常年期第五主日

舉目常瞻天父手、俯首甘為孺子牛

讀經一：(約7:1-4,6-7)：約伯慨嘆人生多愁苦
讀經二：(格前9:16-19,22-23)：為傳福音甘作犧牲
福　音：(谷1:29-39)：治好伯多祿的岳母，周遊加里肋亞宣講天國
中國文化： 子生三年，而後免於父母之懷。 夫天地者，萬物之逆旅，光陰者，百代之過客，而浮生若夢。

今天的馬爾谷福音把耶穌一天的生活勾劃了出來：祈禱、愛德、宣講。可以說，耶穌是以祈禱、以言、以行，去為天父給他的使命作見證，去活出天父要他活的生命。

其實，這不單是耶穌一天的生活模式，也是他一生的生活模式。他的每一天或者他的一生，都是和天父保持著最緊密的聯繫（祈禱），並且用行動（治病、顯奇蹟等），和用言語（宣講），去為自己受自天父的使命作見證。

今天的福音記載，當耶穌離開葛法翁的會堂後，便和雅各伯、若望等人來到了西滿和安德肋 的家。那時西滿的岳母正發燒生病、躺在床上，福音說：「耶穌走到她面前，拉著她的手，扶她起來，燒就退了。」(谷1:31)

耶穌能治人的病，不用醫藥，也不必勞神，隨便拉一拉手，已經足夠。他只要接觸人，或只要人能和他接觸，就可以獲得痊愈??身心的、全人的、完整的痊愈。

伯多祿的岳母痊愈後，「就起來服侍他們」。這就是說，當她獲得了恩典以後，隨即「還報」，用行動去表達她的感恩。蒙恩以後便即成為施恩者，這原本是很自然的一回事，這原本就是我們心裡必然會流露出來的真情實感。

有人認為孔子所說的「仁」不單是指「愛」，也指人本有的真情實感。人能夠按照自己內心深處的真實感覺去待人處事，就是「仁」。

所以當樊遲問孔子，只為父母守一年之喪夠不夠的時候，孔子就反問他這樣做安不安心。怎知樊遲卻說安心。孔子就說：「爾安則為之。」意思是說：你安心就去做吧！但孔子並不相信樊遲會真的安心，理由是：「子生三年，然後免於父母之懷」，所以按人的本心來說，一定會追求為父母守三年之喪，去報答父母對自己三年長的懷抱和撫育。而樊遲說的守一年喪就安心，一定不是出於他的真情實感，而只是為了世俗的原因，如為謀生而勞碌等，才去說服自己只守一年之喪。孔子的結論是：樊遲那種守一年之喪的主張並不是「不孝」，而是「不仁」，因為他並沒有按照自己的真情實感而行事。

伯多祿的岳母起來侍候耶穌，正是出於她的真情實感，一種「受恩不可忘」的高貴情操。

福音繼續說：傍晚，到了日落時分，有人把所有患病和附魔的人，都帶到耶穌面前，「全鎮的人都聚集在門前。耶穌醫好了許多患不同病症的人，驅逐了許多魔鬼。」(谷1:33-34)

這段經文說有許多患病和附魔的人，甚至說「全鎮的人」都來了。這是馬爾谷用誇張的語法去描寫當時的熱鬧情況，說明耶穌的出現、他的講道和他顯的奇蹟，確實吸引了許多人。

從另一個角度來看，我們也似乎目睹了一個多災多難的世界，一個需要耶穌、需要救恩的世界。

聖經說我們的世界沒有常存的城，連李太白這位瀟灑不羈的詩仙，也不能不慨嘆「夫天地者，萬物之逆旅，光陰者，百代之過客，而浮生若夢。」我們都是活在一個充滿災難的世界中，擁有的是一個十分無奈的生命。

這生命的無奈在今天的《約伯傳》中描寫得淋漓盡致：

約伯說：人生在世，不就是像服苦役嗎？人的一生，不就是像僕役的生涯嗎？正如奴隸渴求樹蔭，僕役期待工資：同樣，我也只承受經年累月的空虛，和通宵達旦的悽楚。我睡下時，想著：「幾時才天亮呢？」我起來時又想著：「幾時才天黑呢？」我整夜輾轉反側，直到天亮。……我的歲月奔流，比穿梭更快；消逝幻滅，全無希望。(約7:1-6)

宗教醫治人心，有時也醫治人身；心靈的健康和身體的健康，本來就是息息相關的。馬克斯主義者認為「宗教是人民的鴉片」，據中國社會科學院一些學者的研究，這話並不是只有消極的意義。因為鴉片可以真真實實的對人的身體起著麻醉、止痛的作用。而當人的心靈受到創傷的時候，有時真的是群醫束手，藥石無靈，這時，宗教反可產生驚人的、強力的、巨大的作用，使人重新獲得信心、希望和生機。

以上就是耶穌在這一天所作的事、所行的奇蹟。當然，這一切還伴以耶穌的宣講和祈禱：「清早，天還未亮，耶穌就起來，獨自出去，到荒野祈禱。……於是他到加里肋亞各地，在他們的會堂裡宣講。」(谷1:35,39)

