常年期第廿七主日
善用機會與創造機會
讀經一：(依5:1-7)：葡萄園的寓言
讀經二：(斐4:6-9)：思念正義之事，可享平安
福 音：(瑪21:33-43)：園戶的比喻
中國文化： 盛年不重來，一日難再晨；及時宜自勉，歲月不待人。
少年易老學難成，一寸光陰不可輕；未見池塘春草綠，階前梧葉已秋聲。 惜福、惜緣。
我的愛人有一座葡萄園，位於肥沃的山岡上；他翻了泥土，除去石塊，種了精選的葡萄樹；還在園中築了一座瞭望台，和掘了一個榨酒池。他原希望葡萄園出產好葡萄，它卻出產了野葡萄。（依5:1-7）
這個葡萄園的故事，是一個辜負天主恩典的故事：上主「原希望葡萄園出產好葡萄，它卻出產了野葡萄。」
依撒意亞先知對這故事的解釋是：萬君上主的葡萄園就是以色列家族，可惜的是，「上主原本希望正義，看，竟是血腥；他原本希望公平，看，卻是哀號！」
瑪竇福音說得更令我們警惕：種葡萄的佃戶不單不肯交租，還殺死收租的人，甚至殺死葡萄園主人的兒子。因為當他們見到園主的兒子親自來收租時，他們竟說：「這是繼承人，來！我們殺了他，就能得到他的產業。」（參考瑪21:33-43）
耶穌說這個比喻時，顯然是黯然神傷的。這個比喻，瑪竇福音特別聲明是向民間的司祭長及長老們所說。這些司祭長和長老們原本都是宗教的護衛者，亦是以色列民族的支柱。而以色列人民又是天主的選民，天主用了很長的時間，去準備他們迎接基督的降生。
但基督來了，拒絕他，甚至殺害他的，反而是天主的選民！
在這裡，基督說了一句很傷感的話：「匠人棄而不用的石頭，反而成了屋角的基石。」所以他不得不向那群捨棄他的，和將要殺害他的人說：「天主的國一定要從你們手中奪去，而賜給那些結果實的外邦人。」(參考瑪21:42-43)
這個故事讓我想起了「惜福」和「惜緣」這兩個詞語。惜福就是珍惜福份，珍惜我們所擁有的一切物質；惜緣就是珍惜緣份，珍惜我們所碰到的所有人，這裡特別指的是基督的臨在。因為這一切都是上主賜給我們的恩典，是獨一無二、一去不回的恩典。
陶潛有首詩，其中有四句寫得很好：「盛年不重來，一日難再晨；及時宜自勉，歲月不待人。」盛年、壯年，能夠工作、能夠繃繃跳跳的日子，是不會一次又一次地再來的。每一日只有一個早晨，不會再有另外一個。所以在適當的時候，我們就要及時努力，不斷自我勉勵。因為如流水般的歲月，不會無了期地等待我們。
另有一首詩寫得更好，它鼓勵青年人要珍惜光陰，把握機會去讀書、追求學問。它說：「少年易老學難成，一寸光陰不可輕。未見池塘春草綠，階前梧葉已秋聲。」
意思是；小孩子很快便會衰老，但學問卻很難成就。所以一點一滴的光陰都不可輕忽、不可浪費。你看，時間過得這麼快，春天池塘的草還未全綠，轉瞬間，門前的梧桐葉已染上金黃的秋色了。
春天剛開始，秋天已經跟著到來，這就是「未見池塘春草綠，階前梧葉已秋聲。」
上主賜給我們無數的恩典。他種了很好的葡萄樹，在周圍圍上了籬笆，為我們做盡了一切，我們必須結出好的果實，以報答上主的栽培。
但很多人拒絕了上主的恩典、拒絕了耶穌的親臨。他們浪費了時間，放棄了機會。這一切都值得我們深刻的反省。否則，我們必定會聽到這句話：「天主的國必定會從你們的手中奪去，一切的機會也會從你們的手中搶去。你們的青春和你們的時間，亦會從你們的手中溜走，而賜給那些結果實的外邦人。」
不要自恃有青春，不要自恃有基督徒的名份，不要自恃有天主給的時間；這一切都會過去。我們必須好好的善用我們所擁有的一切，不要像司祭長和民間長老那樣拒絕基督。
我們有時也會在不知不覺中拒絕基督，拒絕他給我們的一切，拒絕天主的恩典。
有人說：愚蠢人放棄機會，聰明人掌握機會，有智慧的人創造機會。你又是屬於哪一種人呢？
常年期第廿七主日
善用机会与创造机会
读经一：(依5:1-7)：葡萄园的寓言
读经二：(斐4:6-9)：思念正义之事，可享平安
福 音：(玛21:33-43)：园户的比喻
中国文化： 盛年不重来，一日难再晨；及時宜自勉，岁月不待人。
少年易老学难成，一寸光阴不可轻；未见池塘春草绿，阶前梧叶已秋声。惜福、惜缘。
我的爱人有一座葡萄园，位於肥沃的山冈上；他翻了泥土，除去石块，种了精选的葡萄树；还在园中筑了一座了望台，和掘了一個榨酒池。他原希望葡萄园出產好葡萄，它却出產了野葡萄。（依5:1-7）
这個葡萄园的故事，是一個辜负天主恩典的故事：上主「原希望葡萄园出產好葡萄，它却出產了野葡萄。」
依撒意亚先知对这故事的解释是：万君上主的葡萄园就是以色列家族，可惜的是，「上主原本希望正义，看，竟是血腥；他原本希望公平，看，却是哀号！」
玛窦福音说得更令我们警惕：种葡萄的佃户不单不肯交租，还杀死收租的人，甚至杀死葡萄园主人的儿子。因为当他们见到园主的儿子亲自来收租時，他们竟说：「这是继承人，来！我们杀了他，就能得到他的產业。」（参考玛21:33-43）
耶稣说这個比喻時，显然是黯然神伤的。这個比喻，玛窦福音特别声明是向民间的司祭长及长老们所说。这些司祭长和长老们原本都是宗教的护卫者，亦是以色列民族的支柱。而以色列人民又是天主的选民，天主用了很长的時间，去准备他们迎接基督的降生。
但基督来了，拒绝他，甚至杀害他的，反而是天主的选民！
在这里，基督说了一句很伤感的话：「匠人弃而不用的石头，反而成了屋角的基石。」所以他不得不向那群舍弃他的，和将要杀害他的人说：「天主的国一定要从你们手中夺去，而赐给那些结果实的外邦人。」(参考玛21:42-43)
