接待人的赏报
（玛 10:37-42）
各位弟兄姐妹：
在我们的生活中，我们都有过接待人的经验，我们喜欢被接待，因为那等同于被人服事，感觉总是令人非常舒服。但是今天弥撒的读经却劝勉我们要接待别人。因为主耶稣说“谁接纳你们，就是接纳我；谁接纳我，就是接纳那派遣我来的。谁接纳一位先知，因他是先知，将领受先知的赏报；谁接纳一位义人，因他是义人，将领受义人的赏报。谁若只给这些小子中的一个，一杯凉水喝，因他是门徒，我实在告诉你们，他决失不了他的赏报。”现在我就以“接待人的赏报”为道理题目，跟大家分享今天的弥撒读经。
一、接待人即接待主
主耶稣说“谁接纳你们，就是接纳我；谁接纳我，就是接纳那派遣我来的。”主耶稣的这段话告诉了我们，我们接待一个人，不仅是接待了主耶稣，而且还接待了派遣主耶稣到世上来的天主父。
每年11月11日，我们教会纪念圣人玛尔定主教。玛尔定出生在非基督徒家庭，十五岁时加入军队，由于他认为当军人与自己的信仰有冲突而退伍转入隐修，并在多年后被推选为都尔的主教。
据说他在参军期间，在一个寒冷的冬天，他在路上遇到一个衣不蔽体的乞丐，在向人求施舍，但得不到一点施舍。没有带银钱的玛尔定拔剑把自己的外套割为两段，把一半送给那乞丐。当夜，他梦中见到耶稣穿着他已送给那乞丐的一半外套，感到诧异，主对他说：“你今天做在最需要的人身上，就是为我做的。”
圣经上说：“不可忘了款待旅客，曾有人因此于不知不觉中款待了天使。”（希13:1）
各位弟兄姐妹，我们堂口有一个教堂接待组，教友们不论刮风下雨、不论酷暑严寒，轮流在教堂值班，接待来往教堂的教友和游客。在七、八月份还要增加供应茶水活动，给路过的行人送上一杯凉茶水。在此特别地感谢他们，同时我也希望有更多的教友参与到教堂接待组中，与天主有更多的相遇的机会，主耶稣对我们说，我们接待一个人，不仅是接待了主耶稣，而且还接待了天主父。
第十九届杭州亚（残）运会将于今年九月份在我们杭州举行。为服务亚（残）运会，我们杭州堂还特别组织了亚运会接待服务组，已有40多人参加，昨天还参加了统一的接待礼仪培训。我希望有更多的教友以不同的方式积极服务亚运会，尽好东道主之责，见证我们杭州天主教徒的美好形象。
二、接待人的赏报
今天的弥撒读经不仅劝勉我们要接待人，而且还告诉我们，接待人会得天主丰富的赏报。
主耶稣说：“谁接纳一位先知，因他是先知，将领受先知的赏报；谁接纳一位义人，因他是义人，将领受义人的赏报。谁若只给这些小子中的一个，一杯凉水喝，因他是门徒，我实在告诉你们，他决失不了他的赏报。”主耶稣的这段话告诉我们：大施舍，大赏报；小施舍，小赏报；不施舍，没赏报。圣经中有很多有关接待人而得天主不同赏报的故事。
1.今天弥撒的读经一列王纪下记载，有一天，厄里叟先知路过一个名叫叔能的小地方，有一个富贵的妇女请他去她家里吃饭，以后他就经常在那妇人家里作不速之客。那妇人看他很有圣德，认为他是个天主的人，在她丈夫的同意下，就把先知接到自己家里居住。她因为有一片好心，对旅客实行爱德，在天主的赐恩下，怀孕生了一个儿子。
2.创世记18章记载，亚巴郎因为热情款待三位客人，像贵宾一样，供应食宿。上主就赐给亚巴郎在晚年的时候生了一个儿子。（创18：1-15）
3.有一个漆东匝尔法特的寡妇，她家只剩一把面和一点油，准备把它们做成饼，同自己的儿子吃了，然后准备等死。但她因为愿意把最后救命的几个饼送给厄里亚先知吃，她就因为接待先知厄里亚而救活了自己和儿子。（列上17：8-24）
4.主耶稣曾来到伯达尼的村庄传福音，有一个女人玛尔大就把耶稣接到自己家中，款待他们。后来，她的弟弟拉匝禄生病死了四天了，主耶稣叫他从死里复活。接待主耶稣的恩典是何等大啊！
各位弟兄姐妹，人一生在世上做的许多事都是虚空的，唯有凭爱心所结的果子，将来天主必大大施恩给我们。若爱心做在弟兄中一个最小的身上，就是做在主身上了，这些人要往永生里去；若爱心不做在弟兄中一个最小的身上，就是不做在主身上了，这些人要往永罚里去（参玛25:32-46）。若“不爱他看得见的弟兄，怎能爱看不见的天主呢？”（参若壹4：20），所以爱人就是爱天主。
“施比受更为有福”，我们这样行不仅让自己蒙恩得福，也是道德上的要求。美国思想家爱默生说：“自己要活下去，要让别人活下去，要帮助别人活下去。”这就是道德。基督徒的道德标准要更高些，知善不行就是罪。古人云：“不以善小而不为，不以恶小而为之。”让我们都能献上一杯凉水，解决许多人的干渴，一同享受从天主而来的恩典和祝福。
结语：
各位弟兄姐妹，主耶稣说：“谁接纳你们，就是接纳我；谁接纳我，就是接纳那派遣我来的。谁接纳一位先知，因他是先知，将领受先知的赏报；谁接纳一位义人，因他是义人，将领受义人的赏报。谁若只给这些小子中的一个，一杯凉水喝，因他是门徒，我实在告诉你们，他决失不了他的赏报。”让我们积极主动地参与堂口接待组的活动，让我们在生活中多多热情地接待每一个有需要的人。愿慈爱的天主赐福你们，并与你们同在！阿们！
Let us walk in the newness of life
My brothers and sisters in Jesus, during today’s readings, we heard the Holy Spirit calling out to us to walk in the newness of life.
In the Name of the Holy Trinity, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, we have received the Church Sacrament of Baptism. Through faith in Jesus and the Sacrament of Baptism, we died with Jesus, we were buried with Him and we resurrected with Him. Through the Sacrament of Baptism, we received a new heart and spirit.
Through Jesus, now indebted to Him for ever for the promise of the inheritance of the Kingdom of God, we are called to walk in the newness of life.
Having died with Christ, we are called to be dead to sin. Accordingly, we are not supposed to be as we were before. When we were born, we were contaminated by the original sin. Consequently, we were called to be deprived of the eternal glory of the children of God. Through Christ, in the blessed hope of eternal life in the heavenly Kingdom, we received a new heart and spirit of the “godly seed.” [1 Jn. 3:9] Through our new nature, we now long for what is righteous. We seek to “worship the Father in spirit and truth.” [Jn. 4:23] We seek to shine in the “fruit of the Holy Spirit, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. [Gal. 5:22-23]. We seek to humble ourselves in service to the Lord God. We seek to do all what is good and pure as a child of God.
