上帝的愛等待信心來發掘

摘要

上帝將他的恩典隱藏起來,信心在等待,和與感覺、環境、上帝的「拒絕」戰鬥之後,將恩典發掘出來。



約翰福音2:1–11
迦拿的婚禮
第2章 1 第三日,在加利利的迦拿有娶親的筵席,耶穌的母親在那裏。2 耶穌和他的門徒也被請去赴席。3 酒用盡了,耶穌的母親對他說:「他們沒有酒了。」4 耶穌說:「母親,我與你有甚麼相干?我的時候還沒有到。」5 他母親對用人說:「他告訴你們甚麼,你們就做甚麼。」6 照猶太人潔淨的規矩,有六口石缸擺在那裏,每口可以盛兩三桶水。7 耶穌對用人說:「把缸倒滿了水。」他們就倒滿了,直到缸口。8 耶穌又說:「現在可以舀出來,送給管筵席的。」他們就送了去。9 管筵席的嘗了那水變的酒,並不知道是哪裏來的,只有舀水的用人知道。管筵席的便叫新郎來,10 對他說:「人都是先擺上好酒,等客喝足了,才擺上次的,你倒把好酒留到如今!」11 這是耶穌所行的頭一件神蹟,是在加利利的迦拿行的,顯出他的榮耀來;他的門徒就信他了。

基督那裡有豐富,且願意賜給我們
12. 第二點,我們回到今天的福音信息。在此,我們看到基督和他母親愛的榜樣。母親在婚禮中服事,參與了管家的工作。而基督則以他的出席來榮耀這婚禮,並獻上神蹟和禮物。這些都是為了新郎、新娘、和來賓的益處,出於愛的本質和工作。藉此基督吸引眾人的心歸向他,信靠他作他們隨時的幫助。即便是在短暫的世事上,即使要變水為酒,即使要把所有受造物變成他的信徒需要之物,基督也不願放棄任何人,所以,所有相信他的人在屬靈和屬世之事上都必不致缺乏。相信的人必享豐富,且無人可以攔阻。

基督叫飢餓的得飽美食,叫富足的空手回去
13. 但是,這福音裡的信心榜樣還有更美妙之處。基督等到最後時刻,直到所有來賓都發覺有此需要,並且人再也無計可施,愛莫能助時。這是上帝恩典的方式。上帝的恩典不是給那些富有之人,和沒有感到需要的人。因為恩典不會供應給飽腹滿足之人,而是給飢餓貧困之輩。正如我們常說的:如果人覺得自己有智慧、有能力、且虔誠,還自覺良好,不至於是一個貧窮、可憐、罪孽深重的蠢人,他們就不會來到主基督面前,也不會接受他的恩典。

基督延遲片刻,為要試驗信心
14. 即使我們感到需要了,他仍不是立刻賜下我們心所求之物,滿足我們的需要。為了試驗我們的信心和信靠,基督延遲不供應,正如他在福音書中所行的一樣。是的,讓情況更顯嚴重的是:基督言辭刺耳嚴苛,似乎表明他根本就不會幫助。你在他母親這件事上可以看到這點。馬利亞感到了需要,以謙卑禮貌的請求告訴他這需要,期望他的幫助。因為她沒有說:「我親愛的兒啊,給我們一些酒吧,」而是說:「他們沒有酒了。」她只是輕輕地觸及他的仁慈。馬利亞對基督的仁慈有十足的信心。就如同她說:「他是良善、恩慈的人,我並不用祈求他,我只要告訴他缺少甚麼,他就會按照他的意願供應,甚至遠多過人可以祈求的。」 這就是信心。它勾畫出上帝的良善。信心從不懷疑,而是大膽地提出請求,表明自己的需要。

試驗是令人痛苦、迷茫的
15. 但是,你看,基督多麼無禮地拒絕他母親謙卑的、卻又是充滿信心的請求。現在,讓我們察看信心的本質吧。信心可以依靠甚麼呢?絕對是甚麼也沒有,一片漆黑。信心感到自己的需要,卻看不到幫助,再加上,上帝背離它,反對它,對待它猶如陌生人,上帝根本沒有認出它來。所以,絕對是甚麼盼望也沒有了。
我們的良心也有相同的感受,當我們感到自己的罪,又缺乏公義,或當我們感到命不久矣,臨近死亡的慘痛;或畏懼地獄,感到永恆的拯救離開我們。
確實,我們謙卑地期盼和叩門,禱告和尋求,為要除去罪、死亡、和恐懼;而上帝似乎才剛剛開始向我們顯出我們的罪來,而死亡仍將繼續,地獄也不會停止,正如他在此對待他的母親一樣。與馬利亞尚未到基督面前請求相比,基督的拒絕使「酒的需要」變得更大,更痛苦,因為此刻似乎甚麼都沒有了,因為馬利亞所依靠,可以解決需要的那位,已經不在了。

