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2019年10月20日
三種禱告的方式 路加福音18章1至8節
Dr. Sam Wells 牧師
在崇拜後的茶會， 你正喝著一杯咖啡並與弟兄姊妹寒暄，了解一下近況。當話題快要結束時， 對方突然抓住你的手臂，聲音變得非常嚴肅，說：「請為我的父親祈禱。因為老人癡呆症，他變了另 一個人，我覺得他開結慢慢地失去了自己。」你看著你朋友眼睛， 從她眼裏，你能看到她所經歷的 傷痛以及何等艱辛才能說出來。於是你回應：「對不起，我為你感到難過。對你來說，這一定是個困擾的時期。我一定會為你的父親祈禱，也為你祈禱。」
但當你許下承諾後，你實際上如何為這種情況的人祈禱呢？在這個漫長而又持續痛苦的悲劇中，你能找到什麼話來表達呢？在這場悲劇中，生命和靈魂正在瓦解，沒有黎明的跡象。
我們有兩種慣常的模式去為她和她的父親禱告，第一種我會稱它為復活的禱告。這是一個對神蹟的呼喚。你只需要說：「上主，求你用你復活耶穌的大能，拯救這個人的身體和心靈，讓他再次成為自己，並把親友陪伴的喜樂，和美滿家庭的盼望帶給我的朋友。」
你心裏很大程度上想這樣去祈禱。你愛你的朋友，你知道她看見父親的情況逐漸變差，心裡痛苦不堪。你希望上帝會同情她，並用衪的大能改變現況。你大概感覺到身邊有些基督徒，他們一直在祈禱復活。你也因此而思考應否對神有更多信心，期望祂每天成就奇妙的事。可是， 你也見過希望落空，老人痴呆症的結果只有一個，你甚至無法說出「醫治」一詞，因為它根本不可能被醫治。這就是復活的禱告。你知道基督教是建基於復活之上的， 而且你朋友就正正需要他，只是有些時候你很難將復活宣之於口。
不過還有其他的祈禱方法的，這個方法就是道成肉身的禱告。這是祈求聖靈進入你朋友和他的父親的心中陪伴他。你要知道耶穌獨自在死亡的邊緣經歷破碎、冷落和孤獨。而這一切都是人類生命的一部分，也是您出生時會注定經歷的一部分。我們的身心非常脆弱，有時甚至一觸即碎。沒有人能保証生命是容易，舒服，開心和輕鬆的。這個道成肉身的禱告說：「上主，你透過耶穌分擔我們的痛苦，愚蠢和霉運。你以血和肉去承受了我們的欲望，笨拙和軟弱。求你臨到我朋友和她的父親身上，讓她們有耐心忍受未來，抱著希望去度過每一天的苦難，並有同路人向他們展示祢的愛。」
諷刺的是，複活的禱告期望上帝完成所有的工作，而這個禱告卻促使我們自己採取行動。如果我們說「帶來同路人向他們展示祢的愛」，我們會想知道有誰比我們自己更適合做她的同路人。在內心深處，她很清楚她父親的未來會很痛苦。當她緊張地伸出手來抓住你的手臂時，她真正想要的是：「讓我相信，在這一切之中，我並不孤單。」你正好能幫助她。但是作為一個人，在面對這一切之時，是很難不感到無能為力和不足的。
我想告訴你，我們並不止有復活和道成肉身兩種禱告方式，雖然這兩種禱告方式已能替我們說出大部分的話，不過我們更有第三種禱告──顯現的禱告。它是這樣的：「主啊，在你兒子的顯現中， 我們得見顯現及隱藏以及超越我們所想所認知的真相；在這個困苦的時刻中，求你向我朋友和她的父親展現你的榮耀，好讓他們能尋著在他們生命中比所認知更深的真理 ， 建立比以往更堅定的友誼， 發現更祟高活著的理由，並比從前更加充滿你的恩典」
這是一種截然不同的禱告方式。也許這就是你真正需要為她們，也為你祈禱的方法。「求你讓這些試煉和悲劇，問題和痛苦，能成為一扇通向你世界一睹你榮光的窗。讓我得見你的臉，感受萬事萬物當中的奧秘，與天使及眾聖者同行。讓我在這次苦難中能比平靜的時刻更親近你。求你讓這一刻成為現實：當我像祢的門徒一樣畏縮而感到孤單時，撫摸我，扶助我，讓我以前所未有的方式重生。」
20th October 2019
Three Ways to Pray Luke 18: 1-8
Revd. Dr. Sam Wells
You’re having a coffee after the service on a Sunday. You say hi, you say haven’t talked for a while, you say how are you, what’s up, and you catch up on this and that. And then, just as you’re finishing, your conversation partner holds your forearm, and her tone changes and is more serious, and she says, ‘Say a prayer for my dad, will you, he’s not himself, the dementia’s really kicking in, and I feel like he’s losing his identity inch by unrelenting inch.’ And you look into your friend’s eyes, and in them you see the cost of what it’s required to keep going, and of what it’s taken just to put that pain into words, and you say, ‘I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. This must be such a bewildering time for you. Of course I’ll pray for your dad. And I’ll pray for you too.’
