雖然本人並非生蠔粉絲，但亦知道識得食生蠔的人士，食生蠔時絕不會加鹽加醋，只會新鮮拆開「雪」一聲吞落肚，就連殼內新鮮的海水也要品嘗。

食生蠔要加鹽加醋的人，根本不認識生蠔。

同樣地，那些整天嚷著說福音對一般人的生活很「遙遠」，強調教會必需「令」福音「變得」更加 relevant 的人，其實與食生蠔要加鹽加醋的人無異。因為他們根本不認識自己食的東西是什麼。以為自己做了好事，實際上卻破壞了那原有的鮮味。

我認為，福音或耶穌基督根本上與世界上每一樣東西每一件事也 relevant 不過(西1:15-20)，我們只須指出 (“point out”) 它已有的 relevancy，而並非要「令」它「變得」更加 relevant。

遙遠，其實並不是福音，而是那些加鹽加醋的人。

他們離福音的真義才是遙遠。

今年我在 AM1320 霹啪 959 的牧牧讀讀環節裡講了兩次關於末世的話題：

2011-01-30 霹啪 959 牧牧讀讀：末世的盼望 (6:27)
[See post to listen to audio]

2011-05-29 霹啪 959 牧牧讀讀：過咗世界未日點算？(7:55)
[See post to listen to audio]

延伸閱讀:

• 康平改口稱10.21末日 否認要對言論負責 (基督日報)
• Who Gets Left Behind? How end times theories shape the ways we view our earthly abode by Matthew Dickerson (Christianity Today)

『西人講道很多時會著重神的恩典，grace-based 的；中國人講道卻很多時是 shame-based 的，神教我們信祂的人要做乜做乜，如何做才是合神的心意，doing is more important，彷彿我們做得好便可以得到神的祝福；但聖經不是一直告訴我們只要肯信祂便可以？恩典是白白的賜下的！這個分別，正正是「白白的恩典」 這概念並非我們中國人可以輕易明白理解，所以我們的講道很多時都會 focus 在「如何可以做到更討神喜悅的人」去 justify 我們所得的恩典。原來，可以單單的聆聽天父在聖經中的心意，明白祂的心腸，從而再反省自己所做的是否恰當及令神喜悅，from being to doing，是很享受的，更入心，更肯定天父對我們的愛而由心出發去做得更好。這就是為何我很感恩可以有機會在西人教會聚會的原因之一。』

~ 阿比‧艾莉媽媽手記

這正是我一直為教會所祈禱的事：希望教會能常以神的恩典為中心，從而轉化成為由衷的感恩和讚美（對神），並且充滿著恩典湧流的愛和服侍（對人）。

我也立志要在講壇上 preach grace，因我實在吃不消華人教會那種長年累月不斷以 guilt-trip/shame 人為手段，意圖令人聽道後更加努力為主發光發熱，實質卻令人沮喪不已的信息。

其實本人由今年三月開始，已經在加拿大 AM1320 的霹啪 959 電台節目中，每月一次負責一個叫做「牧牧讀讀」的環節。除了我以外，還有幾個本地「牧」者，嘗試在這五至十分鐘的廣播空間裡，分享一些我們對牧養或信仰反思的「讀」白。

以下是過往的錄音，有興趣聽聽吧。（注意：本人已盡量叫自己不要講得那麼「木木獨獨」了。仍待改進中，請見諒。）

• 2010-11-28：Photoshop 神手
• 2010-10-31：人生ＧＰＳ
• 2010-10-03：假動作 Head Fake
• 2010-09-05：値唔値？抵唔抵？
• 2010-08-08：跑步操練靈修
• 2010-07-18：向家人傳福音
• 2010-06-13：信仰火熱的利與弊
• 2010-04-04：敬拜 – 體驗與更新
• 2010-03-14：從洗碗看事奉

