神父講道 – 常年期第二十三週 (週一) (2010年9月6日)

恭讀聖路加福音 6:6-11
在一個安息日,耶穌進了會堂施教。在那裏有一個人,他的右手乾枯了。經師和法利塞人窺察他是否在安息日治病,好尋找藉口控告他。他看透了他們的心思,就對那枯了手的人說:「起來,站在中間!」他遂站了起來。耶穌對他們說:「我問你們:安息日是許行善呢?還是許作惡呢?是救命呢?還是喪命呢?」他環視眾人一週,就對那人說:「伸出你的手來!」那人照樣一做,他的手便復了原。他們狂怒填胸,彼此商議,要怎樣來對付耶穌。
—基督的福音。

(23rd Week in Ordinary Time – Monday)

A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to Luke 6:6-11

6 On another Sabbath, when he entered the synagogue and taught, a man was there whose right hand was withered. 7 And the scribes and the Pharisees watched him, to see whether he would heal on the Sabbath, so that they might find an accusation against him. 8 But he knew their thoughts, and he said to the man who had the withered hand, “Come and stand here.” And he rose and stood there. 9 And Jesus said to them, “I ask you, is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to destroy it?” 10 And he looked around on them all, and said to him, “Stretch out your hand.” And he did so, and his hand was restored. 11 But they were filled with fury and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.

—The Gospel of the Lord.

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生活聖言 (2010年9月)

「我不對你說:直到七次。而是到七十個七次。」(瑪18:22)

二零一零年九月份 生活聖言

這是耶穌給伯多祿的回答。伯多祿聽到耶穌那許多令人驚異的話之後,就問耶穌說:「主啊!若我的弟兄得罪了我,我該寛恕他多少次?直到七次嗎?」耶穌對他說:

「我不對你說:直到七次。而是到七十個七次。」

可能伯多祿受到『師傅』的勸諭所感動,以他那既善良又慷慨的個性,他決定豁出去,按照新的生活方式去生活,做一些特別的事:寛恕別人,甚至到七次……。
可是耶穌的回答『七十個七次』,表示耶穌所要求的寛恕是沒有限度的:我們該不斷的寛恕。

「我不對你說:直到七次。而是到七十個七次。」

這句聖言令人想到亞當的後裔拉默客,他曾說:「殺加音的受罰是七倍,殺拉默客的是七十七倍。」(創4 :24)。如此,憎恨在人類之間就傳佈開來,像一條暴漲的河流。
為了遏止邪惡的擴張,耶穌提出這個沒有次數限制,而且無條件的寛恕,能終止暴力的惡性循環。
惟有寛恕能阻止邪惡的浪潮,帶給人類的未來免於自我毀滅的可能。

「我不對你說:直到七次。而是到七十個七次。」

我們要寛恕,不斷的寛恕。寛恕不等於忘記,因它往往意味著不願意去面對現實。寛恕也不是軟弱,不會因為犯錯的人比我更強而忽視他的錯誤。寛恕並不表 示忽略錯誤所造成的嚴重後果,或者把壞事當成好事。寛恕並非無所謂。寛恕是一個意志清晰的行動,因此,它是一個完全自由的行動,這意味著我們完全接受一個 兄弟或姊妹,即使他對我們做了不好的事,就好像雖然我們都有缺點,天主卻接納了我們。
寛恕表示,不以傷害人的方式,來回應別人對我的傷害,相反的,要像聖保祿教導我們的去做:「你不可為惡所勝,反應以善勝惡。」(羅12:21)
寛恕表示,給予傷害你的人一個機會,與你重新和好,也就是給他,也給你自己一個機會,重新開創一個未來,在那裡,『惡』將不是最後的勝利者。

「我不對你說:直到七次。而是到七十個七次。」

我們如何生活這句聖言呢?
伯多祿曾經問耶穌:「我該寛恕我的弟兄多少次?」伯多祿說『我們弟兄』。所以,當耶穌回答他的時候,祂心中所想的主要是基督徒之間的關係,也就是在同一個團體成員之間的關係。
因此,我們首先對那些分享同一信仰的兄弟姊妹——無論在家庭、辦公室、工廠、學校或所參與的團體中的人,該懷有寛恕的態度。
我們知道在被冒犯之後,是多麽容易以同類的說話或行動來回應他人。我們也知道,由於性格的差別、緊張的情緒或其他原因,一起生活的人很容易失去愛心。因此,我們不要忘記,只有寛恕的態度,不斷重新寛恕的態度,才能保有和平與合一。
我們很容易想到他人的缺點,記起他們的過去,希望他們能夠改變……。
因此,我們要養成一種習慣,以新的眼光去看他們,好像第一次遇到他們一樣,隨時隨地,立刻而且沒有保留的接受他們,即使他們還不知悔改。
你可能會說:「喔!這真困難!」你說得沒錯。不過,這正是基督信仰美麗的地方;也是我們追隨基督要付出的代價。祂在十字架上,為那些造成祂死亡的人向天父祈求寛恕,然後,祂復活了。
拿出勇氣來,讓我們開始一個這樣的生活,我們將會體驗到從未體驗過的平安,以及從未嚐過的喜樂。

