二○二一年四月二十四日／二十五日
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學會看
周曉暉牧師
人生固然有美好的時光，但亦有些日子，你會赫然看見，天底下有許多事情，是人力掌控不到的。
遇上個人際遇的改變，工作、財富、健康、或家人關係等生變，甚或是所處環境時局更迭，在這些情況下，信主的人也會感到無所適從。傳道書就是要人學會看這種短暫、不能確定、沒有長久滿足的人生。
聖經對人生有兩大方面的解讀：「創造」與「救贖」。我們較熟悉「救贖」，即是為了解決人有罪的困局，上主賜下耶穌基督，作為人類惟一的救贖及出路。至於「創造」，相信你對聖經開首有關六日創造天地萬物及人類的記載，必是耳熟能詳；但其中的敘述，其實也講及這人生有受造的特性、規律與價值，只是我們一般較少循此進路去對照自己的人生。聖經的智慧文學也多從「創造」角度看人生，多讀這些書卷，能有助我們不會把人生種種際遇，簡單二分為屬靈或屬世。
傳道書作為智慧文學，就是以許多篇幅和不同角度，去剖析人生與天下萬事的特色。不少人一聽到傳道書，就會想起「虛空」，這個詞語往往讓人誤以為是虛無飄渺、毫無意義的同義詞，於是就把傳道書想成是一卷消極的勸世文。原來，傳道書與創世記，有一組相近的字詞，顯示作者是從「創造」入手，去透析這日光之下的人生，叫我們學會看為何人生總是難以擺脫「虛空」。除了前言和後記，全書的正文有五段結論（傳二24-26，三12-15，五18-20，八15，九7-10），重複討論「虛空」和與之相對的「美好/享福」的主題。1
傳道書揭示了這難以全盤參透的人生，乃創造主之設計原意。回想多年前初次研讀傳道書的日子，發現原來上主早已看見我其時內心的疑惑與不寧，這位人生的「牧者」（十二 11）就藉傳道書幫助我學會看自己的遭遇。其實，根據猶太人的傳統，在每年歡慶收割的住棚節中，他們都會誦讀傳道書，叫人學懂既歡喜擁抱美好，也接受人生有虛空的特色。
但願上主在我們深感世事不順、荒謬無理之時，用傳道書引領我們，在祂所預備給每個人的獨特人生路徑中，學會看這人生，尊重創造主設定的規律和安排，也在一切勞碌愁苦裡能「自得其樂」（二 24，新譯本）。
1 楊錫鏘：〈從創造神學看傳道書的職場智慧〉，收《創造神學與人生》，黎永明等著（香港：天道，2016），113-15。
Pastor's Sharing Learn to See
Rev Arnold Chow
Without a doubt, life has its good times. But there are other times when you find to your dismay many things under the sun that you simply cannot control.
When changes occur in our job, wealth, health, family relationships, the environment or political situation, even believers will feel very much at a loss. It is exactly such a life scenario, with all its brevity, uncertainties and lack of lasting contentment, that the Book of Ecclesiastes addresses and teaches us to face squarely.
The Bible interprets life mainly from two angles: creation and redemption. We are more familiar with redemption, by which, to resolve the predicament of sin, God sent Jesus Christ to be man's only salvation and way out. As for creation, you are probably familiar with the narrative at the beginning of the Bible about the six days of creation of everything in heavens and the earth as well as man. It also tells that life is characterized by its createdness, order and value. We seldom look at our lives from this perspective. The wisdom literature in the Bible approaches life more from the angle of creation. Reading these books more will help us avoid attributing our life experiences to purely spiritual or secular origins.
Ecclesiastes as wisdom literature goes to great length and takes different angles in its exposition on life and everything in the world. Many people associate Ecclesiastes with "vanity" – a word which is often mistaken to be synonymous with nothingness or meaninglessness. They see the book as a pessimistic exhortation for the world. But you will notice that a number of similar terms are common to Ecclesiastes and Genesis. They show that the author had scrutinized life under the sun through the lens of creation and learned why it is hard to be rid of vanity. Other than the prologue and epilogue, conclusions to five main sections of Ecclesiastes (2:24-26; 3:12-15; 5:18-20; 8:15; 9:7-10) deal with "vanity" and the contrasting theme of happiness/satisfaction. 1
The book also reveals that life, which is hard to fully grasp, is exactly what the Creator designed it to be. Looking back at the time when I first studied Ecclesiastes, I realized that the Lord had long ago seen the doubts and restlessness in my heart. So with Ecclesiastes, the "one shepherd" of life (12:11) helped me learn how to look at my life encounters. According to Jewish tradition, during the yearly Sukkot when the gathering of the harvest is celebrated, people would read out the Book of Ecclesiastes. While they rejoice in embracing the good, they also learn to accept life's vanity.
If and when we deeply feel that things are not in order, or are absurd and irrational, may the Lord guide us with Ecclesiastes. May we learn how to look at life. May we respect the order set by God therein and the arrangement from His hand in everyone's unique life path. May we all find satisfaction in our toil (2:24).
1 Yeung, Sek-cheung. "Creation Theology in Ecclesiastes and Wisdom for Workplace." Creation Theology and Life. Hong Kong: Tien Dao Publishing House Ltd, 2016.
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