常年期第十六主日（乙年）
主題：享受與耶穌在一起的休息
運用聖經作為默想的材料，是非常好的祈禱。第一步，就是向聖神禱告，祈求聖神光照我們的明悟，和炙熱我們對耶穌和對祂的說話的愛心，使我們渴望與祂親近。第二步，就是略讀經文一次，看看有沒有不明白的文字。我們必須澄清了這些文字的背景，以免解錯了聖經，跟著的默想就會行錯方向了。第三步纔開始慢慢細讀經文幾次，進入祈禱的狀態。大家已聽過執事朗讀過福音一次，現在讓我們了解經文的背景，並澄清一些地理上的問題。
今天的福音，承接上星期耶穌派遣十二宗徒兩個兩個出去宣揚天國的喜訊。今天他們回來向耶穌報告他們傳福音的成果。各位，福音沒有交代十二宗徒傳福音傳了多久，一個星期，抑或一個月？傳福音的地點，是鄉村小鎮抑或是城市呢？凡是經文沒有實實在在寫下的，所有的讀者，包括神學家、小說家、電影導演和普通的教徒，就有非常大的自由度去作出合理的推測和想像。所以，在祈禱默想的時候，我們是可以，甚至應該運用我們的想像力，把自己融入聖經的故事之中。
讀經是要兼顧上文下理，不可斷章取義的。例如，從今天的福音，我們讀到「有很多人從各城徒步前往耶穌與門徒預算去的目的地」，這些人都是十二宗徒傳福音時所吸引到的，他們是來自城市的。即是說十二宗徒曾經到過城市裡去宣揚福音。城市是有城墻圍起來的一幅土地，人口應有好幾百甚至上千。由此推論，十二宗徒離開耶穌，起碼去了一個月或以上，走遍加里肋亞省各城，治病驅魔，宣告天國的福音。按此估計，耶穌派遣他們出去傳福音，約定一個月後到某處與他會合。可想而知，十二宗徒經過個多月的努力，一定是十分疲累的了。雖然疲累，他們卻是興奮的，因為以前他們祗見証耶穌的治病驅魔，今次是他們自己親自治病驅魔，興奮的心情，非筆墨所能形容。另一方面，他們的傳教是成功的，因為耶穌跟著就用了五餅二魚，使五千人吃飽。所以門徒是很有成功感的。
好了，忙碌工作之後，是休息的時候了。耶穌說，「你們來，私下到荒野裡，去休息一會兒！」（谷6:31）是荒野。在大家的心目中，「荒野」是怎麼樣的地方呢？是「荒山野嶺」嗎？在巴肋斯坦是指寸草不生的沙漠嗎？無論如何，「荒野」一定是沒有城墻的地方，人煙稀疏的地方。
福音說怎樣去「荒野」呢？是乘船往荒野去。「乘船」當然不是指陸上行舟，坐氣墊船喇。讓我們來上一課聖地的地理罷。巴肋斯坦的西邊是地中海，耶穌的家鄉納匝肋在巴肋斯坦的北部加里肋亞省。在北方與今天的黎巴嫩接壤，東方與敘利亞接壤。加里肋亞省有一個湖，稱為「加里肋亞海」，若望福音稱它為「提比利亞海」。這個湖有一個出口，水由出口向南流入一個沒有出口的鹽湖，這個鹽湖就是有名的「死海」了。這條河道就是約旦河，若翰洗者就是沿著這河道宣講悔改的洗禮，為人付洗，準備迎接默西亞。
好了，我們明白了有疑問的經文之後，可以深入反省默想了。
首先，今次傳福音的成就是意料之外的。請大家記著，傳福音的成就不是人的努力，是天主在工作。人太容易被勝利沖昏了頭腦的，以為成功是因為自己有才華，是自己努力的成果，殊不知謀事在人，成事在天。例如，上星期的下午，堂區的關社組聯同教區勞工事務委員會一行二十多人，探訪天水圍區內的清潔工人，送上勞工手襪和自製的蚊膏，對他們表達關懷和尊敬。感謝天主，雖然當日天氣酷熱，但有風和不是烈日當空，這不是天主的庇蔭是甚麼呢？在上星期的講道中，我曾說過我們不需要怕在傳福音時遭人拒絕，因為很多人是渴望領洗入教，祗是缺乏了推薦人，入教無門而已。而且這是天主的工作，是天主與傳教士的合作。今次關社組預備了五十份「天使的禮物」，兵分兩路，到天耀邨和天水圍公園接觸清潔工人。心情是矛盾的，既想關懷他們，卻又擔心妨礙了他們的工作。開始時大家都沒有信心可以派完。結果呢？供不應求，以至部份清潔工人失望地空手而回。這不是天主在工作是甚麼呢？
讓我們再投入福音的場境中默想吧。我們可以想像到，十二宗徒在船上仍七咀八舌，在師父面前眩耀自己如何成功，耶穌的面容是怎樣的呢？離岸開始遠了，岸上的喧鬧聲細弱了，甚至聽不到了，剩下的是同門師兄弟彼此間交換心得。慢慢地，大家開始靜下來，祗剩下搖櫓和湖水的聲音，或者感受到從船尾吹過來的涼風。耶穌的面容是怎樣的呢？耶穌有對您微笑嗎？各位兄弟姊妹，我們停留在這一刻，靜默地享受與耶穌一起休息的幸福罷。
對，在船上祗不過是入靜的準備，我們要完全進入荒野，那裡沒有城墻把我們同天主分開。我們為生活每日營營役役，我們躲在心靈的一角，築起了圍墻來保護自己，這樣我們有安全感，我們感到舒適。可惜，在令自己不受傷害的同時，我們不知不覺變得麻木不仁，看不見身邊的人的需要，甚至連天主也拒諸城墻之外。所以「荒野」並不是地理上的荒野，而是我們內心的另一個角落，是在我們築起的城墻之外。在那裡會找到天主，在天主前就不用再裝聾扮啞，沒有斤斤計較，沒有老謀深算，因為祂知曉一切。你會發現，那裡並非你想像中寸草不生的不毛之地。因為天主可以擊石出水，灌溉沙漠，可以解決你所有的饑渴。
耶穌派遣宗徒成功地進入城內傳福音，吸引城裡的人離開城墻，進入荒野，在那裡天主要使他們飽足。各位兄弟姊妹，每一天都找機會停一停，靜一靜，進入內心的荒野，不單是為了休息，更是為了獲得天主的滋養。最好能養成每日撥最少十五分鐘，默想當日的福音的習慣。能在西鐵車箱內默想福音固然好，不過你未必有這種功力。聖堂是很理想，很接近荒野的寧靜之所，找個適合自己的時間，每日返聖堂默想十五分鐘福音，聆聽耶穌的教訓。
天主保佑。
Sixteenth Ordinary Sunday (Year B)
Theme: Enjoy resting with Jesus
