赎罪祭

读经:

创15：1-6， 21：1-3

咏105：1-6、8-9

希11：8.11-12、17-19

路2：22-40

在以色列——旧约子民伊始之初，有一对夫妻：亚巴辣罕和撒辣。在教会——新约子民伊始之初，也有一对夫妻：若瑟和玛利亚。两对夫妻都从天主那里得了恩许要有后裔。对前者，此恩许给了亚巴辣罕，他娶了妻，但年老未孕，没有子嗣（创16：1）。对后者，此恩许给了童贞女，她不认识，或者很有可能她决定不认识“男人”（路1:34；若望·保禄二世在“男人和女人，祂创造了他们”中的教导）。两个恩许都已实现。关于撒辣，圣经说：“上主照所许的，眷顾了撒辣；上主对撒辣实践了他所说的话”（创21：1）。玛利亚和若瑟今天献耶稣于圣殿（路2:22）。

两个儿子——依撒格和耶稣，都是天主恩许的儿子。两位母亲——撒辣和玛利亚，凭借信心和信德回应了此恩许，并得到了“怀孕生子的能力”（希11:11）。因着孩子的诞生，两个婚姻成了两个家庭。亚巴辣罕的家庭出现在以色列的开始，圣家出现于教会的开始。而且这两个家庭并不相互对立；反之，若瑟、玛利亚和耶稣之家，植根于亚巴辣罕、撒辣和依撒格之家。 “亚巴辣罕之子，达味之子耶稣基督的族谱”（玛1：1）。据玛窦所说，若瑟是达味的后裔（玛1：2-16；路1:27）。正如圣家植根于亚巴辣罕之家一样，教会也是从以色列成长起来的。因此，赐给亚巴辣罕的恩许得以实现。“请你仰观苍天，数点星辰，你的后裔也将这样多”（创15：5-6）。

当天主的恩许与信德相遇时，奇迹便会随之而来。当一个人相信在天主内没有不可能的事，而且相信上主有能力实现祂的恩许时候，伟大的事情就会发生。撒辣怀抱她的独生子，惊讶地说：“我在他老年，却给他生了个儿子”（创21：7）。玛利亚高声唱道：“全能者对我做了奇事”（路1:49）。依撒格的诞生是一个奇迹，耶稣基督的诞生也是一个奇迹。在父母的照顾下，两个孩子都长大成人，天主的恩宠常在他们身上（路2:40）。

今天，玛利亚和若瑟把婴儿耶稣带到耶路撒冷圣殿。根据编年纪记载，这座殿宇是被建在摩黎雅山上的（编下3：1）；而就在这同一座山上，亚巴辣罕曾把儿子依撒格献给天主（创22：2）。而且，依撒格爬山时肩上背着祭献要用的柴火（创22：6）；同样的事情会发生在基督身上。在耶稣受难日（圣周五），祂肩背十字圣木，攀登加尔瓦略山。上主的使者阻止了亚巴辣罕的手，因此这位圣祖“把依撒格得了回来以作预像”（希11:19）。这个预像包含了关于耶稣死而复活的预言。

两个家庭之间间隔了将近两千年的时间，但是他们又是如何趋同。在他们的历史中，我们看到了圣奥斯定简洁表达出的奥秘：“新约隐藏于旧约，旧约彰显于新约”。在读经一（创21 ：1-3）和读经二（希11：11-12、17-19）中所呈现的有关依撒格的故事中隐藏了基督的奥秘，这在献耶稣于圣殿的情景中彰显了出来（路2：22-40）。“他自己就是赎罪祭，赎我们的罪过，不但赎我们的，而且也赎全世界的罪过”（若一2：2）。

The Mother of God

Readings: Numbers 6:22-27; Psalm 67:2-6.8; Galatians 4:4-7;Luke 2:16-21

One of the most beautiful titles given to the Blessed Virgin Mary is Theotokos. Mary gives birth in time to the incarnate Son of God, and with His coming, the world will never be the same again. Indeed, “the fullness of time has come” (Gal 4:4) and Mary opens the door of the new year. There are 365 new days ahead of us. We want them to be filled with God’s blessing, but it can only happen when Christ enters our lives. “God sent forth his Son begotten of a woman” (Gal 4: 4). It was Mary who brought forth Christ into the world, and it is Mary who can bring Christ into our lives.

Together with the shepherds, we throw everything and run to Bethlehem to see the infant lying in the manger (Luke 2:16). When we kneel down by the manger, we receive a blessing. It includes God’s protection, mercy, grace and “shalom – peace,” that is, prosperity, health and a sense of fulfillment. In Jesus we see the shining face of the Lord, because “He is the image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15). In Jesus we find all the hidden treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Col. 2:3). The coming of Christ into this world and into our lives is the confirmation of God’s mercy and His kindness. “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son” (John 3:16).

