漠不关心的罪过

常年期第二十六主日

在今天的福音中, 我们听到有关拉匝禄和富家人的比喻. 这是一个简单易懂的比喻. 可怜的拉匝禄死后上了天堂而富家人却到了地狱里. 为什么呢? 是不是因为拉匝禄贫穷那富家人富裕? 如果是这样的话, 我们许多人将下地狱了; 因为我们过着很舒适的生活!

那富家人的罪不是他的财富. 也都不是因为他是无情自私. 故事没有告诉我们那富家人曾毒打过拉匝禄或打发他的狗咬伤他. 这不是富家人去地狱的原因. 漠不关心才是他的罪过 – 他不理会拉匝禄的遭遇, 他漠视四周的一切, 除了自己外他不理会任何人. 当他学到关心别人时, 他自己的兄弟时已太迟了. 而实事上, 当他活着时, 这富家人不曾真正关心过他的兄弟. 这富家人甚至与狗做了个比较. 连狗也注意到了拉匝禄及他的状况而那富家人仍然对他的同胞漠然不顾.

我们很多人认为只要我们少管闲事, 不干预别人的事, 避免我们华人所认为的三大罪状 – 放火, 杀人, 强奸 – 我们就可安枕无忧地赚得天堂. 今天的福音中的比喻可震撼我们少理的态度. 说实在的, 自满, 漠不关心是我们社会的病态之一. 基本上, 这也是以色列人在亡国之前的态度. 冷漠使他们对贫穷不辛的呼声充耳不闻; 对以色列内所发生的不以视而不见. 今时今日, 很多人也选择做聋盲的人. 我们佯装一切美的只要我们的生活和我们的家庭生活不受到影响.

圣保禄在读经二中提醒第茂德只避免重罪及自顾自理是不够的. 圣保禄提醒我们: “成为天主的人, 要追求正义, 虔敬, 信德, 爱德, 坚忍和良善.” 只做普通的教友是不够的. 实际上, 并没有普通教友这回事. 我们每一个人都蒙召成圣成义.

我们不应满足于只做最少. 我们也不应该只满足于只顾自己而忽略别人. 我们不该对别人的需要反应冷漠. 不然我们的命运就有如今天福音中的富家人一样. 在今天的福音中, 让我们祈求天主赏赐圣宠以耶稣宽仁的心自觉察我们兄弟姐妹的需要.

The Sin of Indifference

Twenty Sixth Ordinary Sunday Year C

In today’s gospel, we hear of the parable of Lazarus and the rich man. It is a simple parable that is often misunderstood. Lazarus, the poor man, goes to heaven while the rich man goes to hell. Why? Was it because Lazarus was poor and the rich man was rich? If that is the case, many of us here would be going to hell because we are living comfortable lives.

The sin of the rich man was not his wealth. Neither was it because he was a cruel and selfish man. The story does not tell us that the rich man had Lazarus beaten or that he had send his dogs to bite him. This was not the reason why the rich man went to hell. The sin of the rich man was his indifference – he didn’t care what happened to Lazarus, he didn’t care about what was happening around him, he didn’t care about anyone else except himself. By the time he learnt to care for someone, in this case it was his brothers, it was too late. In fact, while he was still alive, the rich man didn’t really care about what happened to his brothers. A comparison is even made between the dogs and this rich man. Even the dogs took notice of Lazarus and his condition, while the rich man remained indifferent to his fellow human.

Many of us think that if we mind our own business and do not poke our noses into other peoples business – and if we avoided what Chinese would consider the three major sins: arson, murder and rape – we should be fine and should at least earn a place in heaven. Today’s gospel parable should shake us up from this minimalistic way of thinking (i.e. do only the minimum – why do more?). In fact, complacency/ indifference is one of the greatest ills of our society. This was basically the attitude of the Israelites before their country was destroyed. Indifference made them deaf to the cries of the poor and blind and blind to the injustices that was happening in Israel. Today, many people also choose to be deaf and blind. We pretend that everything is fine as long as our lives and our family life is not affected.

