| English |
中文翻譯 |
| [Moses on Mt. Sinai] |
摩西在西奈山上 |
| While the Israelites were wandering in the wilderness after escaping from Egypt, God called Moses to climb Mt. Sinai for closer communion with him. |
當以色列人逃離埃及後，在曠野中徘徊時，上帝呼召摩西登上西奈山，與他進行更密切的交流。 |
| He warned Moses that his time on the mountain would not be short. |
他警告摩西，他會在山上待上不短的一段時間。 |
| In fact, he was there for 40 days and 40 nights. |
實際上，他在那待了四十晝夜。 |
| While he took young Joshua part way with him, he left Aaron and Hur below to manage the people in his absence. |
他帶著年輕的約書亞陪他走一段路程，留下亞倫和戶珥在他不在時管理百姓。 |
| Believing he had provided for the crowd of people who had followed him, sometimes willingly, sometimes with complaints and grumbling, he left them. |
這群人跟隨摩西的人，有時心甘情願，有時抱怨發牢騷，摩西相信他已經給了他們要的；所以離開了。 |
| God had summoned him, and he had to go. |
上帝召見了他，他不得不走了。 |
| As Moses neared the top of Mt. Sinai, a cloud covered it. |
當摩西接近西奈山山頂時，山頂被雲籠罩。 |
| Most people who have spent much time climbing mountains can relate to this experience. |
常常爬山的人多少有類似的經歷。 |
| You can be climbing in clear daylight nine tenths of the way up, then suddenly either you reach an altitude where a cloud has already settled on the top of the mountain, or one suddenly blows in. |
登山的路程上可能九成都是晴天，然後突然間，不是進入雲層盤據的高度，就是雲突然被吹進山峰。 |
| A clear, sunny path has become a treacherous, damp, cold, foggy place. |
原本晴朗的小路變成一個危險、潮濕、寒冷、多霧的路徑。 |
| It is very difficult to see the path right in front of you, much less the summit up ahead. |
前方的道路變得難以看清，更不用說前方的山頂了。 |
| Sometimes, if you wait, the cloud blows past, but apparently Moses had no such luck. |
有時，如果你願意等著，雲會被吹散，但顯然摩西沒有這樣的運氣。 |
| Apparently God was using the cloud as concealment. |
顯然上帝用雲作為遮蔽。 |
| We read that for 6 days Moses was up there alone, blinded, not knowing what to expect next. |
我們讀到，摩西獨自一人待在那待了6天，什麼都看不見，不知道要發生什麼事。 |
| For the people below, the Israelites, it looked like a cloud of smoke, a consuming fire, not just a cloud. |
對於山下的以色列人來說，雲看起來像一團煙，一團烈火，不僅僅是雲。 |
| They must have been quite terrified, afraid they had lost their leader permanently! |
他們一定相當害怕，害怕他們將永遠失去首領！ |
| For his part, Moses may have feared he would BE lost, but still he waited. |
對摩西而言，他可能擔心自己迷路了，但他仍在等待。 |
| Finally, on the 7th day, God spoke to Moses from within the cloud. |
最終，在第七天，上帝在雲裡向摩西說話。 |
| Being one of God’s leaders is not for the faint-hearted! |
膽小的人還真不適合成為上帝所立的領袖！ |
| It must have been more than a little frightening, hearing the voice of God out of a thick cloud suddenly, after days of being able to see almost nothing and listening only to the beating of his own heart. |
在這數日間，舉手不見五指，只能聽見內心的跳動，突然從厚厚的雲層中聽到了上帝的聲音，已經不單單是「些微恐懼」了可以形容的了。 |
| What followed was quite miraculous, however. |
但是，隨後發生的事情相當神奇。 |
| God wrote down his Law on two tablets of stone “with his own finger.” |
上帝用自己的手指在兩塊石板上寫下了自己的律法。 |
| I’ve seen a couple of movie versions of this event, and they look pretty spectacular. |
