A Journey from Advent to Christmas, Year B
Scriptures: Psalm 96; Luke 1:46-55; Romans 16:25-27
Key verse: Luke 1:50
“God’s mercy flows in wave after wave on those in awe before Him.”
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Hello, This is Jade.
Welcome to Yi.kigai
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Mary said that from this day all generations will call her blessed because God has mercy on those who fear God. The biblical interpretation of the word fear is a kind of fear that comes with honoring someone who is greater than oneself. Mary fears God out of honor. She honors God who shows mercy to someone like her, a woman, who is treated as lowly as a possession or object in the society she lives in. She praises that God remembers the promise of mercy to people like her, from generation to generation. What image comes to your mind when you think of ‘from generation to generation?’
瑪利亞說，從今天起，世世代代的人，都會稱她為有福的，因為上帝憐憫那些敬畏上帝的人。中文聖經用｢敬畏」這個詞，很合適。在聖經希臘原文的意思， 是指: 因為未知，所產生的恐惧、或者是害怕。聖經裡對「害怕上帝」這一個詞彙的解釋是，因為尊敬而產生的恐懼。瑪利亞害怕上帝是出於尊敬。她敬畏上帝是因為上帝對她這樣的人施與憐憫。在她當時的社會中，一個女人，是被視為可以擁有的財產，如同一個物品一樣的卑微。但她清楚，像她這樣的人，上帝一定會世世代代的，都記得施與憐憫的應許。當您想到「世世代代」時，您的腦海中，浮現出什麼樣的圖片或是影像呢？
There are over a hundred English translations of the Bible. One of them is The Message, published in 2002 and translated by Pastor Eugene Peterson. By paraphrasing in modern English, he brings the Bible alive. The image he uses for this phrase ‘from generation to generation’ is ‘wave after wave’ - in Luke 1:50 it says, “God’s mercy flows in wave after wave on those in awe before Him.”
英文聖經有一百多種翻譯版本。其中一個版本是《The Message-訊息》，它是於 2002 年出版的。這個版本是用現代英語以轉述文字的方式來翻譯的，透過尤金彼得森牧師的文筆，聖經變得生動起來。他把“世世代代”這個詞句，用“一波接著一波的海浪” 來比喻。路加福音第 1 章 50 節，他是這麼翻譯的，“神的憐憫，就像一波接著一波的海浪，流淌在所有敬畏祂的人的身上。”
Have you done the wave in a stadium or arena? People on one side of the stadium or arena raise their arms while standing up, then sit down and lower their arms as their neighbors do the same. From a distance, this creates the appearance of an ocean wave.
您是否有過在體育場或競技場做過人群波浪嗎？人群波浪的形成是從體育場或競技場的一邊開始，人們站起來舉起手臂，然後坐下來放下手臂的同時，坐在旁邊的人群，接著做同樣的動作。依此類推。從遠處看，就形成了海浪的外觀。
We know that waves are created by energy that passes through water. Waves can move objects to a destination; waves can also drown objects into the deep sea.
簡單的說，波浪的形成，是水受到能量而產生的波動。波浪可以將物品傳輸移動到目的地；波浪也可以將物體淹沒到深海中。
When I read the verse Luke 1:50, God’s mercy flows in wave after wave on those in awe before him, I think of you and me not as objects but as children of God being moved along by the waves. And the energy that moves the waves is the power of the Holy Spirit. Being baptized by the Holy Spirit in and out of the water, we join all generations who lived before us and who will come after us.
瑪莉亞說，“神的憐憫，就像一波接著一波的海浪，流淌在所有敬畏祂的人的身上。”(路加福音1:50)，我想著，在這一波接著一波的海浪上的我們，並不是卑微不值的物品，而是上帝的孩子，我們之所以能向前面飄移，是藉著聖靈的力量在推動。上帝的每一個孩子，不就是藉著水，接受了聖靈洗禮的見證，成為了世世代代的基督徒之一嗎? 有在我們之前的基督徒，也有在我們之後的。
There are many waves before us and behind us, and on those waves, we see people from generation to generation. Some are new to Christianity; some have been Christians for decades. For those who are in awe before God, they are showered by God’s mercy. Because of God’s mercy, they can’t be drowned. What should we be doing as we move along wave after wave, generation to generation? What does Mary do?
在我們的前面和身後有許多的波浪，在那些波浪上，我們看到了一代又一代的人。有些人是新生的基督教，有些是成熟的基督徒。對於那些敬畏神的，都會蒙神的憐憫。因著上帝的憐憫，沒有被淹沒的。當我們在水上，一波又一坡地向前移動時，我們應該做些什麼呢？瑪麗亞當時又做了些什麼呢？
Mary follows the lead of the Holy Spirit, bears the son of God and moves toward the new life that is going to be fulfilled through the baby Jesus - his birth, his death, and his resurrection. The new life God has promised to her requires her participation and being in awe before God.
瑪利亞跟隨著聖靈的帶領，懷著神的兒子，走向新的生活，這新生活的應許，是透過嬰兒耶穌來實現的——祂的誕生、祂的死亡和祂的復活。神所應許給瑪利亞的新生命，是需要她來參與並在神面前有敬畏之心。
Mary belongs to the generations, moving toward the new life, and so do we. We follow the lead of the Holy Spirit. We bear not the son of God, but the Good News that Jesus has brought to us. We move along by the waves toward the new life that is going to be fulfilled through the second coming of Jesus Christ. That is the fulfillment of God’s kingdom.
瑪麗亞也是屬於世世代代中的人，朝著新的生命向前行，我們也一樣。我們跟隨著聖靈的帶領。在我們生命中懷的，不是神的兒子，而是耶穌基督帶給我們的福音，藉著一波又一波的浪，我們一起朝向新的生活前進，這新生活，將透過耶穌基督的第二次降臨來實現。這也就是，神的國度實現的那一日。
On this faith journey from Advent to Christmas, we should not be drowned because we stay in awe before God. And because we stay in awe before God, God’s mercy keeps us and all the children of God moving forward, steady with joy, hope, love and peace, from generation to generation. For this, we give thanks to God for the promise of His mercy. Amen.
從降臨節到聖誕節的信仰之旅，在我們向前行的旅途上，我們不應該被淹沒，因為我們都敬畏神。也因著我們敬畏神，神的憐憫使我們和所有世世代代的兒女，在這一個旅途上，都會擁有喜樂、希望、愛與平安。為主的憐憫應許，我們感謝上帝。阿們。
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