But then you’ve made a promise. A promise you have to keep. How exactly do you pray for a person in such a situation? What words can you find to wrap around this kind of long, slow-burning tragedy, in which lives and souls unravel and there’s no sign of the dawn?
There are two conventional ways to pray for your friend and her dad. I’m going to call the first way resurrection. It’s a call for a miracle. You just say, ‘God, by the power with which you raised Jesus from the dead, restore this man in mind and body, make him himself again, and bring my friend the joy of companionship and the hope of a long and fruitful family life together.’
There’s a big part of you that wants to pray this prayer. You love your friend. You see how watching her dad disintegrate before her eyes is breaking her heart. You want God to show some compassion, some change, some action. In the back of your head you maybe have a sense of some other Christians, perhaps close to you, who seem to pray for resurrection all the time, and you wonder if you should have more faith and expect God to do amazing things every day. But you’ve also seen hopes dashed, you’ve seen Alzheimer’s only end one way, and a part of you can’t even say the word ‘heal’ because it seems to be asking for something that just isn’t going to happen. That’s the prayer of resurrection. You know Christianity’s founded on it and you know it’s what your friend most longs for – but sometimes you just find it too hard to say.
But that’s not the only kind of prayer. The other conventional kind of prayer is the prayer of incarnation. It’s a call for the Holy Spirit to be with your friend and their father. It’s a recognition that Jesus was broken, desolate, alone, on the brink of death, and that this is all part of being a human being, all part of the deal you sign onto the day you’re born. Our bodies and minds are fragile, frail, and sometimes feeble. There’s no guarantee life will be easy, comfortable, fun, or happy. The prayer of incarnation says, ‘God, in Jesus you shared our pain, our foolishness, and our sheer bad luck; you took on our flesh with all its needs and clumsiness and weakness. Visit my friend and her father now: give them patience to endure what lies ahead, hope to get through every trying day, and companions to show them your love.’
The irony about this prayer is that the resurrection prayer expects God to do all the work, whereas this prayer stirs us into action ourselves. If we say ‘send them companions to show them your love,’ we’ve got to be wondering if there’s anyone better placed to be such a companion than we ourselves. Deep down our friend is well aware that the prospects for her father are pretty bleak. What she’s really asking for when she nervously puts her hand out to clasp your forearm is, ‘Help me trust that I’m not alone in all of this.’ Chances are, you can help her with that. But in the midst of it all you’d hardly be human if you didn’t feel powerless and inadequate in the face of all she’s going through.
I want to suggest that resurrection and incarnation aren’t the only kinds of prayer. I’m sure they’re the most common, and in many circumstances they say pretty much all we want or need or ought to say. But there’s a third kind of prayer – a prayer of transfiguration. It goes like this. ‘God, in your son’s transfiguration we see a whole reality within and beneath and beyond what we thought we understood; in their times of bewilderment and confusion, show my friend and her father your glory, that they may find a deeper truth to their life than they ever knew, make firmer friends than they ever had, discover reasons for living beyond what they’d ever imagined, and be folded into your grace like never before.’
This is a different kind of a prayer. Maybe this is your real prayer for your friend and her father; and for yourself. ‘Make this trial and tragedy, this problem and pain, a glimpse of your glory, a window into your world. Let me see your face, sense the mystery in all things, and walk with angels and saints. Bring me closer to you in this crisis than I ever have been in calmer times. Make this a moment of truth, and when, like your disciples, I cower in fear and feel alone, touch me, raise me, and make me alive like never before.’