Word of Life – Sept 2010

“I say to you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times” (Mt. 18:22)

September 2010

Jesus addressed these words to Peter, who, after listening to the marvelous things Jesus was saying, put this question to him: “Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus replied: “Not seven times, but seventy-seven times.”
Most likely, Peter had been deeply struck by the Lord’s preaching and, being a good and generous person, he had decided to throw himself into the new course of action that Jesus was advocating. He was ready to do something he considered quite exceptional for him, to forgive “as many as seven times.” Judaism, in fact, accepted the idea of forgiving two, three, at the most four times.
But by responding, “seventy-seven times,” Jesus is saying that the kind of forgiveness he wants has no limits. We must forgive always.

“I say to you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.”

This phrase calls to mind the biblical song of Lamech, a descendent of Adam: “If Cain is avenged sevenfold, then Lamech seventy-sevenfold” (Gen 4:24). Thus hatred began to spread among the people of the world, swelling like a river at flood time into an ever-growing sea of hate.
Against this spreading of evil, Jesus proposes an unlimited and unconditional forgiveness that is capable of breaking the cycle of violence.
Only forgiveness can stem this tide of ill will and offer the human race a future that promises something other than self-destruction.

“I say to you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.”

We need to forgive, to forgive always. Forgiving is not the same as forgetting, which often indicates a reluctance to face the situation. Nor is forgiveness a sign of weakness; it does not mean ignoring a wrong that we might have suffered out of fear of the stronger person who committed it. Forgiveness does not consist in calling what is serious, trivial, or what is evil, good. Forgiveness is not indifference. Forgiveness is a conscious act of the will, and therefore a free act.
It means accepting our neighbors as they are, notwithstanding the wrong done to us, just as God accepts us sinners, notwithstanding our faults. Forgiveness is not passive, that is, not returning one offense for another, but puts into action what St. Paul urges us to do: “Do not be conquered by evil, but conquer evil with good” (Rom 12:21).
Forgiveness consists in offering the one who has wronged you the opportunity to have a new relationship with you. It makes it possible for both of you to start life over again, and to experience a future in which evil will not have the last word.

“I say to you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.”

How shall we live these words.
Peter had asked Jesus: “How often must I forgive my brother?” Peter speaks of “my brother.” When answering him, then, Jesus had in mind above all the relationships among Christians, among members of the same community.
Therefore, we must act in this way first of all toward those who share our faith in our family, at work, at school, and so on.
We know that someone who is offended by some word or action is often tempted to respond with a similar word or action. And we know that even persons who live in the same house often fail in loving because of differences in personality, because they are irritable, or for some other reason. We must, therefore, never forget that we can maintain peace and unity only by constantly renewing our attitude of forgiveness.
We will always be tempted to think of the others’ imperfections, to remember their past, to wish that they were different. But we need to acquire the habit of looking at them with new eyes, and seeing them as new persons, always accepting them immediately and without reservation, even if they do not repent.
You might say, “But that’s hard!” And you are right. This is the challenge posed by Christianity. We are, after all, following a God who, as he was dying on the cross, asked his Father to forgive those who had caused his death. And he was raised from the dead.
Let’s take courage. Let’s begin to live like this. We will find a peace we have never before experienced, and a joy we have never known.

By Chiara Lubich

The Word of Life, taken from Scripture, is offered each month as a guide and inspiration for daily living. From the Focolare’s beginnings, Chiara Lubich wrote her commentaries on each Word of Life, and after her death in March 2008, her early writings are now being featured once again. This commentary, addressed to a primarily Christian audience, was originally published in September 1999.

This commentary on the Word of Life is translated into 96 different languages and dialects and reaches several million people worldwide through print, radio, TV and the Internet. On page 24 you will find experiences some of our readers shared in their efforts to live a previous month’s Word of Life.

默主哥耶聖母訊息 (2010年9月2日)

September 2, 2010 Message to Mirjana
“Dear children, I am beside you because I desire to help you to overcome trials, which this time of purification puts before you. My children, one of those is not to forgive and not to ask for forgiveness. Every sin offends Love and distances you from it – and Love is my Son. Therefore, my children, if you desire to walk with me towards the peace of God’s love, you must learn to forgive and to ask for forgiveness. Thank you.” (Mirjana 09/02/2010)
可愛的孩子們:
我在你們的身邊,好能幫助你們克服誘惑,因為這是你們潔淨自己的時刻。假若你們不寬恕別人的話,也很難期望得到寬恕。
每一罪過都是相反愛德,與愛德背道而馳。我的聖子便是愛的本身。
孩子們,假若你們要和我一起走這和平之路,便要寬恕別人,並且祈求天主的寬恕。
感謝你們。
聖母於2010年9月2日給Mirjana的訊息
梁達材神父躬譯