成全如同天父

成全如同天父

玛5:38-48

1.  生命的新标准

            今天的福音中，主耶稣教导所有他的跟随者一个新的生命准则。如果您注意就会发现，主耶稣用了一个对比方式来表达他的教导：你们一向听说……我却对你们说……。主耶稣召叫所有的跟随者开始一个新的生活。这种新的生活不只是比别人好一点，而是过一种超越文化和大众推崇的生活标准。

            这些天在圣堂的大厅里有大约250位无家可归的游民。我们感谢天主给我们这个机会来服务主耶稣的更贫穷的兄弟姐妹们。每天晚上有不同的小组准备不同的食物来款待这些兄弟姐妹，神父也祝福大众和食物。本来以为所有服务的人员都是我们堂区的，然而，使我惊奇的是，有些服务人员不是我们堂区的，甚至有非基督徒前来服务。哇！非基督徒也在做着基督徒同样的服务。在这种同样的服务中，基督徒和非基督徒有什么不同呢？

            有一天，一位记者问德肋撒姆姆她们修女们在印度服务穷人的意义。德肋撒姆姆告诉这位记者：我们的修女和我们团体的所有人不是在做一般的社会服务工作，我们是在贫穷的兄弟姐妹中服务我们的主耶稣基督。这是非基督徒和基督徒服务的不同。基督徒有一个新的做人准则。

            各位兄弟姐妹，作为基督徒，你们应该为自己而自豪。你们不仅有一个新生命，而且你们也为周围的人，为整个世界做了很多的服务，从帮助周围的兄弟姐妹，到援助各种灾难中的人们；从照顾孤寡老人到各种各样的医院和中心；从堂区的小孩子教理学习班到世界各地的小学，中学以及大学！所有基督徒的服务都是新生命的流露。

            基督徒的新生命标准是主耶稣的召叫，也是天主创造人的原初目的。天主让梅瑟教导人民：“你们应该是圣的，因为我，上主，你们的天主圣的。”成为“圣的”就是学习爱自己的邻人，就是以爱回应迫害我们的人。

2. 成全如同天父

        基督徒生活的新标准是如同天父一样成全，如同天父一样爱每个人。有时您可能会听到有人对你说：“所有宗教信仰都是一样的，都是教人行善。”下次您就可以告诉这类人：基督宗教是很不同的。成为基督徒不只是遵守伦理道德，或者成为团体中一位比较好的人。成为基督徒是为了成为成全的，如同天父一样成全，天父“使太阳上升，光照恶人，也光照善人；降雨给义人，也给不义的人。”做基督徒就是渴望过天主一样的生活，这是人最大的渴望，也是天主对人的邀请。

            有时我们基督徒也会有一种误会：“我们应该努力去爱人，之后，天父就会爱我们，也会回报我们。”不！这不是基督徒所理解的做人的方法。圣保禄提醒我们：“你们不知道，你们是天主的宫殿，天主圣神住在你们内吗？”因为我们是圣神的宫殿，因为天主圣神住在我们内，所以，我们是圣的。天主使我们成圣为完成天主的工作。基督徒不是靠我们自己的能力去行善，而是天主通过我们去爱人。我们基督徒是生活耶稣基督的生命。

作为基督徒，不要和其他人比较做人之道。税吏不是也爱那些爱自己的人吗？外邦人不是也问候自己的兄弟吗？你们做了什么特别的呢？主耶稣召叫所有的跟随者活一个天主的生命，和天主在一起的生命。这个天主的生命就是在现世和天主一起爱人，在将来享受天堂的永生。

3. 选择去爱

            圣保禄提醒我们：“一切都是你们的，你们却是基督的，而基督是天主的。”这就是生命神圣的秩序，这也是基督徒生命的视野。耶稣基督，降生成人的天主子，就是为了帮助我们将以自己为中心，以现世为中心的生活调整到以天主为中心的生活。在主耶稣内，我们知道每个人和整个世界属于天主圣父，每个人都是我们的兄弟姐妹。选择去爱是主耶稣基督的生活。选择去爱也是每一位基督徒的生命。在选择去爱我们的兄弟姐妹中，爱迫害的人中，我们生活天主的生命。基督徒是在主耶稣内的新的受造物。基督徒有一个新的生命准则：成为成全的，如同天父一样成全。

 

 

 

Be Perfect as Your Heavenly Father

Be Perfect as Your Heavenly Father

1.  New Criterion of life

In today's gospel, Jesus Christ gives all his followers a new criterion of life.  If you pay attention you will realize that the Jesus used a special sentence to express his teachings : "you heard that.... but I say to you...." Jesus Christ calls all his followers to have a new way of life.  This new way of life is not just to be better than others, but to live a life beyond our cultural life standard.

These days, we have about 250 homeless brothers and sisters here in our parish. We give thanks to God for this opportunity of serving our poorer brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ. Every evening, different groups of people come to serve them. And Fr. John comes to bless the food and people. I thought all the service would be provided by our parishioners, surprisingly to me, some others came to serve, but they are not our parishioners, or even non-Christians. Wow! the non-Christians are doing the same service as Christians are doing. What is the difference between Christian and non-Christian here?  One day, a journalist asked Mother Theresa about their work of serving the poor people in India. Mother Theresa told the journalist: we are not doing social work, we serve Jesus Christ our Lord among the poor brothers and sisters. This is the difference between Christian and no-Christian. Christians have a new vision of life; Christians have a new criterion of being human.

Christians, you should be proud of yourselves. You not only have a new life, but also have already done great works for helping others, for bring hopes in this world.  You not only serve the people in need in our community, but also through "together in Mission", you share with tens of thousands of poor brothers and sisters around LA and beyond. 

 

The new criterion of being human is a call from Jesus Christ, it is also the original purpose of God's creation.  In the first reading, God asked Moses to tell people: "be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy." Being holy means to love our neighbors, to respond to everyone, even our enemies with love.

2. Be perfect as your heavenly Father

The new criterion of Christian life is our Heavenly Father.  You may have heard someone say to you that "all the religions are same; they tell people to do good." But next time, tell this person: Christianity is really different.  Being Christian is not just to following some moral rules, or becoming a better person in community.  Being Christian is to become perfect, just as our Heavenly Father is perfect.

There was a misunderstanding that we should try our best to work hard to love others, and then, God will love us and will repay us.  No, this is not the Christian understanding of being human. In the second reading, St. Paul reminds us that "you are the temple of God, and the Spirit of God dwells in you." As we are the temple of God, we are holy.  God makes us holy to do God's work. It is not our ability to do good things, it is God who does good things though us. As Christians, we live a life in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Do not compare yourselves with others. Do not the tax collectors love those who love them? Do not the pagans greet their brothers?  Jesus calls all his followers to have a life of God, a life of God in this world to love others and life of God in Eternity.

3. Choose to love

St. Paul reminds us that "all belongs to you, and you to Christ, and Christ to God." This is the holy order of life, and this is the horizon of Christian life.  Jesus Christ, the incarnated God, wants to readjust the order of our human life from self-centered and world-centered to God centered.  In Jesus Christ, we have the vision of seeing everybody and the whole world belonging to God the Father, everyone is our brother and sister.  God is love. Jesus Christ is the way of love. Choosing to love is also our Christian way of life. In choosing to love our brothers and sisters, to love the ones who persecute us, to love our enemies, we live a life of God. Christians are a new creation in Jesus Christ. Christians have a new standard way of life: being perfect, as your Heavenly Father is perfect.