沒有時間觀念的天主 A God Who Knows No Time

沒有時間觀念的天主（路13:1-9）

大家素來認為比喻中的葡萄園主人，象徵天主，我倒認為是一個美麗的誤會。
在猶太人心目中，天主是正義的，是賞善罰惡的天主。因此，他們認為那些在加里肋亞人 事件（路13:1）和史羅亞塔事件（13:4）中死去的人，是遭受了天主的懲罰。這是猶太人對天主的誤會。所以，耶穌在設比喻的時候，塑造了一個猶太人容易接受，卻是被誤解了的天主。這個園主所象徵的天主，與耶穌基督所宣講的天父很不一樣。

1. 找不到果子便決定砍掉無花果樹，免得「荒廢土地」（13:7），這理由未免太功利主義了，是人的邏輯（若11:50），不是天主的邏輯。
2. 昨天提到，天主的正義不在賞善罰惡，而在於幫助人完滿發展，拯救他們脫離罪惡。祂「決不喜歡惡人喪亡，但卻喜歡惡人歸正，離開邪道，好能生存。」（則33:11）所以那個不給予機會的園主不大可能是天主，反而園丁纔是天主，是在天父面前為我們轉求的天主子耶穌基督（羅8:34，希9:24）。所以葡萄園主人象徵的，是猶太人認知不足的天主，不是基督徒所認識的天父！

所謂「魔鬼在細節」，但比喻中的園丁，在「細節」上更勝一籌，連魔鬼也甘拜下風！這話怎解？關鍵在「將來」（路13:9）一詞。給罪人「一年」時間悔改，十分具體。但「將來」是何時呢？一年後？抑或是三年後？或更長遠呢？小心，今晚或者明天，也是將來！永恆的天主是沒有時間觀念的，以至祂的寬鬆，可以比魔鬼更嚴厲！
主耶穌，請不要讓我們濫用天父的慈悲，及時悔改，不再做罪惡的奴隸。亞孟。
生命恩泉
圖片鳴謝：wikipedia

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A Timeless God (Luke 13:1-9)

People usually interpret the master of the orchard as a symbol of God. I think it is a beautiful misunderstanding.
In the Jewish mind, God is righteous. He awards the good and punishes the wicked. Therefore, they thought that those who had perished in the Galilean incident (Luke 13:1) and the Tower of Siloam incident (13:4) must have been punished by God. This is a Jewish misunderstanding of God. Therefore, when Jesus told this parable, He created a more palatable but misunderstood God for His audience. The orchard master symbolizes a God different from the Father Jesus proclaims.

1. Cutting down the fig tree which bears no fruit so that it won’t exhaust the soil (13:7) is too utilitarian. It is the logic of men (John 11:50) not of God.
2. Yesterday we mentioned that God’s justice is not to award the good and to punish the wicked. Instead, God’s righteousness is in helping men develop to the full and delivering them from the bondage of sins. God “takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live.” (Ezekiel 33:11) Therefore, the master who did not give opportunity can’t possibly be God. Rather, the gardener is. He is Jesus Christ the Son of God who always intercedes for us before the Father (Romans 8:34, Hebrews 9:24). Therefore, the master of the orchard symbolizes a God inadequately known by the Jews instead of the heavenly Father the Christians know!

“The devil is in the details” is a well-known aphorism. But the gardener beats the devil even in details! What do I mean? The key phrase is “in the future” (Luke 13:9). Giving sinners “one year” to repent is concrete. But when is “in the future”? One year? Three years? Or even longer? Be careful! Tonight or tomorrow is also in the future! The eternal God is timeless. He has no concept of time so that His leniency can even be harsher than the devil’s details!
Lord Jesus, let us not take advantage of the Father’s mercy and repent in time. We won’t be slaves of sins anymore. Amen.