St. Paul reminds Timothy in the second reading that it is not enough to just avoid major sins and take care of one’s own affairs. He reminds us that “as a man dedicated to God, you must aim to be saintly and religious, filled with faith and love, patient and gentle.” It is not enough to be mediocre. In fact, there is no such thing as a mediocre Christian. Each of us is called to saintliness and holiness.

We must not be satisfied with doing just the minimum. We must not be satisfied with only taking care of our own affairs while not caring about what happens to everyone else. We must not remain insensitive to needs of others. If not, our fate will be like that of the rich man in today’s gospel. In today’s mass, let us pray for the grace to be able to see with the eyes and hear with the ears of compassion – to be able recognize, as Jesus did, our brother and sister who is in need.

你们不能事奉两个主人

常年期第二十五主日

“你们不能事奉两个主人。”没有人愿意做另一人的奴隶。没有人喜欢被命令做事，我们珍惜我们的自由。我们珍惜选择要做什么的能力。遗憾地，许多人的确自甘做奴隶被困着而不能随心所欲。

天主从不强迫我们。不过，有许多人遵守诫命只因他们害怕得罪天主而受罚。然而，天主从不强逼我们。天主明了为使我们做他的仆人，为使我们完全依赖信靠他，我们应该心甘情愿地做。

另一方面，每当我们除了天主之外而只信靠其他的人或事物时，我们就开始放纵于这些事物上。我们也成为这些假神的奴隶。这些假神就开始掌控我们的生命并取走我们想做，该做的自由。

我们不能同时事奉天主和假神。事奉天主应是自由的。事奉其他的假神意谓着将失去这自由。自由与不自由是不能同时发生的。我们必须记住我们被造是为认识，爱慕及事奉天主。十诫的第一条：“我是上主，你的天主。除我之外，你不可有别的神。”在忘了天主的当儿，我们也许为其他的神留下许多空间。偶像不一定是其他宗教的神明。往往，我们的偶像是那些我们寄望和依赖的事物。这些偶像给我们虚假的安全感。这些偶像许下我们以为天主不能赐于的财富，保护和祝福。

许多人说在他们生命初期，他们着重于建立自己的事业而在后期才意识到与天主建立关系的重要。这看来，在活现第一条诫命：爱天主在万有之上及不应有别的神的信仰旅程占据了人大部分的生活。在建立宗教的王国时有着极大的满足感直到不再感到满足时才知觉，只有建立天主的国才能使我们满足。换句话说，生活的乐趣可以引开我们活出天主子女的身份。生活的乐趣逐渐取代我们内在的自由。我们变成了世俗的奴隶。

除了财富，许多人常求助于超自然力量。当我们遇到困难时，我们常去找灵媒或巫师来解决问题。有人指望于水晶以及化费大笔金钱来调整家中的风水和他们的运程。更有一些人相信诵念某些经文，就会有奇迹出现。祈祷成了魔术而不是信赖天主的照顾。

因此，在这台弥撒中，让我们祈求全心全灵，全意，全力认识，爱慕，事奉上主之恩；因为没有人可以同时事奉两个主人。今天的读经二提醒我们：“因为天主只有一个，在天主与人之间的中保也只有一个；就是降生成人的基督耶稣，他奉献了自己，为众人作赎价。”让我们抛弃所有的假神并重新信赖天主为重获自由成为名副其实的天主子女。

You can't serve two Masters

Twenty Fifth Ordinary Sunday Year C

‘You cannot be the slave of two masters’. No one wants to be a slave of another. No one wants to be told what to do. We value our freedom. We value our ability to choose to do what we want to do. Unfortunately, many people indeed become slaves of one thing or another. We become trapped or addicted to the thing that we want to be free of.

God never forces his ways on us. Nevertheless, many people still follow the commandments only because they are afraid of God’s displeasure and punishment. But God never forces his way on us. God understands that in order for us to be his servant, in order for us to put our entire trust and faith in him, we must do it freely without compulsion.

On the other hand, whenever we begin to place our trusts in other things or persons apart from God, we soon see ourselves loosing our freedom to these things. We truly become slaves to these false gods. They begin to take control of our lives and take away our freedom to do the things that we really want to do or need to do.