繼續收聽「牧牧讀讀」：

• 在溫哥華的朋友，逢星期日下午 4:30-5:30 (PST)，打開收音機 AM1320
• 在加拿大以外的朋友，亦可網上現場收聽
• 想用 RSS feed 訂閱的話，請按此。
• 想用 Email 訂閱的話，可用 feedmyinbox.com 這網上服務。只要將這網址 “http://www.pp959.com/pastor.xml” 連同你的 Email 一起 submit 便可。

“The church lives in the midst of history as a sign, instrument, and foretaste of the reign of God. But this does not mean that in the life of the church there can be at any point in time a simple identification of the justice of God with the justice of a particular political cause. The church has too often fallen into that trap. To refuse the identification is not to fall into some kind of idealist or spiritualist illusion. It is not to detach the interior life of the soul from the business of doing justice and mercy in the life of society. It is simply to acknowledge that all human causes are ambiguous and all human actions are involved in the illusions that are the product of our egotism. It is to confess that final judgment belongs to God, and that when people usurp that prerogative they fall into self-destructive blindness.

The issue may be put in another way. If we acknowledge the God of the Bible, we are committed to struggle for justice in society. Justice means giving to each his or her due. Our problem (as seen in the light of the gospel) is that each of us overestimates what is due to us as compared with what is due to our neighbors. Consequently, justice cannot be done, for everyone will judge in his or her own favor. Justice is done only when we all acknowledge a judge with authority over us, in relation to whose judgment we must relativize our own. It is the business of an earthly judge to represent that higher judgment. Because the judge is also a sinful human being, his or her judgment will also be corrupted by self-interest, and the judge may have to be overthrown in the name of the justice of God. A just society can flourish only when its members acknowledge the justice of God, which is the justice manifested and enacted in the cross. If I do not acknowledge a justice that judges the justice for which I fight, I am an agent not of justice, but of lawless tyranny.

At this point the Christian has to be aware of the trap set by Marxism. I am not here questioning the Marxist analysis of the nature of capitalism, which I find very convincing; I am speaking of the Marxist understanding of human nature. The most obvious feature of the dedicated Marxist is extreme moralism. For the Marxist, evil is always something external to oneself. It is the ‘class enemy’ that constitutes the locus of evil against which one has to fight. Consequently there can be no thought of forgiveness and reconciliation. There are only two realities–the oppressor and the oppressed, the exploiter and the exploited. The oppressed and exploited are the exclusive bearers of truth and righteousness. There is no truth or righteousness over them, so to speak, that is able to judge and forgive them. Two things follow from this: (1) When the ‘oppressed’ acquire power, absolutely no check exists upon their use of that power. There is no righteousness over them that can judge them. The result is the kind of ruthless tyranny that we have seen under Stalin and his lesser imitators. Those who identify themselves as the representatives of the ‘oppressed’ are in a position to combine unlimited self-righteousness in respect of themselves with unlimited moral indignation in respect of their opponents. This is the most characteristic feature of the dedicated Marxist. Since there is no transcendent righteousness that can judge and forgive both the oppressor and the oppressed, the way is open for unlimited self-righteousness.

The church can only represent the righteousness of God in history in the way that Jesus did. It is enabled to do this by being constantly reincorporated into Jesus’ saving action through baptism and Eucharist and through the preaching and hearing of the Word, which explains these and applies their meaning to the actual situation. The heart of the matter is reached in the celebration of the Eucharist. Here the ultimate horizon of grace and judgment touches the present moment. Here the church has to learn to live by the grace that forgives but does not condone sin and under the judgment that exposes sin and yet keeps open the way of repentance.”