这個故事让我想起了「惜福」和「惜缘」这两個词语。惜福就是珍惜福份，珍惜我们所拥有的一切物质；惜缘就是珍惜缘份，珍惜我们所碰到的所有人，这里特别指的是基督的临在。因为这一切都是上主赐给我们的恩典，是独一无二、一去不回的恩典。
陶潜有首诗，其中有四句写得很好：「盛年不重来，一日难再晨；及時宜自勉，岁月不待人。」盛年、壮年，能够工作、能够繃繃跳跳的日子，是不会一次又一次地再来的。每一日只有一個早晨，不会再有另外一個。所以在適当的時候，我们就要及時努力，不断自我勉励。因为如流水般的岁月，不会无了期地等待我们。
另有一首诗写得更好，它鼓励青年人要珍惜光阴，把握机会去读书、追求学問。它说：「少年易老学难成，一寸光阴不可轻。未见池塘春草绿，阶前梧叶已秋声。」
意思是；小孩子很快便会衰老，但学問却很难成就。所以一点一滴的光阴都不可轻忽、不可浪费。你看，時间過得这么快，春天池塘的草还未全绿，转瞬间，门前的梧桐叶已染上金黄的秋色了。
春天刚開始，秋天已经跟著到来，这就是「未见池塘春草绿，阶前梧叶已秋声。」
上主赐给我们无数的恩典。他种了很好的葡萄树，在周围围上了篱笆，为我们做尽了一切，我们必须结出好的果实，以报答上主的栽培。
但很多人拒绝了上主的恩典、拒绝了耶稣的亲临。他们浪费了時间，放弃了机会。这一切都值得我们深刻的反省。否则，我们必定会听到这句话：「天主的国必定会从你们的手中夺去，一切的机会也会从你们的手中抢去。你们的青春和你们的時间，亦会从你们的手中溜走，而赐给那些结果实的外邦人。」
不要自恃有青春，不要自恃有基督徒的名份，不要自恃有天主给的時间；这一切都会過去。我们必须好好的善用我们所拥有的一切，不要像司祭长和民间长老那样拒绝基督。
我们有時也会在不知不觉中拒绝基督，拒绝他给我们的一切，拒绝天主的恩典。
有人说：愚蠢人放弃机会，聪明人掌握机会，有智慧的人创造机会。你又是属於哪一种人呢？
Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time
The Road to Heaven is Difficult, but Though Remote, We Can Reach It
First Reading (Wis 7:7-11): Riches are nothing compared to wisdom
Second Reading (Heb 4:12-13): The Word of God judges the thoughts of our hearts
Gospel (Mk 10:17-30): The rich young man
Chinese classics:
-“I have a pearl, long lock up in dust, one day the dust was gone and it sparkled ,illuminating the whole universe.” (1)
-“Walk with a sack, sit with a sack, put down the sack. How carefree I feel!”(2)
-“The point where to rest being known, the object of pursuit is then determined, and that being determined a calm unperturbedness may be attained. To that calmness there will succeed tranquil repose. In that repose there may be careful deliberation and that deliberation will be followed by the attainment of the desired end.”(3)
-“Searching high and low for truth.” (4)
'Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth.’ Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, ‘You lack one thing: go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come follow me.’ When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions.” (Mk 10:20-22)
The story of the rich young man might well be the story of you and me, of each one of us. This young man ‘ran up’ to Jesus. He was full of an impulse to “search high and low for truth.”(4) He was a young person, full of life and energy. He ‘knelt’ before Jesus, eager and sincere in his quest for the meaning of life, determined to learn more from Jesus.
