By Andrew Leslie
Translated by John Lau
Bilingual with Traditional Scripts
死得好
A few years ago, in my work and wider church context, we seemed to be confronted with what seemed like an inordinate amount of death. Several people tragically lost infants in the womb. Colleagues and neighbours were suddenly struck down in the prime of their lives. Our church community was confronted by a young man taking his life – all in the space of weeks. Amidst the widespread shock and disbelief caused by this wave of sudden and unexpected death, I wondered at the time if we contemporary Christians have perhaps lost the habit of deliberately preparing for death?
幾年前，在我的工作和廣泛的教會圈子中，我們面對的死亡似乎遠超平常。有好幾個人不幸失去懷胎的嬰兒，同事和鄰居突然英年早逝，我們的教會社群中突然要面對一位青年人的輕生…全都在幾週之內發生。接踵而來的瘁死和意外死亡引起普遍震驚和懷疑，我當時在想，我們當代的基督徒是否已失去有意準備面對死亡的習慣？
Human societies have always been haunted by death. In the premodern world death was in your face in a way it isn’t today. The unavoidable, daily spectre of death cast a shadow over life that was managed by a combination of religious belief and frequently a fair deal of superstition.
人類社會總是被死亡所困擾。在古代社會，死亡以一種與今天不同的方式出現在你面前。每天，那不可避免的，死亡的幽靈給生命蒙上了陰影，那由宗教信仰和經常是大量的迷信共同管理的生命。
In the modern West, our own form of underlying superstition typically takes the form of denial. As someone has put it, it’s like we are visitors to a Gallery or Museum rushing around from exhibit to exhibit fifteen minutes before it closes, desperately hoping not to miss out on anything. We cram our lives full of work ambitions, family and social activities, entertainment, holidays, and hobbies, for fear that without them our lives will amount to little. Of course, we complain about the pace of it all and wish we could slow things down. But it feels like we are simply being swept along in an uncontrollably frenetic tide. Even when a diagnosis or a bereavement – or, dare I say it, a deadly pandemic – comes along, often the panic is simply heightened.
在現代的西方社會，我們自身的迷信基本上表現在我們對事實的否認。正如有人說，我們就像是到畫廊或博物館的參觀者，在展覽結束之前15分鐘，爭先恐後地參觀展覽，急切地希望不要錯過任何東西。我們以工作抱負、家庭和社會活動、娛樂、假期和愛好來擠滿我們的生命，因為擔心沒有了它們，我們的生命將會是一文不值。當然，我們也抱怨這一切急速的步伐，希望我們可以放慢下來。然而，感覺我們是不由自主地被無法控制的狂潮席捲著。即使一次診斷或喪親 — 或恕我直言，一場致命的大流行疫情 — 的出現，往往只是把恐慌加劇。
I mean, how many others have been struck this past fortnight at how much busier life has become on “lockdown” (a state which has generated a cruel vocabulary of its own)? For some, lost employment or health has shattered livelihoods, creating a financial, mental, and emotional burden of sheer survival which is seemingly endless and utterly exhausting. For those of us fortunate enough to retain employment, there is a frantic urge to keep everything going online as quickly and “normally” as possible – all of which now takes that much longer – notwithstanding the fact that kids now need to be home-schooled, elderly family need special care, shopping is more complicated, holidays have been cancelled, plans derailed, and support networks cut, potentially for months.
我的意思是，在過去兩周裡，當我們要「封城」(這狀態為自己製造了殘酷的詞彙)，有多少人覺得生活為什麼如此更反常的忙碌？對一些人來說，失去工作或健康破壞了生計，於是純粹為了生存，經濟、精神和情感上的負擔，似乎沒完沒了，簡直令人精疲力竭。對於我們這些有幸保住就業的人來說，我們有一種瘋狂的逼切，竭力要在網上儘快地，「正常」地回復如常…但現在一切都需要更長的時間…儘管孩子們現在需要在家上學，老人家需要特別照顧，購物更加複雜，假期取消，計劃脫軌，支援的網絡被切斷，這樣子可能長達數月。
Christian organisations and churches are certainly not immune to feeling this pressure either. We talk of God’s grace and trusting in his sovereignty, but it can feel like there are online services to be run, meetings to be had, classrooms to be taught, lost to be reached, needy to be cared for, or else.
