的」（列下18:5-8）。在宗教改革方面，他不但廢除高丘、掃除偶像，甚至連梅瑟所製造的銅蛇也打碎了，因為人民向銅蛇焚香（18:4）！政治方面，希則克雅憑天主的助力，擺脫了亞述王的羈絆，不再作他的藩屬！可見「厄瑪奴耳」─天主與我們同在，是絕對重要。相反，他的父親阿哈次王不聽從依撒意亞先知、不信賴上主，反而向亞述帝國獻媚，請亞述攻打聯軍，為耶路撒冷京城解圍。結果引狼入室，往後的日子，猶大國要向亞述帝國年年進貢！亞述滅了以色列國之後，繼續南下侵略猶大國。在公元前701年，亞述大軍圍困耶路撒冷城，希則克雅王向天主祈禱求救。史書記載：「當天夜裡，上主的使者出來，在亞述營裡殺了十八萬五千人，清晨人們起來，看見遍地都是死屍」（19:35），於是亞述王拔營撤退。十八萬五千可能誇大了，但歷史證明，猶大國的確命不該絕，要再過115年後，她纔被巴比倫帝國征服！

「厄瑪奴耳」預言更長遠、更完滿的應驗，發生在耶穌基督身上。瑪竇宗徒為了證明耶穌就是猶太信徒期待已久的默西亞，便為他們編纂了耶穌的族譜，證明耶穌是出自達味的血統，有資格做默西亞，繼承達味永存不替的王朝（瑪1:1-17）。而且耶穌的誕生，應驗了先知們的五個預言，「厄瑪奴耳」預言是第一個。瑪竇宗徒展示了：默西亞由童貞女所生（1:23）、在白冷出世（2:6）、在埃及避難（2:15）、有無辜嬰孩遭屠殺（2:18）與及稱為納匝肋人（2:23）等等。 ²

耶穌基督與我們的同在，比希則克雅王所帶來的宗教改革和國家安全，何止更勝一籌，不知優勝多少倍！祂的臨在是沒有種族、語言、地域和時空的限制，而且是當我們最困難悽慘的時候，祂陪伴我們，安慰我們。天主子選擇出生在馬槽裡，嬰兒時期已經是一個難民，流離失所。長大後只不過是木匠，不是甚麼法學士或者司祭。雖然榮進耶路撒冷，但卻被自己的門徒出賣、否認，眾叛親離，孤獨一人承擔全人類古往今來的罪債，釘在十字架上，受盡恥辱，甚至感受到天父的捨棄！這樣，世人還有甚麼苦難，祂不能和不會承擔呢？就是這份不離不棄的陪伴，帶給了全人類希望。不但如此，在十字架下，還有祂的愛徒若望和基督之母瑪利亞。她們代表著教會和教會之母，在現場的痛苦中，默默地分擔這救贖的工程。在苦難面前，她們無能為力，只能仰望著受難的基督，信靠天父的慈悲和許諾！

親愛的兄弟姊妹，我們就是若望，就是基督之母瑪利亞。我們負擔著的十字架，包含了親人的十字架─他們的疾病、痛苦以至死亡。全港市民，都承受著大埔火災的傷痛。有如瑪利亞和若望，只能望著認識的人受苦而無能為力，只能痛苦地、焦急地盼望著救援的出現。不幸地，受苦的人等不到救助，便離開了我們！作為基督徒，作為希望的傳承者，我們相信上主樂意在苦難中陪伴我們。依撒意亞先知說：「然而上主仍舊等著向你們施惠，仍高興向你們表示憐愛」（依30:18）。讓我們向身邊的人說：「上主與你們同在，亞孟」。
天主保祐！

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¹順帶一提，為了滿足現代人相信自然科學的心理，有國際地位的媒體公司曾製作過一齣紀錄片，邀請多位「專家」運用自然現象解釋「分開紅海」神跡。第一步，他們玩「文字遊戲」，把紅海說成不是「紅海Red Sea」，而是「蘆葦海Reed Sea」，是一個淺灘！第二，把日子推前到公元前1628年，而不是聖經學者一般的意見：即公元前1450-1250。那一年在愛琴海南部發生了一次超大型的火山爆發，引發了大海嘯，席捲地中海，抵達非洲北部的埃及。火山灰鋪天蓋地，引致埃及發生了「十災」。海嘯到達時，先是海水退卻，讓60萬以色列人走過「蘆葦海」淺灘〔倘若嫌人數太多，媒體公司會毫不猶疑地找文字學家選擇一個更合情合理的希伯來文翻譯，不是60萬人而是6千個家庭，也未可知！〕。當埃及追兵來到時，剛巧陷入倒流的海水中云云。今天的火山爆發遺跡仍在，就是被削去了一半的Santorini島！雖然專家言之鑿鑿，但仍然解釋不了「以色列子民便在海中乾地上走過，水在他們左右好像牆壁」（出14:22）。

²最後一個預言與第一個預言巧妙地呼應。第一，這個「納匝肋人」有「獻於上主的人」（民13:5; 7; 16:17）的意思，耶穌就是一個這樣的人。第二，猶太人稱基督徒為跟隨「那個納匝肋人」的人（宗24:5）。這是非常有意義的，天主不但藉著耶穌，而且透過基督徒，與人同在！另外，第五個預言亦反映了基督徒團體中，猶太信徒的文化背景。要注意：這個名詞並沒有出現在《四大先知》或《十二小先知》之中，卻出現在《民長紀》。在猶太教的經典，《若蘇厄書》至《列王紀下》，是《前先知書》。

但「白冷星」（瑪2:2）的預言記載在（戶24:17），是法律書，不是先知書。瑪竇宗徒的處理方法，盡顯基督信仰的根，來自猶太教背景！另一方面，在反省了超過半個世紀之後，若望宗徒在他的福音中見證了天父的聖言〔即天主聖子〕，取了血肉之軀，與人同住（若1:14），既強調天主子的先存性，更表現出天父對人類永恆無限的憐愛！

2022反省
圖片鳴謝：ideogram.ai, gemini.ai

亞納憑甚麼當女先知 What Qualified Anna To Be A Prophetess

【見證系列（一）】
亞納憑甚麼當女先知 （路2:36-40）

離開埃及，過了紅海的第一代以色列人，已經沒有和天主交往四百多年，對雅威十分陌生。到了西乃山與天主立約時，「眾百姓看見打雷、打閃、吹角、冒煙的山，都戰兢害怕，遠遠站著，對梅瑟說：你同我們說話罷！我們定要聽從，不要天主同我們說話，免得我們死亡。」（出20:18-19）這位天主太可怕了，以色列百姓害怕聽到天主親自發言，天主惟有派先知作為祂的代言人。歷代的天主代言人，來自不同背景，有司祭：例如厄則克耳、有牧羊人：例如亞毛斯等等。天主藉著這些先知，在不同時代發言，針對時弊、宣告審判、指出上主的要求、應許和安慰等。可惜以色列是一個執拗的民族（申9:6），屢勸不改，以至遭受亡國的苦。所以在以色列履行先知職務，的確是一件苦差！

