你渴望什么？

甲年四旬期第三主日

耶稣在井边所遇到的这个女人是谁呢？她是个撒玛黎雅人，是犹太人所仇视的民族。她是个妇女，在耶稣时代，妇女被看作是男人的财产——她们是自己的丈夫、父亲或儿子的财产。其他的妇女通常在早上就到井边来汲水，而这个妇女却在中午时分才到井边来。或许，她有事情隐瞒而羞于公开露面。这羞愧的原因是什么呢？从福音的记述中，我们得知她曾有过五个丈夫，而目前与她同居的并不是她的丈夫。在今日，如果你曾结过两次或甚至三次婚，已足以引起流言蜚语和成为丑闻，况且是五次那么多呢？更何况这事情是发生在社会还处于很保守的耶稣时代？在城里居民的眼中，这个妇女算是个大罪人。

在今天的福音中，耶稣向这撒玛黎雅妇女要水喝，因为他口渴了。另一方面，耶稣了解到这位撒玛黎雅妇女也同样的渴。她渴望爱和被接纳，她渴望天主。或许这就是她结五次婚的原因。她不断地在寻找爱及满足感。然而不幸的是，她根本无法在这些男人身上寻获她所渴望的。

我们当中很多人也感到渴。我们渴望得到满足、渴望得到快乐、渴望爱。我们渴望一些能填补我们生命的空虚和寂寞的东西。正如这位撒玛黎雅妇女一样，我们也找到许多不同的“丈夫”或假神。有一些人把金钱看作是他们的神。的确，金钱可以买到许多东西，但它绝对不能提供我们完全的满足。一些人渴望成功，然而每一份成功都带着失败的可能。一些人尝试以占有物质甚至是人来填补他们的寂寞并为他们解渴，但是没有一样是永恒不变的。

我们必须明白，唯一能够解我们的渴并赐给我们真正满足的，那就是耶稣在今天福音中所提到的活水。这活水是天主赏赐给我们每一个人的恩宠生命。唯有天主才可以填满我们生命的空虚，唯有天主才可以满足我们的饥渴，只有天主应许的活水永不干涸。钱财会用尽、成功会变成失败、所拥有的会失去；唯有天主和祂为信从耶稣的人所恩赐的永生将永恒不变。

你准备放弃其他的“丈夫”吗？你愿意弃绝生命中的假神吗？你愿意把心中所有不实际的保障排除好让天主的生命活水涌入你心中吗？今天，我们将为候洗者举行第一次考核礼，他们将在礼仪中弃绝罪恶及生命中的假神。今天，他们也将领受同样的生命活水，这是耶稣为所有信从他的人而许下的生命活水。

今天，耶稣对撒玛黎雅妇女所说的话，同样也对我们每一个人说：“喝这井水的人仍会感到口渴，但谁若喝我给的水，便永远不会口渴：并且这水将在他内成为泉源，涌出活水，使他得到永生。”来吧！让我们喝一喝从这永生之泉所汲取的活水吧

Unless you repent

Third Sunday of Lent Year C

Today's gospel raises an issue that troubles many of us. God's justice. Why is it often that the good seem to suffer while the bad seems untouched? Is it because those good people were not really that good and were being punished for their sins. Such was on the mind of the Lord's disciples in today's gospel reading. Were the Galileans who died under the Roman governor, Pilate, and the 18 who were crushed by the collapsing tower of Siloam, subject of God's wrath and justice? In both instances, a tragedy occurred, the first caused by human malice, the second the result of a freak accident. Or perhaps far more worrisome, is our God an aloof Being who has no true care for the world? This is what the Deist would call the “clockmaker” God, a God who created the clock, wound it up, and left the scene. And so when bad things happen to good people many sometimes shake our fists at God and ask, “Is this how you treat your servants?”