基督教組織和教會當然也不能倖免於這種壓力。我們談論神的恩典和信靠衪的主權，但感覺到的是有網上崇拜要主持，會議要舉行，教室要教學，失喪的人要接觸，有需要的要照顧，還有許許多多。
In a context like this, technology is a mixed blessing of course. When isolation is enforced, it mercifully brings everyone closer. It helps us stay connected and informed. It entertains us and generates laughter. But its relentless presence easily generates unhealthy expectations, intruding on the precious space and natural rhythms that people need to survive (e.g., exercise and sleep, let alone prayer, or meditation on Scripture). It tricks us into the conceit of defying gravity.
在這樣的情境，科技當然又是福又是禍。當實施隔離時，它仁慈地拉近了每個人之間的距離。它幫助我們保持連絡和知情。它娛樂我們，產生笑聲。但是，它無情的無處不在容易產生不健康的期望，侵入每個人生
存所需的寶貴空間和自然節奏(例如，運動和睡眠，更不用說祈禱，或沉思聖經)。它欺騙我們進入違抗天命的自負。
Reading the Apostle Paul’s second letter to Timothy reminded me of the precious truth that enables Christians to be honest about gravity – our finitude and ultimate death – without any trace of panic or regret. Imprisoned, and facing imminent execution, death was undoubtedly on Paul’s mind. Even so, he doesn’t cease to be an apostle or disciple. There is no diminishment in his love for God and neighbour, no loss in zeal for the progress of the Gospel in the world. But there is also joy, calmness, and gratitude. He finishes the letter with a profound sense of liberty in his sufferings: “For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day.” (2 Tim 4:6-8). Paul leaves the world the way Jesus did: “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit” (Luke 23:46). Or the way that Stephen did, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” (Acts 7:59). How many of us are prepared to face death like that?
讀著使徒保羅給提摩太寫的第二封信，使我想起一個珍貴的真理，足以使基督徒誠實地看待天命 — 我們的有限和最終的死亡 — 而沒有任何驚慌或遺憾的痕跡。被監禁，面對即將被處決，死亡無疑是在保羅的腦海裡。即便如此，他也不會停止作使徒或門徒。他對神和鄰居的愛沒有減弱，沒有失去對福音在世界推進的熱情。也有喜悅，平靜和感激。他在痛苦中帶著一種深刻的自由感來結束這封信：「至於我，我已經被澆獻，離世的時候到了。 那美好的仗我已經打過了，當跑的路我已經跑盡了，該信的道我已經守住了。 從此以後，有公義的冠冕為我存留，就是按著公義審判的主到了那日要賜給我的；不但賜給我，也賜給凡愛慕他顯現的人。」 (提後 4:6-8) 保羅像耶穌一樣離開這個世界： 「父啊，我將我的靈交在你手裏！」 (路加福音23:46) 或像司提反那樣，「主耶穌啊，求你接納我的靈魂！」(使徒行傳7:59)。我們有多少人已準備這樣面對死亡?
It has been said that death is the greatest act of faith a Christian is called to in this world. It is utterly uncharted territory. Norman Greenbaum once confidently chirped, I’m “goin’ on up to the spirit in the sky.” And in the West, sentimentality readily chimes along: “When I die and they lay me to rest, I’m gonna go to the place that is best.” But who’s to say that’s not wishful thinking, or even a nasty sham? What’s to say death is not annihilation, or something worse – who’s to say it’s not some state of endless wandering? Who’s to say it’s not a state of universal misery, bereft of any comfort? No one can say. And so, there is widespread denial and panic.
