昨天，在我们庆祝耶稣复活的时候，我们可能看到或听到了关于复活节兔子、复活节彩蛋和巧克力的说法。在古代欧洲，人们在春分时节会为了日耳曼女神Eostre（古英语中的Eastre）庆祝节日。兔子和鸡蛋代表着春天的生育能力和生命的复苏。由于耶稣的受难和复活正好发生在一年中的这一时节，欧洲的教会就试图用对基督的敬拜和复活的庆典来取代这一异教传统。他们甚至用“Easter”命名这个节日来试图使这个传统的春天的节日基督教化。
但这似乎并未起到很好的效果，不是吗？庆祝基督战胜死亡与兔子、鸡蛋或巧克力毫无关系。令人遗憾的是，这些元素反而会分散我们的注意力，使我们无法专注默想藉着耶稣的受死和复活而获得的新生命这份礼物。但在基督里，我们可以纪念另一个古老的传统——逾越节，其中有记念宰杀羔羊和庆祝从奴役中被解救的传统。那是指向耶稣这一从天父而来的爱的礼物，祂来乃是释放我们脱离罪的奴役。
因此，让我们注目于神的羔羊，耶稣——我们的救主和生命的赐予者——这远比春天的季节性复苏更重要。这并不意味着我们不能用盛宴或一点巧克力来庆祝，但我们一定要记得敬拜那位爱我们并差祂的儿子来拯救全世界的独一真神！
主啊，请引导我们永远铭记并时常庆祝你在基督里为我们所做的一切。奉耶稣的名，阿们。
哥林多前书 5:6-8
6你们这自夸是不好的。岂不知一点面酵能使全团发起来吗？
7你们既是无酵的面，应当把旧酵除净，好使你们成为新团。因为我们逾越节的羔羊基督，已经被杀献祭了。
8所以，我们守这节不可用旧酵，也不可用恶毒、邪恶的酵，只用诚实真正的无酵饼。
"Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed." - 1 Corinthians 5:7
As we celebrated Jesus' resurrection yesterday, we may have seen or heard references to the Easter bunny, Easter eggs, and chocolate. In ancient Europe, the Germanic goddess Eostre (Eastre in Old English) was celebrated during the spring equinox. Rabbits and eggs represented fertility and the revival of life in springtime. Since Jesus' death and resurrection occurred at the same time of year, the church in Europe tried to replace that pagan tradition with the worship of Christ and the celebration of new life in him. They even used the name "Easter" to try to Christianize the springtime holiday.
But that hasn't worked very well, has it? The celebration of Christ's victory over death has nothing to do with rabbits, eggs, or chocolate. Sadly, all of that can distract us from reflecting on the gift of life we have through the death and resurrection of Jesus. But in Christ we can remember another ancient tradition—Passover, with its sacrificed lamb and celebration of deliverance from slavery. That pointed to the gift of Jesus, who came to free us from the slavery of sin.
So let's focus on the Lamb of God, Jesus—our Savior and the giver of full life—which is far greater than the seasonal refreshing of life in spring. This doesn't mean we can't celebrate with feasting or a bit of chocolate, but let's be sure to worship the one true God who loves us and sent his Son to save the whole world!
Lord, guide us to remember and celebrate all that you have done for us in Christ. Amen.
诵读: 骆云秀
片头: 张妙阳