Making use of the Bible as meditation materials is a very good way to pray. Firstly, we pray to the Holy Spirit to illuminate our intellect and to enkindle our love of Jesus and his words, to stir up our desire to come close to him. Secondly, we read the text in a cursory way to see whether there is any difficult text. We need to clarify the background of the text lest we misunderstand it and head for a wrong direction in our meditation. Thirdly, we read slowly the text several times to enter into a state of prayer. Now that I have read you the gospel once, we should turn to know about the background and clarify some geographical points.
The passage today is a continuation from the story last week where Jesus sent the Twelve out to preach two by two the good news of the Kingdom of Heaven. Today, the Twelve returned to report their achievements to Jesus. However, the gospel does not mention for how long the Twelve preached, one week or one month. It is also silent as to where the Twelve preached, villages, towns or cities. When the Bible does not put things down clearly, readers, including theologians, novelists, movie directors and ordinary faithful, can enjoy a considerable degree of latitude to make reasonable guesses and imagination. Thus, in our meditation, we can and should make use of our imagination to integrate ourselves into the Bible stories.
We must also not read a piece of text out of context. For example, in today’s text, we read that a large crowd came out of cities to arrive ahead of Jesus’ intended destination. The large crowd was attracted by the Twelve in their preachings. They came from cities. That is to say the Twelve had entered cities to preach the gospel. A city was a piece of land surrounded by walls. Hundreds and even a thousand people lived in a city. From this, we estimate that the Twelve must have spent more than a month to travel around cities of Galilee, healing, exorcizing and preaching the gospel. Jesus sent them out to preach, arranged to rendezvous with them a month later at an appointed place. Needless to say, the Twelve were exhausted after one month’s work. Though exhausted, they were excited because previously they had seen Jesus cure and exorcise, but now they cured and exorcised with their own hands. The thrill was unspeakable. Their evangelization was a great hit because later, Jesus fed 5000 people with five loaves and 2 fish. The Twelve must have been elated with a strong sense of achievement.
