09 August 2011

Mark 10:1-26 The Gospel of Family and What is Important

1 And he arose from thence, and cometh into the coasts of Judaea by the farther side of Jordan: and the people resort unto him again; and, as he was wont, he taught them again.耶稣从那里起身,来到犹太的境界并约但河外。众人又聚集到他那里,他又照常教训他们。
2 And the Pharisees came to him, and asked him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife? tempting himz有法利赛人来问他说:「人休妻可以不可以?」意思要试探他。
3 And he answered and said unto them, What did Moses command you?耶稣回答说:「摩西吩咐你们的是什麽?」
4 And they said, Moses suffered to write a bill of divorcement, and to put her away.他们说:「摩西许人写了休书便可以休妻。」
5 And Jesus answered and said unto them, For the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept.耶稣说:「摩西因为你们的心硬,所以写这条例给你们;
6 But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female.但从起初创造的时候,神造人是造男造女。
7 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife;因此,人要离开父母,与妻子连合,二人成为一体。
8 And they twain shall be one flesh: so then they are no more twain, but one flesh.既然如此,夫妻不再是两个人,乃是一体的了。
9 What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.所以神配合的,人不可分开。」
10 And in the house his disciples asked him again of the same matter.到了屋里,门徒就问他这事。
11 And he saith unto them, Whosoever shall put away his wife, and marry another, committeth adultery against her.耶稣对他们说:「凡休妻另娶的,就是犯奸淫,辜负他的妻子;
12 And if a woman shall put away her husband, and be married to another, she committeth adultery.妻子若离弃丈夫另嫁,也是犯奸淫了。」
13 And they brought young children to him, that he should touch them: and his disciples rebuked those that brought them.有人带著小孩子来见耶稣,要耶稣摸他们,门徒便责备那些人。
14 But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.耶稣看见就恼怒,对门徒说:「让小孩子到我这里来,不要禁止他们;因为在神国的,正是这样的人。
15 Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein.我实在告诉你们,凡要承受神国的,若不像小孩子,断不能进去。」
16 And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them.於是抱著小孩子,给他们按手,为他们祝福。
17 And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?耶稣出来行路的时候,有一个人跑来,跪在他面前,问他说:「良善的夫子,我当做什麽事才可以承受永生?」
18 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God. 18 耶稣对他说:「你为什麽称我是良善的?除了神一位之外,再没有良善的。
19 Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother.诫命你是晓得的:不可杀人;不可奸淫;不可偷盗;不可作假见证;不可亏负人;当孝敬父母。」
20 And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth.他对耶稣说:「夫子,这一切我从小都遵守了。」
21 Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.耶稣看著他,就爱他,对他说:「你还缺少一件:去变卖你所有的,分给穷人,就必有财宝在天上;你还要来跟从我。」
22 And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions.他听见这话,脸上就变了色,忧忧愁愁的走了,因为他的产业很多。
23 And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!耶稣周围一看,对门徒说:「有钱财的人进神的国是何等的难哪!」
24 And the disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus answereth again, and saith unto them, Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God!门徒希奇他的话。耶稣又对他们说:「小子,倚靠钱财的人进神的国是何等的难哪!
25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.骆驼穿过针的眼,比财主进神的国还容易呢。


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05 August 2011

The Transfiguration of Christ by Metropolitan Kallistos

This is a feast that enjoys far greater prominence in Orthodoxy than in western Christendom. In the Roman rite, the Transfiguration is merely a “double of the second class,” while the Anglican Prayer Book of 1662 does not even provide a special Collect, Epistle, or Gospel for this day. (This omission has been rectified in the 1928 Book, as also in the revisions of the Book of Common Prayer used in many parts of the Anglican Communion overseas).

In the Orthodox Church tradition August 6 is reckoned as one of the Twelve Great Feasts, of such importance that it supplants the Sunday office entirely (when the feast is observed on the Lord’s Day).

The Transfiguration is par excellence the feast of Christ’s divine glory. Like Theophany (January 6), it is a feast of light. During Matins the exapostilarion for the day states: “Today on Tabor in the manifestation of Thy Light, O Word, Thou unaltered Light from the Light of the unbegotten Father, we have seen the Father as Light and the Spirit as Light, guiding with light the whole creation.”

Nor is this the only parallel between the two feasts. Like Theophany, although less explicitly, the Transfiguration is a revelation of the Holy Trinity. On Tabor, as at the baptism in Jordan, the Father speaks from heaven, testifying to the divine Sonship of Christ; and the Spirit is also present, on this occasion not in the likeness of a dove, but under the form of dazzling light, surrounding Christ’s person and overshadowing the whole mountain. This dazzling light is the light of the Spirit.

The Transfiguration then, is a feast of divine glory; more specifically of the glory of the Resurrection. The ascent of Mount Tabor came at a critical point in Our Lord’s ministry, just as He was setting out upon His last journey to Jerusalem, which He knew was to end in humiliation and death. To strengthen His disciples for the trials that lay ahead He chose this particular moment to reveal to them something of His eternal splendor, “as far as they were able to bear it“ (Troparion of the Feast). He encouraged them — and all of us — to look beyond the suffering of the Cross to the glory of the Resurrection.

The light of the Transfiguration, however, foreshadows not only Christ’s own Resurrection on the third day, but equally the Resurrection glory of the righteous (ones) at His Second Coming. The glory which shone from Jesus on Tabor is a glory in which all mankind is called to share. On Mount Tabor we see Christ’s human nature — the human substance which He took from us — filled with splendor, “made godlike” or “deified.” What has happened to human nature in Christ can happen also to the humanity of Christ’s followers. The Transfiguration then, reveals to us the full potentiality of our human nature: it shows us the glory which our manhood once possessed and the glory which, by God’s grace, it will again recover at the Last Day.

This is a cardinal aspect of the present feast, to which the liturgical texts frequently revert. For example, it is said at Great Vespers that at His Transfiguration the Lord, “in His own person showed them the nature of man, arrayed in the original beauty of the Image.” Similarly at Matins one hears, “Thou wast transfigured upon Mount Tabor, showing the exchange mortal men will make with Thy glory at Thy second and fearful coming, O Savior.”

The feast of the Transfiguration, therefore, is not simply the commemoration of a past event in the life of Christ. Possessing also an “eschatological” dimension, it is turned towards the future, towards the “splendor of the Resurrection” at the Last Day, towards the “beauty of the divine Kingdom” which all Christians hope eventually to enjoy. (From the Festal Menaion)


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