Oct 02-03, 2021
From the Pastor’s Desk: Rev. Simon Lee

Dear brothers and sisters of RCAC,

Finally, in His time, we are going back to worshipping in the sanctuary of our Church. We have been unable to do so for the last 19 months! All throughout this period, we had been wondering when we can return to in-person worship and little did we know we have to wait so long. When we had to lockdown in mid-March of 2020, it came at such short notice, and we were all scrambling to put our five services online. I personally had thought (from my experience during SARS in Hong Kong years ago) that by the fall of 2020, we should be able to return. When that did not happen, then I had thought maybe by Spring, 2021, believing that with more people getting vaccinated, we would be able to return. When the provincial government announced the 4-step plan, I had thought that by September (Step 4), reopening will be fully in place. Who would be able to predict that at this time the number of people infected by COVID daily in BC would still be as high as 800? Yet, despite of that, in our prayerful discernment process, we have decided to cautiously reopen for in-person worship in October. So here we are!

In my last article, In His time (1): appointed time vs appropriate time, I ended with this conclusion: From the context of Ecclesiastes 3, I believe the thesis of Eccl. 3:1 may be understood as “There is an appointed time (from God) for everything, and “an appropriate time” (for man or woman to act accordingly) for (his or her) every activity. Simply put, in everything, God has His appointed time, and it will be done in an appropriate time (sovereignly through His human agent). Let us now return to the text, dig deeper into it, and consider “In His time (2): Life’s certainties and our responses.”

From verses 1-8 we see God has an appointed time-table for all human activities or actions, and in His providence, these happen through human agents who are accountable to God, in a proper and suitable time (“an appropriate time”). The 7 pairs of realities (of 14 opposites) listed in Koheleth (by Solomon), using a poetical device called merism, suggest the concept of totality. Solomon wants to state that all a person’s event and activities in life, both constructive and destructive, including all his responses to people, objects, and events happen in their times. The 7 pairs of realities form a picture of all of life’s certainties, both positive and negative. These can be summarized as follows:

1. The natural cycle of life: beginning and end (2-3)

The beginning and end of a person’s life cannot be controlled by human beings (2a), and they happen “in His time.” In like manner, planting and uprooting (2b), killing and healing (3a), and breaking down and building up (3b), all these beginnings and endings are part of the cycle of life, they will surely happen. I believe the emphasis is not on the morality or ethics of these actions, rather on the certainties that both extremes of these realities will happen in life. Just like life and death, they are all life’s inevitable eventualities and therefore need to be recognized and accepted by us. The underlying message is that they are all “appointed” by God Himself, in His sovereignty.

2. Human’s natural reactions (4-8)

In response to the above-mentioned events in life, the range of human responses include weeping and laughing (4a), mourning and dancing(4b), scattering and gathering (5a), embracing, and not embracing (5b), searching and give up searching (6a), keeping and throwing away (6b), tearing and mending (7a), keeping silent and speaking out(7b), loving and hating (8a), and finally, warring and keeping peace (8b). Again, the emphasis is not the morality (while not denying their morality exist), the right or wrong, of these responses, but on their “appropriateness” or the “timing.”

The best Biblical example to illustrate this that I can think of is in the story of David and the death of his baby with Bathsheba (2 Samuel 12: 1-24). When David saw his baby was very sick, he prayed and fasted and could not be consoled. But when he knew his baby was dead, he went to the Lord’s house to worship and resumed his normal life. When questioned by his servants on why he did not continue to weep and mourn, he said: ²² “While the baby was still alive, I fasted, and I cried. I thought, ‘Who knows? Maybe the Lord will feel sorry for me and let the baby live.’ ²³ But now that the baby is dead, why should I fast? I can’t bring him back to life. Someday I will go to him, but he cannot come back to me.” David prayed fervently for a miracle for his baby while he was very sick, but when the baby died, he accepted the judgment of God and stopped his mourning. There is an appropriate time for every action and reaction, recognizing the sovereignty of God.

