Thursday, July 30, 2015

What The Human Eyes Cannot See



Summer in Toronto is a beauty. Too bad it is so short. This summer of mine began with an 8-day cruise trip from Vancouver to Alaska, in which I was reunited – or reacquainted – with 3 very good secondary school classmates whom I had not seen for almost 40 years. Every evening on the cruise, we would gather in my cabin to play “catch-up”, rediscovering 40 missing years of one another’s whereabouts, undertakings, accomplished ideals, and unfulfilled aspirations.

At one of the evening meetings, I recounted the story of my personal conversion, how it happened to me almost 20 years ago, and how it changed me drastically from a “Church rebel” to an apologist whose life now featured only Christ and the Church as its centerpiece. They listened to my story intently and with great respect. At the same time, if my perception was correct, there was also a little bit of skepticism. “Really…?”

Maybe the perceived skepticism was just suspicion on my part. But if it was true, I wouldn’t blame them. After all, they knew me well. They remembered well my shortcomings as a youth. They knew where I came from, how I grew up, how I used to crave for “good look”, earthly success, and honor. “Ah, so all of a sudden you want to be a saint, eh? I see…” They probably believed they got me “figured out”.

What they could not figure out – what the human eyes could not see and human reason could not fathom – however, was my spiritual transformation, which my personal misdeeds and shortcomings, no matter how bad, could not impede; and my ancestral roots, whether extraordinary or common, could not generate. It was the work of the Holy Spirit who, like the wind, “blows where it wills” (Jn 3:8). It was God’s grace that saved in spite of my wretchedness; illuminated in spite of my blindness; and lifted aloft in spite of my lowliness.

Jesus’ contemporaries also thought they had Jesus figured out because they knew his family and where he came from (cf. Jn 6:42). How could the carpenter’s son whom they knew so well make the ridiculous claim that he “came down from heaven” (Jn 6:41), they wondered. Jesus’ true identity is something no human eyes can see and no human reason can fathom because it is of divine origin. So is the conversion of a sinner's heart.

Friday, July 10, 2015

在支流源頭的大湖暢泳

我的高齡老父與二姊及數位弟妹分别在纽約各區居住。家人的宗教信仰,可說滿天神佛:有信天主教的,有基督教,守望台,還有天道和無教。其中一位仍在追尋信仰的弟弟,喜愛轉寄一些談論如何做人處事的電郵,作者們來自不同宗教背景,其中不乏有識之士和名人。前兩天,他送出的電郵提及一位年老神父所說的處世心得,我看後答覆如下:

聖經經文引用得很好,文中好幾点做人處世的道理也很精警和獨到。作者平安喜樂的心境和對天主的信靠,在分享中表露無遺。

但對於你,我的忠告仍是那一句:要活在真善美的源頭內,不要在千千萬萬的支流裡尋尋覓覓。文中生活體驗各点,皆充滿真理和智慧,但這些真理和智慧就像千千萬萬的支流裡的礦物,有金,有銀,有瑪瑙和很多奇珍異寶,每一粒礦物都很珍貴。但人要在千千萬萬的支流裡尋覓它們,始終太費氣力了,而且所獲有限,也不完備。最好的方法是離開八陣圖般的支流,走到礦物源頭的大湖中,那處甚麽礦物都有,而且豐富。

這源頭在那裡?怎麽去?其實源頭離你不遠,就在福音中,就在教會內。信耶穌,接受他的救恩就是所有奇珍異寶的源頭。人當信從他,光榮他,將他活於世上;做得不足之處,耶穌救恩能為人承擔一切,就像巨鷹展翅,乘著幼雛在高空自由飛翔一般。我在礦物源頭的大湖中暢泳,悠然自得,看見千萬有心羣眾,如螻蟻般在各支流中轉動,營營役役而所獲無幾,間中也有被急流冲走的,實心有不忍,決定要幫助他們與我共享這源頭的大湖。我提前退休,致力福傳,就是為了這個原因。

另一点要提醒你的是,世間大部份宗教學說都犯了同一錯誤:它們都著重自救(例如主張靠做學問,靠自己努力尋求智慧,靠自己修身養性,靠做善事為自己和子孫「積陰德」等),不明白人軟弱罪惡,無力自救的道理。所以基督徒相信貴為天主,無限完美的耶稣,是將人和天連接上的唯一道路、真理、生命,除非經過他,世上没一人能靠自己的力量去到天主那裡,與衪全面和永恆地結合(即得救上天堂)。

在尋求真理的路途上,望謹記以上兩點提示,時常反覆思量。縱使今天不明白和不相信,只要你願意謙卑自下,保持心靈開放,天主無限慈悲,在聖神助佑下,總有一天祂會助你頑石點頭,將鐵石的心換上血肉的心。願共勉,並互相代禱!