滿招損，謙受益 Humility Gains While Pride Loses

常年期第十四主日，甲年
主題：滿招損，謙受益 Humility Gains While Pride Loses

人類很榮幸，他們是天主按自己的肖像所創造的（創1:26）。既然是受造物，便有了一個起點，並且佔據了一定的連續空間。簡單地說，人類生活在特定的歷史時空。我們是生活在上水的廿一世紀香港人；我們堂區的主保基督之母，是生活在納匝肋的一世紀猶太人等等。這樣，天主賜給我們每個人的潛質，即福音裡的所謂『塔冷通』（瑪25:15），便在特定的歷史時空，發展起來，達至完滿，即所謂的『止於至善』（5:48）。雖然每個人天賦的潛能，不盡相同。但在起初，每個『天主肖像』都是美好的，因為【聖經】記載，「天主看了祂所造的一切，認為樣樣都很好」（創1:31）。即是說，假如我們有機會看到希特拉和德蘭修女的嬰兒照片時，我們很難想像到幾十年後的他們，一個是在集中營屠殺600萬猶太人的兇手，另一個在加爾各答的貧民窟，服事臨終無家者的聖人！這使我聯想起劉向的『晏嬰使楚』故事。楚王故意刁難晏嬰，綁一個齊國罪犯到晏嬰面前，楚王問晏嬰為何齊國人善於盜竊。晏嬰不慌不忙，很有體面地回答說：「橘子在齊國，長得又大又甜；長在楚國，卻又小又酸，恐怕是水土不同罷了。」晏嬰把外交官的本領，發揮得淋漓盡致！環境不同，的確可以使好人變成了壞人。希特拉與德蘭修女的比較告訴我們，即使生活在被罪惡污染了的世界裡，憑藉天主的助祐，人類是可以超凡入聖，人人皆可成聖！

發展心理學家告訴我們，初生的嬰兒沒有『空間』的觀念，它們分不開自己的身體與四周的環境。即是說，它們與五觀所及的範圍，原為一體！透過日後與母親，與其他人物的互動，開始形成了『自我』。『啜大姆指』除了是探索自己身體的開始之外，那種感覺更是刺激大腦發展的肇基。可惜人類貪得無厭，缺乏節制，不斷追求『啜大姆指』的感覺，結果『自我』膨脹，很多人變成『自我中心』，『自以為是』，『目中無人』，甚至『惟我獨尊』， 不屑與其他人溝通，建立或維持關係，以致變成『孤家寡人』，成為一個『自戀狂』！請注意，執事我把一個極複雜的現象簡化了，方便講道而已！『啜大姆指』絕對不是『建立自我』的惟一途徑，也不是『發展心理學』的全部內容！

『節制』是『四樞德』之一，德行表達了一套價值觀，而一個人的『價值觀』是通過與身邊的人地事物學習得來的。就是說父母、師長、朋輩長輩、大眾傳媒和社交媒體在不斷灌輸一套『價值觀』給兒童和成長中的青少年。當社會氛圍在講求效率、強調成本效益分析、用賺錢能力來衡量一個人的價值、為了達到目的可以不擇手段、投資未能在三年內翻本，要儘快抽離，減少損失…的時候，在這種環境成長的青少年，我們放心把社會的未來，交給他們接棒嗎？

耶穌一不講求效率，否則祂何不簡單地消滅撒殫來拯救人類呢？二不講求成本效益，否則祂不會放下99隻羊去尋找一隻亡羊（18:12），倘若豺狼趁耶穌不在來驅散羊群，耶穌真是得不償失了；三不講求賺錢能力，否則十二宗徒不會如此參差不齊，而是一隊個個都是『最有價值球員MVP』的夢幻組合了；四不講求成果而注重過程，否則祂不會升天，反而留在世上，世人便不得不承認這位千歲人瑞是天主子了！五不講求三年翻本，雖然早期教會以為耶穌基督很快便會復臨，復興以色列國（宗1:6），可是直到今天，教會仍須努力不懈地傳揚福音！耶穌不是功利主義者，反而我們這些在罪惡的氛圍長大的人，在不知不覺之間，習染了這套短視的『價值觀』！於是我們的著眼點，不再是每個人都是『天主肖像』的尊嚴，而是人與人之間的關係，不斷地計算可否增大彼此『效益』的總和！在強弱懸殊的情況下，人際關係甚至變成一場『零和遊戲』！

今天的福音選段，已進入了《瑪竇福音》關於耶穌基督傳教生活的第三部份，默西亞開始講論『天國的奧秘』。當時若翰洗者已被黑落德安提帕逮捕，關在獄中。若翰聽到耶穌傳教活動的傳聞，便派門徒訪問耶穌。之後，耶穌公開向群眾讚揚若翰洗者，並肯定他是預言中，作為默西亞前驅的先知厄里亞（瑪11:14; 基3:23）。然後，耶穌開始譴責當代人即使看見了祂所行的神跡，仍不悔改（瑪11:20）。這就是今天福音選段的上文。跟著，耶穌在感謝天父的禱詞中，指出人類必須克服信仰天主的最大困難，就是『自以為是』，以至不需要天主。他們以為憑自己能算盡所有成本效益的能力，便可以穩操勝券，用不著在他們的方程式中，留半點空間給天主作為變數！小孩子尚未習染計算成本效益的陋習，不用討好成年人，結果小孩子反而獲得並服從了啟示，贏得了天國！小孩子的成功秘訣，在於他們知道自己在社會上沒有地位，態度應該謙卑。成年人曾辛苦經營得來的虛榮，又豈能輕易放下呢？執事我也不能倖免，若不是身體出了毛病，恐怕今天仍放不下一些所謂『善』的固執！

各位親愛的兄弟姊妹，主耶穌並沒有怪責我們的努力。祂以『善牧』的身份，溫柔地邀請我們學習祂的『良善心謙』，擔起看在俗世眼中的十字架，跟隨祂返回羊棧，我們便能得到真正的安息（11:29-30）。主是溫柔的，絕不勉強。即使我們不希罕這份安息，祂會惋惜，但不會動怒。祂尊重我們的自由。各位兄弟姊妹，今天，你背起了耶穌柔和的軛沒有？
天主保祐！

---

2020反省
圖片鳴謝：geminia.google.com

Love Hurts 愛到痛

Feast of the Presentation of the Lord
Theme: Love Hurts 愛到痛

The meditation of today’s gospel is dark, though it is one of the five Joyful Mysteries that we are meditating. Life is truly mystical and paradoxical. It is paradoxical because it tastes sweet and sour at the same time. It is also mystical because joy and sorrows always mingle. So, allow me to meditate on the pains of this Joyful Mystery.

The Feast of Presentation is joyful because we are celebrating the incarnation of the Son of God. God broke into human history to kick off His salvation project. “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to ransom those under the law …” (Galatians 4:4-5a). Remember that God transcends time. Thus, what St. Paul writes about “when the fullness of time had come” is only meaningful to men who live in history. The “woman” has already been foretold in the Law/Torah (Genesis 3:15). In God’s mind, He already had the idea to send His only begotten Son to take flesh to save Adam and his descendants. In an earlier enigma, “… From [the tree of knowledge of good and evil] you shall not eat; when you eat from it you shall die. The LORD God said: It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suited to him” (2:17-18). Isn’t this statement an obvious reason for the creation of Eve? Why is it an enigma?

Firstly, Adam would have been immortal if he had listened to and obeyed God. Then, it would have been unnecessary for Adam to have descendants. Even if it is not good to be alone and having descendants is a necessity, God would have cloned innumerable copies of Adam. Yet, God created Eve out of Adam! Notice that both Adam and Eve would have exactly the same DNA and ignoring mutations for the sake of argument, all subsequent human beings would be mere clones of Adam! Therefore, making a helper suited to Adam must be an enigma carrying more meanings than the creation of Eve! I buy the theological opinion that the Blessed Virgin Mary is the “new Eve” who not only gave flesh to the Son of God but works closely with Him and the Holy Spirit to give birth to other members in the Mystic Body of Christ as well! The BVM is the helper suited to the Son of God. It is simply unimaginable to have the Nativity of the Lord without the Blessed Virgin Mary! Similarly, it would be God’s unthinkable blunder had Jesus forgotten to say “Woman, behold your Son” on the cross (John 19:26b)!

Satan has enslaved humanity long enough. The Torah, which helps humanity to seek the LORD and would have been sufficient to save humanity, has itself been abused by the contemporary legal experts to persecute the Son of God. After proving that the Old covenant is insufficient to redeem, God unfolds further His redemption project. “And the LORD whom you seek will come suddenly to His Temple” (Malachi 3:1b). This is what the Feast of Presentation celebrates; namely that the LORD, the Messiah suddenly came to His own Temple, thus fulfilling the pledge He made through prophet Malachi. Joseph and Mary were devout Jews. They obeyed the prescriptions of the Torah, took the 40-day old infant Jesus to Jerusalem and offered sacrifice to present infant Jesus to God (Luke 2:22). In so doing, the Son of God satisfied the prescriptions of the Torah and He did more than that. He was “born under the law, to ransom those under the law” (Galatians 4:4b-5a). But God’s plan is catholic, meaning its scope is universal. The Son of God ransoms more people than the Jews, those under the Torah. The word of God never fails. In time, He shall honour His pledge to Abraham, namely that “All the families of the earth will find blessing in you” (Genesis 12:4b). We are blessed and joyful indeed to be born of the Blessed Virgin Mary and born under the law to celebrate this feast of the Presentation of the Lord today.

However, my meditation inevitably gravitates towards Simeon’s word, “And you [the BVM] yourself a sword will pierce” (Luke 2:35a). Of course, Simeon was referring to the sorrows inflicted upon the BVM in her collaboration with the Son of God to redeem humanity. It is more than inevitable collateral damages of God’s redemptive project, once the BVM pronounces her Fiat out of her free will (1:38). In general, all Christian denominations before Reformation uphold two Marian dogmas which defend the divinity and humanity of the Son of God, namely the BVM is the Mother of God in 431 and her Perpetual Virginity in 649. The Catholic Church professes two more Marian dogmas, namely the Immaculate Conception of the BVM in1854 and her Assumption in1950. After all, the BVM is also a creature. The Catholic Church acknowledges the necessity of her need of Christ’s redemption when the Church declared the dogma of her Immaculate Conception. Simply put, God the Father had prepared before Creation an immaculate ground for the incarnation of His only begotten Son. Thus, the BVM enjoys an exemption from the contaminations of the Original Sin the very moment of her conception. As a result, the BVM has an immaculate heart so pure that she is blessed with a beatific vision of God throughout her existence (Matthew 5:8). Thus, not only does she see God, she knows God’s will which she does not understand. And yet she obeys, anticipating all the sorrows and pains without shielding. If the heart is the throne of love, the love of the BVM towards her divine Son as well as all members of the Mystical Body of Christ must be the purest of all. In contrast, our hearts are filled with lust, greed, pride and wrath etc.; and our egos inflate. We protect our interests and our emotions with smart defence mechanisms, such as denial, projection, repression and transference etc. so that we may suffer less physical and emotional pains. Thus, the sword that pierces the Immaculate Heart of Mary would be unimaginably agonizing! She loves until it bleeds. Her love reminds me of an inmate I visited in the Tai Lam Centre for Women, with a difference. Love can be impure and still hurts!

