2022.09.17/18

From the Pastor’s Desk: Rev. Simon Lee

Dear brothers and sisters of RCAC,

Daily we meet people or encounter news of people suffering grievously from the injustice of society and the devastation of wars. Christians face the dilemma of facing this injustice of the kingdoms of this world while trying to hold on to our belief that the justice in the kingdom of God will prevail. We are torn by the reality of this world and the hope we have in “heaven”!

In my previous article: “My kingdom is not of this world (1),” I shared with you the words of Jesus who said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.”– John 18:36.  We concluded, “What we have to offer in the Church above all, is the gospel of the kingdom of God, a kingdom of love, peace, and justice, one that the world does not offer. The gospel is therefore our top priority and our answer to the world of hate, unrest, and injustice.”

In this second article, I intend to go a little deeper into what these words mean by focusing on the context of Jesus’ words in John 18. Jesus was being tried by Pilate in the governor’s headquarters and Pilate asked the Jewish accusers “What accusation do you bring against this man?” The crowd was evasive in their reply: “If this man were not doing evil, we would not have delivered him over to you.” (29, 30) In the Gospel of Luke, however, the real reason for the false accusation of the Jewish people becomes apparent, put in a way that Pilate must handle as it relates allegedly to the challenge to the Roman authority: And they began to accuse him, saying, “We found this man misleading our nation and forbidding us to give tribute to Caesar, and saying that he himself is Christ, a king.” (Luke 23:2) The crafty, cunning and blasphemous way the Jewish crowd used in putting together various bits of information for this false accusation is quite disconcerting, to say the least. But it nevertheless at least shows that they could not deny there are two conflicting systems of “justice” at work.

Pilate, being himself a shrewd politician, was able to see through their plot to their motive which was to use him to bring down the death sentence on Jesus, something they knew they could not do themselves. So Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law.” By this, he also clearly affirmed that there are two “legal” systems, the Roman or the Jewish.

My purpose here is not to wade into the complex theological debate of the doctrine of the two kingdoms, but to simply say that we cannot escape the fact that we Christians are citizens of two worlds, one that is earthly and the other that is heavenly, and we all must live in this tension as we as Christians face the injustice and evils of the world in which we live. Returning to Jesus’s words in John 18: 36 we can summarize what Jesus said by the following simple points:

• Jesus’ kingdom is not a rival political kingdom.
• Jesus’ kingdom does not originate from this world, but from heaven.
• Jesus’ kingdom has peace and not war as its base and agenda.

Decades later, Paul reaffirmed that Jesus’ kingdom established by Jesus going to the cross is based on sacrificial love, righteousness and humility, so different from the worldly kingdom that it is the exact opposite of what the Jewish people expected and what the Gentile world valued: “to the Jews a stumbling block, and to the Gentiles foolishness.” (1 Corinthians 1:23)

In the context of the Gospel of John, we can see that for John, there are always dichotomy like, light and darkness, freedom and slavery, righteousness and evil… Thus, when Christ says his kingdom is not of this world, John wants us to note that Christ rules in a spiritual kingdom manifesting that He is “the way, the truth and the life,” (John 14:6) in contrast to the worldly kingdom of waywardness, untruth and death.” When Jesus was facing the betrayal of His own people and the injustice of this world, His ultimate defence was pointing the authority and the people to the truth: “I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” (37)

Earlier John has recorded what Jesus himself had already taught: “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, ³² and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31,32) Again He said, “³⁶ So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” (John 8:36)

May we seek this ultimate TRUTH and true FREEDOM that Jesus Christ offers to us all.

Your servant in Christ,
Pastor Simon Lee

2022.09.17/18

親愛的列宣家的弟兄姊妹

每天我們都會遇上一些受害者或聽到因爲社會的不公義和戰爭的破壞而感到痛苦不堪的消息。基督徒面對這個世界的不公義的同時，又要試圖堅持我們的信念，即上帝的國度的公義將會勝過一切。我們就在這兩種背道而馳的張力低下感受到難過和無奈。

我在兩週前的分享：“我的國度不屬於這個世界（1）”，講到了耶穌的話，他說：“「我的國不屬於這世界；如果我的國屬於這世界，我的臣僕就要作戰，使我不至被交給猶太人。不過，我的國不是這世上的。」”(約翰 18:36)。我在總結裡提到：“我們在教會中首先要宣揚天國的福音，這是一個完全愛、和平與公義的國度，是世界無法提供的。因此，傳福音是我們的首要任務，也是我們對這個仇恨、動盪和不公義的世界的回應。”