我看過幾個電影版本，它們看起來都相當壯觀。 |
| However that took place, it was certainly a transformative experience for Moses, for the Israelites, and from them to the whole world. |
無論發生了什麼，對於摩西、以色列人、以至於全世界，無疑的是一個改變生命的體驗。 |
| When it first happened, though, it was a big flop, because when Moses came down from Mt. Sinai with the two tablets of stone after 40 days and 40 nights, he found that his people had melted down all their golden jewelry and made a golden calf to worship!!! |
但是，當它第一次發生時，它失敗了，因為當摩西經過四十晝夜，帶著兩片石板走下西奈山時，發現他的百姓已經熔化了他們所有的黃金首飾，並做成了一隻金牛犢供奉！！！ |
| In anger and anguish and fear, Moses smashed to two tablets to bits! |
摩西在憤怒、苦惱和恐懼中將兩片石板摔碎！ |
| And we think things are tough for US! |
而且我們認為發生這樣的事情，對我們來說是受挫的！ |
| Many of us have had glorious experiences of the presence of God, and have felt called powerfully to bring something back from that encounter to share with others. |
我們之中，有許多人經歷過上帝同在的感覺，並感到有強烈的呼召，要與他人分享這種經驗。 |
| But then, when we try, all the joy and idealism can sometimes get knocked out of us in a moment! |
但是，當我們嘗試時，有時所有的喜悅和期待就在一瞬間破滅！ |
| [The Transfiguration] |
[耶穌登山變貌] |
| Today is Transfiguration Sunday. |
今天是耶穌變像日。 |
| It is a day we celebrate an extraordinary experience that Jesus and three of his disciples had at least a couple of thousand years after Moses and the 10 Commandments. |
這個日子是慶祝耶穌和他的三個門徒的不平凡經歷；這件事發生在摩西和十誡之後至少2千年。 |
| Jesus led Peter and James and John up a high mountain by themselves. |
耶穌獨自帶領彼得、雅各和約翰上山。 |
| Jesus had been talking with them about the future – about the fact that he must go to Jerusalem and face suffering and even death there. |
耶穌一直在與他們談論未來–關於他必須去耶路撒冷面對苦難、甚至死亡的事實。 |
| The disciples had pretty strong reactions to this, especially Peter. |
門徒反應激烈，尤其是彼得。 |
| [Events Before] |
[之前的活動] |
| Peter took him aside and began to reprimand him harshly. |
彼得把耶穌拉到一邊，嚴厲的勸阻他。 |
| Jesus’ response was pretty harsh back: he turned to Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me!” |
耶穌的回應也相當嚴厲，他轉向彼得說：「撒但，走開！你是我的絆腳石！」 |
| Very strong words on both sides. |
雙方用詞都很強烈。 |
| The difference is that Jesus knew what his mission was, and Peter was listening but refusing to hear the truth of what Jesus was saying. |
然而，不同之處在於，耶穌知道他的任務是什麼，而彼得雖然在聽，但拒絕從耶穌那，聽到的真相。 |
| For Peter, it was incomprehensible and unbearable that this person, the one he had left everything to follow, was going to die soon and leave him! |
對於彼得來說，這個人，他放棄了一切跟隨的那個人，快要死了，快離開他了。這是難以理解和忍受的！ |
| The harshness of the response of Jesus must have been necessary in order to get through Peter’s resistance to what he was saying. |
為了讓彼得放棄抵抗，耶穌必須要作出嚴厲的回應。 |
| Then Jesus spoke generally to all the disciples, those who heard him 2000 years ago and also to those of us who read his words now. |
然後，耶穌對所有門徒，包括當時的人或兩千年後的我們，說： |
| “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. |
「如果有人要跟從我，就得捨棄自己，背起他的十字架來跟從我。」 |
| 25 For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.” |