I have visited only a handful of Chinese inmates in the Tai Lam Centre for Women. One of them was a Catholic on remand who survived a double-suicide with a married man, not her husband, in a hotel room. By Common Law, she was charged with murder and scheduled to appear in a legal court. During my visits, she requested seeing one particular priest for confession. I made the arrangement and sometime later, she died of cardiac arrest before appearing in court. I believe that her attempted suicide was genuine, though the situation was questionable. She must have gone through unspeakable agony before deciding to end her life with a man whom she should not have loved. But I believe that her contrition was genuine and her sins absolved through the Sacrament of Reconciliation. She might repeat Simeon’s words, “Now, Master, you may let your servant go in peace” (Luke 2:29a). May her soul rest in peace, amen!

Beloved brethren! Our hearts are inevitably impure. Don’t be discouraged because the Father is happy to give us His Holy Spirit with whom He renews the face of the earth (Psalms 104:30). With continuous renewal, our hearts will become pure one day. Let this hope sustain us with patience on our pilgrimage on earth. Amen.
God bless!

---

2022 Reflection
Picture Credit: creator.nightcafe.studio

The Holy Family May Not Be Happy 聖家不一定快樂

Feast of the Holy Family, Year B
Theme: The Holy Family May Not Be Happy 聖家不一定快樂

“All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way”, opens Anna Karenina a novel written by Leo Tolstoy. The statement speaks volume because by whatever standard, few families on earth can be happy. A Chinese aphorism says, “Be Contented, Be Happy”. To be candid, who on earth enjoys poverty, exploitation, sickness and betrayal etc.? Sometime, somewhere and somehow, bad things always happen to good people and few families are able to stand firm. From the news, we heard of the gradual heart failure of a 3-year old girl who fell into comatose as a result of medical blunders some 18 months ago. One of my ex-students, a successful businessman, has been struggling with his final stage of cancer for a number of years. All medical and para-medical procedures have been exhausted. He is expected to pass away soon, survived by his wife and 2 children in their teens! Again from the news, a few days ago a debt-ridden gambler attacked and attempted to murder his wife and two daughters before setting himself on fire! Some debtors end up imprisoned overseas when they try to repay debts as drug-mules. A post-graduate’s corpse was dumped after being found to show no vital signs because of ketamine overdose, smashing the hopes of his parents and perhaps dreams of his girlfriend. There are many divorce cases due to extra-marital affairs, leaving the children to pay the price … The cruelty lies in the fact that when one family member suffers, all other family members will suffer as well (1 Corinthians 12:26a). All of them become collateral damages! On one hand, we should be grateful for those bad things have not fallen upon us. However, my heart cannot ache more because I am no faith healer to save my ex-student or the 3-year old comatose girl. I am not able to raise the post-graduate from the dead and give him back to his parents like Christ did and I don’t have billions of dollars to pay off the debts of the inmates I visited etc. I have to accept the fact that I am in no position to play God but regrettably, close to my heart, Catholic families are not exempted!

Families have evolved from extended to nuclear, the former being appropriate for agricultural societies and the latter industrial. Now, humanity is moving away from industrial to informational in which we rely more and more on social media, virtual reality and artificial intelligence for communications and connections. If family and marriage have failed to be functional and successful social institutions in modern era, should they be modified or even better, be abolished? On the other hand, people still insist on the superiority of personal touches in communications and connections. They continue to defend the goods of familial and marital life against the onslaught and corrosion of all these new media! Which direction should we proceed?

As Catholics, we believe in the Father, the Creator of the known universe. He is not a remote and aloft deity but a Being actively getting Himself involved in our lives. He even sent His only begotten Son to die for us to redeem us! Archangel Gabriel says, “For nothing will be impossible for God” (Luke 1:37). Therefore, with a caring and omnipotent Father, Catholics should have no worries at all when they are following God’s way and doing God’s will in any adverse situation. Alas! Life on earth is anything but simple at all!

Firstly, few people know for sure the details of God’s will. Many biblical characters like Abraham the Patriarch, the Blessed Virgin Mary, her spouse St. Joseph and John the Baptist etc. did not show any understanding of God’s will. John the Baptist did not acknowledge his role as Elijah to appear before the coming of the Messiah (Malachi 3:23; John 1:21) though Jesus affirms that he is (Matthew 11:14). St. Joseph thought that divorcing the Blessed Virgin Mary quietly would do her good (1:19). An angel appeared to him in a dream to advise him otherwise (1:20). Mary intended to serve the Lord in the capacity of a virgin (Luke 1:34) and Abraham accepted Sarah’s proposal to father his descendants through Hagar (Genesis 16:2). Simply put, we don’t have the intelligence to fathom God’s plan. How right Isaiah is when he says, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways --- oracle of the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, my thoughts higher than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8-9)! We are back to square one, to the very first question at the beginning of this meditation. “Who on earth enjoys poverty, exploitation, sickness and betrayal etc.?” When God wants to bless us and sanctify us with poverty, exploitation, sickness and betrayals, the more we insist on our opinions, comfort and convenience, the stronger we are fighting against God’s will! The Blessed Virgin Mary has shown us how to deal with ignorance of God’s will. She “kept all these things … in her heart” (Luke 2:19, 51b). Instead of allowing ignorance to breed resistance, she keeps reflecting in her heart with humility on what she has seen.

The Holy Family was not living in a bed of roses. Mary and Joseph might have quarrelled a bit about the unexpected pregnancy before the angelic intervention. The census brought about the labour of the BVM to give birth to the Holy Infant in a manger in Bethlehem. The Magi brought precious gifts as well as murderous assault of Herod the Great, leading to the massacre of the Holy Innocents as collateral damages! The Holy Family needed to flee to a foreign land which previously enslaved them! St. Joseph probably died when Jesus was still a teenager. Today, we hear of Simeon’s prophecy about the future sufferings of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Luke 2:35a) who followed the Son of God up to the foot of the cross on Mount Calvary (John 19:26) … etc. Could the Holy Family be a happy one? Most likely not. But I am sure the Holy Infant would grant the Holy Family heavenly peace not as the world gives (14:27).

Pardon me for sounding pessimistic. Heavenly peace from the Holy Infant is intangible. Take a look at the “Holy Infant among rubble in Bethlehem” photo that goes viral on the Internet and you will agree with me. It is hard for me and for most people to accept bad things happening to innocent people like the civilians in Gaza today. You are free to blame me for being too short sighted and impatient to see the bigger picture. You can tell me that Jesus has taught us to be humble (Matthew 11:29) and obedient (26:39). Job has acknowledged God’s omnipotence and human ignorance (Job 42:2-3). But I cannot imagine how I am able to accompany women suffering from depression to reconcile with their cheating husbands or vice versa; to restrain compulsive gamblers to remember their spouses and children; to visit inmates sentenced to decades of imprisonment while my chaplain pass lasted for five years only etc. Perhaps it will take me a lifetime to sink Jesus’ and Job’s teachings into my psyche. By then, I wish I would be able to confess like Job, “I disown what I have said, and repent in dust and ashes” (42:6).

Year 2023 is ending in a few minutes. It has not been a pleasant year but it will definitely come to pass. May the Holy Infant bless us to stick together to weather through the turmoil ahead. Amen.
God bless!

---

2020 Reflection
Picture Credit: twitter.com/nour_odeh/

Too Eager Being Masters 好為人師

The Thirty-First Ordinary Sunday, Year A
Theme: Too Eager Being Masters 好為人師

Pope Francis always warns the Church of the evil of clericalism. He is actually echoing messages after messages conveyed in the Bible. Today, let us meditate on the issue of clericalism in the Church.

The first reading comes from the book of Malachi, a prophet writing during the Second Temple period around 400 BCE. The Second Temple had been in place for roughly a century. Jews had no kings but governors because Judaea was but a Persian province. In such a situation, priests held the highest religious and political authority. Without checks and balances, they corrupted. When we read the whole Chapter 1, we would understand how serious the offences had been. In the religious realm, “You bring in what is mutilated, or lame, or sick; you bring it as an offering” (Malachi 1:13b). The animals they had prepared for sacrifice were totally unacceptable offerings described in the law in the book of Leviticus. The sacrifice must be unblemished, not blind, lame nor maimed (Leviticus 22:18-25). Worse still, they fattened themselves with intact ones! “… Cursed is the cheat who has in his flock an intact male, and vows it, but sacrifices to the Lord a defective one instead” (Malachi 1:14a)! Worst of all, in their teaching office, they instructed people to take the wrong paths! They turned a blind eye to mixed marriages (2:11) and divorces (2:14b-16). Malachi warns them saying, “But you have turned aside from the way, and have caused many to stumble by your instruction; You have corrupted the covenant of Levi, says the Lord of hosts” (2:8).

What was “the covenant of Levi”? Perhaps it refers to the incident of what happened to the Israelites at Shittim recorded in Numbers 25. “The people profaned themselves by prostituting themselves with the Moabite women … ate of the sacrifices and bowed down to their god. Israel thereby attached itself to the Baal of Peor, and the Lord’s anger flared up against Israel” (Numbers 25:1-3). “The Lord’s anger flared up against Israel” means a plague started among the Israelites. In order to pacify the Lord, Moses ordered judges to kill those who had attached themselves to the Baal of Peor. Phinehas, the grandson of Aaron followed Moses’ instruction and “Thus the plague upon the Israelites was checked; but the dead from the plague were 24,000” (25:8b-9). What Phinehas had done turned God’s anger away from the Israelites. So God swore a covenant of peace and perpetual priesthood for him and his descendants after him, “The covenant of an everlasting priesthood, because he was jealous on behalf of his God and thus made expiation for the Israelites” (25:13b). Woe to priests who did not treasure this perpetual priesthood covenant. Consequently, God would turn their blessings into curses (Malachi 2:2). By then, what good they would be for the people when they lost their function to be a font of blessings for all who requested or needed blessings! They would be like salt which has lost its taste and to be thrown out and trampled underfoot (Matthew 5:13)! In the words of Malachi, “I, therefore, have made you contemptible and base before all the people, for you do not keep my ways, but show partiality in your instruction” (Malachi 2:9)!