I do not know what will happen in the progression of the COVID pandemic, but I do know God is in control, and I will act by faith on what I believe is appropriate and right at this time, to the glory of God. Yes, He makes all things beautiful in His time. Let us all worship Him.

(Next: In His time 3: the ultimate purpose of life)

Your servant in Christ,

Rev. Simon Lee

Oct 02-03, 2021
李耀全牧師

列宣家親愛的弟兄姊妹：

終於，按著神的時間，經過了19個月，我們可親身回到教會裡敬拜了，這正是我們期待已久的！於此期間，我們一直不能確定究竟何時能恢復實體崇拜，但我們絕對想不到需要等待這麼長的時間。在2020年3月中旬由於疫情關係，令實體聚會被迫封鎖時，我們速決速策地將教會的五堂崇拜改為在線上舉行。當時我個人認為（根據我多年前在香港SARS非典期間的經驗）到2020年秋季，我們應可以回堂敬拜，可是卻不符所望。我也以為，或許到2021年春天，於大眾接種疫苗後，我們就可以回堂了，但卻是大失所望。當在年中政府宣布重啟四步驟時，我還以為到9月份第四期時已可以全面開放各就各位了。誰可預料到，現時本省每天感染新冠病毒的人數還會高達800人？然而，儘管如此，經過長期的禱告，在我們的審慎部署中，我們還是決定謹慎地在10月重新開放實體的敬拜。至終我們能得償所求了！

我在前一期的教牧心聲：“按祂時候(1):定時與適時”一文中，得出以下結論：從傳道書3章的上下文而看，我認為傳道書3:1的論點，可以理解為“凡事都有指定的時間（來自上帝），以及祂對每樣事情的適當時間，” 故此人也以應該相應地按照神的時間行事。簡而言之，在任何事情上，神都有祂指定的時間，並會在祂適當的時間成就（透過祂主權的安排調校）。讓我們回到經文，更深入地研究，並思想“按祂時候(2)：生活的確定性和我們的回應”。

從第1-8 節我們看到神為每一個人和一切事情，在祂的旨意裡，都按照祂所指定的時間表發生，並且，各人也必須按著神所命定託付的，在合適和適切的時間向神交代（“適當的時間”）。傳道書，希伯來文為Koheleth（所羅門著）中列出的7對（14個對比）實況的描述，使用了一種稱為對句(merism)的文學修辭結構，用詩意的體裁手法，展示出一個完整性的概念。所羅門是要說明每個人在生活中的所有事情和活動，無論是建設性的還是破壞性的，包括對人、對物和事件的所有反應都發生在神所定的時間之中。這7對包括積極的和消極的實況，構成了生活中所有確定性的圖景。可作出以下總結:

1.生命的自然循環：開始與結束（2-3）The natural cycle of life: beginning and end

一個人生命的開始和終結是人所無法控制的（2上），都發生在“祂的時間”中。同樣，栽種和連根拔起（2下），殺戮和醫治（3上），拆毀和建造（3下），所有提及的開始和結束都是生命週期的一部分，必然會發生。我認為重點不是在於這些行動的道德性或倫理性之上，而是這些現實情況的兩個極端會在生活中發生的確定性。就像生與死一樣，都是人生必然會發生的，需要我們去確認和接受。背後的信息是，他們都是神自己，在他的主權下所“任命”(指定)的。

2. 我們的自然回應：雙極的回應 (4-8) Human’s natural reactions

回應上述的生活情節，一般人對不同情景的自然反應，包括：哭泣與歡笑（4上）、哀慟與跳舞（4下）、分散與聚合（5上）、擁抱與拒抱（5下）、尋找與失落（6上），保留與丟棄（6下），撕裂與修補（7上），沉默與發聲（7下），愛護與恨惡（8上），最後，戰爭與和平（8下）。同樣，重點不是在於其道德性的反應（也不是否定其道德性的實質）、或是指對與錯，而在於是否“適當” 或“適時”(“適切時機”)[聖經新譯本] 。