在古代作為女性，米黎盎（出15:20）和德波辣（民4:4），一個是梅瑟的姊姊，一個是民長，自有她們獨特的身份，作為女先知。但作為一個寡婦，亞納憑甚麼擔任先知的角色呢？近期在Netflix播放中的電影 Mary中的亞納，擁有一股神秘的權威，不可取！從《路加福音》的內容推算，我們大概可以估計到亞納的權威來自何方。假設她十四歲出閣，二十一歲守寡，八十四歲在聖殿，向一切希望耶路撒冷得救贖的人，講論出生滿四十天的耶穌（路2:38）。即是說，她在公元前六十三年，開始了她在聖殿事奉天主的歲月。要知道在古代醫學並未發達，五十歲可能已經是猶太人的人生大限。一個猶太人從十二歲開始，每年要到聖殿朝聖一次。見過亞納三十八次的人未必多。所以，當八十四歲高齡的亞納向群眾講論聖嬰耶穌的時候，聽眾怎可以不尊重！

親愛的兄弟姊妹，祝願大家在八十四歲時，還可以講論主耶穌基督的言行。亞孟。
天主保祐。

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生命恩泉
Picture Credit: wikipedia.com, creator.nightcafe.studio

[Witness Series: I]
What Qualified Anna To Be A Prophetess (Luke 2:36-40)

The first generation Israelites who fled Egypt and crossed the Red Sea had not walked with God for more than four hundred years. To them, Yahweh was an alien being. When they reached Mount Sinai to establish covenant with Him, “All the people witnessed the thunder and lightning, the blast of the shofar and the mountain smoking, they became afraid and trembled. So they took up a position farther away and said to Moses, ‘You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, or we shall die.’” (Exodus 20:18-19) This God was too terrifying. The Israelites were afraid to hear God speak. Therefore, God chose prophets to be His spokespersons. Throughout the ages, God chose spokespersons from different backgrounds. There were priests, such as Ezekiel; shepherds such as Amos etc. Through them God spoke in different ages to reprimand, to announce judgment, to convey instructions, promises and consolations. Regrettably, Israel was a stiff-necked people (Deuteronomy 9:6). They refused to repent despite repeated exhortations. In the end, their kingdom was conquered and the people were exiled. It was a harsh mission to discharge the prophetic ministry in Israel!

As women in ancient times, Miriam (Exodus 15:20) and Deborah (Judges 4:4), the former was the elder sister of Moses and the latter a Judge, had their special identities to work as prophetesses. But as a widow, what qualified Anna to take up the role as a prophetess? Recently, Netflix shows the movie “Mary” in which the Anna possessed a mysterious authority. It is inappropriate. From the narratives of Luke, we are able to speculate where Anna’s authority came from. Assuming that she was married at 14, widowed at 21 and when she was 84-year old, she spoke about the 40-day old infant Jesus “to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem” (Luke 2:38). That is to say, since 63 B.C., Anna had started serving God in the Temple. Know that medical technology was still not advanced at that time, the life expectancy of Jews might be less than 50. A Jew was obliged to visit the Temple annually since twelve-year old. Not many of them would have seen Anna 38 times. Thus, when the 84-year-old Anna spoke about the Holy Infant to the crowd, how could they not respect!

Beloved brethren! I pray that when we are 84, we are still able to speak about the words and deeds of Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
God bless!

The Secret to Be the Greatest 做最大的秘訣

The Twenty-Fifth Ordinary Sunday, Year B
Theme: The Secret to Be the Greatest 做最大的秘訣

Due to time constrains, it is regrettable that we only hear excerpts of the Bible on Sunday celebrations. Without knowing a fuller context, the congregation would wonder why such and such things would happen. Take the first reading of today as an example. We appreciate the efforts of compilers in the Liturgical Commission for making the readings more assessable to the congregation. However, their choice of wording in this case is questionable. It starts like this, “The wicked say: Let us beset the just one, because he is obnoxious to us …” (Wisdom 2:12a). The compilers added “The wicked say” to summarize the previous eleven verses! I wonder what those people have done to deserve a “wicked” label? I looked up the text and found that they were rich and powerful people who did not find any meaningful purposes in life. They lamented that death was the only certainty. There was no remedy for their dying. Their births were by chance and their deaths left nothing behind. In between, their lives passed away like the traces of a cloud. Therefore, they chose to enjoy good things such as costly wine and perfumes. How can you criticize people for holding such kind of worldview and leading such kind of affluent life style, which they can afford? All of us are free to choose and to act when we do not harm other people, aren’t we?

The more morally offending thing comes next. In modern jargon, not only was their life style unsustainable but they were also abusing the environment, “Let no meadow be free from our wantonness; everywhere let us leave tokens of our merriment, for this is our portion, and this is our lot” (2:9). I am not sure whether ancient people would be offended because it was very unlikely that they knew of any sorts of pollution with which modern people are familiar. Perhaps what in our eyes are pollutions, such as cattle dung left in the open, were actually chemical free fertilizers. It was part of their environmental protection wisdom! Nowadays, we know that it is definitely unethical to be so irresponsible in damaging the environment, a home common to all humanity now and in the future. But we don’t label those people “wicked”, do we? In fact, the author of Wisdom only describes them as “not thinking rightly” (2:1). People do not think rightly for many reasons. For example, ignorance, lack of education, too busy to make the ends meet etc. As long as the damages done do not harm other people’s lives, labelling those people “wicked” is polemic. Of course, the wicked do not think rightly when they benefit themselves at the expenses of other people. Sometimes, circumstances force people to choose a lesser evil. Therefore, even the righteous may choose a relatively wicked path in order to prevent an even greater evil from happening. Life is truly complex.

When we read further, ethics dictates that those people deserved to be labelled wicked, “Let us oppress the righteous poor; let us neither spare the widow nor revere the aged for hair grown white with time. But let our strength be our norm of righteousness; for weakness proves itself useless” (2:10-11). Indeed, “might makes right” is a wicked principle because we are doing harm to those who are unable to defend themselves. People who approach life and organize it in accordance to this principle are wicked because the law of the jungle reduces us into beasts. As Christians, we do not see the world as a battle field of zero-sum games. “Either you die or I live” is a law only tyrants would lay down. No! God is not a tyrant. His law is instead “Either you live or I die” and He actually dies so that we may live! As Christians, we look for opportunities to create win-win situations. Thus we defend the rights of the voiceless, advocate for the needs of the socially marginalized and opt for the poor etc. Though we inevitably become enemies of the “wicked”, we choose not to label them “wicked” in order to leave dialogues open in the future. If we are true disciples of Jesus, we should also follow the Master’s instructions not to pass judgment on the others (Matthew 7:1). This is what the Master means when after the first Prediction of His Passion, He told the crowd, His disciples and therefore us, to deny ourselves, carry our crosses and follow Him (Mark 8:34).

Jesus knew that His disciples needed more intensive coaching. So, after Jesus had shown the glory of resurrection to the three core disciples on a high mountain, He taught the Twelve again about the imminent Passion a second time. Obviously the disciples had not learnt the lesson yet because on the way, they were arguing about who was the greatest (9:34). Old habits die hard. The Twelve were adults and adult students are known to be hard to teach because modifying mind-sets demands Herculean efforts on the part of adult learners. Jesus is a teacher exemplar on a par with Confucius. His communication skills are superb and His teachings are deep, to say the least. Jesus does not condemn their ambition to be great because such an ambition is a powerful motivator to help people do good in face of difficulties and obstacles. Instead, He passes on to them the secret recipe to become great! “If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all” (9:35b). Alas! Many people make use of authority in the wrong way. They abuse authority to herd wealth and benefits for themselves instead of exercising authority to do good for the people who gave them authority in the first place. Stewards, instead of properly discharging their role as servants, have become masters. The awareness of being a servant prevents state officials from lording over the commoners. Such an awareness would urge them to go into ghettoes to experience and to survey the real situations. Then those officials would not draw up impracticable policies inside air-conditioned offices.

