2018-1-18

朋友们，在今天的福音中，我们读到有病灾的群众向耶稣涌来求取治疗和解救。福音写到各地群众带来了许多病人和受邪魔折磨的人——这些人都被治好了。

 

我知道当今人们对这种奇迹性的治愈都有点怀疑。但耶稣是著名的治愈者和奇迹制造者这一点是难以否认的。众多证据表明奇迹的发生是人们相信首批福音传道者的主要原因。

 

古往今来都有奇迹制造者和奇迹显现之处吗？确实有。不过教会通常以医院和诊所、以天主之若翰和圣加大利纳·仙娜以及加尔各答圣德兰修女这些人物来创造奇迹。教会还通过治疗罪恶病态灵魂的圣事来服务大众。

 

这是教会生活的使徒层面，若缺了这一层面，教会也就化为乌有。教区、教区神父、传教士、贫困病人的服务者——这些都代表了教会的整个使徒生活。

 

Friends, in today’s Gospel we read about crowds coming to Jesus for healing and deliverance from unclean spirits. We hear that people brought the sick from all over the region, as well as those troubled by unclean spirits—and all of them were cured.

 

Now I realize that we today might be a bit skeptical of such miraculous healings. But it’s hard to deny that Jesus was known as a healer and a miracle worker. And there is abundant evidence that the performance of miracles was a major reason why the first preachers were taken seriously.

 

Have there been miracle workers and miraculous places up and down the centuries? Yes indeed. But the Church has customarily done this work through its hospitals and clinics, through figures such as John of God, Catherine of Siena, and Teresa of Calcutta. But the Church also serves through its sacraments, which heal sin-sick souls.

 

This is the apostolic dimension of the Church’s life, and without it, it would no longer be the Church. Parishes, parish priests, missionaries, servants of the poor and sick—the whole apostolic life of the Church is represented here.

 

2018-1-19

朋友们，今天的福音叙述了耶稣拣选任命十二宗徒。

 

圣经学者和神学家N.T. 赖特曾解释过耶稣任命十二门徒为宗徒的原因。赖特说，当一个活在公元一世纪的犹太人提到天国的降临，他所说的是非常明确具体的。他是在声称圣殿将被修复、人们将正确地崇拜雅威、以色列的仇敌将被战胜并且最重要的是上主的各支派将被聚集起来，并由此聚集天下所有支派。

 

记得《依撒意亚》第二章中有这样的伟大远见：“上主的圣殿山必要矗立在群山之上，超乎一切山岳，万民都要向它涌来。”这就是为什么耶稣挑选了十二个门徒，让人联想起十二支派。他们是以色列子民聚集起来的样板和催化剂，并因此聚集全人类。他们是最早的团体以及统一的标志。

 

Friends, today’s Gospel recounts Jesus selecting and appointing the Apostles.

 

Bible scholar and theologian N.T. Wright has explained why Jesus commissioned twelve disciples as Apostles. Wright tells us that when a first-century Jew spoke of the arrival of God’s kingdom, he was taken to mean something very specific. He was announcing that the Temple was going to be restored, that the proper worship of Yahweh would obtain, that the enemies of Israel would be dealt with, and that, above all, the tribes of the Lord would be gathered and through them the tribes of the world.

 

Recall the great vision from the second chapter of Isaiah: "The mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established as the highest mountain…All nations shall stream toward it." This is why Jesus chose twelve disciples, evocative of the twelve tribes. They would be the prototype and the catalyst for the gathering of Israel and hence the gathering of everyone. They would be the fundamental community and sign of unity.

 

2018-1-20

朋友们，在今天的福音中，耶稣的亲戚声称祂疯了、经师们亵渎祂、说祂身附邪魔。在这种情况中，最根本的问题总是恐惧的自我。沉迷于自我的人心知有时最好的防御是进攻。如果你想保护自我及其特权，你就必须镇压和打击身边的人。

 

明显的方式就是：你攻击、贬低、侮辱和陷害身边的人。这是恃强凌弱。但宗教方式则更隐蔽，因此更不动声色和危机重重。宗教方式动用法律——尤其是道德法律——来谴责和镇压。“我知道对与错；我知道教会对我们的要求；我知道你不合要求。”

 

因此我谴责你、说你坏话、提起你的不足之处。请注意，这不是要谴责合理友好的提点或神父的说教，而是想提醒大家不要成为沉迷于自我的奴隶。我们必须保持警惕，无论如何都要敬而远之。

 

Friends, in today’s Gospel, relatives of Jesus claim that he is mad, and scribes blaspheme him, charging that he is possessed by Beelzebul. You know, in cases like this, the basic problem is always the fearful ego. Ego-addicts know that sometimes the best defense is a good offense. If you want to protect the ego and its prerogatives, you must oppress and demoralize those around you.

 

There is a very unsubtle version of this method: you attack, put down, insult, and undermine those around you. This is the method of the bully. But the religious version is much subtler and thus more insidious and dangerous. It takes the Law itself—especially the moral law—and uses it to accuse and oppress. "I know what’s right and wrong; I know what the Church expects of us; and I know that you are not living up to it."

 

And so I accuse you; I gossip about you; I remind you of your inadequacy. Mind you, this is not to condemn the legitimate exercise of fraternal correction or the office of preaching. But it’s a reminder to not be sucked into the slavery of ego addiction. We must stay alert to this and avoid it at all costs.