「25 因為那想救自己生命的，反要喪失生命；那為著我喪失生命的，反要得到生命。 」 |
| Those words are so familiar to us, that we no longer hear how shocking they can be to someone who hears them for the first time. |
這些話對我們來說非常熟悉，以至於我們不再設想，第一次聽到這些話的人是何等震驚。 |
| They have proved to be literally true for many who have followed Jesus. |
這些話，已經對許多跟隨耶穌的人證明，字字屬實。 |
| But then, we read, “six days later,” the extraordinary event of the Transfiguration takes place. |
但是隨後，我們讀到「六天後」，耶穌變像的事發生了。 |
| [The Mountaintop] |
[山頂] |
| It is interesting that it is “6 days later,” in a nice parallel to the 6 days that Moses waited up on Mt. Sinai in the cloud before God spoke to him. |
有趣的是，這「六天後」，與摩西在西奈山上的雲裡，等到神對他說話之前的六天，很相似。 |
| The Transfiguration is God’s word to his disciples, beginning with those closest to him: Peter, James, and John. |
耶穌變像是神給他門徒的話，先是跟他最親近的人：彼得，雅各和約翰。 |
| Jesus, in what I see as an act of great kindness and trust, invited the three to follow him up the mountain. |
在我看來是極大的恩慈和信任的表現：耶穌邀請三人跟隨他上山。 |
| Peter, James, and John were permitted to follow Jesus all the way to the top, and to witness the incredible things that took place there! |
彼得，雅各和約翰被允許跟隨耶穌，直到山頂，並見證那不可思議的事情發生！ |
| First, the face of Jesus started glowing with its own light, and then his clothes changed to a dazzling white! |
首先，耶穌的臉開始發光，然後衣服變成了耀眼的白色！ |
| And then, most incredible of all, Moses and Elijah, those two great giants of the Old Testament, appeared with Jesus and were talking with him! |
然後，最不可思議的是，摩西和以利亞，兩位舊約聖經中的偉人，與耶穌一同出現，並與耶穌交談！ |
| Of course they had been dead for millennia, so the disciples were absolutely stunned. |
當然，他們已經死了數千年了，所以，這幾位門徒在當下絕對是倍感震驚。 |
| [What Next?] |
[下一步？] |
| Peter was the first to recover, and interrupted the sacred conversation by offering to set up tents for the three of them! |
彼得是第一個回神過來的人，他提出為他們三位搭帳棚一事，打斷了這神聖的對話！ |
| It was a ridiculous suggestion, but is very typical of us as human beings. |
這是一個荒謬的建議，但對同是世人的我們來說，是不難想像的。 |
| Something very special and holy happens to us, and immediately we want to “improve” on it. |
當我們身上發生了特殊而神聖的事情時，我們便馬上想要「改進」它。 |
| We want to build things, or to charge an admission fee to it, or put rules on it….Or deny it ever happened! |
我們會想要加點東西，或收取門票，或製定規則……或否認事情曾經發生過！ |
| It is a great gift to us that this story occurs in all three gospels, and is also mentioned in 2 Peter. |
這件事在所有三本福音書皆有記載，在彼得後書也有被提及。這對我們是一個很大的禮物。 |
| [What Was The Purpose?] |
[目的是什麼？] |
| Granted, it is a very strange story, but to me, it is so poignant as a manifestation of the true nature of Jesus. |
我們承認，這個故事非常奇怪，但對我而言，這是耶穌真實本性的表現，很讓人感動。 |
| It seems to me it is also a manifestation of the Father’s love for the Son, and of the love of Jesus for his close disciples. |
在我看來，這也是聖父愛聖子的表現，也是耶穌愛他親密門徒的表現。 |
| I see the purpose of this event is comfort. |
我看到這件事的目的是安慰。 |
| Comfort for Jesus by two giants of the faith. |
藉著兩位信仰偉人安慰耶穌。 |
