【双语灵修】抗拒圣诞FIGHTING AGAINST CHRISTMAS
马太福音 2:13-18
他们去后，有主的使者向约瑟梦中显现，说：“起来！带着小孩子同他母亲逃往埃及，住在那里，等我吩咐你，因为希律必寻找小孩子，要除灭他。” 约瑟就起来，夜间带着小孩子和他母亲往埃及去， 住在那里，直到希律死了。这是要应验主藉先知所说的话说：“我从埃及召出我的儿子来。”
希律见自己被博士愚弄，就大大发怒，差人将伯利恒城里并四境所有的男孩，照着他向博士仔细查问的时候，凡两岁以里的都杀尽了。 这就应了先知耶利米的话说： “在拉玛听见号啕大哭的声音，是拉结哭她儿女，不肯受安慰，因为他们都不在了。”
12月28日
抗拒圣诞
「带着小孩子和他母亲逃往埃及……因为希律必寻找小孩子，要除灭他。」 - 马太福音 2:14
并非人人都爱圣诞。或许你听过狄更斯小说《圣诞颂歌》中的埃比尼泽·斯克鲁奇，或苏斯博士故事《格林奇如何偷走圣诞节》里的格林奇。这些虚构角色最终都发生转变，并加入了庆祝。但可悲的是，今天经文中的希律王并未如此。希律的残暴与猜忌，使他一听说耶稣作为「犹太人之王」降生（《马太福音》2:2-3），便立刻动了杀机。
希律的残忍令人战栗，但人心本就倾向于抗拒神赐下圣子成为救恩的礼物。圣诞节要我们去面对一位新王的事实 - 这位王会推翻我们优先考虑的事，并要求我们为神的计划留出空间。当焦点仅限于闪亮的装饰与怀旧之情时，圣诞颇具吸引力；但当基督的降临要求我们悔改，将个人欲望与目标交托给神时，我们天生的冲动便是反抗。
我们对神所赐的礼物—耶稣的愤怒与敌意，只会带来痛楚与眼泪。但神自有其护理之工，保守祂向我们所作的见证。耶稣逃脱了希律的谋杀，但希律在这过程中，却驱走了上帝之子，无缘听见福音。他的行径警告我们：当我们只喜欢圣诞的概念，却抗拒其真理时，后果将会如何。
祷告
圣洁的神啊，求你软化我们的心，使我们能在耶稣里领受你的恩典与良善。阿们。
Matthew 2:13-18
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 28
FIGHTING AGAINST CHRISTMAS
“Take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt . . . for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.” —Matthew 2:14
Not everyone loves Christmas. Maybe you’ve heard about Ebenezer Scrooge in the Charles Dickens novel A Christmas Carol, or about the Grinch in Dr. Seuss’s story How the Grinch Stole Christmas! Both of these fictional characters eventually change and join in to celebrate Christmas—but, tragically, the real-life King Herod in our Bible reading for today did not. Herod’s cruelty and suspicion led him to respond with murderous hatred when he heard about Jesus’ being born as “king of the Jews” (Matthew 2:2-3).
Herod’s cruelty may make us shudder, but the human heart is naturally prone to fight against God’s gift of his Son for our salvation. Christmas confronts us with our need for a new king, one who dethrones our priorities and requires us to make space for God’s plan in our lives. Christmas can be attractive as long as our focus is on tinsel and nostalgia. But when the coming of Christ demands that we turn our desires and goals over to God in repentance, our natural impulse is to fight back.
Our anger and hostility over God’s gift of Jesus bring heartache and tears. But God has a way of protecting his witness to us. Jesus escaped Herod’s murderous grasp. But in the process Herod drove the Son of God away and could not hear the good news. His actions are a warning to us when we are prone to like the idea of Christmas but to resist its truth.
Holy God, soften our hearts so that we may receive your grace and goodness in Jesus. Amen.