Above this great gift of the new creation within us, we have received the indwelling Holy Spirit. Through the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, we now have the power to renounce mortal sins. We now have the power to say, “no” to all sins. As such, let us not allow sinful passions the power to have control over our mortal bodies.
My brothers and sisters, through the gift of new life, we have found the spiritual meaning of living our faith in Christ. We have learned that we must love God first, with our whole soul, our whole heart and our whole mind, [Mt. 22:37] for He is the provider of all things. “This is the greatest and first commandment.” [Mt. 22:38] We must love God more than anyone else, even more then our parents, our spouse, our children and all our wealth of this world. If we love God any less than that, we are not worthy of Him. If such love makes others jealous, then that is the cross that we must bear. It is better for us to suffer a little bit now and to lose a parent, a spouse or a child than to lose the love of God and the gift of eternal life that awaits those who persevere in their living faith. None of them, our parents, our spouse or our child has the power to secure our salvation.
The second commandment is that we must love our neighbour as we love ourselves. [Mt. 22:39] There are no greater commandments than these two.
Based on the spiritual laws, the good acts of love that we perform today towards others will be credited to our accounts in Heaven. In today’s First Reading, we heard of the goodness of the wealthy lady towards Elisha. In love, she provided him with a place to stay. In return, the Lord God promised her a son through Elisha. By welcoming a prophet, she received a reward worthy of a prophet’s reward. By the measure that we manifest love and kindness towards others, that same measure shall be applied towards us when we appear before the Lord Jesus on Judgment Day.
Our goal in this life my brothers and sisters should be to gather as much as we can because we do not know the day when the Lord will call us. We have to run the race in such a way that we may win it, always remembering that only one will receive the greatest crown. [1 Cor. 9:24] We must lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, so we may run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith” [Heb. 12:1-2]
As athletes exercise self-control in all things to receive a perishable wreath, we must exercise self-control in all things to receive an imperishable one. [1 Cor. 9:25]
“Blessed is anyone who endures temptation. Such a one has stood the test and will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love Him.” [Jas. 1:12] He has walked the newness of life according to his calling.