We cannot serve God and false gods at the same time. To serve God is to be truly free. To serve other false gods would mean losing this freedom. We cannot be free and not be free at the same time. We must remember that we were created to know, love and serve God. The first commandment is ‘I am the Lord your God. You shall not have strange gods before me’. While not forgetting God, we might also still make room for strange gods. Idols need not only be in the form of the gods of other religions. Very often, our idols are the things, objects, persons, situations, activities that we place our hope and our trust in. These idols give us a sense of false security. These idols promise us riches, protection, and blessings which we believe God will not be able to do so.

Many people say that they place a lot of emphasis on career development in their early years and it is only later in life that they become aware of the value and importance of friendship with God. It seems that the journey to authentically live the first commandment to love God above all else and have no strange gods, is a life long experience for most persons. There is momentary satisfaction in building up our own kingdom until even this particular activity doesn’t seem to satisfy us any more. It is then that we come to realize that what truly satisfies us is building up God’s kingdom. In other words, the attractions of life can draw us away from living as sons and daughters of God. The attractions of life slowly take away our inner freedom. We become slaves to them.

Apart from riches, many people often rely on the supernatural for assistance. When we are in trouble, we often seek the help of mediums and bomohs. Others rely on crystals and pay lots of money to adjust the fengshui of their house and consequently their luck. Still others, depend on certain prayers thinking that if these were recited fervently and repeatedly, miracles will take place. Prayer becomes magic rather than trusting in God’s providence.

So in this Mass we pray for the strength to know, love and serve God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength because no one can be the slave of two masters. We are reminded in today’s second reading: “For there is only one God, and there is only one mediator between God and mankind, himself a man, Christ Jesus, who sacrificed himself as a ransom for them all.” Let us cast off all our false gods and begin to place our trust in God, so that we may regain our freedom to become sons and daughters of God.

我们是尊贵的

常年期第二十四主日

当你爱一个人时, 你会做疯狂的事. 一位母亲会牺牲一切为照顾她嗜酒及吸毒, 拒绝她的儿子. 一位神父会为了服务麻风病人而冒被感染的风险. 一位父亲会不顾生命的安危跳入池中为救他的儿子. 这些人看来好象是疯了; 的确, 爱使人做胡涂疯狂的事.

今天的福音讲述了胡涂的故事. 一个牧羊人丢下九十九只羊而去寻找那遗失的一只. 一个妇女忘了其他的九个 “达玛”(犹太人的钱) 细心寻找那遗失的一个 “达玛”. 世俗会说: “接受你的损失; 以现有的继续做不去罢! 然而天主的做法与我们的做法不同. 天主爱人是无止境的. 天主会竭尽全力, 屈尊就卑, 忍耐痛苦为寻找罪人 – 那拒绝他的人, 那说不需要天主的人, 那不理会一切只顾自己的人. 我们人, 会想, 最好的做法是让这些人继续他们所做的而我们也继续过我们的生活.

但是天主从不放弃纵使我们选择放弃. 天主从不停止工作即使我们已完全停止努力. 在我们认为不可能爱的情 况下天主仍从不停止爱. 这就是我们的天主 – 圣仁圣慈的天主.
这又告诉我们些什么呢? 我们每一个人都是重要的. 我们每一个人都有特别的尊严. 我们每一个人是独一无二的. 我们每一个人是无价之宝及值得救赎的. 我们并不是天堂大量创造的无名物体. 这就是今天福音中的比喻的含意. 那牧羊人并不担心做出错误的决定 – 放弃九十九羊而去寻找那遗失的一只. 这是因为对他来说, 每一只羊都是重要的.

有时候, 我们忘了我们的尊严. 有时, 我们忘了我们是尊贵的. 这就是为什么有人被别人羞辱时会生气. 这也是为什么有人会妒忌及自私因为他们以为自己不够好.

今天给我们每个人的好信讯是: “你是美丽的! 你是特别的!” 天主爱你甚至派遣他的圣子耶稣为你而牺牲! 纵使你认为你是大罪人, 你使家人及朋友失望, 在人生中你做错了很多事和没有人会接受你 – 别犹豫天主从不曾停止过爱你.