| Comfort for Jesus and for his disciples as evidence that resurrection is real, in the persons of Moses and Elijah. |
透過摩西和以利亞，安慰耶穌以及祂的門徒，證明複活是真實的。 |
| Perhaps one of the things it means for you and me is that God’s presence can be experienced even on a foggy mountain top. |
或許這也對你我，表明一件事，就是在雲層籠罩的山頂上也可以經歷到上帝的同在。 |
| It can also be experienced when we are faced with terrifying threats just ahead of us. |
同樣，當我們面臨可怕威脅時，也可以經歷到。 |
| And when we do experience God’s presence and the glory of God in Christ, fear and confusion fade in importance by comparison. |
當我們確實經歷了上帝的同在，在基督裡的榮耀時，相比之下，恐懼和困惑就變得不再重要。 |
| When we have the faith and trust to wait for God, God shows up. |
當我們用信心和信任等待上帝時，上帝就會出現。 |
| In our 21st century, prosperous nations are flooded with fantastic spectacles like the incredible special effects and computer generated images of movies, tv shows, and games. |
在我們的21世紀，富裕的國家總是充滿了琳瑯滿目的奇蹟，例如在電視、電影、遊戲中，令人難以置信的特效跟電腦繪圖。 |
| The Superbowl halftime shows become more spectacular every year. |
超級杯中場表演一年比一年壯觀。 |
| Architects design grand structures with beauty and amazing functionality. |
建築師設計的宏偉建築，美感和驚人功能兼俱。 |
| Modern medicine conquers more and more formerly incurable diseases. |
現代醫學征服了越來越多的不治之症。 |
| Olympic Athletes break records year after year with more and more unbelievable feats. |
奧運選手逐年刷新紀錄，更是締造出越來越不可思議的成績。 |
| Is there room in our minds and hearts to be amazed by the Transfiguration of Jesus? |
耶穌變像，是否還能讓我們驚訝呢？ |
| Is there time to be touched by the transformation of a life under the influence of Jesus Christ? |
在耶穌基督的影響下，所帶來生命的轉變，是否有機會讓我們感動？ |
| The Transfiguration happened immediately after the saying of Jesus about taking up our crosses and being willing to lose our lives for his sake and for the sake of the gospel. |
耶穌變像之前，耶穌才剛說要背起我們的十字架，並要我們為他、為福音喪失生命。 |
| After the Transfiguration, Jesus ordered his disciples to tell no one about it until he had risen from the dead. |
耶穌變像之後，耶穌命令他的門徒們，在祂死裡復活之前，不能告訴任何人變像的事。 |
| [Coming Back Down] |
[回到山下] |
| So far from being able to set up tents and stay up on the mountain in the glory of God surrounding Jesus and Moses and Elijah, they still had to face the grim reality of what Jesus said about his suffering and dying in the near future. |
到目前為止，從他們能建立帳棚，待在充滿上帝榮光的山上，環繞在耶穌、摩西、與以利亞中間；他們仍需面對殘忍的現實：就是耶穌在不久的將來，將遭受的痛苦和死亡。 |
| And, when Jesus got down from the mountain, he was confronted immediately with a man who wanted him to cure his son of possession by a demon. |
而且，當耶穌從山上下來時，他立即遇到一個男人，要治癒他那被鬼附身的兒子。 |
| There are people in need there at the foot of the mountain. |
山腳下仍有需要的人。 |
| The message of God to disciples then and now could not be more clear. |
此時，上帝給門徒的信息再清楚不過了。 |
| While Peter was still talking about tents, a bright cloud enveloped Peter, James, and John, and a voice spoke out of saying “This is my Son, the Beloved;[] with him I am well pleased; listen to him!” |
當彼得還在提帳棚的事的時候，一朵燦爛的雲彩籠罩了他們；有聲音從雲中出來，說：「這是我親愛的兒子，我喜愛他。你們要聽從他！」 |
