害怕死去的麥子
世界給苦難的答案
經文
傳道書一1-18
1在耶路撒冷作王、大衛的兒子、傳道者的言語。
2傳道者說：虛空的虛空，虛空的虛空，凡事都是虛空。
3人一切的勞碌，就是他在日光之下的勞碌，有甚麼益處呢？
4一代過去，一代又來，地卻永遠長存。
5日頭出來，日頭落下，急歸所出之地。
6風往南颳，又向北轉，不住地旋轉，而且返回轉行原道。
7江河都往海裡流，海卻不滿；江河從何處流，仍歸還何處。
8萬事令人厭煩（或譯：萬物滿有困乏），人不能說盡。眼看，看不飽；耳聽，聽不足。
9已有的事後必再有；已行的事後必再行。日光之下並無新事。
10豈有一件事人能指著說這是新的？哪知，在我們以前的世代早已有了。
11已過的世代，無人記念；將來的世代，後來的人也不記念。
12我傳道者在耶路撒冷作過以色列的王。13我專心用智慧尋求、查究天下所作的一切事，乃知神叫世人所經練的是極重的勞苦。14我見日光之下所作的一切事，都是虛空，都是捕風。15彎曲的，不能變直；缺少的，不能足數。
16我心裡議論說：我得了大智慧，勝過我以前在耶路撒冷的眾人，而且我心中多經歷智慧和知識的事。17我又專心察明智慧、狂妄，和愚昧，乃知這也是捕風。18因為多有智慧，就多有愁煩；加增知識的，就加增憂傷。
信息分享
今天我們要再來思想關於苦難的問題，看看世界所提供的一些答案。詩人歐瑪爾．海亞姆（Omar Khayyam）在思想世界的苦難時說：
緊抓各種悲慘情況……
將它們壓成碎片，然後按照自己的渴望重塑。
他的做法是盡可能避免苦難，然後重塑一個理想的世界。
另一種做法是接受苦難的事實，以順命的態度面對它。比如對自己說：「我知道它會臨到但是不會措手不及，我明白我所擁有的一切都可能會被奪去。」這是失望的憤世嫉俗的人所抱持的態度。還有一種回應是陷入自憐。以這種方式回應苦難的人從同情自己中得著愉悅。另外還有很多人喜歡誇大自己的問題，藉以得到別人更多的同情。
再有一種面對苦難的方法是逆來順受，這是一種接受苦難的事實，並下定決心忍受它的態度。我曾經讀過一篇關於南美洲一個印第安部落如何教導兒童的報導：「你出生在一個充滿問題的世界，所以你要閉上口，安靜地忍受。」就是因為這樣的思想，產生了逆來順受的印第安族人。至於東方宗教如佛教和印度教，他們對苦難都有複雜的解釋，但卻和其他人一樣，都欠缺重要的一點：沒有任何傷痛能給我們答案，沒有死亡能回應我們的死亡。但是基督，唯有基督，才能給我們的苦難一個最後的答案。
「唯有基督能夠回應我們的傷痛」
進深研究
彼前四1-13；伯十一16；詩三十5
1. 我們當如何面對苦難？
2. 我們所持有的保障是甚麼？
祈禱
神啊，當我不斷為難擔的苦難找尋答案時，我清楚發現世界對這個問題沒有令人滿意的解答。我的信靠和仰望在您那兒。親愛的父，求您帶領我的步伐。阿們。
The Corn of Wheat Afraid to Die
The world's answers to suffering
Bible reading:
Ecclesiastes 1:1-18
1 The words of the Teacher,[a] son of David, king in Jerusalem:
2 "Meaningless! Meaningless!" says the Teacher. "Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless."
3 What do people gain from all their labors at which they toil under the sun?
4 Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever.
5 The sun rises and the sun sets, and hurries back to where it rises.
6 The wind blows to the south and turns to the north; round and round it goes, ever returning on its course.
7 All streams flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full. To the place the streams come from, there they return again.
8 All things are wearisome, more than one can say. The eye never has enough of seeing, nor the ear its fill of hearing.
9 What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.
10 Is there anything of which one can say, "Look! This is something new"? It was here already, long ago; it was here before our time.
11 No one remembers the former generations, and even those yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow them.
12 I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem.
13 I applied my mind to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under the heavens. What a heavy burden God has laid on mankind!
14 I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.
15 What is crooked cannot be straightened; what is lacking cannot be counted.
16 I said to myself, "Look, I have increased in wisdom more than anyone who has ruled over Jerusalem before me; I have experienced much of wisdom and knowledge."
17 Then I applied myself to the understanding of wisdom, and also of madness and folly, but I learned that this, too, is a chasing after the wind.
18 For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief.
Message
Today we look at the various answers - so called - which the world has offered in relation to the problem of suffering. Omar Khayyam, the poet, looked upon the world of suffering and said:
To grasp this sorry scheme of things entire...
Shatter it to bits - and then remould it to my heart's desire.
His answer was to remake the world with the possibility of suffering left out.
Another answer is to accept the fact of suffering and meet it with resigned anticipation. You say to yourself: "I knew it would come, I was not caught unawares, for everything I hold can be taken away" This is the attitude of disillusioned cynicism. Then another response is to give way to self-pity. Those who follow this method of dealing with suffering get pleasure out of feeling sorry for themselves. And many exaggerate their troubles in order to increase the possibility of gaining others' sympathy.
Yet another way is the way of stoicism. This is the attitude of accepting the fact of suffering and steeling oneself against it. I read about an Indian tribe in South America who teach their children: "You are born into a world of trouble. Shut your mouth, be quiet and bear it." You can see how this type of thinking produces the stoical Indian. The Eastern religions, such as Buddhism and Hinduism, have complex answers to suffering, but they, along with the others, lack one important thing - there are no wounds that answer our wounds, no death that will answer our death. Christ and Christ alone gives us the final answer to suffering.
"Only Christ has words that answer our wounds"
Prayer
O God, as I move from day to day in search of an answer to the problem of unmerited suffering, I see clearly that the world has found no satisfying solution to this problem. My trust and confidence is in You. Lead on, dear Father. Amen.
Further study
1 Peter 4:1-13
Job 11:16
Psalm 30:5
1. How are we to face suffering?
2. What is the assurance we have?
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