Now fast-forward and we arrive at Jesus’ time when the teaching office was taken over by scribes and Pharisees. Jesus placed great expectation on these teachers of the Israel (John 3:10) who were supposed to teach moral guidelines from the laws. Regrettably, they did not practise what they preached (Matthew 23:3b). Moreover, “All their works are performed to be seen” (23:4a) which they demonstrated by widening their phylacteries and lengthening their tassels (23:4b). The way they conducted themselves showed that they desired vainglory more than giving glory to God (23:5).

To be fair, not all skills can be taught by examples. Athletes, carpenters and smiths etc. surely teach by example. They must have attained sufficient level of skills and mastery in order to teach apprentices by example. But when more social structures emerged and division of labour was getting more refined, human beings needed to pass on other more abstract management skills. Teachers could still teach by examples but schools managers could not. In universities, mathematics professors scribbled highly abstract proofs of advanced mathematics problems, they do not teach by examples but by abstract logical algorithms. The question remains whether moralists teach by example or persuasive arguments. For one, Jesus belonged to the traditional classical school and taught by examples. Not only does He teach us to forgive seventy times seven (Matthew 18:22), He demonstrates forgiveness by His prayer on the cross to forgive those who caused Him to be crucified (Luke 23:34). In today’s gospel, Jesus teaches that the essence of authority is service, “The greatest among you must be your servant” (Matthew 23:11), He demonstrates by washing the feet of the disciples during the Last Supper. “I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do” (John 13:15). After Judas had left the Last Supper, Jesus continues, “I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another” (13:34). Jesus does not criticize scribes and Pharisees out of defence or hatred. Instead, He loves them and desires their return to the right path. Mosaic laws guard the Israelites from going astray. Regrettably, those legal experts wanted to play technicalities, to make use of the law to persecute Jesus instead. Mosaic laws are sufficient to guarantee the salvation of their souls. Instead, the legal expertise of scribes and Pharisees could only give them vainglory at the expense of the salvation of their souls.

I had been a teacher for more than 4 decades before and sometime after my ordination. I felt comfortable in accompanying my students but not in school management! I have never advanced beyond the rank of frontline foot soldiers throughout my teaching career to become even a middle manager. I enjoyed teaching ethics as well because it is demanding on both book knowledge and my personality character. I could confidently tell my students the evil of gambling because I do not even buy “Mark Six” but I could not say the same thing about smoking because at that time, I enjoyed smoking pipe. No. I could only preach comfortably what I practise. Period. To some extent, teachers are able to command less and less respect from parents and citizens in general so that the teaching profession has long been not the first choice among university graduates. But two thousand years ago, it was a different story. Therefore, it is understandable how scribes and Pharisees fell easily into the temptation of vainglory attached to climbing up the social ladder in the legal sector. Rewind 5 more centuries back into China, Confucianism warns, “The evil of men is in their eagerness to be masters of others 人之患在好為人師” (孟子．離婁上Mengzi, Li Lou I). This goes hand in hand with Jesus’ teaching. Early on in the topic of true cleanliness, Jesus criticises the Pharisees as blind guides of the blind. “If a blind person leads a blind person, both will fall into a pit” (Matthew 15:14b). This is the evil Mengzi meant as well. Ignorant people are eager to seek amateurs to boost up their egos. Those ignorant masters won’t be able to improve and advance their skills and knowledge on one hand. Their disciples are simply wasting their money and time on the other. Neither side gains any benefit!

Beloved brethren! If you are able to practise what you preach, you deserve to be called rabbi, teacher or even father because you will be able to enlighten and draw out the potentials of your disciples, students and even apprentices. At the same time, you’re serving the glory of the Lord. But don’t forget the string attached to such titles. Once you fail to practise what you preach, it is advisable to forfeit the titles as well.
God bless!

---

2017 Reflection
Photo Credit: wikipedia

洗者若翰纔是天國中最小的 John the Baptist Is The Least in the Kingdom of Heaven

天國系列（六）
洗者若翰纔是天國中最小的（瑪14:1-12）

今天我們讀了洗者若翰的殉道事跡，讓我們默想這位耶穌基督的先驅在天國的地位。
在顯聖容後，耶穌基督曾引用先知書（拉3:23），向門徒宣稱洗者就是厄里亞（瑪17:12）。洗者被黑落德囚禁時，曾派門徒詢問耶穌，祂是否要來的那一位（11:3）。之後，耶穌基督在群眾前公開稱讚洗者說：「我實在告訴你們：在婦女所生者中，沒有興起一位比洗者若翰更大的；但在天國裡最小的，也比他大」（11:11）。

洗者若翰的確偉大，且看，他在母胎時，已經獲得天主子的拯救，洗去原罪而充滿聖神，在母腹中雀躍（路1:41）¹。雖然他所獲得的恩寵，不及聖母「始胎無染原罪」的恩寵偉大，但正如耶穌基督的定性，洗者已經是「後無來者」可以媲美的了！ 作為耶穌基督的先驅，我們稱洗者若翰為「舊約的最後一位先知」，即新約以前天主的最後一位代言人。他的任務以殉道告終，他以死見證的是十誡，而不是耶穌基督。雖然洗者是「後無來者」的偉大，但可惜他仍不及天國裡最小的一位幸福，未能在死前親眼見證天主的國帶著威能降來（谷9:1），即耶穌基督的復活！

親愛的諸位，讀福音時，我們應該小心，不要被世俗的「大小」觀念衝昏頭腦。要知道福音的精神在於服事他人、造就他人（路22:26）。洗者若翰服事猶太人，向他們宣講悔改；為他們洗禮，預備他們的心靈，迎接默西亞的來臨。他更為耶穌基督施洗，以「完成全義」（瑪3:15）。耶穌基督的首批門徒中，也有來自洗者的門徒，例如若望和安德肋（若1:40）。因此洗者在造就猶太人方面，功不可抹！我們可以否定洗者若翰是天國的一員嗎？當然不可以。既然我們可以肯定洗者若翰是天國的一員，而且他比天國裡最小的還要小；順理成章，洗者若翰纔是天國裡最小的了！
聖若翰洗者，為我等祈！亞孟。
¹就「洗者若翰出生時便沒有原罪」的問題，程明聰神父有更詳細的解說。
問問程神父
生命恩泉
圖片鳴謝：en.wikipedia.org

---

Kingodm of Heaven Series (VI)
John the Baptist Is The Least in the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 14:1-12)

Today we read of the martyrdom of John the Baptist. Let us meditate the status of this forerunner of Jesus Christ in the Kingdom of Heaven.
After the Transfiguration, Jesus Christ quoted the prophet (Malachi 3:23) to identify the Baptist as Elijah (Matthew 17:12). When the Baptist was imprisoned by Herod Antipas, he sent his disciples to ask Jesus whether He was the one who was to come (11:3). Afterwards, Jesus praised the Baptist in public, “Amen, I say to you, among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he”(11:11).

John the Baptist is great indeed. Look, while he was still in his mother’s womb, he had already obtained the salvation of the Son of God, had his Original Sin removed and was filled with the Holy Spirit and leaping in joy (Luke 1:41)². Although the grace he has received cannot be compared to that of the BVM’s immaculate conception, nobody after John the Baptist is comparable to him as declared by Jesus Christ Himself!

As the forerunner of Jesus Christ, John the Baptist is also called “the Last Prophet of the Old Testament” by us. Which means he is the last spokesman of God before the New Testament. He accomplished his mission in martyrdom. With his death, he bore witness to the Ten Commandments and not to Jesus Christ. Although nobody after the Baptist is greater than him, he is less blessed than the least in the Kingdom of Heaven because he was not able to see the Kingdom of God come in glory (Mark 9:1), namely the resurrection of Jesus Christ!

Beloved Brethren! Don’t be fooled by the secular “great/small” dichotomy when we study the gospels. Beknown that the spirit of the Gospel is to serve and to edify others (Luke 22:26). The Baptist served the Jews by preaching repentance to them. He baptized them to prepare their hearts to receive the Messiah. He even baptized Jesus Christ to fulfil all righteousness (Matthew 3:15). Among the first batch of Jesus’ disciples were the Baptist’s disciples, such as Andrew and John (John 1:40). Therefore, the Baptist’s effort in building up the Jews is indispensable! Can we deny John the Baptist a place in the Kingdom of Heaven? Of course we cannot! Since we’re certain that John the Baptist is a member of the Kingdom of Heaven whose least member is greater than him, logically, John the Baptist is the least of the Kingdom of Heaven!
St. John the Baptist. Pray for us. Amen.
²Fr. Francis Ching has a more in-depth explanation at
Ask Fr. Francis

What Do You Expect To See? 你想看見甚麼？

Gaudete Sunday, Year A
Theme: What Do You Expect To See? 你想看見甚麼？

Scientists sent probes to Mars, searching for water and thus signs of life beyond our planet. But do we expect to see water in desert and parched land (Isaiah 35:1) and to find abundant flowers blooming (35:2)? The chances are extremely slim. But that does not stop our God working miraculous work of mercy (35:5-7). Nor do our scientists stop their untiring probing. With medical advancements nowadays, it is not necessary to be a god in order to make the eyes of the blind see, the ears of the deaf open and the mute tongue sing (35:6). No wonder these days, scientists have no restrains from playing God! I think it is getting harder and harder for our God to reveal Himself and His will to us because our attention lies elsewhere.

It is a tautology to claim that our perception is conditioned by our experiences. In order to survive and interact in this world, we need to actively construct our world view. Such preconceptions relieve us of reinventing the wheel again and again. It saves energy and proves to be efficient. However, our Creator is a God of surprises! He will always prod us out of our comfort zone to meet the unexpected.
In the gospel reading today, we read of what John the Baptist did after he had been imprisoned by Herod. The Baptist was nearly immediately imprisoned after he had baptized Jesus in River Jordan. They no longer had the chance to meet each other afterwards. Thus, the Baptist could only hear in prison of the rising of a Galilean miracle worker whom he had previously baptized. Perhaps that was the Messiah anticipated by them all. “Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?” (Matthew 11:3).

How did Jesus answer? He did not deny nor affirm because the Baptist was asking a wrong question. The answer Jesus was going to give went far beyond the Baptist’s question. So, Jesus could only quote the prophecy of Isaiah, “the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the good news proclaimed to them” (11:5, Isaiah 35:5-6a) All right, we all know that Jesus came to fulfil the prophecies of the prophets. What’s so “far beyond”? Well, if we read the prophets out of the context, we’ll miss the surprise. Let’s step back a little. Isaiah says, “Say to the fearful of heart: Be strong, do not fear! Here is your God, he comes with vindication; with divine recompense he comes to save you” (35:4). This time, God takes things seriously. He does not simply send spokesmen to exhort and to console. He comes in the person of Jesus Christ to execute vindication! While the Jews anticipated a human liberator like Moses or even Cyrus, they passed the Son of God by without realizing that He was already here! By quoting Isaiah, Jesus proclaims His divinity. While the Jews anticipated vindication in the form of “To bring retribution on the nations, punishment on the peoples, to bind their kings in shackles, their nobles in chains of iron…” (Psalms 149:7-8), they missed God’s intention to save all, including their conquerors!