今天回家, 好好地照镜子对自己说: “天主爱你 …天主爱我.”

Recognising our True Worth

Twenty Fourth Ordinary Sunday Year C

When you really love someone, you are prepared to do crazy things. A mother is prepared to sacrifice everything to care for a son who has rejected her, and who lives a life as a drunkard and drug addict. A priest is prepared to work among the people living in a leper colony, exposing himself to the same illness of those who he was caring for. A father is prepared to jump into a pool to save one son although he knows that he may also lose his life. All these people may appear to be crazy but love makes you do crazy things.

This is the craziness of the stories in today’s gospel. A shepherd leaves ninety nine sheep to go after the one that is lost. A woman forgets about the other nine drachmas and goes in search for the 10th drachma that is love. The world may say: Accept your losses and carry on with whatever that is left. But God’s ways are different from our ways. When God loves, He loves without limit. God is prepared to go all out, humble himself, endure suffering, in order to seek for the sinner – the one who has rejected him, the one who says that he does not need God, the one who doesn’t care for anything in life except himself. We may think in our human way that the best thing to do would be to let these kind of people carry on with whatever they’re doing, and we too carry on with our own lives.

But God never gives up even when we chose to give up. God never stops working even though we have longed ceased all efforts. God never stops loving even when we may feel that it is impossible to love in such a situation. This is our God – the most compassionate and merciful.

What does this tell us? Each of us is very important. Each of us has a special dignity. Each of us is unique. Each of us is priceless and worth saving. We are not just nameless objects created in some big assembly plant in heaven. That is the meaning of the parables in today’s gospel. The shepherd is not too worried that he may have made a bad business decision in abandoning the ninety-nine to go after the one lost sheep. This is because every single sheep is dear and important to him.

Sometimes, we fail to recognize our own dignity. Sometimes, we forget that we are precious. That is the reason why people get angry with others when they are made to feel small. That is the reason why people become jealous and selfish because they feel that they are not good enough.

The good news for each one of you today is this: “You are beautiful! You are special!” God loves you so much that he is prepared to send his Son Jesus to die for you! Even if you may feel that you are a big sinner, that you are a disappointment to your family and friends, that you have made so many mistakes in your life and no one will ever accept you - never doubt that God will never stop loving you.

When you go home today, take a good look at yourself in the mirror. Tell yourself: “God loves you… God loves me.”

做门徒的条件

常年期第二十三主日

正当我们想由窄门进入已是不容易的事时, 耶稣在今天的福音中再加多三个条件. 跟随耶稣的确不容易! 成为基督徒也不容易. 正如今天福音的两个比喻告诉我们, 在我们还没许下承诺前应事先详细盘算. 换句话说, 我们应该很清楚地知道我们正在做什么. 我们不能盲目地跟随耶稣或没考虑到被召成为基督徒的含意.

耶稣在福音中所讲的哪三个条件呢?

第一条件是: “如果谁来就我, 而不恼恨自己的父亲,母亲,妻子,儿女, 兄弟, 姐妹, 甚至自己的性命, 不能够做我的门徒.” 对我们华人而言, 家庭观念甚重, 这训示未免太严厉了. 孔子说过对父母的孝大予天. 我们从小就受到这观念的熏陶 – 家庭及民族比任何东西都来得重要. 然而耶稣却说我们不该是这样的. 如果要我们在天主及家庭的意愿中选其一的话, 纵使要建反家人的意愿. 我们也必须首选天主的旨意. 这是否说我们不再爱我们的家人了? 当然不. 我们爱得更甚! 但是我们必须坚持予真理及什么是对的.当我们回顾历史, 我们会注意到很多罪孽 - 例如, 仇恨, 种族灭绝 – 都是因家庭及民族而引起. 身为基督徒使我们成为好儿女, 好兄弟姐妹. 但我们的家庭不应成为好基督徒的绊脚石.

耶稣所指的第二条件: “不论谁, 若不背着自己的十字架, 在我后面走, 不能做我的门徒.” 这要求较熟悉, 因为我们听过很多次.这是否意谓着天主要我们受苦呢? 不是的. 天主不要我们为了受苦而受苦. 反之, 十字架是生命的象征. 唯有像耶稣一样愿意为兄弟姐妹牺牲才是基督徒.

