False Ideas of Power
對於「權柄」錯誤的認知
Mark 馬可福音 10: 32-45
我們的齋期到星期六為止，這段時期守齋對我們有怎樣的影響呢？我們又在上帝的愛中成長嗎？我們有變得更謙卑嗎？從福音的描述可知，對於門徒而言，這段守齋的 期間似乎影響不大。我們可以讀到，耶穌基督帶領門徒前往耶路撒冷，他想要奉獻自己。他告訴門徒，人子將要被逮捕、責打、受難、死亡。結果呢？耶穌的門徒有 什麼回應？
這 些門徒開始共謀，雅各和約翰這對兄弟私下對耶穌說：「你光榮赴義時，願你賜我們在你的榮耀裡，一個坐在你右邊，一個坐在你左邊。」讓我們想像一下，耶穌告 訴門徒他將要受難，這些門徒卻比較在乎到時候他們要坐在哪裡，享有怎樣的光榮。讓我們反省一下，我們來到教會是不是也在利用耶穌，欺騙耶穌？事實上，這些 門徒並不在乎耶穌基督，他們更在乎的是獲得耶穌的權力，而不是真心想要幫助耶穌。如果有人告訴你他要去死，你會請他在死之前先拿一些食物給你吃嗎？這樣做 是非常殘酷的。
我 們每個人都應該謹記在心、並問問自己：我們想要從耶穌基督身上獲得什麼？是特別的權力、社會地位、財富或其他東西的工具嗎？是更好的物質生活嗎？我們是不 是這樣想：如果萬一真的有永生，祂說祂可以「免費」賜給我們。我們應該好好檢視自己如何看待耶穌基督。我想要利用祂嗎？對於大多數人來說，答案是肯定的。 有些人週日上教會，就好像戴上虔誠基督徒的面具，心想著或許這樣做可以帶來更好的社會地位。如果真是如此，我們要有所警覺。耶穌並非兩千年前受難，祂每一 天都在為我們受苦。我們來到教會，或許是為了彌補一些生活中失去的東西。我們或許會想，神父是教會的僕人，他必須很感謝我們來教會榮耀上帝。有些人會傳簡 訊給我，告訴我明天他們要來教會。但是，為什麼他們要告訴我這些？他們希望我拿著福音下樓去接駁車的車站迎接他們嗎？
讓 我們繼續研讀福音的內容。耶穌基督委婉地告訴這兩位門徒：「我想，你們並不知道自己所求的是什麼。」往往，我們不知道自己在祈禱中請求了什麼。有時候，我 們請求耶穌賜給我們一些非常瘋狂的東西，這些東西不但對我們無益，有時候還會傷害別人。耶穌對門徒說：「你們不知道所求的是什麼，我所喝的杯，你們能喝 嗎？我所受的洗（他指的是受難），你們能受嗎？」他們回答：「是的，當然。」但是，事實上他們並沒有。一週之後耶穌被捕，所有的門徒全部逃逸，他們甚至不 敢站出來為耶穌辯護，他們害怕自己必須代替耶穌受難。所以，他們確實不知道自己所求的是什麼，但是，他們知道一件事，這件事也是大家夢寐以求的：他們想要 得到耶穌至高的權力。就是這個欲望讓天使墮落為魔鬼。耶穌說：「坐在我的左右，不是我可以賜的，乃是為誰預備的，就賜給誰。」其他的門徒聽到了，就開始對 雅各和約翰表達自己的怒氣，因為這對兄弟想要奪走他們也想要的東西。
耶 穌說：「外邦人有尊為君王的治理他們，有大臣操權管束他們。只是在你們中間，不是這樣。你們中間，誰願為大，就必作你們的用人；在你們中間，誰願為首，就 必作眾人的僕人。」耶穌來到世間，並不是為了做導師，而是為做僕人，為了服務眾人。我們常常把上帝想成「至高者」，是至高的權力。耶穌的所作所為讓我們第 一次見識到，祂並不是代表權力，而是愛。不幸的是，基督徒，甚至是正教徒，認為教會是行使政治權力的工具。他們利用耶穌基督和聖禮儀來強化自己的權力，他 們就像猶大一樣背叛了耶穌。他們甚至比猶大更糟糕，因為，他們把這種帶有政治目的的聖餐給大眾食用，他們不旦矇騙了大家，還戲弄了耶穌基督。
我 們應該對上帝抱持新的概念。上帝的愛是如此豐饒，祂擁有權力，因為祂是上帝，他如何行使他的權力呢？他走上十字架，受難的不是別人，而是他自己。下週我們 會一起唱誦一首美妙的讚美詩，它寫到：即使是太陽、光芒、雲彩、天堂都深深感謝著、顫抖著。祂們不忍心看造物主在十字架上受難。祂行使自己的「權力」，告 訴大家：我希望大家能夠堅守崗位，不要被打倒，繼續完成自己該做的工作。
「權力」是一種非常獨特的事物。人們無法行使他們本來擁有的自由，所以需要跟隨一位導師，然而，人們同時也痛恨這位導師，因為，他提醒人們自己是沒有能力行使自由和擔起責任的人。值得留益的是，教會說上帝不是權力 —- 魔鬼認為上帝就是至高權力。事實上，上帝是愛，是三位一體、是共融。祂是如此謙卑，祂願意來到世間為我們服務而不求任何回報。耶穌說：「人子來，並不是要受人的服事，乃是要服事人，並且要捨命作多人的贖價。」
願聖三守護我們。阿門。
I tell you this because the Church puts us to see and to judge in this week that is to come – since Saturday is the end of fasting – what is the result of our period of fasting? Did we increase in the love of God? Did we become more humble? Did we become more spiritual people. Or, as I know, there are people here who after starting this holy period, they committed a crime in the Church, splitting the Church. Obviously they became obviously like devils, exercising the work of the Devil, who instructs them.
