已然，未然
神带领衪的子民离开埃及为奴之地时，衪吩咐他们做无酵饼。神应许说衪很快便会来拯救他们，他们没有足够的时间让面团发起来。此外，他们在路上也需要简单和足够的粮食充饥。在今天，有些教会守主餐时会用无酵饼，来象征他们也是一个在天路旅途中的百姓，他们在跟随神、在这个世界中事奉衪。
另一方面，有些教会则选择更强调神将来国度的盼望，神应许在那里，我们会得到丰盛的美物，充足的美食和佳酿便是这些美物的象征（以赛亚书 25:6-9）。所以他们用经过适当发酵和烘焙的饼，来反映出尽管在我们今天这个破碎的世代，我们仍然能经历到、甚至品尝到一点点基督再来时所带给我们的新天新地的滋味。
神学家有时会谈到我们是活在一个“已然且未然”的期间。基督已经到来、一举战胜了罪恶、死亡和凶恶。然而，现今我们仍在等待衪回来完成衪的使命。所以，无论我们用发过酵的饼还是用无酵饼 － 两者都能够帮助我们去思想我们在神对这个世界的伟大计划中所扮演的角色。
主啊，活在你第一次降临和你再来之间的年代，我们会有焦急的感觉。我们因你的胜利欢喜快乐，但我们更渴望你完全得胜的那一天到来。在此之前，我们感谢你供应饮食来维持我们的生命。阿们。
约翰一书 3:1-3
1你看父赐给我们是何等的慈爱，使我们得称为神的儿女，我们也真是他的儿女！世人所以不认识我们，是因未曾认识他。
2亲爱的弟兄啊，我们现在是神的儿女，将来如何，还未显明。但我们知道，主若显现，我们必要像他，因为必得见他的真体。
3凡向他有这指望的，就洁净自己，像他洁净一样。
Now, And Not Yet
"Now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him. . . ." - 1 John 3:2
When God led his people out of slavery in Egypt, he instructed them to make bread without yeast. God was coming soon to rescue them, he said, and there wouldn't be time to wait around for the bread to rise. Further, they needed simple, compact bread for the journey. Today some churches use unleavened bread at the Lord's Supper to symbolize that they too are people on a journey as they follow God to serve him in this world.
On the other hand, some churches choose to emphasize hope in God's coming kingdom, in which we are promised an abundance of good things, symbolized by the richest of foods and the finest of wines (Isaiah 25:6-9). So they use bread made with yeast, risen and baked just right, to reflect that even in our broken world today we can experience and even taste a bit of the new world that Christ will bring when he comes again.
Theologians sometimes talk about living in the "now, and not yet." Christ has come to defeat sin, death, and evil once for all. And yet we wait for him to complete the job. So whether we use leavened or unleavened bread—both can help us reflect on our place in God's great plans for the world.
Lord, living in the time between your first and second comings can be uncomfortable. We rejoice in your victory, but we long for you to fulfill it completely. Till then, we thank you for food to sustain us. Amen.
诵读: 骆云秀
片头: 张妙阳
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