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当我上大学的时候,我在荣誉楼里住了三年,这是一个专门为那些非常热衷于学习的学生而设的宿舍生活学习楼层。每年我们都会制作地板T恤(如果不是一站式供应的T恤的话,大学也算不上什么),有一年这些衬衫上写着 “Curiouser and Curiouser”。这句话来自小说《爱丽丝梦游仙境》。这是爱丽丝在经历身体像望远镜一样膨胀的令人困惑时说出的。卡罗尔用这个虚构的词来描述一件越来越好奇、更令人困惑或奇怪的事情。我们用这个词来描述一种存在状态,一种姿势,一种我们希望以学生的身份生活在世界上的方式——对这个世界越来越好奇... 变得越来越好奇和好奇。这周在我读到关于阿斯伯里复兴的各种报道和回应时,我想到了这句话。如果你错过了这个机会,那么,所谓的阿斯伯里复兴或阿斯伯里喷涌活动始于2月8日,当时一群学生自发地住在肯塔基州阿斯伯里大学休斯礼堂的教堂之后。这种崇拜活动全天候持续了两个星期,直到周一结束。在这两周里,成千上万的人涌入校园,崇拜活动蔓延到邻近的校园建筑和北美其他学校,人们在试图理解这种现象时写下了很多话。有人质疑这是一次真正的复兴,还是只是一场由社交媒体推动的运动。其他人则说,这只是又一次充满情感的山顶体验,并不意味着真正的信仰。还有一些人指出,在神学上与他们存在分歧的人的存在作为这不可能以福音为基础的证据。批评并不奇怪。在阅读和观看时,我有自己的问题和怀疑。但是我不希望看到成千上万的年轻人投入数小时的礼拜时,我的第一直觉是持怀疑态度。我想变得更好奇、更好奇。因为如果?如果圣灵以真实而强大的方式移动会怎样?如果这对成千上万的大学生来说是一次变革性的经历呢?如果这两周能结出我们现在甚至无法想象的成果呢?我们生活在一个要求和重视确定性的文化中。我们想知道 —— 这是坏事还是好事 —— 所以我们知道要去哪里,知道在哪里保持一致,知道如何向前迈进。但我很欣赏凯里·尼乌霍夫在回应阿斯伯里复兴时所写的话:他提醒读者,早期的教会充满了很多不确定性。新事物正在发生,新人被包括在内,一些宗教习俗被放弃,而新的宗教习俗被采用。太乱了。而且有点混乱。我想有不止几个人有点怀疑。但是圣灵在移动。上帝利用了教会、混乱和不确定性等等。几周前,我宣讲了一篇关于歌罗西书 3:12-17 的布道。保罗敦促歌罗西的基督徒穿上同情心、仁慈、谦卑、温柔、耐心,最重要的是爱心。帮助我们体现对彼此的开放姿态的美德,而不是他在1-11节中列举的全部以内向为中心和以自我为中心的恶习 —— 愤怒、欲望、贪婪、诽谤和恶意。然后,正如我在上一篇文章中所写的那样,他说了一句我觉得无穷无尽的迷人话:“通过诗篇、赞美诗和圣灵之歌,用所有的智慧教导和告诫对方,用心中的感激之情向上帝唱歌”(NIV)。通过敬拜,我们学会了以开放的姿势生活是什么意思,因为敬拜将我们的心灵和思想集中在上帝身上,而不是宣传自己或关注我们的邻居。敬拜提醒我们,我们属于一个至高无上的上帝,他呼召我们,不是为了确定,而是为了敬畏;他在这个他所爱的世界里做了伟大的事情、奇迹般的事情、新事物。谁邀请我们变得越来越好奇。纳迪亚·博尔兹-韦伯在博客对复兴的回应中想知道,“文化大战、纯洁守则和各方意识形态的偶像崇拜所造成的精疲力尽” 是否促使这些年轻人在简约中寻求复兴。 首先要不断地祈祷和唱歌。”也许吧。也许这些大学生向我们展示了相互教导和告诫的意义,不是用序曲、陈述、辩论和尖刻的社交媒体评论,而是通过诗篇、赞美诗和圣灵之歌。我认为我们都可以对这种可能性持开放态度。并对圣灵以真实的方式移动的可能性持开放态度。对有时候我们可能犯错的可能性持开放态度。对上帝比我们的确定性更大的可能性持开放态度。

Laura de Jong

Laura de Jong is a pastor in the Christian Reformed Church. After seminary she served as the pastor of Second CRC in Grand Haven, Michigan, before moving back to her native Southern Ontario where she is currently serving as Interim Pastor of Preaching and Pastoral Care at Community CRC in Kitchener. 

9 Comments

  • Gloria J McCanna says:

    Yes. Amen.

  • Ed Starkenburg says:

    Thanks for these insights, Laura! God is bigger than our certainty! Amen!!!!

  • Chris Slabbekoorn says:

    I love this response! Thank you so much!

  • Deb Mechler says:

    Amen to your reflection as well as those in the links! I am grateful that the tool God has used to pry open my mind and heart to other perspectives and to other people was curiosity. When I get judgmental and theologically proud, the way back to humility is curiosity. Helps a lot in political discussions too, BTW. Thank you, Laura.

  • Mary Buitendorp says:

    With all the political craziness going on around us today, I think Asbury may be a light shining in the darkness.

  • Rev. Nolan Palsma says:

    Laura, you are one writer that doesn’t disappoint! Thanks for your engaging articles.

  • Rodney Haveman says:

    Thanks Laura, as it turns out, I’m starting off Lent with a sermon on the sower and the seed. I’ll be curious about the fruit of this potential revival. Is this seed sown on rocky soil? It may be the case. Reports are they have shut down the continual worship at Asbury because so many students are struggling to maintain their studies and regular life and it’s disrupting the community. Could the concerns of regular life and or the “troubles caused by the Word” (or worship) cause the joy to wilt away? No judgment, just curious.
    I think my main take away is we’re called to be rather prodigal in our sowing. Cast the seed wherever we can. We don’t know what kind of soil it will land on and this revival might be a perfect example of that. Who knows what sort of harvest will come. It will be fun to watch and see.

  • Daniel Miller says:

    Time will tell if this was a truly transformational event or a passing eruption of youthful excitement. Early America witnessed a number of such revivals. For some they were truly life changing. Others soon fell back into familiar patterns of life. Remember the parable of the seeds.

  • Mark Stephenson says:

    Thank you, Laura. You have given me a new appreciation and fresh eyes for the Asbury Revival, for Col 3, and for worship.

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