”What must I do?” He didn't come just to hear Jesus' preaching, nor to be merely a believer. He wanted to change himself, develop and fulfill himself, commit his life and practice his beliefs. He wanted to ‘do’ something! It was because he was not satisfied with his present state that he had not yet found peace in life. Confucius says in “The Great Learning,” The point where to rest being known, the object of pursuit is then determined, and that being determined, a calm unperturbedness may be attained. To that calmness there will succeed a tranquil repose. In that repose there may be careful deliberation, and that deliberation will be followed by the attainment of the desired end. (3) It seems that the young man had not yet reached that state, nor could he find a doorway to achievement. That was why he came to Jesus.
Jesus never disappointed those who seek the Way sincerely. So Jesus told him the basic prerequisites for pursuing a better life: “You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness, you shall not defraud. Honor your father and mother.” (Mk 10:19) That is to say, before one can pursue a higher life, one must first fulfill one's basic responsibilities. Before one can become a follower of Christ, one must be a person of integrity, learning to take ‘one step at a time’ on life's journey. The young man listened to what Jesus had said and replied confidently, “Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth.”
He was not just a curious, superficial seeker. He was a keen enthusiast who had lived a virtuous life in the past. That was a proof of his sincerity. He also had a full, abundant life before him. Therefore the Bible says that “Jesus, looking at him, loved him.”
This was an extraordinary young man, the hope of society and the church. In the language of today we might say he was truly a very rare person.
Jesus never disappoints those who desire to search for the truth, so he immediately invited the rich young man to develop his life further, to step forward and progress further in life. He also invited him to be his disciple, his follower, even to live together with him.
Therefore, Jesus said to him, “You are lacking in one thing.” That “one thing” would be the ‘eyes’ of the dragon, as in the common Chinese saying, “put in the eyes of the dragon”.(in the Chinese dragon dance it is believed that with a critical brush of the eyes, the dragon is able to fly). Jesus wanted to give the rich young man the ability to fly high, so that he could live freely, roaming freely between heaven and earth.
We ourselves are spiritual dragons. We all possess the choicest gifts and talents from God, our Creator. I remember this little poem –
“I have a bright pearl, long locked up in dust, one day the dust was gone and it sparkled, illuminating the whole universe.”(1) Yes, we are all spiritual dragons, but we miss the eyes; we are all pearls, but we are covered with dirt. Jesus can help us, sanctify us, enable us to fly high and shine. The only condition is that we live in him, be with him, and follow him.
What Ruth said to her mother-in-law is what we should say to Jesus: “Do not ask me to abandon or forsake you! Where you go I will go; where you lodge I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die I will die, there will I be buried.”(Ruth 1: 16-17)
To follow Jesus is an absolute. It demands that we abandon everything to follow him until death, as a shadow never leaves a body. This was what Jesus invited the rich young man to do, and us also. Sometimes we may think that abandoning everything is a negative action, a loss. The rich young man must have thought that. He had many possessions and did not want to abandon them “and he went away grieving.”, .
What the rich young man did not know was that we abandon something in order to follow another wholeheartedly; we abandon so that we can develop ourselves fully in Jesus; we abandon in order to gain all. We abandon so that we can let go of our burdens and freely and in a relaxed manner continue our life journey. The poem, “Monk with a Sack,” describes vividly the joy of being carefree: “Walk with a sack, Sit with a sack; Put down the sack, How carefree I feel!(2)
If we remain in and with Jesus we will never suffer or lose out. On the contrary, in Jesus we acquire everything. We live more freely. We are certain that we have acquired everything, and that we will acquire the Kingdom of Heaven which Jesus has prepared for us.
(1)我有明珠一顆，久被塵牢關鎖；一朝塵盡光生，照破山河萬朵。
(2)行也布袋，坐也布袋；放下布袋，多少自在！ 知止而後有定，定而後能靜，靜而後能安，安而後能慮，慮而後能得。
(3)上下而求索。
