各位弟兄姐妹：
“主，救我吧！”，这句话既是伯多禄宗徒在面临生命危险时，向主耶稣的呼救，也是今天弥撒三篇读经的共同主题。现在我就以这句伯多禄的呼求“主，救我吧！”为道理题目，跟大家分享今天的弥撒读经。
一、厄里亚求救真神雅威
今天弥撒的读经一是记述象征默西亚——耶稣基督的一位大先知厄里亚的事迹。当时的以色列国充满外教气氛，敬拜巴耳邪神，背离了雅威真神。厄里亚先知为了证明雅威才是真神，就在加尔默耳山与450位巴耳司祭们比试，最后战胜了外教司祭，并把他们都杀死了。厄里亚为此遭到了敬拜巴耳邪神的依则贝耳皇后的追杀。厄里亚为躲避依则贝耳皇后的报复，就逃亡到天主的山曷勒布山，希望在那里遇到天主，得到天主的救助。
当厄里亚在一个山洞过夜时，天主果然从那洞口经过。厄里亚首先看到暴风，但是天主不在这暴风中；随后看到地震和烈火，天主也不在地震和烈火中；最后是轻微细弱的风声，厄里亚一听这声音，就用外衣蒙着脸出来，与天主相见。因为照一般人的想法：人看到上主必定活不成。
天主用暴风、地震和烈火等现象，是表示天主的威能；用微风是表示天主的慈爱和温柔。天主不是在暴风、地震和烈火中召见厄里亚，而是在微风中召见厄里亚，这一方面是警示厄里亚：天主不会按照厄里亚的想法去做，即用暴风、地震和烈火等粉碎敌人，因为他是慈父，是以色列人的慈父，也是以色列敌人的慈父；是善人的慈父，也是罪人的慈父；他不愿罪人死亡，而愿意他们悔改。另一方面也告诉我们：我们在困苦艰难中一心投靠上主，上主一定会仁慈地安慰、援助我们，而未必以他的威能消除我们所面临的困境。
二、保禄苦劝以民信从主
今天弥撒的读经二罗马书第9章记载，圣保禄宗徒为自己的同胞、天主特选的子民以色列人不愿信从主耶稣而苦恼。
圣保禄把主耶稣的救世福音带给自己的国人，但他们不但轻视他，甚至变本加厉恶毒地迫害他。尽管这样，圣保禄还是竭力劝他们信从耶稣而得永生。哪怕是因此自己受人诅咒，甚至是同基督绝交，也在所不辞。也就是，只要自己的同胞信从耶稣，接受耶稣是默西亚救世主，自己受再多的苦，哪怕是与基督断交，自己下地狱，也心甘情愿。
三、伯多禄呼求耶稣救命
今天的弥撒福音记载，伯多禄听从耶稣的话，从船上下来，行走在波涛汹涌的海面上，向耶稣走过去。刚开始走得很好，可当他的眼睛离开耶稣，看向海上的大风巨浪时，他的心里立刻害怕起来，他的身体也随之开始往水下沉。在面临生命危险的时候，伯多禄立刻向主耶稣大叫说：“主，救我吧！”，而没有向在船上的同伴们呼叫，要他们把船划过来救他。
我们知道，在船上有几位门徒像伯多禄一样曾多年在加里肋亚海捕过鱼，他们的水性一定比木匠出生的耶稣要好得多，可伯多禄在生命危险的时刻，首先想到的是向木匠出身的耶稣求救，而不是向渔夫出身的其他门徒求救。因为伯多禄知道耶稣不仅仅是个木匠，更是“永生天主之子”。
伯多禄在生命危险时刻向耶稣呼叫“主，救我吧！”，再次显示了他对主耶稣的信靠。主耶稣一听到伯多禄的呼救，立刻伸手拉住他，把他拉出水面，送回到船上去。
兄弟姐妹们，可能有的时候我们也像伯多禄一样，已经求得了天主的应许，而且天主给了我们信心，我们已经在主的道路上走了一段了，结果一看环境我们就开始往下沉。但主耶稣不会任由我们继续下沉，只要我们向他呼救，他一定会立刻伸出手，把我们从水中拉上来，重新送回到船上去，也就是重新回到教会中，得到生命的平安。
结语
各位弟兄姐妹，最后让我们反省以下三个问题：
1.我遇到困境时，是否像伯多禄那样呼救耶稣？
2.保禄宗徒为什么心中不断痛苦呢？
3.为什么伯多禄宗徒也能在水面上行走？为什么一会儿他又开始下沉呢？
愿全能仁慈的天主降福你们，并与你们永远同在！阿们！
Lord, save me!
