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馬利亞的丈夫約瑟是個義人 - 新約聖經人物給我的啟發(一)
2019/10/08 09:19:16瀏覽1292|回應1|推薦2

耶穌的母親馬利亞從聖靈懷孕時,已經許配給約瑟. 聖經說,她丈夫是個義人,不願意明明地羞辱她,想要暗暗地把她休了。 (1:19)

為什麼聖經一開始就說約瑟是個義人? 這是在他願意娶過已經懐孕的馬利亞之前。也就是說,在神眼中約瑟是個義人不是因為他願意娶過已經懐孕的馬利亞。但在這件事之前我們不知道約瑟的任何事跡。

怎樣的人被稱為義人呢?在舊約聖經中,挪亞被稱為義人,並說他在當時的世代是個完全人,與神同行(6:9)。在詩篇中,義人相當於心裡正直的人(32:1133:1)。所以我們可以知道約瑟是個心裡正直,與神同行的人。我們可以從馬太第一、二章來看這樣的人怎樣處理生命中遇到的事情。

首先,當約瑟知道馬利亞已經懐孕後,約瑟不願意明明地羞辱馬利亞,只想要暗暗地把她休了。可見約瑟待人寬厚包容。

之後數年中,主的使者三次向約瑟夢中顯現,約瑟都立刻遵著主使者的吩咐去做,沒有討價還價,猶豫不決。可見約瑟對神全然的順服。

 

主使者的吩咐

約瑟的反應

應驗的預言

不要怕,只管娶過你的妻子馬利亞來,因他所懷的孕,是從聖靈來的。

約瑟醒了,起來,就遵著主使者的吩咐,把妻子娶過來。

必有童女,懷孕生子,人要稱他的名為以馬內利。(以馬內利繙出來,就是神與我們同在。)

起來,帶著小孩子同他母親,逃往埃及,住在那裡,等我吩咐你,因為希律必尋找小孩子要除滅他。

 

約瑟就起來,夜間帶著小孩子和他母親往埃及去。

我從埃及召出我的兒子來。

 

起來,帶著小孩子和他母親往以色列地去,因為要害小孩子性命的人已經死了。

 

約瑟就起來,把小孩子和他母親帶到以色列地去。到了一座城,名叫拿撒勒,就住在那裡。

他將稱為拿撒勒人。

約瑟不是一個像大衛一樣的偉人,能文能武,有豐功偉業,還留下豐富的詩歌。約瑟更像我們多數人一樣是個普通人。在路加4:22記載,當耶穌傳道來到拿撒勒,就是他長大的地方,眾人都稱讚耶穌,並希奇他口中所出的恩言,眾人說:這不是約瑟的兒子麼。雖然約瑟是這麼一個眾所公認的普通人,很可能也拙於言語,卻因為他心裡正直,與神同行,在人類歷史中扮演了一個非常重要的角色,他所做的應驗了三個主藉先知所說的預言(1:22-23; 2:15-18; 2:23)

約瑟的一生給我的啟發是,神看重一個心裡正直,與祂同行的人。如果我們追求這樣的人生,不但神應許聽我們的禱告(15:29),臨死有所投靠(14:32),我們在世的某些時刻,神要用我們成就祂的旨意,榮神益人。

( 心情隨筆心靈 )
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2021/07/30 02:08
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彭湖(86d2c605) 於 2021-07-30 02:09 回覆:

British Writer Pens The Best Description Of Trump I’ve Read - London Daily

British Writer Pens The Best Description Of Trump I have Read

London Daily News, Jul 29, 2021   Nate White

 

“Why do some British people not like Donald Trump?” Nate White, an articulate and witty writer from England wrote the following response:

 

A few things spring to mind. Trump lacks certain qualities which the British traditionally esteem. For instance, he has no class, no charm, no coolness, no credibility, no compassion, no wit, no warmth, no wisdom, no subtlety, no sensitivity, no self-awareness, no humility, no honour and no grace – all qualities, funnily enough, with which his predecessor Mr. Obama was generously blessed. So for us, the stark contrast does rather throw Trump’s limitations into embarrassingly sharp relief.

Plus, we like a laugh. And while Trump may be laughable, he has never once said anything wry, witty or even faintly amusing – not once, ever. I don’t say that rhetorically, I mean it quite literally: not once, not ever. And that fact is particularly disturbing to the British sensibility – for us, to lack humour is almost inhuman. But with Trump, it’s a fact. He doesn’t even seem to understand what a joke is – his idea of a joke is a crass comment, an illiterate insult, a casual act of cruelty.

Trump is a troll. And like all trolls, he is never funny and he never laughs; he only crows or jeers. And scarily, he doesn’t just talk in crude, witless insults – he actually thinks in them. His mind is a simple bot-like algorithm of petty prejudices and knee-jerk nastiness.

There is never any under-layer of irony, complexity, nuance or depth. It’s all surface. Some Americans might see this as refreshingly upfront. Well, we don’t. We see it as having no inner world, no soul. And in Britain we traditionally side with David, not Goliath. All our heroes are plucky underdogs: Robin Hood, Dick Whittington, Oliver Twist. Trump is neither plucky, nor an underdog. He is the exact opposite of that. He’s not even a spoiled rich-boy, or a greedy fat-cat. He’s more a fat white slug. A Jabba the Hutt of privilege.

And worse, he is that most unforgivable of all things to the British: a bully. That is, except when he is among bullies; then he suddenly transforms into a snivelling sidekick instead. There are unspoken rules to this stuff – the Queensberry rules of basic decency – and he breaks them all. He punches downwards – which a gentleman should, would, could never do – and every blow he aims is below the belt. He particularly likes to kick the vulnerable or voiceless – and he kicks them when they are down.

So the fact that a significant minority – perhaps a third – of Americans look at what he does, listen to what he says, and then think ‘Yeah, he seems like my kind of guy’ is a matter of some confusion and no little distress to British people, given that:

• Americans are supposed to be nicer than us, and mostly are.

• You don’t need a particularly keen eye for detail to spot a few flaws in the man.

This last point is what especially confuses and dismays British people, and many other people too; his faults seem pretty bloody hard to miss. After all, it’s impossible to read a single tweet, or hear him speak a sentence or two, without staring deep into the abyss. He turns being artless into an art form; he is a Picasso of pettiness; a Shakespeare of shit. His faults are fractal: even his flaws have flaws, and so on ad infinitum. God knows there have always been stupid people in the world, and plenty of nasty people too. But rarely has stupidity been so nasty, or nastiness so stupid. He makes Nixon look trustworthy and George W look smart. In fact, if Frankenstein decided to make a monster assembled entirely from human flaws – he would make a Trump.

And a remorseful Doctor Frankenstein would clutch out big clumpfuls of hair and scream in anguish: ‘My God… what… have… I… created?' If being a twat was a TV show, Trump would be the boxed set.