我認為最能說明這一點的聖經例子，是大衛以及他與拔示巴所生的孩子死亡的事跡（撒下12:1-24）。當大衛看到他的孩子病重時，他禱告禁食，痛不欲生、拒絕慰問。但當他知道他孩子死了，他就去到聖殿裡敬拜，恢復了正常的生活。當他的僕人問他為什麼不繼續哭泣和悲痛時，他回答：“孩子還活著的時候，我禁食哭泣，因為我想：也許耶和華憐憫我，讓孩子可以活著。現在他死了，我為甚麼還要禁食呢？我還能使他回來嗎？我要到他那裡去，他卻不能回到我這裡來。” (22-23)。大衛在他孩子病重的時候懇切禱告祈求神蹟，但當孩子死了，他接受神的旨意(審判)，停止了哀傷。大衛的表現和反應顯示出他承認及接受神的主權。在一切事上都有其適當的時間。

我不知道新冠病毒大流行的疫情將會如何，但我知道神在掌控一切，我會憑著信心行事，為著神的榮耀而行適時和適當的事。是的，按祂時候，祂使一切成為美好。讓我們敬拜祂！

（下期待續：按祂時候(3)：人生的終極目的In His time 3: the ultimate purpose of life）

主僕,
李耀全牧師

Sep 18-19, 2021
From the Pastor’s Desk: Rev. Simon Lee

Dear brothers and sisters of RCAC,

In His time, in His time,
He makes all things beautiful in His time.
Lord, please show me every day,
as You’re teaching me Your way,
that You do just what You say, in Your time.

The lovely song, “In His time,” was written in 1978 by Diane Ball, when she was a busy mother of 4 children ages 10-14, trying to juggle many things in her life. She was a camp director of a conference center in northern California. On one occasion she was behind in attending her scheduled luncheon speaking engagement which was to start at noon, all because her husband was busy till 11 am. Being a perfectionist, she was furious and asked God to give her peace. The words of Ecclesiastes 3:11 came to her” “He makes all things beautiful – in His time.” Amazingly she was able to finish writing the song before she arrived. Not only that, the luncheon was also delayed, and she and her family arrived just in time … in His time!

I too am a planner and a very impatient person, and I often get very frustrated when things do not go according to plan for no reason. This song reminds me that we need to trust God’s timing for when things seem to go wrong, and we are anxious and frustrated. For nearly two years during the COVID pandemic, my patience has been pushed to the limit so many times. Most recently the test comes in the plan and the timing for “Return to Church” for worship. We keep having to adjust our plans for the last three months, up until announcement time. I am learning that while it is true that if we fail to plan, we plan to fail; it is also equally true that while we, as humans, plan it is God who brings realization of our plan, in His time. It is a hard lesson!

Re-examining the text from which this song come from (Ecclesiastes 3:1-13), I would like to share some thoughts I have been able to glean from the passage. First of all, the main theme is set out in the first verse:

For everything there is a season,

and a time for every matter under heaven. (ESV)

You may be interested to note according to biblical scholars, verse 1 is arranged in an ABB’A’ chiasm, which simply mean parallel elements are arranged like a mirror. Verse 1 is arranged as:

“for everything” (A); “a season” (Hb. zeman) (B);

“a time” (B’) (Hb. ‘et); “for every matter” (A’).

The terms “season” and “time” are parallel. In light of the parallelism with “every matter”, the term “everything” must refer to every event or situation in life. The NET Bible translate the verse as:

For everything there is an appointed time,

and an appropriate time for every activity on earth. (NET)

Exploring further in Scriptures, “a season” (Hb. zeman) or “an appointed (designated) time” was used in the context of the appointed or designated time for the Jewish feasts (Esth. 9:27, 31) or the length of time (duration) for Nehemiah set for his absence from Susa (Neh. 2:6). The word is related to the noun for “plan or intention” (Job 17:11) and the noun for “purpose, plan, project” as in “the purpose of God” (Job 42:2; Jer. 23:20; 30:24; 51:11) and man’s plan (Isa. 5:12).

