作者林立豐弟兄 (平信徒分享) Have you ever felt burned out? Burn out is a state of complete mental, physical and emotional exhaustion. Maybe you just pulled 2 all-nighters in a row; or your kids refused to go to bed; or your partner never listens. Burn Out might also apply to our spiritual lives. Some say: “Ugh, going to church is like working an extra shift on Sunday!” From “Burning for God” to “Burning Out”, some can no longer serve their usual roles in their community, or even have to take a break from church life. Maybe some of us here had similar experiences or worry that we may have lost our first love for God, that our fire no longer burns. How do we keep the fire in our hearts burning? Let’s see if the “Fire Triangle” can inspire us! The Fire Triangle refers to 3 key elements of fire, fuel, heat and oxygen – I’m sure we all know. We might need just the same elements to keep the fire in our hearts burning. Fuel is like the promises, provision, and creation of God the Father, as our everlasting rock in this everchanging world. Heat is like the love and salvation of Jesus Christ – As Jesus’ cross made God’s creation and laws meaningful, that we can break through the shackles of sin, and enjoy fully the beauty of creation. Oxygen is like the breath of God when Adam was made. The Holy Spirit help us understand the truth from the bible, intercedes for us, and allow us to learn more about God’s loving nature. God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit being in relationship with each another, like the fire triangle, is trinity. This fire represents the presence of God, just like the burning bush in front of Moses. However, something is off… A fire can be put out, but will God’s presence be “put out”? Will there be a shortage for fuel, heat or oxygen for God’s love? Jesus said it himself “I am the bread of life; the one who comes to Me will not be hungry, and the one who believes in Me will never be thirsty.” How come there are times when our fire is weak, lukewarm, or simply not lit? Indeed, as we live through life’s challenges and struggles, we may fall into the trap of seeing the fuel, heat and oxygen as a limited resource. In the Bible, there are 3 lively examples of men burning out, to the extent they ask God to take their lives. Elijah thought the fuel is running out, and he was blind to the see the 7000 people God has prepared who had never bow to Baal. Jonah despises the repentance of the Ninevites, and he was blind to see how God love those who repent more than how he love the leafy plant. If not for the Holy Spirit rested on the 70 elders in the desert, Moses could not have been able to continue leading his people to Canaan. But if you look closely at the examples above, none of them is the result of shortages in any of the Fire Triangle, but that the people in plight was blind to see God’s provision. Let’s dig a little deeper, back to the terms “Burn for