【双语灵修】局外人？OUTSIDERS?
约翰福音 4:4-9
必须经过撒马利亚，于是到了撒马利亚的一座城，名叫叙加，靠近雅各给他儿子约瑟的那块地。在那里有雅各井。耶稣因走路困乏，就坐在井旁。那时约有午正。有一个撒马利亚的妇人来打水。耶稣对她说：“请你给我水喝。”那时门徒进城买食物去了。撒马利亚的妇人对他说：“你既是犹太人，怎么向我一个撒马利亚妇人要水喝呢？”原来犹太人和撒马利亚人没有来往。
11月5日
局外人？
“（耶稣）必须经过撒玛利亚。” - 约 4:4
发生在叙加城的故事，跟人怎样看局外人有关的。当以色列被征服，流落异乡时（《列王纪下》17章），他们与异族通婚，撒玛利亚人便是昔日以色列民的混种。因此，对犹太人来说，撒玛利亚人其实已经不是神的子民了。他们就像尴尬的家族丑闻，家人聚集时，没有人想提起这些事。然而，在耶稣那个年代，他们就住在犹太人附近，所以，偶尔碰头是在所难免的事。
在那个年代，大部份犹太人出外时，都会绕过撒玛利亚，为了要避免穿过那地方。然而，当耶稣准备从犹大地前往加利利时，祂却带领门徒经过这片“妥协之地”，他们没法回避了！
谁是你世界中的“撒玛利亚人”呢？或许他们是住在你国界以外的近邻？或许他们是支持另一个政党的人？又或许他们的生活方式与你的不一样？
你怎样处理你和你的“撒玛利亚人”的关系呢？通常我们会抗拒：每当看到他们触犯了我们的信念时，便感到心头一震；有些时候，我们可能会被他们吓怕了，便尝试取得他们的欢心。有时，他们也可能改变我们，无论是好的或是坏的改变，以致我们变得更像他们。在耶稣那个年代，宗教领袖们最害怕的，就是以色列民陷入这种妥协。
你通常会怎样和你生命中的“撒玛利亚人”相处的呢？
祷告
主啊，求你赐我们勇气，不害怕，也不妥协地跨越界限。求你帮助我们，在我们或许会避开的人当中，反映出你的真理和慈爱。奉你的名祈求，阿们。
John 4:4-9
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 5
OUTSIDERS?
Now [Jesus] had to go through Samaria. —John 4:4
The story at Sychar is all about outsiders. Samaritans were racially mixed former Israelites who had intermarried when Israel was conquered and exiled (2 Kings 17). To the Jews, then, the Samaritans were no longer really God’s people. They were more like the embarrassing family secret that people didn’t like to talk about at get-togethers. Yet they lived next door to the Jews in Jesus’ day, so occasional run-ins were inevitable.
In those days, most Jews traveled around Samaria to avoid going through it. But Jesus led his disciples right through the land of compromise as he traveled from Judea to Galilee. No hiding for them!
Who are the “Samaritans” in your world? Perhaps they are people who live across some border near you? Or they align with another political party? Or they have a lifestyle that contrasts with yours?
How do you react to your “Samaritans”? Often we bristle against them. We stiffen inwardly if we see them going against our convictions. Or, at times, we may feel intimidated and try to get them to like us. Sometimes they can also begin to change us, leading us to become more and more like them, for better or for worse. In Jesus’ day that kind of compromise was the religious leaders’ worst fear for Israel.
How do you tend to respond to the “Samaritans” in your life?
Lord, give us courage to cross boundaries without fear or compromise. Help us to reflect your truth and love among people whom we might otherwise avoid. In your name, Amen.