Looking at the infant lying the manger, we cannot forget that He came “to redeem us” from the bondage of the Law (Gal 4: 5). Today, we gloss over the revolutionary message of this sentence. The holy Law given to the Israelites by Moses became impossible to bear. The first Pope compared this Law to a yoke, “which neither our fathers nor we could bear” (Acts 15:10). In the teaching of Saint Paul, Law, Sin and Death create a triad that enslave humans. “For sin, having received a stimulus by the commandment, deceived me and thereby killed me” (Romans 7:11). It is from this bondage that Christ releases us. What a wonderful exchange. Instead of the stone tablets, the Holy Spirit, and instead of captivity, the freedom of God’s children.

We begin the new year in freedom of God’s children and full of blessing. The moment is coming to get up from our knees and return to our homes. Once again, we look at the scene of the Lord’s birth, and in Mary pondering “all these words in her heart” (Luke 2:19), we find an invitation to prayer with the Scriptures. We are called to bring Christ to the world, but to make it possible, the Word of God must live in our hearts. Thus, we must read, ponder, and keep it in our hearts. “Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ” (Saint Jerome). Let the daily reading of the Holy Bible become our New Year’s resolution.

The Atoning Sacrifice

Readings: Gen 15:1-6; 21:1-3; Psalm 105:1-6.8-9; Heb 11:8.11-12.17-19; Luke 2:22-40

At the beginning of Israel – the people of the Old Covenant – there is a couple: Abraham and Sarah. At the beginning of the Church – the people of the New Testament – there is also a couple: Jospeh and Mary. Both couples received from God the promise of a descendant. In the first case, the promise was addressed to Abraham, an old man married to a woman, who had borne him no children (Gen 16:1). In the second case, the promise was given to the virgin, who did not know and most probably decided not to know “a man” (Luke 1:34, the teaching of John Paul II in “Man and Woman He created them”). Both promises has been realized. With regard to Sarah, the Scripture says: “As the Lord foretold, he took care of Sarah and fulfilled his promise” (Gen. 21: 1). And Mary and Joseph are offering today Jesus in the temple (Luke 2:22).

Both sons – Isaac and Jesus – are children of God’s promise. Both mothers, Sarah and Mary, responded to this promise with faith and by faith they received the “power for conception” (Heb 11:11). With the birth of these children, both marriages were transformed into a family. Abraham’s family stands at the beginning of Israel, and the Holy Family at the beginning of the Church. However, these families do not stand in opposition to each other. On the contrary. The family of Joseph, Mary and Jesus is rooted in the family of Abraham, Sarah and Isaac. “This is the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham” (Matt. 1: 1). According to Matthew, Joseph was a descendent of David (Mt 1: 2-16, Luke 1:27). Just as the Holy Family has its roots in the family of Abraham, so the Church grew out of Israel. Thus, the promise given to Abraham was fulfilled. “Look at the sky and count the stars if you can count them. So shall Your offspring be. “(Gen. 15: 6).

When God’s promise meets with faith, miracles follow. When a person believes that nothing is impossible for God and that the Lord has the power to fulfill what He has promised, great things take place. Holding in her arms her only child, Sarah said in astonishment: “Yet I gave birth to a son despite an advanced age” (Gen. 21: 7). And Mary cried: “The Almighty has done great things to me” (Luke 1:49). The birth of Isaac was a miracle and so was the birth of Jesus Christ. Under the loving care of their parents, both sons grew and became strong, and God’s grace rested upon them (Luke 2:40).

Today Mary and Joseph bring the infant Jesus to the temple in Jerusalem. According to the Chronicles, this temple was built on Mount Moriah (2 Chronicles 3:1), on the same hill where Abraham once offered his son Isaac to God (Gen. 22:2). Moreover, Isaac, while climbing up the mountain, carried the wood for the burn offering on his shoulders (Gen. 22: 6). The same will happen to Christ. On Good Friday he will carry the wood of the cross while climbing the hill of Golgotha. The angel of the Lord restrained Abraham’s hand and the great patriarch “obtained [his son] in a parable” (Heb. 11:19). This parable contained a prophecy about the death and resurrection of Jesus.

Nearly two thousand years set the two families apart, and yet how convergent their fate is. In their history, we glimpse at the mystery succinctly expressed by Saint Augustine: “The New Testament lies hidden in the Old and the Old is unveiled/manifested in the New”. In the story of Isaac presented to us in the first (Gen 21:1-3) and the second reading (Heb 11:11-12.17-19) lies hidden the mystery of Christ revealed to us today in the scene of Jesus’ presentation in the temple (Luke 2:22-40). “He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world“ (1 John 2:2).