第三个条件是: “你们中不论谁, 如不舍弃他的一切所有, 不能做我的门徒.” 这不是指为做善事只施舍几分钱; 而是付出“所有”. 为我们许多人, 这一点耶稣未免过份了. 耶稣一方面要我们与家人意见不合,在另一方面却要我们舍弃一切跟随他. 他肯定是疯了. 我们很难解释这第三条条件. 很肯定的是-若我们选择跟随耶稣, 对世俗的观念我们必须完全改变. 不再容许为我们自私目的而积聚或获取财富而其他的人缺乏基本需要.

如果我们省察以上三个条件, 我们会发觉到以人的论点或理解, 那是完全不可接受的. 这些条件正如读经一中所指的, 唯有充满上主来的智慧的人才可理解及接受. 当我们以上智的眼光看事物时我们就可以认清我们所愿意放弃的一切若以天国的财富相比是不可比拟的.

听了这三个条件, 你们是否愿意跟随耶稣呢? 若你们愿意接受基督门徒的生活方式, 让我们起立朗诵信经以示对耶稣的承诺

Conditions for Discipleship

Twenty Third Ordinary Sunday Year C

Just when we thought that the narrow door was already difficult to enter, Jesus adds three more conditions in today’s gospel. It is not easy to follow Jesus! It is not easy to be a Christian. As the 2 parables in today’s gospel tell us, we must count the cost before committing ourselves. In other words, we must know what we are getting ourselves into. We cannot follow Christ blindly or be a Christian without considering the serious implications of our call.

What are the three conditions we hear Jesus speak off in today’s gospel?
The first condition is this: “Anyone who comes to me without hating father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters, yes and his own life too, cannot be my disciple” This is a difficult/harsh teaching especially for us Chinese where we are constantly taught that family comes first. Confucius tells us that it is a greater sin to disobey and be disrespectful to your parents than disobedience to God. We have this principle taught to us from a very young age. Family and race is more important than anything else. But Jesus tells us that this should not be the case. If we are asked to choose between what our family wants us to do and what God wants from us, we must always choose what God wants even if this may go against the wishes of our family members. Does this mean that we stop loving our family members? No. We must love them more than ever. But we must be strong in our commitment to the truth and to what is right. Great sins have been committed in the name of family and race. The fact that it is done because of our allegiance to our family and our race does not make it right. Being a Christian helps us to become a better son or daughter, a better brother or sister. But our family should not be an obstacle from us becoming a good Christian.

The second condition made by Jesus is this: “No one who does not carry his cross and come after me can be my disciple.” This demand is more familiar and we have been hearing it many times. Does this mean that God wants us to accept suffering? No. God does not want us to suffer for the sake of suffering. Rather, the cross is the symbol of the gift of one’s life. One is a Christian only when one is ready to offer oneself totally to one’s brother or sister, like Jesus.

The third condition is this: “None of you can be my disciple without giving up all that he owns.” It is not a matter of giving a few cents to charity. One must give up really “all.” For many of us, Jesus here, has really gone too far. It’s one thing to have a disagreement with our family members and to carry our cross, its another thing if Jesus wants us to give up everything in order to follow him. He really must be crazy! It’s not easy to explain this third demand. What is sure anyway is that if we choose to follow Jesus, then we must change completely our attitude towards the goods of this world. It is no longer permissible to accumulate and acquire riches and goods for our own selfish ends while so many other people do not even have basic needs fulfilled.

If we examine the above three conditions, we find that they are totally unacceptable to a person who is only led by human arguments/ reasoning. These conditions can only be understood and accepted by one who has been granted the “wisdom from above”, which the first reading speaks about. When we are able to see things anew with this divine wisdom, we will recognize that the things we are prepared to give up are considered less than nothing in comparison with the riches we shall obtain in the kingdom of God.

Having heard these three conditions, are you still prepared to follow Jesus? If you are prepared to accept the life of a disciple of Christ, then let us now stand and recommit ourselves to Jesus as we recite the creed.