晚間敬拜的喜樂
當一個人不僅理解一個好主意,而且還親身體驗過,他就更可能相信它。例如,我可以告訴你诸多理由说明英式橄欖球聯賽是地球上最偉大的運動,但如果我們一起去參加一場座無虛席的比賽,在現場唱國歌,聽觀眾喧闹,感受碰撞,那就更有說服力。目前澳洲國家隊小袋鼠的球迷可能不喜歡這個類比,但我的要點很明確。如果先行體驗一些想法,我們就更容易欣賞它們。 這是我開始定期參加晚間敬拜時發現的道理。
晚間敬拜不是會眾中年輕成員的單獨聚會,而是全體會眾在主日的第二次聚會。 我只是偶然經歷過此事,卻在後來意識到,許多教會近年來對此已經習以為常。
無容置疑,在某些情況下進行第二次禮拜可能不合時宜。世界各地有許多信徒步行很長的距離去教堂,然後又步行回家。來回跋涉更像一件苦差而非益事。基於其它某些原因,澳洲的教會也選擇只在早間敬拜。會眾(或者會眾中個別家庭)尋找其它方式在讚美中度過這一天。
這是多麽好啊!
稱謝耶和華,歌頌你至高者的名,
早晨傳揚你的慈愛,
每夜傳揚你的信實。 (詩篇 92:1-2)
儘管這些詩句說明讚美主是美善的行為,但主日做兩次禮拜仍不是一條特別的誡命。
然而晚間敬拜的經歷使我受益匪淺。我先在悉尼一間教會,後來又在英國同樣搞兩次禮拜的一間教會參加了晚間敬拜。今天要找到這樣的教會並非易事!每次參加晚間敬拜我只是非常喜歡它,事先不加過多的理性預設。晚間敬拜有許多顯著的特點。
首先打動我的是,與早間敬拜的興奮相比,晚上的禮拜有一種平和、安靜的氣氛。 早上伴隨「兒童主日學」和礼拜後早茶的活力和欢笑虽然无与伦比,但晚上的敬拜却提供了一種不同的團聚氛圍。就像聖誕節午餐之於休閒週末的早午餐,早敬拜之於晚敬拜,均各有千秋。
另一个我注意到的特点是,晚間敬拜的會眾似乎更加沉浸在經文中。一日三餐長大,比每天只吃一餐要好,那么接受雙倍神的話語对人生的影响迥然不同。通常, 一項禮拜的重點是《新約》中的某段經文,而另一項則聚焦在《舊約》中的某段經文。这样,聖經经文之間的連結愈加頻繁出現在我們面前。 有时候,早上的講道系列會在晚上延续,會眾热切地想知道接下來會發生什麼。
第三個引人注目的特点是,週日晚上的敬拜似乎有更多的祷告時間。晚間禮拜中的教牧禱告通常更長,或者说我們祷告得更從容。會眾白天所關心的議題,無論是公開或私下的代禱,都可以在晚上呈現到主的面前。每個主日會眾能夠两次來到恩典的寶座面前实在是太好了。
另外,我还驚訝地發現晚上的禮拜儀式能够建构一整天的愉悦氣氛。晨間禮拜的結束只是一天敬拜和團聚的開始。早茶結束後,各自回家吃午餐,一邊祷告一邊繼續團契,有時家人還會诵读一首詩篇。在我參加過的一個教會裡,牧師邀請一些會眾到他家共進午餐,飯後與他和他的家人一起沿著當地的鄉村小路散步。這樣的時光充滿愉快的關於基督的對話和思考,儘管午睡對我來說也頗有益處!散步結束後我們再一起參加晚間禮拜,在歌唱、 祈禱和神的話語裡再度團聚。 美好的一天就此圓滿結束。
親身經歷晚間敬拜或許在偶然間打開了我的雙眼,讓我看見關於主日教義的美(啟1:10)。有些人認為因它是耶穌唯一沒有明確重申的誡命所以無關緊要。但是, "摩西和九誡"聽起來不太正確。神在創世的七日中定下特殊的一天,使我們擁有在文化和時代的變遷中得以持續維繫的生活方式。毫無疑問,這一天經歷了變更(威斯敏斯特信仰告白WCF 21.7),但它絕沒有被廢除或變得無足輕重(太5:17)。每個主日長老帶領我們進行的早晚敬拜,使我在神裡面經歷了極大的喜樂和安息。早晚敬拜是方便長老們幫助會眾遵守第四誡的舉措。
在您自己的教堂嘗試舉辦晚間禮拜吧,要不然在附近教堂參加也可以,你或許因此感到驚喜。為強調這一點,讓我重複詩篇第92章開頭的經文:
這是多麽好啊!