Lesslie Newbigin, The Open Secret: An Introduction to the Theology of Mission (Grand Rapids, Eerdmans, 1995), 110-112 (my highlighting)

最後他談到教會只能藉著聖禮（聖洗禮、聖餐、聖言）才能彰顯出神絕對的公義和恩典，不知這對於那些脫離了教會、以及那些認為獨自在教會以外也能成就神的公義的基督徒社運人士有甚麼感受呢？

Related posts:

1. Scot McKnight Defines Justice

I believe we must not orient ourselves towards only one of the past, present, or future perspectives, but embrace all three under the providence of our Triune God. Just as it is written in the Anglican liturgy:

“Have mercy upon us, have mercy upon us, most merciful Father; for thy Son our Lord Jesus Christ’s sake, forgive us all that is past; and grant that we may ever hereafter serve and please thee in newness of life, to the honor and glory of thy Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.” (Book of Common Prayer, Confession of Sin)

「現在我們痛心懊悔，求你憐憫我們，為了聖子耶穌基督，饒恕我們的已往，扶助我們的現在， 引導我們的將來，使我們樂意遵行你的旨意，歸榮耀給你的聖名。阿們。」（公禱書，認罪文）

雖然以往在波士頓的 St. Paul’s Cathedral 和三藩市的 Grace Cathedral 都見過明陣 (Labyrinth)，但這次算是第一次行和親身體驗個中的感受。

有關明陣的介紹，這裡不會詳盡說明。請看這裡的簡介。

道風山基督教叢林：明陣

1. 本人發覺行得越近中心時，路徑會變得越短和越有壓逼感。若有其他人一起共用明陣時，會很容易行得很近，亦可能會有身體上的接觸。我也不其然地感到非常不自在，很想離開。感到最舒服的，反而是行在最外圍的路徑的時候。我體會到，若中心點代表三位一體上帝的親密團契，聖徒越親近上帝時也必然會越親近其他人。而這個經歷更使我領會到原來我是有點怕 intimacy 的。
2. 行了三份一，我站在樹旁停下來。乘涼之際，觀察一下別人的進程。不知為何，停下來便不想再起步。站在樹蔭下比繼續前往中心點的渴求更大。這有點像我讀神學的心路歷程，不少次跪下來想放棄也不想再上路。但這次的分別，是我不再只是抽象地在腦裡打轉，與那孤單無力感糾纏，而是很具體地用雙眼看見別人的同行 (co-pilgrimage)。有些人跟我一樣停了下來默想、有些人繼續行、有些行得快點、有些行得慢點。觀察了片刻，心裡頓然感到安慰，知道人人都像我一樣，是個 pilgrim。有停滯不前的，也有積極前進的。我頑固的心，被這個場面軟化了。心裡跟自己說一句：「不如繼續上路吧」，雙腳便開始行了。這經歷告訴我，原來一個有血有肉、能夠看得見、在信徒 proximity 內的群體，是何等的重要呢！Spiritual pilgrimage 重要，physical pilgrimage 也一樣重要。
3. 我一直對明陣這玩兒都有保留的地方，可能因為我曾在兩個極其 liberal 的聖公會處見到，再加上它的來源不明，不知會否有些 pagan 的影子。不過，我都抱著一個開放的態度去認識、學習和嘗試，要親身經歷了才敢下結論。我得出來的結論是，明陣的確是一個非常好的靈修默想工具。它所涉及的層面，包括時間 (temporal)、空間 (spatial)、以及全人的身心靈。未行之前也不能估計到行完之後有那麼深刻的感受。若有機會，我也想在我後花園弄個小明陣玩呢！

呢集《睇理點睇》講到原來煮好一碗公仔麵，都可以幫助人守安息。

清楚自己所長，專注做好一樣東西，是可以帶來生活所需的平衡和安息的空間。

但我天生性格好奇，乜都識啲，周身刀，卻冇把利，點算？

上帝的話語便是那麼的震撼，連毓民這硬漢子讀經文時都梗咽了。

這麼真情流露、一心愛香港的毓民，卻被白韻琴指他只是個愛出風頭的人。

那些冷血無情、一滴眼淚也不流的狗官們，仍舊坐在高位嬉皮笑臉，不斷濫用特權彼此鞏固勢力欺壓平民，很多人卻視而不見。

這是個怎樣的世界？

唯願上帝早日伸冤，在世彰顯公義。

黃毓民辭職演辭全文