這就是耶穌一天的生活、一生的生活。

常年期第五主日

举目常瞻天父手、俯首甘为孺子牛

读经一：(约7:1-4,6-7)：约伯慨叹人生多愁苦
读经二：(格前9:16-19,22-23)：为传福音甘作牺牲
福　音：(谷1:29-39)：治好伯多禄的岳母，周游加里肋亚宣讲天国
中国文化： 子生三年，而后免於父母之怀。夫天地者，万物之逆旅，光阴者，百代之過客，而浮生若梦。

今天的马尔谷福音把耶稣一天的生活勾劃了出来：祈祷、爱德、宣讲。可以说，耶稣是以祈祷、以言、以行，去为天父给他的使命作见证，去活出天父要他活的生命。

其实，这不单是耶稣一天的生活模式，也是他一生的生活模式。他的每一天或者他的一生，都是和天父保持著最紧密的联系（祈祷），并且用行动（治病、显奇迹等），和用言语（宣讲），去为自己受自天父的使命作见证。

今天的福音记载，当耶稣離開葛法翁的会堂后，便和雅各伯、若望等人来到了西满和安德肋 的家。那時西满的岳母正发烧生病、躺在床上，福音说：「耶稣走到她面前，拉著她的手，扶她起来，烧就退了。」(谷1:31)

耶稣能治人的病，不用醫药，也不必劳神，随便拉一拉手，已经足够。他只要接触人，或只要人能和他接触，就可以获得痊愈??身心的、全人的、完整的痊愈。

伯多禄的岳母痊愈后，「就起来服侍他们」。这就是说，当她获得了恩典以后，随即「还报」，用行动去表达她的感恩。蒙恩以后便即成为施恩者，这原本是很自然的一回事，这原本就是我们心里必然会流露出来的真情实感。

有人认为孔子所说的「仁」不单是指「爱」，也指人本有的真情实感。人能够按照自己内心深处的真实感觉去待人处事，就是「仁」。

所以当樊迟問孔子，只为父母守一年之丧够不够的時候，孔子就反問他这样做安不安心。怎知樊迟却说安心。孔子就说：「尔安则为之。」意思是说：你安心就去做吧！但孔子并不相信樊迟会真的安心，理由是：「子生三年，然后免於父母之怀」，所以按人的本心来说，一定会追求为父母守三年之丧，去报答父母对自己三年长的怀抱和抚育。而樊迟说的守一年丧就安心，一定不是出於他的真情实感，而只是为了世俗的原因，如为谋生而劳碌等，才去说服自己只守一年之丧。孔子的结论是：樊迟那种守一年之丧的主张并不是「不孝」，而是「不仁」，因为他并没有按照自己的真情实感而行事。

伯多禄的岳母起来侍候耶稣，正是出於她的真情实感，一种「受恩不可忘」的高贵情操。

福音继续说：傍晚，到了日落時分，有人把所有患病和附魔的人，都带到耶稣面前，「全镇的人都聚集在门前。耶稣醫好了许多患不同病症的人，驱逐了许多魔鬼。」(谷1:33-34)

这段经文说有许多患病和附魔的人，甚至说「全镇的人」都来了。这是马尔谷用夸张的语法去描写当時的热闹情况，说明耶稣的出现、他的讲道和他显的奇迹，确实吸引了许多人。

从另一個角度来看，我们也似乎目睹了一個多灾多难的世界，一個需要耶稣、需要救恩的世界。

圣经说我们的世界没有常存的城，连李太白这位潇洒不羁的诗仙，也不能不慨叹「夫天地者，万物之逆旅，光阴者，百代之過客，而浮生若梦。」我们都是活在一個充满灾难的世界中，拥有的是一個十分无奈的生命。

这生命的无奈在今天的《约伯传》 中描写得淋漓尽致：

约伯说：人生在世，不就是像服苦役吗？人的一生，不就是像仆役的生涯吗？正如奴隶渴求树荫，仆役期待工资：同样，我也只承受经年累月的空虚，和通宵达旦的凄楚。我睡下時，想著：「幾時才天亮呢？」我起来時又想著：「幾時才天黑呢？」我整夜辗转反侧，直到天亮。……我的岁月奔流，比穿梭更快；消逝幻灭，全无希望。(约7:1-6)

宗教醫治人心，有時也醫治人身；心灵的健康和身体的健康，本来就是息息相关的。马克斯主义者认为「宗教是人民的鸦片」，据中国社会科学院一些学者的研究，这话并不是只有消极的意义。因为鸦片可以真真实实的对人的身体起著麻醉、止痛的作用。而当人的心灵受到创伤的時候，有時真的是群醫束手，药石无灵，这時，宗教反可產生惊人的、强力的、巨大的作用，使人重新获得信心、希望和生机。

以上就是耶稣在这一天所作的事、所行的奇迹。当然，这一切还伴以耶稣的宣讲和祈祷：「清早，天还未亮，耶稣就起来，独自出去，到荒野祈祷。……於是他到加里肋亚各地，在他们的会堂里宣讲。」(谷1:35,39)