Jesus knew that this teaching, like that of the Bread of Life, had been too deep for the Twelve and to the rest of all to receive (John 6:66), He further reinforced our learning by placing a child in their midst and putting His arms around it (Mark 9:6), saying “Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but the One who sent me” (9:37). Wasn’t Jesus trying to teach us how to be great? One wonders what a child has to do with greatness. Be careful! Jesus was not teaching us to receive the Kingdom of Heaven with simplicity like a child. No. That would take another occasion (10:15). See how fondly Jesus embraced the child, revealing the modus operandi of God: God loves to do big things through underdogs such as Jael who drove a peg through the temple of Sisera (Judges 4:21) and David who embedded a pebble in the forehead of Goliath (1 Samuel 17:49)! Jesus is telling us to learn from Him. Don’t weary ourselves with pomp and ceremony and cracking a nut with a sledgehammer! Those big shows only serve human vanity and contribute little to the success of a mission. Instead it is a waste of resources. God’s way is the best because it is the most efficient and effective to get things done! The most essential thing is to do God’s will, namely to love God and therefore love the needy. This is the proper way to exercise authority bestowed on us, and thus to become great. Otherwise, people would lament how the mighty have fallen (2 Samuel 1:25, 27)!

Beloved brethren! Let us follow the successful example of St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta to do small things with great love. We are surely on the right path! Amen.
God bless!

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2021 Reflection
Picture Credit: francisxaviersamsen.wordpress.com, creator.nightcafe.studio

What If Jairus Suffered Denial 如果雅依洛不能承受女兒的死亡

Thirteenth Ordinary Sunday, Year B
Theme: What If Jairus Suffered Denial 如果雅依洛不能承受女兒的死亡

I enjoy watching movies because they tell stories, which I may not be able to go through and experience in person. Indeed, watching movies is safe in the sense that you are only a bystander, an outsider. You have no share in the consequences of the events. One of the more memorable movies I have watched is a 1970 Japanese movie called “Dodes’ka-den” which tells the stories of people who live in their fantasy worlds. Dodes’ka-den is rather prophetic in the sense that nowadays many people are unable to bear the brunt of stresses living in the modern society. They construct a “safe house” in their heads and stay inside. The most remarkable of all is that some of them are able to interact with the real world outside and manage to survive and even prosper. Is this not Virtual Reality or Meta-verse all about? However, a lot of them have become dysfunctional and ended up seeking psychiatric treatments. How pitiful!

The gospel today is the familiar “sandwich” miracle in which Jesus healed a bleeding woman on His way to raise the daughter of Jairus, one of the synagogue officials (Mark 5:22). One verse stood out in particular today to catch my attention. It reads, “Your daughter is dead; why trouble the teacher any longer?” (5:35). We have been interpreting this verse in a traditional manner in which the daughter died while Jairus and Jesus were returning home. Somehow, I discover another possibility to interpret this verse today.

The twelve-year-old girl had died. Jairus was in shock and could not accept the reality. He was in the first stages of grieving: denial and even anger. Death causes great shock in people and the shock is inversely proportional to age. The younger a person dies, the greater the shock his death imparts on the loved ones. “No way. It is not real. It is impossible for my endearing little daughter to die” etc. Before they are prepared and ready to accept the reality, people usually deploy the defence mechanism of denial. This happens in scientific researches as well as day-to-day social interactions.

People also usually try to cover up their mistakes with anger. “It cannot be my fault. It must be you who made the mistake”. Feelings of injustice would well up as well. “She was so young and so … It is not fair for so adorable a girl to die so young” etc. Perhaps Jairus did not want to show the emotional tumults he was undergoing and affected the other family members. He left home to grieve and on his way, Jairus met Jesus, an enemy of the Pharisees as well as a famous miracle worker! Now Jairus found a bargaining option. “Lord God, King of the Universe, the True Judge. I will love this enemy of ours if You let my daughter live!” He acted immediately. “Seeing Him [Jesus], he fell at his feet and pleaded earnestly with him” (5:22b-23a). You can imagine how desperate Jairus must have been that he fell at his enemy’s feet in humility! Jairus did not fall into depression because Jesus was merciful. Without hesitation, Jesus went off with him … Later people from Jairus’ house arrived and said, “Your daughter is dead; why trouble the teacher …” (5:35), meaning Jairus, wake up and be realistic! Take courage. Come home to face the reality. How could you leave the corpse of your daughter unattended? Go quickly to bury her before the sun set. Why waste your own time and trouble the teacher …

What is the merit of interpreting the story in this way? Before answering this question, let us contemplate one more verse that is crucial. “Be not afraid, only believe” (5:36b). Of what was Jairus afraid? That his comrade Pharisees would ban him because he colluded with the enemy of the Pharisees? This fear was genuine because the ban could cost Jairus financially and socially in the future. However, this could not be Jairus’ fear at that moment because this was exactly the bargain Jairus was prepared to pay (Deuteronomy 23:22; Judges 11:30-31, 35-36; Psalms 76:12). It was not the time to fear because if Jesus was successful, the price would be worth paying! But what if Jesus failed? Don’t be stupid. How could you beg Jesus to help you if you had no faith in Him in the first place? It was not the right time to ponder on such a probable outcome that Jesus failed!

Jesus was famous for exorcisms, healing illnesses and even calming the storm. But raising the dead would be His first attempt and there was no precedence. Now, Jairus could not brush away the possibility of Jesus’ failure. If Jesus succeeded, Jairus’ dream world would come true and he would be able to live happily ever after! If Jesus failed, Jairus had to return to the real world where his daughter was dead. This was exactly what Jairus tried to run away from in the first place because he did not have the courage to face such a cruel reality. This fear was genuine and appropriate for the moment. I would not blame Jairus for his fear because this was his first encounter with the Son of God. He might be familiar with the technicalities of the Law but he might, like Saul, the student of Rabbi Gamaliel, have no previous relationship with the Lord (Acts 9:5a)! Our sinfulness lies in the fact that we trust our technologies and ourselves more than we trust in God! In this light, we understand why Jesus told Jairus not to fear but to believe in Him (Mark 5:36b). Faith helps us sustain till we see something realized. Jairus needed faith to sustain himself till Jesus raised his daughter. “Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence [ἔλεγχος] of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1).

Now the merit. In traditional interpretation, the bleeding woman and Jairus’ daughter were the major beneficiaries of Jesus’ miracles. Jairus’ role was only collateral and secondary. However, the interpretation proposed in this reflection restores Jairus’ position that he deserved because the gospels retain his name while the bleeding woman and the little girl remain anonymous! What is the significance of Jairus? A quick answer is that he is a portrait of most Christians. The little girl was dead. We only know that she was 12 years old. Her life does not inform our faith. The faith of the bleeding was strong and enabled her to unlock Jesus’ power. We may learn from her and even envy her. But we are unable to imitate her because our spiritual experiences are unique and different. It is not advisable to do what she did. Thus, she does not help us improve our relationship with the Lord.