Also, “a time” (Hb. ‘et, a point in time) or “an appropriate time” has a two-fold range of meanings: (1) time of an event) and (2) time for an event. The latter has a range of usage such as ‘the usual time’, “the proper, suitable or appropriate time”, “an uncertain time” (Eccl. 9:11), as for example, “the time for rain” (Ezra 10:13); “the time for harvest.” (Hos. 2:11; Ps 104:27)

From the context of Ecclesiastes 3, I believe the thesis of Eccl. 3:1 may be understood as “There is an appointed time (from God) for everything, and “an appropriate time” (for man or woman to act accordingly) in (his or her) every activity (desire or delight). Simply put, in everything, God has His appointed time, and it will be done in an appropriate time (sovereignly through His human agent).

Rev. Warren Wiersbe summarizes the theme this way:

In fourteen statements, Solomon affirmed that God is at work in our individual lives, seeking to accomplish His will. All of these events come from God, and they are good in their time. The inference is plain: If we cooperate with God’s timing, life will not be meaningless. Everything will be “beautiful in his time” (v. 11), even the most difficult experiences of life.

In His time, in His time,
He makes all things beautiful in His time.    (To be continued)

Your servant in Christ,

Rev. Simon Lee

Sep 18-19, 2021
李耀全牧師

親愛的列宣家弟兄姊妹：

祂做事有定時                        In His time, in His time,
按祂時候能成就美好事        He makes all things beautiful in His time.
主求你每日指示                    Lord, please show me every day,
教我明白你心思                    as You’re teaching me Your way,
我願遵行你旨意等候你        that You do just what you say, in Your time.

以上這首膾炙人口的美麗詩歌:“按祂時候”是由黛安·鮑爾(Diane Ball)於1978年所創作的。黛安是北加州一個會議中心營地的主任，亦是一位有4個10至14歲孩子繁忙的母親，故此她經常要在處理生活與工作上的大小事情而疲於奔命。一次，她原定於正午開始的午餐會中擔任演講，卻因為她丈夫一直忙至上午11時而令她幾乎趕不上時間。身為一個完美主義者，她感到非常憤怒，並祈求神賜下內心的平安。傳道書3:11的話當時出現在她腦際間:“ 祂使萬事各按其時，成為美好”。令人驚嘆的是，她竟然能在到達會場之前完成這首詩歌的創作。不僅如此，午餐會也因其他原因而延遲開始，她和她的家人得以及時到達……按祂時候！

我是一個注重計劃，同時也很缺乏耐性的人，每當事情無緣無故地不按照計劃進行時，我就會感到很沮喪。這首詩歌提醒我，當事情似乎出錯，令我感到焦慮和沮喪時，我需要相信神的時間安排。在新冠病毒大流行近兩年的時間裡，我的耐性的考驗多次被推到了極限。最近的考驗是在於“重返教堂”敬拜的計劃和時間方面。在過往三個多月的計劃中，直至宣佈重啟聚會的一刻，我們都迫不得已，需要不斷的作出調整。我明白到，事實上，如果我們不去計劃，我們就會注定失敗；然而，同樣真實的是，人作籌謀，卻是神在祂的時間裡去成就我們的計劃。對筆者個人來說，這是一個學之不完的功課！

在我重新細察這首歌的經文出處時（傳道書 3:1-13），我想分享一些我從這段經文中的思維拾穗。首先，詩歌主旨是在第一節：

天下萬事都有定期，(凡事)都有上帝特定的時間。 (參照:現代中文譯本)

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven. (ESV)

有趣的是聖經學者指出，第 1 節是按ABB’A’ 對稱結構的交叉次序排列, 如下：

“一切事情” （A）； “一個定期” (B)（原文: zeman）；

“一個時刻” （B’）（原文: ét）；“每一件事”（A’）。

在此“定期”和“特定的時間”的句語是平行的。按照與“一切事情”的平行關係，“每一件事”一詞必須是指生活中的事件和情況。 NET(聖經新英文譯本)將這節經文翻譯為：

