作者Revd Sally Hitchiner 聖馬田堂副主任牧師 有甚麼比「做對了」的感覺,能給我們帶來更大滿足感?「做對了」固然好得無比,但卻附帶一項挑戰。你的生活方式可能「做對了」、你關心父母和子女的方法可能「做對了」、你在工作場所活出的信徒見證也可能「做對了」。對於教會應該如何正確運作,你的判斷可能「做對了」,而且分毫不差。還有如何帶領崇拜或團契、歡迎來賓、奉上熱茶等等,你都可能「做對了」。當基督徒應有之道,你都「做對了」。既然凡事都做對了,究竟還有何挑戰?問題很簡單:對於做錯了的人,你要如何應對? 耶穌時代的宗教領袖,對於「做得對」非常著緊。當時,巴勒斯坦受羅馬人統治壓迫,要保存作為上帝忠心子民的身分,殊不容易。任何干擾太平的行徑,都可能招致殺戮與嚴刑責罰。羅馬人不會理會是哪些猶太人挑起爭端,而最重要是確保社會整體不能出現亂子。宗教領袖最大的盼望,是回到猶太人流亡之前的光景,那時外邦人普遍敬重猶太國,認為猶太人是上帝的忠心子民。然而,無論他們多麼努力地保存這種身分,還是有愈來愈多的人,或者因為太過軟弱、或者因為漠不關心,而不願繼續追隨他們的榜樣。 就在這樣的背景脈絡中,耶穌將追隨者叫到跟前,開始談論公義。他以謀殺為例,作為引子。追隨者都聽過這個記在創世記裡的老故事。第一宗謀殺案並非發生在互不認識的陌生人之間,而是發生在兩兄弟之間。人類第一對兄弟,到上帝的祭壇前獻祭。不知為何緣故,上帝悅納亞伯的供物,卻不悅納該隱的供物。於是該隱對他的兄弟亞伯說:「讓我們到田間去。」二人在田間的時候,該隱起來攻擊他的兄弟亞伯,把他殺了。耶和華對該隱說:「你兄弟亞伯在那裡?」他說:「我不知道!我豈是看守我兄弟的麼?」 如今,耶穌告訴門徒,謀殺事件並非故事的唯一癥結。我們干犯謀殺之前,已經心懷憤怒、怨恨。我們詆毀別人,眼中所見盡是自己為別人加上的標籤。我們干犯謀殺之前,已經自以為義、以為我們的弟兄不義。也許在這一切發生之前,我們內心深處,已向上帝說道:「我豈是看守我兄弟的麼?」 耶穌告訴他的跟隨者,若要與上帝「連線」、與上帝建立關係,他們不能與弟兄疏離…… 即使弟兄是宗教領袖,一心要與耶穌跟隨者疏遠。向上帝獻上供物並非一人之事。事實上,耶穌說,我們獻禮物的時候,若想起有人向我們懷怨,就當把禮物留在壇前,先去與人和好,然後再向上帝獻禮物。這並非跟隨上帝的額外要求。上帝希冀的,絕對不是沒有和解的宗教。 然而,我們如何能夠一方面熱切關心正道,一方面又與做錯事的人共享團契? 耶穌把追隨者叫到他跟前。 他借用了該隱和亞伯的說話。耶穌就像亞伯,本來無辜,只因與上帝關係密切,招人怨恨而被謀殺。然而,耶穌通過自己的作為,在此重新演繹該隱和亞伯的故事,所展現的卻不是怨恨和憤怒的力量。 亞伯的血有聲音從地裡發出,對他的兄弟提出義憤的控訴;耶穌寶血所發出的,卻是對全人類愛的呼喚,把他們稱為上帝家內的弟兄姊妹。 耶穌將愛與亞伯的無辜連在一起,猶如上帝聖父對上帝聖子說:「你的兄弟該隱在那裡?」於是,與上帝聖父心意完全相通的上帝聖子,把那份完美的禮物放在壇前,前往尋覓對他心懷不滿的人類。在我們邁向審判日的時候,是耶穌主動尋求與人類和好。 活在這一事實之中,就是活在天國之中。上帝將要藉著他的兒子,引領萬物進入公義。我們現在就可參與其中,但這並非真的關乎我們的義。我們的義並非衡量上帝是否與我們同在的標準。所以,我們可以活在弔詭之中,永遠不用犧牲對他人的愛,才能成為上帝公義的子民,只因上帝也永遠不會那樣做。上帝的福音挑戰我們,宣告世界並非以好人與壞人作為區分。上帝要捍衛我們的身分,也要捍衛每一位曾奉聖子之名而活的人的身分。耶穌既是我們的弟兄,也是我們的守護者。 阿們。 Is there anything more satisfying than being right? It’s great being right but it comes with a challenge. You can be right on how you live your life, the right way to care for your parents and children, the right way to display your Christian faith at work. You can be right in discerning exactly the right way for a church to work. The right way to lead a service or a fellowship group or how to welcome people or to serve tea. You can discover the right way to be a Christian. But the challenge comes with one simple question: what do you do with the people who are wrong?