稱謝耶和華,歌頌你至高者的名,
早晨傳揚你的慈愛,
每夜傳揚你的信實。
——雅克‧內爾
SURPRISING JOY IN EVENING WORSHIP
A person is more likely to be convinced of a good idea when, as well as understanding it, he also experiences it. I could tell you, for example, of the many reasons why Rugby Union is the greatest game on earth. But it would be more convincing if we went to a sold-out test match together – singing the national anthem, hearing the crowd, and feeling the collisions. This analogy may not be appreciated by Wallabies fans at the moment, but the point is made. We can more easily appreciate some ideas when we experience them first. This is what I found when I first regularly took part in evening worship.
Rather than being the time when the younger members of the congregation have their own separate gathering, evening worship is when the whole congregation together meets for a second time on the Lord's Day. It's something which I experienced, almost by accident, before I realised that this has been a normal way many churches have operated until more recent years.
Of course, there are reasons why it could be unhelpful to have a second worship service in certain contexts. Some believers around the world walk long distances to get to church, and then to get home again afterwards. Trudging back and forth may prove to be more of a chore than a help. For other legitimate reasons, churches in Australia also choose to have only the morning service. Such congregations (or even individual families within those congregations) find other ways to fill the day with praise.
It is good to praise the Lord
and make music to your name, O Most High,
proclaiming your love in the morning
and your faithfulness at night (Psalm 92:1-2).
While this captures the goodness in praising the Lord, it is still not quite a specific command to have two worship services each Sunday.
But my own experience of evening worship has been very positive. I first attended an evening worship service at a church in Sydney, then later at a church in England which also followed the two-service pattern. They are not that easy to find today! In each case, I didn't have any intellectual predisposition about evening worship, yet enjoyed it very much. A number of features of evening worship were striking.
It struck me that the evening services had an air of peacefulness and quiet, compared with the excitement of the morning services. There is nothing like the energy and laughter which accompanies the morning 'children's talk' and morning tea which often follows the service, but the evening service allowed for a different kind of togetherness, like comparing Christmas lunch with a casual weekend brunch. Both are good, and they are different.
Another thing I noticed while taking part in evening worship was that the congregation seemed to be more deeply immersed in the Scriptures. Growing up with breakfast, lunch, and dinner, is better than getting just one meal a day, and receiving twice (or half) the normal amount of God's word would make a big difference over a lifetime. Often the one service focussed on a passage from the New Testament, and the other on a passage from the Old Testament. Connections across the pages of Scripture were jumping out at us more frequently. Sometimes, the sermon series from the morning would continue in the evening, and the congregation was excited to find out what would happen next.
A third striking aspect of Sunday evening worship was that there seemed more time for prayer. Often the pastoral prayer in the evening service was longer, and we prayed more slowly, so to speak. The concerns of the congregation which were shared throughout the day could be brought before the Lord in the evening, whether in public or private intercession. It was good to be able to approach the throne of grace one more time each Lord's Day, as a congregation.
I also found, to my surprise, that the evening worship service gave a pleasant structure to the day. The end of the morning service was only the beginning of the day's worship and togetherness. After morning tea, families would go home for lunch, where the fellowship continued as they prayed, and sometimes read a Psalm. At one church I attended, the minister invited a few of the congregation – who had been at his home for lunch – to walk with him and his family along the local countryside paths after the meal. It was delightful Christian conversation and contemplation, although an afternoon nap would also have worked for me! After the walk, we all went together to the evening service, and continued together again in song, prayer, and God's word. It was a perfect end to a great day.
By experiencing evening worship for myself, my eyes were – accidentally perhaps – opened to the beauty of the doctrine of the Lord's Day (Rev. 1:10). Some argue that because it's the only commandment which Jesus didn't clearly reiterate, it's no longer relevant, but, 'Moses and the Nine Commandments' doesn't sound quite right. And since it was in the creation that one day in seven was set apart as special, we have a pattern for living which endures throughout changes in cultures and ages. No doubt, the day is changed (WCF 21.7), but it is by no means rescinded or irrelevant (Matt. 5:17). In worshipping at congregations where the elders led us in both morning and evening worship, I experienced great joy and rest in God each Lord's Day. Morning and evening worship is an easy way that elders can help their congregations honour the fourth commandment.
Try the evening worship service at your own church, or if it isn't held there, a church nearby. Perhaps you will be pleasantly surprised also. To reinforce the point, let me repeat the beginning of Psalm 92:
It is good to praise the Lord
and make music to your name, O Most High,
proclaiming your love in the morning
and your faithfulness at night.
– Jacques Nel
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