聖誕名曲《平安夜》

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路加福音 2:1-7   當那些日子，愷撒奧古斯都有旨意下來，叫天下人民都報名上冊。2 這是居里扭做敘利亞巡撫的時候，頭一次行報名上冊的事。 3 眾人各歸各城，報名上冊。 4 約瑟也從加利利的拿撒勒城上猶太去，到了大衛的城，名叫伯利恆，因他本是大衛一族一家的人， 5 要和他所聘之妻馬利亞一同報名上冊。那時馬利亞的身孕已經重了。 6 他們在那裡的時候，馬利亞的產期到了， 7 就生了頭胎的兒子，用布包起來，放在馬槽裡，因為客店裡沒有地方。

一年一度的耶誕節又將來臨了。如果我們想用一首歌來形容聖誕佳節給人們的心靈帶來的那種和平、恬靜、喜樂的氣氛，那麼這一選擇非「平安夜」（Silent Night）莫屬。

「平安夜」的歌詞作者是奧地利的約瑟夫.穆爾（Joseph Mohr 1792-1848）。穆爾出生於奧地利薩爾斯堡（Salzburg）北邊的一個小村莊。薩爾斯堡在奧地利上可算是風景優美、人傑地靈的地方。

然而出生在這塊土地上的穆爾他的童年卻是不幸的。他出生就是一個私生子，生父是一名軍人但在他出生前就拋棄了他的母親。因為是私生子，村裏的神父居然指定一名職業的劊子手來作為他的教父並出席他的嬰兒受洗儀式。平時裏穆爾母親還因為未婚得子被當局處以一大筆罰款，而她的經濟來源只是靠做針織活的那點微薄收入。

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When We See the Face of God

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Would you like to see God? Take a look at Jesus. Hebrews 1:3 (NLT) says, “Jesus radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God.” In John 14:9 (NIV) Jesus himself said, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.” Anyone who has seen me weep has seen the Father weep. Anyone who has seen me laugh has seen the Father laugh. Anyone who has seen me determined has seen the Father determined. Everything changes when we see the face of God.

He came with tears too. He knows the burden of a broken heart. He knows the sorrow life can bring. He could have come as a shining light or a voice in the clouds, but he came as a person. Does God understand you? Look into God’s face and be assured. Find the answer in Bethlehem.

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聖誕名曲《普世歡騰》

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路加福音 2:28-32  西面就用手接過祂來，稱頌神，說：29 「主啊，如今可以照你的話，釋放僕人安然去世！ 30 因為我的眼睛已經看見祢的救恩， 31 就是祢在萬民面前所預備的， 32 是照亮外邦人的光，又是祢民以色列的榮耀。」

英國“聖詩之父”的艾薩克.華茲出生在英格蘭南安普敦的一個虔誠的清教徒家庭。父親當年曾經是一家清教徒教會的執事，因為那時的清教徒為代表國教的聖公會教會所不容，故他曾經兩次為此被送進監獄；甚至在華茲出生時他還在獄中，母親只得抱著他到獄中去看父親。可是父親依然堅定持守自己的信仰，即使到了華茲九歲那年，他還因為不意屈服當局的迫害而一度被迫離開家人到外地流浪。父親對真理的堅持和信守，從小就給華茲就留下了深刻的烙印，並對他的一生都產生了重大的影響。

在聖詩創作中，華茲有自己鮮明的風格，具體表現在: 經文的取材將新約與舊約結合起來; 在讚美對象上突出主耶穌和十字架; 關於信徒與主關係方面更多的強調和體現信心的重要性以及信徒與主的親密關係; 在詩歌的文字結構上，採用更接近體現當代生活的語言風格; 同時注重拉近詩人與敬拜者之間的情感距離，充分激發詩歌對信徒個人靈性成長的激勵作用。

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Go Boldly to Jesus

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A friend of mine asked her students to make a list of questions they would like to ask Mary. “What was Jesus’ first word?” “Did he ever get sick?” “Did Jesus ever misbehave?” All legitimate questions. And the fact that we can ask them raises a greater one: Why did God go so far? Why did he become a human being? A chief reason? He wants you to know that he gets you.

The Bible says in the book of Hebrews he understands how you feel and has faced what you face. “[Jesus] has been through weakness and testing, experienced it all—all but the sin! So let’s walk right up to him and get what he is so ready to give. Take the mercy, accept the help” (Hebrews 4:15-16 MSG). Because of Bethlehem, you can boldly go to him.

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聖誕名曲《哦，聖善夜》

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路加福音 2:10-14   那天使對他們說：「不要懼怕，我報給你們大喜的信息，是關乎萬民的。11 因今天在大衛的城裡，為你們生了救主，就是主基督。 12 你們要看見一個嬰孩，包著布，臥在馬槽裡，那就是記號了。」 13 忽然有一大隊天兵，同那天使讚美神說： 14 「在至高之處榮耀歸於神！在地上平安歸於祂所喜悅的人！」

1847年聖誕節快來臨的時候，洛克摩爾鎮的聖母教堂剛修復了一架十七世紀留下來的管風琴，準備借舉辦聖誕節彌撒敬拜之際正式使用；同時教堂還計劃在那天請一名知名女歌手前來演唱。在這個時候神父又想到了卡普，想再做一次最後的努力把他拉回到教會。於是他想出一個辦法，很慎重地出面請卡普這位洛克摩爾的「著名詩人」來為全鎮信徒寫一首慶祝聖誕的新聖詩以便在這次隆重的彌撒敬拜時演唱。這下子卡普被「將軍」住了，如此慎重被神父委以重任不僅讓他再難以找藉口推脫，同時他也覺得這是他個人的很大榮幸，於是就欣然接受了。