God” and “Burn Out”. In fact, in the beginning, it was never us who was burning, but our God, Holy Spirit living in our hearts who was burning the whole time. As we felt the heat in our hearts fading; As we felt like we can no longer practice the commandment of loving our neighbours as ourselves, it is not that we have burned out, or have used up our mind, soul, and body. It is because we are walking further away from God, and that we are not being in relationship with God, such that we are blind to God’s provision, salvation, mercy, precedence, and abundance. How then can we “See” God’s provision, and be in closer relationship with God? I have 3 suggestions. First, refill the fuel, take a chance to appreciate and be in relation with the nature, savour the authenticity, goodness and beauty of creation, and from it, God’s revelation. Second, deep-breathe of oxygen, keep up with on your practice of bible study and prayers, and focus on listening to God’s voice. God will give you comfort, encouragement and a mission that only you, can take on. Third, share the heat, adjourn with others in Christ, and practice our faith in loving our neighbours as ourselves. Former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams once said, “if the fire isn’t burning for you, go and spend time with someone for whom it is burning – and the chances are, they’ll be among the most disadvantaged people in our society”. May the fiery love of our God keep on burning in our Spirits, such that we can warm and brighten our neighbours souls, till the dawn comes again. Amen. 你有無試過Burn Out呢? Burn Out 指嘅係體力同精神上完全耗盡嘅狀態。可能你工作忙碌通完兩晚頂,又或者細路玩極唔訓;大細路又講極唔聽。都有人用Burn Out 呢個字嚟形容自己嘅屬靈生命。有啲人可能會話:「唉,返教會好似打多份工咁」,由開初「為主燃燒」,去到Burn Out「燃燒殆盡」,無辦法繼續投入事奉,甚至需要暫別教會生活。可能在座弟兄姊妹都有過類似嘅經歷,或者擔心自己無左起初嘅愛心,唔再火熱。
點樣先自keep到心裡面個團火呢? 不如等我地用Fire Triangle 「火三角」來試唸下可唔可以觸類旁通啦。「火三角」指緊嘅係火三個嘅必要元素: 燃料,熱能,氧氣 -相信大家都知道。要保持我地心裡面個團火,可能同樣需要「火三角」。 燃料-就好似天父嘅應許,供應同創造;作為我地活係萬變世界中永恆,穩固嘅基石。 熱能 - 就好似主耶穌基督嘅救贖。耶穌嘅十字架成全左天父嘅創造同律法,使我們能夠擺脫罪嘅枷鎖,享受創造嘅甜美。 氧氣 - 好似亞當被造嘅時候,天父吹嘅個一口氣。聖靈教導我地明白聖經真理,又憑己意為我地代求禱告,使你同我能夠更加貼近主嘅心意。 聖父,聖子,聖靈 - 三位一體嘅神就好似「火三角」一樣,好似摩西面前燃燒嘅荊棘,象徵住神嘅同在。 但係問題來啦,火會熄滅,唔通神嘅愛都會熄滅,短缺咩?明明耶穌話自己係生命嘅糧,食完不再餓嘅糧,賜飲完不再渴嘅水,點解有時候好似我地硬係撻唔著,或者火勢式微不冷不熱呢? 的確,係我地生活中面對困難挑戰時,我地難免將燃料(上帝嘅供應),熱能(耶穌嘅救贖),氧氣(聖靈嘅帶領),睇作有限嘅資源。聖經中都有三個burn out嘅,甚至要去到向神求死嘅例子。 以利亞以為燃料耗盡,睇唔到神預備7000人未曾向巴力屈膝。 約拿睇小尼尼微人嘅悔改,睇唔到神比佢愛惜蓖麻更加愛惜回轉嘅罪人 摩西如果唔係有70位長老領受聖靈,佢都無辦法繼續肩負帶領百姓前進嘅責任。 但如果你仔細分辨以上嘅例子,其實通通都唔係「火三角」任何一方面嘅短缺,而係係難關當中嘅人睇唔到神嘅供應,救贖,同帶領。 不如我地再唸深一層,返到來 「為主燃燒」 同 Burn Out 「燃燒殆盡」呢兩個詞。其實從頭到尾,係到燃燒緊嘅,並唔係我地,而係係我地心中的聖靈,同我地同在嘅神。當我地感受到嘅火熱逐漸減退;當我地自覺無辦法實踐愛鄰如己嘅誡命;實際上並唔係我地用盡,用曬我地嘅力氣,而係我地漸漸行離開左我地嘅神,我地同神嘅關係漸行漸遠,以致我地睇唔見神嘅供應,拯救,憐憫,帶領,同豐盛。 我地點先可以「睇見」神嘅供應,重新拉近我地同神嘅關係呢? 我係呢到有三個建議: 第一-補充燃料;有機會多親親大自然,領略上帝創造嘅美善,並蘊含其中嘅普遍啟示 第二-深呼吸氧氣;繼續持守讀經禱告嘅操守,專注聆聽神嘅聲音,領受神比你個人嘅安慰,鼓勵同召命。 第三-薪火相傳,分享熱能;係基督裏面同其他人建立關係同行,互相鼓勵,一齊關懷鄰舍,實踐活出基督嘅樣式。前肯特伯利大主教,盧雲.威廉斯曾經咁講:「如果你嘅靈火無燃燒緊,咁你就去同個啲靈火緊燃燒嘅人相處啦。你就會發現,佢地服侍緊社會中最困苦卑微嘅人。」 願神嘅靈火係我地嘅心靈中繼續燃燒,讓我地能夠溫暖以及照亮友鄰嘅心靈,直至天明。 阿們。