在這一次的分享中，我打算通過關注約翰福音 18 章中耶穌的話的上下文來更深入地了解以上耶穌的話的含義。彼拉多正在審判耶穌，彼拉多問那些猶太的控訴者 –“「你們控告這個人甚麼呢？」他們隱晦地回答：「如果這個人沒有作惡，我們就不會把他交給你。」” (29, 30) 然而，在路加福音中，猶太人的誣告的真正原因變得顯而易見，彼拉多無法不認真處理，因為是對羅馬權威的挑戰有關：他們開始控告他說：“「我們查出這個人煽惑我們的同胞，阻止納稅給凱撒，並且自稱是基督，是王。」” （路加23:2）猶太人以狡猾和褻瀆神明的方式，用虛假的指控來指控耶穌基督，至少可以說根據猶太人的指控，耶穌基督的行為是相當令人大大不安。無論如何，在這些指控中，有一點很清楚，那就是他們不能否認有兩種相互衝突的“公義”體系正在影響著他們。

彼拉多本身就是一個狡猾的政客，能夠看穿他們的陰謀，了解他們的動機：就是要利用他的權力來判決耶穌死刑。因為這個是他們單方面無法做到的。於是彼拉多對他們說：“你們自己去拿他，按你們自己的律法審判他。”通過這一點，他也明確地肯定了有兩種“法律”制度存在，一個是屬於來自於羅馬的政權的，另外一個是屬於猶太人。

我無意在此加入有關於兩個國度的複雜神學辯論，而是要提出，我們無法逃避這樣一個事實，即我們基督徒是處於兩個世界的公民，一個是地上的，另一個是天上的，我們作為基督徒必須要面對世界的不公義甚至於是邪惡。我們可以用以下簡單的要點來總結耶穌約翰福音 18:36所說的話：

• 耶穌的國度不是與世界敵對的政治國度。
• 耶穌的國度不是來自這個世界，是來自天上。
• 耶穌的國度的基礎及議程是和平而非戰爭。

幾十年後，保羅重申，透過耶穌的十字架所建立的國度是基於犧牲的愛、公義和謙卑，與世俗的國度大大不同，與猶太人的期望和外邦人的價值觀完全相反: “在猶太人看來是絆腳石，在外族人看來是愚笨的。” （林前 1:23）

透過約翰福音的上下文中，我們可以看到，他用二分法來區別神的國度和世界，光明與黑暗，自由與奴隸，正義與邪惡……  因此，當基督說他的國度不屬於這個世界時，約翰想要我們注意到基督在一個屬靈的國度中掌權，表明他就是“道路、真理和生命”（約翰 14:6），這與在世俗中遇到的歪路、非真理和死亡形成鮮明對比。”當耶穌面對自己百姓的背叛和這個世界的不公義時，他最終的回應是向權威和人民導向真理：“我要為真理作見證，我為此而生，也為此來到世上。凡是屬於真理的人，都聽我的聲音。」” (約翰 18:37)

約翰曾記載了耶穌基督的教導：““你們若持守我的道，就真是我的門徒了； ³² 你們必定認識真理，真理必定使你們自由。” （約翰 8:31, 32）; 耶穌又說：“ 所以，神的兒子若使你們自由，你們就真的得自由了。 」” （約翰8:36）

願我們尋求耶穌基督給予我們的真理和真正的自由。

主僕，
李耀全牧師

2022.09.03/04

From the Pastor’s Desk: Rev. Simon Lee

Dear brothers and sisters of RCAC,

One of the American presidents that I most admire is Jimmy Carter (39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981.) He was best known not for what he did during His one term as President, but what he did after his presidency. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002, “for work to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development.” He is also very devoted to his Christian faith and is an inspiration to many brothers and sisters in his home church where he has taught Sunday school for years. He had gone to the pinnacle of political power in the world, but after his political career, he devoted all his energy to humanitarian and evangelistic endeavour. To me he is an example of one who knew and exercised much political power, but also one who moved on to live out and practice a different power, spiritual power, to help so many people find life and life abundant around the world.

Over the past few months, wars such as that of the invasion of Ukraine by Russia have displaced millions of people, and also political turmoil and civil unrests such as that in Hong Kong and Burma have resulted in creating many waves of reluctant “immigrants” or refugee. Behind all these conflicts often lie the hunger and greed of nations and their politicians for power and wealth, as they try to build and expand their own earthy kingdoms. Here in Canada with the latest visit of the Pope of a six-day ‘pilgrimage of penance’ we are reminded again of the serious mistreatment of First Nations children in the residential schools in the past and the trauma of the survivors till now. As Christians we cannot turn a blind eye to all the atrocities and injustice around us. While we have responded a little to aiding the refugees in the neighbouring countries of Ukraine such as Poland, reach out to some people who have been forced to abandon their homes in Hong Kong and have come to Canada, and for a decade have tried to reach out to some first nation youths in Hazelton, we must redouble our effort because the need is still so great. We must do what we can to help all these people who have suffered so much to find their new home and new life. As Christians who have been blessed by God in so many different ways and we have the responsibilities to reach out to so many who are disadvantaged and so much less fortunate than us.  However, I must admit that I find myself helpless, overwhelmed and even angry at the enormous devastation caused by the powers of this world. What then can we do?