Beloved brethren! Jairus was different because he was one of us: defensive to the point of being nearly dysfunctional, utilitarian and the most important of all, fragile in faith! Jairus prompts us to rely more on the steadfast love of the Lord for us. He is a more helpful comrade in our journey home. Amen. God bless!

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2021 Reflection
Picture Credit: groupbiblestudy.com

The MO of God 天主的工作模式

Eleventh Ordinary Sunday, Year B
Theme: The MO of God 天主的工作模式

God is a mystery (Isaiah 40:12-14). If somebody claims that he understands God, he must be either a liar or God Himself. Luckily, we have a Bible from which we are able to glimpse of what God has done. Hence, we are able to draw some tentative hypotheses of what His will is. However, we have to be prepared to meet surprises.

For example, we know that God is righteous. Hence we expect Him to punish the wicked and reward the good. In reality, we see a lot of good people suffer for no obvious reasons while many wicked go unpunished and even become prosperous! How can a righteous God allow wicked people to flourish? We can only console ourselves by believing that God is merciful and that He is patiently waiting for the wicked to repent (Ezekiel 18:32). Some theologians even claim that God’s might is manifested not in earth-shaking miracles but in His forgiving our sins, not counting our trespasses against us (2 Corinthians 5:19)!

Nowadays, we are better equipped to handle the problem of why good people suffer. What Job was not able to understand, Jesus has made it clear. In Old Testament morality, a person suffered what he had done wrong. God punished him for his faults and wickedness. Therefore, when his friends came to console him, Job found that they were actually trying to explain away his sufferings with his sins. Nowadays, we see more clearly that people, in particular social outcasts and the poor, suffer from exploitations and prejudices not of their own faults. Moreover, Jesus has set us an example of submitting obediently to the will of the Father and suffering injustice quietly. In so doing, we have become Christ’s ambassadors of reconciliation (5:20)! We may even receive the glorious crown of martyrdom etc. Thus, if you complain, especially about the disappointing performance of the clergy, then you are not Christian enough!

Many Catholics in Hong Kong are disappointed because they feel that the clergy have done too little and too late in matters of social justice. They expect cardinals, bishops and priests in general to act as the conscience of the society and speak for the silent majority and for those who are unable to speak for themselves. Instead, they see those clergy issuing messages to whitewash the status quo! Eventually, those despicable church ministers will become the megaphone of the wealthy and the powerful! In short, they should do more for the marginalized in the local society!

When you complain about not having done enough and begin to lose faith in the ecclesial ministers, contemplating the action of leaving the Church, it shows that you do not know God enough all these years you have spent in the Church. The Church is probably not the right place for you to find God thus leaving the Church is probably an appropriate and prudent action. Why do I jump to this conclusion? It is because after spending so many years in the Church, you do not know the modus operandi of God! You do not know that God likes to do small and quiet things. I do not blame you for this failure because even Elijah the legendary great prophet who appeared with Moses in Jesus’ Transfiguration (Mark 9:4) knew no better. After inciting the Israelites to kill 450 Baal prophets on Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18:40), Elijah fled for his life and hid in a cave on Mount Horeb. God told Elijah to go out and meet Him. Elijah expected to see God in a strong and violent wind but the Lord was not in the wind; in an earthquake; in fire etc. but no. After the fire came a light silent sound and God was there (19:12)! As I have said earlier, God does not manifest His might in earth-shaking fanfares but in simple and uninteresting forgiveness. This is the MO of Yahweh.

To be fair, allow me to give another example so that there are two witnesses to prove the truth of my thesis. When Midian, Amalek and the Kedemites raised an army of 135,000 to bring the Israelites on their knees, Gideon was only able to raise 32,000 Israelites to resist. Instead, God selected only 300 (Judges 7:6) to defeat the united invaders “lest Israel vaunt itself against me and say, ‘My own power saved me’” (7:2)! This is the reasoning of Yahweh who would make use of a selected few and work through them to do big things in our eyes.

In the gospel passage today, we hear of two parables of the Kingdom of Heaven from Mark 4. Earlier in the chapter, Jesus told us the famous Parable of the Sower, teaching us about the different receptivity of the human hearts towards the good news. Some dismiss it outright. Some feel good hearing it but the gospel fails to take root in their hearts. They give up when persecutions come. Some know that the gospel is good and important but there are other worries competing for attention. The gospel message fails to bear fruits. Lastly, not only do they listen but they also put the gospel message into practice. Consequently, they bear fruit, winning people over to return to God. The Parable of the Sower is significant because it is the only parable Jesus explains.

We hear the next two parables of the Kingdom of God today. Jesus tells us that the Kingdom of God is a mystery. It grows not by human will and human efforts but grows in its own way, God’s way! “And the seed would sprout and grow, he knows not how. Of its own accord the land yields fruit, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear” (Mark 4:27b-28). Don’t worry. It develops and grows naturally and would not disrupt our expectation suddenly. Again we see God’s MO, “lest Israel vaunt itself against me”. Of course we participate in building up the Kingdom of God but we should not attribute its growth and successes to our efforts. Rather, we should be grateful because God has given us the opportunity to participate in His salvation project. Seeing the gradual development of the Kingdom of God as embodied by the Church is beneficial to our understanding of God’s will too! The parable of the Mustard Seed also echoes a similar sentiment. On Pentecost, the Holy Spirit descended and gave birth to the Church of 120 members. On the first day of her existence, 3000 more souls joined the Church. She started off truly as small as a mustard seed. After nearly two millennia, she still survives and her membership has reached nearly 1.4 billion, comparable to the population of the PRC! Her history is chequered but we are certain that God’s hand has been guiding her all along. Her end is nowhere in sight because the God she upholds and worships is eternal.

To be candid, all of us have a tendency to play God because we lack confidence. We need to do something to prove ourselves and our worth. Many people spend a lot of time and energy to do charitable work in front of the cameras. Are they doing it for the glory of God (Matthew 5:16) or for their personal vainglory (Mark 12:38-39)? Others lack confidence in the commoners and become “control freaks”, turning the government into a police state to nip rebellions in the bud. Like many modern parents who wrongly believe that a good head-start will guarantee successes in the future, some fill up the schedule of their children with all kinds of tutorials and courses so that their children would be able to defeat all potential rivals! Obviously all of them have put the wrong foot forward because between being and doing, they have bet on the wrong horse. It is a life-long inferiority complex that they are struggling with. In the parable of the Prodigal Son, the younger son also wrongly believed that by working as a servant, he would be able to obtain the forgiveness of the father (Luke 15:19). In fact, the father cares more about the restoration of the sonship of this lost son (15:22) than what he had done in the past and would do in the future! In other words, God cares more about our being than about our doing.

Beloved brethren! We were created in the image of God. Have faith in our Lord. He loves those who are humble in heart and invites us to learn from Him (Matthew 11:29). We have lost sight of God’s MO and wrongly believe that our efforts earn us salvation. We are wrong all the time. Let us stop to meditate the mercy of the Father and enter into His rest. Amen. God bless!