But today’s gospel turns this whole issue on its head. Jesus reprimands them for having thought that those who died in these two tragedies were great sinners. Rather than becoming fixated on why bad things happen to good people and why good things happen to bad people, perhaps we should refocus our thoughts on something far more important – we need to turn to lens upon ourselves. When we are constantly dwelling on how God doesn’t seem to meet up to our expectations, we often fail to pay attention to what is expected of us. God is not the one who is on trial. It is ‘we’ who are being called to account for our response, our attitude and our actions. The million dollar question isn’t ‘Why does God permit bad things to happen to us?’ but, “when the Son of Man comes, will he find us repentant?” Time to heed Jesus’ warning: “unless you repent you will all perish as they did!”

Is repentance really that important? Would it still be relevant to speak of repentance or even mention the whole notion of sin during this Jubilee of Mercy? One of the most dangerous errors that has emerged not as the direct result of the Jubilee of Mercy or even a discussion of God’s mercy, is the notion that mercy dispenses with the need of repentance. So many preach and proclaim mercy without reference to our sinful condition. Such false notion of mercy argues that our sins aren’t really sins, or are no big deal, and that God doesn’t really care what we do because, after all, He is merciful. And by contrast those who do speak of sin and repentance are thereby unmerciful and mean. This error hides true mercy behind fluffy doors. It hides the truth that repentance opens the door to mercy, forgiveness, and finally salvation. Repentance is the key that unlocks God’s mercy.

Those who preach a mercy that does not demand repentance would certainly have to deny what Jesus said in today’s gospel, “unless you repent you will all perish as they did.” The inescapable conclusion is this: if one does not repent, he cannot be saved. This is exactly what the gospel wishes to convey to our minds. The most compelling challenge which Jesus throws to his disciples, a challenge already made by his precursor, St John the Baptist, is the call to repentance. The call to repentance inaugurates Jesus’ ministry and sums up what his mission is about: to break the shackles of sin that enslave humanity, to put us on the path of liberation from all oppression, and to teach us how to unconditionally love one another. To deny the importance of repentance is foolish indeed.

But what does it mean to repent? Striving to avoid sin and living virtuously is certainly part of what it means. But there's more. In the Gospels the biblical word used for repentance is the Greek word “metanoia” – a radical change of mind, heart, soul and action. It happens when one changes course and turns around to walk in the right direction. Metanoia means a life-changing conversion.

Repentance doesn’t mean going through life with your head down and permanent frown on your face. Neither is it confined to feeling remorseful for being so bad. It means start doing something good. Start practicing what you believe in.

Repent means start doing the things that you know you should do. If you are alienated from somebody, be reconciled.

If you are self-righteous in relation to others, humble yourself and start seeing the goodness in them.

If you have been uncaring toward the poor, now is the time to get some moral imagination and put yourself in the plight of another human being. Don’t just ‘pity’ the poor, show true compassion by reaching out to them.

If you have been callous about prospects for peace in the world, now is the time for you to start praying and begin working for those things in your own family or neighborhood that make for peace. Stop giving hell to your husband or wife or children or parents. Start being peacemakers.

If you have put your trust in the accumulation of things so that you are slave to a whole host of masters, now is the time for you to unload some of the stuff and to put your trust in God. Don’t just throw away your stuff, give it to others, to the poor. Make sure it’s not a shirt with holes in it or a trousers with a zip missing.

At the end of the day, repentance is not some negative, life-denying gesture. In fact, repentance doesn’t mean turning to a past way of thinking or doing at all. Repentance means turning to a new way. Repentance does not mean to change from what we are to what we were. It means to change from what we are to what we are going to be.

This is what the season of Lent is all about. At the beginning of Lent, on Ash Wednesday, these powerful words uttered accompanied the imposition of ashes on your head, “Repent and Believe in the Gospel.” Both the words and the imposition of ashes goes to the heart of what Lent is all about. Lent wishes us to focus on our mortal humanity. Lent seeks to prepare our hearts for Jesus' death on the cross. Lent is an invitation to consider our sin. In our day and age, in our sin-denying and positive thinking culture, this seems rather morbid. It almost does appear as if we Catholics idolise sin by virtue of the fact that we are constantly speaking about it, or as our detractors would claim, we are ‘hung-up’ on it. But, neither does Jesus or the Church belabour the points. Jesus calls us to repent not because he wants us to dwell on our sin but because he wants to get that barrier out of the way.

