赤裸裸的偽善 Naked Hypocrisy

赤裸裸的偽善

「你們就來補足你們祖先作惡的尺度吧！」（瑪23:32）

無論在甚麼時代，作為天主的代言人，「先知」是一份吃力不討好的使命。倘若你是一位在君王身邊工作的宮廷先知，例如納堂、達尼爾；正所謂「伴君如伴虎」，一不小心便人頭不保了！即使是「隨上主心意」的達味（撒上13:14），亦有犯姦淫、謀殺的時候。作為先知，如何進諫的確有賴天賜的智慧。倘若你為一位在天主眼中視為邪惡的君王服務，你真是進退兩難了！說真話，君王會懲罰你；說假預言，你要死在百姓手中（申18:20）。不在宮廷服務的先知的處境會好些嗎？例如厄里亞、依撒意亞、歐瑟亞等一眾大小先知，他們仍免不了要說一些君王或君王身邊的寵臣，不喜歡聽的說話。因此，在野的先知，例如耶肋米亞、洗者若翰，依然劫數難逃！

在以色列人的歷史中，自從君王從上主手中奪取了領導權之後（撒上8:7），先知成了監察君王的社會良心，幾乎成了君王的天敵。周邊的帝國成了鞭策以色列人悔改的棍棒，亡國後，經師和法利塞人便成了運用經典，解釋天主旨意的專家了。可惜，他們本末倒置，不按先知的教訓，勸誡以色列人履行「公義、仁愛與信義」（瑪23:23），反而憑藉專業知識以自肥，並以虛偽的虔誠掩飾（谷12:40）。即使他們表面上反對羅馬帝國的殖民管治，可是骨子裡仍然為當權者服務，與先知對抗。當權者毫不掩飾地殺害先知，他們卻站在道德高地上，粉飾那滅聲的行徑，「修建先知的墳，裝飾義人的墓」（瑪23:29）！耶穌基督要批評的，正是這種赤裸裸的偽善！

主啊！求祢淨化我們心中對財富榮譽的貪婪，本末倒置的愚昧。賜給我們良心和勇氣，維護弱小者的權益，消滅心中的偽善。祢是天主，永生永王。亞孟。

Naked Hypocrisy

“Now fill up what your ancestors measured out!” (Matthew 23:32)

Whatever ages one is in, being the spokesperson of God, a prophet is a thankless vocation. If you are a courtier prophet serving a king, such as Nathan and Daniel, you had better speak cautiously lest the head on your shoulders will not be secured. As the Chinese aphorism goes, “Serving a king is like dancing with a tiger”. Even if the king is somebody “after His own heart” (1 Samuel 13:14) such as David, he would also commit adultery and murder. As a prophet, it requires God’s bestowed wisdom to advise a king. If you were serving a king evil in the eyes of God, you would be in a dilemma! Speaking the truth, the king would punish you. Not speaking the truth, you would die in the hands of the people (Deuteronomy 18:20). Would prophets roaming in the wilderness, such as Elijah, Isaiah and Hosea etc. fare better? Sooner or later, they would speak things unpleasant to the ears of kings or courtiers after their hearts. Therefore, prophets in the wild, such as Jeremiah and John the Baptist, were to suffer martyrdom!

In the history of ancient Israel, ever since kings had usurped leadership of the people from the LORD God (1 Samuel 8:7), prophets became the social conscience overseeing kings and made themselves natural enemies of princes. Neighbouring empires became rods chastising Israel to repent. During the Babylonian Captivity, scribes and Pharisees became experts in explaining God’s will in the Scriptures. Regrettably, they sought quick successes and did not teach people to observe justice, charity and fidelity (Matthew 23:23). Instead, they fattened themselves by deploying their expertise and disguising themselves with hypocritical piety (Mark 12:40). Even though they opposed Roman colonial rule on the surface, they sided with the powerful to oppose prophets. People in power killed prophets without remorse. Pharisees stood on high moral ground to whitewash the silencing action of the powerful. “You build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the memorials of the righteous” (Matthew 23:29)! What Jesus Christ wants to criticize is this naked hypocrisy!

Lord! Purge our hearts of the greed of wealth and honour, the stupidity of turning the truth upside down. Bestow on us conscience and courage to defend the rights of the weak and extinguish the hypocrisy in our hearts. You are God, reigning forever and ever. Amen.

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