写这篇灵修时，我正在探望我的兄弟、他的妻子、和他们的猫儿Bennie。自从踏入他们的家，我发觉自己一直在哼唱Elton John的一首旧歌“B-B-B-Bennie and the Jets”的副歌！见到那只猫儿和看着它在屋里走动，把这段副歌从我脑海边缘移到我脑海的中央。
新约圣经也带给我类似的经历。一个在我脑海边缘的主题，现在被移到我脑海的前面和中央了，因为它毕竟是圣经的中心。这个主题就是神的国。
阅读路加福音1章时，我们的注意力都集中在天使和他们宣布的喜讯、施洗约翰的出生和即将降临的耶稣上。这些无疑都是重要的事件！
可是我们却往往忽略了一个事实。耶稣到世上来要作王，祂到来要统治一个国度。这个国度就是衪父大卫的国度（大卫是衪在大约1,000年前的先祖）。然而更重要的是，这国度是神的国度。
这就是我们在这个月集中思想的主题了。神的国是整本新约圣经中重复出现的主题；像任何诗歌中贴切主题的副歌，神的国就是整本新约圣经的主题。
所以，就让我们留心聆听吧，我们甚至会开口哼唱起来呢。我相信Bennie会喜欢听的。
我们的父神，愿人都尊你的名为圣，愿你的国降临，愿你的旨意行在地上，如同行在天上。阿们。
路加福音 1:26-33
26到了第六个月，天使加百列奉神的差遣往加利利的一座城去，这城名叫拿撒勒；
27到一个童女那里，是已经许配大卫家的一个人，名叫约瑟，童女的名字叫马利亚。
28天使进去，对她说：“蒙大恩的女子，我问你安，主和你同在了！”
29马利亚因这话就很惊慌，又反覆思想这样问安是什么意思。
30天使对她说：“马利亚，不要怕，你在神面前已经蒙恩了。
31你要怀孕生子，可以给他起名叫耶稣。
32他要为大，称为至高者的儿子；主神要把他祖大卫的位给他，
33他要做雅各家的王，直到永远；他的国也没有穷尽。”
"The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign . . . forever; his kingdom will never end." - Luke 1:32-33
As I write this, I'm visiting with my brother, his wife, and their cat, Bennie. Ever since I arrived, I catch myself singing the chorus of an old Elton John song: "B-B-B-Bennie and the Jets!" Meeting Bennie the cat and seeing him around the house has brought that chorus from the fringe of my mind to the center.
Something like that has happened for me with the New Testament too. A theme that was on the fringe is now front and center. Because it is the center. That theme is the kingdom of God.
When we read Luke 1, we focus on angels and announcements. We focus on the birth of John the Baptist and the impending birth of Jesus. All great stuff!
But here's what we tend to miss. Jesus comes to be a king. He comes to reign over a kingdom. It's the kingdom of his father David (an ancestor who lived about 1,000 years earlier). But, more than that, it's the kingdom of God.
That's where our attention will be this month. Because the kingdom of God is the chorus that repeats throughout the New Testament. And like any good chorus, it's really the point of the song.
So let's give it a listen. It may even start us singing. I think Bennie would like that.
God our Father, may your name be hallowed, may your kingdom come, and may your will be done on earth—the same as in heaven. Amen.
诵读: 骆云秀
片头: 张妙阳
