朝聞道 In the Morning Hear The Way

天國系列（三）
「朝聞道」（瑪13:44-46）

今天的兩個天國比喻，越默想，越津津有味！
先談「珍珠的比喻」，它比較簡單直接，容易明白。

「完美的珍珠」象徵「真理」、象徵「天國的奧秘」；「尋找完美珍珠的商人」象徵「有心求道的人」。把比喻直接翻譯，便會得到：「天國又好像一個有心尋找『真理』的人，他一找到『真理』之後，便心滿意足，其他的一切都變得毫無價值了，何妨放棄所有的一切，包括自己的生命來換取、印證這『真理』呢？」（瑪13:46）
正如孔子豪邁地教導說：「朝聞道，夕死可矣。」（論語‧里仁）；孟子又以精密的邏輯推論說：「魚，我所欲也；熊掌，亦我所欲也。二者不可得兼，捨魚而取熊掌者也。生，亦我所欲也；義，亦我所欲也。二者不可得兼，捨生取義者也。」（孟子‧告子上）儒家思想與耶穌基督的教訓，真是不謀而合！倘若要挑剔它們的分別，就是耶穌基督注重的是人的本身；而儒家思想卻注重培養人類高尚的道德情操！

「寶貝的比喻」有點曲折，既然找到了「藏在地裡的寶貝」，為甚麼多此一舉，把它再一次埋藏起來呢（瑪13:44）？其實，這個比喻指出，尋求真理的人必須付出努力，纔能把真理發掘出，所以不能心存僥倖。而且，不要以為找到真理，便是天下無敵，沒有人能挑戰。要知道有些人還沒有足夠的心理準備，接受真理。他們可能會拒絕接受真理，甚至迫害、殺害宣講真理的人。所以耶穌出道之前，天主派遣洗者若翰做前驅；耶穌出道之後，祂亦遇上不少拒絕真理，並與祂對抗的猶太宗教權貴！

所以尋求到真理的人，不可急於炫耀發表；反而「買了那塊地」，即是「擴大探索的範圍」，更深入地尋求更多相關的真理。「寶貝的比喻」注重求道者的心態：既不可心存僥倖，更要沉著氣，謙虛地不斷探索。
天主保祐！
生命恩泉
圖片鳴謝：en.wikipedia.org

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Kingdom of Heaven Series (III)
In the Morning Hear The Way (Matthew 13:44-46)

The more we meditate the two parables today, the more we relish the mystery of the Kingdom of Heaven!
Firstly, let’s talk about the Parable of the Fine Pearl which is simpler, more direct and easier to understand.

“Fine Pearl” symbolizes “Truth” which is the “Mystery of the Kingdom of Heaven”. The “Merchant searching for fine pearls” symbolizes someone who sincerely searches for the truth. Rendered literally, we have “The Kingdom of Heaven is somebody who sincerely searches for the truth. Once he obtains it, he is completely satisfied. The rest becomes worthless and he has no regret forsaking everything including his life in exchange for, or bear witness to the truth” (Matthew 13:46).
Confucius teaches valiantly, “In the morning hear the truth, in the evening die without regret” (Li Ren, the Analects). Mencius deduces with meticuous logic, “I like fish, and I also like bear’s paws. If I cannot have the two together, I will let go the fish and take the bear’s paws. I like life and I also like righteousness. If I cannot have the two together, I will let go life and choose righteousness” (Gaozi I, Mengzi). The teachings of Confucianism are essentially compatible with Christianity! If you want to split hair to contrast the two, I would say Jesus Christ focuses on the person per se while Confucianism focuses more on building up the nobility of a moral person!

The Parable of the Hidden Treasure is a bit complicated. Wouldn’t it be redundant to hide the treasure again once you find it (Matthew 13:44)? In fact, this parable points out that unearthing the truth takes effort. Opportuntity only visits those who are prepared. Moreover, don’t ever dream that you’re invincible once you have unearth the truth. Beknown that some people are not psychologically ready to accept the truth. They may reject the truth, even persecute and kill the messengers, i.e. those who proclaim the truth. Therefore before Jesus, God sent John the Baptist as the forerunner. During His public ministry, Jesus Christ also met a lot of Jewish religious authorities that opposed Him!

Therefore, it is unwise of those who have found the truth to show off quickly. Rather, they should “buy that field”, that is to extend the range of research and to dig deeper for more related gems. The Parable of the Hidden Treasure focuses more on the attitude of the seeker of the truth. There is no fluke on earth. The seeker needs to explore patiently, humbly and unceasingly.
God bless!