Agape and phila

魯益斯寫過一部書叫 The Four Love, 說愛之為愛有四種, 或者四個層次:
Storge --- empathy bond
Philia --- friend bond
Eros --- romantic love
Agape --- unconditional `God' love

約翰福音載耶穌復活後, 在提毗利亞湖邊, 曾經連問彼得三次是否愛他. 對答中的愛字, 兩人用字不同, 前後不同. 這一點, 大概是教徒耳熟能詳的常識. 差別只在於大家如何理解用字的轉變, 如何演繹箇中的含意.

Sarah Ruden 譯約翰福音 21:15--18:

15 Then when they'd had breakfast, Iesous (Jesus) spoke to Simon Petros (Peter): `Simon, son of Ioannes: do you love me (agapao) more than these others do?' Simon said to him, `Yes, master, you know I'm your close friend (phileo).' Iesous said to him: `Pasture my lambs.'

16 Iesous spoke to him again, a second time: `Simon, son of Ioannes, do you love me?' Simon said to him, `Yes, master, you know I'm your close friend.' Iesous said to him, `Shepherd my sheep.'

17 Iesous spoke to him a third time: `Simon, son of Ioannes, are you my close friend?' Petros was aggravated that Iesous had spoken to him a third time, now saying, `Are you my close friend?' Now Petros said to him, `Master, you know everything; you recognize that I am your close friend.' [Iesous] said to him, `Pasture my sheep.* 18 Amen amen, I tell you ...'

第 17 節的註, 直指為捉弄:

(Note: [*] The humor here hangs on the difference between the verbs agapao and fileo ... It sounds like a mercilessly teasing lesson that personal feelings do not matter, a lesson from a leader who has shown another follower (John) striking personal favoritism.)

耶穌連問兩次, 彼得死口不肯說 agapao, 只肯說 phileo. 耶穌第三次也改口了 (其實第二次已經鬆了口刪去 `more than these others (do)?') 遷就彼得的用字再問他, 好了好了, phileo 就 phileo, 那你 phileo 我嗎? 如此一來, 彼得反而窘態畢露, 心理上無可逃避.

別以為 close friend 輕可, close friend 已經 說到殉道的份上了.

18 Amen amen, I tell you: when you were a young man, you belted up your clothes and walked around wherever you wanted. But when you get old, you'll stretch out your hands, and someone else will truss you in a belt and take you where you don't want to go.' ... (19b) And having said this, he told him, `Follow me.'

彼得的反應是: (20--21)

20 Turning around, ... Petros said to Iesous, `But Master, what about him?'

看來彼得還是無法直面耶穌的問題: `Simon, do you love me?'

回想起來, 耶穌「易容改裝」, 彼得望著眼前陌生的樣子, 到底是易些回答還是難些回答, 反而說不定了.

* 溯洄從之: 沒有一個敢問他你是誰: FACE OFF的橋段, 二千年前的版本. ----- 試把第 14 節下半「門徒中沒有一個敢問他你是誰？ ...... 向門徒顯現，這已是第三次。」一段刪去重讀, 就可以看出當中的錯愕與不踏實, 是故事寫法刻意營造的氣氛.