教会是天主的

常年期第二十七主日

这是我的手表！ 这是我的书！ 这是我的教堂！ 你们是我的教友！ 我的！ 我的！ 我的！

把东西占为己有是很容易的！ 当我们声称某些东西是属于我们时，我们会常觉得我们拥有某些掌控权。 我们可以控制及操纵使用我们所拥有的。 许多父母常以为孩子们是属于他们的。 有些丈夫相信他们的妻子是他们的私人财务。 有一些认为朋友也是他所属。 我们也认为教会是属于我们的。

兄弟姐妹们，我不想使你们失望，但我要诚恳地告诉你们，这一切事物或人都不属于我们的。 这就是今天福音中的葡萄园园户的错。园户认为葡萄园是属于他们的因此设法从园主手中夺下这块园地，所以把园主派来的仆人甚至园主的儿子都一一杀掉。

当我们设法拥有某一些，控制某一些，并认定是属于我们时，在这样的过程中，我们只有伤害别人。你的孩子并不属于你的。 他们是属于天主的。 他们是委托于你使你学习去照顾他们，喂养他们，爱护他们，与他们分享你的信仰；当有一天，他们已准备好，你得放手，让他们独立生活。 许多父母，当孩子都已成家立业了仍不愿放手。 父母们仍不断地干涉孩子的生活及家庭。 这，并没有带来利益反而造成损害。

做丈夫的，你并不拥有你的妻子。 你并没从菜市里把她们买回来。 做妻子的，你也不拥有你的丈夫。 你们因爱互托终生。 爱并不强迫任何人做违反他们意愿的事。 爱使我们自由地成为天主所意愿的人。

许多人也认为教会是他们所属。为此，他们认为他们有权控制或占有堂区的某善会或小组。 我们抓住不放并确保没人可以接任。 它不在乎是否我们可以胜任。 有时，或许，我们做得很好，别人也未必可以重复我们所做的，但要记得，事奉的工作不属于我们的。 它是属于耶稣基督的。 然而，有的并不结果实但仍固执地赖着不走。 当，较有才华的人有意加入行列时，他们通常感到威胁。

弟兄姐妹们，教会并不属于任何人的，它不属于我们的。 教会是天主的。 我们属于天主的。 我们是天主的子民。 如果我们认为它是属于我们的，我们就会想控制它。 如果我们滥用天主所委托的，有一天它将从我们中夺去而交给别人；有如今天福音中所描述的恶园户一样。

The Church Belongs to God

Twenty Seventh Ordinary Sunday Year A

This is MY watch! This is MY book! This is MY Church! You are MY Parishioners! Mine! Mine! Mine!

Easy for us to claim things as ours! When we claim something as ours, we often feel that we have a certain power over it. We can control and manipulate that which we possess. Many parents often think that their children belong to them. Some husbands believe that their wives are their possessions. Others feel that they own their friends. Many of us also may think that the Church belongs to us.

My brothers and sisters, I do not want to disappoint you but I have to tell you sincerely that none of these things or persons belong to us. This is was the mistake made by the tenants of the vineyard in today’s gospel reading. The tenants thought that they owned the vineyard or they tried to wrest control of the vineyard from the owner by beating up the owner’s servants and finally by killing the son of the owner.

When we try to possess something, when we try to control something, thinking that it is ours to own, we will only hurt the other in the process. Your children do not belong to you. They belong to God. They are given to you on trust so that you may learn to care for them, feed them, love them, share your faith with them, and one day when they are ready, allow them to live their own independent lives. Many parents are not willing to let go even when their children have grown up and have families of their own. Parents continue to interfere in the lives of their children and their children’s families and sometimes cause more damage than good.

Husbands, you do not own your wives. You did not buy them from the market. Wives, you too do not own your husbands. You have given yourselves to one another in love. Love never forces anyone to do anything against his or her own will. Love frees us to be the persons God has intended us to become.

Many people also think that they own the Church. Many people think that they have a certain control or possession over a ministry or a group within the Church. We hold on to control by making sure that no one else can take over. It doesn’t matter whether we are able to do the work or nor. Sometimes we may be doing a wonderful job and others may not be able to repeat the kind of work that we are doing, but always remember the ministry does not belong to us it belongs to Christ. Still others are not able to bear fruit but still find themselves stuck in that particular area. They often feel threatened when others who are more capable are interested to join that ministry.

My brothers and sisters, the Church does not belong to any one, it does not belong to us. The Church belongs to God. We belong to God. We are the People God. If we think that it belongs to us, then we will be tempted to control it. If we abuse the trust which God has given us; that which has been entrusted to us will be taken away from us and given to some other just like the wicked tenants in today’s gospel.