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作者Joshua Au - All-Age Service I think this is one of the most straightforward commandments in the Bible. It is so simple that it was a struggle for me to expand on. It’s just one message Love God and Love Your Neighbour. However sometimes it can be hard to love and care for your neighbour when sometimes it feels that they don’t have the same amount of love and care as yourself. And it can be equally hard to trust and love God when it feels he’s not listening to your struggles as things don’t go as you want. I know that God helps us to follow the greatest commandment, but I don’t always know how. I think that here in church is the best place to learn. God has given us this community to practice and learn with and together we learn how to love God better and love our neighbour more and more. 聖經中最大的誡命,就是「愛主你的上帝,其次是愛人如己。」我認為這是聖經其中一條最直截了當的誡命、最簡單直接的訊息,幾乎不需要再加任何解釋。
不過,愛護鄰舍、關懷鄰舍,並非容易的事:有時我們會覺得,我們關心愛護別人,未必會得到同等回報。同樣地,愛上帝、信靠上帝可能也不容易:生活有時未能盡如人意,我們不禁覺得,上帝沒有聆聽體察我們的困難掙扎。 我知道上帝會幫助我們遵守這條大誡命,但未必時常明白上帝如何施恩扶持。我認為,教會是學習上帝旨意的最佳場所。上帝賜給我們教會群體,能與弟兄姊妹一起實踐信仰,互相勉勵,不斷學習愛主愛人的功課。 作者Revd Sally Hitchiner 聖馬田堂副主任牧師 你有沒有曾幾何時自己的儲備已所剩無幾?如果你有這樣的感覺,那麼今天福音書所講的正適合你的需要。耶穌時代的人,生活非常艱苦。要真正了解這個故事,我們需要明白當時的人所面對的……即是:父權制和貧窮。 讓我們一起走進他們的世界。 女人是負累。妻子是另一張要吃飯的嘴,她無法像男人一樣去賺取工資。在一個壽命不長、影響力僅限於你所屬村莊的世界裡,唯一有意義的希望就是你的子孫會記得你。婚姻是生活中少數的安慰,但真正的重點是,孩子是其中一個有望實現有意義事情的少數途徑。 因此,婚禮是喜慶事。家庭之間會提出配婚的建議,並同意價錢。新郎會前往新娘的村莊,與她和她的家人見面,如果他們喜歡對方,就會訂婚。然後新郎會回到自己的村莊準備建造家園。他的家人將開始為婚禮儲錢。他們會聘請一位管筵席的人 —— 一位受人尊敬的社區族長,他將確保婚禮按應有的方式進行——體面而愉快。當一切準備好後,年輕的新郎就會回來接新娘。新郎會帶新娘回到他所準備好的住處。他們會舉行一些儀式,然後他們會為兩個村莊舉行為期七天的盛宴——有食物、舞蹈……還有美酒。 這場婚禮出了問題:酒用完了。這是一件大事。那裡沒有超市,不可以多買幾瓶酒。但更重要的是,在以榮譽為本的文化中,在七日盛宴的第三天喝完酒,對新郎的未來極為不利。你怎可能會和一個連自己婚禮所需的酒都準備不到的男人有來往呢?在發生這樣的事件之後,他們的整個大家庭可能會被嫌棄,如果他們被嫌棄的話,這真是恥辱。跟著,他們會挨餓。 這聽起來像是整個國家的經驗。他們本應舉辦一場盛宴,讓世界看到上帝的良善,但他們因持續的壓迫而疲憊不堪,只得再次卑微求全,且事事批評。他們的酒已經用完了。在約翰福音中,馬利亞通常是代表猶太人,她在這裡以沒有丈夫的女人身分說話,「他們沒有酒了」。她這句話沒有褒意,全是事實。馬利亞得到了同樣直率的回應。 「婦人,這個和你我有什麼相干?」 耶穌不是稱她為「母親」,而是稱她為「婦人」。我們沒聽錯吧?耶穌剛剛對母親發脾氣了嗎?難道她插手了一件本該由管筵席的人處理的事嗎?希臘文原文說:「婦人,我和這個有什麼相干?」甚至「婦人,我和你有什麼相干?」 這是一個女人和一個男人的事情,就像創世之初一樣,兩個人本應該盡情慶祝,但現在,因為一件事,即短缺的果子和隨之而來的恥辱,他們之間出現了巨大的鴻溝。這是關於人類整體與自身以及上帝的競爭和衝突。「婦人,我和你有什麼相干?」耶穌對他自己問題的回答解明了這一點。 「我的時候還沒到。」 在約翰福音的其他地方,每當耶穌談到他自己的時候,他指的是他自己的死亡。這是唯一真正重要的缺乏。有一杯酒要喝,不是溫暖心靈的酒,而是恥辱和痛苦的酒。耶穌會和你一起喝完全杯,直到最後一滴。 耶穌與人類有什麼相干?事實上,在他去世的那一刻,他與我們深深相連。神的聖子拒絕放開我們的手,即使這意味著他以人的身分與我們一起死在這裡。事實上,相干、相連正是這個意思。 當耶穌喝盡苦杯,上帝喜樂的巨大水庫——酒——就開始自由地湧流。 這裡有六個石缸,用於儀式化潔淨。在當時的文化中,當你聽到數字「6」時,感覺有點像我們聽到數字「99」——這是用數字方式表示「即將到來」或「尚未到來」的意思。那麼這最後一個器皿在哪裡呢? 事實上,耶穌就是最後一個器皿。他盛載的不是酒,而是血,並且他的血毫無保留地傾倒。在那一刻,這器皿就像創造的最後一天一樣,讓其餘六個器皿變得有意義。當耶穌觸碰道德儀式的水時,他的血把水分子洗成酒。水終於找到自己的意義,不是作為水來去除污垢和恥辱,而是作為酒來慶祝和帶來愉悅。 當耶穌供應酒時,他顯示自己是真正管筵席的人、真正的新郎。這場婚禮管筵席的人失敗了,新郎沒有做新郎該做的事。但沒關係。 另一位新郎來了。他是真正的供應者,他供應的酒,比任何人以前品嚐過的更好。這裡有一位丈夫,與他們相干、相連。即使人類遠離我們的上帝,上帝也沒有放棄看顧以色列的應許。 如果你今天在信仰上遇到短缺,那就以馬利亞為榜樣。 禱告不必太複雜。即使你發現自己缺乏信心,也可以與神坦誠對話。如果你大禍臨頭,不要害怕對上帝說「沒有酒了」。 有時,坦誠對話會開展故事的另一章。 Do you ever feel like you are taking the last of your reserves?
