Diversity in Oneness － God’s Desire and Design – Pastor Jade Yi

Psalm 133; Ephesians 4:4-7; Acts 4:32-35

多元化的合一是神所願和指定的。

Our Story

When I immigrated to the States 30 years ago, I was told that the oneness of the US is like a big melting pot. We all know that the dominating culture of languages, customs, values, and beliefs of this nation is inherited from the early European immigrants in 1800. Being part of the oneness of this big melting pot, assimilation into this culture was expected.

30年前，當我剛移民到美國時，美國文化的合一是用一個大熔爐來形容。 我們都知道，這個國家的語言、習俗、價值觀、和信仰等文化是從1800年早期歐洲移民那裡傳承下來的。所以，生活在這個大熔爐裡，每個人融入這主流文化的要求，就被視為是必要的。

About 20 years ago, instead of the metaphor of a big melting pot, a pot of stew was used to present the oneness of this nation.　The tolerance from the dominating culture to any less represented cultures in this nation got better. This metaphor was more humane. Nonetheless, if any culture wasn’t strong enough to stand out, it easily got overlooked. These days, a bowl of salad is a well used metaphor. Indeed! Accepting and highlighting the differences from each other makes this nation fresh, beautiful, and rich.

大約20年前，大熔爐的比喻不再被採用，而是用一鍋燉菜來表達這個國家文化的合 一。 這個比喻就比較有些人性化了。 儘管如此，如果任何一個文化不夠強大而無法脫穎而出，它仍是容易被忽視的。 最近，用一碗沙拉來表達一個多元化的合一，是個比較常用的比喻。接受並顯示出彼此文化的不同， 確實使這個國家變得新穎、美麗和豐富。

From the development of these three metaphors, we can see that people have grown from being aware of the importance of recognizing those from different cultures, to being tolerant of accepting them in the midst of discomfort and awkwardness, then to celebrating and respecting the coexistence of diversity.

從這三個比喻的發展過程中，我們可以看得到接受不同文化的成長過程。人們從認識到不同文化的重要性，到即使是感到不習慣和尷尬中，仍是寬容地接受彼此的不同，再到祝賀和尊重彼此不同文化的共存。

God’s Story

Diversity in Oneness is divinely ordained and redeemed reality. It is God’s desire and design. It is a beautiful thing.

多元化的合一是神所命定要拯救的事實。是神所願和指定的。這是一件美好的事。

There are numerous examples. For example: 1.) God’s promise to Abraham to be the father of a multitude of nations and the bloodline of kings in Genesis 17:4-7; 2.) God’s anointing to David as the king over the 12 tribes of Israel in 1 Samuel 16:1-13, 2 Samuel 5, and Psalm 133; 3.) God’s coming in Jesus Christ to redeem those who believe in Him can be one in God in John 3:16 and 17:20-26, and to command his disciples to make disciples of all nations in Matthew 29:19-20; 4.) God’s acting through the Holy Spirit to expand the church through Judea and Samaria into the ends of the earth in Acts; and finally 5.) God’s fulfillment to a great multitude speaking their own languages from every nation in the book of Revelation 7:9.

有很多例子說明了神對多元化合一的意念。 例如： 1.) 在創世記 17:4-7 中，神應許亞伯拉罕成為多國之父，也是君王延續的血統； 2.) 在撒母耳記上 16:1-13、撒母耳記下 5 章和詩篇 133 中都提到，神膏抹大衛，立他為以色列 12 個支派的王； 3.) 在約翰福音3:16 和17:20-26 中，藉著耶穌基督， 神來救贖那些相信祂的人，並使所有信徒合而為一，在馬太福音29:19-20 中，也命令祂的門徒，要使萬民都成為耶穌基督的門徒； 4.) 在使徒行傳中，神透過聖靈行事，將教會從猶太地，擴展到撒瑪利亞，直到地極； 最後是 5.) 神在啟示錄 7:9 中應驗了祂所要看到的，那就是一大群來自各國、說自己語言的人。

I would like to highlight just one word in Psalm 133 in those three powerful and memorable statements written by King David. It is the first word, “See”, that he uses to express his joy without reservation. He wanted the assembly, the 12 tribes of Israel, to see what was in front of them. It was such a delightful and beautiful Oneness before their eyes because they wouldn’t get to see this often in their lifetime. Yes, with God’s help, oneness is possible.