这就是耶稣一天的生活、一生的生活。

Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Look Up and See the Father's Hand
Bow Down and Serve Submissively as does a Beast of Burden

First Reading (Job 7:1-4,6-7 ): Job sighed at the many sufferings in life
Second Reading (1Cor 9:16-19,22-23 ) : Willingness to sacrifice to spread the Gospel
Gospel (Mk 1:29-39): Cure of Simon's mother-in-law; preaching throughout Galilee
Chinese Classics :
-It's not till a child is three years old that it is allowed to leave its parents' arms(1)

-Now heaven and earth, the journey of all living things. Now time is but a traveler of a hundred centuries. Life is but a dream.”(2)

The passage from Mark's Gospel today describes Jesus' work of one day: praying, acting, preaching. One can say that through these ways Jesus testified to the Father's plan for him, living life as his Father wished. In fact, it is not one day's pattern, it is the pattern of his entire life. In his daily life, indeed throughout his entire life, Jesus maintains his close relationship with his Father (prayer), performs miracles, as healings (action) and speaks to the people (preaching), as testimony to his adherence to the mission given him by his Father.

Today's Gospel passage records that after Jesus left the synagogue in Capernaum, he went with John, James and the others to the house of Simon Peter and Andrew. Peter's mother-in-law was lying in bed sick with fever. The Gospel says that “he came and took her by the hand and lifted her up. Then the fever left her.” (Mk 1:31 ) Jesus could cure people without medicine or using a great amount of strength. Touching the person's hand or even being near the person was sufficient. The cure was complete, body, heart and spirit. Once cured Peter's mother-in-law “ began to serve them”. That is, once she received the gift, she reciprocated, showed her gratitude through action. The receiver immediately becomes the giver – a very natural response that reflects a person's true feelings.

Some people think that Confucius's ‘kindness to one's fellowmen’ means more than ‘love’. It also refers to one's genuine feelings and real emotions. If a person can treat others according to the true emotions felt deeply within one's heart, that is truly ‘kindness to one's fellowmen.’

When Fan Che asked Confucius whether “one year” was sufficient mourning over the death of one's parents, instead of answering Confucius asked him whether he would feel at peace doing so. Unexpectedly, Fan Che said yes, he would feel at peace. Confucius then said, “Your feeling at peace is the consideration.” That is, if you feel at peace, then do it. But Confucius did not think Fan Che would really feel at peace because he reasoned “that it is not till a child is “three years” old that it is allowed to leave its parents' arms.”(1) If one acted according to how one really felt the person would try to mourn the parents' death for “three years” in order to repay the parents for the “three” early years of love and care in their arms. When Fan Che's said that he felt at peace to mourn his parents for “one year”, it did not reflect his true feelings. It was only an excuse, such as the need to work hard for a living, which he used to convince himself that “one year's” mourning was sufficient. Confucius' conclusion was that Fan Che's thinking was not really “lacking in filial piety” but was rather “unkindness to one's fellowmen, ” because he did not act according to his genuine internal feelings and true emotions.

Peter's mother-in-law acted out of her true feelings when she served Jesus as soon as she had been cured. It was a gracious way to be the giver to repay having been the receiver. The Gospel continues that all the sick and possessed persons were brought before Jesus. “The whole city was gathered around the door. And he cured many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons” (Mk 1: 33-34) The Gospel says that many sick and possessed people came. “The whole city” may have been an exaggeration Mark used to deliberately emphasize the whole atmosphere of excitement and that Jesus' preaching and miracles were attractive to so many people. From another angle we can see that the many disasters in our world today are an indication of the world's great need for Jesus and his salvation.

Scripture tells us that we have here no lasting city. Even Li Bai, the carefree and unconventional god of poetry regretfully sighed and said, “Now heaven and earth, the journey of all living things. Now time is but a traveler of a hundred centuries. Life is but a dream.”(2) The world we live in is full of calamities and easily can seem quite meaningless. This situation is well described in today’s reading from the Book of Job. “Job said: ‘Do not human beings have a hard service on earth, and are not their days like the days of a laborer? Like a slave who longs for the shadow, and like laborers who look for their wages, so I am allotted months of emptiness, and nights of misery are apportioned to me. When I lie down I say, ‘When shall I rise?’ But the night is long, and I am full of tossing until dawn. My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle, and come to their end without hope.” (Job 7:1-6)

Religion can cure human hearts and sometimes human bodies, too. Physical and mental health always are interconnected. Some Marxists and researchers of Chinese society think that when Marx said “religion is the opium of people” , it was not just pessimism. Opium really can have a mesmerizing and pain-killing effect on our bodies. Some times doctors will find there is no effective medication for peoples' physical ills. On the other hand, religion sometimes has an amazingly strong effect in helping people regain faith, hope and life.

The above is an account of a day in the life of Jesus and miracles he worked. Of course, it was combined with his preaching and prayer: “In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed….he went throughout Galilee, proclaiming the message in their synagogues.” ( Mk 1:35,39 )

This is one day in Jesus' life. It is also the pattern of his whole life.

(1)子生三年，而後免於父母之懷。
(2)夫天地者，萬物之逆旅，光陰者，百代之過客，而浮生若夢。