My Friday reflection

1 John 4:20
Those who say, ‘I love God’, and hate their brothers or sisters,* are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister* whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen.

Christianity is very much about love. Love your neighbour as you love yourself; love one another…Love, love, love. We are told again and again that we should love God is love, and because God first loves us, so we should love.

I am sure all of you love, to a greater or lesser extent. I love too, though my love is far from perfect. The passage we read today says, “for those who do not love a brother or sister* whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen.” Does it make sense to you? Is it easier or more difficult to love those whom we have seen than to love God whom we have not seen?

I am not sure what this passage says is true, at least not in my experience. I can surely love those whom I haven’t seen face to face. Stories of victims of natural disasters move me. I feel sad for them. I even cry because of them. Since we’re approaching June, it’s natural for me, or maybe for many of you as well, to think about what happened 21 years ago in June 4 in China. And I feel a kind of love that there is no way to explain for those who have worked hard, or even sacrifice themselves for democracy in China. I just learned that an LTS graduate of last year had passed away. Her name’s Evan. I didn’t really know her, but I remember her, remember the story she told us in last year’s graduation banquet, how her cancer was affecting her, and how she wished she could see her children grow up.

All these people I don’t really know. And I can tell you it’s easy to love them exactly because we hardly know each other. I have never had quarrels with them. I have never seen the things I don’t like in them. This kind of love is safe, because it’s from a distance. We all know how we treat our family, and those who are the closest to us. We feel less inhibited. We know we can be ourselves, even when our true selves can be hurtful, can be less than beautiful.

Then why does 1 John says “for those who do not love a brother or sister* whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen.” Maybe it’s not about whether we can love God but not to love our brothers and sisters. Maybe it’s really about what love is. Love is incarnational. Love is embodied. Love is not just some abstract ideas. Love is beautiful; but it is also painful, sweaty, hurtful and makes you cry. Love is when you choose to continue to love even when your family or friends act like your worst enemy. Yes, your worst enemy. And what does it remind us? Think of Jesus. How he died? Why he died? God chose to love us not from a distance, but in close encounter. God became flesh and dwelt among us. Jesus led a life just like yours and mine. He didn’t have a perfect family. He probably had to live his life in the stigma of being born out of wedlock. His disciples were not saints. They quarreled, they were not smart enough to understand their teacher and friend, and one of them even betrayed him. These were the people whom Jesus had seen, face to face. Was it easy to love them? I dare to say no. Is it easy for God to love us? I dare say we don’t really deserve it. Isn’t it amazing that Jesus still did what God the Father sent him to do after spending 33 years in his earthly life among all those less than lovable people? That he’s still willing to die for them on the cross? Isn’t it amazing that God loves us even when we are his worst enemy? Amen!

愛那看得見和那看不見的

星期五的分享信息來自約翰一書四章二十節。

不愛他所看見的弟兄姊妹，就不能愛沒有看見的？

當真？

愛那看不見的何其容易，因為可以憑幻想去愛，沒有柴米油鹽的煩惱，沒有性格不合這回事。

愛神亦如是，我可以想像神是怎樣的一位神，懶理教會教導，繼續在聖經中斷章取義。

耶穌身邊一定有難頂之軰，且不說與他為敵的宗教領袖，看看他的門徒是何等人物，我在分享中說，耶穌活了三十多年，遇過多少衰人壞人唔好老脾的人，但他仍然願意為這些人死在十字架上，你說奇妙不奇妙？

道成肉身的難得之處，對我來說是做人真的很麻煩，堂堂一位創造主，何需如此拿屎上身？

奇怪

上回你出走五天，我天天給你寫信。

今次你離開十日，到第五日時，我想：「要是你不回來有多好！」

正在聽范曉萱的《過期》呢。

給你(16)--自由

親愛的在山：

原來愛裡沒自由。或許我們仍是一對時是幸福的，因為我倆從未走到沒自由的階段。

五月難得有十天休假，是感情的大假，讓我尋回自己，找回那個教自己滿心歡喜的Tigger，或許也就是你喜歡的那個我。有時候我會記不起你喜歡我什麼，尤其當臉上無笑容，咀巴說不出笑話，愛教人沉悶沉淪。我說，自由就是喜怒哀樂都是因為自己，我笑不因為一個他，我哭也不因為一個他。你在那邊自由嗎？

沒有自由，就愛得不自然，一切都變得不美麗了。

我過了自在的十天，去過黃大仙廟，到過長洲，坐在海灘中沙與行人路交匯處，我沒有想有你在或有他在會有多好，因為當下只有我，那處那刻也只有我，就讓我為自己歡喜為自己悲吧。

我在黃大廟之旅得著啟示，那天是學院的宣教日，長袍老師和我這裡走走，那裡逛逛，問上香的人拜什麼，問這問那，最後被工作人員「勸阻」我的「訪問」，真討厭，長袍老師從沒有遇上這種麻煩事。

那啟示是什麼？就是我需要自由才會快樂，我需要做自己才可散發我的特質與魅力。

你仍記得那個我吧！

你的我

送相給陳爸爸

他很喜歡我的攝影作品，我就把早前在學院展出過的兩張相片送給他。其中一張是山上Moon Gate旁的牆，另一張是清晨約六點九陳爸爸和長袍老師的辦公室。

陳爸爸說了一句甚麼有靈的人才看得出那兩張相片的景象，他太高估我的「靈力」了，我只是隨便按下快門，難得他喜歡。

今天感覺自由，因為你不在山上，你的她也不在山上，我就自由自在地去想去的地方，做想做的事。

執定書包

明天要好早好早出門口，是天仍黑黑，卻又不能開燈的時份。要摸黑起床，摸黑換衣服，摸黑做這摸黑做那，每每要到出門口後方知自己穿了什麼顏色的襪子。

所以要預早執書包，執齊要交的功課、Maggie送的打火機、做功課需要用的書籍(Queer Theology)、雨傘、水樽、錢包、N串鎖匙(忘了就弊傢伙啦)，還有很多很多。於是，巨型書包再排上用場。

半小時足夠set場嗎？分享信息預備好了，千萬別遺忘。

給你(15)--時光倒流

親愛的S：

假若時光可倒流，重回2009年秋學期有多好。

那時候，我們愛得最純真，無機心無猜疑，煩惱少之又少。

愛那不可見的神有多難？愛那可見的人才不容易。

你的我