在大衛王所寫的詩篇 133 篇中，我想提一下他用的第一個詞彙。他用「看啊！」來陳述那短短三節有力且令人難忘的的場景。 一個詞彙「看啊！」毫無保留地傳達了他心中的那份喜悅。 他希望以色列的 12 個支派聚集在一起的會眾們，能定睛看著他們眼前的場景。 這是如此令人愉悅和美好的合一，因為他們一生中，並不會經常看到這種場景。 的確，只有在神的幫助下，合一是可能的。

In Matthew 19:26! Jesus says that with God, all things are possible. That is what we see in the books of Acts 4 as well. Jesus’ apostles follow Jesus’ teachings and obey Jesus’ commandments. That’s why we get to witness that the whole congregation prays and lives as one, one heart and one mind! There isn’t anyone who is needy. Their focus is nothing else but the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ that they are called to proclaim and live it out.

在馬太福音 19 章 26 節中，耶穌說，在神凡事都能。 這也正是我們在使徒行傳第四章所看到的。 耶穌的使徒們遵循耶穌的教導並遵守耶穌的誡命。這也就是為什麼我們能見證到 整個會眾同心同意地，一起祈禱，一起生活的故事！ 沒有人有任何的缺乏。 他們只專注傳揚主耶穌基督的福音，他們清楚這是來自主的呼召，那就是去宣講並將福音活出來。

Our Challenge

Wouldn’t that be wonderful if we can see the oneness among God’s people more often? Oneness in one nation certainly is beyond our imagination unless there is only one common faith that is practiced by all with shared values. For now, let us focus on church, a faith community, to see some of the challenges that we face from time to time.

如果我們能常見證到上帝子民之間的合一，那不是很棒的一件事嗎？ 一個國家的團結合一肯定超出了我們所能想像到的，除非那個國家只有一種共同的信仰，並且所有人都一起實踐共同的價值觀。 現在，讓我們先專注於教會這個信仰團體，看看我們時常面臨合一的一些挑戰是些甚麼。

The first challenge that I see is when we forget that the Church belongs to God. When this happens, individuals bring in their own missions and values into the church. As a result, the church is no longer a church, a life-giving environment but a draining and competitive place. Then, we end up to have a tendency to cancel each other by diminishing others out of fear, insecurity, jealousy, pride or entitlement.

我看到的第一個挑戰是當我們忘記，教會是屬於上帝的時後。 當這種情況發生時，個人就會將自己的使命和價值觀帶入教會。 如此一來，教會就不再是教會，不再是一個賜與生命的環境，而是一個耗盡精力、充滿競爭的地方。 也許出於自己的擔憂、沒有安全感、嫉妒心、驕傲或掌權，我們變得輕易的去貶低彼此，或是抹煞彼此的存在價值。

The second challenge that I see is when we forget that our God is a Triune God who is actively interacting within us through all we say and do each day. Let us think of our worship as an example. Week after week, the Holy Spirit gathers us to worship, gives us wisdom to understand the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and invites us to give thanks to Jesus for the salvation at the Holy Communion Table, and then send us out into the world to proclaim the Good Ｎews not alone but with our Triune God. This leads to the last challenge I see.

我看到的第二個挑戰是，當我們忘記我們的神是三位一體的神的時後。三一神透過我們每日的言行，主動地和我們的內心在做互動。 就以我們的敬拜為例子。 一周又一周，聖靈把我們聚集一起來敬拜，賜予我們智慧來理解耶穌基督的福音，邀請我們到聖餐桌前來感謝主的救恩，最後，差遣我們向世界去宣揚基督的好消息。我們不是獨自一人去傳揚，而是與我們的三一神同行。 這使我看到了最後一個挑戰。

The third challenge that I see is when we forget that we are serving and worshiping God not just on Sundays as a community but also individually throughout the week. Knowing this, how will we live and interact with our Triune God differently in our daily life? If we do remember that every blessing is from God, and everything we do and say is to honor God, then whatever we do and say at work or at home should feel joyful, not resentful; we would not question our own worthiness, or ask for rewards, or take our entitlements as children of God for granted.

我看到的第三個挑戰是，當我們忘記了我們不僅是在主日和弟姊妹們一同服侍和敬拜神，而且是在整個星期中也各自的在服侍和敬拜神。 知道了這一點，我們在日常生活中，會如何以不同的方式生活並與我們的三一神來做互動呢？ 如果我們記住，每一個祝福都是是從神而來的，我們所做的一切、所說的一切都是為了榮耀神。那麼，無論我們在工作中或在家裡做什麼、說什麼，都會感到喜樂，而不會埋怨；我們也不會質疑自己的價值，不會要求回報，也不會把我們身為上帝兒女的權利視為一件理所當然的事。

Good News

What is the Good News? The good news is: 1.) The Church belongs to God not to the world. Thanks be to God for this good news. 2.) Our God is a Triune God who is present around us, in us, above us, ahead us, behind us all the time. Thanks be to God for this good news. 3.) We serve and worship God alone, not the world, others or ourselves. Thanks be to God for this good news.