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2021 Reflection
Picture Credit: selliliar.live

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

先國家之急而後私讎 Concern National Urgency Before Personal Grudges

先國家之急而後私讎
Concern National Urgency Before Personal Grudges

【聖經】宣揚天主是歷史的主宰，所以是天主為以色列人作戰。例如梅瑟解放以色列人後，選擇走一條「背水一戰」的死路，引誘法魯王「率領600輪精良戰車和埃及所有的戰車」追趕（出14:7），來到紅海。60萬以色列人夾在埃及軍隊與紅海之間。正當埃及軍隊滿以為「我要追擊擒獲，分得獵物，纔心滿意足；我要拔刀出鞘，親手斬滅」（15:9）時，到頭來全軍覆沒有紅海中；天主甚至令日月停頓一整天，直到以色列人擊潰阿摩黎人（蘇10:12-13）。天主經常以少勝多，在基德紅的民眾中，祇挑選三百人，殲滅米德楊的十三萬五千人，「免得以色列對我自誇說：是自己的能力救了目己」（民7:2）。後來，以色列及猶大先後亡國，因為他們不敬拜上主天主了。「崇拜偶像」成了亡國的原因。這就是今天第一篇讀經的背景。故事中的阿匝黎雅和兩個同伴，因拒絕朝拜君王的金像，被拿步高王下令投入火窯中。阿匝黎雅在火窯中祈禱，承認祖先的罪過，就是離棄了上主（達3:29），結果上主將他們「交在無法無天，邪妄無信的仇人手中，又將我們交於一位不義和全世界上最凶暴不仁的君王手中」（3:32）。俗世的史學家，是不會探用這種「拜偶像亡國論」的歷史觀。

中國在先秦時期，亡國是因為經濟和政治改革，追不上其他國家。到了戰國時代，亡國與否便取決於武將能否與宰相合作了。著名的「負荊請罪」故事，就是發生在這個時代。藺相如處處退避廉頗，寬恕他的無禮挑釁，並不是害怕廉頗威猛，而是為大局著想。「強秦之所以不敢加兵於趙者 ，徒以吾兩人在也。今兩虎共鬥，其勢不俱生。吾所以為此（退避廉頗）者，以先國家之急而後私讎也」（史記．廉頗藺相如列傳）。原來「寬恕」可以有非常高尚的目的。

請不要小覷藺相如的「先國家之急而後私讎」是斬釘截鐵的「功利主義」，其實耶穌基督在福音的教訓中，亦採用過不少。作為基督徒，倘若我們有一點藺相如的「先天國之急而後私讎」胸襟，「寬恕七十個七次」（瑪18:22），為了天國，又有何難呢？即使教友祇有半點「先天國之急」的胸襟，教會就不愁缺欠傳教的聖召，不愁沒有人代表基督做「修和大使」了（格後5:20）。

可愛的諸位，中國文化中尚有很多有待發掘的天主啟示，讓我們加倍努力，潛心學習。
天主保祐！

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圖片鳴謝：master-insight.com

It Is Most Difficult To Convert People’s Hearts 改變人心最難

【天主經系列（二）】
改變人心最難（谷8:14-21）

看來「原罪」在人類心靈留下的創傷，相當嚴重。且看，不但學識淵博的法利塞人和經師，未能在自己的專業領域中，找到有關天主救贖人類的啟示；他們甚至濫用法律，誅滅耶穌而後快；連耶穌基督自己親自訓練和一起生活的宗徒們，不但心靈遲鈍，甚至後來因貪財而出賣師傅；為了保命而否認那位立他為「掌門人」（瑪16:18）的恩師！培根的名句：「知識就是力量」應用到法利塞人身上，並不一定正確；看來連漁夫稅吏們「將勤補拙」的努力也枉然。沒有天主採取主動，人類的確沒有本領自救！

在今次事件中，明明在船上還有一個餅（谷8:14），為甚麼「他們彼此議論：他們沒有餅了」（8:16）呢？為甚麼他們能正確回答耶穌的提問，即「收滿了幾筐碎塊」（8:19-20），到頭來仍然「一頭霧水」（8:21）呢？看來門徒關心的不是「沒有餅了」，而是「沒有足夠數目的餅」給耶穌再顯神蹟！

在首次增餅中，耶穌憑他們收集到的五餅二魚，增餅給五千人吃飽。可能門徒認為「七」是一個神聖的數目字，是給耶穌施行神蹟的必要條件！所以第二次，他們預留了七個餅給耶穌施行增餅神蹟，讓四千人吃飽。他們的焦點放在如何為「美滿成果」創造他們認為是「有利的條件」，卻忽略了天主的參與和介入，纔是美滿成果的關鍵所在；而且結果是喜出望外，綽綽有餘的！門徒們的教育水平可能低，情有可原；但學識淵博的法利塞人和經師，就難辭其咎了。在舊約經典記載的戰事中，經常是天主幫助以色列人取得勝利，而且是以少勝多，「免得以色列對我自誇說：是自己的能力救了自己」（民7:2b）。穩操勝券輕易，改變人心最難！天父非常明白這一點，所以要派遣獨生子降生成人，御駕親征！
天父啊！願祢的旨意，奉行在人間，如同在天上。亞孟。
生命恩泉
圖片鳴謝：mylakeview.weebly.com

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It Is Most Difficult To Convert People’s Hearts (Mark 8:14-21)
[The Lord’s Prayer Series II]

Original Sin has left serious wounds in the souls and minds of humanity. Look at the learned Pharisees and scribes. Not only were they unable to unveil God’s salvation but they even tried to abuse the Law to kill Jesus. The apostles with whom Jesus stayed and personally trained were no better. Their hearts were hard and their minds dumb. One of them betrayed the Master for money while another denied Him who made him the Rock of the Church (Matthew 16:18). Bacon’s aphorism “Knowledge is power” seems not to work on the Pharisees. The hard works of the disciples were futile. Had God not taken the initiative, humanity would not have been able to save themselves!

In today’s story, the disciples “had only one loaf with them in the boat” (Mark 8:14). Why did “They conclude[d] among themselves that … they had no bread” (8:16)? Why were they able to answer Jesus’ prompt correctly, namely “how many wicker baskets full of fragments you picked up” (8:19-20) and “Still not understand” (8:21)? It seemed that “having no bread” was not their real concern. Rather, “not having sufficient bread” for Jesus to work miracles was!

During the first multiplication of bread, Jesus fed 5000 with five loaves and two fish. Probably the disciples thought that “seven” was a sacred number, a necessary condition for Jesus to work miracles! Therefore, during the second multiplication miracle, they reserved seven loaves for Jesus to multiply to feed 4000. They focused on creating what they thought to be advantageous conditions to output good results, forgetting that God’s participation and intervention are the keys of successes, and even surprises of abundance! We may forgive the disciples because they were not scholars but not the Pharisees and scribed who knew the most. There are many war narratives in the Hebrew Scriptures. God always helped the Israelites win and with a small number of fighters, “Lest Israel vaunt itself against me and say, ‘My own power saved me.’” (Judges 7:2b). Winning a battle is easy; converting men’s hearts is the most difficult! The Father knows it best thus, He sent His only begotten Son to incarnate to fight the war Himself!
Heavenly Father! Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Amen.