In reflecting on the situation we are in, I am reminded of the words of Jesus who said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.”- John 18:36.  In our next issue we shall go deeper into this verse and the concept of “My Kingdom is not of this world”, but for now, let me outline the most obvious message. First of all, Jesus is not saying His kingdom is not concerned with the world and all its needs that somehow it is other-worldly. No, what Jesus is saying is, unlike the world around us, which is often power-driven and filled with violent politics, His kingdom is one of peace and justice, full of grace and mercy (that is why Jesus’ disciples were not encouraged to use violence to fight back). What we have to offer in the Church above all, is the gospel of the kingdom of God, a kingdom of love, peace and justice, one that the world does not offer. The gospel is therefore our top priority and our answer to the world of hate, unrest and injustice. (To be continued)

Your servant in Christ,
Rev. Simon Lee

2022.09.03/04

列宣家親愛的兄弟姊妹：

我最欽佩的美國總統之一是卡特總統（Jimmy Carter），（他於1977至1981年擔任美國第39任總統）。他最負盛名的不是在於總統任期內的業績，而是在他離任後的所作所為。他因著在尋求和平解決國際衝突、促進民主和人權，以及在促進經濟和社會發展方面的努力而獲得2002年諾貝爾和平獎。他也非常忠於本身的基督教信仰，多年來一直在他自己的教會中任教主日學，令許多兄弟姊妹得著靈性的造就。他雖登上世界政治權力的頂峰，但在他的政治生涯結束後，他將全部精力投入於人道主義和佈道事工之上。對我來說，他是瞭解政治權力的一個典範，也是繼續身體力行地實踐另類權力、屬靈權柄的人，以幫助眾多在世界各地的人找到生命及得著豐盛的人生。

過去數月內，眼見俄羅斯入侵烏克蘭等戰爭導致數百萬人流離失所，而香港和緬甸及不同的政治動盪和內亂亦導致了許多不情願的“移民”或難民浪潮。在所有這些衝突的背後，反映著世上有些國家及政客們為著試圖建立和擴大自己的地上國度，所存對權力與財富的渴望及貪婪之慾。教宗訪問加拿大原住民之六日“懺悔之旅”也一再提醒我們在本國不公義的歷史，承認天主教昔日曾虐待原住民的寄宿學校兒童，倖存者至今仍有嚴重的創傷。作為基督徒，我們不能對周圍所有的暴行和不公義視而不見。雖然我們曾幫助在波蘭等地烏克蘭鄰國的難民作出了一些回應，同時也正在向一些被迫放棄在香港的家園來到加拿大的人伸出援手，並且在過去十年來一直在嘗試聯繫及支持Hazelton的第一民族青年事工，但事實上由於需求仍然巨大，我們必須加倍努力。我們必須盡所能墬幫助這些在苦難中的人找到他們的新居所和新生活。作為基督徒，我們有責任伸出援手接觸許多處於不利地位和比我們不幸的人，讓他們以各種不同的方式得到上帝的祝福。然而，我必須承認，我們對這個世界的權勢造成的巨大破壞感到無助、不知所措，甚至憤怒。那我們能做什麼呢？

在反思我們所身處的情況時，我想起了耶穌的話，祂說：“我的國不屬於這世界；如果我的國屬於這世界，我的臣僕就要作戰，使我不至被交給猶太人。不過，我的國不是這世上的。”(約18:36)。下期我們將會更深入地研究這節經文和“我的國不屬於這個世界”的含義，但現在讓我先行略述最突顯的主要信息。首先，耶穌並不是說祂的國度是以某種超凡脫俗的姿態，不去關心這世界和世上的需要。絕非如此，耶穌所說的是與我們周圍的世界不同，這個世界往往是被權力驅動的，充滿暴力政策，但祂的國度是和平與公義的，充滿恩典和憐憫（這就是為什麼耶穌的門徒沒有受到鼓勵使用任何暴力進行反擊）。我們在教會中首先要提供的是天國的福音，這是一個愛、和平與正義的國度，是世界所沒有的。因此，傳講福音是我們的首要任務，也是我們對仇恨、動盪和不公義世界的回應。（未完待續）

主僕，
李耀全牧師