只是問一下 (22)：你有誰的形象？

多年以前，我們舉家移居美國。我的兒子在購物商場看到一件物品，非常著迷，於是買下來，寄回香港給他的舊同學。
一把瑞士軍刀。

萬能刀。

我從來不明白，為何有人總以為無論聖經記載耶穌做過甚麼，說過甚麼，必定有瑞士軍刀的功能。

也許人非常尊重耶穌。
或者聖經。
耶穌的一言一行，必須蘊含多重智慧。
就像一把瑞士軍刀。

因此，每當耶穌說甚麼，那必定是要揭穿真相、教導屬靈真理、指向道德典範，甚至規避政治陷害。
同一時間。
瑞士軍刀。

耶穌是上帝的兒子。
祂理應像一把瑞士軍刀。
甚至更好。

可惜，所有物品不都是瑞士軍刀。
筷子是用來夾東西，例如夾魚蛋。
篩是用來過濾，例如舀雲吞。

用錯誤的工具，就達不到目標。

因此，每當我聽到有人引用下面的經文來辯護政教分離的時候，總是感到惱火：
「凱撒的歸凱撒；上帝的歸上帝。」（馬可福音十二章17節《和合本修訂版》）

為何耶穌要那麼小心翼翼，防備自己跌入對手的圈套，以免最終成為凱撒牢房的階下囚？
祂真的有必要找一句既能教導又能規避陷阱的話嗎？
耶穌需要一把瑞士軍刀嗎？

專注尋求一個萬能回應代價不輕：失卻重點！

也許，耶穌根本就不關心納稅的事——遑論政教分離，祂的回答，是要指責發問者，難道他們忘記了該效忠於上帝嗎？
那豈不是更嚴重的錯誤？

為何不專注於耶穌在馬可福音十二章16節的問題：
「這象和這名號是誰的？」

誰的象？不是銀幣，是他們。
除了上帝，還有誰的象？

「凱撒的歸凱撒；上帝的歸上帝。」（馬可福音十二章17節《和合本修訂版》）

這豈不是呼召以色列人要記念他們的上帝嗎？
這豈不是喚起他們對創世故事的記憶嗎？那裡的「象」與這裡的「象」，豈不是互相呼應嗎？

「上帝說：『我們要照著我們的形象，按著我們的樣式造人……』」（創世記一章26節《和合本修訂版》）

為何不把瑞士軍刀忘掉？
為何不專心尋找一件單一用途的工具，聚焦於它的關鍵功能？
為何不重新檢視我們對獨一上帝的忠誠？祂的形象是全人類所共有的。

只是問一下。

Just asking (22): Whose image are you bearing?

Years ago when our family moved to USA, my son was so fascinated by an item in the mall he bought one and mailed it back to his former classmate in Hong Kong.
A Swiss Army knife.

Multifunction.

I never understood why people tend to be obsessed with the assumption that whatever Jesus did or said, as recorded in the Bible, must function as a Swiss Army knife.

Perhaps people highly esteem Jesus.
Or the Bible.
There must be multiple wisdoms.
Like a Swiss Army knife.

So whenever Jesus said something, that must be debunking a falsehood, teaching a spiritual truth, pointing to a moral jewel, and even evading political set-up.
All at the same time.
Swiss Army knife.

Jesus is the Son of God.
He should be like a Swiss Army knife.
Or even better.

Unfortunately, not all items are Swiss Army knife.
Chopsticks are to pick up things, like fish balls.
Sieves are to catch things like wonton.

Using the wrong tool could miss the target completely.

That’s why I always feel frustrated whenever I hear people use this saying to justify the separation of church and state:
“Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
(Mark 12:17 NET)

Why did Jesus have to be so mindful of not falling into the opponents’ traps to avoid ending up in Caesar’s court?
Did he really need to find a saying that could teach and evade?
Did Jesus need a Swiss Army knife?

Focusing on a multifunctional reply has a costly penalty: missing the key punch!

Could Jesus really not care about the Roman taxation issue—let alone separation of church and state, but rather want to indict the interlocutors’ forgetting their allegiance to their God?
Isn’t that a graver mistake?

Why not focus on Jesus’ question in Mk 12:16:
“Whose image is this, and whose inscription?”

Whose image were they, not the coin, bearing?
Who else but God!

“Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” (Mark 12:17 NET)

Wasn’t this a clarion call to the Israelites to remember their God?
Wasn’t it an automatic classic echo of the Creation narrative in Genesis whenever Israelites heard the term “image”?

“Then God said, ‘Let us make humankind in our image, after our likeness . . .’” (Geneses 1:26 NET)

Why not forget about the Swiss Army knife?
Why not just look for the key function of a single use tool?
Why not re-examine our allegiance to the One whose image humans bear?

Just asking.