So, during this Lent, let us try not to be distracted by all the bad things that happening in this world and around us. There is no denying that they are very real. But more importantly, during this Lent, let us heed the words of Jesus who throws the challenge back to us, “unless you repent you will all perish as they did.” Lent heralds the beginning of a season in which we are invited to examine our hearts and get the sin out of the way so that God's grace can pour in all the more. So that the power of the resurrection can be all the more present and real in our lives and in the world around us.

身体是神圣的

丙年四旬期第二主日

过去几个月以来，许多人一见到我，都说我的体重减轻了。“神父，你瘦了！什么秘诀呢？”我每次都重复着同样的答案：“这是因为糖尿病！要是你想减肥，就患上糖尿病吧！” 如果你认为我的体重减了40公斤、腰围少了4寸是很令人惊异的事，那么今天在福音中耶稣改变面容的事迹更是令你惊叹。基督要给门徒们展示自己光辉的神圣面容是因为要给他们预示将来会有怎样的结局。当门徒们目睹耶稣的惨死和祂在十字架上血肉模糊的情况时，他们必会感到惧怕无比。然而，耶稣却要向他们显示;十字架上的牺牲并非是结局;光荣复活才是故事的终结。

福音故事不止让我们一瞥基督的复活，今天，当我们仰望基督的荣光时，圣保禄宗徒就在读经二中提醒我们：基督也将改变我们，以相似祂光荣的身体。我们的身体、或胖或瘦、面容是好或坏，最终全都会经历转变。复活不只影响我们的灵魂；它也意味着我们将借此得到新的身体：一个不会腐朽、不会生病，并且没有任何残缺的身体。

因此，基督显圣容的事迹帮助我们纠正现代社会一个错误的想法。今天，许多人总是过于注重自己的身材和容貌；甘愿在这方面花费大量的金钱，尝试各种方法使自己变得更完美；我们以为花钱购买昂贵的衣服就能弥补外在的不足。女士们浓妆打扮，因为她们觉得自己还不够漂亮。可是，耶稣显圣容的事迹却提醒我们可以从另一个角度来看待人的身体。人的身体不应该只有外在的完美；也应该是神圣的。很少人会真正地相信我们的身体是神圣的。大家会这样想：我们这身体不断地犯罪，那又怎能是神圣的呢？借着耶稣基督的降生成人、死亡和复活，人类的肉身也变得宝贵和神圣。耶稣的彰显圣容，让我们认清了人的本质。在我们领洗的那一天，奇妙的事在我们身上发生了，不只是在灵魂上，也包括我们的肉身。

这样的理解帮助我们明白一个人的道德标准扎根于自己的身份。在领洗的时候，我们成为天主的子女，获得天国子民的身份。因此，道德标准是由内而发，不是来自外在的。如果我们充分地意识到自己的身份，那我们就不需要靠挂在圣堂门口海报上有关穿著准则来提醒。我们的穿著不单止要适合场合，还要能反映出我们的身份。这特殊的身份要求我们要有适当的行为表现。罪恶会使我们否定这特殊的身份。作为天主的子女、天国的子民和圣神的宫殿，我们要注意自己要去的场所、言行举止，甚至是穿著。所以，你们的穿著，一定要与你们是天主子民的身份相称；当来圣堂时，就不要穿得像要去参加派对或者在家里那样。

耶稣显圣容的事迹再次提醒我们每个人身体的神圣和宝贵，它是如此的宝贵以至天主甘心为我们而死。我们的身体再也不是我们的羞耻或忧虑。我们不需要为它涂上颜色或作修复。所有的整容手术、世界的时装，都无法掩饰或隐藏，也无法加强从我们这已是圣神宫殿的躯体中所释放出来的自然之美。在每台弥撒中，我们被提醒自己真正的价值；它是不能用任何价格来购买的，它是天主所赐的礼物，是被基督的身体和血赎回来的。