2017-12-19

朋友们，在今天的福音中，路加给我们介绍洗者若翰的父母。我们绝对清晰地看到若翰是个司祭式人物。他父亲匝加利亚是个圣殿司祭，他母亲依撒伯尔是史上第一位司祭亚郎的后代。

 

快进三十年后，若翰出现在沙漠里。第一个问题是：“为什么这个司祭之子不在圣殿里尽职？”第二个问题是：“为什么群众从耶路撒冷出来跟他交流？”第一个问题的答案是他对当时已经腐朽的圣殿作出预言性的批判。第二个问题的答案是他在沙漠中执行着无罪的圣殿司祭的职责。他的洗礼是一种仪式性的洗涤和鼓励人们悔改，而这些正是虔诚的犹太人去圣殿的原因。

 

当耶稣来受洗，若翰喊道：“看，天主的羔羊。”那一刻，画面随之变得完美。若翰的话明显就是圣殿语言。他的意思是将要成为祭品的那一位已经到来。祂身兼司祭、圣殿和祭品三职。而若翰这个司祭式人物已经完成任务，是时候退隐了。

 

Friends, in today’s Gospel, Luke tells us about John the Baptist’s parents. We see with utter clarity that John is a priestly figure. Zechariah, his father, is a Temple priest and Elizabeth, his mother, is a descendant of Aaron, the very first priest.

 

Now flash forward thirty years and see John emerging in the desert. The first question is, "Why is this son of a priest not working in the Temple?" And the second is, "Why are the people going out from Jerusalem to commune with him?" The answer to the first is that he is engaging in a prophetic critique of a Temple that has gone bad. And the answer to the second is that he is performing the acts of a purified Temple priest out in the desert. His baptism was a ritual cleansing and a spur to repent, precisely what a pious Jew would have sought in the Temple.

 

And the picture becomes complete when Jesus arrives to be baptized and John says, "Behold, the Lamb of God." This is explicitly Temple talk. He is saying that the one who is to be sacrificed has arrived. He is the fulfillment of priesthood, Temple, and sacrifice. The priestly figure has done his work, and now he fades away.

 

2017-12-20

朋友们，在今天的福音中，我们读到天使给玛利亚的报喜。加俾额尔对这位童贞女如是说：“你将怀孕生子，并要给他起名叫耶稣…上主天主要把他祖先达味的御座赐给他。他要为王统治雅各伯家，直到永远；他的王权没有终结。”

 

所有公元一世纪的以色列人都会明白这些话的意思：这个孩子将实现天主向达味王许下的承诺。

 

也就是说，这个孩子事实上就是世界之王，将为世人带来统一和和平。以色列人越来越深信这位神秘的达味后裔将永远统治万国，而不是暂时性和世俗性的。这位最终的犹太王将是全世界之王，也将是我们的王。

 

Friends, in today’s Gospel of Luke, we find the Annunciation to Mary. Here is what Gabriel said to the Virgin: "Thou shalt conceive in thy womb and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus…The Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end."

 

No first-century Israelite would have missed the meaning here: this child shall be the fulfillment of the promise made to King David.

 

And this means that the child is, in fact, the king of the world, the one who would bring unity and peace to the nations. The conviction grew upon Israel that this mysterious descendent of David would be king, not just for a time and not just in an earthly sense, but would rule forever and for all nations. This definitive king of the Jews would be king of the world. He would be our king, as well.