Different Shades of Prophets 先知無雙譜

Fourth Ordinary Sunday, Year B
Theme: Different Shades of Prophets 先知無雙譜

Human beings are insatiably curious but I do not know whether God created us this way or we became like this after the fall of our First Parents. The Bible tells us that in the beginning God created a universe suitable for the emergence of intelligent creatures. The zenith of God’s creative act was the creation of human beings in His image (Genesis 1:26) so that we are able to interact with Him. With intelligence, we are able to understand that our Creator is infinitely perfect in all manners. The known universe with its immense diversities and all its inhabitants, including us, testify that the Creator is a Grand Designer and His Creation is an outflow of His essence which John the Apostle named “love” (1 John 4:8). Out of love, God created humanity and assigned them to manage the world (Genesis 1:27, 2:15). God’s Creation was good but it was not yet perfect. There is room to grow and develop until it reaches perfection! The stage was set for God’s renovation plan to unfold. Men were living in blissful innocence (2:25) until Satan tempted the woman to eat the “fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil” which God had previously told Adam not to eat lest he died (2:17).

Obviously, humanity was no match to angels in terms of strategy and strength. Moreover, they were unprepared for this ambush and consequently fell in action! However, God did not abandon His images. He declared the proto-gospel in the form of an enigma, “I will put enmity between you [Satan] and the woman, and between your offspring and hers. They will strike at your head, while you strike at their heel” (3:15). In hindsight, we know that God was announcing a prophecy about how the Son of God would be born of a woman and He would defeat Satan in a mortal combat! Throughout history, God has been dropping us hints of how His Grand Design would unfold. That is the mission of Old Testament prophets whose role is to proclaim the words of God to the people. Let us briefly review what prophets have done in the Pentateuch.

Abraham was the first prophet mentioned in the Bible (Genesis 20:7) but he did not proclaim any word of God. Instead, Abraham interceded for Abimelech so that the latter might live! Very often, Christians, especially the righteous ones, have overlooked this mediator role of prophets! They are more eager to console the underprivileged, to exhort and to pronounce judgment on the wicked instead of interceding for them. Jonah whom we read of last Sunday was such a prime example. Let us turn our attention to another prophet in the Pentateuch. During the Exodus to the Promised Land, Moses always handed down God’s messages to the Israelites and yet the Pentateuch does not explicitly called Moses a prophet. God affirms Moses’ role as a prophet in the first reading today, “I will raise up for them [Israelites] a prophet like you from among their kindred, and will put my words into the mouth of the prophet; the prophet shall tell them all that I command” (Deuteronomy 18:18). As a prophet, Moses did more than just proclaiming God’s word. Once he interceded successfully for the Israelites whom God wanted to annihilate because they worshipped the Golden Calf after Moses had gone up to Mount Horeb [Sinai] to receive the Ten Commandments. Eventually God changed His mind and spared the Israelites (Exodus 32:9-14). Both Abraham and Moses have set us examples to intercede for the wicked. Christians, will you not do better to pray for those who persecute you?

If you were still reluctant to pray for the wicked, perhaps another interesting prophet in the Pentateuch would change your mind, Balaam! Balaam was probably a diviner because seeing the approach of Israelites, Balak the king of Moab sent a team of divination experts (Numbers 22:7) to summon Balaam to curse the Israelites because “Whoever you [Balaam] bless is blessed and whoever you curse is cursed” (22:6). Did it not sound familiar? It did because God told Abraham in similar terms, saying, “I will bless you; I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you” (Genesis 12:2b-3a). Here, we see a difference between a diviner and a prophet. People thought that diviners had the power to bless and curse effectively whereas prophets were actually channels to convey God’s blessings and curses upon the others. Prophets themselves did not have the power to bless or curse. What made Balaam the diviner interesting was that God turned him, a diviner upon whom the Torah would frown, into a prophet through whom God imparted His blessings on the Israelites and made known His will to the pagans (Numbers 23-24)! Nothing can prevent God from making wicked people perform His will. If Caesar Augustus was wicked, he unwittingly fulfilled the prophecy of the birth of the Messiah in Bethlehem by ordering a nationwide census (Luke 2:1-5).

To wrap up this brief review, let us turn to the end of Deuteronomy where we read, “Now Joshua, son of Nun, was filled with the spirit of wisdom, since Moses had laid his hands upon him; and so the Israelites gave him their obedience, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. Since then no prophet has arisen in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face” (Deuteronomy 34:9-10). With this, we conclude that Joshua was a prophet like Moses and no prophets after Joshua in the Old Testament were on a par with Moses. Moreover, the strength of a prophet comes from the Holy Spirit, the spirit of wisdom mentioned above. Furthermore, we should also know that the Greek rendition of the name Joshua Ἰησοῦς, is Jesus! Thus, Jesus the Son of God is the prophet God promised in Deuteronomy 18:18. In the fullness of time, God came down in person to teach us the way of redemption. Before that, He shrouded His Grand Design in enigmas! How would an offspring of a woman, a mortal, defeat Satan (Genesis 3:15)? How could we dream that God would come in person to live among us like a brother, to teach us, to intercede for us (Deuteronomy 18:18) and even to die for us?

Prophets come in different shades. Most well-known ones are mighty and ferocious such as Moses, Joshua, Samuel, Elijah and Elisha etc. because of their juicy stories. But there are also mild and even tragic ones such as the major prophets and even prophetesses such as Miriam (Exodus 15:20), Deborah (Judges 4:4), Huldah (2 Kings 22:14) in the Old Testament and Anna (Luke 2:36) in the New Testament. God even punished Miriam for challenging the authority of her brother Moses (Numbers 12:10)! Once more, nothing can prevent God from making anybody an instrument of His grace! Prophetesses show clearly God’s modus operandi: might is NOT always right. Meekness can be as powerful as, if not more powerful than, physical might! Most people know that the Blessed Virgin Mary is the best exemplar of all disciples but few would recognize that she is also a prophet! It is not because the Church gives her a devotional title “Queen of Prophets” but because of her words to the servers at Cana, “Do whatever he[Jesus] tells you” (John 2:5)! Not only did the BVM intercede for their lack of wine, but she also instructed the people to do God’s will. Human strength is always inferior to God’s. Therefore, it is not necessary to resort to might in order to get things done. Meekness and mildness are also able to achieve when we allow God to intervene. He is able to get the job done more fruitfully and effectively.

Beloved brethren! Through baptism, we partake in the threefold ministry of a king, a priest and a prophet of Jesus Christ who is the Prophet foretold in the book of Deuteronomy. Let us invoke the Holy Spirit to grant us love, meekness and wisdom to discharge the prophet ministry of good news. Amen.

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2021 Reflection
Picture Credit: creazilla.com

What Is God Telling Us 天主對我們說甚麼？

Mid-Night Mass, Year B
Theme: What Is God Telling Us 天主對我們說甚麼？

For the first time in a thousand years, Christians in Bethlehem decide to cancel all Christmas celebrations! The picture of Infant Jesus among rubble goes viral on the Internet! Many copy the idea and create nativity scenes of the Holy Family with a rubble backdrop. War becomes such a vivid reality and Emmanuel suddenly takes up a new significance. In fact, messianic prophecies are littered with military imagery which we can find in the book of Isaiah.

