大斋节五

你们的心如何

——路加福音九章五十一至五十六节

可能是出于种族的偏见，撒玛利亚一个村庄的人看到主耶稣面向犹太人的耶路撒冷去，便不接待他。雅各、约翰要求主用天火烧灭这个村庄，烧灭这里不接待主耶稣的人。但主却责备他们说：“你们的心如何，你们不知道。人子来不是要灭人的性命，是要救的人的性命”。

门徒的心是灭人性命的心，而不是主耶稣救人性命的心，是先知约拿向尼尼微宣告咒诅、坐待尼尼微毁灭的心，而不是耶和华爱惜人、乃至爱惜牲畜的心。

我们的主宁可往别的村庄去，而对一个不肯接待他的村庄，他既没有留下一声责备，更没有留下一声咒诅。我们的主只是默然而去，可以想象，在他的沉默之中蕴含着多少出自永恒之爱的谅解、期待与深情。主心如此，我们的心又如何？

Lent 5

Luke 9:51-56

What manner of spirit you are of

When they saw that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem, the Samaritan villagers would not receive him. James and John wanted Jesus to call down from heaven upon this village and to consume those who would not receive him. But Jesus rebuked them saying, “You do not know what manner of spirit you are of; for the Son of man came not to destroy human lives but to save them.”

The disciples’ hearts were those of destroyers, not of saviors. Yet in Jesus, we discover the heart of one who saves. The disciples would curse, as the prophet Jonah did, and then wait for Ninevah to be consumed. Theirs were not the loving hearts of the God who loves the people and even the animals of this created world.

Christ preferred to move on to another village, and so he left the village of the Samaritans without even a word of reproach, let alone a curse. He left quietly, and we can imagine that in this silence there was much forgiveness, patience and deep emotion born of his eternal love. This was Christ’s response. How then shall we act in similar situations?