2017-12-15 

朋友们，在今天的福音中，法利赛人比较洗者若翰和耶稣的饮食习惯，前者禁食，后者与罪人们聚餐。在耶稣身处的年代，社会阶层格外分明，正派人士绝不与罪人交往，因为害怕沾污名声。

 

但耶稣到来，让所有人震惊，因为祂确实冲破了世俗障碍。假如你看到我跟妓女和毒贩来往、跟恐怖分子吃吃喝喝，你会怎样想？你会感到震惊？不安？失望？但耶稣当时就是这样做，恰恰是因为祂是天主道成人身，拼命地追寻迷失的灵魂。

 

天主寻找我们、追逐我们、永不放手、永不减慢脚步、永不言弃。我们越要逃跑，祂就越要追赶；我们越要躲藏，祂就越要寻觅；我们越要抵抗，祂就越要坚持。天主爱罪人，并与他们交往。

 

Friends, in today’s Gospel the Pharisees compare the eating habits of John the Baptist, who fasted, and Jesus, who dined with sinners. In the carefully stratified society of Jesus’ time, a righteous person would never associate with the unrighteous, for fear of becoming unclean.

 

But here is Jesus, scandalizing everyone because he does indeed break down these barriers. How would you feel if you saw me socializing with prostitutes and drug-dealers, eating and drinking with terrorists? Would it shock you, dismay you, disappoint you? But this is what Jesus did, precisely because he was the Incarnation of the God who aggressively seeks out the lost.

 

God looks for us, comes running after us, never lets go, never relents, never gives up. The more we run, the more he runs after; the more we hide, the more he looks; the more we resist, the more he persists. God likes sinners and associates with them.