唯有信心可以得勝,得到恩典
16. 信心正站在這戰鬥的中心。現在,讓我們察看他母親的表現。讓她作我們的老師。無論基督的言辭如何嚴苛,無論他表現得如何無禮,她心中並沒有用憤怒來解釋,也沒有以良善的反面來回應,而是堅信基督是仁慈的。馬利亞拒絕放棄這信念,因為她接受的是信靠之心,和願意敬愛他之心。她不會像那些沒有信心的人。他們一旦遇見打擊,就按照他們的感覺,斷定上帝不是仁慈恩惠的。他們就如同驢馬一般(詩篇32:9)。如果基督的母親讓自己被這些嚴厲的話語驚嚇住,她就會不開心地、靜靜地走開。但是,她命令僕人按照基督的話語行事,就證明她已經勝過他的拒絕,而唯獨期盼他的仁慈了。——馬丁路德(顯現期第二主日講道,1525年)


THE DOCTRINE AND EXAMPLE OF LOVE AND OF FAITH.
John 2:1-11
The Wedding at Cana
2 On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2 Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples. 3 When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” 4 And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” 5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”
6 Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. 7 Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. 8 And he said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.” So they took it. 9 When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom 10 and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.” 11 This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him.

12. In the second place, to return to our Gospel lesson, we here see the example of love in Christ and his mother. The mother renders service and takes the part of housekeeper: Christ honors the occasion by his personal presence, by a miracle and a gift. And all this is for the benefit of the groom, the bride and the guests, as is the nature of love and its works. Thus Christ lures all hearts to himself, to rely on him as ever ready to help, even in temporal things, and never willing to forsake any; so that all who believe in him shall not suffer want, be it in spiritual or temporal things; rather must water become wine, and every creature turned into the thing his believer needs. He who believes must have sufficient, and no one can prevent it.

13. But the example of faith is still more wonderful in this Gospel. Christ waits to the very last moment when the want is felt by all present, and there is no counsel or help left. This shows the way of divine grace; it is not imparted to one who still has enough, and has not yet felt his need. For grace does not feed the full and satiated, but the hungry, as we have often said. Whoever still deems himself wise, strong and pious, and finds something good in himself, and is not yet a poor, miserable, sick sinner and fool, the same cannot come to Christ the Lord, nor receive his grace.

14. But whenever the need is felt, he does not at once hasten and bestow what is needed and desired, but delays and tests our faith and trust, even as he does here; yea, what is still more severe, he acts as though he would not help at all, but speaks with harshness and austerity. This you observe in the case of his mother. She feels the need and tells him of it, desiring his help and counsel in a humble and polite request. For she does not say: My dear son, furnish us with wine, but: “They have no wine.” Thus she merely touches his kindness, of which she is fully assured. As though she would say: He is so good and gracious, there is no need of my asking, I will only tell him what is lacking, and he will of his own accord do more than one could ask, This is the way of faith, it pictures God’s goodness to itself in this manner, never doubting but that it is really so; therefore it makes bold to bring its petition and to present its need.

15. But see, how unkindly he turns away the humble request of his mother who addresses him with such great confidence. Now observe the nature of faith. What has it to rely on? Absolutely nothing, all is darkness. It feels its need and sees help nowhere; in addition, God turns against it like a stranger and does not recognize it, so that absolutely nothing is left. It is the same way with our conscience when we feel our sin and the lack of righteousness; or in the agony of death when we feel the lack of life; or in the dread of hell when eternal salvation seems to have left us. Then indeed there is humble longing and knocking, prayer and search, in order to be rid of sin, death and dread. And then he acts as if he had only begun to show us our sins, as if death were to continue, and hell never to cease. Just as he here treats his mother, by his refusal making the need greater and more distressing than it was before she came to him with her request; for now it seems everything is lost, since the one support on which she relied in her need is also gone.

16. This is where faith stands in the heat of battle. Now observe how his mother acts and here becomes our teacher. However harsh his words sound, however unkind he appears, she does not in her heart interpret this as anger, or as the opposite of kindness, but adheres firmly to the conviction that he is kind, refusing to give up this opinion because of the thrust she received, and unwilling to dishonor him in her heart by thinking him to be otherwise than kind and gracious–as they do who are without faith, who fall back at the first shock and think of God merely according to what they feel, like the horse and the mule, Ps 32, 9. For if Christ’s mother had allowed those harsh words to frighten her she would have gone away silently and displeased; but in ordering the servants to do what he might tell them she proves that she has overcome the rebuff and still expects of him nothing but kindness. (Sermon for 2nd Sunday After Epiphany, 1525)(from Martin Luther’s Sermons )


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