It Is Most Difficult To Convert People’s Hearts 改變人心最難

【天主經系列（二）】
改變人心最難（谷8:14-21）

看來「原罪」在人類心靈留下的創傷，相當嚴重。且看，不但學識淵博的法利塞人和經師，未能在自己的專業領域中，找到有關天主救贖人類的啟示；他們甚至濫用法律，誅滅耶穌而後快；連耶穌基督自己親自訓練和一起生活的宗徒們，不但心靈遲鈍，甚至後來因貪財而出賣師傅；為了保命而否認那位立他為「掌門人」（瑪16:18）的恩師！培根的名句：「知識就是力量」應用到法利塞人身上，並不一定正確；看來連漁夫稅吏們「將勤補拙」的努力也枉然。沒有天主採取主動，人類的確沒有本領自救！

在今次事件中，明明在船上還有一個餅（谷8:14），為甚麼「他們彼此議論：他們沒有餅了」（8:16）呢？為甚麼他們能正確回答耶穌的提問，即「收滿了幾筐碎塊」（8:19-20），到頭來仍然「一頭霧水」（8:21）呢？看來門徒關心的不是「沒有餅了」，而是「沒有足夠數目的餅」給耶穌再顯神蹟！

在首次增餅中，耶穌憑他們收集到的五餅二魚，增餅給五千人吃飽。可能門徒認為「七」是一個神聖的數目字，是給耶穌施行神蹟的必要條件！所以第二次，他們預留了七個餅給耶穌施行增餅神蹟，讓四千人吃飽。他們的焦點放在如何為「美滿成果」創造他們認為是「有利的條件」，卻忽略了天主的參與和介入，纔是美滿成果的關鍵所在；而且結果是喜出望外，綽綽有餘的！門徒們的教育水平可能低，情有可原；但學識淵博的法利塞人和經師，就難辭其咎了。在舊約經典記載的戰事中，經常是天主幫助以色列人取得勝利，而且是以少勝多，「免得以色列對我自誇說：是自己的能力救了自己」（民7:2b）。穩操勝券輕易，改變人心最難！天父非常明白這一點，所以要派遣獨生子降生成人，御駕親征！
天父啊！願祢的旨意，奉行在人間，如同在天上。亞孟。
生命恩泉
圖片鳴謝：mylakeview.weebly.com

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It Is Most Difficult To Convert People’s Hearts (Mark 8:14-21)
[The Lord’s Prayer Series II]

Original Sin has left serious wounds in the souls and minds of humanity. Look at the learned Pharisees and scribes. Not only were they unable to unveil God’s salvation but they even tried to abuse the Law to kill Jesus. The apostles with whom Jesus stayed and personally trained were no better. Their hearts were hard and their minds dumb. One of them betrayed the Master for money while another denied Him who made him the Rock of the Church (Matthew 16:18). Bacon’s aphorism “Knowledge is power” seems not to work on the Pharisees. The hard works of the disciples were futile. Had God not taken the initiative, humanity would not have been able to save themselves!

In today’s story, the disciples “had only one loaf with them in the boat” (Mark 8:14). Why did “They conclude[d] among themselves that … they had no bread” (8:16)? Why were they able to answer Jesus’ prompt correctly, namely “how many wicker baskets full of fragments you picked up” (8:19-20) and “Still not understand” (8:21)? It seemed that “having no bread” was not their real concern. Rather, “not having sufficient bread” for Jesus to work miracles was!

During the first multiplication of bread, Jesus fed 5000 with five loaves and two fish. Probably the disciples thought that “seven” was a sacred number, a necessary condition for Jesus to work miracles! Therefore, during the second multiplication miracle, they reserved seven loaves for Jesus to multiply to feed 4000. They focused on creating what they thought to be advantageous conditions to output good results, forgetting that God’s participation and intervention are the keys of successes, and even surprises of abundance! We may forgive the disciples because they were not scholars but not the Pharisees and scribed who knew the most. There are many war narratives in the Hebrew Scriptures. God always helped the Israelites win and with a small number of fighters, “Lest Israel vaunt itself against me and say, ‘My own power saved me.’” (Judges 7:2b). Winning a battle is easy; converting men’s hearts is the most difficult! The Father knows it best thus, He sent His only begotten Son to incarnate to fight the war Himself!
Heavenly Father! Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Amen.