But also for the disciples, this period in the Gospel seems to have not been good. We see that Jesus Christ is going to Jerusalem and he is leading the way; he wants to suffer. And he says to his disciples that the Son of Man is going to be arrested, beaten, crucified and die. What is the result? what is the reaction of the disciples? What would other people say if I were to say that I was going to die?(Well some people might say, “Better, because we want another priest here.”)
But anyhow, what did the disciples do? They started conspiring. Two brothers, John and James, took him in private and told him that when he was in his glory they wanted to sit on his right and left. Just imagine; he was telling them that he was going to die, and the only thing they cared about was where they were going to sit. And don’t think that this is only to criticize others; it is for us also. It is how do we come to the church, how do we use Him, and how do we treat Him? Actually, these apostles did not care for Jesus Christ. They went in the most crucial time just to say, “Give me power,” instead of saying that they would help him. If somebody told you he was going to die would you tell him to bring you food to eat? This would be cruel.
So, remember and ask yourselves, everybody of us: what is it that we want from Jesus Christ? Is he an instrument that will give me power, social status or something that will make my life a little bit better? Is it somebody who will give me – for free – eternal life, just in case there is eternal life? So we must think, what is it that I really think about Jesus Christ? Do I want to use Him? For most of the people, the answer is yes; it gives good social status: on Sunday I put on the mask of a good Christian. And you know, be careful about this. Jesus was not only crucified two thousand years ago; every day he is suffering for us. And we come to the church probably to make face to make up things that are missing in our everyday life. We have a place where we think the priest is a slave and he must appreciate very much that you did the honor to God by coming. Some people send me as message me that they will come to church the next day. But why do they tell me this? Do they expect me to go down to the mini-bus with a Gospel and wait for them?
So, Jesus Christ said very politely to these two disciples, “You don’t know what you’re asking for.” And many times also in our prayers we don’t know what we are asking for. Sometimes we ask for crazy things that are not good for us and even bad for the others. So, He said, “Can you take the Cross, the Baptism (which is the Passion) and the Cup that I take?” They said, “Yes.” Of course, they did not. After one week, when Jesus Christ was captured all the disciples escaped. They did not even appear before the court to say that He was innocent and they should be taken instead. So they really did not know what they were asking, but they knew one thing: the only thing they knew and the only thing that people appreciate is power, and this power is what made the Devil to be the Devil. Because there was a small conspiracy, when the other apostles heard this, they became very angry and said “Oh, you want position? Why not take my position?” The other apostles became very angry because these two wanted power for themselves
So, from this point of view, Jesus said, “You see the kings of all the nations, they exercise authority over their people. But you should not be like this.” Jesus, who was the son of God, was expressing a new concept of God: God who is not the master, but who is the servant, and He is serving. The God, who for the first time is not, as we think, Almighty – because we think about power. It is very sad that Christians, and even Orthodox Christians, think that the Church is an instrument to exercise political power. They use Jesus Christ and they use Eucharist for their own power, betraying him like Judas Christ, and worse than Judas because he just delivered Christ to others, while these people take the Holy Communion and they mock Jesus Christ.
It is very important to understand the new concept of God as God who serves. There is so much love of God, and so strange what we expect. Jesus has authority because He is God, and how does he exercise his authority? To go on the cross, not to crucify the others. The beautiful songs that we will have next week, they say even the sun even the light and all the clouds and the heavens were thanking and trembling. They did not dare to see their Creator suffering on the Cross. He exercised his power to say to them, do not be destroyed, stay there, continue to work, I want to do this.
Power is a very strange thing. People cannot exercise their freedom, so they need a master, and when they find a master they hate him because this reminds them of their inability to exercise their freedom and their responsibility. It is very important that the Church says that God is not power – this is the way that the demons know God as power, as authority, We know God as love, as Trinity, as coexistence, and as so humble that he came to serve us, expecting what from us? Nothing. It is very important to remember this. Jesus says that the Son of Man came to give his life as ransom for many, for everybody