什麼是好消息？ 好消息是： 1.) 教會是屬於神而非屬於世界的。為此，我們 感謝神。 2.) 我們的神是一位三一神，時時刻刻都在我們周圍、在我們生命裡、在我們之上、在我們身前、在我們身後。為此，我們 感謝神。 3.) 我們只服侍和敬拜神，而不是服侍和敬拜世界、別人或自己。為此，我們 感謝神。

God created us as emotional beings and expected us to live in harmonious relationships with one another. Have you noticed that Jesus only gives us the big picture of what God’s kingdom is like and what he expects of us, but never gives us any details on how to be a loving person? That’s why God gives us will and wisdom to practice love in the mist of messiness and chaos.

上帝把我們創造為有情感的生物，並期望我們彼此生活在和諧的關係中。 你是否注意到，耶穌只向我們陳述了神的國度是什麼樣子以及祂對我們的期望，卻沒有告訴我們任何有關要如何成為一位有愛心的人的任何細節。 這就是為什麼上帝賜給我們意志和智慧，讓我們在混亂的人際關係中，練習有愛的能力。

On Friday evening, 19 of us from Grace briefly touched on the topic of our EQ, or emotional intelligence. Whenever there is disruption or conflict in our lives, most of the time we can’t control how we react toward something that makes us uncomfortable and feel threatened. Sometimes, we make unhelpful assumptions and limit our perspective. In fact, we can train ourselves on how to respond to any difficult situation in a more positive and life-giving way, through which our EQ naturally grows.

上週五晚上聚餐，我們恩惠堂19 個人，簡短地談到了情緒智商這個話題。 每當我們的生活中出現干擾或遇上衝突時，大多數的時候，我們都無法控制自己對那些讓我們感到不舒服和感到威脅的事情所表現出的反應。 有時後，我們會做出無益的假設並局限我們自己的觀點。其實，我們可以訓練自己如何以能更積極、用附有生命力的方式，來應對任何困難的情況，這樣我們的情緒智商也就自然而然地成長了。

May you see the wheel of our emotions as a tool for you to grow your EQ. This chart helps us be aware of how complex our emotions are and how far we can go and cause harm to ourselves and those around us. It is important to recognize that our emotions can have an impact on our mental and spiritual health and can affect our relationships with our loved ones. In suffering, may we embrace our own limitations and ask for help and intervention from our Triune.

願這情緒輪盤的工具，對你有提高情緒智商的幫助。 這情緒輪盤能幫助我們意識到我們的情緒有多複雜，以及當我們的情緒走到極限時，我們要知道對自己和周圍的人將受到傷害。 重要的是，要認識到我們的情緒會影響我們的心靈上的健康，並會影響我們與愛我們的人之間的關係。 在心情煎熬中，願我們接受自己的極限，並祈求三一神的介入和幫助。

Plutchik’s Wheel of Emotions: There are over 3000 words in the English language to describe human emotions. People with high EQ use descriptive and nuanced words to describe what they are feeling with great precision. People with low EQ tend to use more basic words that lack specificity. The Wheel of Emotions helps us learn more about ourselves so that we may increase our EQ and better our relationship and interaction with others at home, at work, at church, or in any social groups.

Plutchik 的情緒輪盤：英語中有超過 3000 個單字是用來描述人類的情緒。 高情商的人會使用描述性的、和細緻的字眼來精確地描述他們自己的感受。 情緒智商低的人傾向於使用缺乏特定性的基本詞彙。 情緒之輪幫助我們更了解自己，從而提高情緒智商並改善我們在家中、工作、教會或任何社交團體中的待人處事。

In order to initiate the oneness for God’s people, our Lord Jesus Christ took it upon Himself to prove that God’s will for us was indeed delightful, pleasant, and perfect, even though it involved the suffering of the cross. And yet, the cross itself hardly seemed delightful, pleasant and perfect. Let us continue giving thanks to God, our savior, Jesus Christ for making our oneness in God possible.

為了使三一神與信徒們的合一，儘管它涉及到了十字架的苦難，我們的主耶穌基督親自證明了，神對我們的旨意確實是可喜悅的、宜人的，和完美的。 雖然，十字架本身似乎並不令人喜悅、宜人，和完美。 讓我們繼續為我們的救主耶穌基督來感謝神，因為基督，我們與三一神的合一，成為可能的事情。

Diversity in Oneness is divinely ordained and redeemed reality. It is God’s desire and design. It is a beautiful thing. Thanks be to God. Amen.

多元化的合一是神所命定要拯救的事實。是神所願和指定的。這是一件美好的事。感謝讚美主。