有人說，死亡是基督徒在被召之後所作最大的信心行為。這是完全未知的領域。諾曼·格林鮑姆(Norman Greenbaum)曾經自信地鳴叫道，「我要去與在天空的靈同列。」 在西方，也隨附著多少感性：「當我死時，他
們會為我安葬，我就會去最好的地方。」但是，誰說這不是一廂情願的想法，甚至一個討厭的騙局？說不定死亡就是完全的毀滅，或更糟糕的…有誰可以說它不是某種無休止的徘徊狀態？誰說這不是一種普遍苦難的狀態，毫無任何安慰？沒人能說得準。因此，普遍的人都是在否認和恐慌。
But there is one, who in the face of its yawning void declares, “I am the resurrection and the life”. And he invites everyone now, and especially at the hour of our death, to trust in him, because “the one who believes in me”, he assures, “will live, even though they die” (John 11:25-6).
但有一人，面對這虛空的渴望，宣稱，「復活在我，生命也在我。」他邀請每個現代人，特別是在我們面臨死亡的這時刻，信靠他，因為衪保證「信我的人雖然死了，也必復活」 (約翰福音11:25-26)。
The inclination to give up our bodies to Jesus in death is the final and greatest trial of our faith, the last battle with the flesh, the climax of our mortification of sin. Every fibre of our being wants to hang on to our bodies, and so even Christians will find themselves franticly raging against the dying of the light. But as sudden and unexpected deaths remind us so forcefully, there is no way of evading this pall.
願意在死亡中把我們的身體交付耶穌，我們信仰的最後和最偉大的考驗，最後的與肉體的戰鬥，是把罪降服的高潮。我們每一個纖維都想拉住我們的身體，於是連基督徒也發覺自己瘋狂地與燈滅對抗。但是，正如突然和意外的死亡強烈的提醒，我們無法逃避蓋棺這現實。
Now COVID-19 has stopped us in our tracks. And as it casts its deadly pall world-over, Jesus is calling us above all to trust him by delivering over our finitude, and ultimately our bodies to him in death’s final test. In the months ahead, every Christian would do well to drop a few balls and spend more time meditating on Christ and his promises. I realise this will take great wisdom, as half the battle at the moment is trying to figure out exactly what the priorities are – some ball simply can’t be dropped. But some can and probably should be. Writing to Timothy, Paul joyously speaks of the given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, now revealed in the appearance of our Saviour, who has “destroyed death” and “brought life and immortality to life” (2 Tim 1:9-10). Undoubtedly such confidence represents the tip of an iceberg of deep, patient, and prayerful contemplation of Christ – his person and his work – as he is revealed to us in the pages of Scripture. An earlier generation of Christians were much more deliberate at this than we are. Today there are so many more “urgent” things to keep us busy. And whereas Paul’s prison cell was a sanctuary that allowed meditation and prayer on the plans and purposes of God, today technology wires us up to the panicky world outside our solitary confinement. But it potentially comes at a great cost, because how well do we know the only one who can carry us through our moment of greatest vulnerability to life everlasting?
現在新冠肺炎(COVID-19)已經阻止了我們前進的腳步。當它致命的陰影覆蓋大地時，耶穌正在呼籲我們首要信任他，把我們的有限，並最終死去的身體，在面對最後的死亡考驗中交托給他。在未來幾個月裡，每個基督徒都應好好地讓某些事流失，來花更多的時間思考基督和他的應許。我意識到這將需要極大的智慧，因為目前的一半挑戰是確實找出優先的事項…那些是一定不能流失的。但有些是可以的而且可能是必須的。保羅在寫給提摩太的信中，滿心快樂地談到在萬古之先，在基督耶穌裡賜給我們的，現在在我們的救主的顯現中表明出來的，那位「把死廢去和將不朽的生命彰顯出來」的福音救恩 (提後1:9-10)。毫無疑問，這樣的信心只代表對基督…他的人和他的工作…深切、耐心和在祈禱中思考他在聖經所啓示的冰山一角。前一代的基督徒比我們更慎重作出思考。現今，我們有很多「緊急」的事情讓我們忙。保羅的牢房是他的避難所，允許他對上帝的計劃和目的進行思考和祈禱，但今天，技術把我們緊緊連接到我們單獨囚禁的牢房之外的恐慌世界。但是，它潛在的代價是巨大的，我們有多瞭解唯一能帶我們度過生命最脆弱的時刻以至永生的那人呢?
