2018-5-3

朋友们，今天我们读到《若望福音》第十四章的奇妙神秘的一段。众门徒在最后的晚餐时紧紧围绕着耶稣、提出问题、找寻智慧。

 

听听耶稣的说话：“你们若认识我，也就必然认识我父；现在你们已认识他，并且已经看见他。” 保禄把耶稣称为“无形天主的肖像”。耶稣和保禄说的意思是耶稣说的是圣父的话，做的是圣父的事。

 

最初受选的门徒之一斐理伯依然不得要领。他说：“把父显示给我们。”他不得的要领就是圣言的谦卑：“我对你们所说的话，不是凭我自己讲的；而是住在我内的父，作他自己的事业。”耶稣的说话和行事都不是“祂自己的”，而是来自圣父。

 

Friends, today we read the wonderful and mysterious passage from the fourteenth chapter of John’s Gospel. The disciples are gathered around Jesus at the Last Supper, abiding in intimacy with him, asking questions and seeking wisdom.

 

Then listen to Jesus’ words: "If you know me, then you will also know my Father. From now on, you do know him and have seen him." Paul refers to Jesus as the "icon of the invisible God." What both Jesus and Paul are saying is that Jesus’ words are the Father’s words and his deeds are the Father’s deeds.

 

Philip, one of the first disciples chosen, still doesn’t get this. He says, "Master, show us the Father." What he missed was the humility of the Logos: "The words that I speak to you I do not speak on my own. The Father who dwells in me is doing his works." Neither the words nor the deeds of Jesus are "his own." They are received from the Father.

 

2018-5-4

朋友们，今天的福音教我们以天主的爱去爱。整个基督生活在此显露无遗：天主就是爱。换句话说，天主是以他人名义来掏空自己的礼物。这么说，矛盾是拥有天主就要像天主一样——即奉献自己的生命。

 

于是，我们就明白耶稣口中喜乐和诫命的联系：“这是我的命令：你们该彼此相爱，如同我爱了你们一样。”由此，我们开始理解律法、命令和教会的要求。这一切都是为了让我们更擅于奉献自己——更擅于爱。

 

不可偷盗、不可杀人、不可贪你近人的财物和妻子、孝敬你的父母、崇拜天主，这些诫命——无论语气是肯定还是否定——都是为了唤起我们生活中的爱。

 

Friends, today’s Gospel instructs us in the way of loving others with God’s love. The whole of the Christian life is on display here: God is love. In other words, God is a self-emptying gift on behalf of the other. But this means, paradoxically, that to have God is to be what God is—and that means giving one’s life away.

 

Now we see the link that Jesus suggests between joy and commandment: “This is my commandment: love one another as I love you.” Now we begin to understand the laws, commands, and demands of the Church. All are designed to make us more adept at giving ourselves away—more adept at love.

 

Don’t steal; don’t kill; don’t covet your neighbor’s goods or wife; honor your mother and father; worship God. All of these commands—positive and negative—are meant to awaken love in our lives.