爱就是答案

常年期第二十三主日


我们中的许多人对团体生活持有不同的想法。 团体的核心是爱。 圣保禄在读经二告诉我们： “爱不加害于人，所以爱就是法律的满全。” 爱就是答案。 不报复，不缄默，不尝试寻找人的解决办法。

然而什么是爱呢？爱肯定不是一种感觉。感觉是易变的。 爱并不是喜欢因为喜欢或不喜欢某人或某事物是一种感觉。 感觉是非我们所能控制的情绪 － 相反的，爱是一个决定。 我可以选择爱我的仇人即使我不喜欢他。 我可以选择宽恕我的仇人即使我仍感到伤痛和被出卖。

爱并不是什么使我们感到愉快的事。 有时，爱并不使我们感到愉快而那不愉快的感觉并不重要。 有时即使我们感到痛苦，我们却要去爱。 一个父亲必须对他儿子吸烟习惯表示坚决的立场即使他清楚他的儿子必会生他的气，可能几个星期或几个月不理睬他。 这是辣手的爱。 拒绝与你的朋友同流合污将使你失去他们的友谊也是辣手的爱。

而在团体中，爱要求我们彼此诚实。 但，我们的诚实必须是积极的并以爱为基础。 我们不能互相斥责只因我们要向对方报复或为难他。 如果我们诚实，它必建设那人或团体。 很多时候，我们许多人对要向我们团体中的兄弟姐妹甚至我们的朋友说真话，感到吃力。 我们不想做坏人。 我们不想失去他们的友谊。 为辩护自己的行为，我们说伤害别人的情感有缺爱德。

缄默永不是解决的方法。 很多时候，每当我们选择不愿面对我们的弟兄姐妹或朋友的真相时，我们却向别人说他们的闲话。 闲话对任何人都没有益处。 闲话也不能建设团体。 它更不能帮助你的朋友成长。出于爱心的作法是温和地与你的朋友交谈对话。 有时，他会接受你所说的。有时，他或不能接受甚至使你们的关系闹僵。 然而宁可让真相僵化感情，而彼此最后得以成长，好过有所隐瞒的关系。

爱使我们有责任去对抗我们的弟兄姐妹所做的恶。 但是我们的责任并不是去改变那个人。 只有那个人可以选择改变。 如果那个人拒绝改变，我们该做什么呢？ 你应该为团体着想来决定那个人是否该留下而继续让他伤害成员，影响团体的合一或为了整个团体的益处而把那个人排除。 这不是个容易的决定。 但是，不论决定如何，为爱那个人及团体里的每一个成员着想，它必须以爱做出发点。

耶稣给我们宽恕的力量。 这不仅是力量，也是一种恩赐和命令。 我们的团体并不完美因它的成员都不完美。 宽恕为此常是爱的必然表达。 让我们继续为我们的基信团，我们的堂区团体祈祷。 团体或许看来不可能建立。 但为那爱我们的天主，一切都可能。 让我们彼此宽恕正如他宽恕了我们一样。

Love is the Answer

Twenty Third Ordinary Sunday Year A

Many of us have different ideas of what community life is all about. At the heart of community is love. St. Paul tells us in the second reading: “Love is the one thing that cannot hurt your neighbour; that is why it is the answer to every one of the commandments.” Love is the answer. Not revenge, not keeping silent, not trying to find some human solution.

But what is love? Love is certainly not a feeling. Feelings come and go. Love isn’t about liking because to like or dislike someone or something is a feeling. Feelings are human emotions that are beyond our control. On the contrary, love is a decision. I can choose to love my enemy even if I dislike him. I can choose to forgive my enemy even if I continue to feel the hurt and the betrayal.

Love isn’t something that makes us feel good. Sometimes, love does make us feel good but feeling good is not essential. There are times when we are asked to love even when it pains us to do so. A father has to be firm about his son’s smoking habits even though he knows that his son will be angry with him and may not talk to him for weeks or months. This is tough love. Refusing to follow your friends in doing something which you know to be wrong, while knowing that you may lose their friendship. This is tough love.

Likewise in community, love requires us to be honest with one another. But out honesty must be constructive and based on love. We should not be telling each other off just because we want to get back at that person or make that person suffer. If we are honest with our words, it must done for the good of that other person and for the community. Very often, many of us find it difficult to tell the truth to our brothers and sisters in the community or even to our circle of friends. We don’t want to be the bad guy. We don’t want to lose their friendship. We try to justify our actions by saying that it is not loving to hurt the feelings of the other person.

Silence is never the solution. Very often, when we choose not to confront our brother or sister or friend with the truth, we will talk about it in gossip with other persons. Gossip never helps anyone. Gossip does not help the community. Neither would it help your friend to grow. The loving thing would be to speak your friend in a gentle way and dialogue with him. There are times that he will be able to accept what you have said. There are times he will not be able to accept it. There are times your relationship will even be strain. But it is better to have a relationship that is strained by the truth, which will eventually help both parties to grow, than a relationship that is covered in lies.

Love places a duty on us to confront the evil that our brother and sister has done. But our duty is not to change the other person. That person alone can choose to change. What do we do if the person refuses to change? You must then decide as a community whether that person should remain within the community and continue to cause harm to the members and to the unity of the community or this person needs to be excluded for the good of the whole community. It is never an easy decision. But whatever the decision, it must always be done out of love. Love for that person and love for each member of the community.

Jesus gives us the power to forgive. This is not just merely a power but a gift and a command. Our community is not perfect because its members are not perfect. Therefore, forgiveness is always a necessary expression of love. Let us continue to pray for our BECs and our parish communities. Community may sometimes seem impossible to establish. But everything is possible with God who loves us. Let us forgive one another as he has forgiven us.