Bilingual with Simplified Scripts
死得好
A few years ago, in my work and wider church context, we seemed to be confronted with what seemed like an inordinate amount of death. Several people tragically lost infants in the womb. Colleagues and neighbours were suddenly struck down in the prime of their lives. Our church community was confronted by a young man taking his life – all in the space of weeks. Amidst the widespread shock and disbelief caused by this wave of sudden and unexpected death, I wondered at the time if we contemporary Christians have perhaps lost the habit of deliberately preparing for death?
几年前，在我的工作和广泛的教会圈子中，我们面对的死亡似乎远超平常。有好几个人不幸失去怀胎的婴儿，同事和邻居突然英年早逝，我们的教会社群中突然要面对一位青年人的轻生…全都在几周之内发生。接踵而来的瘁死和意外死亡引起普遍震惊和怀疑，我当时在想，我们当代的基督徒是否已失去有意准备面对死亡的习惯？
Human societies have always been haunted by death. In the premodern world death was in your face in a way it isn’t today. The unavoidable, daily spectre of death cast a shadow over life that was managed by a combination of religious belief and frequently a fair deal of superstition.
人类社会总是被死亡所困扰。在古代社会，死亡以一种与今天不同的方式出现在你面前。每天，那不可避免的，死亡的幽灵给生命蒙上了阴影，那由宗教信仰和经常是大量的迷信共同管理的生命。
In the modern West, our own form of underlying superstition typically takes the form of denial. As someone has put it, it’s like we are visitors to a Gallery or Museum rushing around from exhibit to exhibit fifteen minutes before it closes, desperately hoping not to miss out on anything. We cram our lives full of work ambitions, family and social activities, entertainment, holidays, and hobbies, for fear that without them our lives will amount to little. Of course, we complain about the pace of it all and wish we could slow things down. But it feels like we are simply being swept along in an uncontrollably frenetic tide. Even when a diagnosis or a bereavement – or, dare I say it, a deadly pandemic – comes along, often the panic is simply heightened.
在现代的西方社会，我们自身的迷信基本上表现在我们对事实的否认。正如有人说，我们就像是到画廊或博物馆的参观者，在展览结束之前15分钟，争先恐后地参观展览，急切地希望不要错过任何东西。我们以工作抱负、家庭和社会活动、娱乐、假期和爱好来挤满我们的生命，因为担心没有了它们，我们的生命将会是一文不值。当然，我们也抱怨这一切急速的步伐，希望我们可以放慢下来。然而，感觉我们是不由自主地被无法控制的狂潮席卷着。即使一次诊断或丧亲 — 或恕我直言，一场致命的大流行疫情 — 的出现，往往只是把恐慌加剧。
I mean, how many others have been struck this past fortnight at how much busier life has become on “lockdown” (a state which has generated a cruel vocabulary of its own)? For some, lost employment or health has shattered livelihoods, creating a financial, mental, and emotional burden of sheer survival which is seemingly endless and utterly exhausting. For those of us fortunate enough to retain employment, there is a frantic urge to keep everything going online as quickly and “normally” as possible – all of which now takes that much longer – notwithstanding the fact that kids now need to be home-schooled, elderly family need special care, shopping is more complicated, holidays have been cancelled, plans derailed, and support networks cut, potentially for months.
我的意思是，在过去两周里，当我们要「封城」(这状态为自己制造了残酷的词汇)，有多少人觉得生活为什么如此更反常的忙碌？对一些人来说，失去工作或健康破坏了生计，于是纯粹为了生存，经济、精神和情感上的负担，似乎没完没了，简直令人精疲力竭。对于我们这些有幸保住就业的人来说，我们有一种疯狂的逼切，竭力要在网上尽快地，「正常」地回复如常…但现在一切都需要更长的时间…尽管孩子们现在需要在家上学，老人家需要特别照顾，购物更加复杂，假期取消，计划脱轨，支持的网络被切断，这样子可能长达数月。
Christian organisations and churches are certainly not immune to feeling this pressure either. We talk of God’s grace and trusting in his sovereignty, but it can feel like there are online services to be run, meetings to be had, classrooms to be taught, lost to be reached, needy to be cared for, or else.