Now, Jesus turned to the crowd and made use of poetic rhetoric to draw the attention of the audience to the role of the Baptist. It was because the crowd did not know what to look for in the Baptist. They knew that the Baptist was a prophet. For more than four hundred years leading life under the colonial rule of different empires, the Jews received no revelation from God. It looked as if God had abandoned them because of their idolatry and wickedness. Here came a prophet announcing the advent of the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 3:2). The Baptist spoke as if the wrath of God was descending on them (3:7-10) which was a typical prophetic vocabulary. He flatly denied that to be the Messiah (3:11) but failed to make it clear that he was the Elijah who would come before the Messiah (Malachi 3:23-24). Perhaps the Baptist himself was not aware of this particular role of his! It took Jesus to clarify this point to the crowd.

Jesus employed rhetorical questions to bring in the focus. It is common sense that people do not look for reeds, an aquatic plant, in desert (Matthew 11:7). Nor do people look for nobilities in the wilderness (11:8). In order to proclaim God’s message, prophets seldom stayed in deserts for long. God usually sent prophets, such as Samuel and Elijah to confront kings; and Jonah to warn the people. There were even royal prophets working with kings, advising them whether they should go to wars or not. Therefore, the Baptist was a special prophet who preached in an unexpected place --- the wilderness and people were attracted to approach the Baptist by the Holy Spirit. The Baptist did his job of preparing the hearts of the people through repentance and baptism. Jesus affirmed that the Baptist was the Elijah by quoting Malachi instead of quoting Isaiah, “Now I am sending my messenger --- he will prepare the way before me” (Malachi 3:1). Of course, people would be misled by the interpretations and teachings of scribes and Pharisees so that their preconceptions blocked them from seeing the Baptist as the foretold Elijah.

This should give us good food for meditation. Today the Church celebrates Gaudete Sunday. Simply put, we should rejoice because our Saviour is just around the corner. But what Jesus would you expect to meet this Christmas? Of course, not the military Messiah anticipated by the Jews in captivity. Is it the Holy Infant in the manger adored by shepherds? By the Magi? But the Holy Infant was in the past more than two millennia ago! Can the Holy Infant be relevant in this war-torn world today? Well, the prophet says He is the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:5). Then what peace can it bring? Is the Holy Infant able to bring “quarantined people” together?

Previously, the Pope drew our attention to the plights of refugees when he reminded us of the refugee status of the Holy Family fleeing the murderous scheme of Herod the Great? So, when we do our meditation this Christmas, what image does a Holy Infant in manger surrounded by Mary, Joseph, shepherds and cattle conjure in our mind? Are we able to see in the manger abused children, child labourers and victims of child pornography or something else? Are you aware of parents who impose their ambitions on their children, thus forcing them into another form of slaves? On the other hand, have you seen children bringing their parents back to Church?

Brethren! Hope is not totally lost. Children are our hope. Let’s be patient in adversity. Our salvation is at hand. Amen.
God bless!
2019 Reflection
Picture Credit: By Nilüfer Demir from DHA Agency (Turkey) - Original publication: Published in many sources
Immediate source: http://www.rewanbej.com/cima-min-weneye-alan-wesand-peter-bouckaert.html,
Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=47737832

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

「拂去腳上的塵土」是幼稚的抗議嗎？ Is Shaking Dust Off the Feet A Naïve Protest?

常年期第十五主日，乙年
主題：「拂去腳上的塵土」是幼稚的抗議嗎？

殯葬禮是一個很好的傳福音場合，因為殯葬禮是一個名正言順，宣講生命意義，人生終向的機會。倘若亡者的親友是教友，這是一個「新福傳」，為教友重溫天主教信仰的機會；倘若親友不是教友，這是一個向未有信仰的人，介紹天主教信仰的好機會。這是執事我喜歡主持殯葬禮的原因：宣講福音。當然親友之中，因為不同道而不願意聽的，仍有自由離開靈堂一會兒，到外面抽煙，執事我是不會強人所難的！既然接受福音與否，是個人的自由，今天福音的其中一點，聽來便有點奇怪了。

在今天的福音，我們找到耶穌基督給十二宗徒非常清晰的「福傳」指示：兩個兩個一組，互相支援，並展示出基督信仰的團體特徵（谷6:7）；不要以為雄厚的資源有助福傳，因為使人心轉化的是聖神而不是財富（6:8-9）；不要戀棧成就，不願離開，應當讓本地人得以成長（6:10）。最後，對於拒絕福音的地方，「你們就從那裡出去，拂去你們腳下的塵土，作為反對他們的證據」（6：11）。真奇怪，為甚麼要「反對」他們呢？我們不是應該以耶穌基督的心為心，憐憫那些無知的人嗎？拒絕福音是他們個人的選擇，我們應該尊重別人的自由選擇，而不是反對嘛！恐怕這個有關傳福音的指示，有更深層的象徵意義吧！

首先，第一代基督徒，全部都是猶太人。耶穌基督是否採用了一些猶太人的習俗，作為傳福音的指示呢？「拂去腳下的塵土」是否猶太人的習俗呢？讓我們翻查聖經，看看「拂去腳下的塵土」，有甚麼象徵意義。
第一，這句說話在聖經中一共出現了五次，全部都在新約中。雖然舊約也有提及「腳下的塵土」，但祇有兩次，而且與「拂去」，與「反對」無關（依49:23；拉3:21）。
舊約有八個章節提及「脫鞋」的習俗，包括站在神聖的地方，和與「代兄立嗣」的法津有關。與「代兄立嗣」有關的「脫鞋」習俗，纔有「反對」的意義。看來，「拂去腳下的塵土」是基督徒獨有的行為模式，不一定是出於猶太人的習俗！
第二，瑪竇福音沒有提及「作為反對他們的證據」（瑪10:14），「反對」祇出現在寫給外邦人的福音中（谷6:11；路9:5）。看來真是基督徒自己創造出來的獨有行為，並賦予「反對」的意義了。
第三，這五個「拂去腳下的塵土」的章節，全部與傳福音有關：三個是給十二宗徒說的（瑪10:14；谷6:11；路9:5），一個是給七十二門徒說的（10:11），而最後一個是真正實行了的（宗13:51）。事緣保祿和巴爾納伯在第一次傳教旅程，到了丕息狄雅的安提約基雅傳福音，很多外邦人信了主，惹來猶太人的妒忌，遂煽動當地要人驅逐他們二人出境，「二人就把腳上的塵土向他們拂下，往依科尼雍去了。」（13:50-51）。

請注意，這是保祿第一次因為向外邦人傳福音很成功，而遭受同胞攻擊時所作出的回應。很可能是一個不成熟的回應，正如他在【迦拉達書】記載，在安提約基雅當眾斥責伯多祿一事一樣。當時他理直氣壯，認為伯多祿在要求外邦人割損的猶太人面前，避開與外邦人交往，以致其餘的猶太人和巴爾納伯也「跟他一起裝假…與福音的真理不合」（迦2:12-14）。後來，保祿寫信給格林多教會，討論吃祭肉的問題時，他的表現成熟得多了。他不會因為自己擁有真理，便不理會別人的良心，反而為了別人的利益，別人的得救而束縛了自己的自由，教導人不要吃祭肉（格前10:28-29，33）！ 所以，保祿當時「拂下腳上的塵土」，表達了反對那些妒忌的猶太人，可能是未成熟的反應。當然，在救靈心切的保祿心中，他可能想藉著這個行為，警告自己的同胞，在末日會遭受比索多瑪更嚴重的懲罰（路10:12），也未可知。雖然保祿後來也因為傳福音成功而受過多次的驅逐，但再也找不到「拂下腳上塵土」的記載了。是保祿成熟了，不再意氣用事嗎？不是，因為記載一次已有足夠的代表性了。

執事在想，傳福音牽涉到很多錯綜複雜的人際關係。正如【訓導篇】所說，「尋找有時，遺失有時；保存有時，捨棄有時。」（訓3:6）。很多做子女的，或妻子的，不斷勸說父親/丈夫領洗入教，做父親/丈夫諸多推辭，直到配偶去世後纔認真地考慮將來在天上重聚！可見時間真的不在福傳者手中。所以保祿說：「我栽種，阿頗羅澆灌，然而使之生長的，卻是天主。」（格前3:6）因此，執事認為，當人拒絕福音的時候，祇是時機未成熟而已，犯不著「拂去腳下的塵土」，反對他們。這樣做，是否有點幼稚呢？還是有更深層的意義呢？

從社會結構的分析看，傳福音是為那打破結構性的罪惡，推倒迫人犯罪的制度。從這個角度分析，拒絕福音就是拒絕悔改，繼續剝削弱小的兄弟，堅持犯罪。這樣的話，基督徒有責任反對他們，不能默許。
對於沒有聽過福音的人，天主不能降罪。所以「天國的福音必先在全世界宣講，給萬民作證，然後結局纔會來到。」（瑪24:14）到時，傳福音者的腳上，必定沾滿了所到各地的塵土，除了拒絕福音的地方！即是說，傳福音者腳上的塵土，代表了曾接待過他們的地方。某地方的塵土不在傳福音者的腳下，並不表示他們沒有聽過福音，而是他們拒絕了，令傳福音者拂去了腳上的塵土。沒有某地的塵土，就成為了某地拒絕福音的證據了！到時他們所受的懲罰，比索多瑪的更嚴慘烈！
各位兄弟姊妹，讓我們呼籲天主聖神的助佑，減少我們拂去腳上塵土的機會。
天主保祐！
2018年講道
圖片鳴謝：freebibleimages.org

---

Fifteenth Ordinary Sunday, Year B
Theme: Is Shaking Dust Off the Feet A Naïve Protest?

Funerals are very good evangelization occasions because the celebrants are entitled to speak about the meaning of life and the final destiny of humanity etc. If the relatives of the deceased are Catholics, it is an occasion of “New Evangelization” to review what Catholic faith is all about. If the relatives are not Catholics, it is a golden opportunity to proclaim Catholic faith to non-believers. That’s why I like presiding over funeral rites: evangelization. Of course among the relatives there may be other Christians who reject Catholic doctrines. They still have the freedom to leave the funeral parlour for a while, go outside to smoke a cigarette and come back near the end of my homily. I won’t be offended! People have the liberty to accept or reject the gospel. It is their freedom. Thus, one of the verses in today’s gospel sounds a bit odd.

In the gospel today, Jesus gave the Twelve very clear instructions on evangelization: They should go two by two, supporting each other and show the communion characteristic of Christian faith (Mark 6:7. Don’t think that rich resources will help evangelization. Rather, conversion of hearts depends on the Holy Spirit and not wealth (6:8-9. Don’t cling on to previous achievements and refuse to leave. We should allow local people to grow and develop (6:10. Lastly, “Whatever place does not welcome you or listen to you, leave there and shake the dust off your feet in testimony against them” (6:11 Isn’t it odd? Why should we protest against them? Shouldn’t we be merciful like Jesus Christ, feel pitiful for their stupidity? Rejecting the gospel is their personal choice. We should respect the freedom of other people and not to oppose them! Probably there is a deeper symbolic meaning!