Isaiah saw the laying waste of the land and the burning of cities (Isaiah 1:7) because Israel made herself an enemy of God (1:21-24). There is no ambiguity at all where the responsibility lies. God wants righteousness but powerful people manipulate the legal system to fatten themselves. God shall not give His people up. He pledges to purify and deliver Sion (1:25-28). A day will come when nations “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” (2:4)! Christians trust in God’s pledge and the promise of a world without conflicts keeps their hope burning. Moreover, people would invest wisely, diverting their military budget to economic growth! Such allocation of funds is an obviously prudent policy. However, military observers estimate that the superpowers have sufficient nuclear arsenals to blow up the planet for at least seven times. Military industries are making big fat money here. There is little incentive for them not to accumulate more wealth! Not only does greed fuel those industries, but pride and arrogance also fan the flame of military conflicts. The day mentioned in Isaiah 2 seems to be forever remote out of reach. The consequence is crystal clear, “Your men will fall by the sword, and your champions, in war; Her gates will lament and mourn, as the city sits desolate on the ground” (3:25-26).

The tone of the first reading is joyful. “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. Upon those who lived in a land of gloom a light has shone” (Isaiah 9:1). In the ears of the conquered and exiled, the light would be a beam of hope. Further down, the prophet continues, “For the yoke that burdened them, the pole on their shoulder, the rod of their taskmaster, You have smashed, as on the day of Midian” (9:3). It was to be a hope of freedom which the Lord fought for them! Bearing in mind the military vocabulary Isaiah uses, the happiness of the liberated is compared to the exultation in dividing the spoils (9:2c). The victory is certain because “For every boot that tramped in battle, every cloak rolled in blood, will be burned as fuel for fire” (9:4). Once more, the image of turning military expenditure (boots and cloaks) into economic growth (fuel) appears. However, the battle would be bloody and brutal because every soldier in action would fall except for the side which leaves everything in God’s hand. The side which surrender to the will of God and let Him fight the battle would become the victor!

How would God fight this battle? In the day of Midian mentioned above, it is the battle God helped Gidean defeat 135,000 Midians with 300 soldiers (Judges 7:8; 8:10). But this time, God would only sent a child! Isaiah says, “For a child is born to us, a son is given to us; upon his shoulder dominion rests. They name him Wonder-Counsellor, God-Hero, Father-Forever, Prince of Peace” (9:5). George Handel has popularized this verse in his famous MESSIAH oratorio of 1741. Different people would draw different inspiration from listening to it. It would be futile to expound further. Just let it sink into our psyche and adore the Holy Infant in the crib, this year in a backdrop of Gaza rubble.

Beloved brethren! It is unwise of me to disturb your meditation. Let us beseech the Prince of Peace to grant us peace. Amen!

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Picture Credit: artandtheology.org

Your Will Be Done 爾旨承行

Fourth Advent Sunday, Year B
Theme: Your Will Be Done 爾旨承行

If we have spent sufficient time studying the Bible, we will arrive at a conclusion without a shade of doubt, namely that our Father in heaven is infinitely beyond our knowing and that we shall rest assured of His providence. This is the last Advent Sunday which this year falls on Christmas Eve! Of course, this happens regularly once every five to six years and there seems to be anything but extraordinary. Not quite! The world has been chaotic and war-torn enough these months. Many Christians who were born after the two world wars in the previous century are in earnest anticipation to witness what peace our heavenly Father has in store for us. We know that we have a part to play but world peace is really beyond our reach. It is too big for us to manage but we are confident that when instead of throwing our hands in the air, we elevate them to our heavenly Father in prayers, He will hear and answer us.

The first reading today is the famous “Nathan Oracle”. When the Empire was secured and the twelve tribes of Israel united, King David had less worries on the political and military fronts. He turned his attention to the consolidation on the religious front --- build a Temple for Yahweh in Jerusalem. It had never been easy to eradicate idolatory when your people were living among pagans and a Temple would draw the attention of the people to Yahweh. The choice of location was prudent because Jerusalem was built on top of Mount Sion, a militarily secure site. When King David told Nathan his intention, there was nothing Nathan could find to object about. So Nathan says, “Whatever is in your heart, go and do, for the Lord is with you” (2 Samuel 7:3). After all, Samuel told King Saul, David’s predecessor, that David was “a man after God’s own heart” (1 Samuel 13:14; Acts 13:22). Indeed, David had been a man after God’s own heart for a time long enough for the unification of the twelve tribes of Israel into a kingdom. But history proves that authority corrupts even the man after God’s heart. That’s another story to meditate. Let’s focus on today’s texts.

It turned out that God’s heart is far bigger than humanity could fathom. God has a grander vision. Our heavenly Father knows David’s heart through and through. David’s future was clearly visible in His sight. So first of all, God made it plain to David through Nathan that He does not dwell in a house (2 Samuel 7:6-7). Before David came to power, God had never complained about the absence of a Temple to worship Him. Perhaps Isaiah’s explanation is better and clearer, “Thus says the Lord: The heavens are my throne, the earth, my footstool. What house can you build for me? Where is the place of my rest? My hand made all these things when all of them came to be --- oracle of the Lord” (Isaiah 66:1-2a). Finally, it is through Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son that true worship is revealed. When men build temples to worship deities, men actually attempt to take control over the whereabouts of their deities. Such deities are men-made idols because they can be manipulated by men and thus not worth worshipping. No! Yahweh would not play into men’s hands. Jesus told the Samaritan woman, “God is Spirit, and those who worship him must worship in Spirit and truth” (John 4:24). In other words, men are able to worship even without a temple because their bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19). What does “worship in Spirit and truth” amount to? Nowadays, we can’t afford the opulence of King Solomon, who and the entire community of Israel, gathered for the dedication of the First Temple before the Ark of Covenant, sacrificed sheep and oxen too many to number or count (1 Kings 8:5). No. Our heavenly Father does not want this because it is only a show-off of personal power and wealth before the people! Don’t be silly to play Pharaoh before the Almighty living God who prefers something else!

Let’s return to Nathan’s Oracle. One may wonder why God needed to be so long-winded to talk about David’s past, “I took you from the pasture, from following the flock, to become ruler over my people Israel. I was with you wherever you went, and I cut down all your enemies before you” (2 Samuel 7:8b-9a). Why? It was the same love Yahweh always has for potential sinners, such as Cain (Genesis 4:6-7). God pledged a good future which David could attain when he continued to be humble like the shepherd boy of the good old days, “And I will make your name like that of the greatest on earth. I will assign a place for my people Israel and I will plant them in it to dwell there; they will never be disturbed, nor shall the wicked ever again oppress them, as they did at the beginning, and from the day when I appointed judges over my people. I will give you rest from all your enemies” (2 Samuel 7:9b-10). King David was important because his choices would directly affect the fate not only of himself but also of God’s people Israel. Regrettably, King David fell from grace and so did his son King Solomon! Without giving up, our heavenly Father kept raising reformers such as King Josiah and Ezra and finally played His trump card, a humble virgin with an immaculate heart whom Satan would regret to have overlooked.