基督教组织和教会当然也不能幸免于这种压力。我们谈论神的恩典和信靠衪的主权，但感觉到的是有网上崇拜要主持，会议要举行，教室要教学，失丧的人要接触，有需要的要照顾，还有许许多多。
In a context like this, technology is a mixed blessing of course. When isolation is enforced, it mercifully brings everyone closer. It helps us stay connected and informed. It entertains us and generates laughter. But its relentless presence easily generates unhealthy expectations, intruding on the precious space and natural rhythms that people need to survive (e.g., exercise and sleep, let alone prayer, or meditation on Scripture). It tricks us into the conceit of defying gravity.
在这样的情境，科技当然又是福又是祸。当实施隔离时，它仁慈地拉近了每个人之间的距离。它帮助我们保持连络和知情。它娱乐我们，产生笑声。但是，它无情的无处不在容易产生不健康的期望，侵入每个人生存所需的宝贵空间和自然节奏(例如，运动和睡眠，更不用说祈祷，或沉思圣经)。它欺骗我们进入违抗天命的自负。
Reading the Apostle Paul’s second letter to Timothy reminded me of the precious truth that enables Christians to be honest about gravity – our finitude and ultimate death – without any trace of panic or regret. Imprisoned, and facing imminent execution, death was undoubtedly on Paul’s mind. Even so, he doesn’t cease to be an apostle or disciple. There is no diminishment in his love for God and neighbour, no loss in zeal for the progress of the Gospel in the world. But there is also joy, calmness, and gratitude. He finishes the letter with a profound sense of liberty in his sufferings: “For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day.” (2 Tim 4:6-8). Paul leaves the world the way Jesus did: “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit” (Luke 23:46). Or the way that Stephen did, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” (Acts 7:59). How many of us are prepared to face death like that?
读着使徒保罗给提摩太写的第二封信，使我想起一个珍贵的真理，足以使基督徒诚实地看待天命 — 我们的有限和最终的死亡 — 而没有任何惊慌或遗憾的痕迹。被监禁，面对即将被处决，死亡无疑是在保罗的脑海里。即便如此，他也不会停止作使徒或门徒。他对神和邻居的爱没有减弱，没有失去对福音在世界推进的热情。也有喜悦，平静和感激。他在痛苦中带着一种深刻的自由感来结束这封信：「至于我，我已经被浇献，离世的时候到了。 那美好的仗我已经打过了，当跑的路我已经跑尽了，该信的道我已经守住了。 从此以后，有公义的冠冕为我存留，就是按着公义审判的主到了那日要赐给我的；不但赐给我，也赐给凡爱慕他显现的人。」 (提后 4:6-8) 保罗像耶稣一样离开这个世界： 「父啊，我将我的灵交在你手里！」 (路加福音23:46) 或像司提反那样，「主耶稣啊，求你接纳我的灵魂！」(使徒行传7:59)。我们有多少人已准备这样面对死亡?
It has been said that death is the greatest act of faith a Christian is called to in this world. It is utterly uncharted territory. Norman Greenbaum once confidently chirped, I’m “goin’ on up to the spirit in the sky.” And in the West, sentimentality readily chimes along: “When I die and they lay me to rest, I’m gonna go to the place that is best.” But who’s to say that’s not wishful thinking, or even a nasty sham? What’s to say death is not annihilation, or something worse – who’s to say it’s not some state of endless wandering? Who’s to say it’s not a state of universal misery, bereft of any comfort? No one can say. And so, there is widespread denial and panic.