First of all, the first generation Christians were Jews. Did Jesus Christ employ a Jewish custom to instruct evangelization? Is “shaking dust off the feet” a Jewish custom? Let us check the Bible to find out the symbolic meaning of “shaking dust off the feet”.
This phrase appears five times in the Bible, all located in the New Testament. Although there are two “dusk under the feet” verses in the Old Testament, there is nothing about “shaking off” or “protest against” (Isaiah 49:23, Malachi 3:21.
In the Old Testament there are eight verses about “removing sandals”, including standing on holy ground and Levirate laws in which a sense of opposition can be found. Thus, “shaking dust off the feet” seems to be an action peculiar to Christian, not necessarily Jewish!
Secondly, the verse in Matthew says nothing about “in testimony against them” (Matthew 10:14. This phrase appears only in gospels written for the Gentiles (Mark 6:11, Luke 9:5. It seems clearly to be something invented by Christians and given an opposition meaning.
Thirdly, all five “shaking dust off the feet” verses are related with evangelization: three of them are instructions to the Twelve (Matthew 10:14, Mark 6:11, Luke 9:5, one to the seventy two disciples (10:11 and the last one is putting into action (Acts 13:51. In their first missionary journey, Paul and Barnabas reached Antioch in Pisidia and preached. Many Gentiles believed in the Lord. The Jews were envious and incited leading men of the city to expel the two from their territory. “So they shook dust from their feet in protest against them and went to Iconium” (13:50-51.

This was the first time Paul was attacked by fellow Jews because he was successful in converting Gentiles. Probably it was not a mature response like the one he describes in the Galatians what he did in Antioch, opposing Peter to his face! At that time, Paul was on the right side. When the Jews who advocated circumcising Gentiles arrived, Peter drew back and separated himself from the Gentiles. Worse, the rest of the Jews and Barnabas acted hypocritically along with Peter. Paul saw that their action was not in line with the truth of the gospel and scolded Peter in the open (Galatians 2:12-14. Later when Paul wrote to the Corinthians about eating sacrificial meat, his teaching was more mature. He would not ignore other’s conscience even when he possessed the truth. On the contrary, for the benefit of the others and for their salvation, he advised believers to restrain their own freedom and refrain from eating the sacrificial meat (1 Corinthians 10:28-29, 33!

Thus, when Paul “shook dust off his feet” to protest against the jealous Jews, his reaction was probably not mature. Of course, it was possible for Paul who was fervent in saving souls to make use of this sign to warn his fellow folks that at the end of the world, they might suffer worse punishments than Sodom (Luke 10:12. Although Paul was later expelled many times because of successes in winning over many Gentiles, we do not find any more verses of “shaking dust off the feet”. Had Paul become more mature and tolerant? Not necessarily because one record is representative enough.

I’m pondering. Evangelization involves highly complex interpersonal relationships. “A time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away” (Ecclesiastes 3:6 Many children and wives have urged their fathers/husbands to receive baptism. The fathers/husbands keep putting off until their spouses pass away. Only then do they seriously think about reuniting them in heaven! Clearly, time is not in the hands of the evangelists. Paul says, “I planted, Apollos watered, but God caused the growth” (1 Corinthians 3:6. Therefore, I think that when people reject the gospel, it is simply not yet the right time for them to convert. It is not necessary to “shake dust off the feet” to protest against them. Doing so would be too naïve. Is there any more deeper meaning?

Taking the perspective of social analysis, evangelization is an attempt to break down structural sins and to overthrow sinful institutions that enslave men. From this perspective, rejecting the gospel is a refusal to repent, to continue the exploitation of the least of the Lord’s brothers and to insist on sinning. Viewed in this way, Christians have the responsibility to oppose instead of condoning them.
God cannot punish those who haven’t heard the gospel. Therefore, “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached throughout the world as a witness to all nations, and then the end will come.” (Matthew 24:14 Then, the feet of the evangelists will carry dust from all the places they have travelled except those that have rejected the gospel! That is to say, the dust represents places that have received them. Dust not found on the feet of the evangelists does not mean they have not heard the gospel but have rejected it so that the evangelists have shaken the dust off their feet. The absence of dust is a testimony against their rejection of the gospel! Then the punishments they shall receive will be far more terrible than Sodom!
Brethren! Let us invoke the help of the Holy Spirit to reduce our chances of shaking dusk off our feet.
God bless!

Difficulties Are Tools of Purification 困難就是磨練

Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, Year A
Theme: Difficulties Are Tools of Purification

Today, we celebrate the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord. We celebrate His sudden arrival at the Temple (Malachi 3:1) to meet His people. Who are His people? Simeon is a representative of His people. The gospel says, "This man was righteous and devout, awaiting the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him." (Luke 2:25) He is righteous, meaning he keeps all God's commandments. This is a sign of faith and charity. He is devout, totally committed to God. This is a sign of faith and hope. He awaits the consolation of Israel. It means, like all the Jews at that time, they were waiting for the Messiah to liberate them from the Roman colonial rule. Their life had never been easy ever since they were conquered by the Babylonians. Then sovereignty changed hands continually, Persians, Greeks and finally the Romans. Now, salvation arrived, but in the form of a new born baby. Is God joking?

Everybody knows that life is never easy. When we look at the others, in particular our successful friends and our employers, we usually see the fortunes they have. We admire their health, their wealth, their social skills, their knowledge and achievements etc. but we seldom see the blessings we have. Well, life is never simple. The fortunes and achievements we see are almost always superficial. Underneath are layers and layers of struggles which we do not see, either because they don't want us to see or because those are truly God's blessings to equip them for greater responsibilities and challenges. Our God is invisible. We need faith to guide us where to find Him. Moreover, it takes a clean heart to see God and His blessings (Matthew 5:8). The good news is that difficulties and hardship are tools to refine us, to purify us so that we may be able to see God, to offer sacrifices pleasing to God (Malachi 3:4).

Where can we find God and see Him? In the Temple? In the Church?
A recurring theme in the gospels is that God shall appear in the most unexpected manners. Like today, Simeon discovered salvation in infant Jesus! Our God is a God of surprises! When clouds of darkness gather, we know that behind the clouds, there is the bright shining sun. This is faith.
It seems that our God loves to play hide and seek with us. I'm sure all of you are familiar with what Jesus teaches us about the Last Judgment. He encourages us not to turn to the rich and the powerful to find Him, but to find Him among the poor and the needy. He says, "Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me." (Matthew 25:40) Here, Jesus talks about the rewards waiting for those who do works of mercy: to feed the hungry, to give drink to the thirsty, to clothe the naked, to give shelter to the homeless, to care for the sick and to visit the imprisoned (25:35-36). As followers of Jesus Christ, we believe in His words and His promises of our rewards in the future. At the moment, what we need to do is to serve the needy with joy because we are deemed worthy to serve and to suffer for the Lord (Acts 5:41).

At this moment, who are the needy? When most citizens are in fear of infection of the novel coronavirus, we can see many needy people around us. There are the exhausted frontline doctors and nurses. There are senior citizens queuing up for hours in vain to buy surgical masks, to highlight just a few. Everybody is under threat. We too are under threat. But are we able to offer a helping hand? Yes, we are. We have advantages over the others!
First of all, most of us do not read Chinese. I suppose you do not indulge yourselves in reading social media in Chinese. Therefore, you shall not be affected by at least half of the misinformation, rumours and fake news floating around the world! You shall less easily become panicking. You shall be in a better position to calm your friends and employers down because you are able to cross check the information from overseas!

Secondly, we are Christians. We have faith and we believe in God. We have hope and we put our hope in God. We have love and we are ready to share God's love with others. In short, we are less self-centred. We are always ready to reach out to lend a helping hand, thus serving our Lord Jesus Christ among the needy! With the support of the Holy Spirit, we are the salt of the earth (Matthew 5:13). Let our charity and prayers be good seasonings, making our sacrifices pleasing to God. Stay home and do not go out unless it is necessary. In this way, we lessen the burden on the front line medical staff. If we are able to manage, visit the elderly and spare them a surgical mask. When we stay indoors, remember to pray for the front line medical staff who are working overtime and in constant dangers of being infected. We are the light of this world (5:14). Let our good work show off our faith and hope in God, "to shine on those who sit in darkness and death's shadow." (Luke 1:79)

Before we finish, it would be unfair not to say a few words about Anna, the widow and prophetess. Though the gospel does not record any words spoken by Anna, we should pay attention to her age which was 84. Let us suppose she was 84 when she met infant Jesus in the Temple. Let us further assume that Anna was an ordinary Jewish girl who was usually given to marriage at 14. She became a widow seven years later at 21, which was 63 B.C., the year Judah became a Roman colony. Therefore, her widowhood was a symbol of all the Jews suffering under Roman colonial rule! How did she spend her days of suffering? "She never left the Temple, but worshiped night and day with fasting and prayer." (2:37) Furthermore, "she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem." (2:38)

Brethren! Anna and Simeon are our examples. Even in time of difficulties and sufferings like today, we persevere in our faith in God. We embrace those difficulties and sufferings with joy because they purify us, to enable us to see God. We continue to worship Good with fasting and prayer. Let us bear witness to God's love for us with our charitable works in our daily life.
God bless!