凡事都有指定的時間，
以及世上每項活動（人的慾望和行為）的合適/適當時間。

For everything there is an appointed time,

And an appropriate time for every activity on earth.（NET）

從聖經別處來看，“一個定期”(原文: zeman) 或“指定的 (特定的)時間”用於特定或猶太節日的指定時間（斯9:27, 31）或較長時段（持續時間）如:尼希米不在書珊城中的時間（尼2:6）。這個詞與“計劃或意圖”的名詞（伯 17:11）與“目的、計劃、方案”有關，如“上帝的旨意”（伯42:2；耶23:20；30:24；51:11）和人的計劃（賽5:12）。

此外，“時間”（原文:‘et，一個時間點）或“適當的時間”具有雙重含義：一般指（1）事件的時間/一個時間點）和另特指（2）事件的時段/時機。後者有一系列的用法，例如“通常的時間”、“適當的、合適的或恰當的時間”、“不確定的時段”（傳 9:11），例如“下雨的時候”（拉10:13）; “收割的時候。”（何 2:11；詩篇 104；27）

簡而言之，筆者認為從傳道書3章的上下文來看，傳3:1的論點，可以理解為“凡事都有指定的時間（來自上帝），以及祂對每樣事情（勿論人的慾望或喜悅是甚麼）的適當時間”（故此人該也相應地按照神的時間行事）。 換言之，凡事神有定時，而在適時成就 (透過神主權的安排)。

聖經教師及作家Warren Wiersbe牧師為上述主題作以下總結：
所羅門用十四個描述/說明去肯定神在我們個人的生活中行事，以實現祂的旨意。所有事情發生都來自神，而且一切有神美好的時間。立論很明確清晰：如果我們配合神時間的安排，生活就不會沒有意義。即使是處於人生中最艱難的經歷，一切都會“在祂的時間成為美好”（第11節）。

祂做事有定時 ，
按祂時候能成就美好事。（未完待續）

主僕,

李耀全牧師

Sep 04-05, 2021
From the Pastor’s Desk: Rev. Simon Lee

Dear brothers and sisters of RCAC,

Over the last few months, one question many of us have been asking is when are we going to return to our Church to worship. We had thought that by October we should be able to do so with the province going into Step 4 of the Reopening. However, because of the resurgent cases of COVID infections, we will continue to monitor the situation as we carefully go ahead as planned. We will ensure that we will return when we can stay safe. But ultimately we will also keenly watch for the “timing” and plan of God. Please stay tuned to regular weekly updates.

In our past articles, we have already noted that before the ascension of Jesus, the disciples of Jesus were more concerned with the time (Gk. chronos) of the restoration of the earthly kingdom than the coming of the heavenly kingdom. Jesus told them that God’s kingdom is to be ushered in by the sending of the Holy Spirit and realized by the empowered disciples in their evangelism and mission to the very “last” (Gk. eschatos) place [unreached people] of the earth. As disciples of Jesus, we too have the same Great Commission today, a concern that should not be lost as we have to deal with our daily concerns.

We should also note that Jesus also said to the disciples, “It is not for you to know times (Gk. chronos) or seasons (Gk. kairos) that the Father has fixed by his own authority.”(Acts 1:7) Here “times” (Gk. chronos) refers to duration of time (when) and “seasons” (Gk. kairos) refers to both length of times and kind (nature) of times (e.g., hard times) or opportunity (cf. I Thes. 5:1). Simply put, we do not know the exact timing of God nor when the opportunity will come, because it is all fixed by the authority of God himself. This first of all applies to “the coming of the kingdom,” but also applies to anything appointed by God.

Eugene Peterson in the Message puts it this way: “You don’t get to know the time. Timing is the Father’s business. What you’ll get is the Holy Spirit. And when the Holy Spirit comes on you, you will be able to be my witnesses in Jerusalem, all over Judea and Samaria, even to the ends of the world.” (Acts 1:7,8)

The important thing is we do not know the time, but God the Father knows, and that is all that matters. For us, we should take seriously the words of Paul to Timothy: “1 I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: 2 preach the word; be ready in season (Gk. eukairos) and out of season (Gk. akairos)…” (II Tim 4:1,2) In other words, whether it is a “good” time or not a good time (untimely), we should be ready to proclaim (herald) the word, the gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ. That is God’s ultimate purpose for us all.