三種禱告的方式 路加福音18章1至8節
Dr. Sam Wells 牧師
在崇拜後的茶會， 你正喝著一杯咖啡並與弟兄姊妹寒暄，了解一下近況。當話題快要結束時， 對方突然抓住你的手臂，聲音變得非常嚴肅，說：「請為我的父親祈禱。因為老人癡呆症，他變了另 一個人，我覺得他開結慢慢地失去了自己。」你看著你朋友眼睛， 從她眼裏，你能看到她所經歷的 傷痛以及何等艱辛才能說出來。於是你回應：「對不起，我為你感到難過。對你來說，這一定是個困擾的時期。我一定會為你的父親祈禱，也為你祈禱。」
但當你許下承諾後，你實際上如何為這種情況的人祈禱呢？在這個漫長而又持續痛苦的悲劇中，你能找到什麼話來表達呢？在這場悲劇中，生命和靈魂正在瓦解，沒有黎明的跡象。
我們有兩種慣常的模式去為她和她的父親禱告，第一種我會稱它為復活的禱告。這是一個對神蹟的呼喚。你只需要說：「上主，求你用你復活耶穌的大能，拯救這個人的身體和心靈，讓他再次成為自己，並把親友陪伴的喜樂，和美滿家庭的盼望帶給我的朋友。」
你心裏很大程度上想這樣去祈禱。你愛你的朋友，你知道她看見父親的情況逐漸變差，心裡痛苦不堪。你希望上帝會同情她，並用衪的大能改變現況。你大概感覺到身邊有些基督徒，他們一直在祈禱復活。你也因此而思考應否對神有更多信心，期望祂每天成就奇妙的事。可是， 你也見過希望落空，老人痴呆症的結果只有一個，你甚至無法說出「醫治」一詞，因為它根本不可能被醫治。這就是復活的禱告。你知道基督教是建基於復活之上的， 而且你朋友就正正需要他，只是有些時候你很難將復活宣之於口。
不過還有其他的祈禱方法的，這個方法就是道成肉身的禱告。這是祈求聖靈進入你朋友和他的父親的心中陪伴他。你要知道耶穌獨自在死亡的邊緣經歷破碎、冷落和孤獨。而這一切都是人類生命的一部分，也是您出生時會注定經歷的一部分。我們的身心非常脆弱，有時甚至一觸即碎。沒有人能保証生命是容易，舒服，開心和輕鬆的。這個道成肉身的禱告說：「上主，你透過耶穌分擔我們的痛苦，愚蠢和霉運。你以血和肉去承受了我們的欲望，笨拙和軟弱。求你臨到我朋友和她的父親身上，讓她們有耐心忍受未來，抱著希望去度過每一天的苦難，並有同路人向他們展示祢的愛。」
諷刺的是，複活的禱告期望上帝完成所有的工作，而這個禱告卻促使我們自己採取行動。如果我們說「帶來同路人向他們展示祢的愛」，我們會想知道有誰比我們自己更適合做她的同路人。在內心深處，她很清楚她父親的未來會很痛苦。當她緊張地伸出手來抓住你的手臂時，她真正想要的是：「讓我相信，在這一切之中，我並不孤單。」你正好能幫助她。但是作為一個人，在面對這一切之時，是很難不感到無能為力和不足的。
我想告訴你，我們並不止有復活和道成肉身兩種禱告方式，雖然這兩種禱告方式已能替我們說出大部分的話，不過我們更有第三種禱告──顯現的禱告。它是這樣的：「主啊，在你兒子的顯現中， 我們得見顯現及隱藏以及超越我們所想所認知的真相；在這個困苦的時刻中，求你向我朋友和她的父親展現你的榮耀，好讓他們能尋著在他們生命中比所認知更深的真理 ， 建立比以往更堅定的友誼， 發現更祟高活著的理由，並比從前更加充滿你的恩典」
這是一種截然不同的禱告方式。也許這就是你真正需要為她們，也為你祈禱的方法。「求你讓這些試煉和悲劇，問題和痛苦，能成為一扇通向你世界一睹你榮光的窗。讓我得見你的臉，感受萬事萬物當中的奧秘，與天使及眾聖者同行。讓我在這次苦難中能比平靜的時刻更親近你。求你讓這一刻成為現實：當我像祢的門徒一樣畏縮而感到孤單時，撫摸我，扶助我，讓我以前所未有的方式重生。」
20th October 2019
Three Ways to Pray Luke 18: 1-8
Revd. Dr. Sam Wells
You’re having a coffee after the service on a Sunday. You say hi, you say haven’t talked for a while, you say how are you, what’s up, and you catch up on this and that. And then, just as you’re finishing, your conversation partner holds your forearm, and her tone changes and is more serious, and she says, ‘Say a prayer for my dad, will you, he’s not himself, the dementia’s really kicking in, and I feel like he’s losing his identity inch by unrelenting inch.’ And you look into your friend’s eyes, and in them you see the cost of what it’s required to keep going, and of what it’s taken just to put that pain into words, and you say, ‘I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. This must be such a bewildering time for you. Of course I’ll pray for your dad. And I’ll pray for you too.’
