2018-02-17

【Aiden in English】

        Sometimes I think the passing zodiacs of like a food chain in an ecosystem: this year, it’s the dog eating the chicken.

        Speaking of eating, the annual service of the Lunar New Year at China Grace Christian Church was nice, as usual. This year was somewhat different since a blizzard decided to come and ruin the party. Regardless, that didn’t stop a delicious dinner and an entertaining performance from taking place in the warm, cozy indoors. The food was amazing, and so was the performance. There were a few miracles dropped into tonight as well. A grandma, Mrs. Qiao, was celebrating her 95^th birthday, incredibly, and perhaps most spectacular of all, she had a beautiful voice and seemed to be bursting with energy. It’s now a tradition for her to sing What a Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong every year, and it’s probably the only staple in the program. Everything else is unique and fresh, rarely containing reruns.

        From a nice topic to a more serious one, a blizzard was sent our way. Although there was a debate on whether to move the celebration, much thought by moving up the program we would miss most of the snow. What we didn’t expect was for the snowflakes to be the size of ping-pong balls and the accumulation to be so fast. By the time the show was over, there must be a good three inches on the ground already. Worst of all, the snow would melt a bit, resulting in terrible traction for wheels. The problems continued. There was extremely low visibility, as well as the snow-covered windows. At one point, the car struggled to get over a hill, and it really was a terrifying experience.

        Here’s an interesting point I was thinking on the way back though. Yes, we made it back home alive and safe, minimal damage suffered. A Christian at that moment would think that his/her safe journey was due to the hand of God. If you look at the world as a whole, all Christians have one thing in common: they’re alive. In this case, God has done no wrong, regardless of their social standings. However, in the countless, horrible moments on this earth, among the millions who believe yet perish, what is their say?

        Return back to the blizzard. God is not all-powerful. He cannot change the natural laws of science. Those people who continue to say that the unknown for science is the work of God. That is somewhat a flawed mindset. You cannot state what is not known to be the work of an omniscient being. When science continues to advance and explain why we are here, those certain believers go on to push back what God can do. If science exponentially grows as we see it do now, in a thousand years or so, God may no longer have definable powers. 

        Yet there most likely still will be a God (assuming it’s not a cult). It will entirely be a personal faith, one that metaphorically stands beside you during times of need. Perhaps a bit of luck here and there won’t hurt, but that God will give the motivation and strength to get past tougher tests. It’s what’s nice about local churches: they are the place where people can connect with their personal faith and achieve self-confidence. For me, it’s a place to spend New Year’s with family and friends who believe in God.

【紅霞譯文】

        有時我覺得交替出現的十二生肖如同生態系統中的食物鏈： 2018年與其說玉犬送金雞，不如說是狗吃掉了雞。

        提起吃，神州教會春節聯歡聚餐跟往年豐盛的筵席沒啥兩樣，唯獨不同的倒是暴風雪如期而至，成心要跟晚會過意不去。儘管天公不作美，但溫暖舒適的大廳不乏珍饈美饌及娛樂表演，大家吃得香樂得歡，間或高潮迭起，今天恰逢喬奶奶誕辰九十五歲，慶生場面令人難以忘懷，也許最值得感慨的應首推她美妙動聽仿佛充滿活力的音喉，如今老人家拿手好戲即演唱路易斯·阿姆斯特朗的代表作《多麼美妙的世界》，這首歌大概是神州基督教會唯一一個保留曲目，其它節目多為專場編排，難得反覆重演。

        話題由輕鬆的一面轉到較為嚴肅的另一面，也就是說暴風雪已向我們這一帶逼近。到底要不要更改慶祝活動，大家遲疑不決，但多數人傾向早開始早結束以避免大雪圍困。我們萬萬沒有想到乒乓球大小的雪花鋪天蓋地，很快堆積成片，等到演出結束，地面上積雪已達3英寸（7.6厘米）之厚，更為惡劣的還有雪會稍微融化，結果給輪胎帶來莫大阻力。境況繼續朝不利方向發展，眼下能見度又特別低，而且雪落在車窗上把視線擋個瓷實，再加上一度間汽車爬坡吃力，委實叫人擔驚受怕。

        回家的路上我禁不住思索這樣有趣的問題。沒錯，我們在經歷小小波折之後安全到家，基督徒會觸景生情，把平安無事歸功於上帝援助之手，如果你放眼世界，所有基督徒均有共識：他們活着，在這種情況下，甭管社會地位如何，上帝無可挑剔。然而，世間天災人禍時有發生，那些虔誠但身臨絕境的信徒又作何感想呢？

        再扯回到暴風雪，上帝並非萬能，祂無法改變科學意義上的自然規律，有人把未知事物視為上帝創造，這種說道未免太牽強附會，你沒法講清全知的神祗功力所在。當科學深入發展，詮釋我們生存的依據便昭然若揭，某些信徒情願回到上帝顯靈的時代，如果科學依舊像我們今天所目睹的速度不斷呈指數增長，那麼頂多需要一千年左右，也許上帝不再神力無限。

        不過很有可能上帝照樣存在（假設與邪教無關），這完全取決於個人信仰，需要的時候祂會默默陪伴着你，藉之你或多或少沾點運氣，但上帝確實給予激情平添心力，幫你度過考試難關，這就是當地教堂魅力所在：那是蒙受恩典的教徒交流信仰實現自我的殿堂；對我而言，那是我與敬拜上帝的家人和朋友共度新春佳節的地方。

Crosslinks(相關博文):

2017 CNY Gala @ CGCC(2017年神州基督教會春晚聯歡)

2015 CNY Celebrated w/ Yo-Yo @ CGCC(2015年神州教會抖空竹)

2012: 電子時代的百家飯(iParty)

2011: 壓歲錢(Lucky Money)

2010: 願望排行榜(Wish List)

2009: 阿魯巴—開心之島(One Happy Island, Aruba)