Picture Credit: wordonfire.org

2007 Reflection

---

獻主節，甲年
主題：困難就是磨練

今天教會慶祝「獻主節」，紀念主「忽然進入祂的殿內」（拉3:1），與祂的子民相遇。誰是祂的子民呢？西默盎就是其中的一個代表。福音說：「這人正義虔誠，期待以色列的安慰，而且聖神也在他身上。」（路2:25）西默盎是正義的，指他遵守了所有天主的誡命，是信德和愛德的表現。他是虔誠的，完全地委身天主。這是信德和望德的表現。他期待以色列的安慰，是指西默盎與其他猶太人一樣，等候默西亞來把他們從羅馬殖民地統治解放出來。自從亡國給巴比倫之後，猶太人未曾有過好日子。政權不斷易手：波斯、希臘到最後是羅馬帝國。現在，救恩出現了，卻是一個初生嬰兒。天主在開玩笑嗎？

人人都知道生活是艱難的。當我們看別人時，尤其是身邊成功的朋友和僱主，我們經常看見他們的「幸運」。我們羨慕他們擁有健康、財富、交際手腕、知識和事業，我們很少看到自己的蒙福。其實，生活並不簡單，我們所看見的所謂「幸運」，通常是表面的，背後有層層的掙扎，不為外人道。可能是他們不願意我們知道，又或者那些真是天主的祝福，裝備他們負擔更大的責任，接受更多的挑戰。我們的天主是看不見的。我們靠信德引導我們尋找祂。而且，我們要有一顆潔淨的心，纔能看見祂和祂的祝福（瑪5:8）。幸好，艱難痛苦可以磨練我們，煉淨我們，讓我們可以看見天主，並獻上悅樂天主的祭品（拉3:4）

哪裡可以找到天主，看見祂呢？在聖殿，在聖堂嗎？
福音經常出現的一個主題，就是天主會在出奇不意的景況出現。像今天的福音，西默盎在耶穌聖嬰身上看出救恩！我們的天主的確是一個令人驚喜的天主！當烏雲密佈的時候，我們相信烏雲背後有陽光。這就是信德！
天主好像喜歡和我們玩捉迷藏一樣。我相信大家都非常熟悉耶穌基督有關最後審判的教訓。祂鼓勵我們不要在權貴那裡找祂，卻在貧窮和有需要的人那裡找。祂說：「我實在告訴你們：凡你們對我這些最小兄弟中的一個所做的，就是對我做的。」（瑪25:40）在這裡，耶穌基督論述行哀矜的人將來會受到的賞報：飢者食之，渴者飲之，裸者衣之，收留旅人，照顧病人和探望囚者（25:35-36）。作為耶穌基督的門徒，我們相信祂的教訓和應許。目前，我們祇要以喜樂的心服事有需要的人。喜樂，因為我們配服事主和為祂受苦（宗5:41）。

目前，誰是有需要的人呢？當市民大眾陷入受新型冠狀病毒感染的恐慌時，我們發現身邊有很多有需要的人。有疲憊的前線醫護人員，有排了幾小時也買不到一個口罩的長者…目前人人自危，我們還可以伸出援手嗎？可以！我們有優勢！
首先，大家不懂中文（對英文團體講道）。相信大家沒有時間瀏覽中文的社交媒體，因此，大家受偽訊息，謠言和假消息的影響減半！大家沒有那麼容易產生恐慌，你們更能安撫你們的朋友和僱主，因為你們可以運用海外資訊校對！

再者，我們都是基督徒。有信德，我們相信天主。有望德，我們寄望於上主。有愛德，樂意與人分享天主的愛。簡而言之，我們沒有那麼自我中心。我們隨時隨地伸出援手，服事臨現在貧困者之中的主耶穌基督。藉聖神的助祐，我們是地上的鹽（瑪5:13）。讓我們的愛德工作和祈禱，成為好的調味料，獻上悅樂天主的祭品。留在家中，沒有必要就避免外出。這樣，我們減輕前線醫護人員的負擔。如果應付得來，探訪長者，送給他們一個口罩。留在室內時，記得為超時工作，冒受感染風險的前線醫護人員祈禱。我們是世界的光（5:14）。讓我們的善行，彰顯我們對天主的信德和望德：「光照那坐在黑暗和死影中的人。」（路1:79）

在結束前不提及這位寡婦先知亞納，對她有點不公平。雖然福音沒有記載她的隻言片語，我們應注意她84歲的事實。假設她見到耶穌聖嬰時就是84歲，再假設她與其他猶太少女一樣，14歲出閣。七年後21歲守寡，那正是公元前63年。在這一年，猶大成了羅馬帝國的殖民地。因此，她的守寡象徵了猶太人在羅馬殖民統治下的痛苦！她如何度過這些難苦的日子？「她齋戒祈禱，晝夜事奉天主，總不離開聖殿。」（2:37）而且，「她前來稱謝天主，並向一切希望耶路撒冷得救贖的人，講論這孩子。」（2:38）

各位兄弟姊妹！亞納和西默盎是我們的榜樣。在艱難痛苦的今天，請堅持對天主的信德。我們以喜樂擁抱這些艱難痛苦，因為它們淨化我們，幫助我們看見天主。我們繼續以守齋祈禱事奉天主。讓我們以日常生活中所行的愛德服務，見證天主對我們的愛。
天主保祐！

先知的有限 Limitations of A Prophet

【先知系列之四】
先知的有限（若1:19-28）

天主是全知的，但祂所派遣的代言人，即先知，是有限的受造物。所以先知們有很多事物，並不知情。甚至連自己的身份，也不完全清楚。
猶太人根據瑪拉基亞先知書最後的兩句話，預料在默西亞出現前，天主會派遣先知厄里亞，預備百姓的心靈迎接他：「看，在上主偉大及可怕的日子來臨以前，我必派遣先知厄里亞到你們這裡來；他將使父親的心轉向兒子，使兒子的心轉向父親…」（拉3:23-24）洗者若翰在母親體內成胎之前，天主派遣加俾額爾總領天使，引用瑪拉基亞先知的話，確立洗者若翰將來，「要以厄里亞的精神和能力，在上主前面先行，使為父的心轉向兒子…為上主預備一個善良的百姓。」（路1:17）作為默西亞的前驅。後來耶穌在顯聖容後，亦肯定洗者若翰，就是預言中的厄里亞（谷9:13；瑪17:13）。當然，這是從全知的天主的角度所看到的。可是，從先知自己有限知情的角度看，偏差在所難免。

例如瑪拉基亞先知，把默西亞出現的日子，等同世界的末日，所以是「偉大及可怕的日子」！殊不知天主子要兩度來臨，祂第一次來臨時，是慈悲的日子，是悔改得救的日子，而不是「偉大及可怕的日子」！與此相似，國仇家恨閉塞了約納先知的心，他容納不了尼尼微人，悔改蒙受寬恕的可能性，並且是由他一手促成，簡直是荒天下之大謬。他寧可求死，也不願看見尼尼微人蒙恩（納4:3，8）！至於洗者若翰自己，可能他也深信默西亞在末日纔出現，但天主沒有告訴他，世界快到末日，所以他不覺得自己是厄里亞，他祇是「在曠野裡呼喊者的聲音」而已（若1:23）！

是的，我們分擔耶穌基督先知職的人，真的要謙遜。即使是蒙天主差遣，也要接受自身的有限和不足。我們始終都是有限的器皿，未必有能力完全盛載天主的訊息。我們惟有經常保持著與天主的聯系，纔不會令天主的說話「失真」。
天主啊！我們都是無用的僕人。求祢減少我們的「噪音」，不要讓我們誤傳祢的旨意。亞孟。

圖片鳴謝：https://askgramps.org/lesson-god-want-teach-jonah-story-gourd-worm/

生命恩泉

---

"Prophet Series #4"
Limitations of A Prophet (John 1:19-28)

God is omniscient but the spokesmen He sent, i.e. prophets, are creatures with limitations. There are many things which the prophets do not know. Sometimes, they even do not know clearly their identity.
Based on the last two sentences of the Book of Malachi, the Jews expected that before the Messiah appears, God would send Elijah to prepare the hearts of the people. Elijah would appear first, "Now I am sending you Elijah the prophet, before the day of the Lord comes, the great and terrible day; He will turn the heart of fathers to their sons and the heart of sons to their father ..." (Malachi 3:23-24) Before John the Baptist was conceived in his mother's womb, God sent archangel Gabriel to mark the future of John the Baptist, quoting Malachi's words, "He will go before the Lord in the spirit and power of Elijah to turn the hearts of fathers towards children ... to prepare a people fit for the Lord" (Luke 1:17). Of course, this comes from the perspective of an omniscient God. However, from the limited vision of the prophets themselves, deviations are inevitable.

For example, Malachi equated the day of the Lord with the Judgment Day. Therefore, it is "the great and terrible day"! Unbeknown to him, the Son of God would come twice. His first coming was a day of mercy, a day of repentance to obtain redemption and not a great and terrible day! Similarly, the heart of Jonah was filled up with nationalism and racism. He could not accept the possibility of repentance and forgiveness of the inhabitants of Nineveh. It was even scandalous for Jonah to mediate it himself. He preferred death to seeing the inhabitants being forgiven (Jonah 4:3, 8)! As for John the Baptist himself, perhaps he was convinced that the Messiah would come at the end of the world. But God had not told him that the end of the world was imminent. Thus, the Baptist did not think that he himself was the Elijah. He was only "the voice of one crying out in the desert" (John 1:23)!

Indeed, we who partake in the prophetic ministry of Jesus Christ should be humble. Even if we are commissioned by God, we still have to accept our limitations and inadequacies. After all, we are only limited vessels. We may not be able to carry God's message faithfully. In order not to lose the high fidelity of God's words, we need to maintain our good relationship with God.
My God! We are unworthy servants. Help us reduce "noises" in our hearts. Don't allow us to misrepresent Your will. Amen.

What did people say about Elijah and Elisha

Today, we read of a passage in the Book of Ben Sirach which was written in Greek and was included in Septuagint. The Catholic Bible includes this book in their Old Testament while the Protestant one rejected it because there was no Hebrew version of Ben Sirach.
Greek books cannot be ignored. They hand down God's revelation during the Greek Empire. It is the link between the Persian Empire and the Roman Empire, a transition from Hebrew Scripture to Greek New Testament. They also show us how the Jews understood the Hebrew Scripture during this era. The passage we read today is a good example.

Then the prophet Elijah arose like a fire, and his word burned like a torch.
He brought a famine upon them, and by his zeal he made them few in number.
By the word of the Lord he shut up the heavens, (Sirach 48:1-3a)
This is the famous famine which lasted for three years (1 Kings 18:1).
"and by his zeal he made them few in number". We have no record of how severe the famine was and how many people perished. But this famine must have starved many (1 Kings 18:2). Moreover, many others died in Jehu's campaign against Ahab (1 Kings 19:17).

and also three times brought down fire (Sirach 48:3b).
Elijah brought down fire for the first time when he held a contest against the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18:38).
Ahaziah succeeded Ahab to be king of Israel (1 Kings 22:51). He did evil things in the sight of God. Once he fell through the lattice in his upper chamber. Instead of praying to God, King Ahaziah sent messengers to inquire Baalzebub, the god of Ekron (2 Kings 1:1). Of course, God was furious and sent Elijah to intercept the messengers to send them back. Twice, King Ahaziah sent 50 soldiers and their captains to arrest Elijah. Twice, Elijah called down fire from heaven to consume them (2 Kings 1:10, 12). The third time, an angel of the Lord advised Elijah to follow the captain to see King Ahaziah (2 Kings 1:15). From Ben Sirach, we can see clearly that the Jews were very fond of Elijah's behaviours.
How glorious you were, O Elijah, in your wondrous deeds! And who has the right to boast which you have? (Sirach 48:4)
Early Christians still hanged on to the Jewish tradition. Like their fellow Jews, they expected Elijah to appear before the coming of Christ. They recognized Jesus as the Messiah because the miracles of Jesus reminded them of the miracles worked by Elijah.
Once Jesus and his disciples passed by a Samaritan village. The people would not receive them. James and John wanted to repeat Elijah's miracle to destroy the village but Jesus rebuked them (Luke 9:52-56). It seems that Jesus did not quite approve of Elijah's action. However, the key issue was that the disciples had abused the power of miracles. Miracles are signs of God's presence, God's mercy. Vengeance and punishment belong to God, not men.