| The message is LISTEN TO JESUS! |
重點的訊息是，你們要聽從祂！ |
| LISTEN TO JESUS! |
要聽從祂！ |
| God the Father is providing backup to what Jesus was saying, as well as providing comfort to all present. |
天父為耶穌的話背書，並為當時在場的人給予安慰。 |
| We don’t like to think about Jesus as needing comfort or authoritative backup for his sayings, but here God is giving it. |
我們不想說，耶穌需要安慰，或是用權威來為他的話背書，但在這裡上帝是這麼做了。 |
| That’s a confusing concept from a Trinitarian point of view, confusing if you think of God the Father and Jesus Christ as being the same person. |
從三位一體的角度來看，這是一個令人困惑的概念；如果您認為聖父和耶穌基督是同一個人，您就會覺得困惑。 |
| But there it is in the gospels. |
但這明白記載在福音書裡。 |
| Certainly, it is confusing to our rational minds, but Jesus the fully human man needed prayer, needed this comfort, needed at least partial understanding on the part of those closest to him before he made his way to Jerusalem to die. |
這確實打亂我們的理路，但在前往耶路撒冷，受死之前，道成肉身的耶穌依舊需要禱告，需要這樣的安慰，並且親近的人的理解。 |
| That’s my human way of looking at this story. |
這是我透過人的角度，理解這個故事所得。 |
| But we still have many questions.The Eastern Orthodox Church puts a lot more emphasis on the Transfiguration than we in the Western branch of Christianity. |
但是我們仍然有許多問題。東正教比西方的基督教更加重視耶穌變相。 |
| In the Orthodox Church, the celebration of the Transfiguration is second only to Easter as a high holy day. |
在東正教教堂，耶穌變像日是僅次於復活節的第二大的聖日。 |
| [The Mystery of the Transfiguration] |
[耶穌變像之謎] |
| There are things we can learn from them. |
我們可以從他們那學習到一些事。 |
| Eastern Art depicting the Transfiguration is unusual. |
東方藝術中所描繪的耶穌變像是不尋常的。 |
| One pictures Jesus with a large circle with rays like a sunburst behind him with also two different geometric shapes superimposed on that circle. |
一幅描繪了耶穌的圖畫，背後有個大圓圈，光線在他身後如旭日形，在圓圈上還疊加了兩種不同的幾何形狀。 |
| It’s very mystical. |
這非常神秘。 |
| I invite you to google images of the Transfiguration. |
我邀請你上Google搜尋 Transfiguration 的圖畫。 |
| The orthodox branch of Christianity considers the meaning of the unusual event to be a vision for transformation of this world and of the world to come. |
東正教認為，這個不尋常事件，是呈現現世，與未來世界的轉變的異象。 |
| Was it a vision of the resurrected Christ? |
這是基督復活的異象嗎？ |
| The Greek word used for “Transfiguration” is “metamorphosis.” Was Jesus changed? |
用於「耶穌變像」的希臘字是「變態（生物學上的，像蝌蚪變青蛙）」。耶穌改變了嗎？ |
| Did he BECOME fully divine on that mountain? |
他在那座山上變得全然神聖了嗎？ |
| The disciples witnessed the glory of God shining from the face of Jesus, and heard the voice of God speaking. |
門徒目睹了上帝的榮光從耶穌的臉上發出，並聽到了上帝的聲音。 |
| Moses led the people of Israel to freedom from slavery in Egypt, and Elijah taught God’s people about God’s call for justice and care of the poor. |
摩西帶領以色列人民走出埃及，擺脫奴役，而以利亞教導上帝的子民對正義的呼召和對窮人的關懷。 |
| Jesus fed the poor. |
耶穌餵養窮人。 |
| He taught and healed and cast out evil spirits. |
他教導、醫病、趕鬼。 |
| He was followed by crowds of people to Jerusalem, but he had no plans to overthrow Roman rule as they wished and expected. |
耶穌與跟隨他的群眾來到耶路撒冷，但祂並不打算像群眾們期待的那樣推翻羅馬統治。 |
