作者Revd Angela Sheard, 聖馬田助理牧師 我的外祖父一生都在用他自己的母語泰米爾語和英語收集智慧諺語或箴言。除了他的基督教信仰,這些箴言也是他的指導源泉,是他應對生活挑戰和在不確定時期做出正確決定的一種方式。他將其中的許多名言傳給了我母親,而母親又傳給了我。她會用這類話語提醒我:傾聽每一個人的意見,可是只對極少數人發表你的意見;接受每一個人的批評,可是保留你自己的判斷。(譯註:出於哈姆雷特第一幕第三場景) 現在,在他去世多年後,我祖父的箴言不僅留在我的記憶中,而且還留在我的嘴唇和心裡。他多年來收集的智慧話語本可以很容易地隨著他去世而消失——但在他死後很久,這些箴言仍然通過他與家人的親密關係存在。 我祖父的去世是一個潛在的中斷時刻,他的智慧箴言可能會永遠消失。以類似的方式,耶穌離開門徒可以被視為他在地球上的使命面臨巨大不確定性的時刻。在這一刻,耶穌已經死了並且從死裡復活了——到目前為止一切順利。但是他即將到來的國度的統治又如何呢?這將在何時以及如何實現?耶穌的門徒既崇拜他又懷疑他——他們知道他是上帝的兒子,但也許他們亦想知道他回到天父身邊後如何繼續他的使命。 耶穌的回應是將他已經開始的使命交給他的門徒——就像我母親和我自己傳遞祖父的箴言一樣,耶穌的門徒將繼續他的工作,以實現上帝的國度。 他們將如何做到這一點?耶穌給了他們兩條指示:施洗,和教導他人他所吩咐的一切。首先,奉父、子、聖靈的名施洗。洗禮標誌著我們進入門徒團體,同時也是我們自己事工的開始,因為我們尋求使用我們自己的恩賜來做上帝的工作。正是在洗禮中,耶穌正在進行的使命——帶來上帝公義與和平的國度——被交給了我們每個人。對我來說,關鍵是耶穌在加利利離開他的門徒,而這正是耶穌開始他的公共事工的地方。當時祂在會堂裡宣讀先知以賽亞的話: 主的靈在我身上,因為他用膏膏我,叫我傳福音給貧窮的人; 差遣我報告:被擄的得釋放,瞎眼的得看見,叫那受壓制的得自由, 報告神悅納人的禧年。 現在,在同一地區的一座聖山上,他將這項任務交給了他後繼的人——而我們同樣也在受洗時被聖靈恩膏,繼續這項工作。 但更深刻的是,在耶穌受洗時,我們聽到上帝的聲音,宣告耶穌是誰:這是我的愛子,是我所喜悅的。此刻,我們聽到聖父與聖子之間的愛的關係,聖神化作鴿子降臨在耶穌身上。在我們自己的洗禮中,上帝同樣以三個位格存在——我們的名字呼喚,並被吸引到構成三位一體的愛的關係中。洗禮不僅是我們自己事工的開始——它是對我們每個人也是上帝所愛者的肯定,並且被父、子和聖靈之間流動的愛所愛。 除了指示他的門徒施洗外,耶穌還要求他們教導他所吩咐的一切。但是門徒應該如何總結耶穌的教導——他教導的一切的本質是什麼?在耶穌的公開傳道期間,他回應了人們就一個類似問題的爭論:應該放哪條摩西誡命在首位?耶穌回答說:耶穌對他說:你要盡心、盡 性、盡意愛主─你的神。這是誡命中的第一,且是最大的。其次也相倣,就是要愛人如己。這兩條誡命是律法和先知一切道理的總綱。 在這個總結中,我們了解到耶穌的教導源於他在三位一體中所知道的愛——聖父、聖子和聖靈之間的愛。正是出於這種愛,他可以教導他人愛上帝和愛他們的鄰居。同樣,如果門徒們記得他們也被一種愛所愛,這種愛將伴隨他們一直到世界的盡頭,那麼他們就能執行耶穌的使命。他們的事工最終必須成為三位一體之愛的見證,而這種愛維繫著上帝在地上的國度。 我們每個人如何在自己的生活中完成耶穌託付給我們的工作?首先,我認為最重要的是要提醒自己,我們也是上帝所愛的孩子——我們每個人都被呼喚並被聖靈恩膏。我們每個人如何更深入地進入三位一體的愛中?也許對你來說,這可能意味著花時間與上帝在一起,也許在三位一體的聖像或圖像前,傾聽上帝所說的話。或許這意味著反思你自己的洗禮,以及接受聖靈的恩典對你意味著什麼。 其次,我們需要注意耶穌的使命在當今世界的哪些地方得到執行。在過去的一周裡,我在許多參加坎特伯雷朝聖活動為 Connection 籌款的人身上看到了這些跡象,我知道其中包括你們中的許多人!在那些走路的人、提供茶和咖啡的人、娛樂和鼓勵他人的人身上,我在我們中間看到了神國的跡象。我看到了耶穌在我們這個時代執行使命的跡象。我想知道:神國的徵兆在你生命中的哪些地方出現?耶穌的使命在我們這個時代延續的跡像在哪裡,比如我祖父的箴言被代代相傳?在接下來的幾周里,讓我們每個人都祈求上帝的靈向我們展示聖三位一體在當今世界的哪些地方工作,以及我們如何也可以加入耶穌基督令人興奮和持續的使命。 Original -
My grandfather collected wise sayings or proverbs throughout his life, both in his own native language of Tamil and in English. Alongside his Christian faith, these proverbs were a source of guidance for him, a way of navigating the challenges of life and of making good decisions in times of uncertainty. He passed many of these sayings down to my mother, who in turn passed them down to me. She would remind me of words like these: “Give every man thine ear but few thy voice; Take each man’s censure but reserve thy judgement.” Now, many years after his death, my grandfather’s proverbs live on not only in my memory but on my lips and in my heart. The wise teachings that he collected over the years could easily have died with him – and yet they lived on long after his death, through his loving relationships with members of his family. My grandfather’s death was a moment of potential discontinuity, a time when his wise sayings could have been lost forever. In a similar way, Jesus’s leaving the disciples could be seen as a moment of great uncertainty for his mission on earth. At this point, Jesus has died and has risen from the dead – so far so good. But what about the reign of his coming kingdom – when and how will that be accomplished? Jesus’s disciples respond both by worshipping him and doubting him – they know that he is the son of God, but perhaps they wonder how his mission can continue after he returns to his Father. Jesus responds by handing over to his disciples the mission that he has begun – like my mother and myself passing on my grandfather’s proverbs, Jesus’s disciples will continue his work in bringing about the kingdom of God. How will they do this? Jesus gives them two instructions: to baptize, and his second is to teach all that he has commanded. Firstly, by baptizing in the name of the Father, Son and Spirit. Baptism marks our entry into the community of disciples, and also the start of our own ministry as we seek to use our own gifts to do the work of God. It is at baptism that the ongoing mission of Jesus – bringing about God’s kingdom of justice and peace – is handed over to each one of us. For me, it is significant that Jesus leaves his disciples in Galilee, the place where he began his public ministry by reading in the synagogue these words from the prophet Isaiah: ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.’ Now, on a holy mountain in the same region, he hands that task over to those who come after him – and we too are anointed by the Holy Spirit at our baptism to continue this work. But even more deeply, at Jesus’s baptism we hear the voice of God declaring who Jesus is: “This is my son the beloved, with whom I am well pleased”. At this moment we hear the relationship of love between the Father and Son, mediated by the Spirit who descends upon Jesus as a dove. At our own baptism, God is likewise present in three persons – and we are called by name and drawn into the relationships of love that make up the Trinity. Baptism is not only the start of our own ministry – it is an affirmation that each one of us is also the Beloved of God, and is loved with the love that flows between Father, Son and Spirit. As well as instructing his disciples to baptize, Jesus asks them to teach all that he has commanded. But how should the disciples summarize Jesus’s teachings – what is the essence of all that he taught? Well, during Jesus’s public ministry he responds to people arguing over a similar question: which of the commandments of Moses should be first of all. Jesus replies: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.’ In this summary, we learn that Jesus’s teaching flows out of the love that he knows in the Trinity – the love between Father, Son and Spirit. It is out of this love that he can teach others to love God and to love their neighbour. Likewise, the disciples can only carry out the mission of Jesus if they remember that they too are loved with a love that will be with them all the way to the end of the world. Their ministry must ultimately be a witness to the love of the Trinity, which is the love that sustains God’s kingdom on earth. How can each one of us, in our own lives, carry out the work that Jesus has entrusted to us? Firstly, I think it’s fundamental to remind ourselves that we too are beloved children of God – that each one of us has been called by name and anointed by the Spirit. What does it look like for each one of us to enter more deeply into the love of the Trinity? Perhaps for you this might mean spending time with God, maybe in front of an icon or image of the Trinity, and listening for what God has to say. Perhaps this might mean reflecting on your own baptism and what it means for you to have received the grace of the Holy Spirit. Secondly, we need to be attentive to where Jesus’s mission is being carried out in our world today. During this past week I have seen these signs in the many people who took part in the Pilgrimage to Canterbury to raise money for the Connection, which I know includes many of you! In those who walked, those who provided tea and coffee, those who entertained and encouraged others, I saw signs of the kingdom of God in our midst. I saw signs of the mission of Jesus being carried out in our own age. I wonder: where are the signs of the kingdom of God appearing in your life? Where are the signs of Jesus’s mission being continued in our own era, like my grandfather’s proverbs being lovingly passed down through the generations? In the weeks which follow, let us each pray for the Spirit of God to show us where the holy Trinity is working in our world today, and how we too might join in with the exciting and ongoing mission of Jesus Christ.
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