You who raised a corpse from death and from Hades, by the word of the Most High (Sirach 48:5).
This is the story of Elijah raising the dead son of the widow in Zarephath (1 Kings 17:17-24). Jesus too raised the dead son of the widow in Nain (Luke 7:11-17).

who brought kings down to destruction, and famous men from their beds (Sirach 48:6).
This refers to Ahab and his sons. Elijah had always been a "trouble-maker" for Ahab in Israel. His son, Ahaziah, never left his bed and died after his fall (2 Kings 1:16-17).

who heard rebuke at Sinai and judgments of vengeance at Horeb
who anointed kings to inflict retribution, and prophets to succeed you (Sirach 48:7-8).
This refers to God's epiphany to Elijah on Mount Horeb when Elijah ran away from the death squad of Jezebel (1 Kings 19:9-18). First came a strong wind, then an earthquake, then a fire. When he heard a still small voice, Elijah knew that God had come (1 Kings 19:11-12). Then God instructed Elijah to anoint Hazael the Syrian king, Jehu the king of Israel and Elisha his successor.

You who were taken up by a whirlwind of fire, in a chariot with horses of fire (Sirach 48:9).
This is the famous story of Elijah being taken up to heaven (2 Kings 2:1-11). Like the Enoch in Genesis, Elijah had not tasted death (Genesis 5:24). That was why the Jews expected Elijah to return at the end of the world to prepare the way for the Messiah. This was clearly expressed by the prophets and Ben Sirach.
you who are ready at the appointed time, it is written, to calm the wrath of God before it breaks out in fury, to turn the heart of the father to the son, and to restore the tribes of Jacob (Sirach 48:10).
Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of the LORD comes.
And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the land with a curse." (Malachi 4:5-6 RSV, 3:23-24 MT)
These are the last two verses of the Old Testament, the end of the Prophets section of the Hebrew Scripture.

As for Elisha, the successor to Elijah, his miracles were too numerous and impressive. Even his bones worked miracles!
As in his life he did wonders, so in death his deeds were marvelous (Sirach 48:14).
This took place after the death of Elisha.
So Elisha died, and they buried him. Now bands of Moabites used to invade the land in the spring of the year.
And as a man was being buried, lo, a marauding band was seen and the man was cast into the grave of Elisha; and as soon as the man touched the bones of Elisha, he revived, and stood on his feet (2 Kings 13:20-21).
No wonder a cult of martyrs and relics flourished ever since the birth of Christianity. We can trace its root to the bones of Elisha!
Ben Sirach is an important Greek book. It hands down God's revelation during the Greek Empire.

Dear Lord, may we study the Bible diligently so that we may learn from the experience of our forefathers in their spiritual journey. Amen.

Presentation of Jesus in the Temple 2010

Forty days after his birth, Jesus was presented in the Temple according to Jewish laws (Leviticus 12:2-8, Luke 2:22-24). This law applies to all children born, whether they are first-born or not. It is a purification rite. If the child is a first-born boy, this presentation to the Temple acquires an additional meaning. Since the Lord delivered the Israelites from Egypt by killing the Egyptian first-born males, God told Moses to consecrate to Him, that is to offer to Him as sacrifices, all the first-born, both of man and of beasts (Exodus 13:2). Of course, first-born animals are sacrificed but the first-born of man are redeemed (Exodus 13:15).
Suddenly, forty days have elapsed since Christmas. It is February 2.

The Presentation of Jesus in the Temple manifests the Jewishness of Jesus. Jesus was born a Jew and would work among the Jews. This feast is about him. It is his. Yet, this feast has another meaning for us, as expressed in the book of Malachi. He arrived suddenly at the Temple to purify the sons of Levi!
he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, till they present right offerings to the LORD.
Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the LORD as in the days of old and as in former years (Malachi 3:3-4).
What does that mean? Who are these sons of Levi?
Indeed, the Israelites are supposed to be a kingdom of priests, a holy nation (Exodus 19:6). All of them are supposed to be Levites assigned to offer sacrifices for all peoples on earth. Christians, the new Israelites, have inherited this status. At their baptism, Christians take up and share Jesus' offices of a king, a priest and a prophet. All Christians are priests. It is their role to represent mankind, Christians and non-Christians alike, to offer prayers and sacrifices to God. Though they may not be priests in the hierarchy, they should offer up their life and their work as pleasing sacrifices to God. They pray for themselves as well as for those who have not heard of God and those who are not yet believers in God.

Now that we have the sons of Levi, who turn out to be Christians, where and how does the purification take place? If the purification aspect is not so obvious in this presentation scene, another incident three decades later would make Jesus' purification role very conspicuous. Jesus chased the merchants out of the Temple to clean up the abusive practices prevalent in the Temple worship (Luke 19:45-46). We will be overstretching the gospels if we link the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple to the Cleansing of the Temple some thirty years later. We need to look elsewhere and indeed, it is not hard to find. The two great apostles have left us great theologies of the Temple.
St. Paul exhorts the Corinthians, and thus all Christians, not to commit adultery because our bodies are palaces/temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19).
St. Peter teaches that we are living stones to build a spiritual house.  We are a holy priesthood (1 Peter 2:5). St. Peter has successfully completed a full circle, bringing back the teaching of Exodus 19. So, Christians are all priests as well as chapels themselves and together, they are building blocks of the Universal Church.

As priests, how can we be sure that our sacrifices shall be pleasing to God? This is done by Jesus. Our prayers may be selfish. Our life and work may not be pure. Yet, when we offer up our prayers and our work in the name of Jesus, these sacrifices will be pleasing to God. Jesus is doing the purification work for us.

Dear Lord, purify us so that our prayers and sacrifices will be pleasing offerings to our Father in heaven. Amen.

The duties of priests

I was on holiday with Erminia in Macau. The following was written 2 days later, on Christmas.

Malachi was the last of the 12 minor prophets. He condemned Jews who divorced so as to marry foreign women.
Judah has been faithless, and abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah has profaned the sanctuary of the LORD, which he loves, and has married the daughter of a foreign god (Malachi 2:11).
Therefore, his prophetic ministry probably took place in the time of Nehemiah. It was a colonial time without kings. Judah was only a province of Persia, a foreign power. Priests held the highest authority under colonial rule. But could priests be immune to corruption?

Ideally speaking, priests were men of God. God appointed them to govern the people since the era of judges and kings was over. They had the responsibility to listen carefully to God, guard His revelation with devotion and explain it faithfully to the people. When the people did not know what to do, they should seek instruction from the priests and obeyed them with respect because priests were messengers of God. Even if the people thought they knew what to do, they should also make sure that their actions were not contrary to the teachings of the priests.
True instruction was in his mouth, and no wrong was found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and uprightness, and he turned many from iniquity.
For the lips of a priest should guard knowledge, and men should seek instruction from his mouth, for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts (Malachi 2:6-7).
Therefore, under normal condition, when priests spoke, it was as if God was speaking. They were the soul, the conscience of the people, turning people away from iniquity. If they were wrong, the whole people would perish. Due to such grave demands on them, what psychological qualities were required of priests?
My covenant with him (Levi) was a covenant of life and peace, and I gave them to him, that he might fear; and he feared me, he stood in awe of my name(Malachi 2:5).
God is the God of life and peace. He would give the people such blessings. Priests were the middle men. They were the interface between a powerful God and a stiff-necked people. Of course, they feared. It was impossible to please both sides. They had to take side. If they sided with God. They should stood in awe of God though they might be unpopular among men. If they sided with men, they would extract a lot of advantages from the people in the name of God. Then they said yes to whatever the people asked in order to please them. Siding with men seemed a better option. Then priests became corrupt.
But what if priests really became corrupt? Who would challenge them, unmark them? In the Jewish context, prophets.
At the end of time, the last prophet sent by God would be Elijah.
Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of the LORD comes.
And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the land with a curse (Malachi 4:5-6 RSV, 3:23-24 MT).
While the Jews are still waiting for Elijah to come, Christians have long ago interpreted this Elijah to be John the Baptist (Matthew 17:13). John the Baptist was the last spokesman of God because in Jesus, God speaks directly to us.

Nowadays, the situation has totally changed. People do not seek instruction from men of God because many people do not believe in God anymore. There are other forms of authority. People solve their problems and increase their convenience and comfort through science and technology. They uphold scientists to ward off the ghost of God. In ancient times, governments sought mandate from God. Now, they coerce their subjects with gun barrels, manipulate their opinions with propaganda and deliberately omit God from their constitutions and laws. Priests, bishops and popes are relegated to celebrants of rituals. People close their ears to the moral teachings of the Church.
If modern people need priests to fill the void in their hearts created by the lack of life and peace promised by God, they would consecrate scientists, politicians and media gurus to do the task. But will the gods behind these gurus be capable to bring them life and peace? No, gods do not exist. The gurus themselves will be their solutions. The question has changed into whether these gurus, who are themselves flesh and blood, will be able to fill the void. I know no answer to this question.

Dear Lord, this was written after the Chinese dissident, Mr. Liu Xiao Bo, was sentenced to 11 years in jail on Christmas. The sentencing is a disgrace to the Chinese government and a disrespect to You, the Prince of Peace. You have already sent all Your prophets. What other trump cards do You have in hand? Are You going to China Yourself to set the dissidents free? Or You have already substituted these dissidents instead and wait for Christians to visit You? Merry Christmas, Chinese Communist Party.

Paul on the defensive for the Israelites

Scholars discover that books in the Bible usually display some chiastic structures, an X like construction where the central idea is located at the centre. In written form, texts can be grouped together into ABCC'B'A' or ABCDC'B'A' etc. Within such a structure, the end echoes the beginning. It is a very powerful and useful literary device. There are 16 chapters in the epistle to the Romans. We expect to find Paul's central theme in Romans 8 and 9, if Paul has used such a literary device in this epistle.

In Romans 9-11, Paul quoted extensively from the Old Testament to defend the position of the Israelites. I always suspect that Paul did not have the Gentiles in his mind when he was writing this epistle. His readers have to know the scripture very well in order to be able to follow his argument. Let me summarize.

1. We owe our salvation through the Israelites (Romans 9:1-5).
2. Many Jews did not believe. Does it mean that God's word has failed? No. God had elected a minority (Romans 9:6-13).
3. Was God being unfair? No. God has mercy on those He wills (Romans 9:14-18).
4. Why does God still find faults? We are God's vessels of mercy. Therefore, we are in no position to ask (Romans 9:19-26).
5. Only a remnant will be saved (Romans 9:27-29).
6. Righteousness is achieved through faith (Romans 9:30-33).