Carpe diem: seize the day! We must take advantage of the opportunities that arise as if it is the last day these opportunities present themselves, to serve God’s purpose. Paul teaches us:”15 Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the best use of the time (Gk. kairos), because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” (Eph. 5:15-17)

May we follow the timing and plan of God, live wisely, and be ready to seize the opportunities we have to share the hope that comes with the good news of Jesus Christ.

Your servant in Christ,
Rev. Simon Lee

Sep 04-05, 2021
李耀全牧師

親愛的列宣家的弟兄姊妹，

在過去的幾個月裡，我們可能都在問到底教會什麼時候才能開放，讓會眾回來敬拜。我們原以為到了10 月，當BC省的防疫措施進入重新開放的第 4 步時，就能夠做到這一點。但是，由於 COVID 感染病例的增加，我們將繼續密切留意，並會按照計劃，謹慎行事。確保弟兄姊妹能在安全的情況下返回。但最終我們還是需要跟隨上帝的“時間”和計劃。請繼續關注列宣家每周的家事報告。

在過去的文章中，我們已經提出，在耶穌升天之前，耶穌的門徒關心的是地上國度恢復的時機（Gk. chronos），而不是天國的來臨。耶穌告訴他們，上帝的國度的降臨將需要通過聖靈的降臨，並透過被聖靈賦予能力的門徒把福音傳到地球上“最後”（Gk. eschatos）地方[未得之民]實現。作為耶穌的門徒，我們今天也被賦予同樣的大使命，當我們埋頭處理日常事務時，也不應忘記耶穌賦予我們的使命。

我們還應該留意到，耶穌說：“父憑著自己的權柄所定的時間或日期，你們不必知道。”（使徒行傳1:7）這裡所指的“時間” (Gk. chronos)是時候 (when)，而“季節”（時機） (Gk. kairos) 指的是時候的長度和時候的類別（性質）（例如，困難時期）或機會（cf.帖撒羅尼迦前書 5:1)。簡單地說，我們不知道神確切的時間，也不知道機會什麼時候到來，因為這些都是屬於神的權柄。

神學家尤金彼得森(Eugene Peterson)在他的信息本翻譯是這樣寫的：“你不知道時間。時間是父親的事。你將得到的是聖靈。當聖靈降臨在你們身上時，你們就可以在耶路撒冷、猶太全地和撒瑪利亞，直到世界的盡頭，為我作見證。” （使徒行傳 1:7,8）重要的是我們不知道時間，但父神知道，這才是最重要的。對我們來說，我們應該認真對待保羅對提摩太的話：”1我在神面前，並且在那將要審判活人死人的基督耶穌面前，憑著他的顯現和國度叮囑你： 2 務要傳道；無論時機(Gk. eukairos) 和(Gk. akairos)是否適合，都要常作準備；要以多方的忍耐和教訓責備人、警戒人、勸勉人…。”（提摩太後書 4:1,2）換句話說，無論現在的時機是“好”還是“不好”（不合時宜），我們都應該準備好傳揚（宣揚）耶穌的道、福音和救恩的好消息。這是上帝對我們所有人的託付。

把握當下：抓緊時機！我們必須利用任何放在我們眼前的機會，就好像把這些機會看成為最後一次出現在我們的眼前那樣，事奉上帝。保羅教導我們：”15所以，你們行事為人要謹慎，不要像愚昧人，卻要像聰明人。 16 要把握時機（Gk. kairos），因為這時代邪惡。 17 因此，不要作糊塗人，要明白甚麼是主的旨意。”（弗 5:15-17）

願我們遵循上帝的時間和計劃，活出有智慧的人生，並準備好自己，抓住每一個機會分享耶穌基督的好消息所帶來的盼望。

主僕，
李耀全牧師