二○二○年二月二十二日／二月二十三日
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疫境中的連繫
孔桂芳牧師
相信沒有人想到，新型肺炎的疫情會來得如此兇猛，以致 1 月底開始教會要暫停所有的團契、小組聚會及會議，更想不到的，是崇拜也要轉為網上錄播。不少弟兄姊妹憂慮疫情的發展之餘，也擔心持續暫停聚會，會對個人的靈命及彼此的關係造成負面影響，我們或會想到，信徒及教會會否因此而變得渙散？
香港人為了抗疫，紛紛忙於張羅防疫的用品，以確保自己及家人能免受感染，當然信徒也不例外。但此刻我們更不能掉以輕心的，是要保守自己與上帝、與弟兄姊妹的關係。
參與網上錄播的崇拜，弟兄姊妹或可逐漸適應，然而，無論哪種方式的崇拜，也不能取代我們每天的個人敬拜：靈修禱告，特別在這物資短缺、人心惶惶的「盲搶」時候，因為每天的敬拜能提醒我們上帝才是全能無限、掌管世界、疫情及生命的主，在人的軟弱無助裡，惟有祂可堪信靠，也惟有祂能賜下真正的平安，因為上主應許：「我留下平安給你們，我把自己的平安賜給你們；我給你們的，不像世界所給的。你們心裡不要難過，也不要恐懼。」（約十四 27，新譯本）未認識上帝的人看不到我們與祂的關係，更不能明白聖靈怎樣幫助我們結連於祂——「住在我裡面的，我也住在他裡面」。
昔日使徒保羅到處傳福音、建立教會，他雖然不能與信徒在一起，但心中卻常記掛他們，他甚至稱屬靈兒子歐尼西慕為「我所心愛的」。他不單寫了多封書信去鼓勵、教導、勸勉、督責教會，甚至差派同工探訪關懷。
面對疫情的不可知，又未能在教會聚會，往往令人容易感到疏離及孤單，正因為如此，我們此時更要著意維繫大家的關係，同心面對疫情的挑戰。我們可以學效保羅的榜樣，將弟兄姊妹放在心上，像記掛親人一樣。我們可嘗試在每天的禱告裡，祈求聖靈提醒自己想起一些弟兄姊妹，並在當天發個問候短訊，或者主動致電，又或透過視頻彼此分享靈修心得，互相關心代禱，也同心為疫情及教會禱告。關係是需要刻意經營的，聖靈所賜合而為一的心，是需要我們竭力保守住。我們不要讓「見不到就心不想」的情況發生。
感謝上帝，祂應許及賜下弟兄姊妹在疫境中同行！
Pastor's Sharing
Connecting with One Another amid the Epidemic
Rev Hung Kwai Fong
None of us could have anticipated the seriousness of the coronavirus which led to the church’s suspension of all fellowship, small group and other meetings from the end of January. Even more unexpected was that even our worship services had to go online. Our worries extend beyond the epidemic – will our spiritual lives and relationship with brothers and sisters suffer as well? Will our church go lax as a result?
While Hong Kong people stock up to fight the epidemic and to protect themselves and their families, Christians do the same. But what we must not forget is that we all the more need to maintain a close relationship with God and with brothers and sisters.
It is likely that brothers and sisters will gradually adapt to worshiping online. But whichever worship mode we adopt, it cannot replace our daily personal worship – our daily devotion and prayer. Particularly in these days when supplies are short, when many people are worried and they grab whatever is still available, our daily worship will remind us that God is almighty and unlimited. He rules over the world and the epidemic. He is the Lord of life. In man's weaknesses and helplessness, only God is trustworthy. He alone can give real peace. The Lord has promised: "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid" (John 14:27). Non-believers do not understand our relationship with God, nor the fact that the Holy Spirit connects us to Him: "Remain in me, and I will remain in you."
In the early days of the church, the Apostle Paul preached the gospel and set up churches everywhere. Although he could not be with the believers, he kept them in his heart. He even called his spiritual son Onesimus "my very heart." Paul not only wrote many letters to encourage, teach, exhort and rebuke the churches, but also sent coworkers to visit and care for them.
In the midst of the uncertainties surrounding the epidemic, coupled with the fact that we cannot meet in church, we can easily feel lonely and alienated. It is exactly because of this that we need to make greater effort to sustain our relationship with brothers and sisters during this period and fight the epidemic together. Let us learn from Paul and keep brothers and sisters in our hearts as those close to us. In our daily prayers, we can ask the Holy Spirit to remind us of our brothers and sisters. We can send them messages, call them on the phone, or share with each other what we have learned during quiet time by video call. We can care and pray for each other as well as for the epidemic and the church. Relationships need to be sustained with conscious effort. It also takes an effort on our part to maintain unity in the Spirit. We should prevent the "out of sight, out of mind" situation from happening.
Thanks be to God, He promises and gives us brothers and sisters to walk together amid the epidemic!
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