It is interesting to note that God did not visit the Blessed Virgin Mary in person like He did with the Patriarchs, Moses, David and Solomon etc., but sent an angel to announce His plan instead, like the anonymous mother of Samson (Judges 13:2). No! It is too conspicuous and Satan would know lest it would attack her like it did with other big and famous figures in the Old Testament. Thus, instead of praying, “Your will be done” (Matthew 6:10b), the Blessed Virgin Mary would only say, “May it be done to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38b)!

Alas! Many a Christian prays “Your will be done” when he actually wants “My will be done”. Too many people in power have hijacked Christianity by committing atrocities in God’s name or advocating bigotry with God’s words. Take a look at the Blessed Virgin Mary. She did not find comfort or convenience in the angel’s annunciation. Instead, “But she was greatly troubled at what was said” (1:29a)! Therefore, don’t expect to feel and find consolation or relief in God’s will! Most of the time, because of our sinful nature, the opposite might be a good indication of God’s will, namely you’ll feel inconvenient, troublesome, futile, exhausting, impossible and hopeless etc. Who wants to be poor or sick? Who wants to be ignored, rejected or even scolded? Most of the time, we would be grateful for such sufferings afterwards. Patience pays.

Beloved brethren! Do you have the stomach to will God’s will be done on you?
God bless!
2020 Reflection
Picture Credit: bible.fandom.com, enterthebible.org

Drawing Borders To Imprison Ourselves 劃地自限

Thirty-Third Ordinary Sunday, Year A
Theme: Drawing Borders To Imprison Ourselves 劃地自限

Modern people have no idea how much a talent worths today. Here is a rough estimate obtained from information found in Wikipedia. A talent was roughly 60 kg of silver¹. Today, one kg of silver costs about $6,000 HKD². Therefore, one talent worths roughly $360,000 HKD, 2 talents $720,000 HKD and 5 talents 1.8 million HKD. Parents please explain to your children the value of talents. God has entrusted the religious education of your children to you and the Church. To help you discharge your responsibility, I am going to conduct a simple opinion poll. The reason why I ask parents to explain the value of a talent to their children is that unlike the Bible, I will count both women and children in! Here are the questions: After hearing the parable of the Talents, how many of you want to receive 5 talents from the master? How many two? How many of you one? Thank you.

We usually interpret the parable of Talents in the following manner: Every person is unique. God gave each one of us different talents to proclaim the good news of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:19-20). In other words, God wants us to invite our neighbour to repent and receive His unconditional forgiveness. Some of us are given many talents and have converted the most people during their life time. So, God rewards them the most. They will be the most glorious at the end of the world. Some are given less and have converted less people. Thus, God rewards them less(Matthew 25:21, 23). Don’t question God’s fairness because in the parable, Jesus has already explained that the talents were given “to each according to his ability” (25:15d). Men should not be too ambitious and demand more talents from God. They might not be able to handle them. Lastly, some buried their talents because they were afraid to lose even the little talents the master gave them when they ran their businesses. They were punished for their laziness (25:26).

This interpretation is good but not good enough. Such an interpretation can easily make us complacent and does not inspire us to go beyond the boundaries we have drawn around us. In fact, nobody wanted to be given one talent in the show of hands mentioned above. More people chose five talents than two. I congratulated them for their zeal in making use of God’s given talents. However, if they think that they have fulfilled their responsibilities and have done well by making five more (25:20b) and by making two more (25:22b), they cannot be more wrong! When Jesus says, “So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect” (5:48), He invites us to fully utilize talents given by the Father. Has the servant who was given five talents and made five more talents fully utilized the five talents? Let us dive deeper to explore.

I’m sure all of you are familiar with the story of Jesus driving out a legion of demons into 2000 pigs, sacrificing them in order to liberate a possessed man (8:28-32; Mark 5:13). Now, let’s do some more calculations. A pig weighs about 300 catties to be profitable and in average the price of 100 catties of pig is roughly $1,200 HKD³. Thus, a pig worths $3,600 HKD and 2,000 pigs will cost $7,200,000 HKD. To make the discussion/reflection concrete, we conclude from this exorcism of the possessed man that a human soul roughly worths 7.2 million Hong Kong Dollar! Therefore, the servant who earned 5 more talents is only capable of saving a quarter of a man’s soul! In other words, he needs to make not five more talents but twenty talents more in order to save one soul! He is not commandable, is he? You might protest and say that even the master praises him saying, “Well done, my good and faithful servant … Come, share your master’s joy” (25:21). I would counter and ask what God would say to a servant who does not perform up to his full potential. Would God scold the servant for not giving his best or would God encourage him to build him up as told in the parable? We should not read the Bible too literally. By the way, assuming that a period of ten years is long enough for “After a long time” (25:19a). Had the servant with one talent followed the master’s advice to deposit the one talent into the bank, how high should the interest rate be so that in ten years, the one talent would have been doubled? About 7.18% per annum. Was the master really a demanding person (25:24b)?

In fact, why did the servant with 5 talents make only 5 more but not 20 more? Couldn’t the servant with 2 talents make 200 more? Why not? Is it impossible? Or have we drawn boundaries to live comfortably inside and as a result confined ourselves within a very narrow space? Reflecting in this light, the servant with 5 talents and the one with 2 were no better than the servant with only one talent. Of course, the servant with only one talent deserves to be punished because he had not even tried whereas the other two servants had at least tried, though not their best.

Remember that you will not be able to find the word “impossible” in God’s dictionary (Luke 1:37). No, this is not God’s modus operandi. In order to show that “It is not because of your justice that the Lord, your God, is giving you this good land to possess” (Deuteronomy 9:6) and “lest Israel vaunt itself against me and say, ‘My own power saved me’” (Judges 7:2b), God usually made use of an extremely small number of soldiers to defeat a huge army to show the Chosen People that Yahweh is fighting their adversaries for them, e.g. the stories of Gideon leading 300 men to defeat 130,000 Midianites, and David defeating Goliath amply demonstrate it. Fast forward to the New Testament. It is admirable of the Blessed Virgin Mary to harbour the intention to serve the Lord in the capacity of a virgin (Luke 1:34). But God has reserved for her a higher position, namely the Mother of God. It seems to contradict the virgin’s wish but in the end, God is able to retain her virginity while making her a mother! God be praised forever!

In light of the modus operandi of God, we have a better understanding of what Jesus teaches about the faithfulness of a Christian. Listen to Jesus' words which He speaks twice, “Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities” (Matthew 25:21, 23). In God's eyes, making full use of our talents are only “small matters”! He has in store for us “great responsibilities” at the end of the world. Being faithful is NOT how deeply you believe in God, or how literally you obey His orders. Rather, it is a matter of to what extent we are able to surrender all our will and allow God to work through us to do things we even dare not to dream of because those things are impossible. The servant with one talent was wicked and lazy (25:26) because he denied God the opportunity to work through him. The other two servants were “good and faithful” but I would say not good and faithful enough because they had limited God and stopped short of advancing beyond doubling the principal! Indeed, we all do!
Beloved brethren! Allow God to bear us up on eagles’ wings and bring us to Him (Exodus 19:4). Amen.

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¹https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talent_(measurement)
²https://www.kitco.com/silver-price-today-hong-kong/index.html
³https://www.fehd.gov.hk/tc_chi/sh/data/supply_tw.html
Picture Credit:catholiccourier.com
2020 Reflection