有人说，死亡是基督徒在被召之后所作最大的信心行为。这是完全未知的领域。诺曼·格林鲍姆(Norman Greenbaum)曾经自信地鸣叫道，「我要去与在天空的灵同列。」 在西方，也随附着多少感性：「当我死时，他们会为我安葬，我就会去最好的地方。」但是，谁说这不是一厢情愿的想法，甚至一个讨厌的骗局？说不定死亡就是完全的毁灭，或更糟糕的…有谁可以说它不是某种无休止的徘徊状态？谁说这不是一种普遍苦难的状态，毫无任何安慰？没人能说得准。因此，普遍的人都是在否认和恐慌。
But there is one, who in the face of its yawning void declares, “I am the resurrection and the life”. And he invites everyone now, and especially at the hour of our death, to trust in him, because “the one who believes in me”, he assures, “will live, even though they die” (John 11:25-6).
但有一人，面对这虚空的渴望，宣称，「复活在我，生命也在我。」他邀请每个现代人，特别是在我们面临死亡的这时刻，信靠他，因为衪保证「信我的人虽然死了，也必复活」 (约翰福音11:25-26)。
The inclination to give up our bodies to Jesus in death is the final and greatest trial of our faith, the last battle with the flesh, the climax of our mortification of sin. Every fibre of our being wants to hang on to our bodies, and so even Christians will find themselves franticly raging against the dying of the light. But as sudden and unexpected deaths remind us so forcefully, there is no way of evading this pall.
愿意在死亡中把我们的身体交付耶稣，我们信仰的最后和最伟大的考验，最后的与肉体的战斗，是把罪降服的高潮。我们每一个纤维都想拉住我们的身体，于是连基督徒也发觉自己疯狂地与灯灭对抗。但是，正如突然和意外的死亡强烈的提醒，我们无法逃避盖棺这现实。
Now COVID-19 has stopped us in our tracks. And as it casts its deadly pall world-over, Jesus is calling us above all to trust him by delivering over our finitude, and ultimately our bodies to him in death’s final test. In the months ahead, every Christian would do well to drop a few balls and spend more time
meditating on Christ and his promises. I realise this will take great wisdom, as half the battle at the moment is trying to figure out exactly what the priorities are – some ball simply can’t be dropped. But some can and probably should be. Writing to Timothy, Paul joyously speaks of the given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, now revealed in the appearance of our Saviour, who has “destroyed death” and “brought life and immortality to life” (2 Tim 1:9-10). Undoubtedly such confidence represents the tip of an iceberg of deep, patient, and prayerful contemplation of Christ – his person and his work – as he is revealed to us in the pages of Scripture. An earlier generation of Christians were much more deliberate at this than we are. Today there are so many more “urgent” things to keep us busy. And whereas Paul’s prison cell was a sanctuary that allowed meditation and prayer on the plans and purposes of God, today technology wires us up to the panicky world outside our solitary confinement. But it potentially comes at a great cost, because how well do we know the only one who can carry us through our moment of greatest vulnerability to life everlasting?
现在新冠肺炎(COVID-19)已经阻止了我们前进的脚步。当它致命的阴影覆盖大地时，耶稣正在呼吁我们首要信任他，把我们的有限，并最终死去的身体，在面对最后的死亡考验中交托给他。在未来几个月里，每个基督徒都应好好地让某些事流失，来花更多的时间思考基督和他的应许。我意识到这将需要极大的智慧，因为目前的一半挑战是确实找出优先的事项…那些是一定不能流失的。但有些是可以的而且可能是必须的。保罗在写给提摩太的信中，满心快乐地谈到在万古之先，在基督耶稣里赐给我们的，现在在我们的救主的显现中表明出来的，那位「把死废去和将不朽的生命彰显出来」的福音救恩 (提后1:9-10)。毫无疑问，这样的信心只代表对基督…他的人和他的工作…深切、耐心和在祈祷中思考他在圣经所启示的冰山一角。前一代的基督徒比我们更慎重作出思考。现今，我们有很多「紧急」的事情让我们忙。保罗的牢房是他的避难所，允许他对上帝的计划和目的进行思考和祈祷，但今天，技术把我们紧紧连接到我们单独囚禁的牢房之外的恐慌世界。但是，它潜在的代价是巨大的，我们有多了解唯一能带我们度过生命最脆弱的时刻以至永生的那人呢?