| No, Jesus said that anyone who wants to follow him needs to realize that it amounts to taking up a cross. |
不，耶穌說，任何想跟隨他的人都必須意識到，要付上背起十字架的代價。 |
| And that will be true for as long as evil still exists in the world. |
只要世界上一日存在邪惡，這句話就一日為真。 |
| That doesn’t mean that we go out and FIND a cross to carry, but it does mean that we are likely to be given one at least at times, when we try to live in the path taught by Jesus and the prophets. |
這不是說我們得去找一個十字架來扛，而是意味著當我們嘗試走在耶穌和先知所教導的道路上時，我們至少會被賦予一個十字架。 |
| That cross may be emotional pain, conflict with friends or family, financial stress, prison, assault, even death, all while doing our best to love enemies and to live peaceably with all. |
十字架可能是情感上的苦痛，與朋友或家人的衝突，經濟壓力，牢獄之災，毆打甚至死亡，同時竭盡全力去愛敵人並與所有人和平相處。 |
| It happens, all around the world. |
這事會發生的，且發生在世界各地。 |
| But if any of those things happen, it is not the end of the story. |
但是，發生任何這些事情，都還不是故事的終點。 |
| Sometimes we are blessed to witness a metamorphosis, a transformation, either in ourselves or in others. |
有時，我們很幸運地親眼目睹了自己或他人的蛻變和轉變。 |
| A teacher sees “a light go on” in a child’s face when they understand something they’ve been struggling with for a long time. |
一位老師可以看見孩子臉上的「光芒」，因為他們弄懂了長久以來所掙扎的問題； |
| A parent or a nurse witnesses the exact moment when someone under their care turns the corner towards health. |
一位家長或護士看到被照顧者病情好轉時，也見證了相同的時刻； |
| A person trapped in addiction or in self -absorption feels themselves transformed when suddenly by the grace and power of God they are set free. |
一個成癮或自溺的人，當他突然感到被上帝的恩典和大能釋放時，會意識到自己的轉變。 |
| Our questions about the Transfiguration of Christ in the gospels will never be fully answered, and we may never experience a vision that creates the same kind of awe that the disciples felt. |
我們對福音書中的耶穌變像將永遠無法得到完整的答案，我們也可能無法經歷那種讓門徒產生敬畏的異象。 |
| The spectacle of the Superbowl, of the Olympics, of Mardi Gras parades, provide hours of fun with friends, excitement, amazement, vicarious energy. |
超級杯、奧運和狂歡節遊行壯觀的場面，提供了朋友間，幾個小時的歡樂，興奮，驚奇，能量。 |
| The biblical spectacle of the Transfiguration provides none of that. |
耶穌變像的聖經奇觀並不提供這些。 |
| It was a private spectacle, observed by only 3 people. |
這是一個私密的奇觀，只有三個人觀察到。 |
| Yet for those who meet the living Christ, for those who see in him the glory of God, and especially for those who LISTEN to him, it can be a spectacle that changes their lives forever. |
然而，對於那些遇見永活的基督的人，對於那些在祂裡面看到上帝榮耀的人，尤其是對於那些遵從祂話語的人而言，這是一個永遠改變他們生命的奇觀。 |
| We too become endowed with the glory of God for healing and transforming the world. |
我們也獲得了上帝的榮耀，可以治癒和改變世界。 |
| Presbyterian minister Frederick Buechner says that in the Transfiguration, the holiness of Jesus was shining through his humanness, his face so afire with it that the disciples were almost blinded. |
長老會牧師弗雷德里克·布希納（Frederick Buechner）說，在耶穌變像中，耶穌的聖潔透過肉身閃耀而出，他的臉如此紅火，使徒弟幾乎無法觀看。 |
| Listen to Jesus. |
你們要聽從祂！ |
| Thanks be to God. |
感謝上帝。 |