After much hard work, it was time for rest. Jesus said, “Come away by yourselves to a lonely place, and rest a while.” (Mark 6:31) A lonely place. What sort of a place is a lonely place? Wild mountain ranges? Palestinian deserts where not a blade of grass is to be found? No matter what, there would not be any city walls in a lonely place, a sparsely populated place.
How did they get to the lonely place? In a boat! Of course the gospel does not mean travelling to the lonely place on a hovercraft. Now, let’s take a crash course on the geography of the Holy Land. Nazareth, the home town of Jesus was in Galilee, a province in the north. Today, on its northern border is Lebanon and its east Syria. There is a lake in the province of Galilee. It is called the “Sea of Galilee”. In the gospel of John, it is also called the “Sea of Tiberias”. There is an outlet on the southern tip which flows into a salty lake in the south. This salty lake is the famous “Dead Sea” and the river that flows into the Dead Sea is River Jordan. John the Baptist had once preached the baptism of repentance along the river, baptized the people to prepare them for the coming of the Messiah.
Now that we have clarified the text, let us do an in-depth reflection now.
First of all, the success in preaching was unexpected. Please remember, achievements in evangelization are not the work of men but the work of God. Men can easily be intoxicated by ‘their’ successes, thinking that the successes are due to their talents, their efforts. It did not occur to them that it was all God’s work. For example, last Sunday afternoon, some twenty plus people from the Social Concern Group of the parish together with the Diocesan Labour Affair Commission visited some outsourced janitors in the Tin Shui Wai community. We gave them worker gloves and home-made mosquitoe repellant cream to show our concern and respect. Thank God, it was hot but there were breezes and the sun hid behind the clouds. What was this if not God’s shelter? In my homily last week, I mentioned that we should not fear being rejected in our evangelization because many people wished to be baptized. It was only that they did not have any sponsor and did not know how. This is God’s work, a cooperation between God and the missionaries. This time, the Social Concern Group had prepared 50 “Angel’s Gifts” and divided into two teams, one went to the Tin Shui Wai Park and the other to Tin Yiu Estate. Our mind was contradictory. On one hand we cared, but on the other we worried disrupting their work. At the beginning, we did not have enough confidence to distribute all 50 gifts. In the end, we could not meet the demand. Many janitors went away disappointingly empty handed. What was this if not God’s work?
Let us go deeper into the gospel scene to meditate. We can envision that the Twelve were bickering, showing off their achievements in front of the Master on the boat. What do you see on the countenance of Jesus? The boat is leaving the shore. The noises on the shore grow weaker and even disappear. What remains is the experience sharing among the disciples. Slowly, they begin to quiet down. We can only hear the sounds of the oars and waves. We can feel the caresses of the breeze from behind. What do you see on the countenance of Jesus? Does he smile at you? Brethren, let us stop here for a little while, quietly enjoy the bliss of resting with Jesus.
Right, the journey on the boat is only a preparation. We need to enter the lonely place completely where there are no walls to cut you off from God. We are leading a hectic life for our livelihood. We hide in a corner of our heart, build up fences and walls to protect ourselves. In this way, we feel safe. We feel comfortable. However, while we make ourselves safe from injuries, imperceptibly, we harden our hearts. We do not see the needs of our neighbour. We even lock God out of our walls. So, the “lonely place” is not a geographical location but a corner in our hearts, outside the walls we have built. There you will encounter your God. Before God, you do not need to put on masks, to bargain or to calculate because He knows everything. You will discover that the lonely place is not, as you imagine, so infertile that not a blade of grass can grow. It is because God could strike the rock to give water to irrigate the desert, to quench your thirst.
Jesus sent his Apostles to enter into the cities successfully to preach the gospel, to draw the people out of the walls into the wilderness. There God feeds them all to their satisfaction. Brethren, look for an opportunity to stop working for a while, to observe silence for a while every day. Enter into the wilderness of your heart not just for a rest but to be nourished by God. My advice is to build up a habit of meditating the gospel reading of the day for at least 15 minutes a day. It is good of you if you can do your meditation in the coach on which you travel to work but it would be extremely demanding. The Church is an ideal choice, very much similar to the tranquility of the wilderness. Look for a time slot suitable for you. Come back to Church to meditate the gospel for 15 minutes, to listen to the messages of Jesus.
God bless.