The religious leaders of Jesus’ day put a lot of thought into doing what is right. It wasn’t easy to preserve their identity as the faithful people of God at a time when Palestine was under the oppressive Roman rule. Any disturbance of the peace could result in killings and harsh punishments. The Romans didn’t care which Jewish person started the disagreement. It was important that the whole community tried not to cause a fuss. More than anything the religious leaders wanted to get back to where they had been before the Exile when the Jewish nation was respected by the gentiles as the faithful people of God. But however hard they tried to preserve this identity, there were more and more people who were too weak or too unconcerned to follow their example. In this context Jesus calls his followers to himself and starts talking about righteousness. He starts with the example of murder. They knew the old story from the book of Genesis. Murder began not through people who had no connection, but through brothers. The first brothers of humanity offered gifts to the alter of God. For whatever reason God accepted Abel’s gift and did not accept Cain’s. So Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.” While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him. Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” “I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?” Now Jesus says to his disciples that murder isn’t the only thing that matters. Before we murder, we harbour anger, resentment. We call people names so all we see is that label. Before that, we label ourselves as righteous and our brother as unrighteous. Perhaps before all of this, in our heart of hearts, we say to God “Am I my brother’s keeper?”. Jesus tells his followers that to be able to connect with God, they cannot distance themselves from their brothers... even the religious leader brothers who are distancing themselves from them. Offering gifts to God is not a solo pursuit. In fact, Jesus says, if we have a gift and we remember that someone has something against us we should leave our gift and seek to make peace with them before offering our gift to God. This is not an added extra to following God. The type of religion God wants is never without reconciliation. But how can someone care passionately about what is right, while being in community with those who are wrong? Jesus calls his followers to himself. He uses the language of Cain and Abel. Like Abel, Jesus is an innocent, murdered out of resentment because of his connection to God. But the power here in Jesus’ retelling the story through his own action, is not resentment and anger. While Abel’s blood cried out in righteous indignation against his brother, Jesus’ blood cries out in love for all humanity who are now called the brothers and sisters of God. Jesus binds love to Abel’s innocence. It’s as if God the Father says to God the Son “where is your brother Cain?” So, God the Son, in perfect communion with God the Father, leaves that perfect gift in front of the alter and seeks out humanity who has something against him. Jesus is the one who seeks to make good with humanity while we are on the road to the day of judgement. To live in this reality is to live in the Kingdom of Heaven. God will bring all things into righteousness through his Son. We can participate in it now, but this isn’t really about our righteousness. Our righteousness is not the measure of God’s presence with us. So, we can live the paradox, we never have to sacrifice love for others to be the righteous people of God, simply because God never does that. The Good News, the offensive news is that the world is not split into good people and bad people. God upholds our identity, and the identity of every human being who has ever lived within the identity of his Son. Jesus Christ is our brother and our keeper too. Amen.
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