那天是12月3日，他正好要去巴黎辦事，就在他搭乘馬車在通向巴黎長途旅途的一路顛簸中，他通過默想路加福音有關耶穌誕生的有關經文，想像自己在伯利恆的馬槽前，見證耶穌誕生的各個神聖情景，又聯想到對主耶穌降世對世界重大影響，聖靈開始充滿了他的心，創作靈感不斷湧現….；當馬車進入巴黎時，一首優美的讚美詩已在他心中成形。

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The Story of a Baby

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If you want to see people on the edge of insanity, just watch the way families treat their babies at Christmastime. The poor child has no warning. Red furry stocking cap, goofy elfish shoes that curl at the toes. And the pictures we take! Baby snoozing under the tree. Baby on Santa’s lap. Santa with wet spot on lap.

Is not Christmas the story of a baby? The moment that shaped all others? Mary’s eyes falling on the face of her just-born son. The first to whisper, “So this is what God looks like!” Never in mankind’s wildest imaginings did we consider that God would enter the world as an infant. John 1:14 (NKJV) says, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” Would you like to see God? Well then take a look at the baby Jesus.

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聖誕名曲《小伯利恒》

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彌迦書 5:2 「伯利恆以法他啊，你在猶大諸城中為小，將來必有一位從你那裡出來，在以色列中為我做掌權的。祂的根源從亙古，從太初就有。」 

在眾多經典聖誕歌曲的詩人中，菲利普斯可能是唯一一位因親自到過耶穌誕生之地而寫出聖誕讚美詩篇的作者。1865年的冬天，正在費城擔任聖三一教堂牧師的菲利普斯安排了一次去歐洲和中東巴勒斯坦地區的旅遊；就在耶誕節平安夜那天，他和同行者一起騎著馬從耶路撒冷出發前往伯利恒。在後來寫給父親和教會的信上他大致描述了那天的經歷和感受：

「我們大約只花了兩個小時就到了伯利恒這個小鎮，它坐落在一座山的東邊山脊上，周圍是梯田式的花園，比我在巴勒斯坦見過的任何其它城鎮都要漂亮。小鎮最突出的標誌是《耶穌誕生教堂》（Church of the Ativity，建於在西元四世紀三十年代的君士坦丁大帝時期）。這個古老的教堂目前由希臘人、拉丁人和亞美尼亞人教會共同擁有，他們各自擁有自己的修道院。

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Heart-Shaping Promises

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No day is accidental or incidental. No acts are random or wasted. Look at Jesus’ birth at Bethlehem. A king ordered a census. Joseph was forced to travel. Mary, round as a ladybug, bounced on a donkey’s back. The hotel was full, the hour was late. The event was one big hassle. Yet out of the hassle, hope was born. It still is.

I don’t like hassles. But I love Christmas because it reminds us of the heart-shaping promises of Christmas. Long after the guests have left, and the carolers have gone home, and the lights have come down, these promises endure: God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God. Perhaps you could use some Christmas this Christmas?

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聖誕名曲《以馬內利懇求降臨》

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以賽亞書7:14   因此，主自己要給你們一個兆頭，必有童女懷孕生子，給祂起名叫以馬內利。 

馬太福音 1:21-24  她將要生一個兒子，你要給祂起名叫耶穌，因祂要將自己的百姓從罪惡裡救出來。」 22 這一切的事成就，是要應驗主藉先知所說的話說： 23 「必有童女懷孕生子，人要稱祂的名為以馬內利。」（「以馬內利」翻出來就是「神與我們同在」。）

這首詩歌有一個顯著特點，就是在英文的歌詞中它的每一節開始都是從“O”開始，這就涉及到早期基督教詩歌吟唱風格中的“對唱”或“輪唱”，英文叫“O Antiphon”。據說還是保羅和巴拿巴曾經事奉過的那個安提阿教會，它的第三任主教聖依格那修（Saint Ignatius of Antioch）有一天看到兩個天使唱詩班對唱的異象，接著他就將這種方式引入到自己教堂的崇拜儀式之中，用於詩篇的頌唱。之後這種唱法逐漸傳開，先進入猶太社區的教堂，再傳入拜占庭和亞美尼亞教會，成為教堂敬拜禮儀中不可或缺的一部分；兩個多世紀之後又被羅馬教廷的教會接受，廣泛地應用在《格列高利聖詠》的制定之中。而《以馬內利懇求來臨》這首歌正是這種背景下的產物。

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The Best Is Yet to Be

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In Matthew 1:23, God called himself Immanuel, which means God with us. Not just God made us. Not just God thinks about us. Not just God above us. But God with us. God where we are. He breathed our air and walked this earth. God…with…us!

Bethlehem was just the beginning. Jesus has promised a repeat performance. Bethlehem, Act 2. No silent night this time, however. The skies will open, and trumpets will blast, and a new kingdom will begin. He will empty the tombs and melt the winter of death. Death, you die! Life, you reign! The manger dares us to believe the best is yet to be. I love Christmas because it reminds us how “God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God” (Romans 8:28).

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