If you feel you do, then today’s Gospel is for you. For people in Jesus’ day, life was very hard; to really get into this story we need to see it through the expectations of the day… patriarchy and poverty. Let’s immerse ourselves in their world. Women were expensive. A wife was another mouth to feed, one who couldn’t earn wages like a man could. What made it worth it, was that in a world where lifespans were not long, and influence was limited to your immediate village, the only hope of significance was that your children’s children would remember you. Marriage was one of life’s few comforts but the real focus was that the children were one of the few ways to hope to achieve something meaningful. And so, a wedding was met with joy. The families would suggest a match and agree the price. The groom would travel to the bride’s village, meet her and her family and if they liked each other, they would become betrothed. He would then return to his village to prepare, to build a home. And his family would start saving for the wedding. They would hire a master of the feast – a respected patriarch of the community who would ensure that everything was as it should be – respectable and enjoyable. When it was all ready, the young groom would return to collect his bride. He would take her back to the house he had prepared for them to live together. There were some rituals, then they would have a feast for both their villages going on for 7 days - food and dancing… and wine. The problem with this wedding was that the wine ran out. This was a big deal. There were no supermarkets to pick up a few more bottles. But more than this, in an honour-based culture, to have run out of wine on the third day of a seven-day feast was disastrous for the future of the groom. Why would you go into business with a man who couldn’t even get enough wine for his own wedding? Such was the shame following an event like this that their entire extended family could be shunned and if they were shunned. They would starve. This sounds like the experience of the entire nation. They were supposed to be hosting a party for the world to see the goodness of God but they had been so worn down by the constant oppression they had shrunk back into meagre survival and judgementalism. THEIR wine had run out. Mary often represents the Jewish people in John’s gospel and she speaks here as a woman without a husband, “They have no more wine” Nothing positive here. Just the flat facts. Mary got an equally blunt response. “Woman, what does this have in common with you and I?” Jesus doesn’t call her “Mother” but “Woman”. Did we hear that right? Did Jesus just snap at his mother? Was she interfering in a matter that should have been dealt with by the master of the feast? The actual Greek says “Woman, what do I have in common with this?” or even “Woman, what do I have in common with you?” This is a woman and a man like at the beginning of time, two human beings who should have been celebrating in abundance but who now, because of the one thing, the fruit that was scarce and the following shame, find a great chasm between them. This is about the whole of humanity in competition with, at odds with itself and with God. “Woman, what do I have in common with you?” It is Jesus’ answer to his own question that makes sense of this. “My hour has not yet come.” Everywhere else in John’s gospel where Jesus talks about his hour, he is referring to his death. This only scarcity that really matters. There is a cup to be drank, not of wine to warm the soul, but of shame and suffering. Jesus will join you drinking it all, every last drop. What does Jesus have in common with humanity? It turns out that, at the hour of his death, he has everything in common with us. God the Son refuses to let go of our hand even if it means he dies here with us as a human being. It turns out being in common is EXACTLY what this is about. But once Jesus has drained the cup of suffering, the great, vast reservoir of God’s joy, the wine, is now freely flowing. There were six stone water jars used for ritualised cleansing. In that culture, when you hear the number six, it felt a bit like when we hear the number 99 – it is a numerical way of saying “almost there” or “not yet come”. So where is this final vessel? Well, it turns out, Jesus is the final vessel. He carries not wine but blood and when that blood is poured out without measure. In that hour, this vessel, like the final day in creation, makes sense of the other six. As Jesus touches the waters of ritualised morality, his blood washes their molecules into wine. They finally find their significance, not as water to get rid of dirt and shame but as wine to celebrate and delight. And as Jesus provides wine he is revealing himself as the true Master of the Feast, the true bridegroom. The Master of the feast of this wedding had failed, the bridegroom has not done what bridegrooms were supposed to do. But it’s ok. Another bridegroom is here. He is the true provider, with better wine than anyone has ever tasted before. There is a husband, here, in common with them. God has not given up the promise to look after Israel, even when humanity is far from our God. If you are scraping the barrel in your faith today, then find yourself in Mary’s example. Prayer doesn’t have to be complicated. Even if you find yourself empty of faith, have an honest conversation with God. If you are facing utter disaster, don’t be afraid to say to God “there is no more wine.” Sometimes an honest conversation is what begins another part of the story. |
講道分享輯錄在聖馬田中文堂分享和講道的文字稿,讓弟兄姊妹能在日常重溫,咀嚼講員所分享的話。 類別
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