兩種復活 Two Kinds Of Resurrection

兩種復活 Two Kinds Of Resurrection（若6:44-51）

默想若望所寫的福音猶如參加一項思考馬拉松，因為他敘述的時候，思路來回螺旋向上；每讀到重複的一言片語，回頭一看，你已攀升到另一個層次了！不過這個重複的一言片語，未必在附近！例如，「凡不是派遣我的父所吸引的」（若6:44a）當中的「吸引」是指甚麼呢？天父用甚麼方法來吸引世人得救呢？我們要讀到「至於我，當我從地上被舉起來時，便要吸引眾人來歸向我」（12:32）！原來天父不是用甚麼石破天驚的神跡來吸引世人，而是用一個飽受虐待，懸掛在十字架上的天主子來吸引我們！所以喜歡「微言大義」的朋友，不可強求在若望福音中斷章取義。慎讀！我們姑且逐步默想下去。

「凡不是…誰也不能到我這裡來」。倘若顯示著天父慈悲的受難基督，尚且未能感動某個人相信天父對罪人的慈愛，試問這個人又怎會悔改，去投靠天主子呢？這是顯而易見的；但再下去，困難便開始出現了。「凡…不能到我這裡來，而我在末日要叫他復活。」為甚麼不投靠基督的人，在末日基督也要叫他復活呢？讓他們繼續死去，好像沒有存在過一樣，不是更好（瑪26:24）嗎？其實這樣的安排不難理解，因為在末日，基督要復活所有人，接受最後審判。提到審判，便涉及公義的問題了。

首先，天父以「受難基督」來顯示自己對罪人的慈愛，有吸引力嗎？是否對不認識聖經的人不公平呢？若望這樣回答：「在先知書上記載：『眾人都要蒙天主的訓誨』」（若6:45）你或許會抗議，不認識聖經的人，何來認識先知書呢？且聽先知怎樣說：「我要將我的法律放在他們的肺腑裡，寫在他們的心頭上；我要作他們的天主，他們要作我的人民。那時，誰也不再教訓自己的近人或弟兄說：『你們該認識上主』，因為不論大小，人人都必認識我」（耶31:33-34）原來天父早已把「真理」寫在眾人的良心裡，天主子的受難，在於喚醒眾人的良心。至於聖經，是寫給心硬的「選民」，讓他們無從抵賴（若5:45）。

天主子說：「我實實在在告訴你們：信從的人必得永生」（6:47）。所以復活有兩種：那些被吸引、良心被喚醒、皈依和相信的，復活後必得永生。那些堅決要求驚天動地的神跡，拒絕「受難基督」的人，良心未醒，復活後去哪，就不得而知了。
天主保祐！
生命恩泉
圖片鳴謝：christianity.com

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Meditating the gospel of John is like running an intellectual Marathon because the train of thoughts in his narratives spirals upwards. Every time you meet a phrase again, you have scaled another level as you look back! However, this repetition of a phrase might not be found in the proximity! For example, “… Unless the Father who sent me draw him” (John 6:44a). What does the “draw” mean? What method does the Father draw people to salvation? Not until we read, “And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself” (12:32) do we meet “draw” again! The Father is not deploying any spectacular miracles to draw people to Him but a brutalized Son of God hanging on the cross to attract us! Friends who want to sieve through small words to discover great teachings, beware! You cannot read passages in the gospel of John out of context! Let’s continue with our meditation.

“No one can come to me unless the …”. If the Suffering Christ who reveals the mercy of the Father is not able to touch someone’s heart to believe in the mercy of the Father towards sinners, how can this person repent and come to the Son of God? This is obvious. But difficulty arises when we read on. “No one can come to me unless … and I will raise him on the last day”. Why would Christ bother to raise those who do not come to Him? Wouldn’t it be better to let them continue to remain dead, just as they had never existed (Matthew 26:24)? In fact, this arrangement is not difficult to understand. It is because on the last day, Jesus would raise all souls to receive the Last Judgment. When we come to judgment, we touch on the question of righteousness.

Firstly, the Father shows His mercy to sinners with the Suffering Christ. Is this attraction effective enough? Isn’t it unfair to those who do not know the Bible? John replies in this way, “It is written in the prophets: ‘They shall all be taught by God.’” (John 6:45) Perhaps you would complain that for people unfamiliar with the Bible, how could they know the prophets? Let’s listen to what the prophet says, “I will place my law within them, and write it upon their hearts; I will be their God, and they shall be my people. They will no longer teach their friends and relatives, ‘Know the Lord!’ Everyone, from least to greatest, shall know me” (Jeremiah 31:33-34). The Father has written the truth in the hearts of all. The Son of God suffers in order to awake our conscience. As for the Bible, it is written for the stiff-necked Chosen People so that they have no excuses when they are accused (John 5:45).

The Son of God says, “Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life” (6:47). So there are two kinds of resurrection: those drawn to Jesus, whose conscience has awakened, are converted and believe will have eternal life after resurrection. As for those whose conscience has not awakened because they insist on demanding earth-shaking miracles and reject the Suffering Christ, I really don’t know where they will go after resurrection.
God bless!