But then you’ve made a promise. A promise you have to keep. How exactly do you pray for a person in such a situation? What words can you find to wrap around this kind of long, slow-burning tragedy, in which lives and souls unravel and there’s no sign of the dawn?
There are two conventional ways to pray for your friend and her dad. I’m going to call the first way resurrection. It’s a call for a miracle. You just say, ‘God, by the power with which you raised Jesus from the dead, restore this man in mind and body, make him himself again, and bring my friend the joy of companionship and the hope of a long and fruitful family life together.’
There’s a big part of you that wants to pray this prayer. You love your friend. You see how watching her dad disintegrate before her eyes is breaking her heart. You want God to show some compassion, some change, some action. In the back of your head you maybe have a sense of some other Christians, perhaps close to you, who seem to pray for resurrection all the time, and you wonder if you should have more faith and expect God to do amazing things every day. But you’ve also seen hopes dashed, you’ve seen Alzheimer’s only end one way, and a part of you can’t even say the word ‘heal’ because it seems to be asking for something that just isn’t going to happen. That’s the prayer of resurrection. You know Christianity’s founded on it and you know it’s what your friend most longs for – but sometimes you just find it too hard to say.
But that’s not the only kind of prayer. The other conventional kind of prayer is the prayer of incarnation. It’s a call for the Holy Spirit to be with your friend and their father. It’s a recognition that Jesus was broken, desolate, alone, on the brink of death, and that this is all part of being a human being, all part of the deal you sign onto the day you’re born. Our bodies and minds are fragile, frail, and sometimes feeble. There’s no guarantee life will be easy, comfortable, fun, or happy. The prayer of incarnation says, ‘God, in Jesus you shared our pain, our foolishness, and our sheer bad luck; you took on our flesh with all its needs and clumsiness and weakness. Visit my friend and her father now: give them patience to endure what lies ahead, hope to get through every trying day, and companions to show them your love.’
The irony about this prayer is that the resurrection prayer expects God to do all the work, whereas this prayer stirs us into action ourselves. If we say ‘send them companions to show them your love,’ we’ve got to be wondering if there’s anyone better placed to be such a companion than we ourselves. Deep down our friend is well aware that the prospects for her father are pretty bleak. What she’s really asking for when she nervously puts her hand out to clasp your forearm is, ‘Help me trust that I’m not alone in all of this.’ Chances are, you can help her with that. But in the midst of it all you’d hardly be human if you didn’t feel powerless and inadequate in the face of all she’s going through.
I want to suggest that resurrection and incarnation aren’t the only kinds of prayer. I’m sure they’re the most common, and in many circumstances they say pretty much all we want or need or ought to say. But there’s a third kind of prayer – a prayer of transfiguration. It goes like this. ‘God, in your son’s transfiguration we see a whole reality within and beneath and beyond what we thought we understood; in their times of bewilderment and confusion, show my friend and her father your glory, that they may find a deeper truth to their life than they ever knew, make firmer friends than they ever had, discover reasons for living beyond what they’d ever imagined, and be folded into your grace like never before.’
This is a different kind of a prayer. Maybe this is your real prayer for your friend and her father; and for yourself. ‘Make this trial and tragedy, this problem and pain, a glimpse of your glory, a window into your world. Let me see your face, sense the mystery in all things, and walk with angels and saints. Bring me closer to you in this crisis than I ever have been in calmer times. Make this a moment of truth, and when, like your disciples, I cower in fear and feel alone, touch me, raise me, and make me alive like never before.’
