在我看來，這棵聖誕樹像是著火了！因為聖誕樹上掛的不是燈串，而是一根根點著了的蠟燭。我們全家人受邀參加朋友家的傳統活動，那是老派德國人慶祝聖誕的方式，美味的傳統甜點琳琅滿目，還有一棵點燃許多蠟燭的聖誕樹。（但為了安全起見，這剛砍下的聖誕樹只點亮一個晚上。）

我看著那棵似乎燃燒著的聖誕樹，不禁想起上帝在燃燒的荊棘叢中向摩西顯現。當時摩西在曠野牧羊，看到那燃燒著的荊棘叢竟然沒有被火焰吞噬，令他感到十分驚訝。他走近荊棘叢察看，便聽到上帝呼喚他。燃燒的荊棘發出的信息不是審判，而是拯救以色列人。上帝看到祂的百姓在埃及被奴役的困境和苦難，因此下來要拯救他們（出埃及記3章8節）。

上帝拯救了以色列人脫離埃及人的欺壓，但其實世人都需要祂的拯救──不僅是脫離肉體的痛苦，也要脫離邪惡和死亡對人類世界的影響。千百年後，上帝回應人類的需要，差派祂的兒子耶穌來到世上，祂就是真光（約翰福音1章9-10節），而耶穌來「不是要定世人的罪，乃是要叫世人因祂得救」（3章17節）。

To my eyes, the Christmas tree looked to be ablaze in fire! Not because of artificial strings of lights but from real fire. Our family was invited to a friend’s altdeutsche Tradition, or the “old German way,” a celebration featuring delicious traditional desserts and a tree with real, lit candles. (For safety, the freshly cut tree was lit one night only.)

As I watched the tree appear to burn, I thought of Moses’ encounter with God in the burning bush. While tending sheep in the wilderness, Moses was surprised by a flaming bush that was somehow not consumed by the flames. As he approached the bush to investigate, God called to him. The message from the burning bush was not one of judgment but of rescue for the people of Israel. God had seen the plight and misery of His people who were enslaved in Egypt and had “come down to rescue them” (Exodus 3:8).

While God rescued the Israelites from the Egyptians, all of humanity still needed rescue—not just from physical suffering but also from the effects that evil and death brought into our world. Hundreds of years later, God responded by sending down the Light, His Son, Jesus (John 1:9–10), sent not “to condemn the world, but to save the world through him” (3:17).