Applying the concept of chiastic structure, we would find the central ideas of Romans 9 in sections 3 and 4. God is fair. Let's accept the reality that God would find fault with us.

7. Paul prayed that the Jews would be saved (Romans 10:1-4).
8. Salvation comes from faith which is manifested by calling on the name of the Lord (Romans 10:5-13).
9. The importance of preaching (Romans 10:14-17) Here, we have one of the mostly quoted Romans verses.
   But how are men to call upon him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without a preacher?
   And how can men preach unless they are sent? (Romans 10:14-15a)
10. The Israelites have also heard the Good News (Romans 10:18-21).
11. God had not rejected the people whom He elected (Romans 11:1-10).
12. Through the trespasses of the Jews, Gentiles could have a chance to be saved, thus stirring up the jealousy of the Israel (Romans 11:11-12).

In Romans 11, Paul employed an imagery of branches and grafting to show the relationship between the Jews, Gentiles and God. The Church provides them a meeting ground. Perhaps I should leave this for next time.

Dear Lord, I should thank St. Paul for his beautiful articulation of the importance of preaching. I pray for my audience. May Your Spirit open their minds, make them receptive to Your gospel of reconciliation. Amen.

Appendix:

1. ἀλλ', Ἐν Ἰσαὰκ κληθήσεταί σοι σπέρμα. 
   but "Through Isaac shall your descendants be named." (Romans 9:7b, Genesis 21:12b)
2. Κατὰ τὸν καιρὸν τοῦτον ἐλεύσομαι καὶ ἔσται τῇ Σάρρᾳ υἱός. 
   About this time I will return and Sarah shall have a son (Romans 9:9b).
   κατὰ τὸν καιρὸν τοῦτον εἰς ὥρας, καὶ ἕξει υἱὸν Σαρρα ἡ γυνή σου (Genesis 18:10).
3. ὁ μείζων δουλεύσει τῷ ἐλάσσονι, 
   The elder will serve the younger (Romans 9:12b, Genesis 25:23b)
4. τὸν Ἰακὼβ ἠγάπησα, τὸν δὲ Ἠσαῦ ἐμίσησα.
   Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated (Romans 9:13)
   καὶ ἠγάπησα τὸν Ιακωβ, 
   τὸν δὲ Ησαυ ἐμίσησα (Malachi 1:2-3)
5. Ἐλεήσω ὃν ἂν ἐλεῶ, καὶ οἰκτιρήσω ὃν ἂν οἰκτίρω. 
   I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion (Romans 9:15, Exodus 33:19b).
6. ὅτι Εἰς αὐτὸ τοῦτο ἐξήγειρά σε ὅπως ἐνδείξ ωμαι ἐν σοὶ τὴν δύναμίν μου, καὶ ὅπως διαγγελῇ τὸ ὄνομά μου ἐν πάσῃ τῇ γῇ. 
   I have raised you up for the very purpose of showing my power in you, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth (Romans 9:17)
   καὶ ἕνεκεν τούτου διετηρήθης, ἵνα ἐνδείξωμαι ἐν σοὶ τὴν ἰσχύν μου, καὶ ὅπως διαγγελῇ τὸ ὄνομά μου ἐν πάσῃ τῇ γῇ. (Exodus 9:16)
7. μὴ ἐρεῖ τὸ πλάσμα τῷ πλάσαντι, Τί με ἐποί ησας οὕτως; 
   Will what is molded say to its molder, "Why have you made me thus?" (Romans 9:20b)
   μὴ ἐρεῖ τὸ πλάσμα τῷ πλάσαντι Οὐ σύ με ἔπλασας; ἢ τὸ ποίημα τῷ ποιήσαντι Οὐ συνετῶς με ἐποίησας; (Isaiah 29:16b)
8. Καλέσω τὸν οὐ λαόν μου λαόν μου καὶ τὴν οὐκ ἠγαπημένην ἠγαπ ημένην .
   Those who were not my people I will call my people, and her who was not beloved I will call my beloved (Romans 9:25)
   καὶ ἐλεήσω τὴν Οὐκ-ἠλεημένην καὶ ἐρῶ τῷ Οὐ-λαῷ-μου Λαός μου εἶ σύ (Hosea 2:25 LXX, 2:23 MT).
9. καὶ ἔσται ἐν τῷ τόπῳ οὗ ἐρρέθη αὐτοῖς, Οὐ λαός μου ὑμεῖς, ἐκεῖ κ ληθήσονται υἱοὶ θεοῦ ζῶντος. 
   And in the very place where it was said to them, `You are not my people, they will be called sons of the living God (Romans 9:26, Hosea 2:1b LXX, 1:0 MT).
10. Ἐὰν ᾖ ὁ ἀριθμὸς τῶν υἱῶν Ἰσραὴλ ὡς ἡ ἄμμος τῆς θαλάσσης, τὸ ὑπό λειμμα σωθήσεται:
    λόγον γὰρ συντελῶν καὶ συντέμνων ποιήσει κύριος ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς. 
    Though the number of the sons of Israel be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will be saved;
    for the Lord will execute his sentence upon the earth with rigor and dispatch (Romans 9:27-28).
    καὶ ἐὰν γένηται ὁ λαὸς Ισραηλ ὡς ἡ ἄμμος τῆς θαλάσσης, τὸ κατάλει μμα αὐτῶν σωθήσεται, λόγον γὰρ συντελῶν καὶ συντέμνων ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ,
    ὅτι λόγον συντετμημένον ποιήσει ὁ θεὸς ἐν τῇ οἰκουμένῃ ὅλῃ. (Isaiah 10:22-23).
11. Εἰ μὴ κύριος Σαβαὼθ ἐγκατέλιπεν ἡμῖν σπέρμα, ὡς Σόδομα ἂν ἐγ ενήθημεν καὶ ὡς Γόμορρα ἂν ὡμοιώθημεν. 
    If the Lord of hosts had not left us children, we would have fared like Sodom and been made like Gomorrah (Romans 9:29, Isaiah 1:9).
12. Ἰδοὺ τίθημι ἐν Σιὼν λίθον προσκόμματος καὶ πέτραν σκανδάλου, καὶ ὁ πιστεύων ἐπ' αὐτῷ οὐ καταισχυνθήσεται. 
    Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone that will make men stumble, a rock that will make them fall; and he who believes in him will not be put to shame(Romans 9:33).
    Ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ ἐμβαλῶ εἰς τὰ θεμέλια Σιων λίθον πολυτελῆ ἐκλεκτὸν ἀκρ ογωνιαῖον ἔντιμον εἰς τὰ θεμέλια αὐτῆς, καὶ ὁ πιστεύων ἐπ̓ αὐτῷ οὐ μὴ καταισχυνθῇ. (Isaiah 28:16)
13. Τίς ἀναβήσεται εἰς τὸν οὐρανόν; 
    Who will ascend into heaven? (Romans 10:6b)
    Τίς ἀναβήσεται ἡμῖν εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν (Deuteronomy 30:12)
14. Τίς καταβήσεται εἰς τὴν ἄβυσσον; 
    Who will descend into the abyss? (Romans 10:7)
    Τίς διαπεράσει ἡμῖν εἰς τὸ πέραν τῆς θαλάσσης [the sea](Deuteronomy 30:13).
15. Ἐγγύς σου τὸ ῥῆμά ἐστιν, ἐν τῷ στόματί σου καὶ ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ σου 
    The word is near you, on your lips and in your heart (Romans 10:8)
    ἔστιν σου ἐγγὺς τὸ ῥῆμα σφόδρα ἐν τῷ στόματί σου καὶ ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ σου (Deuteronomy 30:14).
16. Πᾶς ὁ πιστεύων ἐπ' αὐτῷ οὐ καταισχυνθήσεται.
    No one who believes in him will be put to shame (Romans 10:11)
    καὶ ὁ πιστεύων ἐπ̓ αὐτῷ οὐ μὴ καταισχυνθῇ.(Isaiah 28:16)
17. Πᾶς γὰρ ὃς ἂν ἐπικαλέσηται τὸ ὄνομα κυρίου σωθήσεται. 
    For, "every one who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved." (Romans 10:13)
    καὶ ἔσται πᾶς, ὃς ἂν ἐπικαλέσηται τὸ ὄνομα κυρίου, σωθήσεται, (Joel 3:5 LXX, 2:32 MT)
18. Ὡς ὡραῖοι οἱ πόδες τῶν εὐαγγελιζομένων [τὰ] ἀγαθά. 
    How beautiful are the feet of those who preach good news (Romans 10:15b)
    ὡς ὥρα ἐπὶ τῶν ὀρέων, ὡς πόδες εὐαγγελιζομένου ἀκοὴν εἰρήνης, ὡς εὐαγγελιζόμενος ἀγαθά (Isaiah 52:7a)
19. Κύριε, τίς ἐπίστευσεν τῇ ἀκοῇ ἡμῶν; 
    Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us? (Romans 10:16b, Isaiah 53:1a)
20. Εἰς πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν ἐξῆλθεν ὁ φθόγγος αὐτῶν, καὶ εἰς τὰ πέρατα τ ῆς οἰκουμένης τὰ ῥήματα αὐτῶν. 
    Their voice has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world (Romans 10:18b, Psalm 18:5a LXX, 19:4 MT)
21. Ἐγὼ παραζηλώσω ὑμᾶς ἐπ' οὐκ ἔθνει, ἐπ' ἔ θνει ἀσυνέτῳ παροργιῶ ὑμᾶς.
    I will make you jealous of those who are not a nation; with a foolish nation I will make you angry (Romans 10:19b)
    κἀγὼ παραζηλώσω αὐτοὺς ἐπ̓ οὐκ ἔθνει, ἐπ̓ ἔθ νει ἀσυνέτῳ παροργιῶ αὐτούς. (Deuteronomy 32:21b)
22. Εὑρέθην [ἐν] τοῖς ἐμὲ μὴ ζητοῦσιν, ἐμφανὴς ἐγενόμην τοῖς ἐμὲ μὴ ἐπερωτῶσιν. 
    I have been found by those who did not seek me; I have shown myself to those who did not ask for me (Romans 10:20b)
    Ἐμφανὴς ἐγενόμην τοῖς ἐμὲ μὴ ζητοῦσιν, εὑρέ θην τοῖς ἐμὲ μὴ ἐπερωτῶσιν (Isaiah 65:1a).
23. Ολην τὴν ἡμέραν ἐξεπέτασα τὰς χεῖράς μου πρὸς λαὸν ἀπειθοῦν τα καὶ ἀντιλέγοντα. 
    All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people (Romans 10:21)
    ἐξεπέτασα τὰς χεῖράς μου ὅλην τὴν ἡμέραν πρὸς λαὸν ἀπειθοῦντα κ αὶ ἀντιλέγοντα (Isaiah 65:2a)