The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad;  the desert shall rejoice and blossom like the crocus; it shall blossom abundantly     and rejoice with joy and singing. - Isaiah 35:1-2 

      At the end of the Disney film, Beauty and the Beast, the Beast, his castle and all of its inhabitants are lifted from an old curse. Suddenly, the castle is transformed from dark to a pristine white. The Beast and his friends become human again. The thorns growing throughout the land become flowers. There is rejoicing and celebration throughout the land.  

      The prophet Isaiah describes similar imagery. A wasteland, a dry place suddenly being filled with light and life and beauty and rejoicing. The name of the flower that is translated from the Hebrew into “crocus” refers to a type of flower that usually blooms after heavy rainfall and turns the desert into a place of incredible beauty.  

      He’s describing a scene of total destruction suddenly becoming a place of renewal and rebirth.

      How does this happen? How do things change so suddenly?

      “They shall see the glory of the LORD, the majesty of our God.”

       Unlike the Disney movie, the reason for this sudden transformation is simply this: God came near. It is not a plot device, nor is it movie magic. God arrived and He is present among us. In Isaiah, the desert sees God and is transformed. Suddenly, life grows where none existed before. Suddenly, there is rejoicing where everything was once dry.  

       One commentator writes, “Joy is always a by-product of the presence of God in the world” Whenever God shows up, there is rejoicing.  

       How do we know that God is present? John 1:14 tells us, “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” We know God is present because Jesus arrived. Jesus - who is God himself - comes down and dwells among us. Now look what it says next: “and we have seen his glory.”

       Jesus came to transform the dark into light. He came to give life to the wilderness. He brings beauty to dead places. He replaces mourning with rejoicing.   As we look forward to celebrating Christmas this week, we look to the Giver of the greatest of all joys. May we find our love, joy, peace and hope in Christ Jesus who came that we may have life to the fullest.

       On behalf of all the pastors and staff at BAC, we wish you all a very Merry and blessed Christmas!

     「曠野和乾旱之地必然歡喜，沙漠也必快樂，又像玫瑰開花。必開花繁盛，樂上加樂，而且歡呼。黎巴嫩的榮耀，並迦密與沙崙的華美，必賜給它。人必看見耶和華的榮耀，我們神的華美。」      以賽亞書35:1-2

      廸士尼電影「美女與野獸」於完結時，主角「野獸」的城堡和他所有的子民都從原有的詛咒中釋放出來。一瞬間，幽暗的城堡變得明亮雪白起來。野獸和他的朋友們都再次回復人的樣子，遍地的荊棘再次長出花朵，舉國都歡欣慶賀。

      先知以賽亞描述了一個相似的景象；一個荒蕪亁涸之地忽然間充滿光明﹑生機，滿是美麗和歡樂。這裡所描述的花 “crocus” 是從希伯來語翻譯出來的，是指一種於大雨過後在沙漠地長滿遍地的花兒。

      他描述的是一個被徹底摧毀的場面，忽然間得着更新，一切都重獲生命。

      這是怎樣發生的呢？事情何以突然改變?

    「他們將看見耶和華的榮耀，我們神的威嚴。」    

      與迪士尼電影不同的是，這種突然轉變的原因很簡單：上帝臨近。這不是什麼情節的佈局，也不是電影的特技效果。神已經降臨，並且就在我們中間。在以賽亞時代，沙漠看見了神就被改變了。轉眼間，沒有生機的長出生命來，令人欣喜歡呼，因為一切本來都是荒廢乾旱的。      

    一篇釋經書中寫着：「歡樂永遠是上帝在世界上出現時的副產品。」那裏有神同在時，那裏就歡欣快樂。

    我們怎麼知道神同在呢？約翰福音1：14告訴我們：「道成了肉身，住在我們中間」。我們知道神的存在是因為耶穌已經來了。耶穌 – 祂就是那位神 – 從天降下，住在我們中間。請看接下來的描述：「我們也見過祂的榮光。」

    耶穌來是將黑暗變成光明。祂要在沙漠開江河，在曠野開道路，祂把哀傷變成歡樂。  

    這個星期當我們期待着慶祝聖誕節的來臨時，讓我們更期盼那位為人類帶來最大喜悅的賜與者。願我們在基督耶穌裏找到愛﹑喜樂﹑和平和盼望，因着祂的降臨，就為我們帶來最豐盛的生命。  

    謹代表本宣家全體教牧同工，祝大家有一個蒙恩快樂的聖誕節!

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