Greetings to all my brothers and sisters in Christ! How pleased the Lord must be to see so many of His children obeying the precept of the Church, to observe Sunday as a day of obligation.
Today’s three readings share one common denominator. During the First Reading from the First Book of Kings, [1 Kings 19:9, 11-13] we heard that Elijah had gone to a cave at Horeb, the mount of God, where he stayed for 40 days. Why was Elijah at the cave? He was hiding there because Jezebel, the wife of Ahab, had sent a messenger to inform him of her intent to kill him.
During the Second Reading, [Rom. 9:1-5] we heard how Saint Paul was saddened by Israel’s unbelief and rejection of the Lord. Expressing the great love that he had for his own countrymen, Paul was willing to undergo the worst possible fate, being cut off from Christ, if such could possibly save those that he loved.
During the reading from the Gospel of Matthew, [Mt. 14:22-33] we heard that when St. Peter started walking on the water towards Jesus, he became frightened and began to sink. Consequently, he called out to Jesus, “Lord, save me!” [Mt. 14:30] This is the common denominator! “Lord, save me!”
Elijah, fearing for his life, he called upon the Lord to save him. The Israelites, while they too wanted to be saved, they rejected Jesus and the only Mediator between God and man. And Peter, fearing for his life during a moment of human weakness, he too called upon the Lord to save him.
They all called upon the Lord to save them. Our forefathers called upon the Lord to save them. Our grandparents called upon the Lord to save them. Our parents called upon the Lord to save them. And most of us will call upon the Lord to save us if we have not done so as of yet.
In view of the fact that everybody is bound to call upon the Lord, the question is, “Will the Lord answer our call?”
The Lord will answer our prayer intention, the Lord will save us, but not the way that we want to be saved. We only want the Lord to provide for our physical needs. Instead, the Lord provides for our spiritual needs.
What we see today is the fruits of a society that lacks morals, a society that has placed employment and fame before the family life, a society that has remained silent to the immoralities that were breeding all around them. Now, the people are crying out, “Lord, save me!” Do we honestly believe that the Lord will save such a society? Is this the kind of life that the Kingdom of God is all about? Certainly not! To save this generation, the Lord must sanctify it! He must destroy this society in order to rebuilt it in His holy ways!
Sometime ago, I was reading a piece of prose that is called, “Secrets of the Cross.” What possible secret can a cross hold? What holy qualities can we gain from bearing a daily cross? Consider some of these virtues: charity, chastity, compassion, decency, faith, fear, fortitude, friendship, generosity, honesty, hope, humility, justice, knowledge, love, modesty, obedience, patience, peace, piety, prudence, purity, respect, servitude, solitude, submission, temperance, trust, and wisdom.
Next time, when an affliction crosses our path, rather than saying, “Lord, save me!”, we should consider saying, “Lord, what do you want me to learn from this cross?” Then, once we have learned the spiritual lesson that the Heavenly Father allowed to be placed before us, having understood why the finger of God has touched our lives, the affliction should go away. Having been strengthened in Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit, we will be then able to continue in our spiritual growth. We will be ready to welcome the next affliction in order to learn the next lesson so we may all become great saints on earth as we will be in Heaven.
