主題【Christmas For You 聖誕就是為你】介紹

by 柯達文牧師

對很多人來說，聖誕節就是一個充滿了謎樣圖案和習俗的外國節日：有聖誕樹、有聖誕老人、還要交換禮物、等等許多要做的事，但聖誕節似乎跟我們的日常生活沒有任何關係。

 

From the perspective of Christian faith, however, nothing could possibly be more important to the human race than Christmas—or that for which Christmas stands. Christmas is a celebration of the Incarnation, the miracle of God the Son becoming flesh and living among us as a human being. This act of love and humility tells us that God cares deeply for human beings. It tells us that, despite all of the evil human beings do, God loves us and wants to be close to us.

然而從基督信仰的觀點來看，其實沒有什麼比聖誕節或聖誕節的意義對人類來的更重要了。聖誕節慶祝的是道成肉身：也就是作為神子的上帝成為有血有肉的人、並活在我們人類當中的神蹟。這樣一個充滿愛和謙卑的舉動告訴我們上帝非常在意人類。這告訴我們的是無論人類做了多少邪惡的事上帝還是愛我們、想要親近我們。

 

Think what a powerful truth this is! Much modern thought finds no significance at all in human life. The physicist Stephen Hawking described human beings as, “… just an advanced breed of monkeys on a minor planet of a very average star.” Hawking thought of the human brain as nothing more than a computer that stops working once its components fail. Similarly, the American jurist Oliver Wendell Holmes opined that he could see no reason to attribute more significance to man than to a baboon or a grain of sand. And Jean-Paul Sartre insisted that, “Man can will nothing unless he has first understood that he must count on no one but himself; that he is alone, abandoned on earth in the midst of his infinite responsibilities, without help, with no other aim than the one he sets himself, with no other destiny than the one he forges for himself on this earth.”

思想一下這是多麼強而有力的真裡啊！許多現代思想都把人的生命視為沒有意義的。物理學家史蒂芬·霍金形容人類「只是一種高等品種的猴子，住在一顆平凡恆星旁邊的小行星上」。霍金覺得人類的大腦就跟零件壞了就無用的電腦沒有任何不同。同時，美國法學家奧利弗·溫德爾·霍姆斯也認為沒有理由需要賦予人類的存在比狒狒或一顆沙粒的存在更多意義。尚保羅·沙特也堅信「人類無法立定心志做任何事，除非他先清楚了解他沒有任何人可以倚靠，他是孤獨的。他是被撇棄在這世上的，伴隨著他的只有無盡的責任，沒有任何幫助，除了他自己訂定的以外沒有任何目標，除了他自己在這地上創造的命運以外什麼都沒有。」

 

If there is no God, and human beings are mere products of a mindless and random process, then it is difficult to argue with such statements. But what if there is a God? What if this God made human beings for a high destiny? And what if he demonstrated his love for us by taking our humanity to himself, becoming man without ceasing to be God? This is what Christianity claims, and it is what we celebrate at Christmas.

如果真的沒有上帝，而人類只是不經意、隨機過程的產物，那可能真的很難對以上這些看法提出反駁。但若是真的有上帝呢？如果這位上帝創造人類是為了一個更高的目的呢？又如果，他向我們展現他的愛的方式，就是透過讓他自己背負跟我們一樣的人性，在不停止當上帝的前提下同時成為一個人？這是基督教所宣告的，這也是我們在聖誕節所慶祝的。

 

Christmas is for you, because it tells you that your life has meaning. You were made in God’s image. Your life has great value, and your actions and decisions are filled with significance.

聖誕就是為你，因為它告訴你：你的人生是有意義的。你是照著上帝的形象被造的。你的生命有著極大的價值，而且你的行為、你的決定都充滿著意義。

Christmas is for you, because it tells you that you are not alone in the universe. The God who made you cares for you and wants you to know him.

聖誕就是為你，因為它告訴你：在宇宙中你並不孤單。創造你的上帝，他關心你他也希望你認識他。

Christmas is for you, because it tells you that this God actually became a human being himself and lived, died, and rose again for the human race. If you believe in him, you will be live forever.

聖誕就是為你，因為它告訴你：這位上帝竟然真的成為了人，而且為了全人類他活著、死了、之後還復活了。

 

We in the Chaplain’s Office wish you a joyful, meaningful Christmas!

校牧室祝福你有個喜樂、有意義的聖誕節！


▲TOP

 


 

 

奧利弗．溫德爾．霍姆斯

美國著名法學家，曾任美國最高法院大法官

“I see no reason for attributing to man a significance different in kind from that which belongs to a baboon or a grain of sand.” 
「我不認為有理由需要賦予人類的存在任何意義，人類的存在和狒狒或一顆沙粒的存在並無任何不同。」
 

我們的回應：

「神就照著他的形像創造人，照著神的形像創造他們；他創造了他們，有男有女。神賜福給他們，神對他們說：『要生養眾多，遍滿這地，治理它；要管理海裏的魚、天空的鳥和地上各樣活動的生物。』」(聖經和合本修訂版 創世記1章27-28節)

 

 

-- Carl Sagan (1934 – 1996)

卡爾．薩根

美國天文學家、科幻作家。行星學會的成立者

“We emerged from microbes and muck. We find ourselves in bottomless free fall…lost in a great darkness, and there’s no one to send out a search party.” 
「我們是從微生物和塵土演變的。我們發現自己其實是在一個無底深淵中下墜…迷失在無盡的黑暗中，也沒有人出來找尋我們。」
 

我們的回應：

「耶穌又對眾人說：『我就是世界的光。跟從我的，必不在黑暗裏走，卻要得著生命的光。』」(聖經和合本修訂版 約翰福音8章12節)

 

 

-- Jean-Paul Sartre (1905 – 1980)

尚保羅．沙特

著名法國哲學家、作家

 

“Man can will nothing unless he has first understood that he must count on no one but himself; that he is alone, abandoned on earth in the midst of his infinite responsibilities, without help, with no other aim than the one he sets himself, with no other destiny than the one he forges for himself on this earth”

「人類無法立定心志做任何事，除非他先清楚了解他沒有任何人可以倚靠，他是孤獨的。他是被撇棄在這世上的，伴隨著他的只有無盡的責任，沒有任何幫助，除了他自己訂定的以外沒有任何目標，除了他自己在這地上創造的命運以外什麼都沒有。 」
 

我們的回應：

「盜賊來，無非要偷竊、殺害、毀壞；我來了，是要人得生命，並且得的更豐盛。」(聖經和合本修訂版 約翰福音10章10節)